Work Text
Dying is never fucking easy.People write whole poems on the idea of death, romanticizing it and the effect it has on others, and readers like me, once upon a time, gobbled it up like impressionable sheep.No, death is never easy to accept, or perpetrate, even.So, fancy this; after blacking out from an attempt that was supposedly successful, my eyes open back up again.
[Welcome to Ninpo Online! You have begun a New Game!]
I blinked at the screen oddly. This sounded a lot like one of those gamer fanfictions I read. Hm.I waved the screen off and looked around, taking the room in. I was in somewhat of a rustic place – mainly defined by the fact that there was not a lot of metal in the furnishings. The frame of the bed I was on was made of wood. The bedsheet was a little rough. There was a wardrobe on my right side that had no shiny bits or modern handles whatsoever. The window had no glass, just wooden frames and what looked like some form of stiff card in place of glass, completely blocking the view of outside.Was I… in a poor house?PING!
[Tutorial Quest Alert!
A New World
You have woken up in an odd place that you don’t recall being in ever before. Explore and find out where you are.
Objectives :
Find out where you are.
Find out what’s special about you.
Reward :
100xp]
I blinked. Okay, this part of the afterlife was freaky. Is this because I loved the Gamer manhwa? How exciting. The white quest window had two symbols at the bottom – a blue one with a circle inscribed perfectly in it, and a red one with a cross. Or… at least I think it was supposed to be red, currently it was pink, as if it was faded. So, I can’t deny this quest?I tapped the accept button with a yawn.I shoved the sheets aside, rising off the bed (which did not creak, thank god), and turned around to make it again. One of the few good things my parents had taught me was cleaning up after myself, and mum had yelled it into my head with such strictness I doubted I’d be able to forget it anytime soon.I sighed as I stood and stretched, then eyed myself the best I could. I was wearing a generic white night-suit. And oddly, I looked a bit… younger? Yeah, several scars I had accumulated over my life were gone, too!Frantically, I looked around for a mirror, thanking whichever god was currently in charge of my life that there actually was one, attached to a small dressed on the opposite side of the small room. I came to stand in front of it and gasped with shock.I looked like I was eight! I was a really chubby child, kind of ugly too, before all the home remedies, that gave me a strong sense of insecurity. I reached out and touched the glass, both sad and happy. I never really did end up liking my face. After all the things I said and did over my childhood and adolescence, even when people complimented my face, I eventually came to dislike it.I started when the world around me greyed out and another white box popped up in front of me.
[Please enter your name:]
I entered in my usual gaming alias without complaint.
[Are you sure your name is Legion?]
Duh.
[Import existing appearance
Create character]
I suppose this is the character creation screen. So, I’m in a generic RPG for my afterlife? Nice!My fingers hit the [Create Character] option without a second thought.No options came up after that box dismissed itself though, so I spent a minute just frowning at myself in the mirror before I finally frustratedly sighed and wished I could just turn my hair white already.I startled back in surprise when just that happened.Now knowing that the damn ‘game’ responded to my thoughts, I got to work. Thank god I was, at least, still male. Pale skin, heterochronic eyes, a sharp, yet subtle up-tilt to my nose, full pale lips, and healthy medium-length hair. Oddly I couldn’t shape my body how I wanted, but after trying for a while I decided that I was done.
[Are you sure you choose this appearance?]
Hell yes!
[Please select your starting stats:
Constitution - 0
Health - 0
Agility - 0
Intelligence - 0
Luck - 0
Wisdom - 0
Points:25]
This was a tough cookie. I didn’t usually prefer rogue characters, in fact, I disliked them. Hard hitters were for casual players, duh. And while I loved magic, something in my gut was telling me that being a mage here was going to be too easy. No, I spent my entire life being a wizard and playing the game on easy mode, and I’d rather do something challenging in my afterlife that does not involve emotional turmoil and altering my usual playing habits to fit a whole other archetype should pose a hurdle enough to keep me entertained.Hmm… then let’s see…
[Are you sure that these will be your staring stats:
Constitution - 2
Strength - 2
Agility - 7
Intelligence - 4
Luck - 6
Wisdom - 4]
As far as I understood it, Constitution and Strength were warrior attributes, Wisdom and Intelligence were mage attributes, and Agility and Luck were rogue attributes. So, I made the last ones my highest, and the mage ones my second priority.A little magic when one was in a pinch never hurt, right?As soon as I hit the [Accept] symbol on that screen, I felt my body… change. I grew a little shorter, and a little thinner too. Hm, I suppose the system accommodates for my states with direct changes in my appearance.The world around me filled with color again, and I decided to finally leave the nest, so t speak. Hand on the doorknob, the first bit of apprehension began trickling in. Swallowing saliva, I quickly opened the door before I had time to talk myself into staying in the character creation menu forever.All at once, sounds began trickling in. Something inside me seized with fear when I heard shouts and cries. Children were running around like crazy, and there were loud sounds of explosions coming from outside.“Children! You must return to your rooms!” a woman’s voice desperately yelled, and my eyes snapped over to a kind-faced lady, who was currently blocking what seemed to be the main door. “The ninja outside will handle the monster. Please calm down!”My heart hastened. With both excitement and fear. Ninja. Monster.I knew of only one damned world that fit the bill.Ignoring the struggling woman and other adults trying to calm some terrified children down, I ran to the nearest window and threw it open.And I don’t know whether I was happy or not about being proven right.It was far more massive that what I had ever given it credit for. Konoha, that is. My eyes were drawn to Mount Rushmo- Ahem! The Hokage Monument was huge, to say nothing of the ‘village’ that was spread out before it… how does one even consider this village, by the way? It’s got to be the size of a small city, at least!And then, a massive village-wide flare of blue shined bright in my eyes.“Everyone, attack it with all you’ve got!” That… that was the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen! I was born a few years before the Kyuubi attack! It’s the day of Naruto’s birth.Holy shit.I… My afterlife was in the Naruto Universe?!A collective scream snapped me out of my conflicting thoughts, and then dozens of fireballs, water waves, and earthen boulders flew at the monstrous nine-tailed fox, forcing it to stumble back from the onslaught.“Gundan-kun! Get away from there!”I ignored the voice. My name was Legion-Wait a minute. ‘Gundan’? As in ‘corps’ or ‘army corps’?My name got fucking translated.A gentle but firm hand pulled me away from the window with ease, and then slammed them shut. “This is not what a five-year-old should be doing a day after his birthday.” She said, trying to smile, but I could tell she was downright terrified. “You’d best get into your room, dear, and shut the doors and windows. I’ll bring along some warm soup soon, okay?”Damn. Holy hell.She was trying to behave as if this were a normal night. Where she herself should be panicking and shit, she’s being calm for all of us to be calm, too.And honestly, it was working. But… wait.It shouldn’t have to work. I should have been calm through this entre ordeal.What the hell was up with my [Gamer’s Mind]? Why was it not working?She gently opened my door and nudged me in. “Sit down. I’ll have Kana up with some soup, okay?” she smiled awkwardly, then left, but the door was open.I shivered as another roar and the sound of a massive explosion rent the air.“Skills!”Nothing.“Abilities? Spells? Talents?! C’mon, you damn piece of crap, work!” I cursed, waving my arms around in frantic worry.In all my flailing, my right hand eventually managed to trace a path directly from up downwards in front of me, and a line of icons appeared.“Wait… that interface… Sword Art Online? What the hell? I hope I don’t have limited skill slots or something like that.”I examined the icons in front of me with a critical eye. The first one was shaped like those creepy msn head and upper torso thingies – I tapped it to see what it was.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 5
Title: Orphan
Next Level: 100xp
HP - 120
CP - 140
CON - 2
STR - 2
AGL - 7
INT - 4
LCK - 6
WIS - 4
Perks:
Skills:
Active Effects: Tainted Chakra Exposure]
So, my [Gamer’s Mind] wasn’t working because I didn’t have it? Why? And what was [Tainted Chakra Exposure]?The effect seemed to get highlighted in grey and a new window opened in front of it.
[Active Effect: Debilitation: Tainted Chakra Exposure
Due to massive concentrations of senjutsu-tainted chakra in the air, you are unable to draw on or focus your chakra properly.
-50% to all damage
-50% to recovery rates]
Damnit! The Kyuubi’s chakra in the air was seriously bad news! Well, it was throwing BIjuudamas around like party favors but…Eh.Also, I needed 100xp to level up, which I should get immediately after finishing this quest. Yippy-fucking-do, man.Okay, so what’s the net icon? I clicked on the arrow in the top let corner to got back to the icon list, and clicked the next one, with the icon of a toy sword.
[Skills List]
And it was blank. Zero, zilch, nada. This was… odd.PING!
[Due to continuous exposure to tainted chakra, you have created a new skill!
Chakra Resistance (Passive) Lv2 (6.82%)
Your body recalls being exposed to tainted chakra, and its attempts in fighting against it. Against normal chakra, these defenses are more effective.
-2% damage from all chakra-imbued attacks.
-50% skill effectiveness against tainted chakra.]
Sweet! A new skill for simply remaining standing around the Kyuubi? No wonder children born shortly before or after the Kyuubi attack were so exceptional!I looked carefully at the screen, thankful to see there was nothing like ‘equip skill’ or something. This meant only the interface skin was from Sword Art Online, not the entire system. Thank god.Besides the single one though, there were no other skills, so I backed out again and clicked on the next icon, this one looking like a briefcase.
[Inventory]
This screen was split into two – one smaller one that showed a rough silhouette of what had to be my body on the left, and the actual inventory screen on my right. Currently, I had equipped on [Standard Orphanage Night-Jacket], and [Standard Orphanage Night-Pants], that offered no resistances or bonuses. Hm.The latter was totally empty, only showing rows after rows of ten slate gray squares. Just to check, I lifted one of the two pillows from next to me and carefully brought it near to the screen. It was gently pulled in, and then the first square turned lighter, with an image of a pillow on it. Okay, so at least this worked how I remembered it to. I highlighted the box.
[Weathered Pillow x 1
A pillow that has been used for a long time. Other than comfort, it offers no other bonuses.]
Okay. Cool.I backed out and selected the next icon, this one looked like a simple addition sign.
[Perks
Gamer’s Body – Your body behaves as if it were in a game and reacts accordingly.
Cost: 1 PP.
Gamer’s Mind – Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through.
Cost: 1 PP.]
The rest had their characters all replaced with question marks. Okay, so apparently, I had to purchase the two perks that make my ability useful. But… how do I gain perk points?No window or anything of the sort opened up, so I reluctantly backed out. Another explosion rocked the land, but even though I almost fell sideways on the bed from the vibrations, there was no immediate doom that followed, so I surmised it must have been far away.I clicked on the last icon, one with a grey gear cog as its thumbnail.
[Settings
Difficulty
Cheats]
My mind blanked out. I don’t think the Gamer Manhwa had this kind of menu, but I assume that since my interface is different, even my entire system might be different too. I tapped on [Difficulty] first, but the screen that popped up just had a giant question mark on its front. So, with a sigh, I returned and selected [Cheats].
[Cheats
WARNING!
Once cheat(s) have been activated, all checkpoints will vanish. Player death will result in returning to Character Creation screen.
God mode - Off
All skills instantly maxed - Off
Level 999 - Off
Stats 999 - Off
One Hit Kill - Off]
Tempting. So, god-damned tempting! Action Replay and Cheat Engine were my best buds when I played solo RPGs, so I could practically feel my fingers twitching to just turn all of them on.But… no. I wanted a challenge in my afterlife. Using these hacks would just result in an easy playthrough. Maybe for New Game+ though… wait… was there such a thing?Eh. Screw it. I closed the screen without activating anything.PING!
[Quest Complete!
Tutorial: A New World:
You have woken up in an odd place that you don’t recall being in ever before. Explore and find out where you are.
Completed Objectives :
Find out where you are.
Find out what’s special about you.
Completed Bonus Objectives:
Explore the entire player menu.
Reward :
100xp + 1x Poorly-stitched Kimono (Black)]
Okay, not bad. I really hope I had other clothes than that kimono lying around, though. I clicked on the blue accept/continue icon and was instantly met with another screen.PING!
[You have levelled up! You are now Level 6!
+ 5 stat points
+ 1 perk point]
Oh, so that’s it! Every time I level up, I get one perk point, along with the standard five stat points. I quickly exited the screen, navigated to my perk menu, and purchased [Gamer’s Mind]. It resulted in another screen popping up.
[Perk Purchased!
Due to purchasing a perk, a new skill has been added!
Gamer’s Mind (Passive) Lv MAX (100%)
Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through.
Cannot be affected by negative mental debilitations.]
Cool. That’s that. I now have a total of two skills. Now for the stat points… the rather vast number of fanfics I have read on the subject always advise saving the stuff for later. So… I guess I should, too?I sighed and closed the screens. Since [Gamer’s Mind] was active, the distant roars and explosions weren’t really bothering me anymore. So, I cast another gaze around my room, and then instantly got an idea.I got the pillow out of my inventory and carefully popped a single stitch, pulling out a feather, then tossing the pillow back on the bed because it was honestly no use to me. I then closed my eyes and tried to feel for some energy or something in the pit of my stomach… and was instantly awarded with a tingly feeling. I tried to… move(?) the feeling towards my forehead, where I let the feather gently settle.It took a couple of seconds for the screen that I wanted to pop up.PING!
[Due to carrying out a special action, a skill has been created!
Chakra Control (Passive) Lv 1 (2.00%)
Allows stricter control over chakra flow, allowing the user to lower the cost for jutsu. Additionally, it also allows for finely tuning chakra movement throughout the body.
-1% CP cost for chakra-imbued skills.
Exercises Discovered – Leaf Balancing (10 CP/sec)]
Okay… so apparently, [Chakra Control] here is a skill, not a stat like I assumed it would be. And also, [Leaf Balancing] is not a skill on its own, but a part of the aforementioned one. That means If I try walk walking, it would end up being a part of the [Chakra Control] skill.Okay… so let’s get grinding.Thus, while my new village was getting ravaged by a child of an ancient superman and people died left and right, while lives ended and new lives begun, while some grew stronger in resolve and others gave in to hatred…I practiced my chakra control in my room until I was too drowsy to continue, falling into a distinctly dream-free sleep.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
When I woke up the next day, it was to a sound of hushed commotion from outside, probably out of the building itself. I blinked my bleary eyes when I noticed that the screen that greeted me was not what I expected.
[Slept in a bed! Checkpoint!]
I dismissed it and frowned. No full HP and CP regeneration? Where the hell was that? Does this mean I’ll actually have to go to a doctor if I get a sickness debilitation?I sighed and stretched, lurching forward to sit on my bed with a small smile. Swiping my hand from top to bottom, I opened my menu to navigated to the skills section.
[Skills
Gamer’s Mind (Passive) Lv MAX (100%)
Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through.
Cannot be affected by negative mental debilitations.
Chakra Resistance (Passive) Lv12 (19.14%)
Your body recalls being exposed to tainted chakra, and its attempts in fighting against it. Against normal chakra, these defenses are more effective.
-12% damage from all chakra-imbued attacks.
-50% skill effectiveness against tainted chakra.
Chakra Control (Passive) Lv 20 (0.02%)
Allows stricter control over chakra flow, allowing the user to lower the cost for jutsu. Additionally, it also allows for finely tuning chakra movement throughout the body.
-20% CP cost for chakra-imbued skills.
Exercises Discovered – Leaf Balancing (12 CP/sec)]
While I trained and slept, I was exposed to even more tainted chakra, so the skill seemed to have advanced. Nice. A twelve percent resistance to all chakra attacks was nothing to scoff at… although I was confused how it applied in practice. Oh well, it seemed I can’t just figure out everything at the drop of a hat.Also, after a certain point last night, shortly before I collapsed into a deep slumber, the [Chakra Control] skill seemed to have hit a plateau. It seemed like after those twenty levels, no matter how hard I tried to progress the skill, even resorting to multiple feathers at some point, the skill just wouldn’t gain any experience.Thinking time!There are several exercises to controlling one’s chakra. In the manga, only three such exercises were explored – the Leaf Balancing, Tree Climbing, and Water Walking exercises. Since my skill was not individualized but grouped together all the chakra-control I could do, maybe it took different exercises to level it up? It totally made sense!I took in a deep breath and waited.And waited.And waited.Zero, zilch, nada. No stat gains for figuring it out.My Gamer ability was completely stripped bare, wasn’t it?I had to use perk points to purchase [Gamer’s Mind], and [Gamer’s Body] was yet to be purchased. Hold on, that must be why my Hp and CP did not regenerate the way I expected it to! Maybe I had to purchase the ability to gain stats from manual work too?There went my plan for amping up my stats like crazy. I navigated to the Perks menu, but only [Gamer’s Body] was still available. It seemed I had to purchase the bare bones before I could do much more at all! I navigated to my stats page and checked how much I needed to level up.
[Next Level: 120xp]
An increment of 20xp? Wait… When I was level 5, it had taken me 100xp to level up, which meant a 20xp per level tacked on. Did this mean every time I levelled up, I needed 20xp more to progress to the next level?Okay, wow. Either I was super low in level or experience was really hard to come by in this world. I really hoped it was the former, because the latter option was just too cruel to comprehend.I stretched my fingers in front of me and catalogued my plan for the day. If I could max out Leaf Balancing in one night, could I max out Tree Climbing too? That’s one. I also need to find out where I stand in this world. I’m obviously an orphan, but how well was I liked? I don’t know what I’ve been doing for five years of my life. Was I a stubborn child? An obedient one? Additionally, I also needed to plan out my skill list and abilities, so I had a solid foundation to work on and improve as time went by.I also really needed to create the Observe skill. Well, that I could do right here and now.I looked at the bedframe. I tried to really concentrate, try to notice every speck of wood, and the designs that went with it. What kind of wood could it be? Was it of any benefit?PING!
[Due to a special action, a skill was created!
Scan (Active) Lv 1 (25.0%)
Allows the user to understand the world around him by taking a closer look.]
Okay, so it wasn’t ‘observe’, but [Scan] in this world. How Kingdom Hearts of me.I leapt out of bed and meandered over to my wardrobe, opening the creaking door with no little sense of trepidation. Okay, I really liked dressing well and looking good, alright? I really hope that my past self wasn’t a total snob or something.I was not disappointed… per se.
[Poorly-stitched Shorts (Brown) x 2
A pair of shorts that have seen good use. It is a piece of clothing and offers no other bonuses.]
[Poorly-stitched T-shirt (White) x 3
A t-shirt that has seen good use. It is a piece of clothing and offers no other bonuses.]
[Poorly-stitched Underwear (White) x 1
An undergarment that has seen good use. It is a piece of clothing and offers no other bonuses.]
Okay, so I had limited options. Of course, coming from an orphanage, I expected much less, so I was satisfied. I grabbed the items with one hand and opened my inventory with the other, tossing them in to check if…Yes.The momentum of an object did not impact whether or not the objects actually landed in my inventory. This… was awesome! Instant protection against throwables, and they just got added to my inventory, to boot! I wouldn’t have to spend much on Kunai or Shuriken if I got shot at a lot!Once again, I was vaguely disappointed when there was no alert telling me one of my stats had gained a point. Ouch.Regardless, I looked around my room and my eyes landed on a cup that held a simple toothbrush and a half-used tube of paste. Thank god. If I had [Gamer’s Body] I wouldn’t care too much, but I wasn’t sure if I acquired a debilitation like a cavity or something, and then purchased [Gamer’s Body], that it would go away anytime soon.I scanned both them, as well as the cup for good measure.
[Roughly-crafted Toothbrush (White) x 1
A toothbrush that has seen good use. +0.01% HP when used.]
[Poor-quality Toothpaste (Mint) x 1
A toothpaste tube that is flavored with mint. +10% effectiveness to a Toothbrush.]
[Cup (Wood) x 1
A wooden cup.]
PING!
[Scan has levelled up!
Scan (Active) Lv 2 (0.00%)
Allows the user to understand the world around him by taking a closer look.]
Sweet! Well, I know what skill to grind for today before trying Tree Climbing!I took the cup and made my way outside. The halls and rooms were silent, but the rush from outside still persisted. Well, the ninjas were surely working overtime trying to fix the damage Kurama did to Konoha, so…It took a bit of looking (and scanning a bunch of things on the way for that sweet, sweet experience) but I managed to find the communal washroom. After doing my do, I returned to my room to deposit the cup, equip the black kimono, white tee, and brown shorts before making my way downstairs.Through the actual glass windows on the ground floor, I was able to look outside and see it was still pretty dark. I shrugged, making my way over to what seemed like the kitchen, only to spot a rather portly old woman at the stove, smoking a cigarette while stirring away at a pot.Okay, the stereotype of an orphanage cook, much?I scanned her.
[Aoi – Level 6
HP – 200
CP – 20
Aoi is the cook at the Konoha Orphanage. While a total bitch on the outside, she’s actually a real softie for kids.]
Okay. I’ve been alive for less than a day in an anime world and I’ve already encountered a tsundere. How quaint.“Good morning, Aoi oba-chan.” I ’yawned’, waddling into the kitchen.The woman turned with a glare on me, but it softened a bit when she saw exactly who it was, I think. “Gundan.” She grunted, and damn but her voice was deep as fuck. “What are you doing up so early?”“I just woke up.” I replied honestly, coming to stand next to her. Unfortunately, since I was much too short to actually look past the counter top without standing on my tiptoes, I settled for nestling my hand in her skirt, playing the little orphan I was. “What… what happened yesterday, oba-chan?”PING!
[Due to a special action, a skill was created!
Wordplay (Passive) Lv 1 (50.0%)
Allows the user to twist words effectively.
1% chance of working.
-10% chance of working for every five levels the target is beyond you.
+10% chance of working for every positive REP with target.]
[Reputation menu unlocked! Visit your character menu!]
Now was really not the time! I surreptitiously waved the screen away.She inhaled deeply and sighed out smoke. I envied the action, but until I got [Gamer’s Body], I wasn’t going to even risk trying a cig. “A bad monster attacked the village. Don’t worry, it’s caught now, and has been put into a baby. It’s upstairs, but don’t worry, Mika and I will protect you from the demon.”Okay, this was something that always irked me. Apparently, the older people in the village always knew Naruto was the Kyuubi and were willing to go through extreme lengths, such as printing the wrong stuff in the history books, to keep to their lies. So…Wait. Now that I was here… could I… change that perception somehow?“The monster turned into a baby?” I ‘gasped’, eyes wide. “Is the baby in pain?”She gave me an odd look before returning to her… cooking. Honestly, what dish required so much stirring? “Why would the de- um… baby… be in pain?”I looked at her as if she were stupid, which probably ended up being an adorable expression because her face softened even more. Okay, boyish charm to the rescue! “Well, if there was a monster in me, I’d always be in pain, right? Because monsters are bad!” I exclaimed, with an over-the-top nod. “The baby must be in pain, too, because of all the bad feelings!”Aoi stopped stirring abruptly and turned to look at me with a horrified expression. “But.. I... oh… oh, Kami…”PING!It took a lot of self-control for me to ignore the screen and not pump my fist in joyous success. That was one person who now actually saw Naruto as a human being! I’ll change the way the village thinks about him one at a time because… ostracization is an evil, evil thing. “Do you think he needs help? I would hate to be in pain, so what about him?” I asked, pouting for good effect.“I… I don’t know.” Aoi admitted, shutting off the gas and setting the spoon aside. “I should talk to Mika about this. You stay here, okay?” she hurriedly asked, and then proceeded to… waddle… out of the room as fast as her old stubby legs would carry her.As soon as I was sure I heard a door open and close, I turned to look at the notification screen that had popped up.PING!
[Wordplay has levelled up!
Wordplay (Passive) Lv 5 (19.35%)
Allows the user to twist words effectively.
2.5% chance of working.
-10% chance of working for every five levels the target is beyond you.
+10% chance of working for every positive REP with target.]
Nice! I waved the screen away and opened up my menu. There was a new icon between my [Status] and [Skills] icons, showing three of those creepy msn things… ugh.I tapped it without delay.
[Reputation
Mika – Orphanage Matron – 10 (Cherished)
Aoi – Orphanage Cook – 10 (Cherished)
Ima – Orphanage Worker – 10 (Cherished)
Rufi – Orphan – 4 (Annoyance)
Toji – Orphan – 4 (Annoyance)]
Many more generic names followed with the [5 (Neutral)] level reputation, but I ignored those. They were probably just the other kids at the orphanage. Okay… no helpful words here either? Ugh! It’s like I have no hints on or something!No hints on…Wait.Is that something I have to purchase as well!? Dammit!As soon as I felt me working myself up, a wave of calm immediately seemed to wash over me. Must be [Gamer’s Mind] at work. Okay, inhale, exhale.Let’s work this out. I’ve probably been here my whole life, so I have to had reached the extreme ends of the reputation menu with at least one of them, right? And [[Neutral)] was the mid-point of any reputation scale, so… double that is ten. Ten, or [(Cherished)] is probably the highest level I can get with anyone.Oh. Wait. [Wordplay] had a 2.5% default chance of working, then a 10% bonus will be added for every positive REP point. Which meant, because I had the maximum possible positive reputation with Aoi, I had a 52.5% chance for her to believe me. I was lucky enough that it worked.It was literally easier for me to lie to those who loved me. What did that say for the gaming system by itself?Eh, I shrugged it off. No point working myself up over it.I waved the screen away just as the door that had previously closed opened and two frantic sets of footsteps made their way up the stairs. Straining by this point, I was able to hear a door opening, and the hallways were instantly assaulted by loud infantile wailing. The door then shut quietly.PING!
[Due to a special action, a skill was created!
Eavesdropping (Passive) Lv 1 (40.0%)
Allows the user to listen in on things happening around them.
20 meters range.
-50% effectiveness in loud areas.]
Okay, that’s another skill to level. God. I’m probably gonna pile up a lot of these during the beginning of my ‘life’, huh?While I waited for Aoi and Mika to come down into the kitchen, I spent my time scanning each and every little thing in the kitchen. I ended up levelling up again.PING!
[Scan has levelled up!
Scan (Active) Lv 3 (0.00%)
Allows the user to understand the world around him by taking a closer look.]
It took nine things to level up this time. Combined with the fact that I had scanned Aoi before, a total of ten uses. That mean 10% experience per object only on the second level. That’s a sharp drop from 25% per object on the previous level. Woah.Okay, so it was obvious from the beginning to me that as I progressed skills, it would be harder to level them up as time passed. But to see the effects in front of my eyes like that…Deep breaths, Legion. Deep breaths. This just means I have to grind more.Given that I am only five years old, I think I have a while. And if I can create those time-dilating Instant … Dimensions (?) from the gamer manhwa here, I’ll have all the time in the world.But first, I need to purchase [Gamer’s Body] before anything else. For that, I need to level up. I can worry about other perks after that. To level up, though, I will need to either create and level up the Instant Dimension skill, or find real-world dungeons, which I don’t think exist here. I mean, in a ninja village, with regular patrols, I don’t think such a thing could be possibly overlooked.That brings me back to the skill.Okay, I guess I can work on that too. I don’t know if it will consume CP or not, but it’s best to wait and do it after I can be sure I’ll be alone for the day. After all, I don’t wanna give the matron a heart attack by vanishing and appearing at random.Fucking NPC AI, man.I sighed and decided to explore a bit while I thought. After all, it seemed like the ground floor of the orphanage was a bit better furnished than the first. Was there a second floor?I walked around the ground floor, thinking hard. After I get the [Gamer’s Body], a lot of issues of mine can get solved. The eating and sleeping mechanics will cease to matter, I’ll have a way of healing myself and stuff, and I won’t have to worry about status effects – the negative ones at least. This will allow me to grind skills that consume CP even more than I can now. Then, I can finally experiment more with my CP because I’ll have a backup plan incase things go wrong.I entered the what looked like the main hall. There was a really battered-looking television on a rickety stool on one side, and a collection of cushions piled up on the other. The space in between was just empty hardwood floor, probably as an area for children to play in.But something in the dead center of the room made me freeze.It reminded me of animus fragments from Revelations – white, translucent, constantly shifting, tiny thing. Except instead of the diamond, it had the Konoha symbol in its center.I quickly scanned it.
[Location Collectible
A collectible of Ninpo Online. Location Collectibles offer players different bonuses (a choice from three) when touched. These bonuses scale with level and can be collected only once per location.]
I almost tripped over myself running to it and touching it.PING!
[You have discovered: Konoha Orphanage! 1/50 Konoha locations discovered!
Map feature unlocked!
Please select one of the following –
500 exp.
10 Perk Points.
5 stat points.]
Okay, woah. Map feature? I bet there’s going to be a new icon on my game menu. I can explore that later. What matter now, is the choice.The experience was really tempting, but I ignored it almost immediately. If I created and built up my Instant Dimension skill, I could farm exp like crazy. The stat points were calling out to me like a beacon, and they really would be a good investment… but what I really needed right now was…
[You have selected 10 Perk Points!]
I wasted no time in navigating to my perk menu and purchasing [Gamer’s Body].PING!
[Perk Purchased!
Due to purchasing a perk, a new skill has been added!
Gamer’s Body (Passive) Lv MAX (100%)
Your body behaves as if it were in a game and reacts accordingly.
Restore HP and CP and remove debilitations by sleeping in a bed.
Pain is brief and injuries only affect HP.
Sleeping and Eating optional.]
Hell yeah!But now that I had purchased those two, other perks began to defog and become legible.
[Perks
HUD – Your eyes observe more about yourself and the world around you. Activates the heads-up display.
Cost: 50 PP.
Perks Galore – Earn 1 PP when you advance a skill by 1 level.
Cost: 50 PP.]
Everything else had question marks instead of alphabets.First off, a little celebration for finally getting [Gamer’s Body]! Now I can really get things underway! Resting constantly after I burned up my chakra last night was totally annoying, to say nothing of having to sleep when I know I shouldn’t have to! This is really going to fast-track my progress!Now, thinking.[HUD] was definitely an important part of gaming. This was probably the reason why I can see people’s names and levels when I look at them and go knows what else I’m missing out on. But on the other hand, advancing skills were really easy, and [Perks Galore], in spire of the what-seems-like high cost, will be really important in the long run; I can just feel it!Now that I can use my CP without fear, though, I think I should create and train my Instant Dimension skill. The sooner I collect 50PP and level as few skills as possible, the more perk points I will have later on.I can do that after a while, though. I think I hear them coming down the stairs, with an excitedly gurgling baby.After a few minutes of hectic running around, though, I found myself impatient as the sun finally rose and I was wasting daylight. Dear god, chibi Naruto was adorable, but I did have a lot of other things to be doing right now.Ever wondered how something could be super adorable but also super annoying at the same time?I do. Right now, in fact.Unsurprisingly, now that he was given a chance, Naruto instantly had everyone who so much as laid eyes on him wound tight around his little finger. Curious, I scanned him.
[Uzumaki Naruto – Level 3
HP – 600
CP – 6000
Constitution - 2
Health - 1
Agility - 1
Intelligence - 1
Luck - 10
Wisdom - 1
Uzumaki Naruto is the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, selected by his father because he couldn’t bring himself to seal the beast in anyone but his son. Having just been born, he has yet to embark on the adventure that is life.]
And he had as much [CON] as me. Dammit. Anyway, it’s not like I’m going to fight anyone head on, so it shouldn’t make a difference. That abnormally high luck stat, though? That had me jealous as fuck; and don’t even get me talking about his HP and CP… I think that’s the effect of a perk or title. After all, he’s an Uzumaki, as well as the reincarnate of Ashura, right?After pouting a bit about the unfairness that was life (or death, in this case), I decided to get started on earning enough PP for the [Perks Galore] perk. Usually, levelling up or scant mission rewards would be all I could get perk points from, right?Wrong. I had a way of getting perk points that was not counted amongst those.It was time to hunt for landmarks.The Map icon on my game menu worked a lot like what I remembered of the Assassin’s Creed 3 map system, except the actual map showed physical reliefs rather than just drawings of it. For now, only the orphanage building fully existed on it, the rest was fogged over by white clouds. Apparently, [Location Collectibles] unfogged not only the location I was in, but also a fair distance around it, so at least I was not totally going blind.My first stop, since I was already in the non-shinobi area of the village, were the various shops I had heard of. Being outside the orphanage proper for the first time really allowed me to get a feel for the place and realize exactly why Naruto loved the village so much when he grew up in spite of the ill-treatment he suffered. The people bustling about through their day, the children running and generally being excitable nuisances, the watchful silent ninja who sometimes broke their poses to help people having a bad spot or children find something they lost…It was totally unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. Hell, anyone from when I was alive would fucking love to be here. It was like the place radiated warmth and acceptance. No wonder even though the people may have turned Naruto aside he persevered… just being in the village gave one hope. I wouldn’t find it odd if he said that the village itself accepted him even if its people hadn’t.I shook my head out of the reverie I found myself in and resumed my search. I had a lot of places to find, hopefully today, so I could fast-track my way to hackdom!The first location I came across, funnily enough, was Yakiniku Q. Thankfully I already purchased the [Gamer’s Mind] and [Gamer’s Body] perks, or else I would be drooling, and my stomach would be rumbling at the aroma around that place. Luckily, I didn’t have to test my skill by going inside, the collectible was right out.PING!
[You have discovered: Yakiniku Q! 2/50 Konoha locations discovered!
Please select one of the following –
Akimichi Hijutsu Scroll.
10 Perk Points.
5 stat points.]
Oh. OH!My orphanage was a totally separate body from… anything. Essentially, it was a civilian building, which meant that I couldn’t really learn anything ninja specific from it, hence the experience was offered instead!Oh wow. Okay, so every ninja-affiliated building ought to give me a lot more than just perk points, stat points, or exp! I need to focus on civilian-oriented buildings or else I chance missing out on super cool options when I level up later on since the options scale with my level! Dammit.This one though, was easy enough. I wasn’t planning on being a front-line fighter, so I could give up the [Akimichi Hijutsu Scroll] without fuss. And I could easily earn the stat points once I unlock the capability to do so manually. What I really needed now, was those Perk Points so I can earn more.
[You have selected 10 Perk Points!]
Great. So, from the ten I had earlier, I spent one to get the gamer fundamental, leaving nine more to spend. With these ten added, I now have nineteen perk points sitting in my system. For fifty points, I needed thirty-one more, which meant four more locations.But, as I just saw, ninja locations have those nifty skill scrolls tacked on! Which locations can I use the collectibles from without fear of losing valuable skills?As my mind worked, I found myself walking forward.First up, Ichiraku Ramen.Again, the collectible was right outside, and I didn’t have to go in for it, so I snapped it up like a starving man.PING!
[You have discovered: Ichiraku Ramen! 2/50 Konoha locations discovered!
Please select one of the following –
500exp.
10 Perk Points.
5 stat points.]
Thank fucking god, man.
[You have selected 10 Perk Points!]
Okay, that was easy. One down, three to go.“Excuse me, young man?”I sighed internally as I turned to the voice. A much younger looking version of Teuchi stood there, hands loaded with boxes… that were precariously balanced. Hm. Maybe they were really light ones?“I need some help getting these inside in time for opening.” He explained, using his feet to gesture to the remaining boxes. Holy fuck those were too many! Was this their first day or something?! “Could you help an old man out?”
[Side Quest Alert!
Opening Day
Help Ichiraku Teuchi carry boxes of ramen inside his shop.
Objectives :
Carry boxes of ramen. (0/40)
Reward :
10xp, +REP with Ichiraku Teuchi and Ichiraku Ayame]
I suppressed a gleeful smirk and smiled politely instead, mentally accepting. “Sure thing, oji-san! Where do you want them?”The task actually took a little under five minutes to complete. While my [STR] wasn’t that high, my [AGL] was, so it was easy to balance the cartons three at a time and I brought them to his storage behind the shop pretty easily. Besides, they were boxes filled with packets of ramen noodles. Like hell it would be difficult. I even helped him out with some utensils that looked newly purchased.“You’re pretty good wity those hands.” The man complemented, patting my head. “What’s your name, boy?”“I’m Gundan.” I introduced myself, bowing. “Nice to meet you, Ichiraku oji-san.”“Such a polite young man.” The man smiled, then pulled out his wallet from nowhere. “Well, for helping me, how about I give you ten ryo, hm?”I shook my head. “That’s alright. It was a small task, and it was pretty easy. I can’t accept the money.” Well, that was true. And also, once I created and levelled my Instant Dimension skill, there would be practically no need for me to work a day in my life. Instead of accepting his money…“Oh. Well… that’s nice of you. Why don’t you come back around afternoon and grab a bowl of ramen, on the house? I have a daughter around your age who would like to have someone her age to talk to.” He smiled. “Since we just moved in from Nami no Kuni, it would also be nice for her to make friends over here.”Oh. Ayame was around five years older than Naruto? “But I can’t accept that either! You just moved here, so it means you don’t have a lot of customers yet. You’d be technically giving away money, anyway!” I ‘pouted’, crossing my arms. “Instead, I’ll just take a ‘thank you’.”Teuchi seemed to be speechless, so, instead of wasting more time, I just spun on my heel and began to make my way away. “Goodbye anyway, Ichiraku oji-san! Good luck for your first day!”
[Quest Complete!
Side Quest: Opening Day
Help Ichiraku Teuchi carry boxes of ramen inside his shop.
Completed Objectives :
Carry boxes of ramen. (40/40)
Completed Bonus Objectives
Carry utensils. (10/10)
Reward :
10xp, + 1REP with Ichiraku Teuchi and Ichiraku Ayame, x1 Roughly-sewn Sandals (Black)]
I didn’t hear a reply and didn’t bother looking behind, so I just kept running, dismissing the message- HOLD ON. I was BAREFOOT?! Dammit! I can equip those when I reach where I’ve gotta go anyway.The village walls loomed above the buildings; not by a lot, but enough to let me identify in exactly which direction my next destination is. Sure enough, the collectible was there, thankfully inside the village limits.PING!
[You have discovered: Konoha Village Gates! 3/50 Konoha locations discovered!
Please select one of the following –
Jutsu Scroll: Katon: Gokakyuu
10 Perk Points.
5 stat points.]
I took a deep breath in and one out. No, Legion, don’t worry. It’s literally just a fireball. You don’t want it… you don’t want it…But I DO want it! Who WOULDN’T want to spit out fireballs like no tomorrow?! GAH! It’s alright though, right? I mean, how would I even use that when I’m a rogue-type? Ambushes?I wasn’t very sure about this, but I picked the second one anyway. Pretty sure this is going to come to bite me in the ass sometime soon.
[You have selected 10 Perk Points!]
Two down, two to go. I’m also no longer sure, even with [Gamer’s Mind], if my little tiny tater-tot heart can take passing up good techniques. The next one I discovered by just wandering around thankfully did not make me go through a Sophie’s Choice vibe again. I discovered the [Konoha Marketplace Road], and it offered me no special choices, so I chose the Perk Points without much drama.The last one, frustratingly, I found right back near the village gates. Three guesses as to what it was?
[You have discovered: Konoha Village Immigration Office! 5/50 Konoha locations discovered!
Please select one of the following –
Jutsu Scroll: Katon: Endan
10 Perk Points.
5 stat points.]
This time, I steeled my heart and picked the perk points. I was going to be a proper shinobi, not a damned rogue-god capable of making moons and bringing down meteors and shit.
[You have selected 10 Perk Points!]
Immediately, I went into my perk menu and purchased the one I wanted.
[Perk Purchased!
Due to purchasing a perk, a new function has been activated!
Function: Perks Galore
Earn 1 PP when you advance a skill by 1 level.]
Finally!And now…I cracked my knuckles, mentally smirking.It’s grinding time.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
A couple of days later, I sighed as I awkwardly balanced and impatiently waited.Dear gods, it had taken so long to level it up. Even with Tree-Climbing and Water-Walking, the damned skill took too long to progress! I eventually had to resort to combining the three skills in a number of ways before the rate of progress picked up again. I had to stick a feather to my forehead while I was standing on the wall, a feather on my forehead when I water-walked, standing on water with one leg and stick to the wall with the other (I had positively hogged the bathroom that day… Mika had not been pleased), and finally, doing the same while sticking a feather to my forehead. It was the very same awkward pose I was in right now and had just crossed the level 40-something threshold for the skill an hour ago. Any minute now….Well… not yet anyway.In spite of my best efforts, my mind began to drift. Changing the fate of an entire world is never too easy. What threats do I have to take care of? And what could be the possible problems I may encounter on my chosen path?One was Danzo. Sometime between now and the Academy, the Uchiha massacre takes place. Not only does this give him an eyeball with the power to completely overwrite one’s mental processes to mold the person to do something he wished them to, but it also gave him a number of attempts at what is basically pseudo-immortality. That will make him a threat in the future. Not only that, but he will also be kidnapping kids from orphanages all around Hi no Kuni (and maybe beyond) to brainwash into being his emotionless killing machines. Awesome.Well, there wasn’t much I could do about the latter, but the former… it would take a lot of meticulous planning, but I could do something to avoid the massacre entirely. Let’s see… it took place because the Uchiha were planning a coup, which was because the clan felt alienated by the village and denied their rightful place in the hierarchy. Why…. This I couldn’t remember, but I think it had something to do with being regarded as suspicious added to the fact that they were basically confined to their clan compound. Hm… [Wordplay] is going to be my best friend soon enough. I’d better level it up to at least level fifty if I want to have a decent chance at doing things right before I attempted anything.Thinking about Danzo also got me thinking about another – Orochimaru. He was, undoubtedly, one of my favorite characters in the entire series! At least, he was, until it really hit me how far he’d gone with human experimentation. He not only is the one to put together Danzo’s prosthetic hand, but also bore a deep-seated grudge against Konoha for using him and driving him out, and against Hiruzen for… some reason. Dammit, my memory is failing me!Well, I can’t do much to affect Danzo directly, but I can befriend the guy. Chances are I’ll end up on his operating table if he even gets a hint of my Gaming ability, but I have the checkpoint system for that... even though I don't fully know how to use it yet. And the possibilities if I actually pull it off… they’re worth the risk. And besides, I was fascinated with snakes.What else, what else? Oh, yeah! Sometime between now and when Naruto graduates, the Akatsuki is formed. Nagato loses Yahiko because of Danzo’s interference when they confront Hanzo, and Obito capitalizes on this to induct Nagato into his plans in a more active role. Come to think of it, I can’t be certain that none of the happenings were not orchestrated by either him or even Madara…Honestly, though? There’s nothing I can do about it from here. Unless I somehow magically am able to advance my skills high enough, I don’t think I can escape the village and make it there in time. Hell, I don’t know if it’s already happened, either! Dammit, I really was born too late…And finally, the bloodline purge in Kiri. It’s impossible for it to have happened already, because of one simple reason – Haku was around Naruto’s age, and he can’t have been less than seven or eight when his father murders his mother in front of him and he is forced to kill him in self-defense.This, again, I couldn’t get there in time for. I don’t even know anyone who can help…Wait…That’s not true. I do know someone who can help! I know someone who is intimately tied to most of my problems, possesses the capacity to change things, and is free to venture out of the village! What’s better, given the news of the Kyuubi attack, he’ll also be returning as soon as is possible! When I’m not busy training, I’m always around Naruto, so I know he hasn’t been in yet. I have to only keep my eyes open… and maybe stake out the hot-springs until I finally nab him. Even if he does escape my notice when he sneakily comes to check in on the seal (and let's be honest, he's a spy, so that's almost a given), I'm sure Hiruzen won't let him go without at least him spending a day here, given the emotional turmoil that both must undoubtedly be in. I'll get to him then. Convincing Jiraiya to help his teammate will be easy-peasy. He was the one who last spoke to Orochimaru while said sage was in the process of fleeing the village. Hinting at him that Nagato is still alive won’t be hard with a high enough skill; if that didn’t work, I cold drop the hint that he knows a Rinnegan-bearer in public and he’ll be all but forced to bring him to Konoha by the council. Besides one blood-controlling eye from Sasuke Shinden, Konoha currently holds the monopoly on overpowered eye-techniques, and they won’t want to let that slip.Speaking of which, there is the lesser concern of the Hyuuga fiasco, from when a Kumo delegation attempt a kidnapping on Hinata, and Hiashi kills the bastard, only to have to sacrifice his brother in the name of peace. Hm, in about… four years, I think. Well, that should be easy as hell to be done with since I’m never going to stop getting stronger.So that’s the plan. Now, I need to level up [Wordplay] and get Jiraiya into the fold, convince Orochimaru to stop being so shamelessly evil and just be a more normal-sane evil (even though that's a lot less fun), and get stronger. I don’t like having to be an official shinobi of Konoha, but, welp, there’s not much I can do on that front. I’m not sure if there actually is a Shinobi Library or something of the sort, but I’m sure they won’t let civilians or even Academy students in – that would be sloppy as fuck.PING!Fucking finally! I smoothly relaxed my chakra as I stepped out of the tub. Damn, but I was running imoatient about it for the umpteenth time, even though the actual effort was so little... I guess my nifty little mental perk can't solve everything.
[Chakra Control has levelled up!
Chakra Control (Passive) Lv 49 (0.06%)
Allows stricter control over chakra flow, allowing the user to lower the cost for jutsu. Additionally, it also allows for finely tuning chakra movement throughout the body.
-49% CP cost for chakra-imbued skills.
Exercises Discovered – Leaf Balancing (5.1 CP/min), Tree Climbing (10.2 CP/min), Water Walking (15.3 CP/min)]
Ugh! I still have a long way to go… how depressing. At least I don’t have a very long waiting period for my chakra to refill – apparently, chakra regeneration is governed by my [Wisdom] stat, which gives me about fifty CP per min, if I calculated correctly. So that would be a default ten plus ten for each wisdom point. I had practically no reason to stop, except that standing in an awkward pose for a while gets boring quickly, and I really wanted to be around Naruto a lot, so he’d see me as a prominent part of his life. I don’t like the way he lived and turned out to be, at least in pre-Shippuden, and the only way I had a solid chance of influencing that, especially if the village didn’t hate him as much as they did then, was to be pseudo-family.Manipulation? Nah. I’d like to call it selfless-service to humanity. After all, he was the reincarnation of Ashura.Anyway, now that I’m off that one stretch, it’s time to purchase the [HUD] perk to see what comes next. I deftly navigated over and purchased it without much delay.
[Perk Purchased!
Due to purchasing a perk, a new function has been activated!
Function: HUD
Your eyes observe more about yourself and the world around you.]
Okay, that was seriously strange. A green HP and a blue CP bar showed up in the lower right corner of my vision, then faded out of existence. I assume that they’ll only show up when relevant, i.e. if I incur damage or use chakra. Unfortunately, there was no mini-map or anything of the sort, but I was somehow certain, now, that I’d be able to see people’s names and levels and stuff above their heads. Now, though, I had left me with zero perk points left. I waited impatiently as others, three this time, began to unfog.
[Perks
Hints – Having gained some proficiency with using the system, you now understand how to use it even better than before.
Cost: 100 PP.
Familiar – You are now able to choose a sentient companion to accompany you on your adventures.
Cost: 100 PP.
Foreign Influences – You choose to open your world to extradimensional stimuli.
Cost: 100 PP.]
Something about the [Foreign Influences] perk was rubbing me wrong. It was like an itch at the back of my mind telling me that it would end up creating a huge mess for me to clean a while after, but since I practically had to purchase those three before I unlocked new ones…The [Hints] perk would be my next aim, for now. I assume getting the perk will finally let me see descriptions of stuff within my game menu and help me understand the system better. But… I’ll need hundred perk points more to purchase it, and I’m currently at zilch. Did I have a skill that I could grind quickly?I navigated to my skills menu and eyed the list critically.
[Skills List
Gamer’s Mind (Passive) Lv MAX (100%)
Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through.
Cannot be affected by negative mental debilitations.
Gamer’s Body (Passive) Lv MAX (100%)
Your body behaves as if it were in a game and reacts accordingly.
Restore HP and CP and remove debilitations by sleeping in a bed.
Pain is brief and injuries only affect HP.
Sleeping and Eating optional.
Scan (Active) Lv 4 (12.00%)
Allows the user to understand the world around him by taking a closer look.
Chakra Resistance (Passive) Lv12 (19.14%)
Your body recalls being exposed to tainted chakra, and its attempts in fighting against it. Against normal chakra, these defenses are more effective.
-6% damage from all chakra-imbued attacks.
-50% skill effectiveness against tainted chakra.
Chakra Control (Passive) Lv 49 (0.06%)
Allows stricter control over chakra flow, allowing the user to lower the cost for jutsu. Additionally, it also allows for finely tuning chakra movement throughout the body.
-49% CP cost for chakra-imbued skills.
Exercises Discovered – Leaf Balancing (5 CP/min), Tree Climbing (10 CP/min), Water Walking (15 CP/min)
Wordplay (Passive) Lv 12 (72.62%)
Allows the user to twist words effectively.
6% chance of working.
-9% chance of working for every five levels the target is beyond you.
+11% chance of working for every positive REP with target.
Eavesdropping (Passive) Lv 6 (82.0%)
Allows the user to listen in on things happening around them.
30 meters range.
-50% skill effectiveness in loud areas.]
Welp, there was a lot that I could do, now that I think about it. In spite of [Scan] and [Chakra Resistance] being out of the question (one because it would be too much effort for too little gain, and the other because without a Bijuu around I have no idea how to level it), I’m left with [Chakra Control], [Wordplay], and [Eavesdropping]. The first I could level (although tediously) as long as I had chakra – the actual gain was high because every percentage of chakra cost that I shaved off of a jutsu left me with more to use in a battle; I didn’t like how long it was taking, but I could make do. The last I could level up by at the same time, as I had been doing, by trying my best to listen what was happening outside the bathroom while I was in it. Thinking about that, though, I’m sure Mika’s patience will extend only so far with me – I need a better place to train.Thinking about [Wordplay], though, started a wave of thoughts in my mind. I did have a lot of [Location Collectibles] out there to claim, but they would get better if I levelled up. When I ran around town looking for some to purchase [Perks Galore], I encountered a side-quest from Teuchi that gave me ten experience points, but it was easy as fuck. There’s a high chance that other shops around town have similar quests, and I’m willing to bet there’s more than one for every shop. If I did make it a point to do all of those, then I could level up [Wordplay] while talking-up Naruto! Boom, that’s a win-win scenario – not only do I get enough experience to level up, but I also soften the village’s view of the poor orphan and level up an important skill at the same time!But there was something else I needed to try out before that. If it was successful, though, I’d have to wait to use it until after I’ve exhausted all the side-quests, or else I just won’t feel like doing them at all, and I refuse to let such an opportunity pass me by.Since my CP was already full, I raised my hand and worked on releasing energy. Mentally, I focused on only one sentence, ‘I’m making a protected space. I’m making a protected space.’My CP bar came into view and drained rapidly, then it flashed blue before turning a bit dark. I fell to my knees as a sudden wave of exhaustion hit me, too fatigued.PING!
[Affected by debilitation: Chakra Exhaustion]
I didn’t need to click on it to know what it was, nor that I had to rest to remove it fully, but… what the fuck? Why didn’t it work? Did I do something wrong? I’m pretty sure I did it properly… maybe it required hand-seals?Or… or…Wait... crap...My system interface was different. I had to unlock [Gamer’s Body] and [Gamer’s Mind]. I still have yet to unlock [Hints]. In short, the system I had was vastly different from the one portrayed in the manhwa. Could it be…Could it be that there was no such thing as a protected space, an instant dungeon, or an instant dimension here at all?But… but… oh fuck.There was no such thing. Not unless I unlocked it, if it was even there.Fucking hell. If I couldn’t create an instant dimension, I couldn’t train in hostile situations in relevant safety. I… I couldn’t earn money quickly either. Dammit! I thought my afterlife was meant to be a paradise! What the fuck is this fuckery?!Almost as soon as I entered full-blown panic mode though, I felt myself calm down, possibly due to the effects of [Gamer’s Mind]. I inhaled deeply, ragged but true, and exhaled to gain more closure. Okay, so I couldn’t farm for shit – no big deal. This just made doing all those quests a priority – they were my only means of earning any experience at all to level up.First, though, I needed to sleep. I’m going to be able to do nothing in my current state.Thankfully, because of [Gamer’s Body], I hadn’t needed to sleep till now, nor felt hungry. I was relatively calm, but slow, as I carefully walked to my bed and laid in it. A screen popped up in front of me showing the current time (around four in the morning), and asked me for how long I’d like to sleep.I chose an hour, the minimum.The transition was instantaneous and left me feeling none-too-different – except, of course, that the fatigue I felt from before vanished.PING!
[Checkpoint!
You have slept in your own bed. HP and CP are fully regenerated! All debilitations removed!]
Oh, I was going to abuse the fuck out of this. I could train jutsu like no tomorrow if I put the bed in my inventory and managed to find a suitable enough place!So, the agenda for today included multiple things. One, was to get started on those side-quests. Two, was to level up my skills simultaneously. Three, was to create and level the skills I would need to be successful as a shinobi in the down time I had between efforts. Four, was to find out where Orochimaru usually hung about, and to know whether or not Jiraiya has already visited the village, and if not, when will he.I waited for a while and growled in frustration when no notification screen showed up. So, I couldn’t manually train stats, I couldn’t create instant dimensions, and there were no user-generated quests?!This is hell. It has to be. Maybe mum’s curses came true after all.Anyway, no point dwelling. What happens to someone who dies in the afterlife, anyway?Speaking of stat points, though, I opened my system menu and then the character screen, assigning the five points that I had on hand. There was no point saving them when there was no manual earning capability.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 5
Title: Orphan
Next Level: 10/120xp
HP - 130
CP - 140
CON - 3
STR - 3
AGL - 8
INT - 4
LCK - 8
WIS - 4]
I brought up some of the lower stats to balance things out more. Since I can’t earn stats manually, keeping them at least a little bitt above normal was warranted if one had good sense. [CON] by one for more HP incase things got dire, [STR] by one to be able to use at least the smaller weapons of my chosen trade, [AGL] by one because speed and handling, [LCK] by two because it was vital to both the type of character was going to be and because it would undoubtedly affect events around me, too.I swiped the screen away and stretched my hands up above my head out of sheer habit, then walked out of my chambre and into the babies’ room. Within two days of the attack, the orphanage had seen a lot of children joining, and the number of babies were too damn high to give each one a single room. If any more children joined, Mika said we were going to have to share – two to a room. Luckily, until now, this hadn’t been the case.I looked at a sleeping Naruto, barely able to hold in a cute exclamation. Babies were just so adorable! I honestly wish I could make Kagebunshin just to be able to leave one here to take care of and lay with him, but I’m almost certain I didn’t have the reserves necessary to do that.“Sweet dreams, kiddo.” I whispered, and then sighed. It would take a while for me to change how the village thought about him, but I would do my best. After all, I was Legion, and there is nothing I can’t do.That thought done, I wobbled over to the window. There’s a chance right here to create a skill that I can use in my career.Climbing up to perch on my windowsill, I took a slow, calming breath and sent chakra to my feet, energizing them, before jumping off, aiming to land on the roof of the building next to ours.PING!
[Due to a special action, a new skill was created!
Chakra Leap (Active) Lv 1 (50.0%)
Using chakra directed to the lower-led muscles, one can increase the distance covered by a single bound.
10 meters distance covered
Cost: 30 CP]
Wait… only ten meters?AAHHHHHH- thump!Ow.PING!
[Due to a special action, a new skill was created!
Physical Resistance (Passive) Lv 9 (8.27%)
Due to being hurt in the past, your body has learned to stave off a portion of the damage.
-9% damage from all physical attacks.]
And, just like that, my HP went from 130 to 11, the bar flashing red. Ow, okay, jumping off a building hurt. I’m sure the only reason I survived is because the skill [Physical Resistance] was created simultaneously during the damage calculation, and the fact that I have chakra.The pain vanished a few seconds later and I stood awkwardly, looking around to catch anyone who had seen the act. I sighed in relief to see my only audience was a flock of birds.Okay, new rule: no testing my limits until I’m strong enough to bear the consequences. I almost just died. Once more. Once again, I wondered what happened when one ‘died’ in their afterlife, then decided that whatever it was, it couldn’t be good. I shuddered.Then, though, I remembered the checkpoint system, and wondered if if should off myself to feel it out... nah. I can wait till I purchase the perk needed for more information on it. There's no guarantee it won't reset my progress or something. But this was good, in a sense. I now had two more skills to level up! [Chakra Leap] could be useful during travel, and [Physical Resistance] could be downright broken if I levelled it up high enough. The latter would excuse my thoughtlessness when it came to investing points in [CON], freeing up more points to spend in other stats.I was tempted to wait for a while until my health regenerated and then jump off the building again, but that would be time spent doing nothing, so I refrained. It was great that I had two new skills, but, honestly, the one I really wanted I had yet to unlock. So, I decided to make my way to Ichiraku Ramen as quietly as possible, crouching down and moving from cover to cover. Thankfully, the populace was still asleep, so I wasn’t viewed as a madman.By the time I reached my destination, the skill was long created and even leveled up a couple of times, even if I did not bother to look at the screens in question.PING!
[Due to a special action, two skills were created.
Stealth (Active) Lv 4 (0.49%)
Minimizing the noise you make and the amount another can see you, you have learned to remain unnoticed.
4% chance of working.
-10% chance of working for every ten levels affected NPCs are beyond you.
+10% chance of working for every five levels you are above affeceted NPCs.
Idiocy (Passive) Lv 12 (67.98%)
Sometimes, people don’t understand why you are doing what you are doing. Because of this, they may think you are insane, really foolish, or just plain endearing.
12% chance to earn positive REP with those around you.
88% chance to make those around you think you are downright crazy.]
Dramatically enough, a dry wind blew through the road, flicking my hair around my deadpan face. I totally forgot that there were ninja patrols around this village.Unfortunately, and to my slight chagrin, since I really should have known better, it was much too early for the shop to even begin preparations to open up. Perhaps in another hour or so, but not right that moment. It was a civilian-origin shop, after all.Since I had a block of free time, I decided to wander around and catalog how many shops I would have quests for. There were no quest icons or anything of the sort, which made me believe that only the people who ran it could give me those quests, and obviously only during business hours. Regardless, I trudged on, aware of the fact that, for some reason, I was being watched. Sure, keeping an eye on a suicidal orphan wasn’t totally unwarranted, but something about the situation just rubbed me the wrong way.Konoha was certainly not the size of a village or a hamlet, but a full-fledged town. By the time I walked around and made my way back in front of Ichiraku I had unfogged most of the map manually, even though I (painfully) refrained from collecting any [Location Collectibles] to reap better rewards later on. The ‘village’ had no discernable internal boundaries or walls, but it was easy to tell where one section of it met the other.There was the Administrative Sector, if one started off from the Hokage Monument onwards. This included the Hokage Tower, the Academy, the Requisition’s Office, the Foreign Travels office, and the Mission’s Office. These buildings were the tallest, widest, and saw a lot of traffic even when I passed by in the early morning hours. Thankfully, the names were plastered right out front for the others, and the first of the lot was too iconic to miss. And one would have to be blind to miss the Konoha Stadium.Moving on, there was the Civilian District that acted as a ring around the innermost sector. My orphanage was here, along with one other on what would technically be the opposite side. The Merchant’s Guild, the Arts Center, the Civilian Marketplace Road, and various residential complexes made up this one. There was also a red-light area in the part closest to the mountain, but I didn’t wander there for obvious reasons. Unless I could protect myself fully, I wasn’t going to risk wandering into that sort of life again, not like when I was alive. Never again...I shook it off.A not-too-wide and not-too-narrow river ringed around that district, that eventually opened up into a lake in the next one – what was known as the Shinobi District. The various clans resided here, closest to the village walls and gates. I reasoned that they were the best bet in the case of an invasion and having access to their homes as soon as they returned from a mission would be beneficial. I wasn’t allowed to linger long there, since access to anything other than the main roads were guarded by clansmen. However, I did come to know that the Uchiha Clan Compound touched the village walls on the furthest corner from the village center as possible and found myself sympathizing with their rebellious sentiments. I wouldn’t want to be living there for a long time either.Soon, however, my contemplations came to an end as I neared my destination. To gain access to the Shinobi District to fully explore, I’d probably need to befriend a dozen or so clan heirs or members, though the latter for preferable. I could plot how to do that later. For now, quests await!And, blessed be whoever above, the shutters over the shop façade were now hidden somewhere, probably behind the large banner. Grinning, I ducked into the stand since no one was out.I instantly spotted someone by the counter, and, thankfully, identified him by the label above his head.
[Ichiraku Teuchi – Level ?]
“I’m sorry, we’re still not- Gundan-kun!” The man began, but swiftly changed tone when he saw me, smiling. “Come in, come in! A bit early to be up, isn’t it?”“Good morning, Teuchi oji-san.” I bowed. Hey, this man was going to help me progress onward on my path; the least I could do was be respectful. There was also something about that question mark that put me off a bit, but meh. “I’m a poor sleeper.”“Well, that’s not good for a boy your age. How old are you anyway; three?”“Five.” I corrected, my smile all teeth. My stats reflected how I looked, so given that I had really low [CON] and [STR]… “Do not worry, I will be sure to make up for it by resting adequately. How goes the shop?”The man sighed, setting his writing pad down and bringing a hand to his forehead. “I won’t lie, Gundan-kun, but all this is much harder than I thought. I’m really grateful that Ayame decided to drop out of school to help me, or else we would be on the streets with the amount of money I invested here!”I frowned. Wasn’t education as important here as it was in my world? Then again, a lot f successful entrepreneurs I’d heard of back then began with less than a degree, so I decided not to comment on it. “Would you like some assistance?”The man looked surprised. “You wouldn’t mind? I’ve already sent Ayame out to get fresh ingredients but…”“No sweat.” I shrugged. “I have nothing to do, and I’d rather help someone than waste my time doing nothing. What would you like done?”“Well… I needed to go check on our furniture order since it hasn’t been delivered yet. The stools we have here are flimsy and won’t last very long.” He explained, gesturing to the stools in question. “Would you go and check up on it for me? I have the invoice here…”PING!Hell yes!
[Side Quest Alert!
Upturned Upholstery
Find out what happened to the promised furniture.
Objectives :
Visit Fufu Furnishings and talk to the owner about Teuchi’s furniture.
Reward :
20xp, 20 Ryo]
Okay, so this had double the experience as the first quest… was there like a tier system or something? Do a set number of quests to progress to the next tier until all are done? I hope so, because that would mean more quests.I accepted and took the invoice, smiling reassuringly, and ran out of there.Thankfully, I had already passed by the place on my walk, and located it easily enough, although I had to run if I wanted this done in as little time as possible, since it was a few minutes away. I also remember it being… but I wasn’t sure…When I arrived, though, I instantly understood why the order hadn’t been delivered yet.Yep.The place was only half-standing.Being in a world where people could raise walls of earth and vomit out tidal waves, you’d think there would be some techniques specific to reparations and the like; but seeing as there were shinobi (Genin, by the look of it) hammering all over the place, probably on a D-rank mission, I'm gonna go with a 'no'. How sad. For them, I mean.I walked through the precariously standing entrance and cast an eye around. What looked like a lot of demolished stock was being cleared away, and the few scant pieces that I could spot intact didn’t have a single stool in sight. I sighed.“Yes, how can I help you?”I turned to the voice and was about to ask about the invoice when I stopped short. Blinking, I forced myself to remember that I’d be encountering people who I knew from the manga a lot. Right in front of me, was a very familiar Genin.
[Kamizuki Izumo – Level 14]
Level 14? How depressing – it seems I have a long way to go before I’m field-capable…“Hello, shinobi-san.” I greeted him, bowing. “I came here to speak to the owner regarding furniture for Ichiraku Ramen…?”“So polite for a munchkin.” Another voice spoke, and I didn’t even have to turn to guess who it was.
[Hagane Kotetsu – Level 13]
“Kotetsu, be polite to the customer.” Izumo chastised, and I fought a twitch of my lips when Kotetsu stuck his tongue out at the other Genin. “I’m sorry, um… what’s your name again?”“I am Gundan. Pleased to meet you two.” I introduced myself. Hey, it apparently pays to be nice to people… to their faces anyway. “Perhaps if I could speak to your Jonin sensei…? I mean no offense, but Teuchi oji-san will probably require some form of written confirmation that the worst has come to pass.”PING!
[Due to a special action, a skill has been created!
Detect Bloodlust (Passive) Level 7 (98.6%)
Allows you to pinpoint the person who is emitting the sensation of wanting to very-much kill you, and from where.
-10% skill effectiveness for every five levels the source is beyond you.
+10% skill effectiveness for every five levels you are beyond the source.
Detect Bloodlust (Passive) has levelled up!
Detect Bloodlust (Passive) has levelled up!
Detect Bloodlust (Passive) has levelled up!
Detect Bloodlust (Passive) has levelled up!
Detect Bloodlust (Passive) has levelled up!
Detect Bloodlust (Passive) has levelled up!]
“Are you trying to say we’re incapable, brat?” Kotetsu growled, levelling a dangerous glare at me.“Don’t be silly, Ko-chan.” Izumo smiled serenely, then turned that one on me. “I’m sure that’s not the case, is it, Gundan-kun?”
[Detect Bloodlust (Passive) has levelled up!
Detect Bloodlust (Passive) has levelled up!
Detect Bloodlust (Passive) has levelled up!
Detect Bloodlust (Passive) has levelled up!
Detect Bloodlust (Passive) has levelled up!]
I sweat-dropped at the Unohana-Retsu-smile he was sending me. Wait, since I was in Naruto, would that make it a Tezo-face? “Of course, shinobi-san. I just need a-”“Oh, and what is this?” someone else spoke, and I turned to see… an ordinary looking Jonin. He donned what passed for standard gear – a blue turtleneck, blue trackpants, green flak jacket, and blue sandals. His hitai-ate was on his right shoulder. He was bald, had beady eyes, but a small warm smile on his face. Obviously, I only got his name from his head because, [Metsumei Hito – Level ?] was what greeted me from over his head. “Are my little minions bullying a civilian?”“A- absolutely not!”“No way!”“That’s good to hear.” He smirked, then turned to look at me. “Aren’t you a cute little boy. You remind me of the Niidaime, except for the eyes. How unusual.”“Greetings, Jonin-san.” I bowed, because being polite to people who could snap your neck was just good self-preservation. “I am come here to represent Ichiraku Teuchi of Ichiraku Ramen. He had placed an order for furniture, but I see that he won’t be getting it any time soon.” I finished lamely, turning to wave my hand towards the half-side of the building that looked like Kurama had probably stamped on it at some point.“Well-learned for your age.” Hito quipped, drawing out a scroll and handing it to me. “Yeah, the shop was turned over to the village. Since its not a priority to get meager operations up and running, we’re reimbursing unsatisfied customers for such shops. Ask Teuchi-san to come to the Ninja Academy tomorrow.”I accepted it and bowed again, just to remain polite. “Thank you, Jonin-san. I hope the damage from the Kyuubi does not take long to fix.”The man’s eyes hardened. “A lot of lives ended or were disrupted a few days ago… it’s going to take a while to pick up the pieces.”“Someone wise once told me, ‘life is what happens between every problem’.” I smiled. “We can beat anything if we all work together.”“The Will of Fire burns strong in you.” The man noted, looking a little impressed. “Tell me, Gundan-kun, are you going to be a shinobi?”“Yes.” I nodded, instantly seeing a chance for me to get some information. “I have been playing with chakra since I was very young and hope to employ my skills as a protector of this village. I want to save… everyone.”“Oho, playing with chakra, huh?” Izumo butted in, eyebrows arched in disbelief. “Prove it.”I shrugged and walked up the nearest wall. Being under the radar was not a priority for me. The sooner I graduate, the sooner I could be out of Konoha and into the world proper. If showing off is going to get me there, so be it. Sure, Danzo could be on my tail, but if I stand out too much, he will have no choice but to leave me alone.“Good form.” The Jonin commented. “Where did you learn tree-walking as a child not even in the academy?”“I saw a ninja do it in front of me when I was younger and tried my hand at it.” I tried to lie. “I thought it had something to do with chakra, so I managed to send it to my feet. It took a long while to get the hang of it, though, I kept slipping.”The ninja hummed, and I didn’t know whether he was convinced or not from where I was on the wall. I heard two PINGs, but I couldn’t check it now. “What else can you do?”“I can water-walk and leap.” I answered. “I’m a novice at the latter, though.”“Woah. And you’re not even in the Academy, munchkin!” Kotetsu piped up. “You should apply; I’m sure they’d be happy to accept you.”“I agree.” Izumo nodded. “They may even fast-track your progress depending on your learning capability, making you graduate early.”“Is there no age requirement for me to join?” I tilted my head, stopping the flow from my feet to land on the ground softly. “I was under the impression I needed to be eight…?”Hito waved me off. “Nonsense. There have been entrances at ages such as four or six, it’s not really unusual.”Jackpot! I could definitely balance the Academy and finishing up all the Konoha quests in a year, hopefully. “I shall look into it as soon as possible.”“The Academy is closed for a month or so.” The Jonin cautioned. “Your best bet would be applying immediately after.” Then his eyes took the chance to glance around. “And you’d best get going. We still have a lot of work to do.”Kotetsu groaned.I bowed again, in gratitude and courteousness. “Thank you, Jonin-san, Genin-san, Genin-san. Have a pleasant day.” I then swiftly left, but I could swear I heard Hito tell his students to be more like me. Ouch.I took the chance to glance at the notifications that popped up.
[Chakra Control has levelled up to MAX level!
Chakra Control (Passive) Lv MAX (0.00%)
Allows stricter control over chakra flow, allowing the user to lower the cost for jutsu. Additionally, it also allows for finely tuning chakra movement throughout the body.
-50% CP cost for chakra-imbued skills.
Exercises Discovered – Leaf Balancing (5 CP/min), Tree Climbing (10 CP/min), Water Walking (15 CP/min)
Choose an evolution path-
Chakra Pool Mastery
Chakra Cost Mastery]
Holy hell! Skill evolutions! That’s amazing! I wonder what I’d get as choices when I finish levelling the Shunshin? Or the Henge? God, the possibilities!Wait, I maxed it out right? Was this what perfect chakra control meant? Or did it imply an even better grasp which I will undoubtedly have acer maxing out the evolution?For now, though, I have to choose. Do I enlarge my chakra pool, probably, or improve my control even further? Not having the [Hints] perk means I can’t see the descriptions yet, but the names are pretty straight forward.I weighed my options. Enlarging my pool will probably be a percentage increase, like my control cost reductions. Should I really go for it, though? I mean, if I only enlarge my chakra pool, I’ll eventually get a skill that I just won’t have enough chakra for. It’s inevitable when I’m not even going to focus much on the mage side of things. Even though I don’t wanna be a comet-crasher, having some good jutsu in my arsenal that I can utilize will be nice to use in a pinch, and contribute to my survival without resorting to checkpoints.So, it’s cost mastery, then. Could I eventually level it to a 99% reduction? That would be sweet! Maybe I can finally use the Kagebunshin too!My choice was obvious.PING!
[Skill evolved!
Chakra Cost Mastery (Passive) Lv 51
Allows extremely strict control over chakra flow, allowing the user to lower the cost for jutsu by a large margin. Finely tuning chakra movement throughout the body is now second nature.
-51% CP cost for chakra-imbued skills.
Exercises Discovered – Leaf Balancing (5 CP/min), Tree Climbing (10 CP/min), Water Walking (15 CP/min)]
That eases my mind. Eventually, it’s going to reach 99%, since a 100% cost would make my afterlife too damn easy. It’s only rational.I don’t think I’ll progress much with the run-of-the-mill exercises, though. That worked fine when it was simple control; now I’m going to need more intensive ones… and there’s only one place I know that may have instructions regarding them. I’m going to have to sneak in, though, since I’m sure that asking for them upfront will only get me drafted into a program I don’t have time for.I dismissed the screen and looked at the next, short one.
[Wordplay has failed!]
Okay, that doesn’t really have a lot of impact. I’m too young to have been a spy, so the man probably thought I learned whatever I did by sneaking around. The worst I can expect is being tailed for the rest of the month or something, but I doubt it, seeing that Konoha needs all its ninja right now.I waved it away and stretched my hands over my head, sighing for the hell of it. Let's get back to Teuchi... the man with a hidden level just like a Jonin...Wait.... oh no.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
PING!
[Quest Complete!
Side Quest: Talk Around Town
Help Ichiraku Teuchi spread word about his restaurant.
Completed Objectives :
Tell Konoha citizens about Ichiraku Ramen. (40/40)
Hand out the fliers. (20/20)
Completed Bonus Objectives
Spread the word to more people. (10/10)
Reward :
20xp, 20 Ryo, +1 REP with Ichiraku Teuchi and Ichiraku Ayame, + x1 Roughly-sewn Scarf (Black)]
“You’re a great help, Gundan-kun!” Teuchi beamed, ruffling my hair. “In just the one hour since you’ve been gone, I’ve had seven new customers already, and they said they’d come back! This day just keeps getting better!”“It was my pleasure to help you, Teuchi oji-san.” I offered a short bow. Of course, it also helps that I was able to use [Wordplay] to add in a few good words about my future little brother. In just the past hour, though, I learned something very important – someone was running a smear campaign against Naruto.It was obvious, honestly. A village that prides itself on teamwork, turning aside one of their own like that? It was a trend I noticed in canon; people quickly changed their opinion of the boy once they got to know him if they had any ill conceptions about him beforehand. Of course, they despise the Kyuubi, the thing destroyed lives and hurt and killed a lot of people, but this is a ninja village, and as such sealing knowledge should be at least a little known. Besides, why would they want to hurt Naruto if they believed he housed the Kyuubi, even if its just brushing him off as a supposed target of their hatred? Did they want another Kyuubi attack on their hands?No, someone was stoking the fires of their hatred. In all the people I asked as I walked around on how to make someone feel better when they had a monster to hold at bay (a tad overused at this point, but hey, what works, works), I noticed a single repetition:“He told me…”“Really?! But this lady said…”“I didn’t think of it that way. I guess listening to strangers is bad, hm, Jo?”Random strangers cropping up who paint Naruto in a bad light? There were, of course, cases when it wasn’t so, but a majority of those I essentially surveyed mentioned someone they randomly met going on at length about how dangerous it was to have Naruto even still alive, forget living in the same village as them. Add in the fact that the attack was still fresh on everybody’s minds, and it compounded into growing anger towards the poor boy in question.Only one name fit the bill.I know a lot of fanfics I’ve read do this particular tangent not plausibly but… hear me out. Naruto grows really malleable, instantly taking to someone if they show him a little kindness because he’s just that attention starved. If he’s quick to take to someone, he’s easily molded into whatever the person in question wants. And if the man I’m thinking of is good at anything, it’s manipulating.Danzo, you clever bastard.Obviously, canonically, it never happened. Danzo never got his Hashirama-infused hands on the boy, so Hiruzen probably noticed it and stopped it before it got really bad, like some of the fanon mob beatings that crop up in every two or so other stories I used to read. But by then, whenever it is, the damage is done, and the village loathes his existence.Maybe it’s a bit of a stretch; Jinchuuriki are generally hated (except in Kumo, I think), but something is telling me I’m not wrong where I’m going with my thoughts.And if I’m not…“-lo? Gundan-kun?”I blinked, quickly drawing out from my musings. “I’m sorry, Teuchi oji-san, I guess I really should have slept well last night.”“I told you it’s not good for you to sleep that little.” He chastised, wagging his finger. “Why, if my Aoiki were still alive, she’d rip you a new one.”Teuchi means well, so I just bow my head a bit meekly. “I’m sorry, Teuchi oji-san, it’s jus that… I really want to be strong! Strong enough to protect everyone I love! If I can protect you from the world, it would mean a lot to me; I’ve actually been training to join the ninja academy,” I explain, “so it’s biting into a bit of my sleeping time. Don’t worry! As long as I’m here, you have nothing to fear!” Well, of course, they survive till Naruto grows up all malnourished and attention-starved, so it’s not like I’m promising a whole lot much.Teuchi seemed almost taken aback though, his eyes almost teary. I blinked and acted the innocent kid, but internally I knew that wherever they were from, they weren’t really used to such positive attention. “Thank you, Gundan-kun. Would… you be too much opposed to joining us for lunch?”I blinked. Okay, maybe they were Naruto-level deprived of attention… but why? As far as I remember of canon, they were perfectly normal stall owners who took a shine to the local recluse. I wracked my brain for a moment, trying to think. The family was clearly from outside the village, if their unfamiliarity with things around here meant anything, so I attempted to expound on that. Where could they be from that made them such social pariahs that they’d want to leave?The answer chilled me to the bone.It… it couldn’t be!In canon, Ayame or Teuchi were nothing of note; they were just normal shopkeepers who… were definitely under the radar, even if one considered the fact that they were friends with the Jinchuuriki of the village, which meant that they at least have to have been investigated to be safe! And clearly they were, because the stall remained opened even through Boruto!I swept that aside for the moment and agreed to the offer.My mind was working overdrive even as long as I ate some delicious miso ramen with them. It all made sense! Ayame wasn’t meant to go to civilian school because she already grasped all the concepts! She could test out as a graduate anytime! Why? Because the chakra circulating through her body, finding no other outlet, was enhancing her mental capacity!The Ichiraku family… was a bloodline holder from Kiri.A bit farfetched, but that’s all I had to go on. Surreptitiously, I eyed the meek Ayame and the boisterously-talking Teuchi, trying to see if I could spot anything out of the ordinary. I scanned them to be sure.
[Ichiraku Teuchi – Level ?
HP – ?
CP – ?
Constitution - ?
Health - ?
Agility - ?
Intelligence - ?
Luck - ?
Wisdom - ?
?]
My blood almost ran cold, but I ended up just acting normal on the outside because of [Gamer’s Mind]. Okay, so clearly Teuchi was as strong as that Jonin sensei that Kotetsu and Izumo had. I don’t dare assume any less, in case I need to fight him at some point in the future…Dammit! I need some sort of sensory technique to see exactly how strong he was, I’d bet. This also meant one thing – my [Scan] was not all powerful. It offered me only information I know about Naruto, and very little on Aoi. Although, Naruto was literally just born in the former case, nd I didn’t really interact much with the person in question when it came to the latter. I’ll have to experiment to test this out, but something tells me I won’t know anything I don’t already know about a target if I used [Scan] on them.Seriously. Fucking. Nerfed.After I finished my meal, since they were offering no more quests, I bid them an adieu and began to wander around town.So, apparently, the Ichiraku family wasn’t very well received, wherever they hailed from. It didn’t have to mean they came from Kiri, though. Maybe they just fucked up really bad in the past in a normal village where they had some super secret family techniques stored?That… was outlandish, but this was the ninja world. Anything was possible here!It also didn’t help that no quest about it popped up. If missions wrote themselves for me on the fly, I’d be able to understand at least something from the name of the quest and sate at least a tiny portion of my curiosity.Damned afterlife. Even in my death I can’t relax!The anticipation did leave my fingers tingly, though, and if I didn’t have [Gamer’s Body] I’m sure adrenaline would e coursing through my veins.This was… fun.I still needed 70 EXP to level up, so I decided to spend a while doing quests for the store a street over from Ichiraku’s, called the [Koinu Pet Store], apparently run by a combination of Inazuka and Aburame clan members. Thankfully, the latter were posted way at the back, and I interacted with a brazen Inazuka man named Hoko, a level ? Chunin.I only managed to do one quest for him, though, which entailed helping him distribute the feed for several normal dogs and falcons, before the icon vanished, giving me only 10 EXP for the quest. I wondered why that is, until a metaphorical lightbulb went on over my head.I did only one quest for Teuchi on one day, too much in a hurry to bother asking for more. I only did the next two, perhaps a tier higher, today – only the second of which gave me a reputation bonus. So, the system for side-quests like this must mean that I can only clear a tier in a day!With 60 EXP left to level up, I began to explore.I ended up doing basic introduction quests for six places, namely [Konoha Cold Storage] owned by another tsundere named Jaki Mao, [Yakiniku Q] owned by the Akimichi in general (they had a roster at the clan compound that listed who were going to be managing shop that day – apparently off-duty ninja), [Jojo’s Joke Store] owned by a middle-aged Kurama Clan Chunin named Fikuru, [Sato Mechanics] owned by a civilian named Sato Hiroshi (and didn’t that give me major creep vibes… he even looked the same!), [Dan-dan Dango] owned and operated solely by a middle-aged single-mother civilian named Botchan Kushi, and [Kimiko’s Kimonos] owned by a matronly civilian woman named Kimiko.I got ten ryo from each quest, bringing my wallet up to an even hundred – forty from the two quests I did for Teuchi, and ten from the other six.The interesting part were the clan-owned stores. By talking while doing my assigned chores (which is what I dreaded D-ranks were going to be) I learned that a clan was entitled to only one store, to do with whatever they wished. So far, they were playing to their strengths, with the Akimichi going for an eatery and the only fauna-oriented clans I knew of going for a pet store (although I was reasonably sure the Inazuka also worked at the Veterinary branch of the local hospital) – business was booming in most of the stores I visited, but there were definitely damages incurred by the Kyuubi attack, and all of them involved helping picking up the slack as much as was acceptable for a random child to do so, or cleaning up. Another interesting part – the reputation gains for the missions did not apply for the person in particular, but the entire clan! I wondered if it would stack when I spoke to a clan member or if there was a different system, but without the [Hints] perk I was left in the dark.For now, though, I waved Kimiko goodbye and turned to walk down the road, finally acknowledging the screen that popped up.
[You have levelled up! You are now Level 7!
+ 5 stat points
+ 1 perk point]
The one perk point was a disappointment, but that would probably change once I crossed a level threshold, maybe every five of them…? I quickly distributed two points into each of the rogue attributes and one into [STR] to have my page look somewhat like this.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 7
Title: Orphan
Next Level: 0/140xp
HP - 130
CP - 210
CON - 3
STR - 4
AGL - 10
INT - 4
LCK - 10
WIS - 4]
That actually felt a little better, knowing that now I’d be a mini-second more of a nuisance to kill when facing someone like Obito. Fucking hell, getting stronger was going to take forever at this rate! Well, I do still have a month to kill unless I manage to spot Jiraiya or Orochimaru, so there’s a lot I need to do.I turned to look back where I came from.If I keep doing these side-quests, not only do I keep getting EXP and levelling up my [Wordplay], which was sitting at a good level of 26 right now, and my [Eavesdropping] on the way to and from destinations whenever I was not talking to anyone, which was also currently at an okay level of 18. Did normal ninja get better at their skills this fast? Was this a compensation for me not being able to level up fast?Hmm…Besides certain checks against opponents’ levels, so far, I haven’t seen hard evidence that levels do mean better shinobi. I didn’t think to use [Scan] on Kotetsu or Izumo, and their Jonin and Teuchi were too strong for me to get anything from, anyway.What I needed was to see someone, preferably a ninja, only a couple of levels or so above myself and see if the difference really was that drastic. But the problem was that, because of the war that ended recently there were sure to be zero to none such Genin that I could see. Surely Hiruzen was employing the same tactic that the council did after Orochimaru’s invasion a few years hence… taking a lot of missions to quell whispers of Konoha being weak. Ah. It looks like I can’t really measure myself against someone so soon.Come to think of it, why were Genin teams being used for reconstruction in that case? Did Izumo’s team get a reprimand or something. Fuck it, that’s not really important right now.I need to do these side-quests... and do them fast. The extra pocket change won’t be anything to scoff at, either – I’ll eventually need to buy equipment, to at least graduate equipped properly, so I need at least a decent amount of cash… how much did a good ger set cost, anyway…? Ugh! Now was not the time to think about this!Thankfully, there was a shop right around the corner that held promise. I studiously ignored the [Location Collectible] as I made my way into [Yamanaka Flowers], only slightly worried. I did have [Gamer’s Mind], after all. And if being on good terms with the Yamanaka Clan eventually gave me access to their jutsu…Damn. Not sure that’s going to happen, but, welp, a boy can dream, can’t he?“Welcome to Yamanaka Flowers!” A cheery voice drew me out from my musings, and I turned to look at a Yamanaka woman. [Yamanaka Shishito – Level ?] hovered gently above her head.“Greetings, Yamanaka-san.” I chirped, bowing. Internally, though, I was grumbling. What was the point of levelling up that damned [Scan] skill if I couldn’t even get a read on people? I stood up with a smile. “I was wondering if I could be of any assistance? You see, I’m collecting money to buy my friend a present, but…”She was in front of me in an instant. “Kawaii!” she squealed, tugging at my cheeks. “Ah, you must be the lookalike of the Niidaime everyone has been talking about!”Oh? How amusing. “Err… ‘everyone has been talking about’…?”“You’re the one who was helping out at Yakiniku Q this morning, helping to carry stacks of meat, right?” she asked, although she did not need confirmation to continue pulling his cheeks. “Chomai was in here just a few minutes ago, and she was positively gushing about how cute you were!”Chomai was the Akimichi lady who was in charge of the daily running of the restaurant that day, so that checked out. Had I really spent that long helping out around town? “Yes, that is me.” I managed to speak out the best I could in spite of having my cheeks viciously pulled. “I am Gundan, pleased to meet you.”“And so polite, too!” the woman gushed, and I internally sighed. “We’re all cleaned up, though, and I don’t really have much that you can do…” she trailed off, looking around her shop sadly, as if depressed by the prospect. “Oh, wait! Would you be okay watering the plants out back? They don’t require any set quantity of water so you’ll be fine just sprinkling some over them.”
[Side-Quest Alert!
Testing Grounds
Help Yamanaka Shishito water her plants behind the store.
Objectives :
Water the herb plants. (0/5)
Water the flower shrubs. (0/10)
Water the strange plant. (0/1)
Reward :
100xp, 200 Ryo, + REP with Yamanaka Clan, Random D-Rank Jutsu Scroll]
Why… was the name so ominous? It had nothing to do with simply watering the plants! And why was the experience points reward so unusually high? The monetary reward was too damn much! And why was there a fucking jutsu scroll tacked on as a reward?I had the distinct impression someone was snickering at me, but I could hear no such sound.I shrugged and accepted the quest mentally. Coming back to real (after)life, I nodded and smiled a small smile. “I would love to. I happen to like being around flowers.”“Excellent!” the woman beamed and handed me a squirt-bottle before she guided me to the back of the shop. “Normally I wouldn’t let a stranger in here, but since Chomai vouched for you, I’m sure it will be okay!”Bullshit.
[Detect Bloodlust (Passive) has levelled up!
Detect Bloodlust (Passive) has levelled up!
Detect Bloodlust (Passive) has levelled up!
Bloodlust detected. Source is twelve meters away.]
Case in point.“Here. I literally just watered the herbs before I heard the bell above the shop go off, so only these five remain.” She said, gesturing towards a row of small potted leafy plants. I tried to recognize any of them, but no such luck. “The last row of flowers needs some, too, and even that plant there in the corner.” She finished, gesturing to the back of the greenhouse, and then towards what I definitely knew was no normal plant. For one, strange sap was dripping from it’s sickly yellow flowers and into jars placed strategically around it. Second, I was pretty sure those were flytrap-like heads around it, only closed up. “Happy watering!”Then, with nary another moment, she vanished back through the door to the shop counter. I even heard a bell jingle followed by her greeting politely, then only soft mutterings too low for me to pick up.Or, so they thought. I practically felt my [Eavesdropping] skill come into play as their voices slowly grew louder as I focused.“… don’t know what Inoichi is thinking! That’s a trustworthy boy if I’ve ever seen one, or I’m not a Yamanaka.” Shishito muttered, but it sounded like grumbling.“Well, that ‘trustworthy boy’ knows all the basic chakra control exercises. And it’s been documented that even though his chakra pool grows erratically, his control levels remain the same.” Another voice, male, remarked.Crap! I knew that I was under surveillance but to such an extent? The ninja who caused my [Idiocy] skill to be created was probably a Hyuuga!“That’s nothing special.” Shishito scoffed. I quickly moved to water the herbs while she spoke next, weary of being watched even now. “Mikoto has good control, too!”“Well, he did survive a suicide attempt.” Whoever the male voice was, casually threw in.“He WHAT?!” Shishito whisper shouted. I’m pretty sure if I didn’t have [Gamer’s Mind] on, I’d be furiously blushing. It was a mistake, alright? I didn’t know that I could only leap so far! Fuck! Where was their sense of adventure?I quickly finished watering the last herb and moved further back towards the flowers to do the same. Thankfully, my skill range was pretty good, so I could still hear their conversation when the man spoke next. “Yeah. I don’t think he meant to do so, though. The kid looked scared as hell when he got up after the fall, Ko said. Still, there were no visible wounds on his body, and he moved like he wasn’t even hurt after a story-high fall, so Hokage-sama wants him under surveillance in case it’s a new bloodline.”I stilled. Dammit! I hadn’t thought of that when I purchased [Gamer’s Body]! I would never, ever, incur physical wounds – the damage would all go straight to my HP meter! Why didn’t I think that someone would find it odd?To test it, I jammed my hand on a thorny bush on the next aisle over. While it stung, when I retracted my hand, there was no wound or even a trickle of blood.My blood ran cold… if it even was there anymore. This… was a major issue, especially if I was ever on a team. Oh god-“Maybe he just subconsciously reinforced his body with chakra?” The Yamanaka asked, and there was a shifting sound as fabric moved. “He’s watering the flowers now. He’ll be by the Erosion-sap plant soon.”Erosion-sap?! What the hell kind of test is this?!“The boy has been under surveillance for his looks since a long time.” The mand said, and there was a rustling sound that indicated he had moved as well. I didn’t dare look towards the door, deciding to hum a bit under my breath to facilitate the image of a happy boy. “He looks exactly like the Niidaime, save for the eyes. That gave him a lot of attention… both good and bad. We tested his chakra for an affinity, and it turned out to be simply neutral. That doesn’t happen, ever. Even a baby freshly born with underdeveloped chakra coils has some elemental inclination, but his doesn’t. Ko tried to analyze his chakra while he went around town for the past days; but it was just as reported, the signature the same, down to pat. One’s chakra signature changes as they mature. His is stagnant… far too much so. We feared it’d never grow, but just the other day it grew up to double than what it was. Something is up with that kid, and Hokage-sama has assigned squad Gamma to figure out what, even with all the mission rush from the Kyuubi rampage.”As I did a little twirl and watered the next plant, my mind raced. The ‘other day’ must have been when I started Ninpo Online, because I didn’t invest much into [INT] at all since then. And because my chakra growth relied on said stat, it hadn’t budged. Dammit! I think I’m gonna invest at least 1 stat point into [INT] whenever I level up… but what did whoever this was mean by saying that I had gotten both good and bad attention? Did he mean Danzo?At least this meant one thing – I won’t be getting kidnapped anytime soon. Joining the Academy just became a number one priority; being in the Ninja Corps actively ought to get them off my back a bit.I cursed when I realized I had drifted off a bit and moved on to the next one.“He’s got a dirty mouth.” Shishito drily pointed out.The man chuckled. “Yeah. Despite that, though, the caretakers at the orphanage love him to bits. Said he’s too adorable not to.”“I wonder what the Niidaime would have said if he heard that?” Shishito wondered as I moved on to the last one. “Are they…?”“Related? No, we did a blood test when he was three.” The man affirmed, then they both fell quiet when I was done with that plant.Taking a moment to steel myself internally, I turned and confidently began to walk to the dangerous looking plant in the corner of the room.When I was about a meter away, that is when it practically exploded.Yellow sap almost covered my entire torso, eating through my kimono and t-shirt and sticking onto my skin in almost five seconds flat. I screamed a little, partly in surprise and partly because that is what my watchers were expecting, and began to frantically use a cloth nearly to clean myself off. I saw my HP slowly start dropping…I heard a “Gundan-kun!” from the reception, and instantly Shishito was there by my side, dumping a bucket of water on my head. “I’m so sorry! I completely forgot that this one doesn’t like any non-Yamanaka coming close to it at all!”Yeah, right! Fuck all ninja, man; y’all crazy as hell! The hell kind of test is this?!When I was cleaned off, Shishito brought me back to the reception with a sheepish smile. “Well, at least you seem none the worse for wear.”I looked down at myself, noting that indeed, while the front of my clothes was burned away, the skin underneath remained unblemished. With a slightly uneasy feeling, I realized that was probably what they were looking for. “It’s alright, ma’am. I have a change of clothes back at the orphanage.” … I think? I’m not sure.“Well, there’s no way I’m letting you go out like that!” The woman remarked, scandalized. “Wait here, I’ll get something for you to wear. I’m sure I have some of Jyuuni’s clothes around here somewhere…”I didn’t know who that was, nor did I care. I cast my eyes around the shop as she rummaged in a drawer at the counter, but whoever had spoken to her had either left the shop or was really good at hiding.A triumphant cry brought me back to her as she held out a blue kimono and white obi. “There you go! My daughter helps me out around here sometimes, so she usually leaves a set of clothes in case the one she’s wearing gets dirty.” She explained. “Since it’s a kimono, it should fit you alright – she’s just a couple of years older than you.”“Thank you.” I whispered, dramatically taking the kimono and looking at it as if it were something precious. “I don’t actually own much besides what I’m wearing… so thank you.” I whispered, looking up at her with metaphorical stars in my eyes, and donned the garment and its accessory without much complaint.PING!I ignored the screen that popped up in favor of looking at myself. Wow, blue really suited me. I guess green would, too, but as a traditional ninja, I was doomed to wear blacks and greys forever… not that I didn’t like the colors. I guess when I was off-duty…“Well… you’re helping out a lot around town for a present for your friend, right?” she hummed, pulling a purse out of nowhere and counting out some cash. “Here. You’ll get any present you could possibly want in this. The rest, you should totally spend to get some new clothes. You’re just too cute not to!”I smiled super-wide as I accepted the cash. This was double of what I had been able to earn from seven quests! I did not have to fake my happiness. “Thank… thank you so much, Yamanaka nee-san!”“Hey, none of that ‘Yamanaka’ crap. Our hair is practically the same shade, so you can call me Shishito nee-san, okay?” she smiled, ruffling my hair a bit. And… it was true. Yamanaka hair was platinum blond… like Malfoy levels. We almost did have the same color.I chuckled a bit, feeling a bit of warmth I had long since forgotten. This… was this what it felt like to have someone like you?This feeling… I will cherish it forever.“Thank you, Shishito nee-san!” I grinned, offering her a victory sign. “When I become a shinobi, I’ll definitely protect you!”“What did you say, you dwarf!?” she huffed good-naturedly, leaning down a bit. “I’m a shinobi, too! If anyone has to do the protecting, it’s me.”“Well, I’ll be stronger than you, and then I’ll protect you! From the shadows, I’ll be the watchful guardian.” I spoke sagely, reaching up on my tiptoes to pat her head. “I’ll never let anyone who I like to get hurt – that’s my ninja way!”PING!Okay, now I was venturing off from genuine into total acting, but I meant what I said. She was one of the people to show me some kindness in this violence infested world… I’ll be doing my best to help her, no doubt about it.“Cheeky dwarf.” She muttered, then stood. “Well, if you’re going to get strong enough to protect me, you’re going to have to start training.”I nodded emphatically. “I’m already pretty good at chakra control! All I need to do is learn how to hide, and then I’ll be unbeatable!”She quirked an eyebrow. “No fancy ninjutsu?”“Nope.” I popped the ‘p’, hoping my [Wordplay] was currently in effect. “Ninjutsu is for thick-headed asshol- um…” I quickly bit my tongue when I saw her gaze sharpen a bit, “idiots who like to fight head on. Why should I launch a ball of super-awesome fire when a simple knife to the eye will do?”She hummed, eyeing me critically. Clearly, Now was when she finally understood that there was more to me that met the eye and was probably reevaluating her opinion of me. “Well, I think I have something that should give you a leg up over the others.” She said, and vanished without another word into another door, different from the one that went into the greenhouse. She emerged after leaving me standing awkwardly for a couple of minutes. “Here.” She smiled, tossing me a scroll. “It’s a special technique that allows you to blend into shadows better.” She then wagged a finger at me. “And don’t think I don’t know you’re smarter than you look, it’s why I gave you that scroll.”I sheepishly ran my hand through the back of my neck. “What gave it away?”“You did, just now.” She grinned like the cat that got the canary when I groaned. “I’m a Yamanaka, little dwarf. It’s practically my job to know how minds work. You don’t act all that well, but because a bit of sincerity hone through, I was able to judge you well enough.”“So, what’s the assessment?” I asked, tilting my head curiously. “Can I make it?”“Your dislike for ninjutsu will bite you in the rear end someday.” She shrugged. “What you’re probably thinking about is textbook stealth and tactics – you think no one has thought of some way to avoid falling for such things?”I shrugged. Sure, maybe normal ninja failed sometimes, but I had something they didn’t. “I hope not. There are too damned many ninja-wizards.”I was almost certain I heard more than three sets of laughter. “‘Ninja-wizards’?” she asked, smirking. “I like that one. Oh, Mikoto is so going to be blushing up a storm-”I left shortly after that, armed with troubling knowledge. I didn’t dare stop until I made it into the orphanage, and opted to go straight up to the babies’ room. There was a whole room assigned as such because there were too many orphans from when Kurama was forced to attack Konoha. I’m actually pretty sure they’ll be expanding soon, because both orphanages were reportedly so damn packed.Thankfully, most of the babies were taking a nap, including the one I was looking for. My churning thoughts didn’t quite quiet down until I was at his side – I swear, chibi Naruto’s face was cute enough to get even the Juubi to stop in its tracks.I gently rocked the crib he was in, allowing myself to drift into thought.I wasn’t as much under the radar as I thought. I… don’t know how to feel about that. The Hyuuga who looked into me probably also saw me training my chakra control, so I can’t lie about that if I’m ever summoned to the Hokage. Also, they were clearly observing my chakra because it was not growing at all. Dammit. I’m definitely investing a point in [INT] every time I level up. I’m not much bothered about [CON] because of my [Physical Resistance] skill, so I have four to do with as I wish – I’ll probably invest two each into [AGL] and [LCK], to further my character progression, with some into [STR] and [WIS] every two or so levels. Since I’m going to be quest-grinding for the next month, I think that’s an acceptable plan. I wonder how many stores there are around Konoha?I’ll explore that bit tomorrow. I’ll need to find out precisely how many people can give me quests, figure out this tier system that seems to govern faction-related side-quests, and plan accordingly. I’m sure until the Academy starts in a month or so, though, that I’ll be at least level 12 or so.All this, while keeping my ears to the ground for Jiraiya and Orochimaru.I sighed as I finally turned to regard the screen that had popped up.
[Wordplay (Passive) has levelled up!
Wordplay (Passive) Lv 28 (32.50%)
Allows the user to twist words effectively.
14% chance of working.
-8% chance of working for every five levels the target is beyond you.
+12% chance of working for every positive REP with target.]
I waved it away.
[Wordplay was successful!]
[Wordplay was successful!]
[Wordplay was successful!]
[Wordplay has failed!]
That point was probably when Shishito finally caught on to my acting. Eh. I waved those away too. There was no point holding all the cards to my chest when I am being constantly observed by people with eyes that can see through walls.
[Quest Complete!
Side Quest: Testing Grounds
Help Yamanaka Shishito water her plants behind the store.
Completed Objectives :
Water the herb plans. (5/5)
Water the flower shrubs. (10/10)
Water the strange plant. (1/1)
Completed Bonus Objectives
Impress Shishito.
Reward :
100xp, 200 Ryo, +1 REP with Yamanaka Clan, Ninpo: Chakra no Mesu, + Ninpo: Kage Yosuru Scroll]
Sweet! This was one good news from the incident: I got two scrolls! I quickly tapped the accept button, and a scroll appeared in place of the message box. Quickly grabbing it before it fell to the ground and woke up Naruto, I even brought out the one Shishito gave me from the folds of my kimono and set them both on the ground, then tapped the former.PING!
[You have acquired the jutsu scroll; Ninpo: Chakra no Mesu.
Would you like to learn this jutsu?]
Um… sure. I mean, it’s not like I knew anyone at the moment who could make better use of it, and this meant I didn’t have to waste money on a weapon!PING!
[You have learned a new skill!
Chakra no Mesu (Active) Lv1 (0.00%)
The user forms a sharp blade out of their chakra that covers a finger. It allows them to cut into a living body without breaking the skin, decreasing chances of infection.
Damage: (INT + DEX)/4
Cost: 40CP per blade]
Cool. This was Kabuto’s signature move before he got all Orochimaru-esque, right? Damn!I quickly learned the next one as well.PING!
[You have learned a new skill!
Kage Yosuru (Active) Lv1 (0.00%)
The user embraces the shadows, allowing better hiding capabilities.
+ 10% to Stealth skill when active.
-5% to enemy vision cones
Cost: 35CP/sec]
Okay, this wasn’t really all that nice, but maybe it will evolve into something better…?Oh well… I have one month to do a lot. Let’s get to it. *** Looking back on it, cramming a whole village worth of side-quests (read: chores) into a month was probably being too generous of me.A random Inazuka clan member whose name was too generic to forget answered my questions with patient indulgence as I worked a side-quest. There were about several clans in Konoha, both shinobi and civilian (although, in the latter case, they were known as families – differentiated by having different last names). While the former answered directly to the Village Elders, headed by the Hokage, the latter answered to the Merchant’s Guild, which had a single seat on the actual Village Council. This rustled many civilian feathers, because they actually outnumbered the total headcount of shinobi, but eh, what can you do?To keep some sort of order, each individual clan or family was allotted a single business slot. You’d expect the Hokage to take advantage of the strengths of certain clans in order to usurp business from international rivals, but politics are a serious backlog to prosperity. If he gave even one clan a higher number of businesses than another, the next council meeting would probably send the poor man into a coma.Thus, it was relatively easy to keep track of how many quest-givers I had access to. There were fourteen registered shinobi clans, and about a hundred civilian families, all just waiting to offer random tasks in order to help me level up. In a normal world, this would have been ludicrous; Genin could be assigned my tasks as simple (if cheap) D-rank missions. However, because the manhwa was apparently true and the world itself is leaping up to support my ability, these menial tasks were ready to be conquered.Unfortunately, not all civilian families chose to open up shops or run a separate business; about ninety percent of the civilian population chose to take up jobs in business already open, work as paper-pushers in non-sensitive shinobi departments of the government or work simple start-ups that did not have much of a structure, or need one. I had to hold myself from screaming out in frustration when I realized that I was in somewhat of a feudal-era type afterlife, so obviously, industry wasn’t as advanced as it was when I was among the living.Additionally, not all shinobi families took up the option to open up a business to make more income. While families like the Akimichi needed the extra moolah for their day-to-day expenses, clans like the Uchiha, Senju, and the Hatake were virtually destroyed, and clans like the Nara and Hyuuga opted simply not to participate for their own reasons. In reality, my experience fountains in the village were woefully limited.Ugh. Regardless.Konoha had a total of five shinobi shops – the [Koinu Pet Store] jointly managed by the Inazuka and the Aburame, [Yakiniku Q] managed by the Akimichi, [Jojo’s Joke Store] owned by the Kurama, [Konoha Shinobi Armaments] given to the Lee Clan by the Hokage for management, and [Yamanaka Flowers] managed by their namesake. Each of these had three tiers of quests – the introduction tier that offered a single quest which rewarded 10 ryo and experience points each, the second tier that offered two quests which gave 20 ryo and experience points each, and the third that granted 30 ryo and experience points each. At the last quest of each tier, the quest also offered a positive reputation point.There were various civilian shops that took care of the other operations that required a public interface, which numbered far too many to count since the internal competition was low-key encouraged by the government to improve the quality of products available, but they only offered the introductory tier of quests. It was very disheartening to find out that I wouldn’t be bashing through the ranks on simple fetch-quests, but yeah. The only exception to this was [Ichiraku Ramen], that offered three tiers like the shinobi shops… quite telling, if you asked me.Anyway.Having acquired a hundred points to level up after the fuckup that was the Yamanaka quest, I required only forty experience points more. I wandered around after watching Naruto for a while and completed three civilian and one shinobi (the Lee clan shop) shop quests, getting me to level 8. Also, in order to avoid suspicion, I purchased a baby kimono (orange, of course, much to the horror of everyone in the shop at the time) for Naruto to wear when he grows a bit more, and a cute toad plushie I spotted while passing by. Surprisingly, these things were much more expensive than they had any right to be, but given the recent Kyuubi attack, it was only warranted. Mika had actually had the gall of snapping a picture when I gave an awake Naruto the toy, which captured my embarrassed expression and an almost heart-wrenching grin of joy from the baby in question. It now sat atop her desk in a photo-frame, and a copy resided in my inventory.I decided to carefully keep track of and manage my time to both complete quests and level my skills. Since the Yamanaka Mission counted as an introductory quest, I have effectively finished the first tier for all shinobi shops. I spent a day doing the second tier for all five, and six civilian quests, getting me up to level 9. I broke it off to go train at this point, seeing that it was around evening when I was done.The next day, I went through only two third-tier quests for [Yakiniku Q], since they were so damn time-consuming. One had me mend and repaint the entire shop façade, while the other tasked me with going around the village and searching a one-year old toddler Akimichi who was unnaturally light on her feet. Little tyke almost fell into the river, but I managed to get there in time. Since I was in the mood for moving after that, I decided that training my skills would be far more fulfilling than doing more quests, even though I got sixty points for my troubles.The day next, I made it a point to finish the last Akimichi shop quest (which is where I realized this was the end-point at the final-sounding words) and was pleasantly surprised to receive a permanent twenty-five percent discount on all my purchases there for ‘helping them out in such a troubled time’. I promised to visit often and told them that if they needed my help, I’d always be there to offer. With ninety points in my experience bar now, I made way to [Konoha Shinobi Armaments] and managed to finish only one quest that had me resort all sorts of weaponry back into their racks which had been unsettled because of a wayward jutsu just that morning. Studiously ignoring the quest icon over the shopkeeper’s head, I left to train till the next morning.It was when I finished the remaining two quests and received a permanent twenty-five percent discount at the shop that I had enough points to level up to level 10.Grinning, I decided to spend my points before I proceeded for the rest of the day. Remembering to put a point into [INT] for every level, I distributed my points in what I thought to be an efficient manner.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 10
Title: Orphan
Next Level: 0/400xp
HP - 150
CP - 170
CON - 5
STR - 5
AGL - 13
INT - 7
LCK - 15
WIS - 5]
All was smiles and rainbows, looking at my new stats and beaming at my undoubted progress from where I began…Until my eyes landed on the amount of experience I’d require for the next level.
[Next Level: 0/400xp]
What…?As I had predicted, every level up had added only twenty points to the next level’s requirement. Then why was this one different? Why had it boosted up to double of what it was?I thought hard about it until I came to the conclusion that it could be a level 10 thing. I paid it no mind, thinking it to be a one-time thing, and moved on with my routine.However, five days later, and having exhausted all of the stores in Konoha that could give me quests, I leveled up with twenty points to spare (attending to Ichiraku’s last, giving me a twenty-five percent discount there, too), and was shocked again when I viewed my screen properly after spending my points.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 11
Title: Orphan
Next Level: 0/600xp
HP - 160
CP - 180
CON - 6
STR - 6
AGL - 14
INT - 8
LCK - 15
WIS - 6]
Again! It happened again! The pool of experience required to advance grew by two hundred points!It was at this point that it hit me.What the hell was I thinking? If one could be a powerful shinobi by just doing shop quests all the while, then there would be no weak ninja. When I had first seen the reward from the quests, I had thought that my previous supposition of experience being very hard to find had been wrong, and I was just too low of a level to need little to level up. Both were still right, but apparently, the difficulty to level up scaled with my level too! At every ten levels, it seems like. God, I hope it’s not every five levels, because that’d be fucking me up with a cactus.I hate my afterlife.In a bit of a downcast spirit, the rest of the month waiting went… okay, I guess. There were no more shop-quests, and I didn’t dare touch any [Location Collectibles] when I wasn’t a hundred percent sure that I had levelled up the most I could, so I spent the time working on my skills. Having practically nothing else to do besides making sure Naruto recognized me as someone trustworthy and keeping up the appearance that I still need to eat and sleep for my no-doubt Hyuuga ANBU watcher (my damned [Idiocy] skill kept increasing, much to my outrage), I had a lot of time to raise them.
[Skills List
Gamer’s Mind (Passive) Lv MAX (100%)
Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through.
Cannot be affected by negative mental debilitations.
Gamer’s Body (Passive) Lv MAX (100%)
Your body behaves as if it were in a game and reacts accordingly.
Restore HP and CP and remove debilitations by sleeping in a bed.
Pain is brief and injuries only affect HP.
Sleeping and Eating optional.
Physical Resistance (Passive) Lv 21 (8.27%)
Due to being hurt in the past, your body has learned to stave off a portion of the damage.
-21% damage from all physical attacks.
Chakra Resistance (Passive) Lv12 (19.14%)
Your body recalls being exposed to tainted chakra, and its attempts in fighting against it. Against normal chakra, these defenses are more effective.
-6% damage from all chakra-imbued attacks.
-50% skill effectiveness against tainted chakra.
Chakra Cost Mastery (Passive) Lv 51 (0.00%)
Allows extremely strict control over chakra flow, allowing the user to lower the cost for jutsu by a large margin. Finely tuning chakra movement throughout the body is now second nature.
-51% CP cost for chakra-imbued skills.
Exercises Discovered – Leaf Balancing (5 CP/min), Tree Climbing (10 CP/min), Water Walking (15 CP/min)
Detect Bloodlust (Passive) Level 32 (7.00%)
Allows you to pinpoint the person who is emitting the sensation of wanting to very-much kill you, and from where.
-7% skill effectiveness for every five levels the source is beyond you.
+13% skill effectiveness for every five levels you are beyond the source.
Wordplay (Passive) Lv 42 (32.50%)
Allows the user to twist words effectively.
21% chance of working.
-6% chance of working for every five levels the target is beyond you.
+14% chance of working for every positive REP with target.
Eavesdropping (Passive) Lv28 (42.0%)
Allows the user to listen in on things happening around them.
74 meters range.
-40% effectiveness in loud areas.
Idiocy (Passive) Lv 29 (8.11%)
Sometimes, people don’t understand why you are doing what you are doing. Because of this, they may think you are insane, really foolish, or just plain endearing.
29% chance to earn positive REP with those around you.
71% chance to make those around you think you are crazy.
Scan (Active) Lv 4 (87.50%)
Allows the user to understand the world around him by taking a closer look.
Stealth (Active) Lv 23 (8.92%)
Minimizing the noise you make and the amount another can see you, you have learned to remain unnoticed.
23% chance of success.
-8% chance of working for every ten levels affected NPCs are beyond you.
+12% chance of working for every ten levels you are above affected NPCs.
Chakra Leap (Active) Lv 15 (28.5%)
Using chakra directed to the lower-led muscles, one can increase the distance covered by a single bound.
24 meters distance covered
Cost: 25 CP
Chakra no Mesu (Active) Lv4 (0.00%)
The user forms a sharp blade out of their chakra that covers a finger. It allows them to cut into a living body without breaking the skin, decreasing chances of infection.
Damage: (INT + DEX)/4
Cost: 40CP per blade
Kage Yosuru (Active) Lv22 (0.00%)
The user embraces the shadows, allowing better hiding capabilities.
+ 21% to Stealth skill when active.
-15% to enemy vision cones
Cost: 35CP/sec]
And now here I was, fingers itching, staring at the [Perks] menu. I had a hundred and ninety-eight perk points burning a hole in my metaphorical pocket. I got not one, but ten perk points when I hit level ten, and ten again when I got to level eleven… I hope it’s the new norm.With a deep breath, I reached out and selected the [Hints] perk.
[Perk Purchased!
Due to purchasing a perk, a new function has been unlocked!
Function: Permanent: Hints
Having gained some proficiency with using the system, you now understand how to use it even better than before.]
That done, my entire interface flashed a moment, before it settled down and navigated to the base screen. I clicked my [Character Page] with bated breath. As it opened, everything remained much the same, except now there was a question mark in the upper right corner of the screen. I clicked it without delay.
[Hints – Character Screen
In order to interact with the world of Ninpo Online, you have been furnished with a customizable avatar. This avatar, besides appearance, can be described by using six statistics, or stats.
Constitution
The constitution of one’s character is directly responsible for how healthy they are. In NPCs, constitution affects their immune system and their health pool. For you, the [CON] stat describes your health pool, your health regeneration, and limits the selection of armor you can wear.
HP = 100 + (10 for each point in CON)
HP Regeneration = (1 for each point in CON) per minute
Strength
One’s strength describes how strong they hit. For NPCs, this only sets the bounds for their base strength, and denotes how much damage they can inflict. For you, the [STR] stat describes your inventory limit, your limit for unenhanced physical activity, and the damage you inflict.
Inventory Limit = 10kg for each point in STR
DMG = Weapon Damage + STR
Agility
This stat affects both, one’s speed and one’s overall sense of balance. For NPCs, this affects their base speed, their accuracy with thrown weapons, and their dexterity while moving. For you, the [AGL] stat shows your base speed, a rough sense of your balance, and, for every ten levels, allows you to advance in [???] by one level.
Intelligence
This stat is directly related to one’s memory power. For NPCs, this affects their recollection capability, learning capability, and their chakra pool. For you, the [INT] stat shows the same, but also sets the limit for learning certain skills.
CP = 100 + (10 for each point in INT)
Wisdom
This stat is directly entwined with one’s mental processing power. For NPCs, this offers a rough estimate of their tactical capability, chakra regeneration, and chakra manipulation. For you, the [WIS] stat shows your chakra regeneration, allows you to understand better, and sets the limit for learning certain skills.
CP Regeneration = (10 for each point in WIS) per minute.
Luck
This stat is the one that interacts with the environment the most. For NPCs, it determines the probability of certain events happening. For you, the [LCK] stat defines the loot you will receive through combat or quests, the probability of certain events happening, and your chances in [???].]
Okay… wow. So, apparently, the system is super-duper nerfed. Dammit.Anyway, so from what I can see, my decision to focus on a rogue style playthrough is not completely stupid. Speed increases the force of impact, so the faster I am, the harder I’ll hit… although if I rely on it this way, there’s no guarantee there will be no backlash from the attack.If I want to be a viable shinobi, I’ll need chakra, even if I’m going down the path of an assassin. Instead of allocating only on point into [INT] every time I level up, I’ll also need to put another into [WIS] to bring up how much chakra I can viably use in a certain period of time. The rest of the three points I can assign to one stat at a time, focusing mostly on [AGL] and [LCK], staying true to my decision.I sighed. Now that I had the perk that I sought for so long, things ought to become easier with my afterlife…. Right? Again, I had that phantom sensation that someone was laughing, but couldn’t quite put a finger on how or why.Regardless. I now had ninety-eight perk points left. To choose another perk, I’ll need only two points more. Since any skills I had would take a little too long to level and I had no immediate idea for any skills… I took a deep breath and decided it was time.It was time to infiltrate [Konoha General Hospital].
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“What happened next?”It was dark outside, well into the early hours of the morning. In the Hokage’s Office, things were not much louder than outside in the village, but it currently had a few people awake and alert despite the late hour. That’s not saying much since all were trained as active members of Konoha’s Shinobi force.Sarutobi Hiruzen, the third Hokage, had his fingers steepled and a wry smile on his face as he listened to the report of one ANBU Inu. While no one in the room was particularly in the dark about his identity, it was the procedure, and thus it was followed. Aside from the two, stood three other people.One was a fuming blonde buxom woman who was apparently barely holding back her temper, as evident by her twitching fingers. This was Senju Tsunade, the last living member of a once great clan, and currently the best medic-ninja the Elemental Nations had to offer. One could tell she had come straight to the office from her workplace, given that she still had her white coat on.Another was a man garbed in standard Konoha Jonin attire, black version. His hair was strange, put into a tight ponytail that causes its ends to stand, and currently was either fighting back a frown, or a smile, it was hard to decide. This was Nara Shikaku, Jonin Commander and Tactical Advisor of Konoha, having only recently taken the post after the demise of his predecessor in the Kyuubi Attack.The last was a pale man with long black hair, currently let loose. He was garbed in the standard Konoha Jonin Attire, green edition. His eyes were cat-like, yellow with slit pupils, and a purple discoloration lent to a distinctly serpentine appearance. Currently, the interest the man felt was obviously evident on his face.“After subtly manipulating the nurse into thinking better of his current subject of interest, the target moved on to sneak into the employees only section. Given that you have barred us from interfering unless the situation is too dire, we let the target proceed.” Inu continued, head still tilted to the side as he stood, relaxed. “The moment the target entered the hospital archive, he poked at a blank tile in the center of the room. Something he must have seen made him beam wide, then he swiped his hands in front of himself again, as if dismissing something. He then spent an hour searching for something, which I had Taka confirm to be advanced chakra control techniques, before he escaped again, unnoticed.”“Clearly, he’s a criminal mastermind, isn’t he, Tsunade?” Hiruzen asked his pupil, eyes almost closed with mirth.“That was the only copy we had in the archives!” said woman retorted, eyes narrowed. “Do you know how long it took for me to write that up? If I don’t see it back within a month, I’m going over to the brat and demanding it myself!”“I don’t think that’s necessary.” Shikaku spoke up, smiling now. “Something tells me you’ll find it back in its place by tomorrow. The only question is whose leg in the orphanage is going to end up ‘broken’ this time.”“Ruthless, but effective.” Orochimaru murmured, eyes tracing the file he’s been given. “He knew that he had no valid reason to approach the hospital given that he can’t bleed, so he manipulated events so that he could have a plausible cause. He also didn’t harm the girl too much, I think.”“Her shinbone cracked in three places!” Tsunade hissed.“Which you healed without any negative consequence.” Orochimaru retorted. “While he was in the hospital, he not only continued his campaign of painting the Jinchuuriki in a good light, he also acquired what we can safely assume was his primary goal all through his little spiel – techniques on chakra control.”“Given that he already has perfect chakra control, I’m not sure what good it will do him.” Inu interjected. “Although his intentions seem to be pure, we still have seen no evidence of him being completely loyal to Konoha.”“Not this again.” Hiruzen muttered. “Inu, you and I both know that’s not the reason you dislike Gundan-kun, so let’s not pretend it is. I gave you the order to stay away from Naruto for a reason.”The ANBU remained silent.“We know practically nothing about his kekkei-genkai.” Orochimaru spoke, tone mocking as his eyes continued to can the folder. “His chakra has no elemental alignment. Strange, but at least we can rule out an elemental kekkei-genkai. He can not bleed, as observed by ANBU agent Taka when target was in Yamanaka Flowers. While his chakra has started growing over the past month, it had been stagnant until recently. Yamanaka mind techniques also have no effect on him.” His face almost broke into a manic grin. “This mystery… is interesting.”“He’s a bit weak for his age.” Hiruzen reminded him. “Given his inclination for stealth, he’d make a wondrous assassin… if he remains loyal. Do you think you can mold him?”“Wait a kami-damned minute!” Tsunade hissed. “That brat has control that rivals my own at such a young age! If anything, he should be my apprentice! Shizune, him, and some brat from the Academy to even things out – this could be an amazing recovery team to bolster our ranks.”“It was what I was thinking, until I realized that he was in the hospital archives and didn’t take scrolls for any healing techniques.” Hiruzen continued, unbothered by his student’s glare. “And, besides, do you really want to take on a stealth-skilled individual as a student? We both know you will attempt to shape him in your image, which would go against something he has raw potential in.”Tsunade remained silent.“I accept.” Orochimaru smirked. “Unravelling the secrets behind his bloodline… will be a good challenge.”“Hm.” The Sandaime hummed. “Tsunade, what do you think will happen if he tries more chakra-control exercises even with perfect control?”The medic gave an angry frown. “I… don’t know. Because of my Senju heritage, it took a lot of effort to gain perfect control over my chakra at all, and I still have to maintain it by regular exercise. Given that he reached perfection only with the exercises we have out for shinobi on the field…”The office degenerated into silence.“Why would he poke at air?” Shikaku bluntly asked the room. “He is not affected by any genjutsu, he seems to be stable on all accounts, and he’s clearly not doing it to rile us up. What is he seeing that we aren’t?”“Whatever it is, it began after the Kyuubi Attack.” Inu supplemented. “He never exhibited such behavior before, except that Yamanaka jutsu still did not affect him since he was born.”“His bloodline is an unknown, and thus, we must contribute resources towards understanding it better.” Hiruzen concluded. “This is true; but he also seems to have taken to young Naruto, caring for him and fighting for him to be seen as a regular human being. He has already done more than what my dear friend has tried to pull in the opposite direction.” The old man smiled. “Maybe Minato will have his last wish, after all.”That statement gave a little nudge to the hearts of all those present, save one.“Then it is decided.” He continued after a pause. “Gundan-kun will be Orochimaru’s student when he graduates from the Academy. Considering that the Yamanaka Clan has already petitioned to have a member on the team he’s in, however, you will have to take a full Genin team.”“No.” the man simply said, eyes narrowed. “I have no time to waste on talentless children.”“That is just the way things must be, I’m afraid.” Hiruzen smirked. “You’ll have your other team members picked out by the time Gundan-kun graduates, whenever that is. You will take them all under your wing, and you will train them to be shinobi. Unless… you’d rather I give Gundan-kun to Tsunade…?”Orochimaru had an expression on his face as if he had sucked on a lemon. “But-”“Or worse… I could give him to Jiraiya when he returns in six months.” Hiruzen continued, but mirth danced in his eyes. “I’m sure that he could train the boy well, too.”“That bumbling idiot will have no idea what to do with the boy’s potential!” Orochimaru protested. He then took a deep breath to calm himself down, before sighing. “Fine.” He spat. “I’ll take a team.”Tsunade grumbled. “I still say I should have him.”Shikaku sighed. *** The [Konoha Shinobi Academy] was a collection of three buildings centered around a large training ground, shaped like a half of a square. Located close to the [Hokage Tower], it had an otherwise unremarkable appearance about its five-level structure. There were three distinct sections to it.One, that included the ground, first, and second levels, were classes assigned for the four-year shinobi program. Each year had three classes, as a means of generating positive rivalry to enhance performance, however, the last year had only a single class.The second, and separating the other two sections, was what was known as the admin level on the third floor. Besides the teacher’s and dean’s offices, the only thing of note here was the library, which, while not including jutsu, did include a lot of theoretical information that was good for shinobi to know.The last one, and fuck was this a surprise, the fourth level was dedicated to Genin Enhancement. Apparently, the Genin who fail their teacher’s test after passing the Academy are indeed sent back, but not to the classes they’ve already done. No, they’re sent to a special remedial program that hammers basic Konoha ethics into their skull, brings up their skill level, and gives out missions in random team formations until they reach Chunin level or opted to join a non-combat department, usually mentored by the head of. This was why there were more Chunin than Genin and Jonin combined in Konoha – once the ninjas who go through Genin Enhancement reach Chunin, they have little drive to do much else and are content with their lot in life. If only two or three teams passed every year, the Konoha Shinobi force would be a lot smaller, that’s for sure – it was something that always irked me.The basement level was a large gymnasium for members of both programs to use.As I stood there and listened to the poor Chunin teacher drone on and on about the virtues of becoming a ninja of Konoha, my eyes traced the window that had popped up the moment I entered with the other orphans who wanted to join the program.
[Main Quest Alert!
Open Up Your World
You have decided to join the Konoha Shinobi Academy in order to join the active ninja force and increase your reach over the land. Persevere through four years of lessons and pass the Academy Final Exam.
Objectives :
Pass the Academy Final Exam
Reward :
5000xp]
Five thousand experience points for four years' worth of slaving. Obviously, the bonus objectives weren’t highlighted, but I was a hundred percent sure what they were.Kakashi joined the Academy at age four and graduated at the top of the class a year later, when he was five, during war-time. Currently, since I was already five when I started out my afterlife, that option was out. However, I could one-up him in a way…I’ll graduate in a year with perfect scores.Even Kakashi didn’t have perfect scores, or at least I think so. I just know that he had the best marks when he graduated out of all the others. It’s what drew Minato to him, I think. I’m not entirely sure.Yes. That’s what I’m going to do.I accepted the quest with a smirk which instantly died when I noticed that the Chunin was still talking. God! And it wasn’t even a teacher I recognized. I doubted Iruka would teach here so soon, in fact… I think he’s just lost his parents. Since he hasn’t joined my orphanage, he must have joined the one on the other side of the district.Was he here?I nonchalantly looked around, but much to my disappointment, he wasn’t. Either he was already a part of the academy, or he will be next year, although I think the former was more on point.My eyes froze when they landed on a distinctly familiar face dressed in blacks. I tried to remember whether he should be here or not, but I hadn’t read or watched his Shinden, so I wasn’t sure.Itachi met my eyes with curiosity shining in them.Fuck, fuck, fuck! Five-year-old Uchiha Itachi was in my class! I looked off towards where the parents of the non-orphans were standing and spotted Uchiha Mikoto standing off to the side, whispering with clear joy to… Yamanaka Shishito!My eyes searched the crowd again and landed on a girl standing a few ways away, dressed in a purple kimono tied with a black obi. She looked just as bored as I felt, examining her nails with a disinterested air. Her mother said she was a couple of years older, that made her seven.Actually, I was pretty sure Itachi and I were the youngest here. Shishito’s daughter probably was the second youngest. The rest all looked at least eight or nine.My ‘graduating in one year’ plan just got all the more important. Whoever and whatever Itachi became, his experiences as a ninja were directly responsible for it. I don’t dare interfere in that, lest it cripples Sasuke’s development and makes him weak to stop Kaguya when he’s revived.…Pfft! Ahahahahahaha! Whoever said I cared?This is my afterlife. Whatever I want to do here, I will. Itachi graduates when he’s… seven, I think. I’m going to pull that closer… make sure he graduates when I do. If we get on the same team, I will be able to be in good relations with the Uchiha clan; and, cue drumroll, Sasuke! If I can create a strong enough bond between Naruto and Sasuke, then it doesn’t matter whether I can make Orochimaru stay back in the village or not! Hell, this will also make it easier to influence the Uchiha Clan as a whole not to plan a coup against the village!Wait… Why didn’t I talk up the Uchiha Clan when I did so for Naruto? Well, it’s never too late, I guess. The Uchiha felt secluded, alienated, isolated from that which their ancestor gave rise to, right?I’m going to spin that on its axis. The village felt great sympathy when Sasuke was effectively orphaned, so they can’t really be feeling that horrible towards them. Then why-Oh.Of course.Another personal goal? I’m going to kill Danzo before I graduate. He’s too detrimental towards the continued survival of the Shinobi World as a whole. Someone else can handle root… maybe Jiraiya once I get him to deal with Nagato? That’d certainly be a sight. Trying to imagine Sai reading Icha-Icha made me shudder in suppressed laughter.Yep, that’s definitely what’s going to happen.I met Itachi’s eyes again somehow and smiled. He offered a polite one in return.All the butterflies in the world ain’t gonna stop me from living this story my way.My attention snapped to the podium when the Hokage took the stage, dressed in formal robes and hat. I didn’t think he would be here… ah, wait, this is the first Academy admission after Kurama was forced to attack the village; he must be here to motivate parents so that word will spread and academy admittance will rise again… the few amount of children who stood here now would barely make took classes, let along three, and that was if spread generously.“It warms my heart to see so many of our number joining the academy this year, even after the disaster from a month ago.” He began, and instantly he had everyone’s attention. Even nature itself seemed to stand still and pay heed to his words… he must either have a skill to do so, or he’s just so powerful that when he wants to command attention, he just will. “The village lost its greatest hero, and not without cost – our lives have been disrupted, many more were lost, and we’re still picking up the pieces even now.“But has that stopped our spirit?” he gestured to the Academy hopefuls, i.e. us, with a proud smile, “These very young leaves prove to us that we have not cut down! Konoha has weathered three wars and emerged victorious in all, borne the hatred of many nations for our strength even though now we enjoy far more positive attention, and now, we have suffered through the attack of a Bijuu and we still remain standing!“The strength of Konoha comes not from the jutsu we use or the kekkei-genkai we wield, no. It comes from the hearts of those who make it a village! Civilian families and shinobi clans alike – Konoha stands together! It is together that we have survived so long, and together that we will continue to do so in the future!”A loud cheer sounded from the crowd. Whether ninja or civilian, stoic or rambunctious, loud or soft, all lent their support to the Hokage – it was visible on their faces, in their eyes, and in their actions. The respect they had for this man was frightening, if you thought about it. Hashirama gave birth to Konoha, Tobirama expanded on it, and Minato saved it from a Bijuu, but it was Hiruzen who united it. He was its greatest Hokage, in most senses of the word, only to be surpassed by Naruto, the Nanadaime.Now that I joined the Academy, my innocent act won’t work with a majority of the civilian population, but I did have a hidden ace to make them see what I want them to see. [Wordplay] would see more levelling up, that was for certain.When all was said and done, Mikoto, Itachi, Shishito, and her daughter were huddled together, talking. I, meanwhile, took the time to bug outta there. I was, indeed, successful in stealing the advanced chakra control exercises scroll from the hospital, but I hadn’t a chance to open it yet.And I needed only two more perk points to purchase [Foreign Influences].I still thought it was a bad idea, but I could not move on from the current list without buying up all of it at all. It made me wonder for a moment (as I used [Chakra Leap] to jump from roof to roof and then take a breather when I reached my limit, only to jump again) if I actually had any free will here when it came to my perks. Maybe Neji had been right all along, and fate was really an important thing?Meh. Fuck fate.I gained a couple of levels in the skill by the time I reached my room in the orphanage, and it was only moments later when I had the scroll open wide and was reading through it with fervent speed. There was a total of six exercises listed, three of which were the combination ones I had used to level up my control skill before it had evolved. I moved on to read the next three… and face-palmed. Hard.Why in the world had I not remembered about chakra strings before? I even loved the puppeteering characters from the manga enough that it ought to have been right in front of my mind! Goddamn it, Legion, get your head in the game!That was the first one – lifting a leaf with a string from each of your fingers; one would expect it from Suna, but eh, as long as my control reached max level, I really didn’t care. The second was stiffening a precise dimension of an area of cloth – apparently, it taught the body’s chakra to remain in strict limits, not over spilling for a second; I was a bit apprehensive, as charging an entire object seemed easy… charging only a portion of an object would be an exercise in restraint. The third seemed incredibly difficult – spinning senbon on the pads of your fingers with chakra without having them break the skin; it taught you to focus the cloth-stiffening exercise on your own body, bringing up control for medical jutsu.Hm.I read through the notes and focused… weaving chakra ‘filaments’ into a thread and slowly pushing it out from the tenketsu on the tip of my index finger…PING!
[A skill has been updated!
Chakra Cost Mastery (Passive) Lv 52 (7.82%)
Allows extremely strict control over chakra flow, allowing the user to lower the cost for jutsu by a large margin. Finely tuning chakra movement throughout the body is now second nature.
-52% CP cost for chakra-imbued skills.
Exercises Discovered – Leaf Balancing (5 CP/min), Tree Climbing (10 CP/min), Water Walking (15 CP/min), Chakra String (20 CP/min/string).]
Deciding to register all the exercises into my skill first, I snuck down into Mika’s office and nicked the needle set in her sewing kit – while not senbon, it would be more than enough, and crept back into my room. I used the bedsheet on my bed for the second exercise.It turned out, registering them into the skill itself leveled the skill up twice.
[A skill has been updated!
Chakra Cost Mastery (Passive) Lv 54 (0.59%)
Allows extremely strict control over chakra flow, allowing the user to lower the cost for jutsu by a large margin. Finely tuning chakra movement throughout the body is now second nature.
-54% CP cost for chakra-imbued skills.
Exercises Discovered – Leaf Balancing (5 CP/min), Tree Climbing (10 CP/min), Water Walking (15 CP/min), Chakra String (20 CP/min/string), Cloth Stiffening (25 CP/min/m2), Senbon Balancing (30 CP/min/needle).]
I set my training equipment aside for now, and navigated over to the perk menu, selecting [Foreign Influences]. However, this one seemed unique.
[Are you sure you want to purchase the perk: Foreign Influences?
WARNING: Once the perk is purchased, checkpoints are rendered void.]
This sounded bad, it really did. I was also having a creeping feeling of ‘hoe don’t do it’, but if I didn’t purchase this perk, I wouldn’t be able to finish the tier. And frankly, having another world’s creature as a familiar sounded pretty enticing.I accepted it, and…. Nothing.Nothing immediately world-shattering happened in that moment. No wormhole opened up and let in an invasion force of para-demons, no Shinigami appeared out of thin air… nothing.So, I shrugged it off, the foreboding feeling having vanished, and decided to practice chakra control for the rest of the day, absently noting I still had three perk points left in my wallet. *** Looking back, I’d regret that decision a thousand times over.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
I walked to the Academy in somewhat of an irritated mood a week after the inaugural speech, having opted not to test into a higher grade because I wanted to pull Itachi along with me. The reason why, you ask?PING!
[A skill has leveled up!
Chakra Cost Mastery (Passive) Lv 75 (0.01%)
Allows extremely strict control over chakra flow, allowing the user to lower the cost for jutsu by a large margin. Finely tuning chakra movement throughout the body is now second nature.
-75% CP cost for chakra-imbued skills.
Exercises Discovered – Leaf Balancing (2.5 CP/min), Tree Climbing (5 CP/min), Water Walking (7.5 CP/min), Chakra String (10 CP/min/string), Cloth Stiffening (12.5 CP/min/m2), Senbon Balancing (15 CP/min/needle).]
The damn skill was taking too long to level up! I grumbled as I shoved the sewing needles into my inventory.To get the previous incarnation of the skill maxed out, it took me about three or so days. This time, I’d spent a week on it without eating or sleeping, just being locked up in my room all day practicing (and, initially, sleeping when my chakra got exhausted for an hour) and it advanced by only twenty-one levels! Fuck, I even sacrificed my allotted Naruto-time! I was missing the tyke like crazy!And it was only going to get harder as the skill reached max level. This was so unfair!Well, actually no. I sighed as my mind redirected my thoughts to exactly why. Normal shinobi don’t advance chakra control so quickly. Normal shinobi would have their natural skill degradation rate against them, and they’d have to be overcoming that, as well as practice to keep up their current control level. I don’t have that disadvantage because of a particular perk.[Gamer’s Body] had its pros and cons. The advantages of living in the body of a game character were many – I didn’t have to eat or sleep, once I learned something, it would stay at that level no matter what, sleeping removed any diseases or injuries from me and replenished my health and chakra, and I didn’t feel pain as normal people did since it vanished almost instantly. However, the flip side of the coin was pretty large too – I couldn’t increase my strength or train my balance as normal people do, I couldn’t study to increase my memory power or play games to train my mind to think better either, and I couldn’t get hurt. While the first two detriments I could deal with, it was the last one that peeved me most.I wasn’t worried about a summoning contract since I didn’t wanna be that guy who brings in a building tall dragon to devastate the battlefield or something, so no love lost there. But no blood meant a lot of suspicions since I already am under a keen microscope. How would a medical evaluation of me go? They’d try to draw out blood using a syringe, but would it actually come out? Would the damage just go to my HP bar and the needle be forcibly ejected? Would the needle sink into my skin at all?Thankfully they aren’t essential… or so I think, I’m not quite sure.Argh! The more I think about it, the more frustrated I get. Thankfully, I had already leaped my way to the Academy, so I took a breath to settle myself and walked into the building proper. There was a student’s list posted on the wall, one that showed which class I was going to be in, and it seemed I’d be sharing it with more than two clan members.Itachi and Shishito’s daughter (the only Yamanaka listed at all, named Mai) were in my class, yes, but along with them, there was a Kurama Kitsuna, a Nara Biko, and a Hyuuga Hideki. How amusing. It seems I already know what the teams are going to be, although that second one would be a strange combination indeed. A genjutsu user, a strategist, and a taijutsu specialist…? Actually, that sounds like a great idea! That team would be fearsome as fuck if they worked out the kinks!Too bad I’m here.I shrugged and began to make my way to class. I passed on the edge of every other child’s notice, simply because I had worn such clothes – a dull green full-sleeved hoodie which was currently up, grey leggings, and black boots. I was not going to wear sandals just because Kishimoto loved to draw toes, thank you very much. Thankfully, I got the clothes as rewards from bonus objectives, and they were all muted dull colors. The only other things I got from bonus objectives were a sheaf of chakra paper (for which I had a plan), an ancient-looking old pocket-watch that remarkably still worked, and a pack of playing cards. For the other objectives, I’d received simple ryo. Currently, I had exactly a thousand one hundred and seventy-nine ryo in my money wallet. I hadn’t actually gone shopping for anything, too busy training my control this week, but I did resolve to get it done sometime this week… right alongside working out a faster way to get my control to level up. I couldn’t wait as long as it required me to! Getting my control to ninety-nine percent was looking like a real possibility now, and then leveling up my chakra-using skills would be much easier! It was a long-term investment, yo!My class was located on the ground floor itself, but a few steps away from the entrance, so finding 1-A wasn’t that hard.It seems I was also a tad early to arrive.Neither Itachi nor Mai was present. But who I could safely say was the Nara was lazing on the last bench, and there was a depressed looking brown-haired boy in the front row. They both looked up when I walked in, and one appeared curious while the other seemed to… recognize me?As I made my way towards the center of the classroom (projecting an average outlook; not slacking and not too attentive nor eager to please) the brown haired boy got up and made his way towards me.“Excuse me, might you be Gundan?” he asked, and fucking hell, even his voice sounded completely depressing.“I might be.” I allowed, turning to offer him a wry smile. “Who’s asking?”The boy stared blankly at me for a moment before the metaphorical light bulb seemed to go off. “I am Kurama Kitsuna. A pleasure to meet you. You may not know me, but my father who owns a joke shop spoke highly of you.”“Ah, you’re Joka oji-san’s kid?” I asked, smiling. I completely forgot that I have a level eight, i.e. friendly, reputation with six shinobi clans in the village. “Nice to meet you.”“Father allows you to call him ‘oji-san’?” Kitsuna asked, voice providing no inflection whatsoever. In fact, his voice is what I imagined Professor Binns from Hogwarts to be like. “How unusual.”“Um… we spoke a lot while I helped him.” I offered, gesturing to a seat on the same center bench as I was, and I took the other. There were three seats to a bench, and I knew who I wanted on the other side. “How is he these days? Does he require more help at the shop?”“Not at all. With your aid, the clan’s shop was able to bounce back from a record low in our sales in all our years being a part of Konoha.” The boy spoke. Dear god, his voice was bugging me, though. I think it was only [Gamer’s Mind] that allowed me to keep my cool. “Because our business has boomed, we were able to secure a deed to a building in Tanzaku Gai, hoping to expand. It seems that in the wake of such tragedy, the populace desired something to uplift their spirits.”This… was odd. Wasn’t the Kurama clan almost extinct by the time Naruto was fifteen? “I am glad to know that… I… helped.” I trailed off because HOLY FUCK I just altered history for the first time! At least… I think so. Just by doing simple shop-quests, the butterfly flapped its wings and now we have a clan well on their way to becoming well-established, again! Wow. “If there is anything else I can do, please let me know.”“Our clan head would like to speak to you.” Kitsuna dropped the bomb. “I know not why, but I am certain I can guess. I would request you to accompany me to our compound after the Academy has let out for the day, Gundan-san.”“Of course. And please, call me Gundan.” I replied easily, offering my hand. “I hope we become friends.”The boy was silent for a few moments before he took my hand. “Then you must call me Kitsuna; I also hope for the same.”In spite of Kitsuna’s monotonous droning voice, we managed to hold a conversation about menial things. Apparently, he didn’t know I was an orphan. I also didn’t know that his mother was dead. While we spoke, I took the time to discretely scan him.
[Kurama Kitsuna – Level 9
HP – 120
CP – 270
Constitution - 2
Strength - 3
Agility - 6
Intelligence - 27
Luck - 5
Wisdom - 34
Kurama Kitsuna is a member of the Kurama Clan who has inherited their kekkei-genkai. Having lost his mother at a very young age, he grew up jaded and adopted an unflappable demeanor… to the extreme. He looks forward to being a ninja in order to raise his clan to the height of their greatness again.]
PING!
[Scan has leveled up! MAX level reached!
Scan (Active) Lv MAX (100.0%)
Allows the user to understand the world around him by taking a closer look.
Choose an evolution path:
Mild Psychometry
You understand the world around you by taking a closer look. Attuned to the inanimate, your scrying skills now allow you to see into the past of the object you touch.
Mild Telepathy
You understand the world around you by taking a closer look. Attuned to the living, your scrying skills now allow you to see into the mind of the person you are observing.
Examine
Attuned to neither the inanimate nor the living, your scrying skills allow you to see limited information on both classes.]
Holy FRICKING SHIT WHAT?! I could become a telepath?! Or a … person with psychometry?! I should have leveled this skill up sooner! Wait, did this mean that every single skill in the world could evolve into something awesome?!Okay, wait. Wait. Let’s calm down here, okay? Let’s weigh the benefits and risks of each, draw out a carefully calculated analysis, and choose the best for my ninja career.Screw that shit! I know what I’m choosing!PING!
[Skill evolved!
Mild Telepathy (Active) Lv 6 (0.00%)
You understand the world around you by taking a closer look. Attuned to the living, your scrying skills now allow you to see into the mind of the person you are observing.
300 CP per second while looking into someone’s mind .]… Crap. That cost was way too damn high! Since my [Chakra Cost Mastery] already cut off seventy-five percent of all chakra costs, this meant the original cost was… 1200 CP?I’m so glad I started my self-imposed shinobi training with chakra control.Anyway, so I can’t really use the telepathy part quite so soon, at least until I finish up my control training. It was already priority one, but now it just got all the more important. This skill could give me an unprecedented advantage! The Sharingan allowed one to predict movements… but what about predicting strategies? Predicting decisions? Being informed beforehand that you were walking into a trap?And I don’t even need Yamanaka jutsu for it. Wait. Was it something similar?“-undan-kun?”My attention snapped back to reality, and I almost immediately felt horrible. I forgot that I was having a conversation when faced with the possibility of reading people’s minds! Well, I wasn’t feeling all that guilty, but they say that feeling is believing, so. Plus, the lass sounded pretty abuzz, so I had been thinking for a while. Crap.I sighed and turned to apologize to Kitsuna before anything else. “I’m sorry, Kitsuna. It’s just… I often wonder what my life would be like if… certain people had lived, you know?” I said, not wanting to elaborate in front of a stranger.
[Wordplay successful!]
The boy simply nodded, his expression not shifting in the slightest. If it weren’t for my notification, I wouldn’t even know it worked! That’s… honestly pretty useful. I wonder if my [Gamer’s Mind] was a toggle-based ability, would it work like that?That done, I turned to the person who spoke, who turned out to be none other than Yamanaka Mai. At her side stood none other than Uchiha Itachi. While Mai looked a bit uncertain, Itachi was looking at me with… understanding? What the fuck? “I apologize. I have been a bit out of it today. Could you please repeat what you said?”Mai seemed to gather herself at that and spoke much more confidently next. “I just said ‘hello’, Gundan-kun. Mother and uncle speak quite highly of you.”I tilted my head. “Uncle?”“Uncle Inoichi.” She clarified, and this cemented that her mother was actually the sister of the current Yamanaka Clan head. “He said you helped out a lot around our shop right after the Kyuubi attack.”I offered her a wane smile. “Ah, yes. Yamanaka flowers… forgive my phrasing, but I’ll be glad to be as far away from the greenhouse behind your shop as possible.”She chuckled awkwardly. “Yeah, kaa-chan told me about what happened between you and fluffy. I’m really sorry about that.”I blinked. “You named a corrosive-sap-dripping plant fluffy?”She shifted uncomfortably. “Ah… yes… by the way, this is Uchiha Itachi. His mother and my own were on a team together.” She said, lackadaisically gesturing to the future prodigy and unsung hero at her side.I turned on the charms and smiled. “Ah, yes. We saw each other during the inauguration speech. Pleased to formally meet you.” I turned and gestured towards Kitsuna. “This is Kurama Kitsuna.”“A pleasure.” He droned. I had to suppress a grin when his tone of voice cause Mai to almost double-take.“Pleasure to meet you as well.” Itachi quietly spoke, bowing a little. How formal! And chibi Itachi was totally cute. Between Naruto and him, though, there would be no contest. “Please take care of me.”“Eh, something tells me we’re all going to be buddy-buddy pretty soon.” I shrugged. “It’ll be fun to see who’ll be placed with whom when we graduate.”“That’s four years from now, though.” Mai sighed. “Honestly, aren’t we all a bit young to be in the Academy? Itachi and I are five. Gundan is three. And… how old are you, Kitsuna-san?”“I am seven.” The Kurama replied, eyes still showing nothing.“And I’m five.” My face twisted into a fragile smile. “I’m just small for my age.”Itachi seemed to find this amusing if the small smile he showed was any indication.“Ah… well…” I didn’t even need telepathy to know that she was feeling awkward. Did her mom put her up to this? “I’m just happy we have four years to graduate. It will give us time to get used to all the ninja stuff.”“What are you talking about?” I asked, mentally slipping into planning mode. Here was my first chance to convince these people to graduate with me. “Can we not graduate before that?”“We can.” Itachi agreed. Oh, wait, he did graduate in two years when compared to the standard four, so I guess he must have looked this stuff up. “However, we must prove to be far beyond the year in which we wish to pass onto. There are quarterly exams allocated for this purpose, but rarely are they taken.”“Good.” I nodded. “I aim to graduate within a year.”Silence.“I- isn’t that too fast?” Mai asked, tone filled with dread. Odd. If I wanted to graduate, why was she so… oh wait. If her mother put her up to talk with me, she probably wants her to be on my team as well. Good grief, I was going to subject this girl to great exhaustion… indirectly, of course. “I mean, we do have four years to go at our own pace…”While simultaneously thinking how to best spin this, I spoke. “I know. But still, I want to become a ninja as soon as possible, and the soonest that I can do it is a year.”“Why?” It was Kitsuna who spoke this time, and even though he showed nothing, I could tell he was interested in my answer. “What reason is behind your urgency?”“Well…” I ‘sighed’, “during the Kyuubi attack, we were quite out of the way, but one of the windows in the orphanage showed a direct view of the beast. It was… it was massive. It destroyed buildings just by flinching or flicking one of its giant tails. I had a front row seat to all that chaos; well, as much as I could while being safely out of harm’s way.”Silence.“After the attack, I walked around the village and… I saw all the consequences. The livelihoods destroyed, the lives lost, the… the sheer…” I gulped. “I don’t want that to happen to anyone again. I want to be a strong ninja who takes care of problems from the shadows so that others don’t have to.” The three others still did not speak.“I mean, I tried to do my best, you know.” I laughed a shaky laugh. “I couldn’t just walk up to homes and ask if they wanted help without appearing odd, so I went to all the stores instead. I tried to do my best to help people get back on their feet but… it’s not all I can do. I can do more… I can be more… so that the next time someone needs my help, I can be better prepared to deal with it before anything is lost at all.”Itachi nodded at that. Never before this moment had I regretted not watching the Naruto extras. If I knew what happened during his Shinden, maybe I could know what was going on through his mind… and I can’t even use [Mild Telepathy] to tell since I don’t have enough chakra for the cost that the skill demands. “That… is a sound reason.”“I agree.” Kitsuna said, and for once his face wasn’t empty. He was looking at his hands as if he had seen them for the first time. “I… did not think of it that way before. The faster we become a ninja and grow stronger, the faster we can accomplish our goals.”I turned to Mai, who was looking at me with teary eyes. Ouch, did I lay it on too thick? “That’s why I want to be a ninja as soon as I can. So that I can bear the burdens that no one else should.”There was a PING in the background, but I ignored it because it was at this point that I realized that we were in pin drop silence. I looked around and saw that… everyone was looking at me. Ugh! Quickly ducking my head, I opted to fiddly with my sleeves instead. “So… um…”I was eternally grateful to whatever god ruled my afterlife that a Chunin seemed to enter the room without much fanfare. “Hello students, I’m so sorry I’m late for your first… day…” he trailed off, looking confusedly at the class, who had now turned to stare at him with the same wide-eyes expressions they were giving me a moment ago. “I… I did apologize…”For being that start of the ninja academy for my peers, the class was oddly silent that day. No one raised their hands to answer a question from the teacher, and even lunch was subdued. I felt mildly shitty for bringing the ambiance of their first day down like that, but hey, if I wanted what I want to happen to happen, I’ve gotta just not give a fuck about what the other mites think. Besides, I haven’t even heard of any of these people, save Itachi, throughout the Naruto series at all. Either they become an unremarkable ninja, or they die. I hope it was the latter, because if it was the former then WHAT?How does one take an affinity for tactics and spin that into one’s death? Genjutsu that can inflict damage in reality – that alone is a super OP skill, far more than most bloodlines. And the ability to read someone else’s mind and posses them? How do people ever turn into a mediocre ninja with skills like those?Eh, I may be being too harsh on them. After all, there are clans full of people with the same inclinations, right? To rise above that, you’d either need strong convictions or a second bloodline. Hmm…Right now, thinking of anything to get me out of this boredom would be welcome, harsh or not. Given that the Academy had four years to drill how to be a shinobi into the minds of impressionable children, the syllabus was laughably easy. Year one opened the doors, so to speak – aptitude tests, language, math, tactical planning, and chakra theory were what we were going to be studying. Year two broadened our horizons – higher-grade language, harder math, basic science, village laws and economics, and advanced chakra theory would be learned. Year three would begin to delve into the practical side of things by offering taijutsu training, ninjutsu classes, genjutsu escaping, bukijutsu throwing practice, and chakra control in addition to teaching us the basic sealing dialect, and a little something on every single hidden village currently in existence. The last year would include a revision of everything done in the past before the rest of the year is spent to refine techniques while mixing in the history of Konoha.Knowing that I totally sympathize with Naruto skipping the crap out of his classes. The Academy Syllabus wouldn’t even take me a month to learn! I’m sure Itachi already knows his stuff – but why he would stay behind for an entire extra year is a mystery…. Ugh, I should have scanned him when I had the chance!Regardless, the day ended without much fanfare. Remembering Kitsuna’s request, I accompanied his fast gait out of the Academy and into Konoha, waving back at Mai who waved at me when I departed.We took the shorter route, none of us wanting to initiate a conversation since we were more than comfortable to remain in silence. Eventually, though, I began humming a song as I stared at the setting sun.“That song sounds… different.”I almost stumbled, too far away in my thoughts to be snapped into attention like that so abruptly. “I beg your pardon?”“We of the Kurama clan are gifted with instruments.” Kitsuna elaborated, eyeing me with that same monotone gaze. “We find ourselves easily picking up an instrument which we wish to learn, and, in the past, would perform at the local theatre. After all, playing an instrument holds many benefits for ninja such as ourselves. I, too, play the flute. I can confidently say I have never heard a tune such as that.”Ah… I’m pretty sure dubstep isn’t as widespread in the elemental nations as it was in my world… which is to say, at all. “It’s just a tune I hum to myself when I am bored.”“It feels as though it is missing something.” He spoke, blinking. “Perhaps the pitch is too high…?”“I think it requires a solid beat.” I offered, wondering how we ended up talking about music of all things. “I repetitive beat in sync with the melody, but with a large difference in pitch… possibly even on the opposite side of the scale.”“An interesting concept.” He spoke, right as we nonchalantly walked onto the much emptier roads of the Shinobi District. There were kids out and about, and a couple of adults, but very few in number. “Perhaps, one that requires investigation?”“In my free time, sure.” I shrugged. I was missing a couple of my tunes, anyway. “However, I doubt I will have much of it, considering.”“Yes. You wish to graduate in a year… a feat only accomplished by as many ninja as there are fingers on my hand.” He spoke, turning back to look at the road.I smirked. “Hey, if they can do it, why can’t I? Besides, the syllabus sounds far too easy.”“If the syllabus is, in actuality, far too easy for you, perhaps I am currently speaking with a future Hokage…?” he trailed, voice devoid of inflection. In spite of my earlier reservations, though, it didn’t really bother me much.Shaking my head vehemently, I waved my hands for emphasis as I replied. “Absolutely not! Do you have any idea how much paperwork is heaped onto the poor guy who takes the hat? The whims he has to cater to, and the images he has to uphold? And he must answer to the Daimyo, the horror! Or even a she, I’m not really discriminating. Plus, having all that responsibility on one’s shoulders is bound to be exhausting. I want to help people because I want to, not because I’m supposed to.”He did not react much to my passionate rant. “I see.”I sighed almost dreamily. “I’ll probably end up like one of the Densetsu no Sannin. Uber powerful, but free to do as they wish.”“A high bar. Meeting such an expectation will require hard work.” He commented.“Of course.” I nodded. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”We lapsed back into silence after that. Since individual clan compounds were so big, the tall walls that surrounded them seemed to extend on for a long time, with only wide gates interrupting the long stretches of tall white walls, guarded by one or two clan-members. All of them tried to eye me nonchalantly, but I didn’t react. When we passed by the Inazuka Clan compound, though, one of the guards actually oversaw my work at the pet store, and we waved at each other and offered a grin. The guy was pretty fun.The Kurama Clan compound was actually on a hill, since star-gazing was another skill the clan cultivated. No one guarded the gates, and there were few houses, a testament to the fact that the clan had precious few members in the active ninja force, or even in population. How depressing. The clan head’s house was no grander than the rest, and even painted a common brown and red.Respectfully removing our footwear outside, we made our way in after Kitsuna knocked on the door.It seemed, however, that we were interrupting something. The man who had to be the clan head was sitting calmly at a table, having tea and some form of snack. A woman around his age was pouring him a cup when we made our way in.“Ah, Kitsuna-kun! Come in, come in! Would you like some senbei?” he jovially asked, face devoid of deceit or calculation. I knew better than to believe people at face value, so I observed him.
[Kurama Katsuhiko – Lv?
CON - ?
STR - ?
AGL - ?
INT - ?
LCK - ?
WIS - ?
?]
Well, that was useful.“No, thank you, Katsuhiko-sama.” Kitsuna, who I could safely say was my friend at this point, politely said. “As requested, I have brought along Gundan. He is, indeed, in my year of the Academy.”“How many times must I tell you to call me uncle?” Katsuhiko almost whined.“There, there, dear.” His… wife, I think, patted his shoulder. “Not everyone can be as irreverent of social niceties as you.“I’m being bullied by my wife.” He bemoaned, then shook his head and looked at me, beaming. “Ah, so this is the Gundan-kun I’ve been hearing so much about! Come on, you two, have a seat!”I pulled my hood down and took the offered chair, blinking when the wife placed a cup of tea in front of me with a smile. “Would you like some senbei? It is from the Uchiha shop.”Oh crap, I totally forgot that there was an Uchiha shop too! Only that it was in their clan compound, which meant I wouldn’t have been able to access it anyway. “Thank you, ma’am.” I accepted, not wanting to give rise to a faux-pas. “You are very generous.”“So polite!” she gushed, reaching forward to pull at my cheeks. “And so cute! You look like a mini Niidaime!”“Now, now, Kiko, don’t rip his cheeks in two.” Katsuhiko laughed. “You take a seat, too!” he turned to me before continuing. “Ever since we learned that you were instrumental in bringing in customers at the shop, we’ve been wanting to speak with you. You’re the reason our clan is rising from the ashes again, as it were!”“I only did a few menial tasks.” I weakly protested. Casting a glance at Kitsuna, I internally screamed betrayal when he seemed to not regard me at all. Such a traitor!“Ah, but you see, that is where the beauty of the situation lies.” The clan head explained, pulling the tray closer for his wife to serve herself when she sat. “Allow me to explain. While our clan really does have the best kekkei-genkai” here Kiko rolled her eyes, “in the elemental nations, we’ve always had something of a… lack of… when it comes to spirit. It doesn’t help that almost all of our active-ninja clan members were killed when the Kyuubi attacked.”“My condolences.” I offered.He waved me off. “Worry not. Due to the reputation of our clan’s ability being a double-edged sword, we didn’t have that much of an income anyway, since our members usually were on the reserve roster. This discouraged us from trying to be active ninja. In fact, almost all of the females and few of our males were once Jonin and Chunin of Konoha. But… seeing that we weren’t really… relied on by the public, let’s say, we chose to retire.”“What does me working at the shop have to do with how people see you?” I asked innocently, although I knew where this was going.I think he knew that I knew too, because his eyes were positively twinkling. Because of your presence at our shop, people who saw you seemed to think less of us as monsters ready to snap at a moment’s notice, and more of a harmless sort. The sales at the shop since you were spotted there have actually reached a record high! And only last week, a clan member of ours was requested for a mission specifically by the Hokage!” he beamed.Ah. Um… no actually what? Why would me working there led to the Hokage asking a clan member for a mission? Was he …?Was he trying to see why I was interested in the clan?“In short, many of our clan members have taken to thinking of you as an omen of good fortune.” Kiko spoke, sipping her tea delicately. “I was skeptical at first, but the numbers really do speak for themselves. Many of our retired members” here she offered a pointed look at her husband “are actually switching back to the ninja lifestyle after last week’s request. What’s more, we’re practically being welcomed with open arms.”“Our clan wanted to thank you as a whole.” Katsuhiko said, smiling. “We were hoping…”“Katsuhiko…” his wife spoke, warning in her tone. I involuntarily gulped.“Ah, of course not dear, not that.” He chuckled weakly. “We were hoping we could offer you something as thanks…?”I took a long sip of tea to think. Okay, here was a chance for me to get something, almost for free, actually. What could I ask that may actually be of use? They were a clan of genjutsu users! An awesome one, but still… there’s nothing that they could give me that I can’t find on my own, and I don’t want to come off as a greedy brat by asking.But… these were people. Who knew whether they were a figment of my imagination or fellow human souls trapped in my own afterlife, but as they were now, they were people to me. If I played my cards right, I could deal with a few upcoming issues right now.“Before I ask my request… I would like to know something.” I ‘hesitated’, squashing the urge to poke my index fingers together as that would be too Hinata. “How are your relations with the Uchiha Clan?”Katsuhiko blinked. “The… Uchiha clan?” he repeated, as if not sure why I brought them up. “Why, we used to be bitter rivals, once upon a time.” He sighed, eyes drifting to something far away. “The Senju, Uchiha, Hyuuga, Kaguya, and Kurama clans were bitter enemies ever since the warring era. Wherever our clans would clash, you could be certain most of our combatants would perish in the battle that followed, such was our rivalry. In fact, we tended to stay away from each other just to preserve our numbers.”That piqued my curiosity. “Is that so…? Then, to have almost all of them under one village…”“Such was the might of Shodaime-sama.” He smiled. “It is said that he, with Uchiha Madara at his side, took on the other three clan heads in direct combat, and emerged victorious. While the Kaguya took it as a personal insult and vowed to never join Konoha, the other two clans say wisdom in his words – that a village with out combined might may just be capable of bringing about peace so that none of our children would grow facing life as we did, once.” He sighed. “Now, it seems that his legacy is all but lost. There have been almost as many wars as there have been Hokage, the Senju are all but extinct, and our clans… are not doing so well.”I had many questions brimming in my mind but stayed my tongue. I had all the time in the world to find the answers I want. “Then… you respect each other?”“Of course!” the man answered almost immediately. “We may have hated each other, but the powers we wield… in fact, when there is are any number of our clan children in the academy, it is customary for them to be put in a team together. We also help each other out when we have clan disputes with another clan, or when personal issues are involved.”“Then why won’t you help them now?” I asked, ‘curious’.He blinked. “Excuse me?”“Pardon me, Kurama-sama, but you cannot be as blind as that question implies.” I spoke, making a small show of clenching my fists in anger. “In my years in the orphanage, I have heard of the Uchiha legacy. The civilians fear them. The shinobi are weary of them. I even overheard that the Niidaime handed control of the Police Force over to them so that there would be less of them in the active ninja roster and be easier to monitor. I don’t know whether that’s true or not, but can’t you see what this means?”A frown was slowly replacing the jovial smile he had on since I came in, something that was being reciprocated on his own wife’s visage.“They are slowly being pushed out.” I breathed ‘weakly’, wrapping my hands around myself. “Because of my hair in the orphanage, I know what it feels like to be bullied, or worse… overlooked. Treated as something less than normal because of something I can’t control.” I shivered. “I can only thank the gods above that I had Aoi oba-san and Mika oba-san, as well as the other orphanage staff, who took care of me. But… what about the Uchiha? Who do they have? The Hyuuga most certainly do not share your respect of them – this much I can say from what history has shown me alone. The Senju are not here anymore to lighten their days. If the village keeps pushing them away… keeps alienating them… what do you think is going to happen?”For the second time today, silence was brought about by my words. I heard a few PINGs in the background but ignore it flat out.“I want to protect people from the shadows so that others don’t have to do the things I no doubt one day will.” I said, reaffirming what I had made up on the spot in the Academy. “If you think you must repay me at all, I have only one request. No… I beg you.” I said, rising from my chair and bowing very, very low. “Please help the Uchiha clan feel welcome. Please… make Konohagakure no Sato home for them again. Please, because I can’t do it myself.”Actually, I was pretty sure I can. My wordplay was already quite levelled, and the amount of influence I already carried in Konoha, even in my small, five-year-old body, was frightening in and of itself. It would be a breeze to talk up the Uchiha Clan and get them back on the pedestal they were before the Tobirama’s rule. But that’s not all I wanted. I wanted the clan to form bonds with people here in the village. Not just me, hell, not even just the Kurama Clan. I want them to be close to everyone in the village, so that people like Danzo couldn’t take advantage of them needlessly.Don’t get me wrong, I respect the dude. Fuck, who knew the amount of work he put into actually ensuring Konoha remained free from harm? But the way he went about it was too… I wouldn’t know how to describe it, honestly. It wasn’t heinous, because this was a world where five or six-year-olds were given licenses to kill. It wasn’t merciless, because there were far worse entities than him, like Zetsu. I guess it just wasn’t palatable by my standards.It apparently remained silent while I was thinking, because it was broken when Katsuhiko spoke. “You… have given me a lot to think about, Gundan-kun.” He said, tone distracted. “But… I can honestly say that I accept your request.”I straightened with my best smile. “Thank you, Katsu oji-san!”That seemed to snap him out of it because he beamed and reached forward to ruffle my hair. “There, at least someone knows when to drop the formalities.”“Men.” Kiko sighed.I stayed for a cup of tea with the clan head. This time when we spoke, Kitsuna joined in as well, offering monotone comments on our topic of conversation. Kiko slyly looked at him with sympathy a few times, so I guess everyone knew exactly why he was talking like this and were trying to help. I fleetingly contemplated trying to find out why, but then I shrugged it off. If he wanted to tell me, he would, someday.Soon after, Kitsuna was walking me back to the Clan Compound gates.“You are an odd person.” He said bluntly after we wore our respective footwear and began walking. “Where most would look for their own gain, you look for that of others.”I shrugged. “I told you my goals, Kitsuna. I’ll do anything to see this village prosper as it should – like a family.” Yeah… right. I just didn’t want innocents to end up dead. Or worse, used as a spare-Sharingan free-for-all. “Would you fault me for following my own dream?”“I do not fault you for it.” He said, eyes facing straight forward. “It is simply strange. You could have asked for a genjutsu, you could have asked for a share of profit, you could have asked for many things other than what you did. I am almost certain that if you spoke of your request afterward, Katsuhiko-sama would still consider it.”“Those are nothing I can not obtain on my own.” I smirked. “Genjutsu is an interesting art, but I’m not looking to be an illusionist, so it’s rendered moot. I can earn money on my own. As for the last, nothing is more important to me than my dream.” Of stopping the very possibility of Kaguya being revived before she ever even is.He looked at me intensely, as if weighing my worth. Then, he turned to the gates. “I hope to find you in good health tomorrow, Gundan.”“I’ll probably be up and early at the library, so if you find yourself there before time, then you can join me if you wish.” I said, offering a salute as I turned and made my way home. “See you tomorrow!”I thought I heard him whisper something faint behind me, but since I didn’t have my [Eavesdropping] skill on, I didn’t catch it and shrugged it off.I turned to look at the various alerts I had gathered.
[Wordplay has leveled up!
Wordplay has leveled up!
Wordplay has leveled up!
Wordplay has leveled up!
Wordplay has leveled up!
Wordplay has leveled up!
Wordplay has leveled up!
Wordplay has leveled up! MAX level reached!
Wordplay (Passive) Lv MAX (100.0%)
Allows the user to twist words effectively.
25% chance of working.
-5% chance of working for every five levels the target is beyond you.
+15% chance of working for every positive REP with target.
Choose an evolution path
Compel
The commands you speak drill themselves into the target's mind, forcing them to do as you will. However, this is not infallible, and the target will remember your actions if compelled.
Silver-tongue
Your mastery with words allows you a greater chance to persuade targets, allowing them to see your view of thinking and, more often than not, gently tugging them onto your path.]
Okay. Did the system just try to hand me complete control over people around me? Tempting, but honestly, even a one percent chance that it could backfire on me is something I don’t want to take.My choice was obvious.
[A skill has evolved!
Silver-tongue (Passive) Lv 51 (0.00%)
Your mastery with words allows you a greater chance to persuade targets, allowing them to see your view of thinking and, more often than not, gently tugging them onto your path.
26% chance of working.
-5% chance of working for every five levels the target is beyond you.
+15% chance of working for every positive REP with target ]Sweet! Now it added a whole percent chance to success rates! If I maxed this now, I’d be unstoppably charismatic-Oof!“I’m so so… rry?”I blinked, not sure what my eyes were seeing was true. I internally smacked myself when I realized that, yes, at this point in time she should be alive.
[Hyuuga Hitomi – Lv ?]
The woman in front of me could only be described as an angel. She had bright purple hair that fell down to her waist, pale Hyuuga-like skin, and a sense of brightness that she exuded, like a miasma of happiness. Even her uniform inactivate Byakugan eyes didn’t seem as cold as I would have thought they would in reality, but they felt super weird, lemme tell you.“It’s not a bother, young one.” She spoke, a melodious tilt to her voice as she smiled kindly down at me. “Are you well?”“I... I guess I just wasn’t paying attention to where I was going, Hyuuga-sama. My apologies.” I quickly tacked on, bowing. This seemed to placate the vibrating mass of fury at her side, who was holding a basket of fresh apples. He was tilted with, [Hyuuga Mo – Lv ?].“Please pay attention to where you walk.” He bit out, eying me with disdain. Yes, his eyes were something I’d imagine on a Hyuuga – cold and far from sympathizing. “You may have cause harm to Hinata-sama.”I blinked, and then looked at Hitomi closely. True to form, a gurgling little bundle of happiness was babbling away, titled [Hyuuga Hinata – Lv 1].I couldn’t stop myself from whooping. “She is adorable!”Hitomi actually laughed, drawing me out from my fanboying. “Indeed, she is. Say hello to the young man, little Hinata.” She cooed, lifting her daughter’s hand for her to make her wave at me.Hinata looked at me and gurgled the sort of gibberish that only babies understood, reaching out for me. Chibi Hinata was just too adorable for words. Just like chibi Naruto. Would Sasuke be so as well? Damn Asian babies, making me feel the cuteness. I’m supposed to be a ninja, not a pseudo-mother-hen!“Would you like to hold her?” Hitomi asked, eyeing me strangely. I couldn’t spend the time to decipher her expression as I was currently extremely surprised.So was Mo, apparently. “Hitomi-sama, I don’t think-”“I believe it will be fine, Mo.” The lady waved him off, turning to look at me with kind eyes and offering me her just-born daughter.Carefully, slowly, I grasped Hinata tightly and pulled her to my chest. “Who’s the pretty little baby?” I cooed, making funny faces. The little one seemed to like that, giggling and tugging on my hair. “You’re just like Naruto, aren’t you?”“Is this ‘Naruto’ your brother, little one?” Hitomi asked, pulling me once again from my little spiel. Dammit, the cuteness was just too damn strong! I absently noticed that Mo seemed like he sucked on an unusually sour lemon.“Um… no, Hyuuga-sama. He’s a little ball of hyperactive energy who was just only admitted into the orphanage.” I explained, turning to look back at Hinata, who seemed to be looking at my hair as if it was the most beautiful thing in the world. On that note, I also need a haircut – I hate having to maintain long hair. “I think of him as my brother, though. When I become a strong enough ninja, I will adopt him.”The woman hummed. “So, you will be joining the Academy in a few years, then?”“I already have.” I smiled, a little peeved that my stat investments still meant that I was shorter than normal and a tad too thin for my age. “The first year, although that will change soon. The curriculum is so dreadfully boring…”“Oh my.” She laughed. This sound seemed the get Hinata’s attention again, and she reached out for her mother. Carefully, I handed her over, and she instantly began to pat around her face. I couldn’t exactly blame her, Hitomi was beautiful in an unnatural sort of way. “I hope to see you sometime. Little Hinata has not warmed up to many of our members in our compound, and I would be happy to have someone new join her circle.”Internally, I was confusedly cheering. I was just a no-name orphan. Why was she extending what was basically an offer of friendship on behalf of her daughter? “I would be honored, Hyuuga-sama.”She smiled warmly, freeing a hand to ruffle my hair. Damn, even that felt warm. Now that I think of it, even when Katsuhiko ruffled my hair it felt… nice. I wonder if it’s because I didn’t have much positive attention during my life. “Call me Hitomi oba-san, if you wish. I am not one to stand much on formalities.”“A- ah.” I stuttered, a little thrown off at a Hyuuga being so nice. Maybe this was where Hinata got her innate kindness from. “Pleased to meet you. I am Gundan.”She stood up straighter. Damn, I didn’t even notice when she bowed a little to be more at my level! “Gundan-kun. It has been a pleasure meeting you. Perhaps we will see you at the compound next week?”“Sure.” I offered and waved at her as she walked passed me, heading to the Kurama Clan Compound. Mo shot me a curiously disdainful look over his shoulder, and they both soon devolved into whispers after they were past my hearing range. I wish I could hear what they were saying.I shrugged but then turned to walk back out of the Shinobi district. This was undoubtedly an effect of my [LCK] stat. Charming the Kurama Clan head and the Hyuuga matriarch in a single day? The odds were slim to none. Damn, but was that an investment or what?However, my objectives just got a bit shuffled. Hanabi was about five years younger than Hinata, which means she’s born after the Kumo kidnapping attempt that will occur in four years. I am not sure when Hitomi died, or how, but it has gotta be after then. Keeping her alive just became important – her presence was uplifting; I wonder if her loss is what made the clan devolve into statues of propriety. A living Hitomi would mean a somewhat better Hyuuga clan. Who knows what changes her continued existence would bring? Plus, Hinata deserves a loving living mother.As I thought out my objectives in a more linear manner, I was already in my room at the Orphanage and working away at chakra control. As they were, it was easy to compartmentalize and focus on each and the best way to proceed with them.First came killing Danzo. I don’t know how he keeps Konoha afloat, but I’m sure Shikaku can handle Root until Jiraiya feels he’s ready to take over, the man being the supposed tactical mastermind that he is. For that, however, I need to get away from a Hyuuga ANBU watcher. Sounds impossible, but… if I max out my [Stealth] skill and the [Kage Yosuru], I think it will be manageable. Plus, seeing how my menial skills have evolved, something is telling me that the [Kage Yosuru] is going to be a kick-ass skill. So, currently, along with maxing out my chakra control, my priority is mastering those two skills.It’s probably why I’m crouching underneath my window while balancing ten senbon needles on my fingers. I theorized that being observed by ANBU aside, I’m effectively remaining undetected by anyone I can see from my window; thus, it should count towards [Stealth]. If the notifications are any indication, it’s working.Second priority was bringing Itachi with me to graduate in a year. I’m not at all unsure whether Mai will be joining us. Something has the Yamanaka Clan interested in me, but I’m unsure what. Oh well, I can’t be all-knowing. Anyway, to do that, all I have to do is befriend him, which seems surprisingly easy given what he grows up to be. The Uchiha competitiveness should do the rest.Speaking of Uchiha, my third goal is to save the clan from themselves. This I can easily do by subtly forming bonds between them and the village. The more friendly they end up being to each other, the less they feel excluded, and the less the chances are for Obito to use the planned coup to his advantage the neutralize the clan. So that’s pretty important too.PING!Yeah, yeah.Anyway, I think those are it for any goals that can be completed within the year. The rest of my goals are too long-term to bother thinking about now. Saving Hitomi, destroying the Akatsuki, and subjugating the other Hidden Villages imply for the hell of it seem like missions that will be far, far into the future. Hn. In fact, tackling the Akatsuki might tame the villages by itself, accomplishing both at the same time!Wait… something about that… both at the same time…I dropped the needles in my hands to facepalm. Hard. I’m such an idiot.I quickly moved to my bed and lay on it after kicking off my boots and socks. Laying the soles of my feet securely on it, I slowly began to stiffen the cloth with chakra. Chakra threads shot out of my fingers and to the needles on the ground by the window, sticking to them and pulling them closer to me. I carefully deposited them on my finger pads, starting the senbon balancing exercise. Then, I lifted up a leaf each with each thread and began to make them dance in front of me.The last time I leveled up my control because, at one point, I combined several exercises to perform them at once! I don’t know how this slipped my mind! But, now that I did, I think I should be able to max out the skill extremely soon, given that they’re harder to perform. But then again, I’m sure it would take a lot to level up my control, too. It will be interesting to see what happens.Currently, I have six points in [WIS], which makes my CP regeneration rate out to be 60CP/min. The exercises that I’m combining right now need 100, 12.5, and 150 CP/min in the ways I’m using them, which means I should pass out… any minute now. Thankfully, though, I was leveling up the skill fast, if the rate of notifications was anything to go by. Damn, I should have done this from the start!PING!
[Afflicted by debilitation: Chakra Exhaustion!]
The leaves and needles dropped as if their strings were cut as lethargy crept into my being. Luckily, I had already planned for this, and as quickly as I could, chose to sleep for an hour.PING!
[Affected by Active Effect: Trans-dimensional Convergence]
Wait, what?I blinked, and the world around me turned to black. Wait, wasn’t I lying down a second ago? Why does it feel like I’m standing? Quickly checking my HUD in the corner of my vision, I was relieved to find my health and chakra were full. I looked at my hands curiously; in spite of being in what I think is pitch darkness, I could see myself clearly. I looked around, unable to see anything.“Hello?” I called out, and the sound echoed. Was I in a giant cavern or something? Scrunching up my face, I took a step forward.That’s when the ground erupted.I shielded my face instinctively as the sounds of what I could only equate to multiple flapping of wings echoed around me. I felt feathers brush against my bare hands, and small breezes ruffle my hair. Even through closed eyelids, I was aware that there was now a source of light.I lowered my hands… and my jaw popped open.I was standing on a large luminous circular platform. The platform had detailed grey artwork on its face. I could definitely recognize me, leaning against the drawing border and apparently asleep. There were fours circles in the remaining space – one of them had the baby Naruto’s face, while the other three were blank. I looked up form the art and noticed that I could now see dark clouds above and around the platform, and the ravens were already fading into the distance.Then the familiar background music began to play, and I mentally kicked myself for not realizing where I was before.A [Location Collectible] hovered in the air in front of me, so I walked forward and tapped it. If I wasn’t sure I’d never be back here again, I’d have left it for when I was stronger, but eh.PING!
[You have discovered: Dive to the Heart! ?/? Trans-dimensional locations discovered!
Please select one of the following –
2000 EXP
500 Perk Points.
25 stat points.]
Holy shit! Trans-dimensional locations give super-awesome bonuses! I honestly don’t know what to choose at first glance.The experience was out almost immediately. It was of a lesser proportion than the other two bonuses. The question lay between perk points or stat points. Five hundred perk points were nothing to scoff at. It would take me leveling five skills from beginning to end to obtain those many points. But…I couldn’t train my stats manually, for now at least, so my choice was the latter.PING!
[You have selected 25 stat points!]
That being done, I immediately moved to my [Character Page] and assigned them there.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 11
Title: Orphan
Next Level: 20/600xp
HP - 200
CP - 200
CON - 10
STR - 10
AGL - 20
INT - 10
LCK - 20
WIS - 10]
High rogue stats and balanced others. Patterns soothe my soul, and though I’m straying a little bit with what I thought my character was going to develop as, seeing these numbers satisfy me, somehow.The moment I closed my system menu, three pillars of light appeared and vanished, leaving three hovering objects. The one in the center of the platform was a plain looking sword. The one on my left was a pair of daggers, and the one on my right was a simple wooden stave.Up until this point, I was honestly sure that the moment the options presented themselves, I’d pick the one that most coincided with my character plan – the staff. After all, the Kingdom Hearts games never really had a ‘rogue’ option, but I hadn’t really gotten the chance to play KH3 before I died so I’m not entirely sure about that. Seeing the pair of daggers though, threw me off a bit.To be sure, I walked forward and made to grab them, when a screen popped in front of my hand.
[This pair of daggers calls to the darkness; being near it gives you a sense of safety.
Choose the path of the Rogue (+2 to AGL and LCK on every level up)?]
Holy. Fucking. Hell.When this option presented in front of me in KH2, it basically controlled how and when my character obtained support skills. Given that I can learn and/or create any skill whenever I want in the system, it couldn’t do that here, so it was giving me stat points! And a whole lot too, adding two points to each stat! I gained 5 stat points per level, so this meant I’d be saving those for another stat!I was just going to accept when I paused.Yeah… but why rogue?Look, the village has clearly been keeping an eye on my chakra via a Hyuuga. If I don’t assign a point to [INT] every level, I’m only going to come under more scrutiny. Should I really choose the path of a rogue when a simple choice can mean automatic points?I declined and walked over to the staff, slowly reaching forward for it and waiting for the screen to pop up…
[This staff exhumes the potential of anyone who wields it; empowering even the weak.
Choose the path of the Mage (+2 to INT and WIS on every level up)?]
This was a Sophie’s choice moment. Ugh!Do I take the rogue path and manually assign a point to [INT] every level? Or do I take the mage path and manually assign points to my rogue stats?I took a deep breath in and out, then focused.Taking the mage path would give me more CP to spend and raise its regeneration rate. However, I’m already close to maxing out my chakra control to the point where chakra costs are a joke. If I require more CP at any point in time, I can always spend stat points to the effect. But if I choose the mage path, three points will be essentially wasted on parts of my character I will not really rely too much on.Taking the rogue path, on the other hand, would enhance my speed, balance, dexterity with weapons, and also increase my luck alongside that. As I saw today, my luck stat is probably the most underrated thing in the entire system. If I can boost it up, and then bolster it by manually assigning points whenever…My decision was made.I declined, walked back over to the pair of daggers, and accepted.PING!
[You now walk the path of the Rogue (+2 to AGL and LCK on every level up).]
For the single moment the daggers were in my hand, I felt… complete. My eyes wouldn’t leave the simple weapons, allured by their sheen and the fact that, used right, these were the single most devastating weapons in forever.Then they vanished into motes of light.The other two weapons vanished in pillars of light, similar to when they appeared. In another pillar of light, a simple looking double wooden door appeared.“Walk forward, and don’t look back. Ahead lies the future full of peril, but you now have been armed, and are prepared.”The voice echoed in my mind, but I couldn’t put a finger on it. Was it male? Female? Someone else’s? My own?I gulped, remembering that this is where Roxas would face that Nobody behemoth. Seeing no other path, though, I steeled myself, walked forward, and stepped into pure, bright light. It burned. It burned my skin, my eyes hurt, and something in my very being seemed to revolt…And then I jerked wake on my bed.I blinked, unsure for a moment, but then I sat up and looked around. Sure enough, it felt like only an hour had passed, the amount of time I had set to wake up in, and I was momentarily confused. Did that actually happen…?However, since the only way to be sure was to check when I leveled up, I shrugged it off and continued working on my chakra control in the combined way. It was the best means to boost my power, after all.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
PING!
[Stealth (Active) has leveled up!
Stealth (Active) Lv 48 (8.92%)
Minimizing the noise you make and the amount another can see you, you have learned to remain unnoticed.
48% chance of success.
-6% chance of working for every ten levels affected NPCs are beyond you.
+14% chance of working for every ten levels you are above affected NPCs.]
I quietly dropped out of [Stealth] from the rafters and landed right behind my target, then tapped her shoulder.She screamed like… well… like a little girl.“Gundan!” she admonished, clenching a fist and bonking my head… hard. “What is wrong with you?!”
[Physical Resistance (Passive) has leveled up!
Physical Resistance (Passive) Lv 36 (3.70%)
Due to being hurt in the past, your body has learned to stave off a portion of the damage.
-36% damage from all physical attacks.]
“That hurt, Mai!” I complained. “We’re going to be shinobi, now; how are you going to be a good kunoichi if you scream every time someone surprises you?”“By not getting snuck upon, I presume.” Kitsuna droned.I offered the boy a wounded look.Mai smirked triumphantly. “See? At least someone thinks I’m going to be a good kunoichi.” Her lower lip then trembled, and her eyes watered with unshed tears as she looked at me. “Unlike someone.”I immediately grew guilty. “Um… I’m sorry Mai! I didn’t mean it; please stop crying!”“Oh, the look on your face!” she suddenly burst out laughing. “You’re so easy, Gundan-kun.”I growled. “Should’ve fucking known.”“Language!” Hideki chided, eyeing me disdainfully. “I will never be able to see what Hitomi-sama sees in you – a buffoon who behaves like a commoner.”Biko simply sighed, leaning against the wall with an air that spoke of laziness. “I’m surrounded by idiots.”It had been three months since I woke up from my ‘Dive to the Heart’. In these three months, a lot of events had come to pass.Outside the building in which my friends and I grew in knowledge of the shinobi arts, Konoha itself was changing. The smear campaign against Naruto abruptly stopped when I joined the Academy. This coupled with my attempts at bringing his image up whenever my friends and I took to the village proper (almost every day) made me have hope that life would be far different for Naruto than it was in canon. In spite of me not being able to use childish charms in my persuasion, it was clear-cut arguments that did the job for me since I was now widely known to have joined the Academy.Ah, the woes of having everyone know you.The Uchiha Clan was also enjoying similar benefits, but since I have very little contact with the clan (which is to say, none at all) beyond Itachi, it wasn’t much. I didn’t want to even enter the compound without skipping a year at least. I don’t know Fugaku’s character very well, but I couldn’t chance him thinking that I was slowing his son down and have him forbidden from being friends with me. Very fanfic-cliché, I know, but hey, it never hurt to be careful.While their reputation with the village was somewhat better, the now-growing Kurama clan had no such reservations, and the two were almost the best of friends. It was strange seeing tsundere Uchiha with the overly-affectionate Kurama (I think my words may have worked a bit too well), but the overall temperament of the clan visibly improved.My own skills grew slowly. While I worked on control every spare moment of the day I had, my time was eaten up by the Academy and socializing. It was woefully little time that I had even with completely forgoing proper night’s sleep once it became unnecessary. While the time intervals between me fully being replenished and chakra-exhausted was the same, there was only a five-point difference between the two, now. It gave me hope that, very soon, I wouldn’t even need to sleep between stretched of exercises.I also grew friendly with the Hyuuga clan. My strange classmate notwithstanding, Hitomi, Hinata, a surprisingly friendly Hiashi, a forever-amused Hizashi (usually at his brother’s antics), chibi Neji (who was also super adorable), and maybe even Mo (in his own tsundere fashion) soon became a part of my social circle. It helped that they apparently found my chakra coils and the energy within fascinating.I continued to visit the Kurama Clan on and off. Kiko’s homemade Dango was heavenly, and Katsuhiko always had an anecdote to share from when he was part of the Third Shinobi World War’s front-lines. Joka oji-san also joined us many times when it wasn’t his shift at the shop, sharing his own tidbits from before he lost his left arm.I hadn’t any time to visit the other clans because of my own training and the Academy. Things had gone much better than I thought they would, there. Itachi, Kitsuna, Mai, and I became fast friends, true, but my impromptu speech on our first day had… an added side effect.Hyuuga Hideki was a tall eight-year-old boy who hated me with his guts. Or, at least, that’s what he showed. His reputation score of 9 (Adored) confused me a bit since we had not spoken or interacted much at all, unless it was him taunting me. He joined us by insulting me to my face and insisting that there had to be someone who actually knew things to guide us on our foolish endeavor. He likes to call me a commoner, for some reason. His strengths lay in his abnormally strong Byakugan with which he could zoom in to an unnatural degree. Unfortunately, he was weak in the Hyuuga taijutsu style Jyuuken, which was what your place in the hierarchy was judged by. He was also the only Hyuuga I saw so far that har short hair.Nara Biko was your stereotypical Nara… not. Sure, she had a flair for strategy and tactics that always saw anyone losing against her in a shogi match, but she also had an obsession with ninjutsu rivaled only by future Sasuke. In spite of being only an Academy Student, the little sprite already knew three Doton ninjutsu and two of her own clan Hiden. However, her taijutsu and genjutsu were abysmal beyond belief. We had to work her hard to get her up to early advancement standards in those areas, in fact. She said that she found explaining exactly why she joined us far too troublesome.Ryosuke was a ripped seven-year-old orphan from the orphanage across the village from ours. Before meeting him, I did not know it was possible for children to be so muscular. He joined us because he wanted to be the Head of Torture and Interrogation, someday, and ‘being an advanced placement Genin would work in my favor’. He had a tongue nearly as vulgar as mine, something dubbed ‘commoner language’ by Hideki, and was the most hot-tempered of the lot. I’d like to call him brash, but he was scary good at throwing kunai and didn’t need to punch someone to make his displeasure known, never preferring the close-and-personal approach. We got along great, something that seemed to irritate Hideki for god knows what reason.The seven of us were all in the top of our year. I was the highest with perfect scores, followed by Itachi and Hideki contending for second place, Ryosuke, Mai and Kitsuna tied, and finishing up with Biko (amidst several complaints from said Nara). Our teacher was apparently so impressed that we didn’t even need to ask him to allow us to join advanced placement tests this year, he recommended it all by himself.Ahem.The tests were far too easy. This was stuff children struggled with, not a barely twenty-one in a child’s body. I was able to memorize and regurgitate such easy information in verbatim. This was enough since there was not a lot of critical thinking involved.And now, we waited for the results, something which apparently warranted a visit to the office of the dean.“I still don’t understand why we gotta be here.” Ryosuke grumbled from where he was twirling a kunai in his right hand.“Relax, Ryosuke. He’ll probably congratulate us or something and they usher us off to our new class.” I commiserated, patting his shoulder. “Maybe he wants to tell us we scored super high or something.”“Whoop-de-fucking-do.” He continued to grumble.Hideki glared. “At least mind your tongue around us, commoner. It does you no good to spew that plebian word every two sentences.”“What? ‘Fucking’?” Ryosuke glared back. Why the two were always at each other’s throats was a mystery. “Well, what’s your fucking problem, oh Mr. Al-fucking-mighty?”Hideki scoffed. “I expected more.”“Too fucking bad I continue to disappoint your fucking expectations.”“I swear, you two are like children fighting over a toy.” Biko groaned.The two boys turned to glare at her. She simply met their gaze with a deadpan stare.“Just stop it, okay?” Mai sighed, rubbing her temples. A surprisingly adult gesture from a child. “I’m pretty sure Sarutobi-san is laughing in there because we think he can’t hear us.”The door opened then, showing our teacher, albeit amused-looking. “I’m sure that’s not the case, Yamanaka-chan.”Mai sighed.“Do come in, children.” A far deeper voice called from within. We all exchanged glances and squared our shoulders as we followed the command.The office was quite spacious. It reminded me very much of what I had seen of the Hokage’s office in the manga, except a tiny bit smaller. Behind the swiveling armchair that sat in front of a large desk, there was a huge window that gave a fantastic view of the village and the Hokage Monument. The walls were covered with bookshelves filled to the limit with scrolls and books. I did not doubt for a moment that they contained advanced knowledge we were considered too dull, untrustworthy, or simply inadequate for.The man that sat in the chair was not quite as old s the Sandaime. They did look similar, save for the fact that this man did not have his skin sagging like it had lost all elasticity. His hair was still in the process of greying, and he did not reek of smoke, so this couldn’t possibly be Hiruzen. He was titled with [Sarutobi Tenken – Lv ?].He offered us a kindly smile and gestured us all to come to stand before him, which we did, offering a respectful bow. My keen ears caught that our homeroom teacher had quietly closed the door and had come to stand somewhere behind us.“It pleases me to see such drive amongst our students.” He beamed, eyeing us all critically; his gaze rested on me for a moment too long, which I immediately caught. “Do you know what you have accomplished, future shinobi?”Not ‘children’, but ‘future shinobi’. Hm. We all, even the usually authority-disregarding Ryosuke, not wanting to peeve the man who was essentially responsible for our lives while we were in this building. Because none of us were clan heirs, we couldn’t expect any boot-licking or leniency, especially when it came to me and the only other orphan present.“Let me tell you something.” He said, with an air of embarking on a long journey of words. “Our Academy wasn’t established until the Niidaime took the hat. Before that, clan members preferred to grow within their own confines, and rarely were civilians with talent ‘sponsored’ into training. This was beneficial due to the speed at which shinobi were produced and their proficiency, but limited in the sense that very few were actually being produced. This is why the Niidaime established the Academy and made it mandatory for any aspiring shinobi to participate for at least a year. Civilians find far better and unbiased training than any clan would, even with good intentions, allow them. This produces more shinobi, but standardized ones that may or may not progress in rank later on in their career.”Where was he even going with this?“In all my years of being a dean at the Academy, and even during my predecessor’s time, we have never seen such good scores.” He spoke nonchalantly, but even a fool could see the unrestrained glee in his eyes. “Granted, the first year is usually far easier than anything you may ever learn in life, but there is barely a point’s worth of difference between all of your scores. Gundan-kun scored perfectly.” His eyes rested on me with curiosity evident.I felt no satisfaction in hearing that statement. The syllabus was child’s play. What I was more worried about were the practical aspects that would no doubt come later.“I must ask,” he continued, eyes shifting to focus on us as a whole, “how did you all manage to score above the highest scorer in history?”Now that was a tidbit that I was interested in. Itachi was right next to me, so it couldn’t be him. Minato did not become uber-cool until he fell under Jiraiya’s tutelage. So… was it Kakashi?“We had a good teacher.” Ryosuke offered. I was able to catch Mai subtly stamping his foot. “Ow!”“You’re hopeless.” Hideki harshly whispered.“I somehow doubt you’re referring to Janto.” He offered an amused smile.I sighed, stepping forward. I didn’t want this attention, but now that Ryosuke has opened his big mouth… “Forgive me for saying this, Sarutobi-san, but the curriculum is simply too easy for me to have any difficulty. And given that my friends had proficiency below me in the subject-matter, it was only natural that I work to help them.”“Helping your comrades? Good, good.” He hummed, eyeing me critically. “Well, how far into the subject matter have you delved, hm?”“We have memorized and understood most of the Academy’s theoretical curriculum.” I spoke for the group. “The only aspects we haven’t been able to stretch are the practical ones.”His eyebrow arched. “In three months? You learned the entire theoretical syllabus of the Academy in three months?”“I am an orphan, Sarutobi-san, and have little else to do with my time.” I offered, in explanation. I don’t need to tell him that my mind was used to memorizing and working with far more complex subject-matter, and the politics and history of the land felt like fantasy-lore. “It helps that I find the theory very interesting.”“You memorized, perfectly, might I add, the entire theoretical Academy curriculum and were able to teach it to six other students.” He stated, voice a little disbelieving, but not so much that I had to get worried. After all, this was the shinobi world, and such oddities were rare but not improbable. “Hm… alright. You will be bumped a year, given your exemplary scores on the Advanced Placement test. From tomorrow, you are officially in Year Two.”We all bowed. “Thank you, Sarutobi-san.”“It’d be criminal to hold back such talent.” He chuckled. “Even the best of tutors can’t pull miracles if they don’t have sufficient talent to work with.” He then pointedly addressed everyone but me. “You should be proud of yourselves.”“Thank you, Sarutobi-san.” They chorused. I suppressed a groan.“Very well, you are dismissed.” He waved us off. “Something tells me I’ll be seeing you lot in another three months.We took our leave then, Janto-sensei staying behind, not speaking until we were past the stairs and out of the Academy proper.“Ryosuke, you idiot!” Mai hissed, whacking him upside the head. “Now they’ll spy on Gundan-kun!”It was actually common knowledge and quite accepted that the village spies on prodigal talent from the shadows. It was why I told them not to speak of my tutoring, knowing that Ryosuke was a loudmouth. I wanted that attention on me if my plan is to work. I already apparently had the Hokage’s attention, if the Yamanaka sap incident was any tell, but I was aiming for someone else’s gaze.“Be real, Mai.” Biko spoke, staring morosely at the clouds. Hm, with all the time we’ve been spending in the library, I wonder when the last time was that she had a relaxing day. “We live in a ninja village with ANBU patrols. Do you really think no one knows we’ve been at the library at all hours that its acceptable most days?”There was an uncomfortable air about us as she said that. People may have accepted being spied on, but I was still a bit miffed about it, given that I once lived in a world where privacy was as simple as four walls and no cameras.“At least we are done with useless books.” Hideki muttered, crossing his arms in the sleeves of his white kimono. “Perhaps now the great Gundan-sama might deem it wise to start us on more practical aspects.”Ryosuke bristled, for some unimaginable reason. “You-”“Children, children.” I sighed, stopping to turn and offer a benevolent gaze over my friends. “All shall occur in good time. Today, though, I think we’ve earned a bit of rest. We did just pass the Academy’s first year, after all. We can continue working tomorrow, but today let’s treat our bodies to some relaxation time. How about we have a meal together?”The group offered me a collective blink as if unsure I had just spoken. I personally found that very offensive. “Are you sure, Gundan-san?” Kitsuna hedged, cautious despite his monotone drone.I offered him a deadpan stare. “I’m not that bad, am I?”“A week before the tests, you begged Uki-san to keep the library open and let us study throughout the night… and succeeded.” Biko deadpanned.I shrugged. “Aren’t you lot thankful I did that? Now you skipped a year of wasting time at the Academy.”Itachi spoke up in our group for the first time since I knew him without prompting. “Perhaps we can dine at Uchiha Senbei? It is only mid-morning, after all.” To his credit, he did not even stiffen when the group (except Kitsuna, who apparently did not find this odd at all) collectively turned to stare at him in disbelief (admittedly, that included me).“You’re… inviting us to the Uchiha Clan Compound?” Mai asked, astonished. “Seriously?”Itachi looked confused. “Yes. Do you not wish to accept?”“Of course, we’re going!” Ryosuke quickly assured him. “It’s just that… we didn’t think you ever would.”That’s an understatement. While the Kurama and Uchiha clans were indeed growing close, it was still well known that the latter did not take well to people entering what they probably thought of as ‘their space’ besides the former.“Mother wished to congratulate us if we passed.” He explained, still not looking hesitant or unsure. “If you have no objections, of course.”“I don’t think there’s anyone who does not want to go.” I admitted, receiving nods from everyone. “Except… maybe Hideki…?”Said boy sighed. “Alas. Even though I would wish I didn’t have to, it would be extremely rude to Mikoto-sama if I declined the invitation.” He then offered me a baleful look. “Additionally, someone must ensure you do not get into trouble with your commoner’s tongue.”I smiled at him. “Thank you, Hideki. It means a lot that you’re coming.”For some reason, the boy blushed and looked away. “D- don’t say such things.”“Oi! Are you insulting Gundan?” Ryosuke butted in, looking agitated for… god knows what reason.“Boys.” Mai groaned. Kitsuna offered me an especially dead look – he did this when I looked over something obvious, rare as the occasions were. Biko didn’t even grace us with a look. Itachi seemed… amused.“Well, rivalries aside,” I said, physically pushing the two chest-to-chest boys apart, “it’s off to the Uchiha Clan with us!”We made an odd group, walking through the town to the Shinobi District. People, mostly shopkeepers and the like, waved at me or offered a greeting when I passed, which I returned cheerfully. A good effect of me having helped out everyone after the Kyuubi attack was that most of them now knew me by name as a helpful entity, which granted me a place in their good graces. Thankfully, this wasn’t the first time my friends had seen such behavior from the village towards me, so it was not worth any note since I had already explained my stance in the village to them, supported by Kitsuna and Mai. Thankfully, none were particularly shocked at my ‘helpful nature’ because I had ‘taken them under my wing’, so to speak.We crossed into the Shinobi District and I waved cheerfully at a Kurama Clan member I remember engaging in a control contest with last week. She waved back with only a little less energy before turning back to her accompanying friend, which made me blink when I realized she was an Uchiha. Said girl turned to observe me as we walked towards the Uchiha Clan compound.I couldn’t blame her. The fact that there were a lot of clan members in my friend-circle was not the only odd thing to the eye – we all were dressed radically different as well. Hideki and Kitsuna still sported the kimono ninja look, the attire being commonplace in their clan at the moment. Itachi wore a high-collar shirt and cargo pants – black, of course. Mai had on a sea-green short-sleeved dress. I still had my black hoodie-and-slacks ensemble, and Ryosuke had a grey trench-coat with slacks. Biko wore a simple green and grey sleeveless jacket and a modest skirt. This combination of fashions both traditional and modern was eye-catching, I’ll admit, so I wasn’t too peeved when people turned to look.I was used to stares in the Shinobi District enough, at this point. It was odd to see a civilian accompanying a clan-heir, for one. Hiashi was genial about it but I could tell that the Hyuuga watching from their houses around the little space in the compound where Hinata, Neji, and I played. They quickly changed their tune when they saw how good I was with kids (something I refuse to admit) and began to foist off their kids on me as well. It didn’t help things when the Kurama Clan caught wind of this and made me promise to be available when their (now large number of) expecting mothers delivered. I haven’t visited the Yamanaka Clan compound ever, but I have a sinking feeling I’m going to be propositioned to babysitting there as well.I will repeat myself. I’m. Not. A. Mother. Hen. It’s not my fault kids like me, okay? Okay.There were two bored-looking ninjas guarding the Uchiha Clan gates when we approached. Only one of them exhibited any signs of being an Uchiha at all. The second one, a ninja with only one hand and a shaved head garbed in the standard Konoha Jonin gear (black edition), was titled, [Reimon – Lv ?]. Neither looked up or made a fuss as we approached and soon passed between them, but I did turn to look back, to catch Reimon looking at me curiously.I paid it no mind as I continued to follow Itachi.The Uchiha Clan Compound was much less foreboding and dreary when there were no corpses lying around. Very odd, I thought to myself dryly. The place hinted at much more traditional Japanese architecture than even the oldest parts of Konoha, which made me glad that I had waited to come here after I finished a year’s worth of courses at the Academy. Some meritorious history ought to let Ryosuke and me pass the initial ‘orphan’ disgust, hopefully. But if they detested orphans so much, who was that clan-less Reimon, back there?Uchiha Senbei was a quaint little shop that looked like a little Japanese cottage, more than anything. It was adorable. It further helped the cute factor when I noticed that it was overlooked by an old woman, titled [Uchiha Jumi].There were a few tables in a porch-like setting. All were currently empty, save for one. Given the hour of day, mid-morning, I would normally understand that, but the clan head’s wife was currently seated at the table with a baby in her arms – the third person to awake the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, the third to awaken the Rinnegan, and the incarnate of Ashura, Uchiha Sasuke was currently happily sucking away at a bottle of what looked like milk. As we approached, I observed him.
[Uchiha Sasuke – Level 3
HP – 120
CP – 190
Constitution - 2
Health - 1
Agility - 1
Intelligence - 9
Luck - 5
Wisdom - 7
Uchiha Sasuke is the son of Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto, brother to Uchiha Itachi. Having only just begun his life, he has little in the way of memories or experiences]
Oh well. What can you do? You can’t fight the stats of one of the main characters, huh? Hey, that reminds me, I’ve never scanned Itachi, yet!Before I could, though, Mikoto looked up and smiled at us approaching children, a compounding of five, seven, and eight-year-olds. “There you are! Come, have a seat! I just placed an order for some Kaware Senbei. I hope I ordered enough.”Before we approached her table fully, we all stopped to bow out a customary greeting, then we dragged a few chairs over. Itachi had no such reservations and walked straight to his mother’s side, poking little Sasuke on his forehead, immediately getting his attention. The little tyke gurgled happily and tried to grab his finger.“Everyone, this is my mother, Uchiha Mikoto.” Itachi introduced, gesturing towards his mother. “Okaa-sama, this is… everyone.” He finished lamely.Mai quickly cleared her throat. “My name is Yamanaka Mai. I am five years old. I like erosive-sap plants and dislike salty food. My hobbies are gardening and reading books. I dream to become a good Yamanaka Kunoichi.”Mikoto smiled at her. Thankfully, we’d already decided how introductions were going to go. Mikoto clearly wanted to know what kind of people her son was hanging out with. We weren’t going to disappoint, unnaturally nice Uchiha or not. “It is refreshing to meet a fellow Kunoichi not obsessed with boys.” She remarked simply.Mai blushed. “Thank you, Mikoto-sama.”“I am Hyuuga Hideki.” Said boy began, puffing his chest out a little. “I’m eight-years-old. I like nature, and dislike impolite people.” Here, he leveled a dirty look at Ryosuke, who, thankfully, refrained from sticking his tongue out like a little child…. Which he was. Damn, I’m holding them to too high standards. “My hobbies are training my Byakugan. My dream is to become a respected member of my clan.”“The Hyuuga are one of the few people to be able to match us, Hideki-kun.” Mikoto smiled reassuringly. “I hope you see your dream fulfilled.”The boy blushed. “Th- thank you.”“The name’s Ryosuke.” The only other orphan besides me drawled. I resisted the urge to poke him. “I’m seven. I like throwing knives and don’t like snobbish brats. My dream is to join the Torture and Interrogation Department.”Mikoto laughed a tinkly one. “I can safely say I’ve never heard of an aspiring shinobi wanting to be an Interrogator before. I hope you succeed.”“Thanks!” Ryo grinned. Idiot!Biko sighed before she spoke. “Hello. My name is Nara Biko. I’m seven-years-old. I like sleeping and dislike exercise. My hobbies are playing shogi and checkers. My dream is to die without getting married.”Itachi’s mother found this amusing as well. “I can certainly sympathize.” She joked, looking at Sasuke with a mock pout. We politely laughed.Since Kitsuna was already introduced in some other setting, I spoke next and last. “Greetings. My name is Gundan. I like my friends and my village. I hate bland food. My dream is to protect people from the shadows so that they don’t have to get their hands dirty.”It was at this point that Sasuke shifted, eyes landing on me, and then he immediately began to struggle in Mikoto’s grasp, reaching for me.“He’s also unnaturally good with children.” Itachi added. I offered him a betrayed look, to which he simply smirked.Mikoto shifted her chair closer and carefully handed Sasuke over to me wordlessly. Little brat, his hand immediately went to my hair.“Why is every baby I meet obsessed with my hair?” I quietly bemoaned, tickling him with my free hand. He laughed that adorable laugh that babies do and tried to poke my forehead.“It seems what I heard from Kiko was true.” Mikoto mused, and when I looked up her eyes were full of warmth. “It is good to finally meet you, Gundan-kun. I’ve heard much about you, from many people.”I smiled wearily and Sasuke grasped my finger gently. My eyes immediately tracked back down to him as I began to try and tickle his stomach. “All good things, I hope.”“Very.” She assured me and patted my shoulder. “You… are a good boy.”“Thanks…?” I offered in response, unsure what else to say. From the corner of my eye, I spotted Kitsuna shifting while looking uncharacteristically uncomfortable.“You will be pleased, mother, to know that all of us have passed the advanced placement exam with scores that far outshine the highest scorer yet.” Itachi rescued us from falling into awkwardness. “I hope father will be pleased.”“He will be overjoyed, I’m sure. Oh, Itachi!” She squealed, pulling said boy into a tight hug. “I’m so proud of you!”“Thank you, okaa-sama.” Was Itachi’s muffled voice from her bosom. Sasuke giggled.She released him and turned to me. “And I’m sure I have you to thank, in some way. Thank you for helping us, Gundan-kun.”That tipped me off immediately, and I smiled at her before shooting Kitsuna a look from the corner of my eye. I had told Katsuhiko not to tell Fugaku that I requested them to be friendlier! “Itachi is my friend, Mikoto-sama. I leave none of my friends behind.” Kitsuna offered no change in expression, so I turned to look back at Mikoto with a smile equating hers in warmth.“I am glad to see my son has such good friends.” She beamed. Thankfully, it was at this time that the senbei arrived with steaming cups of tea, and conversation somewhat slowed down into small one-liners.Sasuke didn’t want to leave me the entire time, and Mikoto said it was good to have a break, so I politely kept the little one entertained. Eventually, I had to resort to swirling leaves around with chakra threads to distract him from tugging at my short hair, which actually made Mikoto activate her Sharingan for a moment. Hm, it seems an Academy student with chakra control as high as mine was rare… or even one having the knowledge on how to make chakra strings in the first place. Thankfully, with my level ninety control and hundred chakra points per minute regeneration, it was as easy as breathing to manipulate them into various shapes. My friends already knew about my control exercises since I would normally do them while tutoring, so it was of no note to them. Oddly enough, I could feel a couple of eyes on me, not including the ANBU hidden about, but when I looked up the only one looking in my direction was Itachi, and he was focused on Sasuke.Eventually, the sun reached high into the sky, and Mikoto had to leave for home since she had yet to cook. I immediately offered assistance, but she simply laughed and waved me off, saying she had it under control. Before we left, I also approached Jumi with an offer for assistance, which she agreed to, calling me over the next day. Accidentally, though, I touched the [Location Collectible] since it was so close to the door.PING!
[You have discovered: Uchiha Senbei! 6/50 Konoha locations discovered!
Please select one of the following –
Adept Uchiha Taijutsu Scroll
20 Perk Points.
10 stat points.]
Dammit! Well, since I’m not friendly enough with the clan to be using their taijutsu, I quickly selected the last option.
[You have selected: 10 stat points!]
A wasted opportunity. I shook my head as I followed my friends. So, every time I cross a level 5 threshold, my awards double? Good to know, but I could have saved that collectible for just before I had a mission out of Konoha for maximum rewards… dammit.As soon as we reached the gates of the Uchiha Clan Compound, all of my friends, Ryosuke included, made excuses about having places to be and things to do and walked off. I shook my head with a small smile, knowing all of them were mentally exhausted and required time for rest. Instead, I prepared to leap over to my room and practice control for the rest of the day…“Hey, kid.”I stopped, turning to address he who spoke to me. I was surprised to find Reimon, the one-armed guard, gazing at me. “Good afternoon. How may I help you?”The man rubbed the back of his head. “Well, it’s more of the other way around.” He drawled. “I’m a sensor ninja, and I can tell you have amazing chakra control. How would you like to learn a couple of techniques of mine?”I arched an eyebrow, internally incredulous. “You would just… teach me your techniques?”“Well, I’m not going into the field anytime soon.” He said, casting a look at his empty sleeve. “And… I heard what you said back there, about protecting people while in the dark. I could feel you were telling the truth. My techniques would be more of use with someone to pass them on to.”PING!
[Main Quest Alert!
The Mark of the Damned
Reimon, an amputee ninja, wants to pass on his techniques to you so that they may better serve you. Learn his techniques.
Objectives :
????
Reward :
1000xp]
Alarm bells! Alarm bells ringing in my head! Question marks for objectives? Fuck me!PING!I ignored it and showed nothing as I smiled and bowed. “Thank you for your generosity.”He waved me off with clear amusement dancing in his eyes as he turned and began to make his way towards where I knew the Naka Lake was. “No, I must thank you. I’ve been watching you for a long time, young Legion. Even… before.”He took my name. My non-translated name. Fuck, who was this guy? Wait…“From ‘before’?” I asked, with all the air of a curious person.PING!This time, I did look, if only for the screens to offer me some help.
[Silver-tongue failed!]
[Silver-tongue failed!]
I can’t even fool him?! What the hell?“From before the attack of the one known as the ‘nine-tails’, of course.” He smiled genially, and it was bothering me that I could see nothing of his true emotions… if there were any. Was this guy a member of ROOT? Was he an ANBU? “A vain title, but warranted, I’m told.”‘I’m told’. This guy isn’t from around here. But how is that possible? Everyone in the elemental nations knew Hagoromo’s creations from the number of their tails. Where could he-My stomach felt as if it were drenched in ice when I realized. This… this guy wasn’t from this world at all. [Foreign Influences] was at work here.In the time it took me to reach this conclusion, we had already come to Naka Lake. We didn’t stop at the shore, however, and were now walking on the surface of the water. Curiously, no one paid us any mind.“I see you have reached a correct conclusion.” ‘Reimon’ spoke, amused. “Ah, how refreshing it is to find someone so young with such a deductive mind… but you’re not really this young, are you?”I stopped following him and fell into a loose stance, cursing my lack of foresight of not learning a decent taijutsu style. If I had known this was going to happen, I’d have chosen the Uchiha taijutsu scroll. “Who are you?”“My, my, how abrasive.” He mocked, but his feet soon left the surface of the water as he began to float in the air. Pitch-black smoke coiled around his form as a malicious parody of a smile darkened his features. “And here I was thinking we would have a pleasant conversation all along. How thoughtless of me.”I was somehow frozen in place as he reached forward and poked my forehead. Immediately, my surroundings melted. I was no longer standing on the surface of the calm lake. Instead, my feet were planted on the solid obsidian ground, my body buffeted by strong wind. The sky was dark, but I was able to see a world not afflicted by gravity. Large chunks of obsidian rock hung in the air, suspended by an unnatural force. Streams of white light danced throughout the area. A sun-like object hovered far, far away.I recognized the place instantly.‘Reimon’ melted away, and a far more familiar figure took his place, garbed in a simple brown leather duster and grey slacks. His feet and most of his lower body were shrouded by smoke. His eyes were pitch black, and his hair waved as if in a gentle breeze rather than the gale-force winds blowing about.“Outsider.” I gasped out, eyes wide. When I chose that perk, I wasn’t aware that this… this could happen!“When someone takes my name, it’s usually with more reverence.” The being spoke, maliciousness now replaced with serenity in his expression and tone. “Considering how you know of me, however, it is all but expected.”Okay, so a fucking sacrifice-turned-god was in front of me. What the fuck? Naruto was a manga/anime. Dishonored was a game! “How…?”The being laughed. “In time, little one. In time.” He spoke in what he probably thought was an assuring tone. “When I learned that he who considers himself my rival had trapped a human from another dimension in one of his own makings for his entertainment, I simply had to come to see. How interesting to know that this particular human knows more of us than most. You were quite the lazy individual, before.”Despite the situation, I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t take this shit from my parents. What makes you think I’ll take it from you? Besides, how are you even still in power? Billie Lurke should have either killed or saved you.”“Ah, Billie.” He sighed, gaze drifting far away. “She did so much for me. She tried… but this place can’t be so easily left.” He turned back to me with a placid gaze. “I watched your life from before, and I watch you now. You consider this your life after death, do you not? How naïve.”That piqued my already extremely high levels of ‘oh shit’. “What do you mean?”“For that answer, you must pass my trial.” He spoke simply, then tilted his head. “Must we stand on ceremony? You and I both know how this is going to play out, my little Legion. But well, formalities are formalities.” He gestured with his hand towards my own. “I am the Outsider. And this is my mark.”The back of my left hand began to burn. It wasn’t a painful sensation, but neither was it pleasant. It just… was. I lifted it to my face as a familiar brand etched itself onto my skin – the Outsider’s true name in a language I would never be able to speak.PING!PING!PING!“Now… for my trial.” He spoke, hovering higher into the air. “Come find me.”He vanished.I sighed and rand my right hand over the back of my left. It felt like it was a part of me all along – the skin wasn’t slightly raised, it felt no different at first glance either. But when I touched it, my body tingled pleasantly, not unlike the tingle I felt from ASMR. I quickly took my hand away and turned to the notifications that had popped up.
[Due to the actions of a higher being, a new function has been unlocked!
Constituent Energies : Isolated manipulation of physical energy Chi (QI) and spiritual energy Reiryoku (RR) is now implemented. Character Page updated.]I’d hold off on my reaction to that until I saw my character page. In the corner of my vision, my blue CP bar flashed, and in its place appeared a red bar titled QI, above which was a blue bar titled RR. I flicked the notification away to read the next one.
[Due to the actions of a higher being, a new skill has been created!
Mark of the Outsider (Active) Lv 1 (0.00%)
Granted to those who pique his interest regardless of moral alignment or sanity, the Mark allows you to bend the rules of reality. Can cast spells.
Skills Discovered: Apparate (100RR) ]Can I scream now? No, not until I get the answers I need from that black-eyed bastard. I swiped that one off, too, landing on the next one.
[Title Unlocked: Outsider’s Chosen
-50% costs to all Mark of the Outsider Spells]
Well, wasn’t that nifty? I closed it and opened my system menu, navigating over to the [Character Page]. I tapped the question mark in the corner and examined the window. A lot had changed.
[Hints – Character Screen
In order to interact with the world of Ninpo Online, you have been furnished with a customizable avatar. This avatar, besides appearance, can be described by using six statistics, or stats.
Constitution
The constitution of one’s character is directly responsible for how healthy they are. In NPCs, constitution affects their immune system and their health pool. For you, the [CON] stat describes your health pool, your health regeneration, your Chi pool, and limits the selection of armor you can wear.
HP = 100 + (10 for each point in CON)
HP Regeneration = (1 for each point in CON) per minute
QI = 100 + (10 for each point in CON)
Strength
One’s strength describes how strong they hit. For NPCs, this only sets the bounds for their base strength, and denotes how much damage they can inflict. For you, the [STR] stat describes your Chi regeneration rate, your limit for unenhanced physical activity, and the damage you inflict.
QI Regeneration = (10 for each point in STR) per minute.
DMG = Weapon Damage + STR
Agility
This stat affects both, one’s speed and one’s overall sense of balance. For NPCs, this affects their base speed, their accuracy with thrown weapons, and their dexterity while moving. For you, the [AGL] stat shows your base speed, a rough sense of your balance, and, for every ten levels, allows you to advance in [???] by one level.
Intelligence
This stat is directly related to one’s memory power. For NPCs, this affects their recollection capability, learning capability, and their chakra pool. For you, the [INT] stat shows the your Reiryoku pool and also sets the limit for learning certain skills.
RR = 100 + (10 for each point in INT)
Wisdom
This stat is directly entwined with one’s mental processing power. For NPCs, this offers a rough estimate of their tactical capability, chakra regeneration, and chakra manipulation. For you, the [WIS] stat shows your Reiryoku regeneration, allows you to understand better, and sets the limit for learning certain skills.
RR Regeneration = (10 for each point in WIS) per minute.
Luck
This stat is the one that interacts with the environment the most. For NPCs, it determines the probability of certain events happening. For you, the [LCK] stat defines the loot you will receive through combat or quests, the probability of certain events happening, and the chances of External Influence activating.]
So, my chakra was now split into its physical and spiritual energy. What did that mean for my chakra usage?As a test, I attempted to gather Chakra for a [Chakra Leap]. Fortunately, the energy still came naturally to me and I was able to accomplish the action by leaping straight up. I kept a careful eye on my bars as I fell and saw that both had reduced by a little. A quick visit to my character page showed that each had reduced by three points.Hm… Chakra is a meld of physical and spiritual energies, so there was definite addition involved. The cost had also been split evenly between the two, but that could probably be because they both had the same amounts of stats invested in them. Six CP was split evenly into 3QI and 3RR and subtracted from both of them. Since my chakra felt the same as before, I can safely say that it hadn’t grown at all. So… my CP was equal to my Reiryoku and Chi divided by two? That… was going to be a bitch to keep track of.Wait, not really. If I keep both my Reiryoku and Chi levels the same, then the amount of one bar would be my CP, since the double would be canceled out by the division of two. Okay, so that’s the plan.Remembering the ten points I got from [Uchiha Senbei], I quickly opened my [Character Page] and assigned it to my stats, also selecting my new title from the [Orphan] one which had a blank description.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 11
Title: Outsider’s Chosen
Next Level: 20/600xp
HP - 220
QI - 220
RR - 220
CON - 12
STR - 12
AGL - 21
INT - 12
LCK - 21
WIS - 12 ]There, that looked much better. [Physical Resistance] wasn’t a big priority anymore since I’d be upping my [CON] stats for the QI bar, too. How novel. Also, the names of the energies… Reiryoku and Chi… if my suspicions were right, I wouldn’t even need [Physical Resistance].Okay, so now I need to cross this little linear obstacle course. I walked over to the edge and peered into the winds. There was another platform too far away for me to leap to. Time to see how the mark worked.I didn’t do something ridiculous like pointing my hand at the place. The books said- HOLD THE FUCK UP!My eyes snapped wide open when I realized that my first ability with the mark wasn’t a blink. I read and reread it with incredulity. I was now some sort of god-created wizard. Did that mean Reiryoku doubled as MP?DUDE, I’VE BEEN TRYING TO AVOID BEING OVERPOWERED WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS FUCKERY LIKE GAH!Almost as soon as I began to work myself up over it, though, [Gamer’s Mind] kicked in and the irritation receded. I took in a deep breath and relaxed. I need answers, and I need them now.I turned and glared at the spot. No need to point, I just need Destination, Deliberation, and Determination.CRACK!It lasted only for a second, but the sensation of being compressed down and traveling through what I only assume is a wormhole is not fun. At all. Thankfully I didn’t feel like puking if I even could, and disorientation couldn’t affect me because of [Gamer’s Mind], so I shook myself and began to walk the way. Only fifty units of Reiryoku had been cut from my bar because of the effects of my title, and I now regenerated a hundred and twenty points, per minute. So, I could safely use it twice, eventually squeezing in another time when the twenties added up.It took me little time to reach the final rock, by which time [Mark of the Outsider] had leveled up twice and further reduced the cost of using [Apparate]. Thankfully, there was no altar with a rune on it, so I quickly shook off the feeling of dread that had been growing in my stomach – having to look all over the elemental nations for those tiny runes would have been fucking hell.The Outsider hovered there, gazing into a cloud of light. Agitated, I made my way over, stomping until I chanced a glance into it. I froze in my tracks.It was… me.Not Legion, but me from before. I recognized several instances that played in fast-forward in that cloud, but I stopped myself from deliberating on those memories.“I want my answers.” I bit out instead, staring resolutely at the god that brought me here.His form turned, and he looked upon me with amusement. “Why, of course. Before I return you back to your new home, what would you have me tell you?”“What did you mean when you said that this is not my afterlife?” I bluntly asked. From the corner of my vision, I spotted the mark glowing with my agitation. [Gamer’s Mind] quickly swooped in and calmed me down, though.“Through the events that tied me to the Void, I… ascended.” The Outsider began, waving his hand to gesture into the blackness around us. “I gave light to the Void because I willed it. I wished for something to occupy this space, so Obsidian appeared and grew. I wished for entertainment, so it once again allowed me to peer into the worlds beyond.” He smiled. “In many ways, the Void was my first true friend. It still is. However, the void is… an incomplete half, you might say. The only reason I am able to interfere in what you’re now living is because it is from the power of that other half that your soul was bound and brought into your world, bestowing upon you powers of great potential, for the sake of amusement.”I tilted my head. “And who bound my soul to this world? Who gave me my Gamer powers?”“You already know.” The God spoke. “Do you remember, Legion? Do you remember the Dark Dimension?”The Dark Dimension…? “Dormammu?!”The Outsider looked upon me with a smile. “You do not remember, but you know enough to deduce. Such a sharp mind, even considering your true age.” He then made a show of gasping. “Ah, but I have said too much. If you knew everything, you wouldn’t be nearly as interesting… or maybe you would? Some rare gems are truly unpredictable.”Dormammu is from another universe entirely! And this is from way before my [Foreign Influences] perk! “What is going on?! Dormammu is from-”“Originally, that was all you would contend with.” The Outsider spoke, looking placid as ever. “Your ‘life’ was to be a simulation. Dormammu would watch your plight with amusement. But… I did say we were connected. It was I who gave you a choice – a choice to open up your world, so to speak.”I stared at the being in shock. “That perk… you put it there?”“Dormammu is, above all, territorial. Do you truly think I would be able to pull you here if his magic was all that bound you?” The Outsider smirked. “It is out of his hands, now. That which I did has weakened me severely, but it was worth it. The Void itself seems to rejoice at my decision. Why? I do not know. But it shall amuse me to find out.”“You could send me back.” I realized. “Even now, you can send me back to my old life, can’t you?”“You have passed, in that world. You can never be Yvon Mendez again.” The god whispered as if to console me. “Your life was lived in full and given up at your insistence. Souls who try to end themselves are cast out of the cycle, so here you are. However, you are unique in the sense that you remember… you recall. It is, perhaps, the greatest mistake Dormammu has made. You are now… a wild card, in your terms. The power of the Void that now flows through your veins, for yes, it has made you flesh and blood again, is a beacon – an invitation for others like me or those who serve them, to watch, to observe… to intervene.”“You-”“Ah, but you have spent enough time in the Void for the changes to take place.” He said, leaning in closer to caress my cheek, from which I flinched away. “Live, little Legion, my only request is to live. The Multiverse won’t be nearly as interesting otherwise."He poked my forehead, and there I was, standing on the surface of Naka Lake, alone. I glanced around and quickly noted that the sun was in roughly the same spot, so not much time had passed. I really needed to get a watch.I looked at the back of my left hand and sighed - the Mark was still there.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“He can bleed, now?” Hiruzen asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Gundan was rapidly turning out to be both the cause as well as the balm to most of his headaches.“Hai, Hokage-sama.” Inu nodded, frowning behind his mask. “After he walked upon Naka Lake, he has been exhibiting… strange behavior.”“The brat is already too strange.” Shikaku groaned. “What troublesome behavior could he be displaying?”“For one, he continued working on chakra manipulation past his limits. You must recall how I previously reported that Taka had observed his chakra was stagnant? It is now… roiling, for a lack of better word. I believe Taka would be a better choice for explaining.”At Hiruzen’s nod and a swift whistle from Inu, another ANBU landed next to his squad captain. Besides the animal depicted on his mask and the smooth black hair tied into a bun at the back of his head, there was no noticeable difference. “Report, Taka.” The Sandaime ordered.“Hai.” The agent stood, and approached the man’s desk, drawing to himself a sheaf of unused paper and a pen. After a minute of tense etching, he withdrew from the table and spoke. “While normal chakra-users have the uniform system drawn on the left, the target has a system more similar to the one on his right. Where before his chakra lay stiff and unmoving unless he used it, it is now continuously moving throughout his body, not unlike a normal ninja. Only…”“His chakra system is evenly split between both physical and mental energies.” Hiruzen remarked, gazing at the paper critically. Beside him, Tsunade did the same, eyes narrowed.“The balance is perfect. There’s not even a tiny bit of chakra imbalance. This… is impossible.” Tsunade murmured, eyes scrutinizing the picture-perfect drawing on the table. “There must be at least a unit’s worth of difference…? No ninja has ever perfectly balanced their energies, not the strongest not the weakest.”“It is, indeed, well-known that physical energy is gleaned from exercising the body, and mental energy is extracted from a well-practiced mind.” Hiruzen spoke, taking a drag from his pipe. “Even disregarding the imbalances children are born with, it is next to impossible to have perfectly balanced energy amounts.” He turned to his other student with a smirk. “It seems, Orochimaru, that you have more to work on.”Said man remained silent, eyes glittering as he examined Taka’s drawing.“When his chakra grows, both of them also grow in sync, limiting the capability for discrepancies. This has happened only once, however, so I can’t be sure. But that’s not all.” The ANBU said, then reached forward to tap a particular place in the drawing.“His mental energies are circulating his body, but only in wisps. Most of it congregates and then disperses around this point.” He explained. “The target has a tattoo there that did not exist prior to him walking the Naka Lake.”“Our platoon has searched the area thoroughly, but nothing exists that should have exhibited this symptom.” Inu interceded. “We even walked the same path, but no one developed the mark. It would have been beneficial, too, because since then…” he sighed, “since then, the target has exhibited teleportation capabilities.”The office descended into silence.“Pardon me, but I don’t think I heard you correctly.” Hiruzen uttered, his pipe dangling loosely from his lips. “Did you say… teleportation?”Inu nodded tiredly. “The target can vanish and appear instantly in another place, regardless of distance. To the Sharingan eye, it appears as if he swirls into nonexistence, the center-point being his navel, and appear in a reversed manner.”“Close observation reports that it consumes only his spiritual energy.” Taka added. “However, the amount required seems to be decreasing rapidly with use. Of this phenomenon, there are two noticeable facts – one, the cost of performing this technique decreases after he performs them in a multiple of five; it took him teleporting five times to reduce the cost the first time, then ten, and so on. Second, his spiritual energy does not seem to grow in amount or density as he works it.”Silence.“I’m… still trying to wrap my head around the teleporting part.” Shikaku admitted. “The only ninja who I know of that can do so were…”“Minato-kun and Tobirama-sama.” Hiruzen completed, looking grim. “This boy seems to be a positive treasure trove.” He turned to Tsunade. “Have we made any progress in finding out who his parents are?”The only female in the room grunted angrily. “We’ve only gotten a match for his mother thanks to the yearly blood-bank campaigns – it was Fiyohi, a whore from Konoha Bara. We’re still getting a blank on his father.”“Track her lineage down as best you can. I want a detailed family tree on my desk by tomorrow evening.” Hiruzen ordered. “It is imperative that we track down any family members like him and offer them citizenry to Konoha. Given what this boy is capable of, I don’t want a similar force contesting against us in any war.”“Hai, sensei.” Tsunade nodded. She wholeheartedly agreed.“Orochimaru-kun, you have not spoken during the entire meeting.” Hiruzen noted, eyeing his student. “What are your thoughts?”“His growth.” The man answered, eyes still not leaving the drawing, as if trying his best to etch it into his memory. “It seems to come in bursts. And, following this quarter’s observation, we know that the more he uses a particular technique, the better he gets at it. His chakra no mesu are now practiced enough to cover his entire hand and cut through wood. I was wondering that if we isolate the external event or internal agent that triggers his growth, would we be able to harness it for our own ninja?”“Given that he can now bleed, we submitted his blood the moment we had a sample.” Inu answered, gesturing to Tsunade.“It’s normal.” Said woman answered, looking uncomfortable. “There’s no kekkei-genkai gene, no unusual chemical compound, and no extra chromosome. The markers for albinism and heterochromia are present, but nothing else makes him different from, say, the common ninja, besides his appearance.”“Perhaps then, the difference is not in his physical body…?” Orochimaru ventured, not contesting his teammate. Learned in the medical arts he may be, but Tsunade far surpassed him in that regard.“His chakra is no different from a civilian’s, save for the potency, and no elemental inclination.” She affirmed again. “I had wondered if the emergence of that tattoo on his hand was an answer, but…”“It is not a seal, whether natural or man-made.” Taka spoke.Inu nodded from his side. “I even examined it with my Sharingan. It appears simply as… darkness. There is no chakra in it, and any mental energy it may use goes off to god knows where until the boy can replenish his reserves… far more rapidly than a normal ninja, as we’ve previously reported.”“If it is not a seal, then where is the energy going?” Shikaku asked, looking mildly annoyed. “Better: how is it going?”“We have not managed to find out.” Inu shrugged. “Perhaps Jiraiya-sama might have better luck…?”“He’s still only due in three months.” the Sandaime shook his head. “And even then, I’m not sure I should subject the poor boy to his antics. Young children are impressionable, after all. Gundan-kun is a paradox, yes, but it is one that is in no urgency to be unraveled, nor is it pitted against us. The boy is popular all about the village as a helpful individual, and he had recently tutored a group of children in the Academy who all crossed the highest marks ever scored, even during the second advanced placement exam.” He chuckled. “Tenken-kun was over the moon.”“Impressive.” Orochimaru murmured. “Perhaps even Anko might benefit from his tutelage when he joins the force under me.”“I assumed you would be giving up your apprentice?” Hiruzen trailed, taking a drag from his pipe. “You were more enamored with Gundan-kun’s potential than I have ever seen you be excited about Anko.”“At this point, she is the one with the second-most potential in her generation. I would be an idiot to give that up.” Orochimaru dryly replied. “The snake contract always demands only the best of their summoners.”“Hmm.” The man’s teacher hummed. “I have faith in your abilities to be able to balance an apprentice and a Genin team without problems, so I will not push it.” He cleared his throat. “Very well, this meeting is adjourned. We will reconvene in three months when Jiraiya arrives to discuss Gundan-kun’s progress, as we have been doing. Dismissed.” *** PING!
[A skill has leveled up! MAX level reached!
Chakra Cost Mastery (Passive) Lv 99 (9.62%)
Allows extremely strict control over chakra flow, allowing the user to lower the cost for jutsu by a large margin. Finely tuning chakra movement throughout the body is now second nature.
-99% CP cost for chakra-imbued skills.
Exercises Discovered – Leaf Balancing (0.1 CP/min), Tree Climbing (0.2 CP/min), Water Walking (0.3 CP/min), Chakra String (0.4 CP/min/string), Cloth Stiffening (0.5 CP/min/m2), Senbon Balancing (0.6 CP/min/needle).
The skill has evolved due to reaching the highest possible rank!
Chakra Medium (Passive) Lv MAX (100%)
By mastering strict control over internal chakra flow, only a bare minimum of chakra is required to initialize a jutsu. Finely tuning chakra movement throughout the body is now second nature. Due to unshakable control, you now regenerate chakra at a much higher rate.
-50% delay in regeneration of physical and spiritual energies.
-99% chakra cost for chakra-imbued skills.
Exercises Discovered – Leaf Balancing (0.1 CP/min), Tree Climbing (0.2 CP/min), Water Walking (0.3 CP/min), Chakra String (0.4 CP/min/string), Cloth Stiffening (0.5 CP/min/m2), Senbon Balancing (0.6 CP/min/needle).]
Good.I sighed as the senbon and leaves dropped to the ground, wringing my fingers out to get the satisfying crack sounds. After three months of hard work, I was finally here. I had wondered what would happen when I reached the maximum possible threshold. I guess hoping for a hundred percent reduction rate was far too hopeful, but eh.I surreptitiously swiped the screen away and stood. When the Outsider made me flesh and blood again (involuntarily, I imagine; maybe something about the Mark itself…?), he granted back to me simple pleasures such as the relaxation aspect of laying down, as well as a greater sensation of physical stimulus. I am grateful for that if nothing else.“I see that you lot have got the hang of it.” I said simply, turning to look at my friends.Hideki was stoically perched on the surface of the lake we were all standing on with ease. In fact, he looked content. It could be because of the natural inclination all the Hyuuga reportedly have for the water affinity. Well, today we’ll find out.Itachi was in a similar state of mind. I expected nothing less, even though that sounds harsh. He already had done the tree-walking on his own time, so when the others did it, I asked him to teach me about genjutsu. To say the art was simple would be saying that the sky is blue – it was a gross understatement. However, its usage required great amounts of imagination, visualization, and chakra control, so it wasn’t that hard. I guess it helped that I had [Gamer’s Body], and had a nifty little skill for it, but eh.
[Genjutsu Mastery (Passive) Lv 7 (68.2%)
The mastery of casting of illusions.
+7% chance to inflict damage on the nervous system.
-7% chance for target to escape illusion.]
So yeah. I guess that hanging around someone with the capability to wipe out their entire clan had its perks. I couldn’t cast it from my eyes, I had found, but I could use the Mark for that. Speaking of which, apparently getting a tattoo as a big deal around here, because I was positively swarmed with questions. Hideki seemed most flustered, probably because of the seal on his head. I made a mental note to do something about that.Mai, Kitsuna, and Ryosuke had the least amount of trouble with the exercises. They just didn’t have the amount of chakra it would take to have any problems at all. They were the first to actually finish it, followed closely by Hideki.Biko, however apparently had a lot, if her ninjutsu capacity was anything to go by, and was found complaining about it even more than normal. All our encouragement and tips, however, saw her master t faster than Sasuke did in the manga – a day and a half. However, that could be because of the fact that she was younger and had lesser reserves.Water walking was no different. After getting them started on the shallow side of the lake, we eventually proceeded closer and closer to the center. And here we are.Biko was shin-deep in water, though. “I don’t know how you troublesome people got it down so easily.”“Just keep up the good work. Mom said that perfecting the exercises as fast as we did is a job well done.” Mai encouraged, before shooting me a dirty look. “We shouldn’t be learning this until we’re Genin, anyway.”“We need to get stronger.” I shrugged. “After practicing throwing weapons, control is the next skill that has greater benefits the sooner it’s learned for normal people. Even taijutsu must be changed and refined while we grow, so that’s less of a priority right now.”“C’mon, Mai!” Ryosuke cheered from where he was running around us in circles. “If we can master it, so can you!”“Control conserves our chakra, allowing a ninja to last longer in the field.” Kitsuna added his two cents. It was a rare enough occasion where he spoke without being prompted that everyone listened. “It also opens up a wider variety of techniques to perform, such as medical jutsu, genjutsu, fuinjutsu, and so on.”“Yeah, yeah.” Mai sighed. “It’s just that… well…”I felt for the girl, I really did. She was being pushed to perform well because her clan had all but ordered her to end up on my team, which meant graduating with me. Some people just aren’t meant to be super-talented. “Sorry, Mai. Let’s end the day, guys. I think we’ve worked enough for today.”Biko rushed to the shore before collapsing on the ground. “You- are- monsters!” she panted.“Cute monsters.” Mai grumbled, walking normally like the rest of us onto solid ground.“Very well.” I said sagely, then dramatically waved my hands towards the rest of my peers. “Congratulations on completing an exercise that takes most Genin a long time to do! Remember to practice your control regularly, or else it will deteriorate and fail. Those who want harder control exercises to refine it further, please let me know tomorrow – as Kitsuna said, it opens a lot of doors for us, so please take the day to think about it. Otherwise, we’re going to start skipping the Academy to get our taijutsu up to standards.”“Won’t that count as truancy in our Academy Record, commoner?” Hideki sneered while blushing at the same time. What an odd fellow.“Nope. I checked, and the minimum required attendance for the Academy in order to be considered for Advanced Placement tests is eighty percent. We can skip up to ten weeks of classes without fear, and we won’t be doing that much.” I smiled. “Most of us have our own clan styles, so let’s get scrolls on those tomorrow. Ryosuke and I, however, will need to learn the Academy style until we get our Jonin sensei who will, hopefully, know better-suited ones.”“Sounds like a plan.” Ryosuke grinned, shooting Hideki a strange look that caused the latter to get all riled up. Seriously, those two were super strange.“We will need at least a basic command of taijutsu to pass.” Itachi spoke, face scrunched up in adorable concentration. I internally squealed. “So, it is best that we learn quickly. We can then focus on the E-rank ninjutsu, which I’m told is the easiest part of the Academy. After that, we only have to ace the two tests we have left to become Genin.”“We only took the second test a week ago! Please don’t remind me about it.” Mai protested, huffing. “Having to pass four years’ worth of school in one is hard.”“Hence, why, those who do are considered prodigies.” Kitsuna droned, not unkindly. “We are the best in our generation, currently.”And it was true. After seeing us pass onto the next year with the best grades ever, many students had tried to join us. Unfortunately, they left along the line, finding our studies too ‘intense’. I did not hold it against them.“Alright, I’m done for the day.” Ryosuke sighed, suddenly appearing weary. “Let’s meet up tomorrow at… say… seven?”“I expected no earlier from a commoner.” Hideki snarked. “Would you like a royal massage to relax your muscles, our highness?”“If it’s you? Fuck no! God knows where those hands have been.” Ryosuke gave as good as he got, let it not be said otherwise.“You two really have some issues.” Biko sighed, standing tiredly from her place on the ground. “I’ll be here at six, even though I’m dead on my feet. So none of you get to be late.”“Isn’t training too ‘troublesome’?” Mai asked, elbowing the only other girl present with a sly grin.Biko sighed. “As much as it pains me to admit, hanging out at the Academy with a teacher breathing down my neck is not very relaxing. I now see clearly that I can only relax when I’m firmly behind a desk. Preferably at the gates.”Fat chance of that happening. When I said the Nara was talented with ninjutsu, I meant it in the most extreme sense possible. Her considerable intellect was put to good use breaking down and analyzing ninjutsu, so much so that it was terrifying what she could do with a Doryuuheki alone. I had no doubts she would, one day, be proficient with her element enough to rival most Tsuchigakure shinobi, and that’s if she doesn’t do the training exercises.We all said our goodbyes and I turned to observe the lake as they made their way away. Once I was sure they were far enough away, I opened my perk menu.I had been saving this for a momentous occasion, and mastering chakra control ought to be a good enough reason to. Currently, I had two-hundred and twenty-five perk points available, far beyond what I needed to purchase the last perk of this tier.So I did.PING!
[Perk Purchased!
Due to purchasing a perk, a new function has been unlocked!
Function: Permanent: Familiar
You are now able to choose a sentient companion to accompany you on your adventures.]
That done, a new set of perks cleared up.
[Perks
Bloodline 1 – Unlock a bloodline.
Cost: 150 PP.
Mutant Gene 1 – Unlock a mutant gene.
Cost: 150 PP.
Magic Specialty 1 – Unlock a specialty field of magic.
Cost: 150 PP.]
…BLOODY SHIITTY GAME FORCING ME TO BE OVERPOWERED AND SHIT! WHAT THE FRIGGITY FRACK SNIGGITY SNACK! FUCK YOU!The anger drained away with the onset of [Gamer’s Mind] and I took a deep breath and exhaled. Okay, so clearly I had to purchase these if I want to move on. It’s just a fact. No need to get worked up. I was curious, though, could I give someone else these abilities? I’m pretty sure no one can see my interface, right?“Create a party!”Nothing. Zero, zilch, nada. Dammit!Hmm…. Food for thought. I’ll try it out with Naruto first, and see how things go from there. If not? No harm, no foul. If I can…I’m going to give certain people a far greater boost than otherwise possible.For now, though, I closed the screen and prepared myself. I had leveled up the Mark to level nine, bringing the cost to [Apparate] down to 20RR. Every level removed ten points from the cost, so I think that when I master this ability, I’ll unlock the next one – it would make sense since the Outsider had no worshippers here and, thus, no runes or bone-charms. The Outsider wouldn’t want me to have the mark and leave it useless.I still had thirteen more times to teleport before I leveled it up if my calculations were correct. With my title, the costs are cut in half, which means 10RR. Every time I leveled it up, I needed to use the skill five more times than before to continue my progress. I had stopped to help my friends with their training, so I hadn’t practiced it much. That reminds me, even though I helped them with their throwable practice, I didn’t actually try myself. I should get to that sometime.Anyway, I closed my eyes and rotated my left wrist in preparation, then I vanished, sans crack this time. At level 5, the skill had upgraded itself without any prompt to be silent.I apparated around the lake for the required number of times and stopped only when I heard the familiar PING of a notification.
[A skill has leveled up! MAX level reached!
Mark of the Outsider (Active) Lv MAX (100%)
Granted to those who pique his interest regardless of moral alignment or sanity, the Mark allows you to bend the rules of reality. Can cast spells.
Skills Discovered: Silent Apparate (10RR)
Choose a new skill to learn:
Dark Vision
Imbuing your eyes with the power of the void allows you to see more than most.
Animal Whisperer
Using the power of the void, there is no creature that you cannot communicate with.]
The choice was obvious. I have practically no reason to choose the latter, and seeing vision cones and enemies through walls was dang useful.PING!
[A skill has evolved!
Mark of the Outsider (Active) Lv 11 (0.00%)
Granted to those who pique his interest regardless of moral alignment or sanity, the Mark allows you to bend the rules of reality. Can cast spells.
Skills Discovered: Silent Apparate (10RR), Dark Vision (10RR/sec).]
Nice! I activated it at once. The colors of the world faded into monochrome, but the new color scale was far from hindering. I looked around, and saw that…Wait… no way!I could see the chakra pathways of the fish below the lake!PING!I ignored it and quickly apparated to the shore and snuck up on some unsuspecting people, and yes, indeed, I could see their pathways.I quickly turned it off when my RR approached dangerously low levels.
[A skill has leveled up!
Mark of the Outsider (Active) Lv 12 (20.0%)
Granted to those who pique his interest regardless of moral alignment or sanity, the Mark allows you to bend the rules of reality. Can cast spells.
Skills Discovered: Silent Apparate (10RR), Dark Vision (9RR/sec).]
Okay, so I needed to keep in switched on for five seconds for the first time to level up, and since I had stopped it when I had 20RR left, I clearly had to use it for ten seconds to level it up again. So, it follows the same level-up path… I could literally level this up in one day. Nice!Now, for something else I’ve been thinking about.The world of Avatar used Chi to bend the elements. I had heard the word a couple of times while watching the series, I’m sure of it. The first time I had seen the word ‘Chi’ being related to me, this was what was at the forefront of my mind.I walked to the shore of the lake and narrowed my eyes. The first exercise to water-bending was pushing and pulling the liquid with your hands.Could I… could I do it?I took a rough approximation of the stance I could remember having seen most water-benders take before I stopped. What if I could only choose one element to bend? Did I really want to choose water?Well, it had the most ability out of all the elements – it could pressurize, slice, drown, and overwhelm, and it had the added benefit of being able to heal. It was the only art that I had seen do so. Plus, and I’m not sure if this will happen in this world, but it could calm spirits, too.Mind finalized, I fell into the stance and focused. Chi was your body’s energy, your physical energy. That’s why to move the element, the bender had to move as well. I focused on the water, moving my hands as if it were the water, back and forth. I tried to visualize it, but then I noted that that would be using my mental energy. No, I had to move it without visualizing it, actually.So, I did. The water is an extension of me. It will move!PING!Final-
[A skill has leveled up!
Idiocy (Passive) Lv 46 (36.2%)
Sometimes, people don’t understand why you are doing what you are doing. Because of this, they may think you are insane, really foolish, or just plain endearing.
46% chance to earn positive REP with those around you.
54% chance to make those around you think you are crazy.]
… Fuck you too, Konoha ANBU!No, no. I needed to get this right! The water will move, it will! This s going to be a valuable skill when it comes to infiltration and surprising opponents; it has to work! Move, dammit!I stopped immediately when that statement made me realize what was wrong.I was thinking like an earth-bender!Okay, what were the philosophies? For earth, you had to have an iron will to face things head on. For air, you had to move with the wind and have a knack for avoiding. For fire, you had to have a strong desire to control, and just erupt. For water… you had to flow with the energy to redirect; be open to change.So, I stopped and observed the lake. Because of the fish, there were a few rippled here and there.I focused on one. Remembering to be open to flow with change, I reached my hand out and made the pushing and pulling motion… which the water obeyed!PING!
[Due to a special action, a skill has been created!
Water-bending (Active) Lv 1 (43.8%)
By using your body’s energy to redirect and flow with change, you are able to control the element of water.
Limit: 10l.
Cost: 20QI/sec ]Yes! Yes, yes, yes! This was going to be my ace in the hole against Dormammu. Additionally, it will help my raid on Danzo! So far, the man hadn’t made a move yet, but I was sure he will soon. It is then that I will strike.Now, it’s grinding time! *** I squealed internally when Naruto laughed the little baby giggle as I made leaves dance in front of him using chakra strings.Today was the first time I was allowed to take him outside the orphanage and was entrusted with his care by Mika. She was a bit worried about how the people would react to his presence, but I simply smiled to assuage her worries and told her everything would be alright.I wasn’t wrong.Literally everyone in the village knew me at least by name and face, if not deeds. I was thorough in my brainwashing- ahem! I mean, I was totally sure that my persuasion skills had already brought his image up by… a lot. I wouldn’t have chanced it otherwise – young children are impressionable, after all.People wherever we passed offered Naruto speculative glances at first, that quickly dissolved into warmth when they spent more than ten seconds observing Naruto. And really, I don’t know if it was the effect of Naruto’s outlandish luck, a side-effect of having the chakra of the charismatic Ashura, or just plain fate, but he had this… positive energy about him that was very hard to stay negative in the face of. Women, especially matronly ones, actually approached us and cooed over him a bit. The whisker marks added up with his blond-haired-blue-eyed cute-boy image and made his hard-to-resist aura even more amplified. I was not jealous in the least; I already had enough people coo over me because of my resemblance to the Niidaime.Do I regret choosing this appearance? Absolutely not.The Niidaime was who I considered the most powerful, back when I was… in the other world. The man had no kekkei-genkai, no absurd chakra-reincarnation shenanigans, nothing. He worked hard on his water-affinity and sealing and became legendary for it – it was his original seal-work that inspired Minato, after all, and the lad went on to improve his seal to the point it became his signature jutsu. He got to where he was on his own merit alone and changed the village – for the better or worse, that’s debatable. But hey, everyone has their flaws.I smiled politely at everyone who did the same and offered confused glances to those who looked apprehensive, something that had them quickly changing their tune. Honestly, it was surprising what a pretty face and the right expression along could net you, and I was far from the sort of person who wouldn’t take advantage of it. I internally gloated, proud of six months of hard work persuading everyone to let go of their hatred. It really went to show what damage lingering hatred and fanning said fire could do. However, hat I did was balm the wounds, so to speak, and thus, the effects were the opposite.I wouldn’t say the village loved Naruto yet (except the female half, apparently), but I could safely say they don’t hate or even dislike him anymore. I hope that Kushina was smiling at me from the pure world, and that Minato could somehow see this from the belly of the Shinigami. They’d be overjoyed, I’m sure; I certainly know I was.I crossed into the shinobi district without much fanfare, waving at the guards who smiled at me in turn. There was a bonus to being popular, I suppose; literally no-one wanted to ruin my day.I dropped the leaves as I entered the Uchiha Clan Compound. My efforts also saw that they were being forcibly made social by the Kurama, and now, the Hyuuga Clan. Boy, wasn’t the second one a surprise! But apparently, Kiko and Hitomi were best friends after being on a Genin team together, and when the former told the latter of my request, she actually squealed to high heavens about how kind I was, etcetera, etcetera. I would have loved to see the look on their faces if they ever realized I’m not doing this completely out of the purity of my heart, but that being widely-known would be counterproductive to my plans.I approached Uchiha Senbei with a playful Naruto squirming around in my arms. I actually felt pity for him. As an Uzumaki, he was already born with a major imbalance in internal energies. His naturally higher physical energy was only shot to new ridiculous heights because of only the Yang-half of Kurama being sealed into him. His body was hard-wired for ADHD or it’s elemental-nations equivalent.I sighed as I used [Water-bending] to manipulate a small globe of water from a bottle I carried into different shapes. He immediately began to laugh again.I waved to Jumi, who beamed and waved back at me. I had finished all of her shop quests, giving me more positive reputation with the Uchiha Clan and netting me 140xp and ryo. I had plans for getting more money, but that could wait until after I dealt with Danzo. Speaking of whom, I finally managed to spot a couple of ROOT members around me when I practiced my [Dark Vision]. Apparently, its limits were up to my discernable vision, which was much, much, better than my past life. When it upgraded to [Void Gaze], it improved by a lot. I could now see a blue shade color that perfectly outlined people’s presence, even through walls, and a light cyan that followed their chakra network, even through physical objects. I could actually see all chakra – talk about being surprised when I spotted a seal that was part of a much larger network that connected to span a wide circle on the village walls; this must have been the barrier technique that lets the personnel assigned sense intrusions. Regardless, I could not see vision cones nor objects of interest highlighted in green. Well, I suppose the latter is a blessing, since everything would be green otherwise. When the [Mark of the Outsider] levelled up next, I passed over [Possession] because of my telepathy, and chose [Water-blast]. It worked by sending out a thick forceful spout of water from the Mark itself. It should prove useful should I ever be in a place without water for my bending…Which was coming along very nicely. My limit apparently increased by ten liters every level up, which made sense when weighed against what water-bending masters could do in the anime. There was no level up bonus even when I crossed the twenty-five-level mark besides halving the still-twenty chi costs to ten, however progress was now slow as fuck. The [Chakra Medium] skill effectively brought my regeneration from per minute to per thirty seconds, so I was super happy having no to give a break while I water-bended. It was also loads of fun! After I realized that I couldn’t do grander feats using Naka Lake because of the public, I scoured ninja training grounds to find one with a suitable body of water for me to use. Lo and behold, I found it at training ground 7. I took the 10 stat points from the [Location Collectible] without much complaining when I accidentaly back-flipped onto it, adding to the five I still had left over from the Outsider’s quest’s level up, and then had my fun.Water was an element whose skillset was based almost entirely on versatility. Someone is trying to whip to with water? Spin on your feet and send it back! Someone is trying to throw stuff at you? Bring up a water-shield and shoot out sharp blades of…Wait.I just realized! Dammit, I hadn’t tried phase-shifting yet! Ice and steam, I completely forgot I could change water into them and bend them effectively! Maybe that’s why my skill isn’t rising – I have yet to mix and match my repertoire. Sigh.It was this sort of epiphanies that made me hesitant to try to bend another element when I had yet to master even one. For the sake of paying homage to the Avatar Cycle though, I was going to try bending earth next, whenever I would. Bending blood and metal ought to be useful in many ways, and that was discounting the infiltration and escape benefits. That was a long way away, however, I still had to master water first, currently sitting and not budging from level 33. I realized that, for being only a month since I gained it, this was incredibly good, but I really wanted to try and see if I could bend the other elements. If I could teach Naruto air-bending, something that was spiritual and touched with inner peace, maybe he would get a better handle on his internal energies. Unfortunately, it was on the opposite side of the Avatar Cycle, and I wasn’t too sure I could learn another element at all. How am I supposed to teach if I don’t know it myself?I sighed, then began to absently tap my foot as my impatience grew. Waiting for Mikoto and Hitomi was a huge pain – the two were always late!I rolled my eyes and decided to get some work done. Shifting control of the water to the fingers of the hand holding a giggling Naruto, I used my free hand to open my system menu and navigate over to the [Perks] subsection. I had 191PP just sitting there, collecting dust. I bit my lip – without a party system, I wasn’t sure how to give anyone any of these perks at all!Well… I had an idea…I carefully took a distracted Naruto’s hand in my own, and carefully nudged my chakra into him. My eyes quickly darted up to his, noting that he was still happily giggling away at the various animals the globe of water was shifting into. Carefully I bought his hand to the menu, took a deep breath, and selected [Bloodline 1] with his fingers.
[Are you sure you would like to give Uzumaki Naruto Bloodline 1?]
I blanked out. It… it was just that easy? Holy hell! Did this mean he’d have my gamer abilities, too? Or would it just be the kekkei-genkai? Well, it clearly said I’d only be giving him it, but…Oh well. Fuck canon. I used his hand to accept it again.
[Please select one of the following:
Fire + Wind = Steam
Fire + Water = Boil
Fire + Earth = Lava
Fire + Lightning = Plasma
Wind + Water = Ice
Wind + Earth = Sand
Wind + Lightning = Swift
Water + Earth = Wood
Water + Lightning = Gale
Earth + Lightning = Magnet]
Holy. Fucking. Hell. If I had chosen this option myself, I’d be super OP… which I don’t want… right? Why was the game even forcing me to be this strong? Were things ahead going to be that rough? Sure, I want to find and rough up Dormammu someday, but I don’t need to be ultra-powerful to do that… right?I shelved that thought for now, setting it aside to focus. ANBU and ROOT were constantly watching over me, so it would make sense if they would scan Naruto out of passing curiosity too. SO they probably already know he has the wind element. I should choose something with it so that it isn’t very suspicious that he spontaneously developed two other chakra natures just by hanging out with me. So, my options were Steam, Ice, Sand, or Swift. Swift was next to useless considering his speed boost with Kurama’s chakra cloak, and sand… well, let’s let Gaara be unique, hm? That left Steam and Ice… what a conundrum… not.
[You have selected: Wind + Water = Ice. Are you sure?]
Not really. If it wasn’t for [Gamer’s Mind] I’d be a nervous wreck. I really hope this didn’t backfire down the line. I breathed deeply and accepted with his hand.
[You have given Uzumaki Naruto the Ice Release!]
I waited with bated breath for a reaction from the boy. Some pain, some discomfort… but nothing. I released his hand after a few moments, and he went back to trying to reach for the moving globe with both hands. I activated [Dark Vision] just to be sure, the Mark glowing as it was active. There were no abnormalities in his chakra coils either. I deactivated it and sat back in my chair, absently shifting to my [Character Page] to assign the fifteen points I had left.I just gave Naruto the Ice Release.I. JUST. FUCKING. GAVE. UZUMAKI. DAMNED. NARUTO. THE. FUCKING. ICE. RELEASE.[Gamer’s Mind] quickly worked to destroy my paranoia. Okay, fine. He could manipulate Ice now. Yippee. Whoop-de-fucking-do. What the hell is my problem? No idea.I looked at the screen properly to examine how I was going to sort my points.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 12
Title: Outsider’s Chosen
Next Level: 560/800xp
HP - 220
QI - 220
RR - 220
CON - 12
STR - 12
AGL - 23
INT - 12
LCK - 23
WIS - 12
]
Well, it seemed like my bonus from the Path of the Rogue was really applicable. I remember my [AGL] and [LCK] being 21. Cool. Does the bonus scale with leveling up too? I wonder.I quickly assigned the available fifteen points. Two points into all of them first, then one each to both [AGL] and [LCK], then the last point into [AGL] again. Leaning back a little, I examined my screen with no little amount of happiness.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 12
Title: Outsider’s Chosen
Next Level: 560/800xp
HP - 240
QI - 240
RR - 240
CON - 14
STR - 14
AGL - 27
INT - 14
LCK - 26
WIS - 14]
My stats were actually making me happy, now. I wonder if I should focus on one stat every time from now on to bring at least one up to fifty before I move on? I wonder what perk I’ll get when I reach fifty points in [AGL], for example. Hm… should I?Okay. Let’s see how far the next reward-upgrade is, yeah? The last time, stat points from [Location Collectibles] Increased when I reached level 10, that is, in five levels. I’m currently Level 12. It will take me… hm… two-thousand-two-hundred experience points to go from level 13 to fifteen, and I still need two-hundred and forty points to get to 13, so a total of two-thousand, four-hundred and forty points. The Academy Graduation quest will give me 5000 experience points, so the best time to get all the [Location Collectibles] would be then. I will be able to amp up my stats considerable with fifteen points apiece, and if there are some cool scrolls in there, I could lift those, too.So basically, after I deal with Danzo. Maybe it’d be best to wait for a full-moon. I can easily escape the ANBU if I [Apparate], since it takes them a few minutes to find me. Once I figure out where ROOT is, I’ll be safe if I appear within. If ROOT hasn’t been found out by the regular ANBU yet, it’s obvious they have some means of being invisible to the Byakugan and immune to being tracked… somehow. I’ll be raiding the place soon enough, so that ability will be in my grasp.Then all I need is to learn to create a solid, stable, memory-transferring clone to leave behind in Konoha so that I can explore the world beyond. So many quests… just waiting to be taken. I’ll only have a couple of months at best, since half the academic year is already gone by and I’ll be assigned a team when I graduate, after which I will be under the scrutinizing gaze of a sensei. Even with [Dark Vision], I couldn’t manage to find Jiraiya or Orochimaru, so that part of my goals was currently on hold. All I had now, was Danzo.A good way for me to find his hideout… what could that be?Ah, but Mikoto and Hitomi were now visible, walking here. Time to get Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata well acquainted. After all, they were incarnations of Ashura, Indra, and Hamura, right? I internally smirked deviously.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Okay, let’s do this.I breathed in and out, composing myself and taking my water-bending stance. I was silent all around, my breathing filled my ears with a rhythm. I took a deep breath and moved.A wave of water rose up, towering easily over the trees of the clearing, then flowed, battering against the rocky hill wall in front of me. It didn’t disperse, but coalesced into globes of water mid-air, which froze into sharp ice spears that stuck true the wall. Another gesture had them flying out and striking the trees, most missing, but some cleaving clean through.PING!I ignored the notification and released the spikes from my control, and mentally focused on the grass around me. Like everything living, as Hama once said, plants are filled with water, too. I narrowed my eye in concentration and twirled on the balls of my feet with flair, whipping out the water that helped the grass remain living until it hovered in the air in front of me. A gesture of an explosion had the water molecules I controlled vibrating madly, making the tiny water amount I held erupt into steam.PING!I relaxed, dusting imaginary dust off my clothes. I knelt, then, tugging a single spike of ice off the nearest tree with a gesture, shifted it to water and brought it closer to me, eventually allowing it to engulf my hands and the spot on the ground where I was without it seeping through.Concentrate. Allow the water to flow with energy.The water around my hand began to glow a bright cyan, filling the semi-fogged clearing with light. Underneath my fingers, I felt the shriveled grass flick, then swell again.PING!I stood once I was done, hands connected to a still-glowing globe of water, and then, with a gesture, had the glowing wave splash at my feet and surge outwards. Whatever grass it touched was rejuvenated, and though there was still a ring of semi-dark grass around the edge of where I pulled water from, most of it lived again.PING!There was one last thing I could do to level my bending that didn’t involve blood. I took a running start and dived cleanly into the water. Even though it was at about half of its original level, it was enough for me to stay properly submerged. I began to use the water as leverage to spin, eventually letting my bending take over, and then surged upwards, shooting out of the surface of the lake on a vortex made entirely of the liquid, and remaining at the level for a small while until I heard a PING, at which point I descended to the surface, using chakra to remain standing. I flicked the Mark towards the river as an absent thought and shot a jet of water into it to help t regain its volume.The good thing about basically having three different energy sources, even if one was a derivation of the combination of the other two, was that I could simultaneously use a lot of compatible skills. This would, undoubtedly, allow me more versatility when it came to water-bending.I finally turned to acknowledge the floating screens to my side.
[Water-bending has levelled up multiple times!
Water-bending (Active) Lv 54 (2.1%)
By using your body’s energy to redirect and flow with change, you are able to control the healing element of water in solid, liquid, and gaseous states.
Limit: 540l.
Healing limit: 50HP per sec.
Cost: 1QI/sec.]
I have to say, my secret weapon (well, mostly; the ANBU watching me even now were surely reporting all this to the Hokage) was coming along just fine. The next full moon will be Danzo’s last. I still wasn’t confident enough in my abilities to attack tonight.With a giggle of happiness, I launched out of the water with a simple gesture. Bending was so fun! I’d always fantasized about being an element bender back in the other world, and to see my dream come true like this, even with an element other than what I originally wanted, was very fulfilling. It was a bit of balm to the soul for the tiny child still tucked in the deepest recesses of my heart, somewhere. Once I max-out water-bending, I was so gonna try earth. That particular element in keeping with the Avatar Cycle, of course; there had to be a good reason why such a pattern was prevalent.For now, though, it was time to go home.It had been a week, I mused as I began leaping away. A whole week since I gave Naruto the Ice Release, and so far, there hasn’t been any outward effects, either of discomfort or of the limit itself. However, his eyes did lighten by a couple of shades, although I couldn’t remember exactly what shade of blue they were supposed to be so that’s probably just me not paying enough attention. Given my solid grounding in [Water-bending] now, once he does exhibit any signs, it should be easy enough to train him.Not that he’d have a shortage of trainers when the time comes. The village was a thousand times more receptive to the little tyke than was shown in canon. Regular outings had made sure that they viewed him as an adorable little brat. He already had fangirls, would you believe it? I guess it had something to do with the whisker marks. It doesn’t help that he’s rarely out of my arms when we’re out, unless I decide to meet up with Mikoto and Sasuke, Hitomi and Hinata, or even both together in the Uchiha district.Naruto and Sasuke hit it off like you wouldn’t believe. Add in a shy Hinata, and you’ve got a budding friendship-for-the-ages kinda deal. I was so fucking certain that Hiruzen was going to place them together on a team if their friendship continued – it was a reason I made it a point to take Naruto out in the evenings to meet either one or both of them every day after I got back from the Academy, and then drop him off back at the orphanage to go and train.Speaking of which, I had finally gotten around to practice throwing pointy things at wooden targets. A good thing, too, when I read the description of the skill that popped up.
[Marksman (Passive) Lv 27 (9.23%)
Whether physical objects or energy projectiles, one requires a good degree of proficiency to ensure that they hit the mark.
Accuracy: 27%
Highest throwing speed: 27 projectiles/5sec ]Bruh, this was basic as fuck! When I got the skill at level 1, it only had a one percent accuracy rating, which meant that if I threw a hundred kunai, I’d only land one hit where I wanted it to. Thankfully, I was able to scour a few training grounds and managed to scavenge fourteen kunai and thirty-one shuriken, which I currently hold in a hand-crafted pouch on my leg.Speaking of which, I expected a crafting skill to pop up when I sat down with the leather and sewing kit (stolen from Mika’s office… and put back quietly later), but nothing did. It was a curious circumstance, one which I had absolutely no intention of investigating right now. I’d probably go into a depression if I realized that there was no crafting sill in the game at all and that everything had to be done manually.I landed in my room clean through the window via a neat roll. As I stood and stretched, the hustle-and-bustle of an evening in a place filled to the brim with kids finally reached my ears. Honestly, even though the people around here were real nice, I was leaving the orphanage asap. Once I became a Genin and began doing regular missions I’d have a stable income to rent out an apartment for Naruto and me.Thinking of him made me want to go and see him, so I quickly walked out of my room and into the slightly-larger one where all the babies had their cribs set up. I slid over to his crib… and he wasn’t there. Odd. I looked around and saw just about every crib was occupied.I shrugged. Maybe Aoi was feeding him downstairs? I walked down to the kitchen and asked her the same.“Nah, boy. We already fed the little brats a while ago. He should be in his crib; you can go up and see him if you want.”Okay, now I was worried. I quickly returned to the baby’s room, just to check if maybe I looked into the wrong crib (impossible, I’d memorized his crib on day one), but no luck. I quickly apparated into my room to see if the boy had crawled over somehow… but he wasn’t there.[Gamer’s Mind] quickly worked down my manic panic as I apparated onto the orphanage roof, and then to a building smack-dab in the middle of the village. Thankfully I’d already worked out a method of tracking during my downtime, although I’d had no opportunity to use it yet. Well, no time like the present.I wasn’t a sensing prodigy, nor did I have the capability to be a sensor, that I knew of. I also hadn’t magically realized that I could see or smell or taste chakra, that wasn’t really ever in the picture. But Naruto was the only Jinchuuriki currently in Konoha, and the only Uzumaki to boot. His physical and mental energies were already influenced by Kurama’s chakra both while in his mother’s womb and out of, so it was bound to feel different.I took in a breath and focused. I’m manipulating my Reiryoku. I can make it flow as I do water. I am now pulsing it out… pulsing it out… pulsing it out!I felt a near-tangible wave erupt from my form and rush outwards, speeding through the air. I don’t know what effect it had on the people of Konoha as I suddenly had a very strong headache, but… my mind was already busy.I could feel them. I couldn’t see or feel who or how they were, but I could feel the spiritual energy of everyone. It was overwhelming, it was painful, and I fell to my knees from the drain, but I was a hundred percent sure I felt everyone within a set distance. Almost immediately, however, I felt better as the wind rushed back to me with some of my energy riding it…PING!
[Due to a special action, a skill has been created!
Pesquisa (Active) Lv 6 (6.21%)
A sensing technique used only by the most proficient spiritual energy users, by pulsing your own spiritual energy and calling it back in, you can pinpoint beacons of spiritual energy around you via spiritual resonance.
Max sphere radius: 500m.
Cost: 95% of RR. ]I waved the screen away and shakily stood, panting. That… nearly did me in. A fucking sensing technique nearly did me in! What use would I be in saving Naruto if I just died?!I was calmed almost instantly and decided to focus on the here and now. My RR would be back to being usable in thirty seconds when my regeneration kicked in. But, thankfully, I had already gotten a lock on a… a strange type of energy.Where all of the energies around me had a distinctly fiery feel, this one had the feel of… loneliness. Absence. Like the shivers up your spine when you hear a mourning wolf howl. Kurama… was in pain. Emotional pain.I shook my head. I could deal with that later. What was important now was Naruto.I focused on the spot I felt Naruto in, grasping a kunai tightly just in case, spun on my heel and apparated.When I appeared, I had to hastily deflect a blade with the kunai. In front of me, a blank masked ANBU, currently on a treetop, had a crying Naruto grasped tightly in his arms… too tightly. I snarled, leaping on him quicker than he probably expected, slamming the kunai into his elbow and wrenching Naruto out of his grasp. A blast of water from my palm sent him flying away.ROOT.Fucking ROOT.I looked down on a crying Naruto and tried to calm him. “It’s okay, Naruto. I’m here, I’m-”I heard the whistle of metal on the wind, and reacted without thinking, turning around the take the blow meant for Naruto on my own person. A momentary blinding pain took over my senses, and I cried out.Naruto’s wails and my own pain weren’t helping my temper. Above me, high in the sky, the full-moon gleamed. Without thinking much, my free hand reacted of its own accord, reaching forward and making a motion.The rustling of leaves abruptly died.“Shh, little one. You are safe now.” I tried, kissing Naruto’s forehead. Surprisingly, this seemed to bring him down from his panic, and his eyes opened, lighting up instantly when they saw me.“Gu- gu!” He gurgled, feebly reaching to my face with his hands. I saw a bruise on his hand when he did this.And just like that, my rage shot to new heights. A motion with my hand had the ROOT member flying back to my position until he hovered in the air above me, mask hiding his expression from me, although I doubt that there would be any at all.“Do you know what I do to people who hurt my family?” I whispered, turning to look up towards him with a glare. “Would you like to find out?”I gestured with my fingers, and he… exploded.PING![Gamer’s Mind] kicked in as blood rained down on me, bathing me in a sheen of gore and body matter. I was able to shield Naruto from all of it, thankfully, and looked down at him to see his reaction. I was beyond grateful when I saw that he was asleep. Something in my heart fluttered when I realized that he felt safe with me.“Hush. I’m going to do something a little uncomfortable, so don’t throw up on me, okay?” I whispered, not… fully there. I spun on my heel and vanished, appearing back in the baby’s room in the orphanage. I was dripping blood, then, but I didn’t care. I carefully set him down on his bed and kissed his head.“I’ll get them for you. They won’t trouble you again.” I assured him.Screw waiting for a month. Danzo was going to die today.I pulled all the blood off the floor using [Water-bending], compressing it down and throwing it out the window. It was then that I noticed the few notification screens that hovered in front of me.
[Water-bending has leveled up multiple times!
Water-bending (Active) Lv 67 (72.5%)
By using your body’s energy to redirect and flow with change, you are able to control the healing element of water in solid, liquid, and gaseous states, in various forms.
Limit: 670l.
Healing limit: 50HP per sec.
Cost: 1QI/sec]
That must have been because of… the….HOLY SHIT! I just blood-bended! DUDE! This was so awesome! Being able to blood-bend was an overpowered skill, but now it was going to be my trump-card for my assault on ROOT, so I’m not going to complain. Might swear off of it after I master [Water-bending], though. Don’t want things to be too easy, after all.[ Defeated ROOT Chunin! +5000 EXP!
You have Leveled Up!
You have Leveled Up!
You have Leveled Up!
You have Leveled Up!]
Hold on… of course! I totally forgot that you get experience from killing enemies! It seems tonight may be extremely productive after all!And HOLY SHIT FIVE THOUSAND EXPERIENCE POINTS FOR KILLING A GUY?! No wonder missing-ninjas are so strong! Holy fuck. Was this the standard rate for a Chunin, or did that scale with my level, too? Unfortunately, there was no question mark icon in the corner of the screen, so I just shrugged and closed it.I opened my game menu and navigated over to the [Character Page]. I was now level sixteen, just like that. Something tells me after tonight I’ll be chasing down the [Location Collectibles] tomorrow. So… twenty points… three each into each stat, and two into [LCK], because BOI was I lucky to catch Naruto in time.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 16
Title: Outsider’s Chosen
Next Level: 1160/1600xp
HP - 270
QI - 270
RR - 270
CON - 17
STR - 17
AGL - 38
INT - 17
LCK - 39
WIS - 17]
Better.That done, I waved the screen away. I needed the location of ROOT, and the only way I could get that was from a ROOT agent. How to get them to spill…?Wait… I didn’t need to! I had a skill that would let me get the information anyway!I activated [Void Gaze] and looked around. If ROOT kidnapped Naruto, surely, they had their eye on this building even right now, watching for me, perhaps? Sure enough, there was a blank-masked ROOT on the opposite side of the regular ANBU that I usually saw observing me. Woah, wait. Is that ho I think it was?I could only barely make it out, but I’m pretty sure Kakashi was one of them. There was also a Hyuuga … Hizashi?! Hyuuga Hizashi was an ANBU?! And an Aburame who I saw a lot at the pet store... Odd, where was the fourth member?I put that out of my mind and gathered my bearings, twisting on my heel and appearing behind the ROOT member. I quickly grabbed onto him and vanished soundlessly, away from prying eyes and ears.I appeared at the bottom of Naka lake. I quickly spun in place, creating a tunnel of sorts to the surface for air. A gesture of my hand saw the ROOT member suspended above me, not even twitching.“You know, I’ll make this easy for you. Tell me where your headquarters are, and I’ll kill you relatively pain-free… I think.” I mused, twirling a strand of my hair around my fingers. “I’m not sure whether what I’m going to do now will hurt you or not.”No reaction. Nothing. I wonder if it's because of the tight control I have over him because of blood-bending? Eh, I don’t really care. I was going to do this anyway.“Your loss.” I smirked and focused on him. Like, I really poured all of my concentration into just connecting with his form. What is he thinking? What is he feeling? I want to know.The [Mild Telepathy] skill seemed to activate then, and the world around me vanished. Instead, I was floating in darkness. High above… a brain. Wow. I’m officially a pseudo-Yamanaka. But… I don’t know the structure of the human brain well enough to locate the memory cortex, nor do I particularly care about any collateral damage. I’m too impatient to sort through it all, too. I don’t know how time passes by here compared to the outside world! There has to be a quicker way! Hm… how about…I reached out with my hands, and mimed compression. The brain floating below me shrunk, and shrunk, until I could no longer see it. I could still feel it though and willed it to float over into the palm of my hand. It obeyed without question.Well… now what?I sighed, knowing there was only one way that made sense.I am searching for the location of my base. I pictured my intent clearly in my mind as my face slowly edged closer to the brain. Sure enough, I was being drawn into a particular section of the brain, and I let myself be pulled along.The darkness around me flashed, and suddenly I was at the top of the Hokage Monument. My body began to move on its own as it wove through the groves of trees, eventually coming across a broad boulder. A quick set of hand-signs later, the boulder moved aside, showing me a long series of steps deep down. At the bottom, there was a metal door. A slidable portion opened to show a speaker. “The tree stands tall.”“As long as the roots are strong.” I felt myself say, and then the door opened.And just like that, I was back out, floating over the brain.Well… that was easy.I used the same technique to quickly find out many things. The layout of their base, other entrances, emergency exits, the security systems… it seems this Yamanaka Fuu was next in line to be Danzo’s personal aide.Hold on… Yamanaka Fuu… Fuck! This guy was one of the people to be Danzo’s escort in his brief stint as the Rokudaime! Oh well, who cares? For pure vindictiveness, I drew a kunai and sliced into the brain. It gave a crumbling effect and vanished in white light.PING!
[You have purged Yamanaka Fuu’s memories. Select a skill to learn/advance:
Stealth
Yamanaka Clan Hijutsu
Chakra Control]
Nice! So, every time I destroy someone’s mind, I get to learn or advance a new skill? That’s good, at least it’s not super OP where I learn every single skill they have or something. That'd be depressing to deal with.Well, my control is already maxed out, and I really don’t need the Hijutsu because of telepathy. So…PING!
[Stealth had leveled up!
Stealth (Active) Lv 83 (3.00%)
Minimizing the noise you make and the amount another can see you, you have learned to remain unnoticed.
83% chance of success.
-2% chance of working for every ten levels affected NPCs are beyond you.
+18% chance of working for every ten levels you are above affected NPCs. ]Super sweet! That alone would have taken me ages to level up! I think I’ll make it a point to do this to every expendable character I find if only to max out my skills.And… well… I’m going to go into a nest full of them! And they don’t have their home-field advantage because I know so thoroughly about it!I backed out into reality when the white light full vanished. Several screens were ready to greet me, but I ignored them for now. Approaching Fuu, I removed his mask and put my fingers under his nose…Dead. Oh well. This fuck and his little goth clique tried to kidnap my tiny tater tot. I just hope it was painful.Wow… I just realized how much Naruto has come to mean to me in these months. Do I really consider him mine… my family? Yes, yes, I did. He was my little brother, and no one was going to hurt him on my watch.I quickly took off the teen’s gear. It was a couple of sizes too big, but I had an idea for that. I did my work methodically and opened up my inventory, throwing the armor and one tanto into my inventory. Then, I equipped them from there.I guess it was wonderful that, in games, it was one item fits all. Sure, if a game had a different race or something of the sort, the weapon appeared automatically resized to be bigger or smaller, but, if one were to switch the weapon back onto a human, it would shrink down again. I used this to my advantage as I equipped the gear from there.
[Metal Mesh Undershirt
A metal mesh undershirt worn by almost all shinobi.
-15% damage.]
[Sleeveless Battle-kimono (Brown)
A well-crafted battle-kimono created especially for shinobi operations, tied with a thin black obi.
-2% damage.]
[ANBU Pants (Black)
A well-crafted set of shinobi pants typically worn by ANBU.
-3% damage.]
[ROOT Jacket
A well-crafted black short-jacket with red holding straps typically worn by members of ROOT.
-5% damage.
+10% chance for positive REP with ROOT members.]
[Gloves (Black)
A well-crafted pair of black gloves that are typically worn by shinobi.]
[Shinobi Sandals (Black)
Standard shinobi sandals.
-1% damage.
+1 AGL]
[Root Edition Tanto (Black Sheath)
A well-crafted tanto typically used by ROOT agents.
DMG: 15+STR
Bonus Critical Chance: 45%]
[Shinobi Hooded Cloak (Black)
A well-crafted cloak made of strong material. Good in any weather.
+5% to Stealth skill.]
The gear was super awesome and probably better than anything I’ll be able to get for a long while, unless somehow, magically, I get the skill to create Instant Dimensions. However, now I felt much better about walking into ROOT without any major offenses besides [Chakra no Mesu] and [Water-bending].That done, I grabbed onto his body and apparated, leaving it in the Forest of Death while I appeared again on the top of the Hokage Monument. It was then that I turned to acknowledge my screens.
[Defeated ROOT Chunin! +5000 EXP!
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!]
Just in time, too.
[Mild Telepathy has leveled up multiple times! MAX level reached!
Mild Telepathy (Active) Lv MAX (100%)
You understand the world around you by taking a closer look. Attuned to the living, your scrying skills now allow you to see into the mind of the person you are observing.
12 CP per second while looking into someone’s mind.
Skill has evolved!
Telepathy (Active) Lv 21 (0.00%)
You understand the world around you by taking a closer look. Attuned to the living, your scrying skills now allow you to see into the mind of the person you are observing.
1 sec in target’s mind is 1 sec in real life.
10 CP per second while looking into someone’s mind.]
[Telepathy has leveled up multiple times!
Telepathy (Active) Lv 34 (8.22%)
You understand the world around you by taking a closer look. Attuned to the living, your scrying skills now allow you to see into the mind of the person you are observing.
Time Dilation: 1 sec in target’s mind is 0.5 sec in real life.
10 CP per second while looking into someone’s mind.]
What a major boost! Something tells me that’s because I destroyed the guy's mind, and not just because I used it. The skill is now even more useful – I’ll be able to halve the time I need to do crap in people’s minds!I waved the screens away and assigned my fifteen points quickly. This time, however, since my [AGL] and [LCK] were so high because of the Path of the Rogue, I brought them up to fifty each and then assigned the remaining four points as one point each to the other stats.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 19
Title: Outsider’s Chosen
Next Level: 760/2500xp
HP - 280
QI - 280
RR - 280
CON - 18
STR - 18
AGL - 50 (+1)
INT - 18
LCK - 50
WIS - 18]
Shouldn’t it be 2400 to level up to the next level? Oh well, maybe it’s one of those ten-level shenanigans again. I do remember that when I crossed level 10, the amount to level up increased. I just hope it’s not too drastic this time.The moment I closed the screen however, two other screens popped up.PING! PING!
[Due to crossing the 50-point threshold for Agility, you have gained a new skill!
Minor Speed Force Connection (Active) Lv MAX (100%)
The Speed Force has turned its gaze upon you, watching and weighing. For now, you have fleeting use of its capabilities.
Increase speed by 10 times when active.]
Woah, woah, hold on a second! Why was there no cost requirement? WHY WAS THERE NO COST REQUIREMENT!?Um... In the comics and books that I’ve read, the only thing stopping speedsters from speeding along all the time was… getting tired, and metabolism! Both of which don’t apply to me here because of [Gamer's Body]! And since I’m partially connected to the Speed Force which is essentially energy, I don’t need to expend any of my own!WHY IS THIS SYSTEM SO SET ON MAKING ME OP?! HOLY SHITPISS! I’M SO PISSED OFF RIGHT NOW-That... I... Oh. Well. Having your anger calmed by [Gamer’s Mind] can be really disconcerting sometimes.So, I was essentially Ninja-Flash now, huh? I’m not happy about it, but I guess it does have its uses. I just can’t imagine what the upgraded versions will be like. I’m already sped up ten times when I want to be! I guess I can save this skill as a last resort type of deal since it costs nothing. But since I’m still around Genin level, I guess I can use it tonight.Oh, who am I kidding? I’m just so damn excited to be able to run that fast!I waved the screen off and regarded the next one.
[Due to crossing the 50-point threshold for Luck, you have gained a new skill!
Protagonist’s Luck (Passive) Lv MAX
Interesting events will happen to you more frequently as time passes on.]
That… does not make me happy at all… Why was I having a strange feeling in my gut again…? *** “…long as the roots are strong.”The heavy door slid open, and I struck.There was only one member currently standing guard behind the door. I Threw four kunai at the camera in the corner. One hit, disabling the device. I blood-bended the guard onto the floor and immediately delved into his mind. I didn’t need any information, so I destroyed it immediately.PING!I’d deal with that later! I backed out and grabbed my kunai from the walls and the destroyed electronic equipment, immediately shifting into stealth and hiding behind a partition, waiting.Two ROOT members rushed passed me, and I did my work again. Using blood-bending, I set them on the floor, and delved into both their minds and destroyed them without thought.There were many PINGs, but I ignored those again, slipping into the Speed Force and racing down the hall. A fit of curiosity came over me and I chanced a small glance behind me, showing me that there were black lightning bolts arching behind me. Different, but nice. At least the light from a bright color won’t give me away.I came across a wide room with seven ROOT members in it. I didn’t take any chances this time, slashing at their throats before they even knew I was there until I finally turned to behead the second-last one…And failed. My tanto clanged against hers, and she held me at a stalemate with ease. Fuck, I forgot that Jonin are usually so fast when compared to Genin, that the latter can’t even keep track of them!“Traitor.” She proclaimed with dull eyes behind the plain white mask she wore.I heard the whistling of metal moving quickly through athe ir behind me and ducked. Throwing four kunai. One whizzed through his eye-hole and buried itself deep into his eye-socket. I whirled, aiming to slash my tanto across her neck again, but she blocked it, performing one-handed seals with her other hand. I jumped back, prepared to strike.“Earth Style: Mud Dragon Bullet!”Fuck! I dogged the projectiles by running along the circular wall and threw some shuriken this time. She deflected them all and leaped, blade raised and ready to be brought down on me…Until I reached out with my blood-bending and froze her in place. I cut off her leg tendons with my [Chakra no Mesu] activated in my left hand, and delved into her mind, destroying it rapidly. I backed out into reality just in time to notice and dodge a brace of kunai flung in my direction. A single ROOT member had emerged, and he had two tanto sheaths strapped to his back. He drew them both and jumped.I don’t have the time for this small-fry! I need to get into the innr0sanctum before the base’s defense mechanism closed the doors!I froze him in place with blood-bending and broke his mind before collecting my ammunition and moving on. Thankfully, the giant metal gates hadn’t fully closed, but they were well on their way there! I destroyed the camera before considering the humans. I didn’t bother with [Telepathy] this time and slashed the two ROOT members across their necks after freezing them in place using blood-bending, then moved in, not stopping or slowing my pace all the while.As I just saw, I was useless in frontal combat! I had to exploit the element of surprise as quickly as possible! According to Fuu’s memories, there were twenty-seven ROOT members in the base, and I had taken down thirteen, which meant there were fourteen still present. Danzo was not included in that number, and god knows how many more that he simply didn’t know of!I moved, not willing to stop. I sped for the archives, encountering three ROOT members within who were rapidly working on destroying the files. I couldn’t have that. I froze them in place with blood-bending and used my enhanced speed to chuck everything I could see into my inventory. Then I delved into and destroyed all three minds.Now with proof on hand that ROOT had been doing utter crap under the pretense of pro-Konoha black ops for Hiruzen, I made my way deeper into the base. I came across eight ROOT members in the room before the main chamber, however, and tried to deal with them quickly. I managed to kill one before I was suddenly blasted away from my path by a fireball.I didn’t relent, ignoring the damage to my person, and flowing back into the Speed Force and moving, trying another slash at a ROOT member, but it was in vain because the ground erupted and something slammed me against the ceiling.Seeing my rapidly declining HP, I quickly activated my [Water-bending] and froze them all in place. The earthen geyser battering me ceased immediately, and I fell with a (very manly) squeak to the ground.I shook it off and worked into a jog, quickly delving into and destroying each of their minds, before speeding into the man chamber.It was a large space, like the inside of a tower. Surprisingly, sunlight streamed in from the top. It made sense for fresh air since the air conditioners in this world still made a lot of noise, but I wondered how no one found that vent at all. There was a throne-like chair in the center, atop which Danzo sat, eye still looking almost-closed, with two ROOT members at his sides. This meant the last one was either escaping or was trying to one-shot-critical me. How rude.“What do you hope to-”I ignored his diatribe and activated [Void Gaze] looking around as quickly and thoroughly as I could. I found the little bastard trying to line up a crossbow shot at me, so I took off, managing to behead him in a single swipe, then ran back down the wall towards the other three. Danzo now stood, Mokuton arm bared. Thankfully, he had absolutely zero Sharingan on his person. However, he was younger than when Sasuke faced him, and, undoubtedly, these two flunkies were going to be the strongest present, so I simply acted on instinct and froze them all into place.I approached Danzo first, cutting off the Mokuton arm and throwing it into my inventory. Then I delved into and destroyed both the flunkies’ minds methodically, being quick about it. Then, and finally then, I turned to Danzo.I took off my mask and smirked as his eyes widened the tiniest fraction – unnoticeable to anyone who wouldn’t be staring at him intensely. “Hello, Shimura Danzo. I am Gundan. Pleased to meet you.” He remained silent, so, curious this time, I let him go from my control. I could always re-establish it in a second, anyway.“You… are a talented person.” He acknowledged, and my eyebrow quirked when I noticed he didn’t use ‘child’ or ‘kid’. “We have had you under our surveillance for quite some time, but we never anticipated… this.”“I’m not easy to predict.” I offered, establishing control over him for a moment and forcing him to sit. “Have a seat. Make yourself at home. Would you like some tea?” I bend over, slashing two throats, and ran two fingers through the blood of his fallen underlings. “It’s freshly made.”He seemed impassive. “Goading me will have no reaction.”“Hey, I tried.” I sighed dramatically, shaking my head. “You know, I would have left you well and enough alone if you hadn’t tried to kidnap my baby brother.”“Bonds of love.” Danzo scoffed. “They blind you from the truth. Ending me will damn the village for all time.”“How do you know I want to kill you and not, say, squeeze your eyes, cut off your tongue and limbs, destroy your eardrums, and heal you just enough to live before dropping you off at your best friend’s place?”He didn’t show any fear. “You haven’t shown any sadistic tendencies.”“I mask them well.” I replied, non-plussed. “Now, what should I start with…?”I wasn’t stupid. I heard the two ROOT operatives enter as soon as they did. I let them approach me, smirking at Danzo all the while, before freezing them in place just as their blades were centimeters away from my neck.“You know, you may have mastered all the jutsu in the world… but it won’t help you if you don’t have defenses against your opponent’s techniques.” I offered, turning to examine the two of them. Now that I had the time, I read their titles.
[002 – ROOT Commander – Lv 63]
[105 – Root Trainee – Lv 27]
I arched an eyebrow. The only reason I was still alive… was because of blood-bending and the Speed Force. There was literally no other way that I could have barged into ROOT headquarters, even when the majority of its forces were out of the village and bulldoze my way through the place.I turned to look at Danzo.
[Shimura Danzo – ROOT Founder – Lv 84]
Wait… I could see his level. I could see a very strong shinobi’s level. How much experience had I gotten from abusing [Water-bending]? I was already overpowered!Then why was the game trying to heap more powers on me?I shook my head to discard my mind of those thoughts. Instead, I delved into both the goons’ minds and destroyed them.“How pitiful. Your supposedly elite force… brought down by an Academy Student.” I chuckled, shaking my head. “What would Tobirama think of you, Danzo? I guess he was right when he chose Hiruzen over you.”Danzo’s eye narrowed. “How-”“To stoop so low as to launch a smear campaign against your own Jinchuuriki so that he’s impressionable.” I started, holding up one finger. “To maintain surveillance over your own citizens with malicious intent. To try to kidnap your own Jinchuuriki because you were too impatient to have him under your thumb. To launch countless intervillage-political-climate-manipulating missions so you can take the Hokage hat.” I now held four fingers up. “For these crimes, Danzo, I sentence you to death.”“Do it, if you must. But remember, this mistake will-”“Ah, but not so fast.” I shushed him, locking him in place while I caressed his cheek. “Why not give the little root a nice… shaving first?”“Academy Student Gundan, step away from Councilor Shimura.”The quiet voice snapped through my mindset like a hot knife. Disbelieving, I turned rapidly to see Hiruzen himself standing there, eyes narrowed at the both of us, flanked by the ANBU squad that normally watched over me, now complete with the missing civilian-heritage ninja. Ah, so she went to summon the Hokage. But what tipped them off, and… how did they find me inside ROOT – a place heavily secured with seals that mask its presence from even the Byakugan?My expression turned thunderous. “He tried to-”“I know what he has done, child.” He spoke, not unkindly, by the time my [Gamer’s Mind] took over. “And I can also understand your rage. But that man… has the key to many mysteries that will help Konoha.”Odd. Wasn’t he mad…?“Naruto-kun is safe now, Gundan-kun.” He spoke, walking slowly closer. “Relax.”Oh. OH! He thought I flew into a fit of rage and massacred the entire place because Naruto was almost harmed! Well, that’s true, but I also wanted Danzo gone, and all of his scrolls from the archive.Well, time to play.The tanto clattered as it hit the ground, and I fell to my knees, uncaring of the blood. Hiruzen was quick to approach, gathering me in his arms. I made a show of looking at my now-blood-soaked hands and then screaming incoherently until someone seemed to try to knock me out with a strike to a pressure point.Hilarious attempt! That wouldn’t work on me, would it-
[Affected by debilitation: Unconscious]
Oh shit. *** When I opened my eyes, I was staring at a white ceiling. A hospital… perfect.I hated hospitals.I sighed and sat up, fully aware that I must have been taken advantage off in my sleep – they must have taken my blood, bone marrow samples, etcetera, etcetera. This was a ninja village, and, child or not, I literally waltzed into a highly-secure ANBU-equivalent and massacred everyone inside. I was lucky that the Hokage didn’t seem hostile then. If I was in his place, I would be.The notification screens were still hovering in front of me from before.
[Defeated ROOT Chunin x 18! +90000 EXP!
Defeated ROOT Jonin x 9! +67500 EXP!
You have leveled up multiple times!]
HO. LEE. FUCK.HOLY FUCK.HOLY FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK-Ahem. Thank you, [Gamer’s Mind]. But… hot damn! Is this the reason why Itachi was so strong? Nah… don’t sell his talent short- he took out his whole clan (with some unspecified assistance from Obito) after all.But… oh god, where even was I on the level scale?I waved the screen off to the side and examined the others.
[Due to a special action, a skill has been created!
Amateur Kenjutsu (Passive) Lv 16 (19.87%)
Created through self-practice and tempered in the heat of battle, your sword technique is as devastating as it is new.
+16% damage with bladed weapons.
-16% chance for your opponent to dodge .]Oh. Nice, I guess. That’s just another skill to master. I waved it away.Following that were the skill requests from the minds I had destroyed. There were nineteen in total. I spent two maxing out stealth, at which point it evolved.
[A skill has evolved due to reaching the highest possible rank!
Subterfuge (Active) Lv MAX (100%)
A master of the unseen, you are able to stay hidden even in the most unorthodox of circumstances. Unless the target has a massive advantage, you cannot be found.
-99% chance to be detected.
+50% chance of landing a Critical Strike .]That made me finally, truly, relax. I had now mastered one of the rogue fundamentals. Now, if I didn’t want to be found, I wouldn’t be. The world beyond the gates just opened up for me, ninja or not!I spent ten maxing out the kenjutsu skill I just got.
[A skill has evolved due to reaching the highest possible rank!
Kenjutsu Mastery (Passive) Lv MAX (100%)
A master of the blade, your self-taught style in conjunction with several others makes you a fearsome opponent.
+100% damage with bladed weapons.
-99% chance for your opponent to dodge.
+50% chance for a critical strike .]And another six maxing out the [Marksman] skill.
[A skill has evolved due to reaching the highest possible rank!
Master Marksman (Passive) Lv MAX (100.0%)
You are a master at hitting your target, whatever the type of projectile you use.
Accuracy: 100%
Accuracy penalty: -20% for every 500m after 500m.
Highest throwing speed: 10 projectiles/sec. ]And I spent the last one on the only [Silver-Tongue] option I got.
[A skill has leveled up!
Silver-tongue (Passive) Lv 95 (0.00%)
Your mastery with words allows you a greater chance to persuade targets, allowing them to see your view of thinking and, more often than not, gently tugging them onto your path.
69% chance of working.
-2% chance of working for every five levels the target is beyond you.
+18% chance of working for every positive REP with target.]
I… was pretty overpowered already, wasn’t I? And I wasn’t even out of the fucking Academy yet! Ugh! Life is so unfair.Anyway. The next few notifications just told me I’d greatly progressed my [Physical Resistance] to level fifty-six, my [Telepathy] to level sixty-two, and my [Water-bending] all the way to level eighty-two, so I quickly moved on before I could get even more depressed at being so over-powered. I did vanquish many ROOT agents, and use a lot of those while doing it, but I never gave a thought to...Ugh.I took a look at my Character Page next.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 37
Title: Outsider’s Chosen
Next Level: 11,760/17,000xp
HP - 280
QI - 280
RR - 280
CON - 18
STR - 18
AGL - 86
INT - 18
LCK - 86
WIS - 18]
With ninety points to spend. NINETY. Fucking hell, man. Well, at least I won’t be leveling up every time I kill a Chunin or Jonin. That’s a relief.I spent twenty on the four non-rogue stats and five each on the rogue ones. I’m not really sure I want to cross the 100-threshold with my main abilities yet.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 37
Title: Outsider’s Chosen
Next Level: 11,760/17,000xp
HP - 480
QI - 480
RR - 480
CON - 38
STR - 38
AGL - 91
INT - 38
LCK - 91
WIS - 38]
Okay. So… now what? Wait, I didn’t get any experience for killing Danzo. Eh, I was knocked out. Maybe the Hokage did it. Hopefully, they burned the remains once they dealt with digesting the fact that their honored Elder has an arm grown from the cells of the Shodaime.Wait… Orochimaru grew that arm! Would he be chucked out of Konoha for that?! Fuck, I did not think this through!I opened my inventory and quickly pulled out every single one of the scrolls I had ‘napped from ROOT HQ, ignoring the dozen or so technique scrolls in there. If I could find evidence that Orochimaru was compelled… or forced…This was the sight that Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, and third God of Shinobi walked into, followed closely by a certain white-haired toad sage.“Glad to see you are awake, Gundan-kun.” Hiruzen spoke, pulling my attention from the scrolls in front of me.Oh crap. What to do, what to do… yes! “Hokage-sama!” I answered, looking panicked. “There are many reports mission from here! There was one about the arm that Danzo had, and-”“Relax, Gundan-kun.” He said, walking in swiftly and laying a hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay. On our way to you, we encountered a burning room that looked like some sort of library. Perhaps you missed a few mission scrolls.”Wait… there was another room? Of course. Danzo is one paranoid bastard. He’d have to have back-ups. “O… oh… Hokage-sama, is Naruto alright? How long have I been here? Is everyone okay? Is Danzo dead? What-”“Holy hell. Relax, kid.” Jiraiya groaned. “You just took down what’s got to be an ANBU copy. Take a break, will you?”I turned to him with a fiery determination that was not in the least faked. “I won’t relax until I know Naruto is okay. Don’t think I don’t know who you are! Mika Oba-san once told me of a white-haired pervert she had beaten up who was spying on her in the hot springs! Stay away from me and my brother!”Jiraiya’s mouth popped open, while Hiruzen started laughing out loud. “Oh! Oh Kami, I haven’t laughed like that in quite the while.”I leveled him a dry look. “If you say so.”“We need to talk about your… cleaning house.” He sobered pretty quickly. “What happened?”I took a dep breath. The words I spoke here can make or break my shinobi career. "They kidnapped Naruto and were going to do God-knows-what with him. He's my whole world... I regret nothing."Jiraiya and Hiruzen both relaxed a little at that. "Be that as it may, it is difficult to wrap one's head around it." the former huffed, crossing his arms. "Explain."I offered him an annoyed gaze, but dutifully turned to Hiruzen. “I… know you have people watching me, Hokage-sama. I could sense them always. And I know you think I have a bloodline.”“Don’t you?” Hiruzen asked rhetorically, pulling over the spare chair at the side for visitors and taking a seat. Jiraiya leaned against the wall. “You, only a talented Academy student, waltzed into an elite shinobi base and wiped out every single one of them. You were able to incapacitate even one of the strongest veteran shinobi in Konoha. Or at least, he used to be.”That perked my interest. “You executed him?”“Yes, I did.” Hiruzen answered plainly. “I wouldn’t let a traitor escape us without exacting justice on him.”The irony of that statement wasn’t lost on me. “Well, that's... nice? Anyway, what you think of as a bloodline… is just really good control.”He arched an eyebrow, clearly disbelieving. “Is that so?”I looked meaningfully towards Jiraiya, who shifted uncomfortably. “May I?”“By all means.” Hiruzen gestured, to which Jiraiya gave an indignant scoff.I smiled a small smile. “It won’t hurt, Ero oji-san.” I then raised my hand. “I’ve always had very good control. I know this because I was able to perfect chakra control exercises even before I entered the Academy. I… I actually stole some control techniques from the hospital to test myself out." I offered, and saw HIruzen's eyes soften a bit... a fond memory, perhaps? "This normally wouldn’t inspire me on its own, but I’ve been told I look very much like a certain former Hokage.” I whipped my hand out in a gesture, and the water from the bed-side vase erupted out, forming a globe in front of me as it hovered. “I don’t have any chakra nature. This, I found out pretty quickly. However, if I push my physical energy into water, I can control it as if it were an extension of me.”“Intriguing, I will admit.” Hiruzen muttered. “I can’t sense a single sliver of chakra in it. But what has this got to do with how you bund Danzo?”I nodded, waving my hand to send the water back where it came from. “What you may be forgetting, Sandaime-sama, is that the human body has a lot of water.” I gestured towards Jiraiya this time, and stilled my hand. The man immediately went ramrod straight. I began to make my fingers dance, and so did he. “By controlling the water in a living organism that has plenty of it and has a lot of mobility, I can control it, too. I call it [Water-bending], because I bend it to my will. This particular skill, I call blood-bending.”“Fascinating.” Hiruzen acknowledged, leaning back. “Can anyone learn this?”“To accomplish this, you need two prerequisites.” I said, stopping my control over Jiraiya, who fell to the floor with a squawk. “One, you need to have chakra that is not at all inclined to any element. I tried slipping hidden lessons to my friends, but none of them could do it. Two, you need to have complete mastery over both your physical and spiritual (or mental, if you prefer) to keep the two energies form mixing. Without these two aspects, learning bending is impossible.”“How do you know that you require no elemental inclination? Maybe your friends were simply not the right type?” Jiraiya asked, standing and dusting his clothes. “This sounds too useful to not be taught to everyone.”I internally cursed. I could not, would not give away this. This was my hidden trump card against which no one had any defense. No one was going to have it. But how to spin this…. Aha!I touched the back of my hand as if remembering something. “I just know.” I said, turning my head away. “And it would be better if you didn’t ask anyone to try. Wouldn’t want them to explode.” I offered, voice quieter. I couldn’t see his expression, but I could tell that Hiruzen had just given him a meaningful look. “About that mark, Gundan-kun…”“It’s… a long story. I just... it's complicated. I don’t want to talk about it... please?” I 'begged', ‘shuddering’.They bought it. “If that is what you wish.” Hiruzen allowed, but this I could tell was not dropped. He reached into his robes and pulled out an envelope. "Essentially, you just completed an S-rank mission. Here is your payment."WHOOP! But I couldn't seem like a brat. "Hokage-sama, I was just trying to protect Naruto from any future threats. I can't accept this." I 'protested', pushing his hand. Internally, I was crying at the amount of money I was giving up - the envelope was quite heavy."Please... accept it. If not for your deeds, consider it a thank you for looking after Naruto as you have been doing... and for all you've done for him." he smiled, eyes much like my grandmother's used to be in... my past life. Dammit, it was really hard to think straight with those eyes on you! Thankfully, [Gamer's Mind] kicked in soon after. "Thank you." I said instead, taking it. I could see how much it was, later. My gear is clearly not on me, and I didn't take the time to shove any ROOT gear into my inventory... so I essentially need to start from scratch. Hopefully, the armaments store has something worthwhile. "I will put it to good use.""I have no doubt." He smirked, then slipped into a solemn expression. “What is left, is your future.” He reached into the folds of his robes and put forwards a headband in my lap. “Your deeds qualify you to become a full-fledged Jonin if that’s what you wish.” He said, raising a hand to forestall an argument from an open-mouthed Jiraiya. “You’ve already proved your capacity t teach, as well as your prowess. You will be instated immediately if that is what you wish.”I looked at the headband with mixed feelings. On one hand, this practically gives me the license I want. I’ll be an official ninja, already far enough up the ranks that I can be in the front-lines in the next war. I could already reach my goal.Itachi’s expression as he touched Sasuke’s forehead when he died crossed my mind.My hand, which had been reaching forward for the headband paused, then pushed it away. “Sorry, Hokage-sama, but I must decline. I want… I want to stay with my friends so that I can protect and nurture them. I can’t abandon them just because I can advance.”He studied me for a long moment, my mismatched eyes crossed his brown ones in an intense staring match; one which I was far from liable to lose. During this while, Jiraiya gathered up all the scrolls on my bed.“When you bend water, your blue eye glows.” He said suddenly, shocking me out of it. He stood with a genial smile and walked out, Jiraiya close on his heels.I stared at the door in open-mouthed surprise. This... this whole meeting had been a test! Holy- I noted it in my mind, seared it into my brain: don't fuck with the Sandaime. The man was scary good.“Gundan!”Again, I jerked as my friends all began piling in. Mai was wailing loudly. Itachi studied me from a step away with a worried frown. Hideki and Ryosuke were crying in equal amounts and hugging me incessantly. Kitsuna sat down next to me to hold my hand. Biko just started full-on lecturing me on how troublesome I could get."We were so worried!""Two weeks! What kind of technique leaves that kind of backlash?!""You're so troublesome, you little brat-""Uwaaaaah!"For a moment, I was shocked… and then I smiled.Yes… I made the right decision.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
I inhaled, breathing it deep. Thankfully, it seems mental preparation far trumps physical limits… if I had them. The cigarette smoke didn’t burn my windpipe on the way in or out. Hm. Nicking a packet from Aoi’s stash had been easy, and the reward was fulfilling when I was hit with the same high that I used to have when I first started smoking. As the smoke swirled through the air, a slight wave of melancholy hit me – here I was, given a second chance or whatever, and I’ve already picked up one of the many bad habits I used to have when I was Yvon.Oh well.Apparently, I was in the hospital for a week, because I had to sit the Advanced Placement exam the very next day after I was released. I don’t know how, or why, since my body usually dealt with negative status effects after I slept for an hour. I aced the test, of course, and spent the whole day with my friends. It was the first time they had seen me with Naruto and began to coo over the bond we had. I was not amused when Biko affirmed me to be a ‘momma bear’.I am NOT motherly! I just slaughtered how many ever ROOT agents I could reach because… I’m just not, okay?!Ahem.The next three months I spent taking things easy. After I became a Genin, my life was going to be, without a doubt, busy as hell; so, I took a break from any learning and spent time with my growing circle of friends and family. Hideki and Ryosuke competed for my attention a lot, for god knows what reason and Mai had to be a mediator all too often. Kitsuna and Itachi brought a sense of stability and sanity to the group, while Biko was just… Biko.Word of my ‘training mishap’, as the Hokage had so kindly publicized, had spread like wild-fire throughout the village. Thus, I did not only have to deal with an overbearing orphanage staff but also practically the entire village-population. I was being asked of my well-being wherever I went, the elderly wanted me to sit down a lot, and the shinobi clans actually offered to tutor me, all in their own ways. I couldn’t show favoritism to any single clan because I might lose reputation with the others, so I declined them all – in keeping with my plan to relax.I also hadn't found out jack about Orochimaru yet. Hmm... I should really get around to doing that, sometime.The last evening before I began training seriously for the graduation exam, I didn’t spend resting. Instead, I began to hash out my character more. With my new mastery of all bladed weapons, I was already overpowered. Then, if you added on the bending, my rank shot through the roof. Don’t even get me started about the Mark. Still, though, I wouldn’t give up my battle just yet – I would never be as overpowered as the system apparently wants me to be! Nah-uh, Legion is his own man, folks!I layered my abilities mentally. Surprisingly, the whole village did not know that I had a major affinity for water to such an extent that moving it came to me as natural as breathing, even though I usually used it to amuse any toddlers I have on me at any time; so, I could still keep it to myself. Maybe they thought it was a simple jutsu…? Eh. The intricacies of the ninja and civilian minds of this world were not mine to comprehend… at least not where this is considered.That couldn’t be my primary means of attack willy-nilly. What I could use, however, was kenjutsu. It was subtle enough not to draw too much undue attention amongst those who did not know me, and it was also believable enough for me to have mastered it. I guess that’s a priority, now, getting a good blade and using it in my general repertoire. Maxing out the skill from the knowledge of others gave me… a… strange style. It was extremely odd to be able to recall learning… and not actually knowing what I learned. I assume it will come to me when I grasp a blade. That coupled with being stealthy ought to be my main drive as a shinobi on missions. I can master anything my inner-child wants me to on my own time without giving away my strengths to random shinobi I met on my journeys.My fallback plan can be my bending. No one has a defense against it, especially blood-bending. In situations where defeat is not an option, this can be my go-to solution. When my reach over the elements reaches to encompass all four and their subsidiaries, it will be the final frontier that none of my adversaries will be able to cross.Now I know what to do next – my gear. The ROOT-level gear I had pilfered from Fuu had been confiscated, and I wasn’t sure if I would ever get it back, but I can go out and buy more gear now. I’ll need light armor that conceals well, and a good sword. I checked my wallet to see my limits – around two thousand ryo. Given how easy it was to obtain, I don’t think that’s a lot. So, I need to find a good source of money.Simple enough.It should be incredibly easy to sneak out of the village with my currently maxed out [Subterfuge] level and find a good bandit camp to take out. I’d be doing the region a favor and filling my coffer at the same time, victims of the robberies notwithstanding. I guess I can take another day asking around for rumors of such attacks. I can use a map to pinpoint the location, sneak and teleport over, deal with the bandits and take their money, and be back in an hour, tops.A ninja must always have his tricks though. Standard gear that I can purchase from the store will always be only alright, even from the best selection. I guess I can make my own. For that I’ll need to learn how to work with metal, leather, and cloth. Then… can create some trick weapons. A fast-draw system for the sword from its sheath like Sam had in Metal Gear Rising, a crossbow like Corvo’s from Dishonored, and… a hidden blade, like the assassin’s had.I never really got the point of it, actually. What’s the point of the hidden blade when an obscured weapon would do just as well? But having a blade that had no chance of being separated from you had its uses, and its many additions and forms can be a boon… as long as it is never, ever, taken from me and studied. Maybe I’ll have to study sealing for that one.Armor, sword, modifications to the sword and sheath, a crossbow, and then the hidden blade… which had nothing to do with the coolness factor at all. Nope. Pure utility.It was at this moment that the gigantic clock tower that was set atop the Merchant’s Guild tolled, signaling twelve o’clock at night.PING!Eh?
[You have survived for one year in Ninpo Online! You have been advanced to the next level!]
[You have leveled up!]
[Title Unlocked: Fledgling Adventurer!]
[Affected by Active Effect: Trans-dimensional Convergence]
Crap.I felt the cigarette hitting the floor just as my vision blurred, and then I was in my Dive to the Heart. The warp was instantaneous and near miss-able if it wasn’t for the fact that I had literally been transported somewhere else.I looked around. The place had changed quite a lot from the last time I’d been here. Where before there was endless darkness, there was now a stormy sea around my platform. The sky swirled with black energies, and I swear I could see debris flying around in there. It seems that my water-bending and the Mark altered my Dive. How RPG of me.I took a drag, still in a pleasant slight-buzz, as a door materialized in front of me. It was unremarkable, but seeing it set me on edge. When Roxas walked through that door, he faced that giant man-shaped nobody. I didn’t have a weapon on me save for my [Chakra no Mesu], but that shouldn’t be a problem given that I was literally in my element.I walked through without much thought.I appeared on an identical platform, but this time with glass stairs leading upwards to even more of them. I shrugged, pulling out my cigarette and exhaling, and decided to get this over with.A few steps up the stairs and there was a ping of darkness in front of me. When it cleared, I was treated to- Wait. Holy shit! Was that a Shade?Dragon Age was one of my favorite games ever. It was one of those where I just had to play on the worst possible difficulty the first time around, and then mess around with cheats and stuff on the easiest via a second playthrough. The lore was what drew me in more than anything – it felt like I could draw a lot of parallels with it to my own world’s history and legends. So to see what amounted to the easiest minion of the Fade here…My excitement doubled.It roared when its eyes landed on my form. It flew forward with a speed I hadn’t seen before in canon. Huh. Well, it looks like the creatures had been amped up in this version. I cartwheeled to the side and used my motion to bring up a volume of water. It was immediately plunged into the ocean by an ‘errant’ wave. Oops.“Sorry!” I called over the stairs as I continued on my way, now feeling a little better about the situation. Even if I was back in here to face an inner enemy, at least it was going to be one of my favorite franchises!I encountered at least a dozen more. Given where I was, it didn’t seem quite so important that I scan them and trying to destroy their minds with [Telepathy] seemed like a risky maneuver, so I just kept plunging them down. They didn’t have blood to bend in them, and since I sliced one open and didn’t receive any experience, killing them seemed… a bother.When I reached the highest (and largest) platform, I was greeted with a treasure chest. How novel. You can’t fool me with an empty platform, game! I’ve played way too many RPGs to not know that here is where the Bossfight occurs!Suddenly excited, I began to make my way over…When I was swatted by something large and grey. My cigarette was knocked out off my lips as I flew through the air and hit the ground hard, sliding towards the edge of the platform. It was then that [Gamer’s Mind] shook me out of my daze, and I backflipped, using the tree-walking exercise to stick my landing.Standing protectively in front of the chest was…“Fucking hell! Whoever’s responsible better get a raise, Outsider!” I grinned, drawing water from far below to me and settling them around my arms like whips, readying myself for a serious battle.“Your master will not help you here, human.” The Pride Demon calmly replied, charging a ball of lightning in his hand. “My own now rules this place. You will be his slave, or you will be cast aside.”Okay, back the fuck up. Master…? The only thing remotely close to one of the sorts was the Nightmare demon from Inquisition. So, who ruled over this one?I didn’t have time to dwell on that as It launched the sphere, and I had to dodge it. It was now that I thanked my ludicrously-high (I think) [AGL] stat since I’m moving at high speeds even without tapping into the speed-force. Gah! Even without wanting to be overpowered, I still was…I whipped about in the air and the water around my arm thinned and extended, phasing partly into ice at the end and scoring a lucky hit, removing the thing’s arm.It screamed. “You will pay for that, human!”“Sorry, I don’t deal with demons.” I quipped, ducking an enraged fist. While it gathered its bearings, I scanned it for good measure.
[Pride Demon – Level 15
HP - 16589/25000
MP - 16800/17000
Constitution - 25
Strength - 38
Agility - 12
Intelligence - 17
Luck - ?
Wisdom - 32
?]
Why in the world was he so weak…?Oh. Wait. I’d probably be around his level if I hadn’t decided to destroy ROOT. Crap. Is this battle even worth it? Will he just keel over if I drilled a hole into him?“Who is your master?” I demanded, slipping into a water-bending stance and gesturing grandly. The platform began to rumble. “Tell me before I finish you off, and I may consider sparing you.”“Pathetic attempt at intimidation, human.” It snarled, clutching the stump of its sliced-off hand, from where black smoke poured out. “You hold no sway over me, Regis, once a king!”That name sounded familiar, but I shrugged it off. “You were warned.” I spoke instead and sharply gestured upwards.The oceans far below use finally broke the limit to where we could see and came rushing upwards. Water swirled around the platform as if it were a tornado reaching high up into the sky.The demon did not react, not that I could tell from its gnarly visage. Instead, it snarled, opting to charge me one last time. Well, it was a Pride Demon, and I could hardly fault it for wanting to go down fighting. I would do the same if the situation ever arose.When it was within grabbing distance, it probably thought it won. Instead, it was skewered with multiple spikes of ice the even broke through the glass of the platform, cracking it in several places.“You… will not…” it feebly tried, before it burst into black smoke entirely.“How… anticlimactic…” I honestly drawled, and then blinked. The moment the smoke evaporated, the world around me seemed to come to a standstill. The waters stopped swirling and seemingly froze in place. The skies slowly halted in their churning movements. The noises dimmed until it was all silent.Then, there were muted thuds. They were soft, but vibrated through the platform, and thus by extension, me. The water around me slowly whitened over, and then shattered – I only belatedly realized that it had turned into ice.Surrounding the platform were six hulking figures I almost instantly recognized. I loved the game they were from, really, and played it over and over and over… and then some more. But seeing them here… were all fictional characters of my time alive? What did that say about those who created them?“Legion.” Thundered the voice of the mostly black Draconian warrior that hovered tall in the sky. Even though he was far from my position, he was mightier than any sight I had laid eyes upon in both lives… and I had seen the Kyuubi. “Troubled warrior of another world… you have defeated your inner demons and cleared your horizons. In respect of this, I, Bahamut, King of the Astral Realm, would bestow upon you the right to call my kind in blessed battle.”I… okay, what the fuck? WHAT THE FUCK? FUCK YOU, GAME! I DON’T WANT TO BE SO OVERPOWERED! FUCK, I ALREADY AM! SCREW YOU AND YOUR NORMIE MODERATORS!“My lord… I… think you have forgotten that none may understand us, save those who are touched by the Oblivion Crystal.” Ramuh, the Fulgurian, whispered from the being’s lower right. “I believe we best allow Shiva to transform into her human avatar to commune with our next chosen.”Bahamut… looked sheepish? What the fuck? “Of course, I… I was aware…”“Truly?” Shiva in her giantess form, the Glacian mused from a position around the platform I was on, directly in front of me. “Our benevolent lord truly remembers such trivialities?”“I was unaware our ‘benevolent lord’ even remembered anything.” A gruff voice spoke from behind me, and I recognized it immediately as the Infernian. I turned to see a scowling Ifrit glaring down at me. “I see nothing special about this mortal. Perhaps the wretched Void-walker was mistaken.”“The Outsider gives his Mark only to those who truly have a chance to change the weave of fate.” An impossibly deep voice spoke from my current left. There stood the Archaean, Titan, arms crossed and with an expressionless visage. “I see it on his hand.”“That fool might as well have been mistaken.” A screechy female voice spoke to my back, and I almost whirled to glimpse the Hydraean. Leviathan, in all her serpentine glory, hovered in the air, impossibly-long body seemingly coiled around the platform itself. “I see nothing of value. He does not even appear close to matching the standards that other boy had.”Sick of being spoken about like I wasn’t there, I finally spoke up. “You lot do realize Í’m right here, don’t you?”The six Astral Lords, collectively known as the Hexatheon, all stilled.“You speak our tongue.” Ramuh murmured, lowering himself a bit closer to the platform. That wasn’t saying much, however, since he was probably four times over as tall as the Hokage Mountain. “This… is impossible.”“Impossible… until now.” I trailed, making a show of blowing at my fingernails, then rubbing them against my clothes. “I regularly break beyond the standards of the impossible.” I lied. The only reason I was anything of worth was that I belonged to a world where all of these… were stories. “And what’s not to understand? You’re speaking regular English, just like everyone I’ve… met… so far… SONOFABITCH!”PING!
[Due to a special action, a game function has been revealed!
Translation: ON]
I stared at the screen in front of me with a twitching eye. So, I can listen and speak any language… ever? And read, too, because the books in the library had to be in Japanese, now that I think about it.“Never mind. Apparently, I can understand any and all languages. How... ugh. I literally can’t even, right now.” I grumbled. “Dormammu? If you’re listening, can I bargain? For being a weaker character? Please? Pretty please with a giant ‘fuck you’ on top?”The six figures didn’t seem to know what to make of my impromptu desire to yell to the heavens.“Okay. I’m going to take that as a ‘no’.” I called out, then sighed. “Fucking flaming skeleton.”“Oh, I like this one.” Ifrit snickered. “I would like to change my vote to ’yes’… even though I was unanimously voted against.”“You remind me of Loki.” I shot at him. “That… is really not a good being to remind me of.”“Silence!” Titan roared, visibly annoyed. He deflated and face-palmed when Ifrit and I both adopted an innocent expression. “Now there are two of them.” Titan sighed. “Will you bring the Star-Scourge to your world as well?”I shrugged. “I’m not Ardyn, and he’s not me. On the other hand, I’m not as emo or broody as Noctis, and I don’t really know how the kings before Regs were, so I’m just gonna say that I’m gonna be my own man, okay?”“You know of events you should not.” Ramuh mused, eyes narrowing. “Truly, an interesting phenomenon.”“For- Look, I would very much like to get back to what my life is now, okay?” I grumbled. “And I also don’t want your flipping covenant. I’m fine without it and I’d rather not summon the lot of you into the Elemental Nations. So, can I just go?”“You dare deny our covenant?!” Leviathan screeched. “Idiot boy! Know your place!”“Thank you very much, snake-face, but I’m. Not. Interested. Got it memorized?” I asked, tapping my temple.“Why do you wish not to bond into a covenant with the Astral Realm?” Shiva asked, tilting her head in confusion. “Most would tremble at the chance to summon their own army.”“Because I don’t want to.” I pouted, crossing my arms. “I’m already too powerful. I don’t want to be so. And… what army are you even talking about? It’s just the six of you that I see.”“By entering into a covenant with us, you gain the right to summon any of our children, and even ourselves, in the time of your most dire needs.” Bahamut declared. God, even his voice sounded righteous. Very puke-inducing.“Your… children…” I trailed, then stopped.Final Fantasy 15 was going to be Versus 13 first, a part of the Nova Chrysalia line. It means, at some point in time, they shared a universe. I don’t know why it was decided to scrap the decision, but eh, we got a good game out of it, so who was I to question that? So, anyway, if the lot of them shared a universe, and these guys have children… Astral children… Oh. Wait. WHAT?!“NO. Hell no! Fuck Dormammu! Fuck all six of you! I’m not going to be summoning an army of Nektons like Caius Ballad! NO!” I vehemently denied, stomping my foot. “Get the fuck out of my mind!”“We are currently in connection with your soul.” Ifrit corrected.I made a face. “Whatever. Just leave! God, you’d think the six of you would get the message!”The other five members looked very unsure. “You… truly do not wish to bond in a covenant with us?”“NO!”“This… is unprecedented.” Ramuh mused, but there was a smirk on his face. Dumbledore-alert! “However, you simply must. If we leave without bestowing upon you the Covenant, it will be… problematic.”“Lemme guess, you’re not going to elaborate on that, are you?” I snarked, rubbing my temples. “Killing myself was the worst decision I ever made.”“You are still alive.” Shiva helpfully reminded me.“If you wish not to join in a Covenant with us, then so be it.” Bahamut decreed, but he looks visibly unsure. “In exchange, however, you must perform… a duty.”“I don’t want your glorified summoning-contract, so I don’t need to do jackshit for you.” I growled. “Leave. L. E. A. V. E. Get out!”“You must find another to bear the burden.” Ramuh picked up after his Lord, given that the other was… in a rather amusing state of being spellbound at the sheer audacity I was currently exhibiting. I felt like I ruled, for a moment, until I registered what he said.“I’m NOT giving anyone your covenant!” I cried out. “Do you know what someone in my world could do with even one… of… Actually, never mind. Hand it to me, and I’ll make sure I pick a good summoner.”Almost as soon as I agreed, a hovering light appeared in front of me. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a shining bright diamond the size of my fist. It flew towards me, and I quickly opened my inventory so that it zipped right in. I couldn’t trust them to not fool me into a covenant… ugh.“Smear the blood of the summoner upon this diamond, and a Covenant will be forged.” Ramuh explained, looking a little put out. Wait, was he really expecting me to fall for becoming their summoner just like that? “Beware: this anima can only be used once. Once it has been used, it is rendered a part of its’s summoner’s soul-”“Whatever, goat-rider.” I shrugged. “I get the gist. Can I go, now?” Then I started glowing. “Oh, I’m glowing.”My eyes snapped open, back in the real world. I sighed and looked outside, absently noting the position of the moon and the background noise of the clock tolling. It had been an hour. Great.I quickly opened my game menu and navigated over to the inventory, which was empty save for a couple of books from the library that I… ahem… procured, and the anima. I highlighted it to read its description.
[Anima Crystal – Astral Gate
The only Anima to exist today. Bleeding upon it will allow someone to enter into a Covenant with the entirety of the Astral Realm, granting them the ability to summon, bond with, and learn from, the Astrals.]
Okay…. So that really was real. Okay. I just talked back to six gods. At once. I’m a badass!I did a little jig around my room in celebration before calming down. Wait! Hadn’t I leveled up before…? I excitedly navigated over to my [Character Page] and assigned the five points I had.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 38
Title: Outsider’s Chosen
Next Level: 0/18,000xp
HP - 490
QI - 490
RR - 490
CON - 39
STR - 39
AGL - 93
INT - 39
LCK - 94
WIS - 3 9]Great! So now, I had to get eighteen thousand experience points to advance on to the next level… which was important why, exactly? I just want to change history – I don’t need to be overpowered to do it!Okay! SO! Here on out, I was going to do my best not to level up. Should be simple, right?Anyway, now that it was officially the next day, it’s best I get to training for the finals. However, first, I need to get my hands on the scrolls required and learn them myself. Ugh. Wait… shouldn’t Academy teachers have them?Well… I haven’t broken into the Academy, yet. Why not?I quickly spun on my heel and apparated, appearing right outside the entrance to the staff room. Creeping silently along the cubicles designed for the teachers on duty, I noted that, thankfully, the room was empty; probably since it was midnight. My almost godly [Subterfuge] skill ensured that no one caught me even if there happened to be an odd late-nighter.I snuck into a cubicle assigned to our current homeroom teacher and began searching. I found all three of my intended prizes stuck in a box together and shoved haphazardly towards the corner of the desk. Thankfully, there was more than one copy of them, so I pulled out two of each and quickly stashed half into my inventory.Then, I tapped a scroll.PING!
[You have acquired the jutsu scroll; Ninpo: Bunshin no Jutsu.
Would you like to learn this jutsu?]
I quickly accepted.PING!
[You have learned a new skill!
Bunshin no Jutsu (Active)
Lv 1 (0.00%)
By ejecting chakra from your body and manipulating it, you are capable of creating a basic illusion of yourself. The image produced is intangible, and vanishes after a solid object passes through it.
Cost: 10CP
Duration: 30 seconds
]
Wow. That was a horrible skill. If it wasn’t for the fact that it started users on the path to Genjutsu, it would be useless. Honestly, though, I already knew it would suck; but if I wanted to pass…Now, for the two that were actually useful.PING!
[You have learned a new skill!
Kawarimi no Jutsu (Active)
Lv1 (0.00%)
After charging an object with your chakra, you can instantly substitute with it at any time.
Cost: 50CP
Range: 10m
]
Cool. Now I have a cop-out in case things get too hairy. With my amazing energy regeneration, this shouldn’t be too taxing to use.But what was this about charging the object with chakra? I was almost a hundred percent sure that Kakashi had substituted with a Naruto clone in canon at a split second’s notice. How odd. Maybe this was a balancing mechanic? Nah, it’s more than likely I don’t know what really happened. The Shunshin and this one were jutsus that were hardly explained in canon.PING!
[You have learned a new skill!
Henge no Jutsu (Active)
Lv1 (0.00%)
By expelling chakra from each of your tenketsu and condensing it down to reflect a static image from your mind, you effectively project an illusion of having changed shape.
Cost: 10 CP/sec.]
Great. Being undercover for anything was now a viable option. Not that it wasn’t before, mind you – I’d rather use a manual disguise that’s hard to dispel and won’t be expected than a simple jutsu that can be dispelled by another… I think? I mean, Mizuki’s [Henge] was dispelled when a transformed Iruka punched him, but that could just be him releasing the technique when he realized he was fooling no one.I stood and stretched, dropping out of [Subterfuge] fully. My work was done. Maybe now Hideki would finally stop badgering me to procure the scrolls for the three. There aren’t any other valid ninja techniques that the Academy normally tests, so I’m all set!Oh, wait! I still need a scroll on the Academy Taijutsu for Ryosuke and me! I began to search the desk again but came up empty. Even the cubicle next to the one I was in didn’t have one… ugh!“Ahem.”I squealed like a little girl and shot off the ground, landing on the ceiling and clinging to it. “Don’t do that!” I spoke immediately, but my eyes shot wide open when I realized exactly who was in front of me.Kakashi, in all of his brooding, socially-awkward, smut-reading glory, stood right behind where I previously was, eye lazily trained on me. “The Academy is currently closed.” He spoke, unashamed.I rolled my eyes and dropped from the ceiling without a sound. “That’s why I’m here, smartass.”“Touchy, touchy.” He mocked, still not pulling out a book. Odd. Why was he even here, and in standard Jonin gear rather than an ANBU set? “You should refrain from speaking to everyone like you know them. It may leave a bad impression.”Well… I couldn’t very well tell him that I knew practically everyone of any import in this world from a Japanese comic, so I just shrugged. “I’m not one for propriety. And anyway, you’re in the Bingo Book – everyone knows you, Hatake Kakashi.”Said teen seemed to deflate. “Even Academy Students know me now.” He grumbled.“I’m just special.” I winked at him and turned back to my searching. “If you aren’t going to help, please leave. I’m looking for… aha!” I whisper-shouted in victory as I found two battered scrolls for the Academy style of taijutsu.“You snuck into an incredibly secure building that’s guarded by ANBU at all times… for the Academy taijutsu scroll?” Kakashi deadpanned.“Hey, I need this to pass! Plus, Ryosuke is an orphan, too, and he will be learning this right alongside me.” I retorted, stuffing the two scrolls into the folds of my kimono. “What are you doing here, anyway? I have a reason, but…”“Well, I’m here about that.” Kakashi unabashedly said, pointing at the currently-bandage-covered Mark. Never let it be said that he beat around the bush when he’s serious.I didn’t know how to react to that. Was he sent by Hiruzen? God, were they going to try to talk the information out of me now? I didn’t want to be bugged by future elites all day long! Oh, well, might as well throw them a bone. “What do you want with the Mark?” I ‘hesitantly’ asked, pulling my hand behind me.His eyes sharpened a bit at the name. Hm. Definitely sent by Hiruzen. “I was a Genin under the Yondaime, so I know a bit about space-time ninjutsu. I was curious… a couple of my friends said they spotted you disappearing and appearing randomly around the training grounds.”“So, you stalked me?” I demanded, annoyed. Crossing my arms, I resisted the childish urge to stick my tongue out at him. “Doesn’t that give people a bad expression?”“No one knows I’m stalking them unless I want to.” He admitted, and I was almost floored at the pure unrepentant attitude he had. “So they never have a bad impression of me.”I pointed a finger at him accusingly, before sighing. “Nothing I say is going to get through to you, huh?”“Nope.” The teen eye-smiled. His lone visible eye then pierced me with a certain haunted air that made me shiver. “Besides, you remind me a bit of myself.”“I’m nothing like you.” I said, partially in rebuttal and partially in denial. “Anyway, so… what, you wanna see how the Mark works?”“Nope.” he responded. “I was just wondering how you got it.”I ‘shivered’, projecting an image of unease. “That’s… not important.” I ‘hesitantly’ drawled. “And anyway, I’ve got to get started on practicing this,” I strung, jerking my chin towards the scroll in my hand, “and that’s a long story, so I’m just gonna go. Later.” I waved cheerily and apparated away, popping out in my room which was empty of any humans.God, how gullible did they think I was? Admittedly, Kakashi was a hero, but still.Eh. Okay, now to spend the night practicing. Let’s see how high I can get the levels on the E-ranks by tomorrow morning, hm? Six hours of non-stop ninjutsu practice… sounds fun. I can get on the taijutsu scroll tomorrow with Ryosuke. *** “I’m calling this Council session to order.”The room, previously dimly vibrating with hushed murmurs, fell silent as the night at this announcement from their leader. Hiruzen sighed, puffing his pipe absently. He’d practically been pressured into this meeting by his other alive teammates, and was not looking forward to their reactions. It stood, however, that he was the Hokage, and unless he wanted to hold this meeting, no one could force him. Hopefully, his once-friends knew this.“There have been rumors floating around about my former comrade, Shimura Danzo, I gather.” He spoke, without much ceremony. There was no point – he well and fully knew the sole purpose for this meeting, so asking for matters to be brought up was needless. “I will put these rumors to rest.”He took a moment to take a drag before speaking next. “At 2146 standard time, the denizens of Konoha felt a mysterious wave emanating from the Merchant Guild’s clock tower.” He spoke, voice without inflection. “This was, as logical conclusions may have led you to believe, a sensory jutsu developed by an ANBU operative. The agent managed to find and locate a hidden complex behind the Hokage Mountain and was sent in with a squad to investigate.”He suppressed a smirk when Homura shifted uncomfortably. Koharu was far above such slips, but his male teammate… well, let’s just say subtlety was never his strongest suit.“We discovered a hidden base of operations right under our noses.” He continued after puffing his pipe. “It seems, unfortunately, that Danzo believed he was above the authority of the Hokage, and decided to continue the existence of ROOT in secret even after the order was given to disband.”“Impossible.” Hyuuga Hiashi breathed. “We would have seen it!”“The base was far beyond the range of even the most potent Byakugan in your clan, Hiashi-dono. And somehow, I doubt you take frequent trips to the top of the Hokage Mountain.” Hiruzen mused. “Regardless, the team entered the base and took it by force, eradicating all opposition when it was made obvious that peaceful submission was an option not taught to ROOT. The identities of the fallen are still being compiled, but I am glad to say that only two clan members so far were amongst the casualties. My condolences to the Yamanaka and Aburame clans. You may collect the bodies tomorrow.”Inoichi jerked in surprise where he sat. Shibi simply inclined his head. Both were unaware of any missing members of their clan, so their deaths had been faked when any members were reported KIA. There was no sadness to be had.“When confronted, Danzo revealed his intentions of assassinating me and taking the reins of the village in his own hands, and proceeded to attack me, just as I had managed to arrive on site.” Hiruzen lied. “Therefore, he was dealt with; swiftly and efficiently. His name will not be put on the Memorial Stone.”“Were all the ROOT agents present during the incident?” Shikaku asked, eyes sharp. Having all this right under his nose happen without him being aware… he did not like it, clearly.“I’m happy to say no. There was only a skeleton-force present to operate in the hideout. All other ROOT agents have been recalled from their positions around the Elemental Nations and have been quietly taken into custody as they arrive. I was actually going to consult with the Yamanaka clan tomorrow to set up a schedule to try and gauge the extent of the damage before returning any Clan members. However, now that you know, Inoichi, your clan and you will assist the Torture and Interrogation Department in this endeavor. Triple the amount of an S-rank pay will be transferred into your Clan account for this purpose.”Inoichi nodded, grim-faced. While the money was well beyond his imagining, he could only dread what delving into a conditioned mind would be like.“Who was this ANBU agent?” Kurama Katsuhiko asked, eyes wide. “Clearly, he or she deserves recognition for such an endeavor?”“His identity is not important.” Hiruzen spoke in a clipped tone. For everyone present, this was obviously a tell that the matter had come to a close. “Any further issues to be discussed? No? Dismissed.”The room emptied slowly. Understandable, given the magnitude of the news its occupants had heard. Soon, however, only the Hokage and his two old teammates were left behind.“So he’s dead, then? How could you, Hiruzen?” Homura asked, eyes only lightly moist. Ah. Team Tobirama, the only five-Genin cell of its time, may have disbanded decades ago, but its members still held the drilled-into ideals of comradeship into their hearts. Or, at least, everyone save Danzo did.“He left me no choice.” Hiruzen muttered, standing to turn and look out the room’s window. “The mission reports he had stashed away under fuinjutsu… they were horrendous. I couldn’t risk him escaping to continue his plans elsewhere. Did you know he was going to send a squad to Amegakure to escalate the conflict between a vigilante group and Hanzo there next week?” That they knew ROOT was still operational was obvious to the aged leader from the look on their faces.“Whatever he did, it was for the good of Konoha.” Koharu spoke, voice thick. “You have no idea the amount of damage he has saved us from, Hiruzen.”“Maybe.” Hiruzen muttered. He closed his eyes when there was a twin sound of two blade unsheathing, and then two solid thuds as something meaty hit the floor. “But it was not his place to turn men into… something less… to raise the Leaf. That was not the way Tobirama-sensei taught us, my old friends.” He turned, gazing dispassionately upon their heads, separate from their sagging bodies. “I only wish you realized that in time.”He walked out of the room with unsteady steps, leaving the cleanup to his ANBU. He had a lot of work to do to re-induct all the ROOT members back into society… so he’d best get on the job. Thankfully, he’d already sorted out Orochimaru’s punishment.He just hoped his student’s future Genin team could forgive him, he thought, with an amused smirk on his face. Gundan, as usual, was a cause for mixed feelings, it seemed.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“We’re ninja!” Ryosuke beamed, waving around his hitai-ate with unbridled glee. “We did it, we did it!”“Calm yourself, commoner.” Hideki sneered, but it didn’t hold as much venom as it usually did when he directed the expression towards the other orphan in their little group. “This is only the first of many hurdles in our lives that we must leap over.”“But we are shinobi now.” Mai breathed, looking at her own hitai-ate with awe. “We… we all passed the Academy in a year. With the best scores ever recorded. And… this is all thanks to Gundan-kun…”Itachi bumped my shoulder with his own; a dangerous motion if I was a civilian, given that we were seated at the very edge of the Academy’s roof. “Is something wrong, Gundan-san?”I exhaled softly, eyeing the blue cloth in my hands with unease. Having been in a daze from the moment I left the examination room, all the way till here, I was a bit… well, okay, a lot elated. But I couldn’t help but think about the future. The whole of the Elemental Nations was out there. Obito was running about somewhere, plotting the word’s sleep. Zetsu was plotting to bring his mother back. Had Nagato already turned into Pein? Was Gaara a Jinchuuriki?This whole year had been a waste. I’d taken down ROOT, sure, and I had eliminated the very possibility of the Uchiha Clan or Naruto being alienated, but… besides train, I’d accomplished nothing else of note. I hadn’t been able to find Jiraiya outside that one time when we met, Orochimaru may as well have left the village for all I knew. I still hadn’t helped anyone besides my friends become stronger. I…There was so much for me to do… and that wasn’t even counting what Dormammu and the Outsider may launch my way, for their amusement.“I’m fine… thank you for asking.” I looked up and smiled a small smile at Itachi. “It’s just… I accomplished my goal. I passed out of the Academy with perfect scores in a year. I just… I’m feeling a little lost.”“Troublesome guy.” Biko sighed from my other side and patted my shoulder. “Now we get assigned under a Jonin sensei and train. We do missions and train even more to secure Konoha’s future…” She groaned. “Now I’ll have to do even more of those chakra control exercises… troublesome.”“I am certain your sensei will teach you all kinds of ninjutsu, Biko!” Ryosuke grinned. “And I’m going to request a draft into Torture and Interrogation! It’s going to be so awesome!”“I, too, will train to be a better ninja and, in time, a capable clan head.” Itachi confided, gazing at the setting sun. “I hope I get on a team with one of you.”“Me too!” Mai beamed. “Don’t get me wrong, I still hated every single bit of this past year, but… actually earning an accomplishment on my own merit… it has made me so happy. And... I would love to be on a team with you guys!”“Then we should hope that we are not separated.” Kitsuna nodded. “Advance Placement students are usually apprenticed or scattered into teams missing a member. It would not be unusual for none of us to be on a team with another.”That brought about a round of silence. The mood plummeted drastically. Ugh. Goddamn, I was being such a downer.I shook my head and stood in a single fluid motion. “Well then, we’ll just have to make sure that we all get sorted into teams with each other! And even if we do get separated, we should meet regularly! We’re the Konoha Seven, after all!” I beamed, taking a step back to smile at my… family. Not friends, but people I had come to know and love. They… I’d protect them. Whatever it took. From Kaguya, from Obito, or even from Dormammu. I can’t bear to think of any of them hurt. No…But compared to some people out there, I’m just so… weak…“Konoha Seven, huh?” Mai mused, smirking. “I like it.”“Wow! We got a group name, guys!” Ryosuke laughed. If his eyes were a little wet, no one commented on it. “Let’s make sure we back each other up, even if it’s from miles away!”Hideki scoffed and turned his face away, but his full face was as red as a tomato. Even his ears. It was downright adorable. “As if I would leave my friends behind.” He muttered. Aww!“You troublesome idiots need someone to keep you in line.” Biko smirked, eyes closed. “I’ll no doubt have to do that, lest the world implodes due to your sheer loud voices.”“Belonging to such a group… would be beneficial.” Kitsuna stuttered, clearly out of his element.Itachi seemed startled for a moment, too, before he smiled. “Hai, Gundan-sempai.”I pouted. “But I’m not older than you!”“Then why do you act like you’re our mother?” Biko sighed.“Hey!”So yeah, maybe things aren’t exactly cut and dry. Maybe everything is still uncertain. Maybe, because of me, this simple world was going to be invaded by beings and concepts far beyond anyone here could believe.But you know what? As long as I’ve got these people, and Naruto, and Teuchi, and Aoi, and Mika, and… everyone… I’ll never fail.I don’t think I can bear it if I destroyed my happiness again when I have gotten another chance to live it.PING!Oh, for Christ’s sakes- *** It was only later, after a celebratory dinner at Yakiniku Q, that I finally acknowledged the floating screen in front of me.
[Quest Complete!
Main Quest: Under Scrutiny
You have decided to join the Konoha Shinobi Academy in order to join the active ninja force and increase your reach over the land. Persevere through four years of lessons and pass the Academy Final Exam.
Completed Objectives
:
Pass the Academy Final Exam
Completed Bonus Objectives:
Pass the Academy Final Exam with perfect scores.
Pass the Academy Final Exam with less than three years of study.
Pass the Academy Final Exam with less than two years of study.
Help Itachi pass the Academy Final Exam earlier.
Maximize the skill level of one or more skills while you are an Academy Student.
Reward
:
5000xp, + Scholar Title, +10 stat points, 15 stat points, + Uchiha Gunbai (Plain) x1, + Random Skill Scroll]
Oh… kay… so I get a total of five thousand experience points, twenty-five stat points, a new weapon, and a random skill scroll? Cool. I swiped the screen way and opened up my inventory. There were two new items; the Gunbai, which I let rest there, for now, and the skill scroll, which I pulled out and tapped.PING!
[You have acquired the technique scroll; Cero.
Would you like to learn this skill?]
Well, at least it’s nothing too overpowered… should I be happy about that or sad, by the way? Not being able to slam people left and right is in keeping with my ‘stay-normal’ mindset, right? Well, in all honesty, I’m already overpowered. I’m pretty closing to maxing out [Water-bending], and once I do, I’ll probably be able to blood-bend everyone in Konoha. Simultaneously. During the day.My [Subterfuge] skill was pretty OP too. The only reason that Kakashi probably found me, that day, was because I left the state to stand and stretch. I’ve maxed out my mastery of Kenjutsu to the point I can… probably… do wonders with a sword.God, I’m pretty overpowered. My desperation was for naught! Oh, what a world!I sighed and just accepted. Hopefully, the skill won’t evolve into Cero Oscuras or something when it’s maxed out.PING!
[You have learned a new skill!
Cero (Active)
Lv 1 (0.00%)
Compress your spiritual energy into a ball, then ‘rip’ its shell to expel the energy in a certain direction. Ignores armor.
Damage: 100HP
Cost: 250RR]
Okay. Decent damage. Decent costs. Altogether, not that bad. I took a deep breath and navigated over to my [Perks] screen. I had 320 points sitting there, just enough to buy both remaining perks and let me uncover the next tier.
[Perks
Mutant Gene 1 – Unlock a mutant gene.
Cost: 150 PP.
Magic Specialty 1 – Unlock a specialty field of magic.
Cost: 150 PP.]
I was still a little leery, though. If I really could get strong enough to hold my own without any special perks, why should I purchase any of these for my own? As I did with Naruto, I know for sure that I can hand over these skills to others, so why not?Well… the only reason I could think of was that I didn’t know anyone with the capability to use magic… or even if they could. It simply wouldn’t do to give someone a magic specialty when they couldn’t even use it, right? The mutant gene, however, I certainly could, and that I’d be giving to a very special someone. Thinking about it, I also knew who to grant the crystal to summon the Astrals to!I stood, dusted myself, and turned on the spot to apparate over to the other orphanage. Slipping into [Subterfuge], I quickly made my way up the stairs and into the baby’s room. I walked through the rows of cribs until I finally landed on one with a sleeping brown-haired girl.The label read, ‘Tenten, age: 2 years 4 months’.I quickly opened my inventory and brought out the Anima Crystal. Once it was in my hand, however, I looked uncertainly between it and the little girl off in la-la-land. Could I really hurt a child, even if it helped more than just her in the long run?I knew the answer almost as soon as I thought about it.Wincing, I took a kunai in my hand and pricked a small spot on her finger. I carefully squeezed it a bit and then smeared it over the crystal. The object began to crack. Once, twice, and then it shattered into white mist and surrounded Tenten, seeping into her.Nodding in satisfaction, I stood and carefully walked out, closing the door softly behind me. Then I twisted on the spot and apparated yet again, this time into the Shinobi District.Looking around to orient myself and to be thankful that I was still in stealth mode, I made my way over to the Lee Clan Compound. I brought out my chakra and spread it around me, activating [Kage Yosuru] for the first in a long time as I moved from shadow to shadow, carefully making my way into a very particular house.Thankfully, Rock’s mother was fast asleep on the couch, so I climbed up the stairs and into the baby’s room without much fuss. Unfortunately, the baby was awake. Fortunately, something about me fascinated him enough to giggle cutely and try to grab for me.I cooed internally, smiling as I lifted him up and into my arms. Okay, sue me, I couldn’t help but find babies adorable – everyone does! I’m still not a mother-hen!Deciding not to waste any time, I opened my game menu and navigated over to the [Perks] section, then selected [Mutant Gene 1].
[Are you sure you would like to give Rock Lee the Mutant Gene 1?]
Sure.
[Please choose one of the following:
Energy Projection
Density Control
Shadow Matter]’Oh. OH! Wasn’t this selection from that underrated X-men game? Destiny, I think it was called.Well, Energy Projection would give him ranged capability, but it doesn’t fit into his style at all. Totally out. And while he was impossibly agile and dexterous later on in life, it was his head-on taijutsu that made him so terrifying, learned directly from Maito Gai.The choice was obvious.
[You have selected ‘Density Control’. Are you sure?]
Hell yeah! Explode with the flames of youth, Lee! Just… not literally.PING!
[You gave Rock Lee the Density Control Mutant Gene!]
I looked over the little baby as soon as I dismissed the screen. Seeing nothing outwardly wrong, I kissed his forehead and set him down, waved, and vanished in a soundless swirl back to my orphanage room.Okay. So I just made Tenten a summoner and Rock Lee a mutant. All in a day’s work, right?To unlock the next tier of perks, I needed to finish this one, so I sighed and opened up the menu again, selecting [Magic Specialty 1].
[Please select one of the following:
Solid Script
Dancer
Guns Magic
Titan
Doll Attack
Animal Soul]
…..I… have never felt so insulted in my life. Oh, well, you get what you ask for, it seems. I scanned through the list and selected the only one that didn’t make me a D-list character.
[You have selected, ‘Titan’. Are you sure?]
Please end my misery.
[You have learned Titan magic!]
PING!
[You learned a new skill!
Titan (Active)
Lv 1 (0.00%)
You use magic to enlarge yourself. Along with your physical size, your physical attributes and capabilities gain a boost.
Boost value: +1% for every 100m.
Cost: 400RR/min/10m
.]
Hm. Not useless, but not all that useful either. Maybe when I get the next level of magic specialties, I’ll get a better selection of powers. Maybe even Dragon-slayer magic!The next set of perks seemed to clear, and I quickly scanned them.
[Perks
Avatar – By allowing Raava to inhabit your body, you open up your connection to all four elements simultaneously.
Cost: 200PP.
Eye of Mikhail – By being bestowed upon with Michael’s eye, you are now able to use Zaiphon.
Cost: 200PP.
Augmentations – By learning David Sarif’s knowledge, you have learned to augment yourself and those around you.
Cost: 200PP.
Conduit Gene 1 – Unlock a Conduit element.
Cost: 200PP.
Fullbring 1 – Unlock a Fullbring.
Cost: 200PP.]
Okay… that cinched it. This game is fucking rigged. Ugh.Anyway…. So, I need two hundred points more to buy my next perk, huh? What skills do I have?
[Skills List
Gamer’s Mind (Passive)
Lv MAX (100%)
Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through.
Cannot be affected by negative mental debilitations.
Gamer’s Body (Passive)
Lv MAX (100%)
Your body behaves as if it were in a game and reacts accordingly.
Restore HP and CP and remove debilitations by sleeping in a bed.
Pain is brief and injuries only affect HP.
Sleeping and Eating optional.
Physical Resistance (Passive)
Lv 56 (0.72%)
Due to being hurt in the past, your body has learned to stave off a portion of the damage.
-56% damage from all physical attacks
.
Chakra Resistance (Passive)
Lv12 (19.14%)
Your body recalls being exposed to tainted chakra, and its attempts in fighting against it. Against normal chakra, these defenses are more effective.
-6% damage from all chakra-imbued attacks.
-50% skill effectiveness against tainted chakra.
Chakra Medium (Passive)
Lv MAX (100%)
By mastering strict control over internal chakra flow, only a bare minimum of chakra is required to initialize a jutsu. Finely tuning chakra movement throughout the body is now second nature. Due to unshakable control, you now regenerate chakra at a much higher rate.
-50% delay in regeneration to physical and spiritual energies.
-99% chakra cost for chakra-imbued skills.
Exercises Discovered – Leaf Balancing (0.1 CP/min), Tree Climbing (0.2 CP/min), Water Walking (0.3 CP/min), Chakra String (0.4 CP/min/string), Cloth Stiffening (0.5 CP/min/m2), Senbon Balancing (0.6 CP/min/needle).]
Detect Bloodlust (Passive)
Level 32 (7.00%)
Allows you to pinpoint the person who is emitting the sensation of wanting to very-much kill you, and from where.
-7% skill effectiveness for every five levels the source is beyond you.
+13% skill effectiveness for every five levels you are beyond the source.
Silver-tongue (Passive)
Lv 95 (0.00%)
Your mastery with words allows you a greater chance to persuade targets, allowing them to see your view of thinking and, more often than not, gently tugging them onto your path.
69% chance of working.
-2% chance of working for every five levels the target is beyond you.
+18% chance of working for every positive REP with target.
Eavesdropping (Passive)
Lv72 (42.0%)
Allows the user to listen in on things happening around them.
162 meters range.
-15% effectiveness in loud areas.
Idiocy (Passive)
Lv 48 (36.2%)
Sometimes, people don’t understand why you are doing what you are doing. Because of this, they may think you are insane, really foolish, or just plain endearing.
48% chance to earn positive REP with those around you.
52% chance to make those around you think you are crazy.
Master Marksman (Passive)
Lv MAX (100.0%)
You are a master at hitting your target, whatever the type of projectile you use.
Accuracy: 100%
Accuracy penalty: -20% for every 500m after 500m.
Highest throwing speed: 10 projectiles/sec.
Protagonist’s Luck (Passive)
Lv MAX
Interesting events will happen to you more frequently as time passes on.
Telepathy (Active)
Lv 72 (54.21%)
You understand the world around you by taking a closer look. Attuned to the living, your scrying skills now allow you to see into the mind of the person you are observing.
1 sec in target’s mind is 0.005 sec in real life.
4 CP per second while looking into someone’s mind.
Minor Speed Force Connection (Active)
Lv MAX (100%)
The Speed Force has turned its gaze upon you, watching and weighing. For now, you have fleeting use of its capabilities.
Increase speed by 10 times when active
Subterfuge (Active)
Lv MAX (100%)
A master of the unseen, you are able to stay hidden even in the most unorthodox of circumstances. Unless the target has a massive advantage, you cannot be found.
-99% chance to be detected.
+50% chance of landing a Critical Strike.
Chakra Leap (Active)
Lv 34 (7.32%)
Using chakra directed to the lower-leg muscles, one can increase the distance covered by a single bound.
44 meters distance covered
Cost: 0.5 CP
Chakra no Mesu (Active
) Lv49 (9.10%)
The user forms a sharp blade out of their chakra that covers the hand from fingertips to wrist. It allows them to cut into a living body without breaking the skin, decreasing chances of infection.
Damage: (INT + DEX)
Cost: 0.6CP per blade
Kage Yosuru (Active)
Lv27 (0.00%)
The user embraces the shadows, allowing better hiding capabilities.
+ 28% to Stealth skill when active.
-15% to enemy vision cones
Cost: 0.7CP/sec
Mark of the Outsider (Active)
Lv 31 (20.0%)
Granted to those who pique his interest regardless of moral alignment or sanity, the Mark allows you to bend the rules of reality. Can cast spells.
Skills Discovered: Silent Apparate (10RR)
, Void Vision (1RR/sec), Water Pressure (20RR), Pull (150RR/sec)
Genjutsu Mastery (Passive)
Lv 29 (68.2%)
The mastery of casting of illusions.
+29% chance to inflict damage on the nervous system.
-29% chance for target to escape illusion.
Water-bending (Active)
Lv 82 (1.5%)
By using your body’s energy to redirect and flow with change, you are able to control the healing element of water in solid, liquid, and gaseous states.
Limit: 820l.
Healing limit: 100HP per sec.
Cost: 1QI/sec
Pesquisa (Active)
Lv 6 (6.21%)
A sensing technique used only by the most proficient spiritual energy users, by pulsing out your own spiritual energy and calling it back in, you can pinpoint beacons of spiritual energy around you via spiritual resonance.
Max sphere radius: 500m.
Cost: 95% of RR.
Kenjutsu Master (Passive)
Lv MAX (100%)
A master of the blade, your self-taught style in conjunction with several others makes you a fearsome opponent.
+100% damage with bladed weapons.
-99% chance for your opponent to dodge.
+50% chance for a critical strike.
Bunshin no Jutsu (Active)
Lv 21 (0.00%)
By ejecting chakra from your body and manipulating it, you are capable of creating a basic illusion of yourself. The image produced is intangible and vanishes after a solid object passes through it.
Cost: 8CP
Duration: 90 seconds
Kawarimi no Jutsu (Active)
Lv37 (0.00%)
After charging an object with your chakra, you can instantly substitute with it at any time.
Cost: 35CP
Range: 46m
Henge no Jutsu (Active)
Lv44 (0.00%)
By expelling chakra from each of your tenketsu and condensing it down to reflect a static image from your mind, you effectively project an illusion of having changed shape.
Cost: 6 CP/sec.
Taijutsu Mastery (Passive)
Lv25 (6.23%)
The mastery of hand-to-hand combat.
+25% chance to cause damage to internal organs.
-25% evasion chance for opponents.
Styles learned: Konoha Academy Style.
Titan (Active)
Lv 1 (0.00%)
You use magic to enlarge yourself. Along with your physical size, your physical attributes and capabilities gain a boost.
Boost value: +1% for every 100m.
Cost: 400RR/min/10m.]
Okay… so I have a lot that I can level up. [Cero], [Titan], [Pesquisa], [Mark of the Outsider], and the E-ranks come to mind first. It also wouldn’t hurt to max out my [Water-bending] in preparation for the [Avatar] perk. And if I can level up any of the others in the meanwhile, it’d be a bonus.Wait! I also have twenty-five stat points to spend! I quickly navigated over to my character screen and sorted them off, opting to even out my [Agility] and [Luck] at hundred, and assigning the rest evenly.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 38
Title: Outsider’s Chosen
Next Level: 5000/18,000xp
HP - 520
QI - 520
RR - 520
CON - 42
STR - 42
AGL - 100
INT - 42
LCK - 100
WIS - 42]
Thankfully, I didn’t gain any extra skills from reaching the hundred-point threshold, but… yeah. I just wasn’t comfortable with those numbers anymore. Ugh.Fuck this shit. I’m going to bed. THe universe better still be standing when I wake.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
I crouched on a branch with narrowed eyes, [Dark Vision] active. In my hands was a pair of kunai, each held securely in a reverse grip. I could see exactly fifty-two of them, some gathered around campfires, laughing raucously, others patrolling their little camp with diligence I did not expect from their sort.Then, I slipped into the Speed-Force and moved.Being civilians, they stood no chance against a ninja even in ordinary terms. However, in my empowered state, I was even harder to see, let alone track with their naked eyes. The deed was done remarkably quickly, their throats slashed without much fanfare, and soon I stood alone in a field littered with corpses.I sighed, sheathing my kunai in their pouch and ruffling my hair. How anticlimactic. I almost expected a boss to show up, you know, considering. Regardless, I simply shrugged and began looting the bodies. There wasn’t much of worth besides money – most of them used discarded ninja weapons that weren’t in very good shape. I amassed a very good seventy-six thousand ryo this way. Considering I had only around two thousand, before, this was a major improvement.Storing the cash away into my inventory, I made my ways towards a tent somewhere in the middle of their clearing, eyes narrowed. The chief was still sleeping – good. I crouched and shot forward, slamming my hand down on his sleeping form and ending his miserable life immediately and without a struggle.It was only then that I slipped out of the Speed-Force, a satisfied smile on my face. In just fifteen minutes, counting from the moment I apparated here, I ended one of the more dangerous gang s of bandits staking out the main highways between Konoha and Suna.I allowed myself a moment of victory before I began to search his tent as well. Most of their valuables were stored here, and the rest was distributed amongst the others as prizes, it seemed. I found a few rare gems, which I left where they were. I did take the cash, which turned out to be a whopping four hundred thousand ryo. There were a few weapons that were in good shape – a naginata, a couple of tanto, and a good katana that didn’t look too bad. I scanned it for good measure.
[Standard Steel Katana (Brown Sheath)
An average katana made of steel.
DMG: 27.5 + STR
Bonus Slashing Damage: 35%]
Oh, cool. I put it in my inventory and equipped it from there. The blade appeared on my back, length adjusted, handle just over my right shoulder. Nice. I felt like Ryu Hayabusa for a moment.I shook it off and began to search more. Besides some expensive-looking art and jewelry, there wasn’t much else. I shrugged it off because my work was done – I now probably had enough money to get myself a good ninja gear set. I shoved the guy’s corpse off the bed and piled all the smaller valuables in it, then tied it up. Casting my eyes about the place again, I nodded and spun on my heel to apparate away.Appearing in a poor village I passed by on the way here, I simply flung the sack high into the air – not an impossible feat for me given my [STR], even though I was only six. The jewelry rained down on the road with clinking sounds. In spite of the early hours of the morning, people raced forward and tried to grab as much as they could. It was a bit disheartening to see children get shoved out of the way by adults, but that’s the way the world worked – the strong pushed the weak, and the weak pushed those weaker than them. In a world where children were raised as perfect killers, this rule was all the more applicable.I shoved that thought away and straightened, recalling that I only had an hour’s worth of time before I had to be at the Academy for team placements. In the week since the final exams, I had been so busy training my skills that I simply hadn’t the chance to set out on this excursion till now, even though I gathered the information required the very night I passed, itself.I apparated away, coming back into existence in the alley behind [Konoha Shinobi Armaments], and walked out as if I were there all along. Breathing deeply to rid myself of the phantom sensation of blood on my skin, I plastered a smile on my face and entered the shop.“Ah, Gundan-kun!” the man behind the counter, one Sutiru Lee, grinned at me. “Finally come to get your shinobi gear?” his eyes then landed on the hilt of my new katana. “Ah, I see you already have a head-start.”“A gift, Lee oji-san.” I assured him. “In fact,” I drawled, untying the strap and offering the weapon up to the man. “Could you please inspect this? I’m not sure if it’s battle-worthy. Meanwhile, I’ll be browsing the shelves.”“Of course! It would be my pleasure.” The man beamed. Let it not be said that Rock Lee only got his enthusiasm from Gai – the entire clan was like canon Naruto… but hyped up on sugar.I forewent the more cloth-y section completely, save for grabbing a three-pack of black muscle-shirts and shinobi pants, and made my way to the leather section. I eyed the shelves for a long while, then finally settled on what looked like a dark-grey sleeveless battle-kimono, full arm-gloves that had metal plates on the back of the hand, and black boots. I also picked out two kunai holsters, one for each thigh, and two arm shuriken pouches that went on the underside of my hand. Making my way over to the consumable section, I bought an item pouch, a pack of shuriken, kunai, smoke-bombs, and ninja-wire. Deeming myself sufficiently outfitted, I made my way back to the counter and a frowning Sutiru.“May I ask who gave you this, Gundan-kun?” the man asked, eyes never drifting from the sword.Crap. Was it one of his? Think fast! “Um… it was one of the traveling merchants, Lee ji-san. I think she said she had found it on the roads near Konoha. Is something the issue?”He looked up with dry mirth in his eyes. “Yes. One of the caravans meant to deliver to us was involved in an attempted robbery, days ago. Our forces managed to track down several pieces taken, but there were three pieces still missing. A naginata, a tanto, and this katana.”“Oh…” I trailed, ‘appearing’ a bit down. “If it is yours, you should keep it.”“Nonsense! No doubt she gave this to you for a good deed. Consider this nothing else.” He smiled, offering me back the sword. “I hope you know how to use it…?”“I’m not too bad.” I replied, with a small smile. I slung the sword on my back and dropped my purchases on the counter. “Thank you, oji-san.”“You’re welcome.” He grinned and began to rifle through my purchases.I paid the required amount (something around ninety grand) and walked away happily. I briskly moved into the same alley and opened up my inventory, storing my purchases away and equipping them from there to ensure the best fit. I had to assign the throwables to their pouches, something that surprised me. They linked directly to the total count in my inventory, so theoretically I could store almost unlimited items in my pouch. Well, unlimited of one kind, but still.I finished my gear off by tying my hitai-ate to my upper left arm, covering a little strip of flesh visible between my kimono and arm-glove. Doing a quick cartwheel to test my movement, I smiled in satisfaction. I could move much easier in this set of clothes than I could in my civilian ones, but the feeling was not as unrestricted as the ROOT gear. Ah, well; you gotta make the best of what you have, right?I took to the rooftops and began to make my way to the Academy. When the building came in sight, I took to its roof instead of its front door.True to my memory, the [Location Collectible] was right there. I grinned as I reached out and touched it.PING!
[You have discovered: Konoha Shinobi Academy! 7/50 Konoha locations discovered!
Please select one of the following –
5000 Exp
100 Perk Points.
30 Stat Points.]
Nice! It seems it really gets scaled very well indeed! I had noticed it before with the [Uchiha Senbei] collectible, but I had thought it might have to do with the fact that it was in a clan compound; apparently, I was wrong on that front.Okay, let’s do the math. Forty-three collectibles left, thirty points each. That would make… holy shit. One thousand, two-hundred, and ninety points…Fuck! What should I do?! Should I search for them? Should I not? Should I only collect half?And, and! These were just the Konoha ones! The trans-dimensional one had been incredibly powerful. But even excluding that, there are four other Great Countries, god knows how many normal villages, minor hidden villages, and other hidden locations all around the Elemental Nations. Just with those…The game was trying to amp me up… but why? Was this Dormmamu’s doing, or the Outsider’s? Or, when the Outsider decided to interfere, did it somehow affect the system? Wait! Holy crap, why didn’t I think of this before?! If the Outsider interfered, Dormammu might have washed his hands off this entirely! Did that mean he no longer had any control? Was this a simulation kinda deal or was this an alternate universe?! Could it be possible that I am in the Soul Stone? Nah, he can’t remotely control such an important artifact… right?So many questions… so little answers…I sighed and rolled my shoulders. It wouldn’t do for me to dwell on this now when I have so little information to draw from. I need to gather more information before I can even begin to comprehend this clusterfuck of universes… where’s Jiminy Cricket when you need him?I accepted the stat points and quickly distributed them through my stats.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 38
Title: Outsider’s Chosen
Next Level: 5000/18,000xp
HP - 590
QI - 590
RR - 590
CON - 49
STR - 49
AGL - 101
INT - 49
LCK - 101
WIS - 49]
Cool. Another point in each of the auxiliary stats should see me gain new skills. I wonder what they’ll be for [STR] and [CON]…?I turned away from the spot the collectible used to be in, now vanished. I’ll scour the village for them after team placement. Especially since, once we go outside the village, there’s no telling what can or will happen.I paused when I felt a quite shimmer in the air next to me and cocked my head. Odd. That reminded me of… something, but I couldn’t place what. Oh well.I walked over to the edge of the roof and down the wall, easily spotting and going towards the correct window in order to reach the class assigned to us for today.“It seems I’m the last one in.” I flippantly commented, easily letting go of the chakra in my feet, flipping gracefully in the air and landing.“Show off.” Biko scoffed.Mai sighed, a small smile on her face. “As long as you’re not late.”Hm. I hadn’t noticed it before, but hardly any of my friends ted their age. Ryosuke did, and even Hideki, to an extent, but none of the rest acted like the below-ten children they were. Was this an effect of spending time around me, or was this always how they were going to turn out? I could understand Itachi being mature beyond his years, but…“We do have a few minutes until we are officially needed.” Itachi allowed, eyes floating to the clock on the classroom wall.Speaking of whom, I scanned him.
[Uchiha Itachi – Lv 16
HP – 250
CP – 600
Constitution - 15
Strength - 24
Agility - 32
Intelligence - 50
Luck - 2
Wisdom - 51
Uchiha Itachi, the heir to the Uchiha Clan leadership, is a boy with a very different view of the world than those of his clansmen. He wants to ensure that his village and clan is safe, by any means necessary.]
Holy shit! Main character stats, man. He’s got a lot more chakra than me, and his wisdom is his next best stat. His [AGL] isn’t bad either! But… I thought you get only five stat points per level…? His stats are obviously way higher than they should be! The only way possible is…Wait… don’t… don’t tell me…FUCK! It makes sense, too! The reason I couldn’t hone myself through practice is because of [Gamer’s Body] – a skill that is impossible for anyone other than me to have! No one else has such a handicap! That means… everyone around me, even my future enemies, can get better with practice! And there’s probably no limit, either, if the usual human body is taken into account! This explains the stats of the [Pride Demon], too!“Fucking hell! I’m literally getting fucked on a cactus! I’m being super nerfed here!”Everyone’s gazes snapped towards mine so quickly I swore I heard their neck snapped. I wonder why… until I realized I swore out loud.“Um… I was talking about… um… training.” I offered. I swear the heat on my cheeks could cook eggs.They continued to stare.“Dammit.” *** “Alright, boys and girls.” Our last homeroom teacher spoke, standing in front of the line we made with a proud smile. “The best and brightest Konoha has to offer, you are. Never have there ever been such high scores all across the board in the history of Konoha. That goes doubly so for you, Gundan-kun, since you scored consistently perfect in every single examination you’ve sat through.”I ducked my head in embarrassment. It wasn’t really that big a deal. Memorization just came easy to me, and I even understood things a lot better in this life than my previous. I wonder if it’s because of my high sorcery attributes.“You are now ninja of Konoha.” He beamed. “As proud shinobi of the leaf, you may have to someday lay your lives down in the name of the village. Given that there have been almost as many wars as there have been Hokage, this is almost a certainty for most ninja.”I heard someone gulping. Ouch. It was so loud, it felt like it hurt.“However, I expect far greater things from you than martyrdom.” He said, his grin dropping in favor of a softer smile. “Well, let’s get to the team assignments. Before we begin, though,” he paused, rifling through the folder in his hands and pulling out a stiff piece of paper. “Ryosuke-kun, your application to be apprenticed in the Torture and Interrogation Department has passed. You are expected immediately.”The boy took the piece of paper delicately, almost as if he were scared it would spontaneously combust. “Th- thank you, sir.”“I really hope you succeed in your goals.” The instructor smiled.Ryosuke offered us all a hesitant grin before he made his way out the door… unsteadily.“Right. As for the six of you… well, here you are.” He sighed, pulling out a paper. “Team 2 – Hyuuga Hideki, Nara Biko, and Kurama Kitsuna; your sensei is Tsunade.”Almost as soon as he said this, and our jaws all hit the floor, said woman calmly strolled in through the door. “Team 2, with me.” She barked, gesturing with her fingers and turning about, not even waiting for the three to follow as she immediately strode out.My three friends almost fell over themselves trying to follow her out the door.Our instructor sweat-dropped. “I hope they’ll be okay,” he muttered, chewing his lip for a moment. “Regardless, moving on. Team 3 – Uchiha Itachi, Yamanaka Mai, and Gundan; your sensei is Orochimaru.”My heart began to dance for joy as the very man I was searching for strode through the door, garbed in the standard Konoha Jonin gear, green edition. Hm, he does look a little aesthetically pleasing and off-putting at the same time… how does it even work?“Team 3, follow me.” He hissed, eyes zeroing on me for a moment before he turned and walked out.I traded a glance with both my future teammates. Itachi and Mai both looked unsettled by the man… well, that just wouldn’t do. In that very moment, I decided in exactly what way I’d be acting towards the man.I grabbed their hands and pulled them out, having to run a little to keep up with the man’s long strides. They soon gathered themselves and gently tugged their hands away, following me down the hallway on their own.“Orochimaru-sama, the Orochimaru, is our sensei?!” Mai whisper-shouted. “And Tsunade-sama is the other teacher assigned to the six of us!”“I guess our scores really did make an impact.” Itachi mused, eyeing me speculatively.“I take back every time I’ve ever complained about the hell you put us through, Gundan-kun.” Mai said, eyes filled with joy. “We get to work under Orochimaru-sama!”I wasn’t certain, but I was pretty sure the man walking in front of us cocked his head on hearing that. Hm. Foolish Mai, assuming that he couldn’t hear her. He was a ninja of high caliber, after all. If his summons were anything to go by, he was even of the rogue inclination, like me.“I was under the impression you valued Tsunade-sama the most from the Sannin?” Itachi asked, arching an eyebrow.“What, just because I’m a girl?” Mai scoffed, flipping her admittedly long hair over her shoulder. “Tsunade-sama may have single-handedly created an antidote for some of the worst poisons Suna used in the last war, but Orochimaru-sama concocted even deadlier ones to use against them, in turn. His knowledge of venoms and biochemistry is the best the Elemental Nations has to offer! He’s every Yamanaka’s dream sensei… save for a member of our own clan, of course.”That surprised me. I’d heard of the Tsunade-Suna accomplishment, but not the Orochimaru one. Was that even canon…? “And he summons snakes!” I excitedly whispered. “They’re, like, the best thing since ever! I should only hope to be worthy of their attention.” I sighed, not fake in the least. Snakes were hella awesome!“Orochimaru-sama is also, arguably, the strongest of the Sannin.” Mai continued. I was almost certain the man was listening now. I contemplated activating [Dark Vision] just to see the look on his face. I doubt it would be anything telling. “Jiraiya-sama has a mastery of Fuinjutsu. Tsunade-sama has a grasp of Iryojutsu unparalleled by anyone in Konoha since it was founded. But Orochimaru sama has a mastery of them both, and even ninjutsu on top of that.” she whispered. “Every Yamanaka recognizes him as the true strongest Sannin!”“He sounds… formidable.” Itachi whispered back, looking at the man speculatively. “Is he not also the head of the Konoha Scientific Research Division?”Wait… that already existed? “Of course! And-”“If the three of you are quite finished…?” he hissed, turning around with an expressionless visage. Hah! As if he wasn’t just basking in our praise! “Please note the location. Training Ground 3 will, from now on, be where we meet at every morning.”I blinked and looked around. In our whispering haze, we reached the place without any of us knowing.“For now, introductions.” He said, gesturing to the ground and taking a seat himself. The three of us awkwardly followed. “Information is a shinobi’s best friend. Sharing information with your teammates of things that are relevant to your shinobi career is vital for survival in battle; whether it be your own or your teammate’s lives on the line.”He stopped abruptly after that, looking at us expectantly. Since neither Itachi or Mai looked ready to go first, I raised my hand instead. “Hello. Pleased to meet you. My name is Gundan, and I am six years old. I like my family and chicken. I dislike traitors, oysters, and snails.” I added an exaggerated shiver after the last one. “My hobbies are singing, training, and looking after children. My dream for the future is to work in the dark so that those in the light need not sully their hands.”I offered every present a charming smile. Mai shook her head.“I said, ‘things that are relevant to your shinobi career’, Gundan-kun.” Orochimaru spoke, amusement clearly dancing in his eyes. “I think combat capabilities does fall under that rather broad category.My eyes narrowed. Was he informed by Hiruzen? Well, it would have been stupid for the man not to have. “I think I prefer to keep my skillset to myself unless and until we pass the Genin exam, Orochimaru-sama.”The man offered only a small quirk of his lips. “Very well. Moving along…?”“Ah, yes!” Mai spoke, shifting uncomfortably. It was an odd sight to see from the usual social-butterfly-esque persona she depicted. Thankfully, all of us already knew there was a ‘true’ Genin test from our complete read-through of the Academy’s library, or else I’d have credited that for her imbalance. “My name is Yamanaka Mai. I’m six years old. I like flowers and poisons, and don’t like bugs and high humidity. My hobbies are flower-pressing and reading. My dream for the future is… well… I’m not really sure yet.” She finished, wringing her hands. Odd, how hero-worship can change a person so drastically.Orochimaru simply nodded, not commenting. His eyes twinkled a bit when they landed on Itachi. Ah, his desire for the Sharingan. “And…?”“Hai.” Itachi nodded, straightening. “My name is Uchiha Itachi. I am six years old. I like shuriken and pocky, and dislike salty food and people with no patience. My hobbies are training, spending time with my family, and reading philosophy. My dream for the future is to safeguard Konoha and my clan.”“Very well.” Orochimaru nodded. “You three know my name. I am thirty-nine. I like completing tasks efficiently and dislike fools. My hobbies are… none of your business.” He mused, smiling a little at how our faces fell at that. “My dream for the future is to master all ninjutsu.”There was a minute of awkward silence. His eyes wandered between me and Itachi too many times for it to be normal. Mai was just staring at him as if he were the second coming of Nutella or something. I was pretty sure I saw another distortion, a few ways behind Orochimaru, but I dismissed it. What could it be, anyway?“Your test will be administered tomorrow, at this very spot.” He finally spoke, standing fluidly. “I do recommend you come fully prepared… it would be folly otherwise.” He smirked and then vanished in a swirl of leaves. Whether or not due to my high [AGL], I was able to see a blur race out from his position. Hm… so did the stat doubles into something like Perception from Fallout…? How did that even work?Almost as soon as a second had passed, I was assaulted most grievously. I was, in fact, pretty sure my HP had reduced when I heard the shrill shriek from Mai. “OH MY, OH MY! Our sensei s Orochimaru of the Sannin! I think I’m going to die!” A very real possibility had the man already begun human experimentation. Had he…? I was uncertain.Itachi winced. “Mai-san, do control your volume.”The overexcited girl just screamed louder. “Oh, hush, you two! I have to go and tell my family, stat!” she said, and turned to make her way out of the clearing. But she stopped, turned, and gathered the two of us into a hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she fervently let out, and then ran.Itachi and I looked at her rather alarmingly traveling form with fond hints of delight. “She’s really excited about this, isn’t she?” I asked, ruffling my hair. “And here I thought she was all about gossip and flowers.” Totally not drawing unfair parallels at all. In my defense, it didn’t help that she looked a lot like Ino. Speaking of whom, I really should persist around Yamanaka Flowers to get a look at her.Itachi turned an amused smile on me. “Some would say you are being unfair.” He remarked, crossing his arms. “Others would say you were correct, even if it was a year’s old impression.”“We all changed a lot.” I sighed, pulling out a cigarette from a pocket. “You don’t mind, do you?”“Not in the least; please.” He gestured. And why not? The fanfic ideas of chakra purging our bodies was, obviously, false, but we’re literally being bred to kill – a few concessions can be made. “I was unaware you indulged.”“Stress does that to you.” I smiled, taking a deep drag. “Any idea what our test will be like?”“From what I gather, Orochimaru-sama is both the strongest, yet the subtlest of the Sannin.” The other boy mused. A hand found its way to his chin, and he adopted an expression not too far from ‘constipated’. How cute. “He dreams to master ninjutsu, but he only seldom uses anything besides his summons in combat. He seems to be calculating, yet he acts far too aloof for this to be of any consequence. I believe… that our test will be a three-on-one battle. A means to gauge our attrition, if you will.”“Ah. That’s how he’ll test our teamwork because we don’t hold a candle to a Jonin of his repute.” I nodded sagely. “It’s no wonder your clan head the Police – you’re all too damn smart! Mikoto oba-san must be so proud!”He blushed. “I simply pointed out facts and made a reasonable deduction. Given the fact that his two team-mates are front-line specialists, it would hardly be a leap.”I waved him off. “Whatever you say, you’re awesome.” I declared, crossing my arms and raising my nose in the air. “Nothing you say can deter me from that ‘deduction’.” I spoke clearly to emphasize the heavy quotation marks. Itachi was a badass character, and he should know it.The other boy smiled fondly. “Hai, okaa-san.” He droned.I offered him a middle finger in response. He wouldn’t know what it meant, but it would get the job done for me.“Well, I should best get going.” He muttered, stretching his arms. “It had been a long morning.”“Wait! Um…” I trailed, then a lightbulb went on over my head. I reached around my back and surreptitiously pulled out a certain object from my inventory. “Um… I found this the other day in one of the training grounds, and… I wanted you to have it.” I rushed out, almost pushing him off his feet when I handed my gift to him. “I hope you find a use for it.”In his hands was the Uchiha Gunbai I got as a quest reward for his optional objective. His eyes wandered over it, probably weighing it against weapons he had seen in his own clan’s armory. “Gundan-san…”“Don’t worry, I have a present for Mai, too.” I assured him. Well, I didn’t, but either the tanto or the Naginata ought to do the work for her. If not… then I could just go buy something else. “It’s just… it’s from your clan, you know? So, I thought you should have it.”He looked at me very strangely then, blushing. For some reason, I had a strange urge to check his reputation meter. “Thank you.” He said, holding it, seemingly comfortably, with both hands. “I… shall give you my gift tomorrow. I had one picked out, but I was not sure if it was an appropriate sentiment.”I waved him off. “It’s fine! Just bring your family to Naruto’s birthday again and we’re even.” I smiled. Naruto’s first birthday was nothing short of a celebration throughout Konoha. Given that I had paraded him enough to be liked, forget hated, literally everyone wanted to be there! It was the first time I had cried since coming to this life – Naruto would know love, he would know affection; this, me being someone who had very little of the latter in my past life, was something that mattered to me a lot. It was one of the few accomplishments I allowed myself to believe I was responsible for.“You deserve a gift.” Itachi insisted. “If it wasn’t for you, none of the Konoha Seven would be where we are now. I… I think we would be far from the people you have made us out to be.”I looked to the ground. If it wasn’t for me, he’d grow up to be an unsung hero, credited with the murdering of his clan when he, in fact, saved the whole village. Plus, I hadn’t even seen a mention of the others – not even a passing one. I’d already played havoc on the timeline…I shook myself off. So what? Things are definitely going to be different now, but I was right here, waiting to strike. And… eh. Do I need those stat points to keep up with the likes of Kaguya and Madara when I have my own powerhouses at my side? “That doesn’t make much sense. I am only one person after all.” I smiled. The moment he made to open his mouth, I tutted. “Nah-ah! Just… go home, share the news with Mikoto oba-san and Fugaku oji-san. Don’t worry your cute little head over the details, okay? Okay.”The boy blushed before he nodded. “Alright. We shall meet here tomorrow at the allotted time. Also, I daresay I will be the one informing Mai of our deductions…?”“Sure. Go ahead.” I waved him off. “Bye!”He chuckled, something I’d never seen him do in canon, and turned about, offering me a backward wave as he walked. I smiled at his back.Yeah, things were going to go off the rails anytime. Do I really need to be OP to handle them, though?I withdrew a cigarette from my inventory and lit it with a lighter, inhaled the now-comfortable sensation, and exhaled. I looked at it and smiled. My last life had been a fucking mess. Substance-addicted, expelled delinquent, reading fan-fiction all day and even writing some… the world of words was such a good escape for me, then, away from my then-overwhelming troubles. Couldn’t go a night without getting smashed, or an hour without cigarettes. That reminds me, I should really get some alcohol to sip on. Isn’t sake the local equivalent?Eh. I was so swamped in problems I’d created for myself, last time, that I didn’t have the freedom to… breathe. It’s funny, how often we’re the cause of our issues, and yet we find something or someone else to blame. Ah, the beauty of denial.I scoffed. I handled my life pretty fine without planet-destroying moves, my way of death aside. I was a mess, but I lived in the little things. It’s why I…Why I…FUCK! I was supposed to be six feet under, not fighting multiple wars for who knew which entities the universe was ready to throw at me! Well, technically ‘multiverse’, but the point remains. I mean-I flew backward, cigarette falling to the ground as some instinct told me to move. I looked up, and in the sound of an explosion, the area where I was previously standing was rent a crater… and that distortion thing was in the dead center!This time, I heard it. The sound of energy coalescing, forming into something… else. Given that I had practiced a skill that entailed it in the week between the finals and placements, I was more than capable of recognizing that subtle thrum. But… it couldn’t be the same skill, could it? I quickly launched myself, side-ways, this time, and picked up water from the grass with my feet, using the moment I landed to twirl and send as many deadly ice-spikes as I could make of the limited water.I pulled out more water and waited, but I couldn’t see that distortion anymore.“So, it’s true. You can feel us.”I whirled around as quickly as I could, but what I felt to be a hand grasped my own in a solid grip. Not to be outdone, I used my leg to deliver the volume at my disposal, hoping to push this invisible bastard away, but it was not to be.The grip still remained strong, but some sort of vague outline showed a humanoid in front of me, now. “Your strange manipulation of the elements also affects us.” A monotone voice spoke. It sounded very familiar, but damn, I couldn’t remember where I heard it! “My master is right to want you in our control.”“Not happening, fuckface!” I snarked, charging a [Cero] with my finger – an impossible-seeming black ball which pointed straight at the figure’s face. “Eat this!”“Impossible!” The figure snapped, grip loosening, possibly in surprise. Big mistake.Wrenching my hand out, it found itself as close to the figure’s face as it could get. I refrained from being the standard manga moron and screaming my technique. It didn’t impact its effectiveness, how shocking. In an explosion of grey reishi, I was tossed back with backlash.Almost subconsciously, I activated [Dark Vision], and nearly lost my stance.Standing in the disappearing cloud, with a sparkling bit of machinery on his haori well on its way to falling off, was someone very familiar to me. Someone… someone who I once felt great sorrow for, back when I was naïve enough to think the characters in manga were real and actually died.“How is it that you can do that technique?” he asked, dusting off the tech on his clothes. “Hm… it seems I must inform Syazel-Apporo that his work is subpar… as it seems to be, these days.”“Ulquiorra?” I gasped, eyes wide. “Ulquiorra Cifer?” Fuck, fuck, fuck! This is not what I needed, right now!The hollow’s eyes landed on me with more steel behind them – an impressive feat given that the rest of his face was as impassive as was possible. “You know of me.” It was a statement, not a question. “I see. Aizen-sama, as always, was correct. I should also assume, then, that his coinage of your use was, too.”Aizen?! “Okay, let’s just back up, here. I don’t want any trouble.” I said, bringing my hands forward and up… in preparation to bind him! My fingers immediately flew through familiar movements, and I expected Ulquiorra to fall to kneel on the ground.But… he didn’t. He just stood there, not even arching an eyebrow. “Was that meant to do something?”Fuck! He’s a hollow – he doesn’t have water flowing through his veins! It’s probably condensed reishi or something! Plan B!With a flourish of my hand, I withdrew my blade from over my shoulder, and let instincts guide me as I fell into a stance. I was so out of my league, it wasn’t even funny. “How… how are you even here?! What do you want?”He tilted his head, although I couldn’t tell what emotion lay behind the action. Dammit, his tear-like marks were too distracting! “Ah, finally, questions worthy of your current stature. However, it is not my place to answer you, trash.” He then turned and began to walk. “Do not kill him, or Aizen-sama will be most displeased.”I was confused for only a moment. The next, I was flying through the air with already-fading pain distracting me on my right side. Fuck! I forgot that members of the Espada always travel in pairs to the ‘real world’!I slammed my sword into the ground to slow my slide, then kicked off, landing on the side of a tree. Standing where I previously was, was a familiar grinning face. The blue hair instantly gave him away. “Grimmjow Jaegerjaques!”“Damn straight.” He grinned, showing sharp teeth. Damn. If I didn’t know he was basically a panther, I’d be super creeped out. “Now, come with us, brat, and you won’t get hurt. That punch was barely a quarter of my strength.”My eyes widened, quickly flitting to my HP Bar.
[HP - 219/590]
Okay… I had practically no chance against these people. Dammit, I need help, and fast!The fear that threatened to consume me was quickly pushed back. Okay, so I was facing impossible odds. How could I even them? Someone helping me would do it, but… how…? Oh, right!I took a deep breath and slipped into the speed-force, then turned on my heel and began running. If I could get to anyone… maybe Orochimaru was still around here somewhere!My vision was only occupied with trees in one moment. The next, Grimmjow was in front of me and had a fist firmly planted in my gut. I practically felt my HP go down to critical levels – dammit, he’s fast!“Neat trick.” He laughed. “But useless. Zero many times is still zero.”“Quit playing with our target, Grimmjow.” Ulquiorra sighed. I heard a… strange tearing noise. Oh crap, he opened a Garganta! “The sooner we return to Aizen-sama, the sooner we can be done with this.”"Shut up, paste-face!" the other Espada replied. "You're not-"I tuned them out, panic coming back full-force. Shit! I don’t know if I can apparate back from another dimension! Wait, I’m such a dumbass! I could have apparated away at the start! I closed my eyes, concentrated, and tried it. I could still get away! I could get help-And then darkness.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
[You have slept in a bed! HP, QI, and RR restored by 75%! Negative debilitations removed!]
My eyes snapped open, taking in my surroundings as I absently swiped away at the screen. The room I was in was white, with a single tall metal door that was no doubt blocked. This reminded me a lot of the room Inoue was in when she was captured.Almost as soon as I made this deduction, I gathered my Reiryoku and tried to apparate…PING!
[Warning! Trans-dimensional apparition is impossible!]
Dammit! I groaned in frustration. This definitely wasn’t the Elemental Nations, then. How long was I out? Speaking of time, did the Garganta have any time-eroding possibilities at all, like the Senkaimon?The door began to give off sounds of being handled, so I got to my feet and reached for my sword… which wasn’t there. Right. These people weren’t total idiots, whoop-de-fucking-do.The door swung open noisily, and three figures strode in. One, on the central figure’s right flank, I recognized immediately as Ulquiorra Cifer. The other, on the figure’s left flank, was who I would call Voldemort with nose and hair… and also perpetually closed-looking eyes. Gin seemed to notice my stare and waved gaily.The central one, though… the central figure was…“Sousuke Aizen.” I gritted out, falling into a water-bending stance almost on instinct. Unfortunately, I was in a dimension with absolutely no water… well, that could be remedied by the Mark. “Why have you brought me here?”The man simply smiled at me as if he wasn’t aware that his subordinates kidnapped me from my home world… dimension… universe… whatever; this massive crossover event is messing me up, and so early, too! His eyes, however, they studied me with an intensity I expected from Severus Snape. “So, you are Legion. I expected someone… older.”I was distinctly reminded of the one Eragon movie I watched that did the books no justice. “Excuse me?”“When I was told that you had the experience that I required to bring my plan to fruition, I had pegged you to be someone aged… like my beloved Captain-Commander.” He explained, approaching me. “I can’t imagine my informant was wrong, however.”Crap. “Well, tell your informant I don’t know shit. Now, let me out nicely, before I decide to wreck this place.” I growled. I only belatedly realized that that little spiel convinced exactly no-one… since I recognized them all by name… and used a [Cero]. Wow. I’m a massive idiot.He smiled at me as if he could read my thoughts…. Well, could he? “Hm. It seems you have forgotten what came to pass before you were captured. Would you care for a refresher?” he congenially asked, waving his hand towards Ulquiorra, who had a very unsettling gaze on me.“Thanks, but I’ll pass.” I sighed. Really, what was I thinking? Ulquiorra and Grimmjow played me like a newborn back there. The only thing I can do now is use words to make myself a way out. “Why did you bring me here? I’m still a six-year-old in that world, you know.”His eyes brightened with interest. “I have… a dream, you might say.” He drawled, grandly gesturing around him. Is this how he always acts? Is this supposed to be charismatic in this world? Or maybe I just wasn’t affected because of [Gamer’s Mind]? “And you… will help me drive it to fruition.”“You’re oddly upfront about this.” I grumbled, messing up my hair in agitation. Really, this was the master of manipulation, the epitome of being Slytherin? I expected something to be held as leverage against me, or me to be used in order to get someone else here. “I knew you to be… different.”Aizen smiled as if he knew a secret no one else did… which was probably true. “You speak the answer, yet you do not see it.” He turned on his heel and walked out. “Why not walk with me? I imagine staying in this cell all day can be… boring.”I shrugged and followed him out, Gin and Ulquiorra stepping up behind me. I had nothing better to do besides think; knowing the situation and point of time I was in could be beneficial.We walked through a hallway before we reached what classed as ‘outside’ in this place. I definitely did not forget that this sunlight, the clouds overhead, everything was fake, probably a complex spell of some kind… were they called kido? Yeah, that. Las Noches was just a dot in the vastness that was Hueco Mundo.“I wonder how you got that kido to stick to the ceiling.” I mused, looking up. “Or is it just painted on?”Gin snickered.“Life… or rather, death… is better with mysteries.” Aizen smiled. Does he have no other expression? “What do you know of this place?”I weighed my options. They already knew that I knew stuff – that reminds me, I need to find out who their ‘source’ was. Lying to them might just get me killed. Sure, I’d just return to the beginning, but I wasn’t fond of the idea of spending another year and a quarter just doing what I already did. I’d probably go spare, even with my neat little anti-mental-disorder cap on. “Las Noches. Previously owned by Barragan Louisenbairn. What was once his palace is now yours...”“Hm. Mundane information.” Aizen waved me off. “What more?”Hmm… “Your Espada can’t use the Gran Rey Cero, or any of its higher variants, within the dome. Espada Four and above are also forbidden from releasing their Zanpakuto within it. I’m… not sure about much else. There are quarters where the Tres Cifras live near the edges, the Espada Palaces surrounding the central tower, where you have your throne room. I don’t really know what’s in the middle.”“Impressive, considering no one else is allowed within.” Aizen hummed. “So, she was right, indeed. You do have the power of prophecy.”‘She’… I’ll have to remember that, since it ruled out Dormammu or the Outsider – this is just the sort of shit they’d pull, given their penchant for amusement. But now, how am I supposed to answer this…? “I really don’t. I just know how a solid timeline of the world is going to play out. I can’t solidly predict the effects of any changes I may bring about. Just me being here might throw things off, or they may not.” I shrugged. There. That should be enough for him not to rely on my words too much. I’d be a fool to believe he’d ever lose interest, and a bigger fool to believe that, if he did, he’d ever send me home.“What a specific ability.” He narrowed his eyes. The action caused his spectacles to shine in the artificial light. “How is it that you came to possess such… knowledge?”“I don’t know.” I sighed, relying on my [Silver-tongue] to get me through. “I just woke up one day and I just… knew. At first, I thought it was just an overactive imagination, but then things began to… fall into place.”We stayed silent after that, contemplating the nuances that the universe played. Or at least I did, I don’t know what the others were thinking.“So… why did you bring me here?” I asked, again. This was extremely strange for me, or maybe that was just the strange absence of… “Wait. Am I here in my physical form?”“It was near impossible to separate your spirit form your body… to the point that it could have resulted in your death, trash.” Ulquiorra answered. “It also served no purpose – while taxing on a living body, it is possible for humans to survive within Hueco Mundo.”That made sense… I think? I’m not big on Bleach lore, so…“You are here to further our cause.” Aizen spoke. The amount of light in his eyes… it felt as if I were talking to Albus Dumbledore. “We aim to unseat the Soul King.”“Okay… but I’m pathetically weak compared to the lot of you. Besides my knowledge, which could have been rendered useless when you brought me into the fold, I’m useless.” I pointed out.The Shinigami looked chagrined. “Yes, of course. Our… source… will pay dearly for that. But, since we’ve gone through all the trouble to bring you here, it would be a waste to simply kill you, would it not?”A sudden blow to my back knocked me to the ground and made my vision blurry.“Along with your vast knowledge, I also know of your… potential.” Aizen murmured. “The capability to be anything, given the right circumstances? You will be trained in our ways and become our greatest weapon. The Hogokyou ought to be enough of a catalyst.”“But… but what if… I don’t want to?” I panted. There was some sort of massive pressure on me… was that their reiatsu?“It took me a long time to open a doorway to your home.” The man spoke, voice without inflection. I was able to see his boots as he walked around me and came to stand in front of my downed form. “Through that open door, it won’t even take the Espada a fraction of the time to level it.”“No!” I gasped. The characters here were much faster than the ninjas back home! What could they even hold up as a defense??? The panic threatened to take me over until I was suddenly calm again.“Ah, then we understand each other.” He said, and then my vision went black.It felt like only a few seconds later when my eyes opened. I was standing, this time, in a very familiar place.“The Dive to the Heart…?” I wondered, puzzled. I stood on a single platform, with no doors or anything of the sort to indicate passage to another area. I stood there, confused until three beams of light struck down from high, a very nostalgic occurrence. How long ago was it that I chose my Path?When the light fade, however, there were three different objects in place. One, I immediately recognized as a sword – a Shinigami Kodachi, to be exact. The second was a five-pointed star-like metal creation – the Quincy Star. The third, and last, was a plain white mask with a hole where the forehead would be – the mask of a Hollow.I looked at each… and I realized the meaning. I had to choose what to be.This… this…I whirled around, looking for a door, a staircase… something! There had to be a way out of here! I didn’t have to make this choice! But… no matter how hard I squinted or tried to look, there simply was no way.I clenched my fists in frustration. With my ability to evolve skills and have stats affect my avatar in the real world, any of these paths were a surefire way to being overpowered!I froze.Isn’t that… what’s important right now?I’m in a dimension far away from home. I have no way back. I could apparate to the farthest reaches, somehow, but I’d never be able to run away from Aizen for eternity, not if even a single Arrancar on his payroll knows [Pesquisa]. There was also his threat against Konoha to consider, something I’m certain he wasn’t bluffing about. And if whoever this ‘source’ is, gives Aizen the information he’s clutching at, then…Ugh! My hands fisted in my hair. I decided then and there that Dormammu was going to suffer before he died.Almost as soon as it hit me, the wave of frustrated anger faded under the effects of [Gamer’s Mind]. Choosing now was the best decision I could make. The conundrum was… what was my choice to be?Hah! As if that’s a conundrum.I turned and stalked to where my choice hovered in the air in a soft beam of white light. I didn’t even hesitate as I reached out and took hold of the Kodachi.Almost as soon as I touched it, something… went wrong… horribly wrong. My entire body began to hurt – every inch of flesh burned, and every vein felt as if liquid fire flowed through it. My head, especially began to hurt so incredibly bad, that if I wasn’t already knocked out, I would have been. I was surprised I even had the mental clarity to still observe my surroundings… or even feel surprised.Around me, the Dive to the Heart began to vibrate in furious frequencies. The waters around me churned. The dark skies thundered. Black lightning began to strike from above.“Difficult as always, I see.”My eyes snapped open as I whirled about. That voice was familiar… disturbingly so.It was mine.A mirror image of myself, standing before my kneeling form, smirked down at me. “Well, I can’t blame you. It’s all a part of the system, isn’t it? Oh well. I suppose I’ll just have to stop existing to bring you relief.”I only absently realized the pain was gone as I stood, clenching my fists. “Who are you? What are you?” I demanded, slipping into a fighting stance.My copy grinned. “I’m you, silly. To be specific, I’m an extradimensional fragment of you – I symbolize… your potential, let’s say.” He shrugged. “I was brought into this plane of existence because you chose to become a Shinigami… not a bad choice. Quincies are too boring, and Hollows are immortal as long as they satisfy their need to feed on souls… I don’t think you would have liked that.” He made a face.“If you’re a part of me, why do you need to stop existing for the pain to stop…? For that matter, how is the pain stopped even now?” I asked, frowning. While I wasn’t the bookish or nerdy sort, I always hated not knowing things that were somehow entwined with me. He crossed his arms and put a finger on his chin. “How do I explain this so you can understand… Hm… remember the concept of ‘Limbo’ from DMC: Devil May Cry?”I cringed. “Why would you bring up that atrocity?!”“Ah, classic Legion.” He sighed. “Well, consider the idea that in some abstract place tied to the multiverse, which exists alongside it, layered over it, but is normally unreachable, ideas and concepts exist in a metaphysical form.”I goggled. “If that place has a population cap, I’m glad you got out.”“Eh. I wasn’t sentient before being called here.” He shrugged. “Enough about where I’m from. The point is, I was brought here to be the ‘soul’ for your Zanpakuto, since you don’t have one as you weren’t born a Shinigami.” He explained.“How does that even work?” I asked, honestly confused. “I end up with… what… ‘me’ powers?”The other me laughed a loud one. “No, no, no! Originally, you were meant to be able to call out your greatest, final, and most absolute self. With that sort of power, realities would be yours to play with… all at my discretion, of course.”I paled instantly. “That’s too much!”“I knew you’d say that.” He sighed. “Well, then, you should be happy to know that me actually becoming the soul of your Zanpakuto is impossible… or, should I say, you having a Zanpakuto with a soul is.”“Eh?”“Don’t be dense.” He smirked lopsidedly. Wow, I really do look like the Niidaime. “Your [Gamer’s Mind] prevents any negative mental debilitations. Apparently, having a spirit linked to you is considered as one, too.” He tapped his temple. “That’s what the pain was. I wanted to be sure before I gave up.”“So… am I going to have a soul-sword without a soul? How would that work?” I frowned, crossing my arms. “The fact is that a Shinigami’s Zanpakuto is like a part of his own soul. How do you be one without the other?”“I’ve already solved that issue.” The other me nodded. “You will find it next to you when you wake. Its abilities may just piss you off, a bit.”“Why?” I asked slowly, not liking his smug expression in the least.He sighed and stretched. “I’ll leave that to you to find out. Now, I gotta leave if you don’t want a constant splitting headache.” He waved. “Don’t die. I may lose sentience when I return, but my existence will end when yours does.” And then darkness.Waking up all at once, I gasped in some strange viscous liquid. I was suspended in a vat?! I tried water-bending, but then remembered that this is Reishi, and not actual water. I banged a couple of times on the glass, but there was no one in the room. Getting desperate for air, I charged and fired a weak [Cero], making the glass shatter and the liquid to flow out in a rush. Feebly, I fell to the floor, greedily gulping in air. You really never know what you have until its gone.When I looked up, I stood and sighed at the mess that was my body…. And someone had apparently seen fit to divest me of my clothing. Ugh. Opening up my inventory, I quickly donned a kimono and shorts, just as the door opened and another familiar face walked in.“You are awake…? Good. Aizen-sama is most patient, but it would do one well not to irritate him.” The pink-haired man smiled. It looked wrong on his face, like Pennywise trying to appear friendly. I internally cringed. “Ah. This is… strange.” He said, eyes landing on something behind me. “You have developed… a Shinigami Zanpakuto.”I blinked at him once before my eyes widened. I quickly turned to find it.It sat on the floor of the vat almost innocuously, in a jet-black sheath with a single grey line running alongside the edge of it. I walked up to it without delay and picked it up, looking it over. The sword itself looked wieldy enough for someone my size, which was honestly quite logical, given that it came from me. The hilt of it was bottle-green and had a simple circular guard of metal. There was a sapphire cloth tied to the edge of the sheath. I gripped the weapon and pulled, causing a slight hiss of metal to sound out in the room. The blade itself shined silver – I could even see my reflection in it.“Much like an Arrancar, in that aspect.” Syazel-Apporo spoke, and I quickly sheathed the blade and turned to frown at him. “Fascinating, though, is the fact that you have somehow managed to retain a Shinigami aura as a human.”I arched an eyebrow. “I assumed you would be removing my spirit from my human body as soon as you could. Ah, I suppose the scientist part of you decided to wait and see what happens…”He just looked at me. “You do not seem angry… as one would be in your situation.”I rolled my eyes. “Aizen just handed me the means to be properly functional in this world… and a potential nuke.” I said, jerking my chin towards my sword, loosely but surely held in my left hand. “I can hardly fault the man. I would, however, like to speak with him.”“Aizen-sama is currently in Soul Society. He will see you when he arrives.” The man replied, then cracked his knuckles. “In the meantime-”“I will handle it from here.” A man spoke from the doorway. Both of us shifted our eyes over to see who could very well be Aizen’s second right-hand-man.“Tousen.” Syazel-Apporo narrowed his eyes. “I was just about to run some tests… to make sure he’s in good health, of course.”“That will be unnecessary.” The blind man answered. Honestly, those white eyes weren’t even unnerving, given that I was friends with a Hyuuga. Speaking of which, I really need to learn to open a Senkaimon or Garganta, whatever is better. I wasn’t in a hurry, though. I can work out the time-dilating effects of the portals to my favor. “I will be escorting him to his rooms.” He continued, then ‘looked’ over to me. “You will follow.” He spoke, curtly, then turned and walked away.“Pleasure meeting you.” I offered, politely. The scientist was clearly annoyed, but waved me off and went to look at some machinery next to the vat I was in. Hm, good thing I didn’t hit that. I realized Tousen was already quite a few paces away, and quickly moved to keep up.“Since you were granted the powers of a Shinigami, you will be training under me while Aizen-sama is away.” He spoke, tone clipped. “That is, of course, unless you already know what it all comprises of…?”“I am not proficient in the handling of Reiryoku.” I answered politely. I could always appreciate a no-nonsense man. “My sword skills need no training to be perfect, but I have no knowledge of Kido, Bakudo, or any other Shinigami Art.”“You will need to be instructed in the basics, then. Aizen-sama has no use for a brittle blade.” The blind man sighed. “You will also spend a daily amount of time sitting with Aizen-sama, describing whatever history you know of in great detail. He will know if you lie.”Interesting. That wasn’t an ability I knew he had at all. The question is… how do I play this to my advantage? The first thing I should do is a test to see how accurate this lie-detection thing of his is. If it’s not perfect, I can literally end every single major problem in this universe with his help. Juha-Bach is slumbering now if I’m not mistaken. Ginjo should be in Karakura town biding his time. These two are the main players I can think of.“Acknowledged.” I nodded. I had no choice but to bide my time until I was strong enough to break out of here on my own. If things fell into place along the way… well… who was I to deny that? *** The days bled into each other at an alarming pace. It was strange that Las Noches was ‘programmed’ to have a day-night cycle, but eh. I didn’t keep count of how long it had been anyway. I was certainly busy enough not to have noticed the passage of time – save for one day when I looked into the reflective surface of sand crystallized from the heat of one of my teacher’s attacks and saw that I’d gotten taller, and looked a tad more gaunt. What would my mother have said had she seen me now…? And f I got back to the elemental Nations looking like this, what would my friends say?Would Naruto even recognize me anymore…?“Eyes on the battle, Gundan. Never let your attention be distracted from the most pressing matters.”I rolled my eyes as I ducked under her fast swing and charged up a [Cero] in my left hand, letting it hit point-blank range at my current sparring partner.Sometime after I began my training under Tousen, the latest and last Espada joined the ranks, one Tia Harribel. Where Ulquiorra was the most level-headed if a little depressing, and Stark was… well… too much like a Nara to be hyperactive at all, Tia was as close as one could get to ‘normal’ around here.“Brat! Focus on Harribel-sama before she wipes the floor with you!”“Mila, please refrain from screaming in my ear.”Well, the personalities of her Fraccion were far from hers, but still, you had to take what you can get.I backflipped and apparated, vanishing in a pop and appearing a few meters away. Quickly, I shot out a [Water-blast] from my hand and slipped into a bending stance, jabbing forwards with my sword. The water made an audible slicing sound as it lashed outward, threatening to cleave Tia into two were she not to dodge.Of course, given that I hadn’t, at all, improved my stats, this was child’s play for her. She blurred out of the way in a bang of static and I felt the wind rustle as she sped towards and past my form. All was still for a moment before my hand fell from its shoulder, blood spurting out almost like a fountain.“You are still as slow as you were when we first met.” She spoke, flicking her blade to rid itself of blood, then sheathing it. “Your abilities are strange beyond compare.”I stumbled with the sudden loss of balance. No matter how many times my various limbs were dismembered, it was an odd sensation to learn to live with. “I told you. Unless I get more experience points, I won’t be able to improve my baseline stats.” I grunted, sheathing my own Zanpakuto. I quickly froze the blood to keep myself from constantly losing HP because of it. “If anything, your speed has only increased.”She turned back to me and tilted her head. “I took your advice to heart and did not stop consuming souls. I have only grown stronger as a result. Some of my fellow Espada also deemed it fit to accompany me on this endeavor.”I smirked as I straightened, “Well, it’s only common sense. You just don’t have to consume anyone from Aizen’s army. The Hollows in the Forest of Menos are fair game, though. Of course, if I could actually go anywhere besides my rooms and this training chamber…”“You are to stay within bounds until further notice.” Tousen spoke from above them, standing nonchalantly on the ‘air’. “Aizen-sama has not seen it fit to allow you free movement yet. However, perhaps in time…”“Tousen-sensei, you and I both know there’s no point in keeping me here while I can’t open a Senkaimon or Garganta.” I sighed. “Aizen must know that, too. Why can’t I at least explore Las Noches?”“He must know what he is doing.” The blind man resolutely affirmed. He was just as devoted to the insane megalomaniac as I feared him to be.I sighed, bending over to pick up my Zanpakuto with the arm I still had attached and sheathed it. “Well, then, I guess it’s time.” I muttered, then turned to regard him fully. “There is another way for me to become stronger.”“I am aware.” Tousen nodded. “It is illogical that you would progress only by collecting ‘experience’ when the means for you to obtain it is so convoluted. What do you desire?”“I need to visit certain… places.” I shrugged. “The palaces of the individual Espada members, the throne room, the caverns of the Tres-Cifras Espada, even the main gate to Las Noches, if I’m allowed to.”“… And by visiting these places, you can grow stronger?” Tia asked, a hint of incredulity shining even in her monotone voice. Hm. Still not as unnerving as Ulquiorra.I shrugged. “My powers are strange. Allow me to show you.” I said, gesturing towards where I could see a collectible hovering a few meters away. This one was stylized after the substitute Shinigami badge, oddly enough. “Every unique location I visit offers me a chance to select from a choice of three bonuses. I can either choose to get experience, which moves me up on the overall scale, or stat points, which allows me to fine-tune in which areas I excel, or another random bonus which changes depending on the area which I collect. I can see one such [Location Collectible] barely a few meters away. Do I have permission?”“Apacci.” Tia commanded and said Fraccion appeared in the exact spot I gestured, looking around with narrowed eyes.She sniffed, and her eyes shined for a moment before she turned and glared at me. “There’s nothing here, brat.”“Allow me to correct you.” I smiled, making my way forward without fear. If this was something I wasn’t allowed to do, Tousen would stop me, but he didn’t. So, I walked and gently nudged her out of the way, then tapped the collectible.PING!
[You have discovered: Espada Training Fields! 1/20 Hueco Mundo locations discovered!
Please select one of the following –
5000 Exp
100 Perk Points.
30 Stat Points.]
Hm, sad. It seems like the offers here aren’t all that different from back home. Does that mean only Trans-dimensional locations are absurdly powerful? Eh, not a big problem. I selected the stat points without much fanfare, then navigated over to my [Character Page] and assigned them.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 38
Title: Outsider’s Chosen
Next Level: 5000/18,000xp
HP - 620
QI - 620
RR - 620
CON - 52
STR - 52
AGL - 110
INT - 52
LCK - 110
WIS - 52]
Nodding, I closed the screen, preparing myself for the onset of new screens signaling the onus skills I got for raising certain stats beyond the 50-point level.
[Due to crossing the 50-point threshold for Constitution, you have gained a new skill!
Stonewall (Passive)
Lv MAX (100%)
Your might is noteworthy, whether in battle or not. Now, you can no longer be interrupted by enemy attacks, and can simply not be knocked down.]
[Due to crossing the 50-point threshold for Strength, you have gained a new skill!
Might (Passive)
Lv MAX (100%)
Your strength is commendable and holds out even in situations when it shouldn’t. Enemy combatants can no longer resist being knocked back, regardless of how strong they are.]
[Due to crossing the 50-point threshold for Intelligence, you have gained a new skill!
Eagle-eye (Active)
Lv MAX (100%)
With the comprehensive knowledge you have gathered, you are now able to deduce exactly where the critical points on your enemies are. Hitting these points will allow you to instantly score a critical hit
.]
[Due to crossing the 50-point threshold for Wisdom, a skill has been updated!
Advanced Telepathy (Active)
Lv 72 (54.21%)
Attuned to the living, your scrying skills now allow you to see into the mind of the person you are observing and manipulate it. By connecting with others on an emotional level, you are able to understand what they feel and why.
1 sec in target’s mind is 0.005 sec in real life.
4 CP per second while looking into someone’s mind
.]
Okay, wow. The ones for [CON] and [STR] were useful, but still nowhere as rewarding as [Eagle-eye] or the empathy upgrade to my [Telepathy]. Maybe now when I scan someone, it will tell me what they’re feeling and why… if their stats are open to me, of course. The level-barrier thing was super annoying.Closing all the screens, I turned to them and made my way over in a single step in a way to prove my growth. “See?”“That’s impossible.” Mila-Rose said, eyes narrowed.“You are faster.” Tousen spoke, seemingly confused. “Only by a small increment, but the change is visible to a trained eye.” He tilted his head and considered, then nodded. “I will escort you to areas of note that I think may hold some of these… [Location Collectible]s. You will access them to raise your power – after all, Aizen-sama has commanded me to help you become strong in order to fight with us when the time is right.”I shrugged and followed the man. Inwardly, I grinned. The only thing stopping me from stealth-killing my way out of here was the fact that these people could easily squash me if they so much as punched me. However, with the raise to my abilities I had gained from training under Tousen and Tia, coupled with these stat points…I may just have a chance. *** After a few minutes of running around, I was deposited into what had come to be my own set of ‘chambers’. It was a suite attached to Aizen’s own rooms in Las Noches and was not noteworthy at all. It had a single large room with a couple of couches – the place where Aizen and I usually sat while I lied my ass off about the events to happen in the future to make him do my work for me – then a bedroom, an attached bathroom, and nothing else.Currently, though, I was sitting and staring at my [Character Screen], grinning at the numbers I could see. After visiting each of the ten Espada palaces, the throne room, the network of tunnels where the Privaron Espada lived, and the holding cells and labs, I had a total of fourteen collectibles crossed off, leaving five more locations left. One of them was definitely going to be the entrance to the palace (where Tousen forbade me from visiting), and the rest… were going to be beyond? Maybe the Forest of Menos and… um… I didn’t really read much beyond when Juuha Bach fused with the Soul King, so I’m not sure if there are any more iconic places to visit.But anyway.I currently had four hundred and twenty stat points sitting in my wallet. I faked a bout of weakness after I was sure the last collectible that I took really was going to be the last, at least for the foreseeable future, just so that I could sleep to regain my arm and then have some time to myself to think.How strong were the Espada compared to me? How strong was Aizen?Given that their levels were undoubtedly super far beyond mine, I couldn’t exactly just scan them to guess. The only way was to allott my points and then see if I can fight someone. Hmm…Anyway, the points. Keeping a stress on [AGL] and [LCK], I distributed them as I thought fit.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 38
Title: Outsider’s Chosen
Next Level: 5000/18,000xp
HP - 1420
QI - 1420
RR - 1420
CON - 132
STR - 132
AGL - 160
INT - 132
LCK - 160
WIS - 132]
Cool. Very cool. Maybe I was still underpowered compared to the rest of the guys here, but now at least I had a far better chance than before. Oh, wait, there are two skills I’m supposed to get from crossing- Ah, there they are.
[Due to crossing the 150-point threshold for Agility, a skill has been updated!
Stable Speed Force Connection (Active)
Lv MAX (100%)
The Speed Force has firmed its connection with you, assured in its choice. It has opened the door to you fully, and you may now draw from it as well as any other speedster.
Increase speed by 100 times when active.]
[Due to crossing the 150-point threshold for Luck, you have gained a new skill!
Anomaly Finder (Passive)
Lv MAX (100%)
Because of your fervent use of luck when it comes to finding items that, by nature, do not belong, you are now able to sense the nearest such item regardless of distance.]
Oh. My. God! Hell yes! I’m so pumped right now, it’s not even funny! I’m as fast as Barry was in the beginning! Something tells me that if I keep investing in [AGL], I’ll be far from disappointed.I’m a little skeptical about [Anomaly Finder], though. I don’t think I’ve ever actually searched for… hold on a minute. ‘Items that do not belong’… was it talking about the collectibles themselves?! Do the skills I get from crossing thresholds are somehow relevant to what I do?! Well… that train of thought would make sense, but…Ugh. Stupid powers. Stupid Dormammu. Just… ugh.But… would using the skill in question direct me to the next [Location Collectible], or… is there something else here? Well, it couldn’t hurt to try, right? But… it was a passive skill, which means it’s always on. How do I-Oh. Wait. What was that? It felt like a nagging thought, like knowing you’d forgotten something but not knowing what. I stood up and stretched, then slipped into the Speed-Force and made my way. The anomaly was… in the labs…?I went into stealth the moment I was close by. Syazel-Apporo was always down here, I knew. Best not to let him see me. Sticking to the walls, I followed the odd sensation and quickly found myself in a small room. I mean, there wasn’t anything special about it except for a vat in the center. But the anomaly, whatever it was, was in there, so I approached and tried to see-Holy fuck.Holy FUCK!There, suspended in the liquid, was a very familiar face. Her body was, thankfully, still garbed in the clothes I’d seen her wear in the game, and there was a scar across her midsection that looked like a cauterized slash. But the rest of her was the same – red skin, white pigmentation around the face and some in lines on her arms and legs, hair-like montrails falling a little past her chest.I splayed my hand against the glass. How? How did she come here? The last I knew of her, she fell into the Abyss, but… was that monster a link to here? Is that why the Empire was so hell-bent on torturing that creature in the Force Unleashed 2?Shaak Ti’s eyes opened the moment I touched the glass, and her gaze fixed itself on me.PING!
[Main Quest Alert!
Outsourcing Troubles
You have found out that Aizen’s source is none other than Jedi Master Shaak Ti, previously considered one of Galen Marek’s victims. Rescue her from capture.
Objectives
:
Rescue Shaak Ti
Reward
:
50000xp]
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Ready?”I nodded with my eyes focused on my opponent. It wasn’t Tia, this time, even though she and her Fraccion were on the sidelines with their attention fixed on me, but someone else. Someone who I completely and utterly disliked.Nnoitra Gilga smirked, lifting his scythe-like blade off his shoulders and into his hands. “Hell yeah! Let’s get this show on the road!”My hand tightened its grip on my Zanpakuto almost of its own accord. My temper already was held in the tight grasp of [Gamer’s Mind], but I just couldn’t forget seeing Shaak Ti in the tank like I did ‘yesterday’. Finding out she was Aizen’s source… and Jedi know. Somehow, her ‘force’ thingamajig told her about me. What did she tell Aizen? How did she wind up here?How can I get her out of there?“Pray, Santa Teresa!” Nnoitra cackled, and an explosion of reiatsu emerged from his form. I didn’t even bother shielding my eyes – my [Physical Resistance] and high HP can more than handle a little dust.Before the cloud even cleared, he was launching out of it, twin scythe-like blades in his hand, and a mad grin fixed on his face.Breathe, Legion. Remember, he’s just an asshole. He doesn’t deserve to die…Like HELL he doesn’t! Nel is somewhere out there reduced to a husk of her former self because of him and Syazel-Apporo! This fucker is going down!I ducked under his fast swing, and brought my sword up in a wide arc, cutting through his shoulder like butter. Strongest Hierro, my pasty white ass! A [Cero] charged in my left hand almost instinctively, and it fired point-blank with all the oomph I could put behind it.Nnoitra was abruptly pushed off from where he was almost going to lop my head off and flew backward into the sand.There was silence for all but a moment before he was suddenly on me again, arm regrown and another one added. “Children have no place here!” he roared, then launched himself back at me.I snorted and ducked under his incredibly slow-looking attack, then kicked him upwards. The next moment, a barrage of water flew after him from my Mark, and a series of gestures had it burst apart and separate into thin lances of ice, which then zoomed in on him.Of course, my stats hadn’t made me godly, at least compared to him. He righted himself and parried the lances, then quickly kicked at the air to zoom in back towards me. I was prepared in the previous instant with a [Cero] that pushed him back. A full twirl and a forward motion had the water, which was still falling, form into a circle and surround his form. He, of course, was suddenly immobile as the water swirled around him, cocooning him, in a strange fashion.Oh.Oh, wait!The last step I need to be a master water-bender… I just remembered! How could I be so foolish?!I dropped my sword and both my hands twirled. Not once did the water break from itself – a thick, condensed band ran all the way around him and then again, and again. I crouched low, picturing the outcome and trying to push feelings of peace into the water.I am at peace… and he will be, too.It began to take on a golden glow, and Nnoitra began to thrash. “What the fuck are you doing, you brat?!”I didn’t bother to answer him as I slowly stood up, hands still twirling, my eyes focused on his form. I didn’t try to force it, that would just cause him to fight back. No, I took his anger and rage into me, and let it settle. For a single moment, we were both just as furious.But then… peace.His movements began to slow, and then stopped entirely as his entire body began to take on a luminescent glow. He began to… change. It happened slowly – this gangly Asian man slowly transformed, in front of our eyes, into a near anorexic Asian kid. The kid smiled, for a single instant, before he began to disperse in motes of golden particles along with the water around him.And then… I straightened.PING!
[Water-bending has leveled up! MAX level reached!
Water-bending (Active)
Lv 99 (99.9%)
By using your body’s energy to redirect and flow with change, you are able to control the healing element of water in solid, liquid, and gaseous states.
Limit: 990l.
Healing limit: 200HP/sec.
Cost: 1QI/sec.
The skill has evolved due to reaching the highest possible rank!
Water-bending Master (Active)
Lv MAX (100.0%)
By using your body’s energy to redirect and flow with change, you are able to control the healing element of water in solid, liquid, and gaseous states. As a master of the art, the things you can do with water are legendary.
Healing limit: 250HP/sec.]
Fuck. FUCK. FUCKING SHITPISS! NO volume limits?! NO cost?!! WHAT THE FUCK, GAME?! Like WHY ARE YOU SO INTENT ON MAKING ME A GOD??? LIKE SERIOUSLY I CAN’T EVEN! WHEN I GET BACK HOME, IM GOING TO BE TOO OP YOU- OH, YOU KNOW WHAT, FUCK YOU AND YOUR STUPID ABILITY EVOLUTION WITH A CACTUS! DRY! ON A BED OF SALT-Oh. There I go, calm again.Speaking of element mastery, though, I really think I should purchase the [Avatar] perk. Like, now. I navigated over to my [Perks] menu and, would you look at that, I’ve got three hundred and sixty-one points!I spent two hundred on the perk I wanted, so that left me with a hundred and sixty-one.PING!
[Due to purchasing a perk, a new function has been unlocked!
Function: Permanent: Avatar
By allowing Raava to inhabit your body, you open up your connection to all four elements simultaneously.]
And… nothing much happened. There wasn’t an explosion of energy, nor was there a new voice in my head. Wait, wait! My not-Zanpakuto said that my [Gamer’s Mind] regarded even him as a threat. So, what did that mean for Raava?!Never mind, I’ll cross that hurdle when I get there. I clearly don’t have any splitting headaches yet. Wait, I just spirit-bent Nnoitra! Why am I not dead at anyone’s hand right now? I turned to look at my audience and… sweat-dropped.I was being stared at. And in an ‘oh-my-Godric what did you just do’ way. “Um… I had a vision…?” *** Needless to say, Aizen wasn’t even phased.“The Shinigami do have a skill like this, called Konso. We are capable of purifying a hollow and enable their soul to pass on either to Soul Society or to Hell.” He spoke, sipping a cup of tea as we sat in my rooms.Honestly, I wasn’t very bothered. Nnoitra was toxic as hell. “What will happen to Tesla?”“He’ll be killed, of course.” The man smirked. “Nnoitra was a gifted combatant, but… let us simply say that, his Fraccion notwithstanding, not many will miss him.”“But now you have a missing member.” I pointed out, crossing one leg over the other. “Who will you use to fill the space? And, for fuck’s sake, don’t say Luppi. That bitch is weak as hell.”Aizen quirked an eyebrow. “Who would you suggest?”“Nelliel Tu Odershwank.” I offered, not missing a beat. “She may be weak for her once-assigned post, but she’s certainly stronger than the Privaron. Bring her back, heal her, and she can be your new number 7.”“An idea with merit.” He nodded then tilted his head. “I had assumed you would be against my plans… especially since one would usually regard me as ‘evil’. Why are you offering me sound advice?”I considered him for a moment. “Let’s trade questions – you tell me why you’re being so blunt with me when I know for a fact that you are a skilled manipulator, and I’ll answer your question.”Tousen, who stood by the door, bristled but remained silent.“Very well.” Aizen sighed, then leaned forward to set his cup down. “My source told me that being upfront with you was the best way to get to what I would consider being a mutually beneficial relationship. We both know that you can easily detect my manipulations… and that my greatest weapon is ineffective against you.”That brought me up short. “Wait, what? Why am I immune to Kyouka Suigetsu?”“I know not.” He shrugged, but I spent a couple of moments to think on it, and then it clicked. [Gamer’s Mind] made me immune to any mental debilitations. That… included someone trying to influence me – it’s the most obvious! I am immune to hypnosis, to genjutsu, to mind-control! Holy shit!“Never mind.” I said, and I felt my cheeks burning. “Well, as for why I’m not opposing you, per se… well… let’s just say I don’t like the way Yamamoto is running Soul Society and leave it at that.”“I shall respect your privacy.” He shrugged. “As for our next move…”I nodded. “I know. Now is when, in the original timeline, you went after Rukia, isn’t it? I’d advise holding off on that and pursuing Juuha Bach instead. The man will devise a way to steal Bankai… I think tackling him should be a priority. Then Ginjo, just to be safe – the guy’s Zanpakuto has the ability to take and share an enemy’s power, so…”Aizen hummed, intertwining his fingers. He studied me for a long, awkward, moment before he spoke. “You have been of great use to me. Will you fight by me when the time comes?”My eyes traced the rim of his cup. “You wish to transcend existence itself, to take on the soul king and sit upon his throne… Do you promise to take down only those who oppose you first? Do you promise to take care of your subordinates, and reshape reality in a way that ensures balance?”“I swear it.”“Be careful, Sousuke Aizen.” I warned. “Your methods to reach that spot up in the Soul King’s Palace have already crossed all sense of morality. If you truly want me to stay on your side, then you will ensure that your takeover of Soul Society is done in a way that guarantees the least bloodshed.”He remained silent for a moment, just looking at me, but then he gave a stiff nod. Hahaha! It seems as if I may have stepped on his toes! Well, if he wants to rule over all, he has to play ball. Or else, I’ll just cut through him as well and re-establish Soul Society, only this time, I’ll set it up in a much more soul-friendly manner.“Then we have a deal, Aizen.” I nodded. “I will fight by your side… and offer you a piece of advice – you’re wonderful at mind-games, are you not? Why not try to subvert more members of the Gotei 13? Soi Fong’s Shikai is godly if used right. Toshiro has a good Zanpakuto behind him, and the original failed Visored are all good soldiers. Why not subvert them to your cause? When you’re on the throne, you will need agents in all five dimensions to shepherd in your version of reality.”“All ‘five’ dimensions?”“Of course – we have the realm of the living, Soul Society, Las Noches, Hell, and wherever the paths between exist… not to mention the dimension in which the Quincies are currently trapped.” I shrugged. “We only know so much about the Senkaimon and the Dangai, and I don’t think even Syazel-Apporo knows much about the Garganta… speaking of which, you won’t be too upset if I killed him, right?”Aizen smiled. It looked… wrong. “Of course not. So long as you have a replacement…”“Cirucci Thunderwitch.” I said, almost at once. Some more females in the Espada may be progressive. Also, assholes like Nnoitra won’t be able to stick to their misogynistic doctrines, then. “I think we both know you can simply make anyone you like stronger with the Hogyoku, it does give you limited reality-warping powers, after all. The only reason you haven’t is… what, exactly?”He laughed. He actually laughed. Oddly, it sounded almost… wistful. Was Urahara right? Was his deepest desire really to stand at the top with someone who is his equal by his side? “Amusement, Legion. If I simply steamrolled everyone in my path, what pleasure would there be? The Shinigami of Soul Society floundering… rallying themselves in a futile hope to defeat me… it will please me immensely.”I smirked. I did, after all, choose the path of the rogue because of the difficulty it would have posed… key-word being ‘would have’, since if I went back home with these stats…Oh god. I don’t even want to think about it.“Well, then. I’m off to kill Syazel-Apporo and be done with it.” I stood and dusted off my hands. I ‘just remembered’ something then – I don’t know if my acting fooled him, but eh, I’m not really bothered as long as he played along. “Hey, you mentioned a ‘source’ of your information on me. Could I end him, or her? The fewer people who know about me and pull me into their worlds, the more chances I have of returning to my own.”His eyes focused on my own, calculating. For the barest of moments, I thought I’d overstepped my bounds and asked for too much, but then he tilted his head. “A woman with a genetic disorder. She can see into the future. She’s in Syazel-Apporo’s lab, in fact.” He waved me off. “Do whatever you wish. Now, that I know you are with me, I have no use for her.”“Cool. I wonder how much mind-fuckery it will take to get her on my side.” I mused, tilting my head in ‘thought’. “Thanks. I’ll also be leaving to explore Las Noches if that’s okay with you. If I can get to the rest of the [Location Collectibles] scattered around, it would put my mind at ease.”“Tousen, unfortunately, is needed back at his division. Komamura is beginning to question his whereabouts.” The man explained. “Coyote Stark and Lilynette Gingerback will accompany you. Given how easily you dispatched Nnoitra, I think it’s best not to take any chances.”“I’m not going to run away.” I pointed out. “If I wanted to, we both know I wouldn’t be here right now. I’ve been here for over a year; you’d think that’d make you trust me a little.”“Trust is for fools.” He offered in reply and stood. “Tousen and I will be busy in Soul Society for a while. In our absence, Barragan Louisenbarn will hold authority in this place. You, however, are exempt from this rule. When you are ready, you may leave with your escorts by your side. Syazel-Apporo and the source are yours to do with as you see fit. I’ll be dispatching Ulquiorra and Grimmjow to deal with this… Xcution immediately.” He offered me aside-eyed gaze before he proceeded to leave, Tousen quickly following in his steps.“Good luck.” I offered to him. He just paused for a moment before continuing as if I hadn’t said anything.Never before had I regretted not reading a villain’s complete backstory as much as I did now. I could just use Telepathy on the man, but I was almost certain that the level gap was too much, or that the Hogyoku would interfere somehow. Wait… at this point in time, who is the true master of the incomplete one? I can’t remember…Eh, anyway.I vacated the rooms and swiftly made my way to the labs. Syazel-Apporo was a sticky fiend to get rid of. The only way Kurotsuchi Mayuri defeated him back in canon was because he somehow replaced his own organs…? I wonder how that even worked on such a short time-notice. The way he treated Nemu though… it’s characters like him who make me think Soul Society is better off in Aizen’s hands.The question now, though, is how do I finish off Syazel-Apporo easily but painfully…?I think it is way past time to check whether or not my [Telepathy] works as effectively on higher-level opponents. Clearly, enemies who cross a certain threshold show only question marks in their scan reports, even for their health and whatever energy they have, but does that affect whether or not I can destroy them mentally? God, this game’s scanning system is so weird… it’s like I can beat them easily if my stats are high enough, but I can’t see details about them…? That’s so strange. It’s… it’s as if the game is trying to state a fact; people who are not high ranked but ‘train’ hard to raise their power can still beat those who are ranked high but don’t train at all. Because of [Gamer’s Body] my ‘training’ is gathering extra stat points, so.Now that I have seen for myself the difference stat points make, though, I’m kinda concerned. Both the Outsider and Dormammu may have some influence left on the things I face – now that I can keep up with the people from the Bleach universe… what’s next, Dragon Ball?I thought of Goku’s Spirit Bomb and shuddered. My [Physical Resistance] may be up to level ninety because of how I was constantly tossed around by Tia and her Fraccion, but that attack was energy – Qi, to be specific. Would an attack capable of destroying planets not obliterate me, too?I chuckled. I started off so weak… and now here I am, thinking about taking on powerful enemies as if it was nothing… and this is with me actively trying not to be strong. How do any gamer fanfictions create tension? Granted, if it were not for the collectibles I discovered, I’d probably never be here, but… anyone with Gamer powers can probably take over the entire multiverse in one year flat if they wanted to.I shook off that train of thought and strode into the lab. The pink-haired Espada was typing away at his screen, looking horrified about something. My footsteps caused him to whirl, drawing his sword…And that’s when I dove into his mind. Memories? Ripped apart. Nerves? Overloaded. I was intent on hurting him as bad as I could because hurting someone so much that they had to physically morph into a smaller size just to be able to hold themselves together… that had to hurt.PING!
[Defeated ESPADA member! +10000 EXP!]
[You have purged Syazel-Apporo Grantz’s memories. Select a skill to learn/advance:
Sonido
Hierro
Oral Sex]
‘Fornicaras’, indeed. Who even…? You know what? I’m not even going to bother thinking about it. I quickly chose [Hierro].PING!
[Due to purging someone’s memories, you have learned a new skill!
Hierro (Passive)
Lv 32 (0.00%)
Your mastery of Reiatsu allows you to condense it around your skin, forming a barrier between an incoming attack and you. It cannot be broken, only powered through.
HP + 320.]
Holy. Well, the idea that it cannot be broken makes sense, since when Nnoitra was wounded, it acted as if it was simply a flesh wound, and not like as if the attack had broken through something crystalized. Hmm…Oh, wait! This gives me an awesome idea!I brought my hands forward and into a very iconic and familiar hand-sign, then concentrated. I remembered the way it felt to go through a similar jutsu and tried to force my chakra to flow similarly, only altered slightly by the seal I was holding my hand in.There was a poof of smoke next to me just as a notification popped up.
[Due to a special action, a skill has been created!
Ninpo: Kagebunshin no Jutsu (Active)
Lv 1 (0.00%)
The tangible clone brought into existence by this skill is aligned to no element and can act independently. Chakra is split evenly between the original and clone(s) on activation.
]
I turned and observed my clone, who seemed to be observing himself with the same degree of scrutiny. Hmm… seeing yourself like this is very different from looking into a mirror. “Can you access the system menu?”“Nope.” The clone popped the ‘p’. “Scan me and see my stats.”I did as suggested.
[Gundan (Kagebunshin) – Level 38
HP - 321
QI - 710
RR - 710
CON - 132
STR - 132
AGL - 160
INT - 132
LCK - 160
WIS - 132
A clone brought forth by its creator’s will.]
“It worked.” I grinned. “The HP bonus from [Hierro] is active! Wait, does this mean you only had 1HP by default? No wonder they disperse so easily.”“How much do I have? I can’t see my own stats, you know.” The clone muttered.“321HP.” I informed him… me… ugh. “Since the bonus is 320, this means you only had 1, before. How annoying. It’s even strange that despite our stats being the same, you still have half my chakra… unless your stats are only at half effectiveness.” I sighed. “That would mean you’re only half as effective as me in combat… maybe that will change as the skill levels up? We should spend time to find you what your limitations are when it comes to learning. Try using a skill which we know but haven’t developed yet.”The clone tilted his head in consideration. “A skill we know of, but haven’t tried yet…” he trailed, then grinned. He took a step back and then set himself into a particular stance. Taking a deep breath, he took a measured step forward and then punched the air.A small tongue of flame emerged from his fist and vanished just as quickly. We waited for a couple of moments, but when nothing happened, the clone seemingly remembered something, and face-palmed so hard it dispelled.PING!
[Due to a special action, a skill has been created!
Fire-bending (Active)
Lv 1 (0.00%)
By using your body’s internal energy to breathe energy and life, you are able to control the element of fire.
Cost: 20QI/sec.]
“It worked. It looks just as if I did it myself.” I muttered, then recreated a clone and repeated the entry word for word. “I wanted to follow the Avatar Cycle, though.” I whined.“Oh, hush, you.” He waved me off. “Well, not having a limit makes sense, since it’s controlling the element that’s so difficult.” The clone mused. “You know what, I’m going to go to the training grounds and practice [Fire-bending]. Let’s see how much I can level it up. This way, I’ll also come to know how effective my stats are through the regen rate.”“Good idea.” I nodded. “I’ll go free Shak Ti and try to convince her to come with us. We’ll cross level forty with the experience we get from the quest, for sure. Then, we’ll get even more stat points from each collectible.”The clone shuddered. “I really, really, hope we’re not going to be able to bulldoze everyone back home. Since when we thought of it first, the thought hasn’t left our minds…”I sighed. “We gotta do what we gotta do, I guess. We still don’t know if all this is a simulation or Dormammu actually created these worlds – we can’t let people suffer just because we’re not strong enough. We both know what it’s like to not be cared for…”We stood in silence for a moment, just looking at each other.“Is it strange that I want to hug you right now?” the clone asked. “Like… would that count as egoistic or empathic?”I smiled a small, wane smile. “Shoo, now.” I waved him off. “I’ve got a Jedi Master to rescue.”The clone just saluted and left, and I turned to travel deeper into the lab where I saw Shak Ti previously. If the clone does end up being able to learn as fast as I do… then what? Do I just spam clones to master all my skills? I’m already overpowered, I guess…. Ugh, this is so off-putting, it ain’t even funny. I wanted a challenge! Not this walk over everyone crap.I sighed as I made my way down the familiar network of tunnels, deciding to think of something else.Am I really making the right decision by helping Aizen?With enough stat points under my belt and the barrier between his techniques and my mind that [Gamer’s Mind] forms, I’m the only one in the entire universe that can stand up to him. My decisions will reshape this universe’s future. Wow… that’s a big responsibility if all this is real. Dammit… What exactly were Aizen’s motivations in canon, again? Unlike the religious devotion I gave to Naruto, I only read Bleach all the way through once or twice, right up until the point in the plot when Juuha Bach absorbs the Soul King and grew multiple… eyes…? I wonder if his techniques will classify as a Dojutsu in the Naruto-verse… Anyway. So. A look into Aizen… Dammit, if only something like an extra-dimensional Abyss Auction House existed for this kind of information, then I wouldn’t even be in a conundrum.I entered the holding chamber without much fanfare. This time, Shak Ti was already awake and looking at me. Wordlessly, I walked up to the console and managed to find the release switch. A seam in the glass I couldn’t even see split apart, and liquid came gushing out of it. She fell to her knees and gasped, then puked up a whole lot.I quickly knelt and rubbed her back. “Are you alright, Master Shak Ti?”She coughed a few more times before looking up at me proper, though her eyes were a bit unfocused. “You… Legion. You’re the Wanderer…”I arched an eyebrow. “I have a feeling the ‘W’ is capitalized…”She shook her head. “It’s… hard to connect to the Force from this world… the human with pink hair, he did something that compelled me into a Force Trance for prolonged periods… even a second more than when he last stopped and my connection would be severed permanently.”I helped her sit back against the glass, then shot a small burst of water from the Mark and bent it so the outer portion froze into an ice tumbler, then offered it. “I know you’re exhausted, but please focus for a minute, Master. Ga- I mean, Starkiller pushed you into the Abyss, yes? How are you here?”“Thank you.” She said, taking slow sips. “As for how I appeared here… there was a surge in the Force. I… I wouldn’t know how to describe it… it felt as if what I had to do on that planet was done, and so I was brought somewhere else.” She shook her head slowly. “I have seen Master Yoda do the unbelievable with the Force, but to use it to relocate entirely…? That is something I haven’t heard of.”I tried to think back to KOTOR and remember if there was a Force Teleport power… but my memory was not that good about a game I played for only a couple of days at a friend’s house. I ensured she had calmed down enough before I spoke next. “Alright, well… this might come as a shock, but you’re not in the same universe where you lived so long. In fact, even I am not in the same place where I was born. In this universe-”“Please, I understand all there is about this world.” She interrupted me, not unkindly. “The Trance I was compelled into showed me much of this world, yours, and one other.”“Another world.” I spoke, weakly. “By any chance, was it one where there was no conflict? Also, did you see a way back…?”She smiled sadly. “Conflict is in the nature of animals as much as is breathing.” She took another sip of her water. “I failed to see any way to return back to my own… dimension, as it were.”I thought about it for a moment. Aizen was able to somehow open an inter-dimensional Garganta, right? Or was that Syazel-Apporo… oh, fuck, I did not think his murder through. Hopefully, it was the former. And if it is… “I may not have a way, yet, but I will shortly.” I offered. “Would you like to return home?”Shak Ti shook her head slowly. “If the Force deemed it wise to erase me from that dimension, then I don’t think it wise to return. Perhaps… my existence was always meant to be that of a Drifter much like you, child – cursed, yet gifted, with the ability to travel through the barriers between worlds…”I worried my lip. A pacifist somewhat-magic-user traveling between worlds, free from restrictions? There’s no telling how that will change their timelines. If I ever, by chance, end up in those worlds… my foreknowledge would be for naught. But how do I… oh, wait. “If you would like, you can return back with me to my own dimension. Pieces of a cloth stick together, right?”She tilted her head. “With my connection to the Force so strained, I can no longer look to it for guidance for a while… very well. I will join you, Wanderer.” She nodded, then stood. “It will be an honor to accompany you.”PING!
[Quest Complete!
Main Quest: Outsourcing Troubles
You have found out that Aizen’s source is none other than Jedi Master Shaak Ti, previously considered one of Galen Marek’s victims. Rescue her from capture.
Completed Objectives
:
Rescue Shaak Ti.
Completed Bonus Objectives
Peacefully negotiate the victim’s release.
Accept her companionship on your journey.
Reward
:
50000xp, +10000xp, + Crafting Manual (Lightsaber)]
[You have leveled up multiple times!]
There, as simple as that. How refreshing. “Very well. Do you know much about my current path here, or would you like me to explain?” I asked, navigating over to my [Character Page] and ignoring the new hammer icon that was now added to my system menu – probably the [Crafting] page. I froze when I checked my stats out, though.
[Next Level: 7,000/45,000xp]
Dammit, it must have taken forty thousand experience points to move up to level forty from thirty-nine… talk about a big step. And now the increment seems to have increased to five thousand points per level… eh. I’ll get to higher tiers soon enough, especially if I keep getting main quests with such high experience points in reward.I notice Shak Ti shake her head in response. “I know very well what will come to pass. I only wish I had my lightsaber with me…”“We will forge one for you, if you wish.” I turned to look up at her with a frown. Hm… being short is annoying. “I know that one’s personal lightsaber is kinda a big deal, but when you’re a beggar, you can’t choose.” Her lightsaber was with Galen Marek, I think. Wasn’t he supposed to collect them for Darth Vader as proof of his kill?“True enough.” She nodded, then frowned. “I doubt it will be easy to acquire the materials required, however…”“Not really. I am working, or will soon be working, I suppose, on a discipline that lets me bend metal.” I offered. “There are also a lot of precious gems back in my home dimension. I am certain that you will be pulled to at least one of them.” I finished distributing my stats and smiling.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 40
Title: Outsider’s Chosen
Next Level: 7,000/45,000xp
HP - 1430
QI - 1430
RR - 1430
CON - 133
STR - 133
AGL - 167
INT - 133
LCK - 167
WIS - 133]
Ten points are little when compared to thirty but scoffing in the face of even one additional point is practically asking to be killed. A single point in any of them could be the difference between life and death. “For now, we need to get some food in you.” I murmured, slipping into thought. “You can then accompany me in my little jaunt around Hueco Mundo for more stat points to get used to being able to move again. Plus, this might serve as training.”She arched an eyebrow. “I am a fully qualified Jedi Master, as you well know.”“I don’t know how your Trance played out, but the people here move much faster than you are used to. Kilometers can be traversed in the blink of an eye.” I grinned. “I’ll carry you if you get tired, but it is best to get used to such speed as soon as possible. Even back where I’m from, people are fast, even if not terribly so as they are here.”“I… see…” she muttered, then sighed. “Very well. I’ll submit to a training regimen during idleness if it will help.”I grinned wider.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
So, apparently, Bleach characters are really, really, fast. Shaak Ti can’t even keep track of us with her eyes at half-assed speeds, forget keeping up! The other Espada all ignored her most of the time, although the females and, unsurprisingly, Loly and Menoly, took to her reasonably well. It helped that she was semi-clairvoyant and that I vouched for her having powers they couldn’t even comprehend. Odd, that. However, no matter how indulgent Tousen was or how low Tia paced her lessons, it was almost impossible to catch her up, not for lack of trying on our or her part. Eventually, I asked her to shelve the idea for the moment, since I had a sneaking suspicion there was something I could do about it, just not right then.I visited the Las Noches gates, the highest point above the dome, the Forest of Menos, the center of the vast desert that was Hueco Mundo, and Barragan’s old arena to claim the last five [Location Collectibles]. Because I leveled up, I got forty points per collectible now, bringing the total up to two hundred easily. I spent fifty each into the rogue attributes, and twenty-five each into all the others. I didn’t gain any new skills… but the difference was obvious, now. In the process, I was taught how to use Reiatsu to stand and move about when not on the ground, but it just created a subskill for my chakra control skill called ‘flight’. I wasn’t complaining either way.I never really paid much attention to the way my stats impacted my actual capability, but it was obvious now. I had to be careful with my strength when I sparred with Shaak Ti. I could keep up with all of my opponents, now, even Stark. Dodging was never easier, and things always happened that made my spars much quicker to end. I had a perfect memory and could comprehend ideas and tactics that would be Nara-level, back home. Against beings that required multiple captain-class Shinigami and a taken-over Hollow-Ichigo to deal with, I considered myself strong enough to stand on their wavelength.I didn’t just waste all my time, though.I’d make a shadow clone, then wait until my chakra regenerated, then made one again. Apparently, the chakra split only occurred when the technique is initialized, so this way I had many clones having half of my effective chakra. While their pool was limited thusly, their stats still remained as effective as mine were, so their energies were replenished pretty quickly every half-minute. This allowed me to grind a lot of my skills, some even to the very max level. I practically took over the training grounds for a couple of months as winter set in on the human world… and the time to strike came near.Currently, I was waiting for Aizen in his room, sitting besides Shaak Ti on his couch. We were now, apparently, trusted enough that we could be left alone here. Big mistake for them, but it’s not like I can do much damage when the guy isn’t even in the room. My fingers cradled my chin as I contemplated the list in front of me.
[Perks
1. Eye of Mikhail – By being bestowed upon with Michael’s Eye, you are now able to use Zaiphon.
Cost: 200PP.
2. Augmentations – By learning David Sarif’s knowledge, you have learned to augment yourself and those around you.
Cost: 200PP.
3. Conduit Gene 1 – Unlock a Conduit element.
Cost: 200PP.
4. Fullbring – Unlock a Fullbring.
Cost: 200PP.]
I had a reasonable guess that I couldn’t actually choose what fullbring I could give someone, but I think that would be the best skill to impart to Shaak Ti at the moment to bring her up. If my guess about The Force being what I thought it was, was right, then she’d be far more powerful in the Elemental Nations than here. I know squat about Zaiphon, and I’m reasonably sure I won’t be able to procure a Bacculus from anywhere sans visiting the 07-Ghost world, and given that I don’t know how to travel between worlds yet, I thought to shelve that for me for later when I had even more points to spare, possibly buying it off as the last to finish this tier. The same went for the Augmentation knowledge – I’m not sure if Adam Jensen’s unique DNA genome would be included in the package, so it’s best to have that knowledge in my head where I won’t turn the world into drug-craving addicts simply to be able to fight off massive amounts of pain.The conduit gene… I’m reasonably sure would be dependent on Qi, too. After all, there wasn’t much of spirituality in the series, and any leg up I can give Shaak Ti in the coming battles would be good. I have seven hundred and three perk points now, thanks to Shadow Clone training, so I could pick up three of them. When my other clones disperse, maybe I’ll be able to pick up the last one and finish the tier altogether.“Alright then.” I spoke out and stood. “Master Ti, please stand. I’m going to try something out.”The Togrutan Jedi, having been forced to relay all knowledge she had on me to Aizen, was almost surely certain of what I had in mind. “Are you sure this is wise?” she asked but stood anyway. That made me smile. I don’t know what she saw about me that made her honor me with such a valuable commodity as trust but trust me she did. Maybe it had something to do with how I was her ticket back home.I shrugged. “What’s life with a bit of risk?” I asked, coming to stand behind her and grasping her hand. “The influx should not be painful, given that even babies didn’t react, but you’re and adult with only one source of energy, so I’m not a hundred percent sure it won’t be without pain. Be rest assured, though, it will be worth it.” I lifted her hand to the screen, drenching it with a bit of my chakra, and tapped.PING!
[Are you sure you want to give Shaak Ti Conduit Gene 1?]
I tapped yes without asking her.
[Please select one of the following:
Ionic Energy
Telepathic Blood
Junk
Body Projection]
I arched an eyebrow. All the powers from the first game. I guess there will be more perks with the powers from the other games? Pity, I wanted to give her Abigail’s neon powers if at all possible… oh well. I guess that delicious morsel has someone else’s name on it. “Alright, you have the choices between Ionic Energy control, the choice to secrete a blackish goo through which you can telepathically take control over people, the ability to control Junk, or creating bodily projections of yourself. Personally, I’d go for the Ionic Energy, since that’s the most versatile one on the list.” I grinned. Imagine having a Cole McGrath on your side, and you’d be pretty hyped too! I mean, seriously, the guy was awesome!“Is there a better choice?” she dryly asked, no doubt amused by my childish glee.I blushed. Can you blame me, though? She could be a female Cole, man! That’s fucking slick! “Nope. The Junk… seriously? Telepathic Blood is a little too gross for anyone, and Body Projection is practically useless.” I mean, defeating the First Sons conduits were pretty easy, so I’m not sure that’s a good choice at all. Why was that option even here? Kessler had- oh. Wait. He was Cole from the future. Damn it.She sighed. “Then I will trust in your judgement.”I grinned at tapped the option, and then again to confirm my choice.
[You have given Shaak Ti the Conduit Gene to control Ionic Energy!]
And... nothing else. Shaak Ti didn’t double over in pain, the room wasn’t abruptly blown away, and I was just looking at her expectantly. Her face was frowning in concentration, though. “Anyway, ready for the next one? I think this will actually be much easier to control as time goes on than the other, given where we are.”She let out a shaky laugh. “I’m not certain that would be the wisest course of action. Power corrupts – I would rather not expose myself to such a possibility.”I took her hand in mine again. She only weakly protested. “Relax, it will be fine! In fact, this way you might form a bridge to being as fast as the beings here. What could possibly go wrong?” I asked, then tapped and accepted the [Fullbring] perk for her.For one second, something around us all stilled. In Hueco Mundo, where anything that moved could only be a hollow, this was a foreboding feeling. A sudden hum began to pick up, and a light breeze began to drift through the room.Then, an ominous bell tolled loud enough to almost burst my eardrums.I tensed, waiting for some form of attack. I leaped away, gripping my Zanpakuto and unsheathing it, ducking into a crouch…Only to face-fault when a lightsaber appeared in front of her. I totally forgot that a Fullbring needed an object that you had an intense emotional attachment to, to work! That strange feeling was probably the system pulling her lightsaber from whichever dimension it fell into along her way here!I relaxed and turned to observe her. She was surprised, but wetness was slowly coming to her eyes as she slowly reached forward and grasped it. “I… I didn’t know that I would see it again so soon…”A slight smile crept onto my face when I saw her expression. Cool power or not, I guess I did the right thing unknowingly. I don’t know why some Jedi have a stronger connection with their lightsabers than some wizards to their wands in the Harry Potter universe, but I guess it was a Force thing.“Great. All’s well that ends well.” I beamed. “Now, we only need to find… someone…”Wait.Xcution was already dead, thanks to Aizen and me.Crap.“I guess we can wait for it to manifest on its own.” I gave her a strained smile. “At least we have something else to train with in the meantime, right?”She laughed a little. It was the first time I’d heard her laugh ever since we met. I didn’t even know her character to laugh in any media I’d seen her. She was always the strong-serious-but-kind type woman. “I care not for more power at all; in reuniting me with my lightsaber… you have given me strength again. My thanks, Legion.” She actually bowed a little. “This is a debt I cannot repay.”I sheepishly rubbed the back of my head. “That’s a bit too much, Master Ti.”She stood and shook her head. “It is not. You clearly do not understand what their lightsaber means for a warrior using the Force… but rest assured, it is as important to my mental well-being as much as breathing is.” She then quirked an eyebrow at me. “Which has suddenly become as easy as it is on my home-planet.”I gave her a horrified expression. “You were having trouble breathing all this time?! Why didn’t you tell me?!”She sighed. “It is because of this place we are in. It was not meant for those not its own. However, this… Fullbring… that you have given me seems to have tricked it into believing I do, indeed, belong.”That made sense. Ulquiorra already told me it was possible for Humans to survive here, but that their health would degrade over time. And Yasutora Sado also found that his powers were far more reactive here than back in the world of the living. “Okay, fine, but if you would have told me, I’d have given you the damn thing earlier! It’s been… what… a full week since I freed you?! These are things you’re supposed to tell me, you know!”She looked at me for a moment in surprise, then smiled an indulgent smile and patted my head. “Alright. The next time I am in need of assistance, child, I’ll simply ask it.”“Good.” I huffed, crossing my arms. “There’s no point in you being in pain when I can do something about it! Until we’re able to drop you off home, you’re my responsibility, you know!”She looked at me with clear amusement. “Of course. How irresponsible of me.”“Something tells me you don’t entirely mean that.” I grumbled.It was then that Aizen sauntered into his room, flanked by Tousen and Gin. “Ah, Legion. It has been a while since we last spoke.”“Aizen.” I greeted. “I take it things are going well?”“I took your advice to mind and tried my hand at… converting… some members of Soul Society.” He smirked as he took a seat. “It has worked wonderfully. It’s always satisfying to see what a well-placed illusion can do.”“Illusions are underrated.” I agreed. In fact, I had only recently maxed out my skill so that it evolved to [Master Illusionist] and using it against Yammy was amusing to no end.“What is it that you wished to talk about?” he asked, arching an eyebrow. “Any more bits of knowledge you have stored in that head of yours?”“I actually wanted to request to be allowed to go to Karakura town.” I responded. “I need to pick up a few things that aren’t available in my new home-world… and then trace them back to their factories and loot them blind.”He looked at me with a hint of mirth dancing in his eyes. “Is that so?”“Well, it’s not my fault that the Elemental Nations is so behind on the advancement scale!” I retorted, feeling my cheeks burning.He tilted his head to the side. “Well… you have been a very good boy for the past half year…”I gave him a look.He laughed. Oh god, I wouldn’t never stop being surprised when he laughed, ever. “Very well, you may go. You will have to be accompanied by an Espada member, of course, but you can go. In fact…” His tone made me feel just the slightest hint of dread.“I have been contemplating launching the invasion into Soul Society.” He confided. Behind him, Gin’s smile just turned the tiniest bit forced. Ah, wasn’t he doing all this so he could protect that Rangiku girl? “We need a good distraction so that we can isolate the combat areas more effectively. Why don’t you accompany…. Half of the Espada to Karakura Town, and then go off on your own whenever? You may also test your mettle against the enemy stationed there.”“I thought you would like to convert Urahara and Yoruichi to your side?” I asked, tilting my head. “One has a brilliant mind, and the other is faster than any Shinigami alive… or dead… today.”He waved me off. “Urahara detests me for he knows many of my secrets. Of course, he doesn’t know it’s me, but that little illusion is bound to dispel when he learns of my involvement in the new system Soul Society and the human world will be in soon enough. As for Yoruichi, Zommari is faster than her. She’s of no use to me.”I nodded. Valid points, all of them. “What about… Kurosaki Ichigo?”Aizen let his head rest on his hand. “You know, then?“You should know better than to think I do not.” I snorted. “Whatever he is today, there’s a direct hand of both you and Juuha Bach in his powers. There’s no way you’re not monitoring him every moment you can.”“True enough… before.” He allowed. “Now, after I have strengthened my army with the incomplete Hogokyou, I am inclined to think he isn’t something I cannot replicate. Deal with him. I wish to see how the two of you match up.”“There won’t be a contest.” I pointed out. “Because you didn’t manipulate events to kidnap Rukia, he’s still not gotten his Ban Kai. In fact, he hasn’t even learned to draw out his hollow powers or gotten stronger by facing the various Gotei 13 members he would, had events gone as they should.”“Hm. True. Very well. Kill him before you return.”“But why?” I asked, not liking the idea.Aizen sighed. “You and your pacifist views. Very well, how about this? Kill Kurosaki Ichigo, and only then will I give you the knowledge to return to your home.” He paused. “In fact, amuse me. You will be the one to deal with Genryuusai.”PING!
[Main Quest Alert!
Strawberry Troubles
The time has come for things to change, for better or for worse. You have been tasked with killing the most naturally powerful beings by Aizen himself during the invasion of Soul Society.
Objectives:
Kill Kurosaki Ichigo
Kill Genryuusai Shigekuni Yamamoto
Reward:
100000xp, Mirror Dimension Skill Book]
Holy. Crap. WHAT? The Mirror Dimension can be used to travel?!But… can I really do it? Can I kill Ichigo even though I know he hasn’t done anything wrong? And, and! Am I strong enough to kill the Captain Commander?Naruto’s face filled my vision.“I will do it.” I allowed, glaring at him truly. “But you must promise me one thing: I will be the one to personally slit the throats of every single Quincy when we find their prison.”He nodded genially, not at all perturbed by mine and Shaak Ti’s anger. “Of course. I know you get stronger when you kill. That was going to be your reward actually, but now that you’ve asked…”I scoffed and accepted the quest. Not for the first time, I began to have doubts on my mind about this. Was this right? I looked to Shaak Ti in askance, but she just shook her head. Oh, right, she can’t use the Force here or risk severing her connection permanently. Ugh! “Okay. I’m ready to go right now.”“Bringing the Gotei 13 to Karakura town will be done by myself.” Aizen spoke, shrugging off the palpable annoyance in the air effortlessly. “You will be accompanied by the higher tiered Espada to the town. However, ending Yamamoto and Kurosaki will be your personal directive.”I waved him off and stood, stretching. “Alright. Let’s get going.”It was only a matter of moments next when I was in the throne room. Shaak Ti, like me, felt conflicted about the situation, but knew she was well out of her depth here. Jedi normally loved being martyrs, so something that she must have seen when in her trance must have convinced her to play along… but what? And if so, why was she not telling me what she saw?Laying eyes on the top five Espada was a new sight. For one, their numbers were prominently displayed on the back of whatever garments they wore. Also, clearly, while I had been training my ass off, they had too, because the ranks were different from what I remembered them being.Ulquiorra was now number one. He didn’t look much different at all, but the way he held himself had changed completely from calm acceptance to serenity. Odd. The Segunda was none other than, surprise-surprise, Tia. She hadn’t changed much either, except that there was now a bone fragment that covered her navel laterally. Her Fraccion were nowhere in sight. Barragan was now number three and was scowling heavily. I guess he didn’t like that he’d been bumped down a spot – I really wonder how that ranking battle played out, and when; I had to be pretty deep in concentration to miss something like that. There was a ‘4’ emblazoned on the back of Stark’s jacket, but he didn’t seem very bothered by it. Lilynette, on the other hand… I’d rather not be around her for a while. The Quinta was, someone I had helped find.“Nelliel!” I greeted, a happy smile coming to my face at the sight of the woman. It soothed something in me to know that her Reiatsu was not leaking off of her in a near-death-inducing level. “How do you feel?”“It is odd remembering the things I dis as Nel.” She admitted, a soft smile adorning her features. “The thanks I owe to Dondonchaka and Pesche for taking care of me is far too great for me to pay off for the next hundred years.”“Where are they, anyway?” I asked, looking around. The three had been inseparable, and for good reason, so it was odd not to see them at her side like always.“Mila Rose said something about training them back to their former power levels.” Tia piped in, narrowing her eyes at nothing in particular. “The ripping of their masks brought them down by quite a lot, but not so much that it can’t be recovered over time.”I nodded. “Good, good.” Then I turned to address them all. “Our mission, if you otherwise do not know, is the destruction of the current Gotei 13, and only them. Any other soul you attempt to eat, kill, or otherwise eradicate, and you will be facing me personally.”Barragan snorted but said nothing. Good. When we sparred once, his powers didn’t affect me at all. I guess it had something to be with [Gamer’s Body], but I had been hard pressed to find out how exactly. After that, defeating him had been a breeze. Pity that I don’t get experience points for sparring.“We will be heading to Karakura town – which will be the main battlefield for now.” I continued. “If you can divert the captains far away from each other, your fights will be easier. If you can drag them out of the town limits, you will be able to limit collateral damage and thus evade my wrath.” I smirked, then sobered up. A quick flex of my chakra and a Genjutsu shimmered around us into existence, to show the image of the person as I spoke about them. “As for the captains themselves, they’re pretty easy to deal with except for a few figures – Kyoraku Shinsui’s Zanpakuto is a whimsical one, wanting to play games and the like. He has many he can choose from, and his Bankai is almost worse than the Captain-Commander’s. If he shows up, Ulquiorra will handle him, and quickly – don’t give him time to activate his sword.”The Primera nodded.“Junshiro Ukitake’s Zanpakuto is antithetical to your powers, Stark. He’s also said to have been revived by the Soul King himself, so if he shows up, Tia will take care of him – besides knowing that his sword can reflect Reiatsu back at the attacker, I don’t know much about his abilities. But he is a captain, so expect him to have hidden cards.”“Consider it done.” She agreed.“Good. Besides them, and perhaps of greater danger than all of them combined, is Soi-Fong. She’s the captain of the Onmitsukido, essentially the sneaky ninja brigade of the Gotei 13. Her released Zanpakuto is the most dangerous of all. If she strikes the same point on your body twice, you die. It doesn’t matter whether you have the best defenses, or the strongest Hierro, or anything of the sort. Two strikes, and you’re dead.” I said, grimly. “I’ll be handling her personally.”There was no disagreement.“There are four other high-priority targets.” I added. “Kurosaki Ishin is a former Shinigami captain with a fire-element Zanpakuto who seems to be involved with a family in the same town we’re visiting. Let me make this clear – the family is off limits. If I see so much as a shiver from them, whoever is responsible will die painfully.” I smiled a little too sharp to drive the point home. “No one in this dimension has managed to throw off my illusions, not even Aizen himself. Keep that in mind while you’re here.”I continued without waiting for a response. “His son, Kurosaki Ichigo, is my target, like the Captain Commander himself. Leave. Him. Alone. He’s too irritating for you to take head on and is known to pull new tricks out of his ass when he’s been outdone. He may or may not be accompanied by a Quincy named Ishida Uryuu, and two humans with strange powers named Inoue Orihime and Yasutora Sado.” I paused to let their images fully form. “These three are off limits. If they insist on interfering, you may incapacitate them in the least harmful method you possess. The Quincy’s father, Ishida Ryuuken, may interfere – deal with him as you see fit.”“Alongside them, however, will be these two.” I gestured to the images of a man and woman that appeared. “They’re both former Gotei 13 captains. The man is Urahara Kisuke, first head of the Scientific Research Division – expect him to pull weird gadgets and toys into play. He’s too powerful for anyone besides numbers one and two to deal with. The woman is Soi-Fong’s predecessor, so I’ll be dealing with her too.” I sighed, running fingers through my hair. “I have a suspicion that there is something that can make me more powerful in Karakura. If this is true, I’ll gather it up and try my best to assist you in your battles. Remember, it is not the strongest one that wins, but the quickest. Don’t try to add flair to your battle – style is far less important than staying alive. The five of you are the strongest of the Espada – act like it.”They looked at each other in askance. Barragan seemed to be looking at me with narrowed eyes. Considering that he was seated on his flying throne without any of his Fraccion by his side, I think he was just cranky that his feet weren’t being massaged. I dispelled the illusion around us and set on up around Shaak Ti to make her appear human.“Very well.” I nodded. “Let’s go.”The trip through the Garganta was odd. In this strange world between worlds, it felt as if something was calling out to me. No one else seemed as perturbed by it as I did, so I let [Gamer’s Mind] take over and shove it aside. Now wasn’t the time to let my thoughts wander.When we emerged from the Garganta, we were high above the town itself.“Ah!” I breathed in deep and smiled. “It feels good to be in the realm of the living again. I guess my Shinigami powers didn’t change who I was at the basest level.”“True. Simply being here makes me feel far better than I ever felt in Hueco Mundo.” Shaak TI agreed, then frowned. “At least… until a few minutes ago.”“Well, team, all we have to do is wait until the Gotei 13 arrive.” I cheerfully informed the others. A single cross-seal had two shadow clones appear next to me in a puff of smoke. One immediately departed, beginning the long search for [Location Collectibles] – apparently, it didn’t matter whether I or my clones touched it, but I always got the points and the clones were updated simultaneously. The second clone left to travel far from the city and create the skills for air-bending and earth-bending – something I was feeling odd not having.Meanwhile, I opened my inventory and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it with a snap of my fingers. “So… until they get here… how’s things going?”Barragan looked at me incredulously.“Eh, I tried.” I shrugged. “Shaak Ti, before we return home, I’m going to get you acquainted with your Conduit powers. If you somehow end up back in your home dimension first, I don’t want you to go over with it blind.”The woman nodded distractedly. “Of course, Legion. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that-”There was a PING. “Hold up. I just…. Holy shit!”
[You have discovered: Karakura City Hospital! 1/75 Karakura Town locations discovered!
Please select one of the following –
6000 Exp
150 Perk Points.
40 Stat Points.]
Forty stat points per collectible. Seventy-five of them. That means, what, three thousand stat points? Crap, crap, crap, I expected there to be a lot of them, but not so many! Even Konoha has less, for crying out loud!Well… now what? Do I take them? Stupid question – I’m never coming back here, so I’ve gotta. I will just bother me if I don’t. But… what will I be back in the Elemental Nations? I set out deciding that I wouldn’t be one of those planet-destroying ninjas. But here…Ugh. You know what? Let’s just get this over with. I selected the stat points. Almost immediately next, another screen popped up. I sighed and settled in for a long while of tapping.It felt odd, just standing there in the air, tapping away at something only I could see. Barragan’s narrowed gaze never left my finger. Shaak Ti’s eyes were rapidly widening once she caught on to what was happening. Ulquiorra and Tia were quietly conversing a few steps away, and Stark was using Lilynette as a pillow to… sleep. Wow, that guy is worse than a Nara.Anyway, a few minutes later I was done with the last screen and was hit with the memories of the clone. Ouch. Urahara was on his way here right now, as were Yoruichi, Ryuuken, and Ishin. Eh, it turns out that a lot of those collectibles were scattered around the place hidden in secret areas, like the Visored hideout and the training area underneath Urahara Shoten, or even the secret Quincy repository. Thank god for the phasing capabilities that the Speed-force bestows upon me, no?Since there were no options that usually replaced the experience one with a quirky option of its own, I collected three thousand stat points. My mind was numb for a while, but then I shrugged it off and assigned them, five hundred to each stat.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 40
Title: Outsider’s Chosen
Next Level: 7,000/45,000xp
HP - 6680
QI - 6680
RR - 6680
CON - 658
STR - 658
AGL - 737
INT - 658
LCK - 737
WIS - 658]
Before I finalized the changes, I hesitated. “Guys.” I spoke up. “We have the other high-priority targets approaching us, and fast. Get ready for a fight.”“Did you find what will empower you?” Tia asked, looking away from Ulquiorra to me. She had an idea of what I was talking about, since she was there when I took my first collectible in Hueco Mundo.I closed my eyes. “Yes.”And then I confirmed the changes.For one moment, the gentle breeze around us seemed to still. Then, it picked up as I felt my body adjusting and accommodating for the new numbers.PING!
[Due to crossing the 250-point threshold for Agility, a skill has been updated!
Amazing Speed Force Connection (Active) Lv MAX (100%)
The Speed Force has created a very strong connection with you. Your now have a better connection with it than some speedsters in the multiverse.
Increase speed by 1000 times when active.]
[Due to crossing the 500-point threshold for Agility, a skill has been updated!
Exemplar Speed Force Connection (Active) Lv MAX (100%)
The Speed Force has sunk a fragment of itself in you. Your now have a far better connection with it than most speedsters in the multiverse.
Increase speed by 10000 times when active.]
[Due to crossing the 250-point threshold for Luck, a skill has been updated!
Protagonist’s Tumultuous Luck (Passive) Lv MAX
Interesting events will happen to you much more frequently as time passes on. Don’t be surprised at the rate at which they occur.]
[Due to crossing the 500-point threshold for Luck, a new skill has been created!
Lemon-Chili Girdle (Passive) Lv MAX
No one’s evil gaze will affect you anymore! You now receive double the rewards from every quest, and rare items are now easier to find!
+100% EXP and Ryo from quests.
+50% chance for rare item drops.]
[Due to crossing the 250-point threshold for both Constitution and Strength, a skill has been updated!
Might of the Offensive Stonewall (Passive) Lv MAX
Your might is noteworthy, whether in battle or not. Now, you can no longer be interrupted by enemy attacks, and can simply not be knocked down. Enemy combatants can no longer resist being knocked back by your attacks, regardless of how strong they are, if chances exist. You now reflect a percentage of the damage you receive back towards the attacker.
25% damage reflected.]
[Due to crossing the 500-point threshold for both Constitution and Strength, a skill has been created!
Second Wind (Passive) Lv MAX
You just stand back up after being put down! When health bar is empty, you are reinvigorated with your single-minded focus, regaining ten percent of your health once every twelve hours.]
[Due to crossing the 250-point threshold for both Intelligence and Wisdom, a skill has been created!
Quick Learner (Passive) Lv MAX
Your raw mental processing and comprehension power shines when you decide to learn! Skills now advance 100% faster!]
[Due to crossing the 500-point threshold for both Intelligence and Wisdom, a skill has been updated!
Rapid Learner (Passive) Lv MAX
Your amazing rate of study is only further enhanced by your raw mental processing and comprehension power! Skills now advance 200% faster!]
I sighed as I flexed my hand. Excellent… NOT! I am now exactly what I NEVER WANTED TO BE! [Rapid Learner] is a downright CHEAT-CODE, as is [Second Wind]! [Might of the Offensive Stonewall] just makes me ANGRY, [Lemon-Chili Girdle] is like a FUCKING FARMING HACK, and [Exemplar Speed-Force Connection] is TOO OVERPOWERED now! Only a part of me was pacified that my non-main stats didn’t get as many skills due to point advancement as my main Rogue stats did, but still! I’M SO MAD, I COULD-Ugh. Sometimes you really gotta hate the calming effects of Gamer’s mind.I sighed and rolled my shoulders, then opened my eyes.The Espada were staring at me.“What?” I asked, tilting my head. Internally, I was smirking. Well, if nothing else, I was now leagues beyond them. [Location Collectible] s for the win!“How… is this possible?” Ulquiorra asked, staring at me with unrestrained fascination, an expression mirrored on every other face there. Even Barragan and Lilynette seemed stunned at the rate at which I’d grown. I couldn’t exactly blame them – I’d gotten five times stronger than before. And If I could keep up with them then…“It’s a quirk unique to me.” I shrugged carelessly. “Not really important right now.”“Ah, but it’s certainly fascinating, Shiro-san!”A familiar voice interrupted us. I turned carelessly to regard the man who spoke. A familiar striped bucket hat, sandals, cane and cloak. At his side was…“Yoruichi. Please don’t insult me by staying a cat.” I deadpanned. “I might just end up cutting your tail off in irritation, and who knows how that would translate into your human form? My only quarrel is with the Gotei 13 and Kurosaki Ichigo.” I grinned. “Why not let us pass?”“Pardon me, Shiro-san, but I can’t let you enter Karakura Town.” Urahara interrupted whatever that cat was going to say. “Please return to wherever you came from and we’ll be alright.”“I can’t do that.” I sighed, drawing my Zanpakuto. Was it just me, or did my sword get so dark that it appeared as if a void shaped like a blade? “The only way I can return home is by doing what is asked of me. So please, step aside…”I flared my chakra, causing everyone around me to drop to their knees. Hm… amusing. “Or die.”Urahara and I stared at each other. He had dropped his carefree exterior and straightened when I let my chakra idle. It seemed I was leagues beyond even him. I scanned him for good measure.
[Urahara Kisuke – Level 82
HP - 9400/9400
RR - 17400/17400
Constitution - 94
Strength - 82
Agility - 108
Intelligence - 174
Luck - 50
Wisdom - 135
Formerly the Head of the Scientific Research Division after founding it, Urahara Kisuke is a man driven by knowledge and research. Single-handedly responsible for most of the inventions used around Soul-Society today, the man is intelligent beyond most of his peers and applies himself in the most unorthodox of ways. After being framed and chased out of his home along with his best friend Yoruichi, he has taken to establishing a base in the human world and watching over Kurosaki Ichigo for the boy’s father.]
I can read the stats and bio of a level eighty-eight character. Oh. My. God. Can I just scream? I’m so overpowered for my home dimension that it’s not even funny. I will seriously cry.Ugh. Oh well. You can’t win ‘em all.“Step aside, Getaboshi.” I repeated, swinging my sword to limber up my wrist. “Or you’ll be cut down.”“I think you will find that-”I just stepped forward and slashed.When I came to a stop, there was silence, until a pained grunt from Urahara and his hand slipping off his shoulder alerted the others to what I’d just done.“I grow tired of this drama.” I groaned. “I hate doing this just as much as the next guy. Well… maybe not to you. You’re responsible for half the shit that’s going on in this universe. Still, though, I don’t want to kill you. Just take Yoruichi and get out of here. I’ll just deal with the Gotei 13 and Ichigo and begone… dammit, I hate killing innocents. Maybe I’ll just seal…” Nah, the objectives specifically said ‘kill’ and not ‘neutralize’ or ‘incapacitate’. “Okay, nope. Killing him.”“Why are you after Kurosaki Ichigo?” Urahara asked, holding his bleeding shoulder with his other okay hand. Yoruichi had vanished from his side, possibly to track his arm down and go get help. God, characters in manga are so badass! Arm cut off; don’t worry, I’m okay! Eyes ripped out of my socket; no problem, I’ll rip someone else’s out and transplant them on the battlefield in a few seconds!Wait, no, that second one was Naruto manga.I shrugged. “He’s my objective. If I kill him and the others, I find out how do I return home. If I don’t, I’m stuck here forever.”“Return ‘home’?” the man asked, eyes narrowed.“Ugh, bantering right now is fruitless. I can literally go much faster than that little display over there, so stalling me is stupid. I can, therefore, also deal with any reinforcements that show up. So let’s dispense with this charade.” I shrugged. “Look, I promise that Karin and Yuzu will be unharmed. If Ishin stays out of the way, he’ll be okay too – Masaki gave her life to save her son, but eh. Her soul will just have to deal with it.”“You know too much.” Urahara growled.“I know a lot more than you, for certain.” I smirked. “Like, for instance, did you know how Masaki died?”“Getsuga Tensho!”I spun on the spot and raced to the front of my group, slipping into a Fire-bending stance and splitting the incoming arc of flame around us, harmlessly dissipating it.“My, my, look who decided to show up! I guess Yoruichi isn’t completely useless after all.” I rolled my eyes. “Ishin, should you really be using Engetsu so casually like that, after you only recently regained your powers? They’re so pitiful right now, after all.”The man roared in fury and charged…Then gurgled as a thrown axe from Barragan landed in his gut. In the next instant, his sword was broken into pieces, courtesy of Lilynette.“Hey! You, pasty white bastard! We’re still here, you know!” Lilynette pointed at me and screamed, ignoring the falling form of Kurosaki Ishin.“Children are so undisciplined sometimes.” I sighed.“You look younger than me!” She incredulously retorted.I laughed. “Well, when you can match me in Reiatsu, then let’s talk.” From the corner of my eye, I saw Urahara grip his cane tighter and in a fighting stance. “Don’t bother using Benihime, dude. You’ll get wrecked even with your Ban Kai.”The man seemed to have no response to that.Just then, a whistling sound was heard all around. “Hey, do you guys hear-”Something collided with me and was thrown back. It turned out to be human Yoruichi. “What the hell are you made of?” she grumbled, rubbing her arm where she was probably going to tackle me away from the group.“Unimportant.” I grinned, knocking her out and tossing her away. I absently noted that Urahara had dived to catch her and was flying away.Just then, then moment we were waiting for came. Not very far from us, a Senkaimon opened up and several figures began to walk through.“While watching you deal with trash is… entertaining, I believe it is time for us to intervene.” Ulquiorra muttered, leveling me a blank look. “Or… have the orders changed?”I blinked at him for a moment, then grinned. Of course, he’d be the one tot catch on best. “Good guess. Things have changed, guys. I’m going to take on whoever comes through by myself.”Shaak TI widened her eyes. “Your growth is obvious but… are you certain?”“Watch me, Master Ti.” I grinned, clenching my Zanpakuto tight and channeling chakra through it in case Zaraki was present amongst their number.PING!
[Due to a special action, a new skill has been created!
Chakra Nagashi (Active) Lv 1 (9.21%)
By nudging your chakra through a held object, you grant a bonus to its properties.
Neutral Chakra: +(0.01)(INT+STR) Damage, +(0.01)(WIS+CON) Durability.]
Nice. You know, even though I equipped my Zanpakuto using my inventory, I don’t really know what its description reads. As the figures approached rapidly, I looked down towards my blade and scanned it.
[Zanpakuto – Akuma-sha (Legendary)
The physical manifestation of the power of your Reiryoku, Akuma-sha is the only Zanpakuto in existence that has sentience but not a soul or avatar. Instead, the blade consumes the spirits of any Zanpakuto it destroys and gives you unrestricted access to their powers, even those that are hidden from the original wielder.
Soul Storage: (Empty), (Empty), (Empty), (Empty), (Empty), (Empty).
DMG: STR + (0.5)AGL]
I stared at the description with a twitching eyebrow. I could feel something building up within me. [Gamer’s Mind] was already beginning to work, but it almost wasn’t enough to take care of my emotions.“HOLY MOTHER FUCKING JACKED UP SYSTEM! PERSONIFICATION OF MY POTENTIAL, MY ASS! WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF DOWNGRADE IS THIS ANYWAY? OH, WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON THAT SCRAWNY SONOFABITCH, HE’S GOING TO RUE THE DAY HE WAS BROUGHT INTO EXISTENCE! FIRST I’LL SHOVE A NAILED-UP BAT RIGHT UP HIS ASS-”“Ahem.”I let myself be brought under control as a polite voice interrupted my musings. I turned to observe my audience. It seems Aizen came through, since a large contingent of our targets were here, and the rest was whom he could probably deem best to handle.I sighed and made a shadow clone to go do all my personal ‘shopping’ for me. It will be good to have some familiar snacks and items to take back home, to say nothing of the music I miss so much! Oh, I wonder what year it is, right now… “Looks like I’m going to end this in a few seconds again. I don’t know why there are so many [Location Collectible] s everywhere, and I think I’ll be getting more soon… Ah, well, of course, I’m going to wipe the areas dry if they are in Soul Society or the Quincy prison, since I won’t be returning here… ever. I’d rather not see what Aizen does to this place.”The Shinigami looked alarmed.“Normally I’d try to draw this out and try to find a way that makes me stronger, but I’m so sick and tired of this universe that I’d rather just finish this off and return home as soon as possible. So,” I raised my sword, already having finalized whose Zanpakuto I’d be claiming as my own. Six slots? That’s too many, but as long as they’re there… “are you ready to dance?” I narrowed my eyes at the assorted souls present. What did Aizen do to get them here, anyway? You know what, I don’t even care.The Captain-commander was standing way back but was visible easily with his vice-captain Sasakibe by his side. He’s the guy with the lightning-element Zanpakuto, right? Boring! Ryuujinjakka is mine, though. Soi-Fong was a little in front of him, with Omaeda already having released Gegetsuburi – I’ll be taking her Suzumebachi. No one from the third division… or the fourth. Odd. Did Aizen manage to convert Unohana? Aizen’s fifth division was absent too. Hinamori wouldn’t leave his side if he managed to pull wool over her eyes. Byakuya was here, though, although Abarai wasn’t. Cool. Senbonzakura takes spot number three. Komamura was here, the wolf man. Unimportant, though – the sword was boring as hell; “oh, look at me, I’m a discount Susanoo!” ugh. Shunsui and Ukitake were side-by-side, but I wanted neither. One of their Zanpakuto was too whimsical and the other too useless. Toshiro was absent, but Matsumoto was here, well behind the two pupils of the Captain Commander. I don’t blame her – one of them is a pervert and the other is too honorable. Eh, I don’t need Haineko when I have perfect sword skills. Kenpachi wasn’t here either, which meant his little child vice-captain was with him. Great – her Zanpakuto was at least a little interesting… if stupid. Kurotsuchi Mayuri and his creation Nemu were both present, but neither of them had interesting swords, that I can think of.So, Ryuujinjakka, Suzumebachi, Senbonzakura… Zangetsu, of course. And then… rain check on the other two slots? Cool.“Where, oh where, is Toshiro, by the way?” I wondered, preparing myself and mentally cataloguing the most expedient route. “Hyorinmaru must be so disappointed in his wielder for not having unlocked his full power yet.”“Who are you, Shinigami?” The Captain-commander finally asked, clenching his staff. “Why do you side with these hollows?”“I’m not here to chat, old man.” I snorted, then drew back my sword. “I’m here to end you all.” That said, I slipped into the Speed-force.Black lightning cackled around my form as I observed all. Everyone seemed to be standing still as I regarded their forms. There was not the slightest movement of their ‘breathing’, nor did their eyes moved. I guess being sped up ten thousand times does that to you… when you’re already fast.I sighed and began my work. I slashed the necks of everyone I wasn’t interested in and destroyed the Zanpakuto that I wanted by jabbing it. Given that I was so much faster compared to everyone else and my high [STR], what was a simple fast jab for me was a devastating poke for the rest of existence.I carefully did not let myself feel any guilt as I completely destroyed whoever had showed up…It was in that moment that I think I really let go of any inhibitions I may have had regarding taking a life.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
I flicked the condensed-reishi-blood off my Zanpakuto idly as I read the new description for it.
[Zanpakuto – Akuma-sha (Legendary)
The physical manifestation of the power of your Reiryoku, Akuma-sha is the only Zanpakuto in existence that has sentience but not a soul or avatar. Instead, the blade consumes the spirits of any Zanpakuto it destroys and gives you unrestricted access to their powers, even those that are hidden from the original wielder.
Soul Storage: Ryuujinjakka, Senbonzakura, Suzumebachi, Zangetsu, (Empty), (Empty).
DMG: STR + (0.5)AGL]
I sighed. Killing Ichigo had been child’s play. Literally. He didn’t have any powers or skills besides his forever-unsealed Zanpakuto, whose powers I took for my own. Fortunately, I was able to simply knock out his gang. Ryuuken was nowhere to be seen.PING!
[Quest Complete!
Main Quest: Strawberry Troubles
The time has come for things to change, for better or for worse. You have been tasked with killing the most naturally powerful beings by Aizen himself during the invasion of Soul Society.
Completed Objectives:
Kill Kurosaki Ichigo.
Kill Genryuusai Shigekuni Yamamoto.
Completed Bonus Objectives:
Kill all the Captains who appear.
Kill all the Vice-Captains who appear.
Finish the battle in less than a minute.
Finish your battle with Kurosaki Ichigo in less than a minute.
Reward:
200000xp, Mirror Dimension Skill Book, Onmitsukido Armor Set]
[You have levelled up multiple times!]
I… I just can’t, anymore. A full armor set from the bonus objectives. And that’s not even counting the fact that I just got double the experience from that new skill… ugh. Whatever. I’m the next god. Fear me, blah, blah, blah.Just as I finished that thought, the clone that I sent out to procure what Ii wanted popped. Hm. It seems that my shadow clones can use my [Inventory] as well. How useful.I navigated over to my [Character Page] and saw my new stats… God, I’m so depressed about how easy stuff is now that I can’t even muster up the capability to be angry anymore. Anyway, fifteen points… lets even things out as much as I can…
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 43
Title: Outsider’s Chosen
Next Level: 57,000/60,000xp
HP - 6700
QI - 6700
RR - 6700
CON - 660
STR - 660
AGL - 747
INT - 660
LCK - 746
WIS - 660]
Eh. Whatever.“Legion?”I looked up and sighed. “Master Ti… I hope what I did hasn’t scared you.” I said, quietly.She looked at me carefully, analyzing my posture and expressions, no doubt. Jedi always kept their analytical skills as sharp as possible. “Come here.” She said simply and pulled me closer to embrace me in a hug.I blanked out for a moment, before giving in and wrapping my arms around her. My six-year-old body could only barely reach her waist, but still. It felt nice. I imagined that this is what a hug from a mother would feel like.“I don’t know whether what you did was right or wrong.” She spoke, rubbing a soothing hand down my back. “This world was forever destined for ruin, even before you came. Burning a rotten root is not a crime.” That brought me up short. I never made it to the end of the Bleach manga but I did know that Ichigo had a kid and there was a happy-ever-after for the characters here. Then why…? Whatever. I’m not really bothered. Let’s just finish up here.I pulled away and smiled up at her the best I could, letting [Gamer’s Mind] quell the fog that covered my awareness. “Let’s just get back to Aizen so that we can get going.”She seemed the slightest bit unsure but nodded anyway.I turned to the Espada behind us and arched an eyebrow. “Someone, please, open a Garganta into Soul Society. No offense, but I’d rather get home as soon as possible.”They just looked at me for the longest moment. I don’t know what was going through their mind, and, honestly, I wasn’t too excited to find out – their faces were grim enough.I just shrugged.Ulquiorra, at not signal that I could see, turned and opened a portal to the place. I squared my shoulders and walked through, the others following close behind.Once again, I felt that strange pull. As if something were calling out to me, but with a… feeling… instead of actual sound. I tried to look around the passageway we were in, but for some reason I couldn’t fly here. I tried jumping, but I only managed to go as high as a child my age should. Odd. It seemed that the place in between places brought down my potential to what it should be.I shrugged it off altogether then and walked out into the open. Once again, it felt as though I didn’t belong here. The air was heavy. Moving seemed to take more effort, although far lesser in magnitude than when I was in Hueco Mundo… although that could be because of my new level of stats.Speaking of which, I spotted a collectible right in front of me. We did end up in front of a Sereitei gate, so I guess it’s only fair there was one. I walked up to it and tapped it.PING!
[You have discovered: Southern Sereitei Gate! 1/50 Soul Society Locations discovered!
Please select one of the following –
6000 Exp
150 Perk Points.
40 Stat Points.]
Fifty of them… that’s bring the total up to two thousand points…. Whatever. I’d rather pick them up and not need them than need them and not have them. I created a clone to scout out more collectibles and hopefully be done with it by the time I’m finished with Aizen. It vanished in a flicker of black lightning.Ulquiorra turned to look at me for a second, before he jumped. I sighed and jumped after him; hopefully he was going right where Aizen was.Oh, wait! What about the clone who I created to practice earth and air bending back in Karakura? I created another clone and dispelled it. Almost immediately, I was hit with another set of memories.PING!
[Due to a special action, two skills were created!
Earth-bending (Active) Lv 26 (5.22%)
By using your body’s energy to exert your iron will, you have learned to manipulate the unyielding element of earth.
Cost: 10QI/min.
Air-bending (Active) Lv 38 (76.2%)
By using your body’s energy to open yourself up to the nuances of the world around you, you have learned to weave the element of air.
Cost: 7QI/min.]
Cool. I wonder when I’ll be able to go into the Avatar state, if at all? Wait, would the Avatar state grant me even more stats? Because if so, I think I’m going to scrap this idea right now.Eh. Who cares? I’m literally so overpowered it’s not even funny. It’s depressing. And that’s not even counting the fact that I have practically doomed this world just because I got bored.I froze.Wait… did I do everything I did so far… just because I got bored?I thought back to when I first got here. I wanted to get stronger because of survival, at first. I trained under Tousen and Tia to strengthen my skills before I shot up thanks to collectibles. But when I told Aizen about Juuha Bach and Ginjo… was I…Was I thinking what would be the most entertaining?Back when I gutted ROOT, I had to pretend to be disgusted with myself when Hiruzen found me. I don’t think I feel bad about killing Ichigo or the Gotei 13 who showed up at all, no… I just… was petulant. I didn’t want to, so I was upset.What exactly does [Gamer’s Mind] do? Its most important function is preventing any negative mental debilitations from affecting me. Does that include guilt? I’ve seen it clearly with anger…Have I actually been sad about anything important since I woke up in Konoha?I shook my head. Here, in enemy territory, was not the best place to contemplate this. I needed to think about this when I returned home though. My morality was skewered enough in my old life… I don’t need it to be ruined permanently. Or at least, if it is, I should know, so that I can switch paths and go fully evil. Has any gamer fanfiction I’ve ever read compel their main character down the dark path? I may have seen a couple but… not many, I think.Wait, would that even be supported? The quests I can don’t seem to be generated from my thoughts like some fanfiction, or else, believe me, I’d be level hundred right now. So, the question is whether the system wants me to be evil, or have I just subconsciously selected a path and gone down it?A hero wouldn’t have slaughtered ROOT. A hero would have learned sealing in the shortest possible time, figured out a counter-seal for their brands, and then reported to the Hokage. A hero would have participated in a controlled mission to take as many alive as possible. A hero would have told the Hokage about his skills from the start.What… what did that make me? A villain? Or… something in between?Ulquiorra set us down and I dutifully followed, landing without so much as a muted thud. I found Shaak Ti at my side in the next instant. Oh, that’s why we were so slow – Ulquiorra set the pace according to her.“Ah. Legion.”I looked up towards the voice and saw Aizen. But this wasn’t the Aizen that I was so used to seeing. This was Aizen in chrysalis, with his face entirely hidden with white material and only his eyes visible. “Aizen.” I greeted neutrally.“I see that you have also ascended beyond the norm.” he noted, and something told me he was smiling. “Would you like to accompany me to destroy the Soul King once and for all? Or would you like me to open the way into the realm where the Quincy are imprisoned right this moment?”I shook my head. “Neither, really. I just wanna return home. I did what you asked and wiped out Genryuusai and Ichigo, though… and the others.”“Very good.” The man… thing… nodded. “This allows me to conserve my strength for the Zero Division. Well. As for your payment…” he gestured with his hand.The Hogokyou, planted in the center of his chest, flashed white and a book appeared in front of me, hovering. I scanned it.
[Skill Book – Time-Space Gate]
“The means to travel to your home is now with you.” He gestured grandly. “You have helped me more than I could have hoped for. I do hope that we will remain in contact as the years go by. Perhaps even when you’re more physically mature.”I arched an eyebrow but shrugged. “I don’t know how this works, Aizen. But I can promise you this – if the door is open, and you ever need me, simply send me a message, and I will be here.”The man tilted his head. “Interesting. Your intrigue me as always, Legion.” He said in lieu of farewell, perhaps, then about turned, walking away. In the distance, I couple see that capsule-spaceship thing that the Zero Division uses to travel to and from the Sereitei and the Soul King Palace. I narrowed my eyes when I saw a black flash go up, and then back down again. Were there any collectibles up there, too?I shrugged and tapped on the scroll in front of me.PING!
[You have acquired the skill book – Time-Space Gate.
Would you like to learn this spell?]
Duh! I accepted it immediately.PING!
[You have learned a new skill!
Time-Space Gate (Active) Lv MAX
By concentrating, you are able to rip open a portal in space-time itself to travel to your destination. While dimensional boundaries mean nothing to you, you can only travel to a place you’ve already been to and a time you’ve already lived in.]
Okay, wow. What’s next, make me omnipotent or-Wait.A place I’ve already been to. That part is just like apparating. I can’t go to any place I haven’t already been to. And I can’t go to a time in which I’m not present or alive. Did… Did the Hogyoku react to my inner desires to remain as plain as possible? It gave me a way to freely travel between dimensions to a point of time when I left, but didn’t give me any room to abuse it… well, at least not much room to abuse it. I couldn’t go back to Kaguya’s time and end her permanently, but I could travel back in time to tell myself to change a decision I made. Wait, would I just appear next to myself, or would I take over my older self’s body? Would my skills jump with me in that case? Oh wow, my head hurts. I need to get away from here as soon as possible.But, rule – no time travel. If I need to hop dimensions, I’ll appear in the exact instant I left. But I will never, ever, try to rewrite something I’ve done. I don’t know what could happen.A hand on my shoulder started me out of my thoughts. I looked behind me to see Shaak Ti standing and, oddly enough, Tia and Tousen still lingering.“Thank you for all that you have done for me.” I bowed low to the latter two. “You educated me when there was no need to. For that, I will always be thankful.”“You are a wonderful student.” Tousen simply said.Tia waked forward and forced me to stand. “Then as a parting advice, remember this – there is never any reason to decline learning. Even if it may seem unusable to you as some point, learning a seemingly-useless ability can save your life sometime. Remember my words, and always keep learning.”I looked into her eyes and nodded. I was too overpowered now… but…“Thank you.” I said once again, then turned to Shaak Ti. “Are you ready to return to your home, Master?”“About that…” Shaak Ti trailed. “I don’t wish to return. I want to accompany you.”I froze. “What?”“The Force pulled me into this place in preparation to meet you.” She spoke. “Even before that… man… captured me for information, I was already having visions of you as I wandered the desert. In the time I’ve known you, this… sensation… that my future lies on the road you take, has only strengthened. And then you return my lightsaber…”“Think about what you’re saying.” I muttered. “I don’t know if this skill will work from where I’m talking about if you change your mind. You’re probably asking for me to close the only door that exists into your universe.”She nodded, solemn. “I have decided. I will accompany you, Legion, wherever you go.”I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose. This… this makes talking to the Hokage a priority as soon as I get back. “Fine. I have to wait for-”I paused midway as a rush of memories hit me. I found all fifty collectibles and, again, they had nothing fun to offer. I wonder if the replacement feature is only something available back home? Anyway. I quickly navigated over to my [Character Page] and assigned all the points. Strangely enough, none of my attributes would go beyond a thousand. So, with a hundred and thirty-three stat points on hand and a heavy feeling in my stomach, I accepted the change.PING!
[You have reached the limit for all of your attributes. Would you like to Prestige?]
“That’s strange.” I murmured.“What’s wrong?” Shaak Ti asked, trying futilely to spot what had me confused with narrowed eyes.“I’m not sure.” I admitted. I tapped the question mark in the corner of the window, thankful that I had long ago purchased [Hints].
[Hints – Stats and Prestige
Every time you level up, you gain five attribute points to allocate to any of your six stats as you see fit. However, there are multiple other ways to receiver points aside from the obvious. Once you have allotted points up to the limit in all of your attributes, you can then prestige into a higher race.
As your base form, there is only so much you can improve even with the influx of multiple energies. The Prestige system allows you to, essentially, ascend into higher races. Each time you prestige, your limit is extended and, thus, you must spend more points to prestige the next time. There is no limit to the amount of times you can prestige.
When you choose to prestige, your level and attributes are reset to what you allotted at the start. You also receive the stat points you received naturally from the progression system, excluding all points earned through other means. However, you retain your perk points and skills as they are, and purchased perks remain as they are. Your base health and energies increase, your attributes increase in effectiveness, and you climb higher on the ladder of existence.]
My mind blanked out. I haven’t heard of this sort of system in any fanfic I’d read when I was alive. But then again, this system is somewhat totally out of whack, so I guess it isn’t unexpected.I returned to the original window and accepted the offer.
[Name: Legion
Race: Human
Current Level: 43
Path: Rogue
Are you sure you would like to Prestige?]
I bit my lip. I never saw my race before, or my chosen ‘path’. Why did this seem like such a big deal?I quickly accepted.
[Please select your race:
Angel (+ Paragon Alignment)
Demon (+ Infamous Alignment)
Nephilim]
Alignment?! Now what the fuck is this crap?! Ugh. Well… I don’t really want to commit to either path so…
[Are you sure you wish to ascend as a Nephilim?]
Something in my eyes itched. I tapped ’yes’.PING!
[You have begun the process of Prestige! Please visit the Character Page to finalize the changes.]
My eyes were itching really bad. As was the mark. Something inside my chest hurt too….I did my best to ignore my discomfort and navigated over to the page as requested.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 5
Race: Nephilim
Title: Outsider’s Chosen
Next Level: 0/5000xp
HP - 1200
QI - 1200
RR - 1400
CON - 2
STR - 2
AGL - 7
INT - 4
LCK - 6
WIS - 4
Resistances:
Physical – 90%
Chakra – 6% (-50% vs Tainted)
Spiritual – 43%
Available Points: 215]
Oh… wait. Why did I have a thousand two hundred points as my HP already? I quickly tapped the hints icon. And read through the description…Holy fuck. I started out with a base thousand for the meters now, and it increased by a hundred for every point in it! Also, my regeneration now counts per every thirty seconds by default! This means… coupled with the bonus from my [Chakra Medium] skill, my energies regenerate every… fifteen seconds.…THE FUCK KINDA NERF IS THIS, GAME? WHY I OUGHTA-Ugh.Just... never mind. I quickly assigned the points off, doing the best I could to stay as balanced as I could for now, since I don’t know how the [Location Collectible] s around me will react to this.
[Character Page
Gundan – Level 5
Race: Nephilim
Title: Outsider’s Chosen
Next Level: 0/5000xp
HP - 5000
QI - 5000
RR - 5000
CON - 40
STR - 40
AGL - 40
INT - 40
LCK - 40
WIS - 40
Resistances:
Physical – 90%
Chakra – 6% (-50% vs Tainted)
Spiritual – 43%]
I grumbled but accepted it. What was the point of this Prestige, anyway? The only thing that changes is my level! All my stats theoretically work the same as if they would at ten times their value, if my calculations are correct. Ugh.Wait, what about my skills?
[Skill List
Gamer’s Mind and Body (Passive) Lv MAX
Your powers have forced you to migrate to a different plane of existence. You cannot be affected by negative mental debilitations and emotions, and your body behaves as if it were in a game and reacts accordingly.
Restore HP, energies, and remove debilitations by sleeping in a bed (sleeping and eating optional).
Pain is brief and injuries only affect HP.
Protagonist’s Tumultuous Luck (Passive) Lv MAX
Interesting events will happen to you much more frequently as time passes on. Don’t be surprised at the rate at which they occur. Because of your fervent use of luck when it comes to finding items that, by nature, do not belong, you are now able to sense the nearest such item regardless of distance. You now receive double the rewards from every quest, and rare items are now easier to find!
+100% chance for Plot Events to occur.
+100% EXP and Ryo from quests.
+50% chance for rare item drops.
Might of the Offensive Stonewall (Passive) Lv MAX
Your might is noteworthy, whether in battle or not. Now, you can no longer be interrupted by enemy attacks, and can simply not be knocked down. Enemy combatants can no longer resist being knocked back by your attacks, regardless of how strong they are, if chances exist. When health bar is empty, you are reinvigorated with your single-minded focus, regaining ten percent of your health once every twelve hours. Also, a percentage of the damage you receive is reflected back towards the attacker.
25% damage reflected.
Energy Medium (Passive) Lv MAX
By mastering strict control over internal energy flow, only a bare minimum is required to initialize a skill. Finely tuning energy movement throughout the body is now second nature. Due to unshakable control, you now regenerate all energy at a much higher rate.
-50% delay in regeneration of energies.
-99% chakra cost for chakra-imbued skills.
Exercises Discovered – Leaf Balancing (0.1 CP/min), Tree Climbing (0.2 CP/min), Water Walking (0.3 CP/min), Chakra String (0.4 CP/min/string), Cloth Stiffening (0.5 CP/min/m2), Senbon Balancing (0.6 CP/min/needle, Flight (0.7CP/min).
Rapid Learner (Passive) Lv MAX
Your amazing rate of study is only further enhanced by your raw mental processing and comprehension power! Skills now advance 200% faster!
Detect Bloodlust (Passive) Level MAX
Allows you to pinpoint the person who is emitting the sensation of wanting to very-much kill you, and from where.
+20% skill effectiveness for every five levels you are beyond the source.
Silver-tongue (Passive) Lv 96 (0.00%)
Your mastery with words allows you a greater chance to persuade targets, allowing them to see your view of thinking and, more often than not, gently tugging them onto your path.
70% chance of working.
-1% chance of working for every five levels the target is beyond you.
+18% chance of working for every positive REP with target.
Eavesdropping (Passive) Lv82 (42.0%)
Allows the user to listen in on things happening around them.
172 meters range.
-10% effectiveness in loud areas.
Idiocy (Passive) Lv 49 (4.12%)
Sometimes, people don’t understand why you are doing what you are doing. Because of this, they may think you are insane, really foolish, or just plain endearing.
49% chance to earn positive REP with those around you.
51% chance to make those around you think you are crazy.
Taijutsu Mastery (Passive) Lv95 (0.32%)
The mastery of hand-to-hand combat.
+95% chance to cause damage to internal organs.
-95% evasion chance for opponents.
Styles learned: Konoha Academy Style, Arrancar Hakuda.
Master Illusionist (Passive) Lv MAX
Weaving illusions as a master, you are now familiar with the art as you are with the back of your hand. None can escape your weaves, and the damage inflicted is doubled. Sometimes, casting illusions doesn’t even incur a cost.
+99% chance to inflict double damage.
+50% chance to cast an illusion at no cost.
Master Swordsman (Passive) Lv MAX
A true master of the way of the sword, your self-taught style in conjunction with several others makes you a fearsome opponent.
+100% damage with bladed weapons.
-99% chance for your opponent to dodge.
+50% chance for a critical strike.
Master Marksman (Passive) Lv MAX
You are a master at hitting your target, whatever the type of projectile you use.
Accuracy: 100%
Accuracy penalty: -20% for every 500m after 500m.
Highest throwing speed: 10 projectiles/sec.
Advanced Telepathy (Active) Lv 75 (3.62%)
Attuned to the living, your scrying skills now allow you to see into the mind of the person you are observing and manipulate it. By connecting with others on an emotional level, you are able to understand what they feel and why.
1 sec in target’s mind is 0.005 sec in real life.
4 CP per second while looking into someone’s mind
Void Gaze (Active) Lv 1 (0.00%)
An eye technique developed due to the entwinement of the Mark of the Outsider with your soul, as well as various little bits of your ability that exist quasi-independently from your physical and mental bubble. The Void Gaze allows you to see the presence and movement of energies as you see fit. You are also able to deduce exactly where the critical points on your enemies are. Hitting these points will allow you to instantly score a critical hit.
Cost: 10RR/sec.
Exemplar Speed Force Connection (Active) Lv MAX (100%)
The Speed Force has sunk a fragment of itself in you. Your now have a far better connection with it than most speedsters in the multiverse.
Increase speed by 10000 times when active.
Subterfuge (Active) Lv MAX
A master of the unseen, you are able to stay hidden even in the most unorthodox of circumstances. Unless the target has a massive advantage, you cannot be found.
-99% chance to be detected.
+50% chance of landing a Critical Strike.
Water-bending Master (Active) Lv MAX
By using your body’s energy to redirect and flow with change, you are able to control the healing element of water in solid, liquid, and gaseous states. As a master of the art, the things you can do with water are legendary.
Healing limit: 250HP/sec.
Fire-bending (Active) Lv 89 (0.00%)
By using your body’s internal workings to regulate energy, you are able to control the destructive element of fire in great magnitudes. Having tuned into its wavelength, you can now use Fire-bending to analyze a person’s energy.
Cost: 1QI/sec.
Earth-bending (Active) Lv 26 (5.22%)
By using your body’s energy to exert your iron will, you have learned to manipulate the unyielding element of earth.
Cost: 10QI/min.
Air-bending (Active) Lv 38 (76.2%)
By using your body’s energy to open yourself up to the nuances of the world around you, you have learned to weave the element of air.
Cost: 7QI/min.
Mark of the Outsider (Active) Lv 43 (90.2%)
Granted to those who pique his interest regardless of moral alignment or sanity, the Mark allows you to bend the rules of reality. The Mark allows you to access the capability to cast spells, where otherwise you would need a focus of some sort.
Branches of Magic accessible: Transfiguration, Conjuration, Animation, Combat Spells, Miscellaneous.
Magic Specialty: Titan (Active) Lv 53 (3.72%)
You use magic to enlarge yourself. Along with your physical size, your physical attributes and capabilities gain a boost.
Boost value: +6% for every 50m on al physical stats.
Cost: 184 RR/min/5m
Hollow Skill: Zero (Active) Lv MAX
Compress your spiritual energy into a ball with great pressure, then ‘rip’ its shell to expel the energy in a cascade of great power that completely bypasses armor and resistances due to its spiritual nature. Having a great mastery over it, you now can use multiple variants.
Simple Cero: 500 HP Damage; Cost: 100RR
Gran Rey Cero: 1000 HP Damage; Cost: 500RR
Cero Oscuras: 2500 HP Damage; Cost 1000RR
Hollow Skill: Pulse (Active) Lv 47 (0.54%)
A sensing technique used only by the most proficient spiritual energy users, by pulsing out your own spiritual energy and calling it back in, you can pinpoint beacons of spiritual energy around you via spiritual resonance.
Max sphere radius: 2.5km.
Cost: 53% of RR.
Hollow Skill: Steel Skin (Active) Lv 76 (0.50%)
Your mastery of Reiatsu allows you to condense it around your skin, forming a barrier between an incoming attack and you. It cannot be broken, only powered through.
HP + 760.
Ninja Art: Chakra Leap (Active) Lv 49 (9.62%)
Using chakra directed to the lower-leg muscles, one can increase the distance covered by a single bound.
59 meters distance covered
Cost: 0.4 CP
Ninja Art: Chakra Scalpels (Active) Lv49 (9.10%)
The user forms a sharp blade out of their chakra that covers the hand from fingertips to wrist. It allows them to cut into a living body without breaking the skin, decreasing chances of infection.
Damage: (INT + DEX)
Cost: 0.6CP per blade
Ninja Art: Shadow Embrace (Active) Lv29 (0.00%)
The user embraces the shadows, allowing better hiding capabilities.
+ 31% to Subterfuge skill when active.
-15% to enemy vision cones
Cost: 0.7CP/sec
Ninja Art: Illusory Clone (Active) Lv 30 (0.00%)
By ejecting chakra from your body and manipulating it, you are capable of creating a basic illusion of yourself. The image produced is intangible and vanishes after three solid objects pass through it.
Cost: 7CP
Duration: 120 seconds
Ninja Art: Substitution (Active) Lv49 (0.00%)
After charging an object with your chakra, you can instantly substitute with it at any time.
Cost: 25CP
Range: 59m
Ninja Art: Organic Shapeshifting (Active) Lv MAX
By utilizing memory as a medium and chakra as a catalyst, you can effectively change shape into any living creature you have observed in the past.
Cost: 0.1 CP/sec.
Ninja Art: Shadow-clone (Active) Lv MAX
You bring a non-elemental tangible clone into existence by this skill, splitting your energies evenly into each of them, including yourself. It can act independently from the user. Any knowledge the clones gain is transferred back to the user.
Stats Effectiveness: 100%
Knowledge relayed to the user: 100%
Maximum Creation Range: 1km]
Okay, so apparently becoming a Nephilim is not just a simple race change. A lot of my skills have been played around with and merged. The [Mark of the Outsider] is the thing that’s changed most, I think. [Void Gaze] has become an entirely separate skill – a Dojutsu. While the mark itself… wait. I know those branches of magic! Those are from…Crap.I can do Harry Potter spells now?! But, but… there was nothing such as Nephilim in Harry Potter… was there? Ugh!Anyway, besides that, al my skill names seem to have been translated into English from their respective languages, regrouped properly according to their active or passive type, and sorted according to… what kind they are, I guess. Damn. Even if I go down to 1HP though, my fighting skills make my stats a non-entity. Dammit…Here I am, crying about my stats, when it was my skills I should have been bothered about all along! Almost no chance for my opponent to dodge my sword strikes… no way for them to break my illusions…?I… you know what? Fine. I’m overpowered. But watching those skills rise by the number is so satisfying… I’m practically a six-year-old Kage! Hell, there are people who’d kill to have powers like mine! So, you know what, fuck being underpowered…. And fuck whoever made it so easy for me to advance my skills. Don’t they have any sense of moderation?!Well… I guess it’s never going to be okay with me how powerful I really am. I guess… it’s just something I’m going to have to deal with.“Legion?”I looked up towards Shaak Ti and saw her concerned glance. It took me a while, but it was only then that I felt it. I brough my hands to my cheeks and… there! Wetness… Tears?I wiped them off and shook my head. “Nothing is wrong, so don’t worry.” I reassured her. Did I just cry? How did I cry? Isn’t sadness a negative mental debilitation? What, how why? Ugh, this game just gets more confusing by the day… “C’mon.” I said, then turned away, picturing the last time I was in the elemental nations in my mind.
‘I’m creating a portal home. A portal is being created. I will arrive just when and where I was pulled from.’
There was the sound of a bell tolling. A light breeze picked up, and suddenly, in front of us, a pitch-black orb appeared, grey wisps of energy forming and fading in random intervals around it.“I guess… we have to step through.” I shrugged. I didn’t step forward yet.Shaak Ti nudged me. “What’s wrong? Don’t you want to go home?”I looked at my hands. I killed people here just because a quest told me to. Is that… is that something I should be ashamed of?I clenched my fists and sighed. I’m a ninja, and I’m being overdramatic. Pretty soon I’m going to have to kill many people because of missions. I can’t get cold feet now… once a ninja, always a ninja.“Yeah.” I murmured, reaching out to take her hand. “Let’s go home.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
When we stepped through the orb, I felt it dissipate from Sokokyu Hill in Soul Society. Wherever wee were, it was pitch dark, so I didn’t let Shaak-Ti’s hand go as I kept walking.Eventually, we saw a little ray of light up ahead. Our steps sped up involuntarily, and we were almost there-Until we weren’t.My eye twitched. “We… are in the Void.”“Correct as always, Legion.”I sighed as the Outsider presented himself in his usual jump-scare manner. “Outsider. I would really appreciate going back home, right now.”“Ah-ah.” He tutted, shaking his finger. “Not just yet. You have just changed the fate of an entire world, my chosen. When you chose to leave, you cut the world off from the road in between – you will never be able to return. Surely you wish to see what will happen in its future?”“This place…” Shaak TI murmured, eyes casting their gaze around the various floating obsidian and random objects from assorted worlds just floating about. “The Force is so strong here…”“What you know as ‘the Force’ is known by many things across the multiple universes that make up reality.” The Outsider patiently explained. “For me, it’s simply energy. But a far rarer, more powerful form of energy than it’s normal counterparts.”“So, I was right.” I gasped. “The Force… is natural energy. Senjutsu chakra.”“In your universe, yes.” The Outsider nodded. “But we are getting off-track. Look,” he commanded, gesturing into a white haze that formed far above us, “and see what your intervention has wrought.”And then, like a slideshow, images played in series. Luckily for us (total sarcasm), the Outsider was there to provide much-needed (seriously, sense the sarcasm) commentary. “Aizen is successful in overthrowing the Soul King, and his little wish-making tool subverts the being’s power to his own. He never had the wish for someone as strong as him to stand by him, because he always had your assurance. He, obviously, decided never to use it, and buried his thoughts about you as far as they would go, eventually being forgotten.“Soul Society is rewritten in his image. All souls are forcibly conscripted into the Gotei 13 army, but this turns out for the best as war begins in the human world. He subjugates Hueco Mundo as well and vanquishes every trace of Quincy bloodlines and history in fear of what they could do to the balance he has decided to keep. Eventually, however, his greed grows. He decides to take over Jigoku as well.“The denizens of this universe’s version of hell are far more powerful than the Shinigami, this universe’s version of angels, or even the Hollows – who are this universe’s version of Purgatory for mortals. The king of Jigoku takes offence from Aizen’s actions, and razes all the other spiritual realms to ashes. Eventually, they come to earth in their purest form, and begin the subjugation of the planet. A farm of souls for them to consume. The more they consume, the more powerful they grow, and the more they can ‘punish’ their ‘wicked’.”Oh.“So… I transformed Bleach into hell on earth?” I ask casually.Shaak Ti seems horrified. “I… if only I had seen…”“Oh, believe me, Jedi Master Shaak Ti, there is no other step you could have taken.” The Outsider addresses her. “The moment your ‘Force’ deposited you upon the white sands of Hueco Mundo, that universe was always doomed. It was only a matter of when.” He finished, eyes glinting as they landed on me.I sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder. It was easy, given that she had collapsed to her knees. “You’re making her feel terrible.” I pointed out.“It was not my intention.” The Outsider replied, although, from his tone of voice, one could infer that it was his intention. “Now that I have educated you on the consequences of your actions, I wish for you to answer a question.”“What is it?” I asked, truly curious.His face showed minor irritation. “My mark. It seems to have… metamorphosized. How?”With a confused arch of my eyebrow, I told him of the ‘Prestige’ system and my choice after.“Most curious.” He murmured.“Wait. You didn’t add that to my system?” I asked, shocked.“Not at all. And I am reasonably certain that my rival is far from the fool he appears to be to have inserted the likes of it into your ability.” He narrowed his eyes. “This warrants investigation. When next we meet, I will have an answer for you.” He waved his hand. “To reach your home, simply walk through this portal.” He said, conjuring the same pitch-black orb which I had made a few steps ahead of us.“Wait.” Shaak TI sniffed, wiping her eyes and standing. She was crying…? Why- oh. Wait. She had normal emotions. Right. “Is there nothing we can do for this… ‘Bleach’ universe?”“What has been changed will always be so. When you leave, you set that universe’s future in stone – you may never return. All… except his original home.”“What makes the Elemental Nations so unique?” I asked, dreading the answer.He had the gall to smirk. “You.” And then, he vanished in wisps of black smoke.I shared a glance with Shaak Ti. “Well.” I sighed. “In for a penny…” *** “Lord Hokage.”“What is it, Inu?” Hiruzen asked, puffing on his pipe as he continued stamping on the pile of papers in front of him.“Surveillance Target 1 has approached the tower with someone in tow… he’s currently on the roof.” The ANBU replied. Hiruzen’s attention immediately slid off his paperwork and focused on his agent. “Taka is reporting that the woman is not human.”“A demon?” The Sandaime asked, only half-joking as he stood.“He is unsure.” Inu admitted. “She is surrounded by an illusion that makes her appear human; the signature on it is the target’s. What makes him certain of her foreign nature is her internal organs and the weakness of her chakra – it’s abysmal. The target has also undergone changes from the last time he was observed. His muscles and bones are denser, and he has a massive increase in chakra capacity. Additionally, the chakra coils around his body have strengthened and thickened, especially so his eyes.”“Perhaps Jiraiya was right about it being a Dojutsu…” the old man muttered. “I’ll be talking to him up on the roof. Summon the Sannin. Something tells me I’m going to need their expertise.”“A battle?” Inu asked, skeptical. “Respectfully, Hokage-sama, Gundan-kun has not exhibited traitorous behavior…”“No, not a battle. A headache. For me.” Hiruzen grumbled. “If I have to suffer, then so do my students.”The kneeling ANBU agent’s voice sounded a little choked when he spoke next. “As you wish, Hokage-sama.” He then vanished.Hiruzen took a moment or two to fill his pipe with a stronger brand of dried leaves before he took to the stairs and exited onto the roof of the Hokage tower. His eyes were immediately drawn to the object of his excess paperwork, first, then to the strange woman next to him. Both were garbed in white, standing out even in the daylight. The old man could easily see that the woman was under an external illusion to mask her features. After all, you didn’t get a moniker like ‘the Professor’ for being unobservant. Besides the strange white garments that the two of them wore, however, there was not much he could tell from this distance. Even as he walked up the stairs, he listened in on their conversation intently.“… so much different from Hueco Mundo.” Spoke in a breathy tone, as if giddy. “The Force is truly strong here.”“As I told you, it’s called ‘Natural Energy’ here.” Gundan replied. This was suspicious – why was an Academy Graduate speaking about Senjutsu with a foreign woman? “How do you feel?”“This… Natural Energy… is singing.” She replied. “It’s very strange.”Hiruzen took this moment to involve himself. “To be so in tune with Natural Energy… it is a great gift.” He stifled a chuckle when both child and woman spun to face him with a surprised countenance. “May I ask why the two of you are here on this fine morning?”The woman’s illusion looked strange. She had bright red hair, but skin almost as pale as Gundan’s. Bright amber eyes looked at him with curiousness. She was garbed in a plain white dress that looked very… foreign. “Forgive our boldness, my lord, but I implored this young lad to bring me up to the building that has the best view of the village.”“You can be honest with him, Shaak Ti.” Gundan whispered to her. It warmed Hiruzen’s heart to see a small child like him finding him worthy of trust, especially when you consider that very child is a shinobi at such a young age. “He’s a good man.” He then turned to his leader and bowed. “Hokage-sama, if I may explain…”“Continue.” Hiruzen spoke, highly interested.The boy sighed. “Where to begin… remember how I told you that I used physical energy to manipulate the elements since I do not have a chakra nature?”“Indeed.” Hiruzen puffed on his pipe. “It seems, however, that the ability to do so is unique. Many have attempted to do what you describe, but it is difficult, incredibly so.”Gundan looked at him shrewdly. “You tried it too, didn’t you? Even after I told you how risky it was?”“I believed that the reward far outweighed the risk.” The Hokage admitted. “At least, I believed so until the water in front of me did not move and a finger exploded from the influx of too much physical energy.” He lifted his right hand to show that, indeed, the pinky finger of his was much smaller than normal. “Tsunade was able to use medical ninjutsu to save the rest of it, but I’m afraid it cannot be regenerated.” He watched the emotions play on the boy’s face. Amongst the expected chagrin and irritation, however, there was also guilt. Ah. It was moments like this that he believed the boy was perhaps more human than any of them.“Well… what if I told you that my use of spiritual energy can rip holes in space and time?” the boy asked, trepidation oozing from his voice.Hiruzen froze, then sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Ah. Then I’m guessing that the lady in front of us is not, in fact, from ‘around here’?”Gundan reared back in visible surprise. “How did you- oh. Wait. Hyuuga and Uchiha in the ANBU. Right.” He shook his head. “Yes. She is from another… world.”Hiruzen let silence engulf the rooftop while he thought on it. “This technique… is dangerous. How does it affect time?”“I can transfer my consciousness to a time when I was alive. Any time.” He explained, rubbing his head sheepishly. “However, I can’t travel back before I was five, for some reason. I can also travel to any place I’ve been to – it’s an extension of my…” here he clutched the mark on his hand. “teleportation technique.”Hiruzen inhaled some smoke to steady his nerves. Internally, however, he was screaming in irritation. This boy… “I believe I will not have to caution you not to use it in the future unless dire circumstances strike?”Gundan blinked, as if he had expected more of a reaction. “Of- of course, Hokage-sama.”“Well then. Have you attempted to return her to her home?”“Um… that’s the thing.” The boy sighed. “Whatever I try, it just won’t work. I think it has something of a cooldown, if you will.”That was to be expected. Such a wondrous technique could only be majorly taxing on the user. He absently wondered what sort of consequences would follow for the boy. “Hmm… So there is no way for her to return, at least for the time being. Why don’t you tell us about yourself, miss…?”“Shaak Ti.” The woman answered him. He observed her countenance – it was relaxed even to a seasoned eye, but he could pick up where her muscles tensed in hesitation and a state of battle awareness. “Jedi Master Shaak Ti – I’m a Master of the Jedi Order.”Hiruzen sighed. “I believe this will take a while. Do come in. My students are on their way.” *** “So, you are unsure if our planet is anywhere near this… Coruscant?”I rolled my eyes. Of course, Orochimaru would be interested in Coruscant. Medical advancements far beyond anything we could imagine, and without chakra; technology the likes of which they have never seen; means to travel between the stars…? It was all a shinobi village needed to catapult themselves to the top of the food chain. More, it was all a man obsessed with learning everything under the sun could crave for.“I am not entirely certain we are even in the same universe.” Shaak TI explained. “This planet is drenched in the Force to such a degree that I can feel it healing me internally. Such a planet, no matter how far away, would be like a beacon for all Jedi in the galaxy.”“Intriguing.” Jiraiya murmured. The man had been uncharacteristically focused during the meeting.“Well. Since Gundan-kun has personally vouched for you, I don’t see any harm in letting you enroll as a citizen of Konoha.” Hiruzen smiled. “However, I doubt the poor boy could keep up this illusion around you for any extended length of time.” He turned to Tsunade. “I believe you may have a solution…?”Tsunade pursed her lips. “I’ll need Jiraiya’s help to apply the seal to her.”“Perfect.” Hiruzen nodded. “We can proceed right now. I believe her current appearance is perfect for the template needed. Please proceed.”Watching Jiraiya and Tsunade work in tandem, with Orochimaru butting in with suggestions or corrections, really drove home the point that these were the Sannin – the very model of teamwork and cohesion. Where one’s talents ended, the other’s begun, and even then there were vast areas of knowledge that overlapped. It took a surprising five minutes for the seal to be applied and activated. Apparently, it utilized a portion of the body’s Yin chakra to create a tangible illusion around the person. The illusion could never sink below the skin, however; that would mean that the illusion would lose form since it would be under the base body. Hence, the new, human Shaak Ti had long and voluminous hair the color of her old red skin.“Perfect.” Jiraiya grinned, playing goofy for the first time today. “Of course, there could be some improvements-”“I believe Shaak Ti-san is perfect the way she is, thank you Jiraiya.” Hiruzen sighed, then drew out a form from nowhere. “Please fill this to finalize your placement here.”The woman took the form and paused. “I do not recognize this language.”I frowned. “You’ve been speaking Shinto for the past three hours. How do you not know the written word?”“I have been speaking Korvian. It’s a sister planet to my own.” She corrected.Well… I guess not all creator of fictional universes can be entirely original. “Well, I’ll do it for you then… wait.”Hiruzen, who had arched an eyebrow previously, looked at me.“Uzumaki Tisha.” I murmured, projecting an air of startled realization. “You could be an Uzumaki that was found travelling to Konoha looking for sanctuary. Your hair fits the bill. You could spin a story. You… you could adopt Naruto.”Silence.“I don’t think so.” Jiraiya spoke, all traces of friendliness gone. “Gundan, what remains as a fact is that we don’t know this woman. While you seem to be all buddy-buddy with her, we don’t know what she’s thinking-”“Solved with a simple Yamanaka Mind Probe.” I interrupted effortlessly. “And I’m personally vouching for her. I took down ROOT because they were going to harm Naruto; do you really think I’ll let him be adopted by someone I’m not sure about?”The man pursed his lips but said nothing.“An interesting proposition.” Hiruzen murmured, eyes far away in thought. “And with the effortless way you wield Senjutsu, you could be a boon to the upbringing of young Naruto, too.”“You’re not seriously considering this?” Jiraiya demanded of his sensei. “The whole reason neither Kakashi nor I could take care of the brat was because we didn’t want to draw too much attention to him. If an Uzumaki showed up in Konoha, you can guarantee that the entirety of the Elemental Nations will be focusing on her!”“Attention that she can handle with ease.” I interjected. “Especially since I will be personally training her. Not only does Konoha look better with an Uzumaki in our midst, but Naruto also gets a caring parent, and I don’t have to worry about his safety as much as I do now.”“Why would you be concerned with Naruto’s safety?” Jiraiya demanded.“Your pettiness is showing, Jiraiya.” Surprisingly, it was Tsunade who spoke. “Being a spy, you well know how many ways there are for harm to befall him should he remain in an environment without those who truly care for him. Sure, the village loves him right now, but opinion is a fickle thing. Do you truly want to chance it?”The man crossed his arms and looked away.“I do not see a problem with it.” Hiruzen murmured, gazing at Shaak Ti intently. “Additionally, being so close to an influx of Senjutsu chakra could only be beneficial in containing the beast.”Jiraiya threw his hands up in the air. “Fine! But… but I get visitation rights!”“Done.” Hiruzen agreed.“And the right to teach him when he gets older.”“As long as you don’t share the more… mature… habits you have, that shouldn’t be a problem.” Hiruzen smirked.“I would also like adopt a girl from the orphanage across town.” I added in. Tenten being with someone who could actually understand what was happening to her was going to be a bonus, surely. “She… reminds me of someone I knew.”Hiruzen looked at me oddly. “If that is what you wish.”“But, are you okay with this, Jedi Master Ti?” I asked her to play my part, and this brought everyone to look at her speculatively. “We’re asking you to give up your appearance, your name… everything that makes you who you are. And we’re asking you to adopt a politically-important toddler.”“I am prepared.” She said simply. There was an emotion I couldn’t place under there… was it hope?“Then it is done.” Hiruzen smiled, accepting the form I filled out. “Welcome to Konoha, Uzumaki Tisha, adoptive mother of Uzumaki Naruto.” *** “That was easier than I thought it would be.” She murmured, watching a young Naruto quietly sleeping in a crib next to the one Tenten was asleep in.“I agree.” I smirked. “Playing them was fun, don’t you think?”“I don’t necessarily agree with your methods, but I can’t argue with results.” Shaak Ti sighed, smiling lightly. “I chanced a glance into the future… at the current stage, it’s far too chaotic for me to make much sense of it. However, this… was a good step forward to quelling that chaos.”“Good.” I nodded, then looked around the house. “The compound is a little big, though.”“Lady Tsunade was kind to offer us a place in the Senju Compound.” She chastised me. “I don’t know much of the history of this place – something I will be rectifying soon – but one can easily see the relief in her when we moved in.”“I know, I know.” I waved her off. Something was nagging me, though. Why was Tsunade still here? Dan and Nawaki were dead by this point in time, right? “Plus, there’s a private training ground here, like the Uchiha Clan Compound! That’s going to help loads.”She remained silent for a few minutes, just taking in the sight of a sleeping baby. “What do you plan on doing today?”“Me?” I asked, surprised. “Well, I’m going to pay a visit to my friends until the sun sets. Then I’m going to sleep for an hour… and then I guess I’ll start training to be strong enough to untangle all the threads here.”In fact, I was considering delaying meeting everyone till tomorrow. For me it had been around a year since I last saw them, but for them it’s barely been a day since Team Placements. I can use the day to do many things, especially since I have the [Ninja Art: Shadow Clone Technique] to help. I need to do many things. If my time in Bleach taught me anything, its that an opportunity is best taken advantage of as soon as possible.“I’ll be back by morning.” I waved off her concerned glance. “And you’d best get as much sleep as you can while Naruto and Tenten are out. You’re training indoors on the small stuff until they’re old enough to start taking care of themselves. For now, here. Have a leaf.” I plucked one by reaching out through the window. The compound was apparently stuffed full of them wherever acceptable. “The goal is to have it stick to your skin. Remember to mold your physical and mental energies like I taught you to – don’t use the Force.”Shaak Ti looked at the leaf with a terrifying level of focus.“Alright… you do that. I’m off to train.” I said, backing away slowly, then walking outta there.I guess it’s time to start mastering my skills. I have to face down many enemies if I wanna do what I wanna do… I don’t think I want to level up much, but not maxing out any skills I have would be suicide. If I am going to be an overpowered ninja-wizard, I’d rather be a good one.Yeah, so enemies will be practically giving away their lives the moment they landed in front of me. But something tells me I’m not going to have a dull time at all.I channeled Reiryoku to my eyes and looked around. I still had a team of ANBU watching over me. Hell. Eh, anyway, I’ll just practice what I can in front of them. Taijutsu seems like a good first skill to master on the not-so-long list that I have. I’ll need to find a way to ditch them though… wait a minute!I released a bit of chakra around myself to cloud the Byakugan as I walked behind a house nonchalantly. The moment I was out of their sight, I opened up my inventory and pulled out the [Mirror Dimension] book.PING!
[You have acquired the skill book: Mirror Dimension.
Would you like to learn this skill?]
I quickly tapped yes, managing to finish these actions as soon as I emerged form behind the house, looking as if I hadn’t changed my posture at all.
[You have learned a new skill!
Magic Specialty: Mirror Dimension Access (Active) Lv1 (0.00%)
By learning select knowledge, you have learned to open a doorway into the Mirror Dimension – an alternate layer of reality that naturally coexists with the base. In there, it is much easier to affect the world using magic. Once the doorway has been created, it is impossible to exit without utilizing n interdimensional relocation skill.]
Neat! This totally solves my dilemma! I can train in the Mirror Dimension and use the [Time-Space Gate] to return! Of course, I’m not going to use the ‘time’ aspect of it, but eh. I now have a private space that no one can invade! I wonder how the skill gets better though.I walked to the training ground and stood for a moment, thinking. To pull this off, I need a good plan. How do I go about this without alerting my ANBU watchers to where I went…?Hmm… that could work. “I need to get stronger.” I ‘murmured’ to myself, striking a thinking pose. “How do I go about doing that? I need to train smart, here. I only have so much chakra… wait! What was that technique that Jonin did the other day… the one that creates a solid clone that can transfer memories? Oh, yeah!” I brought my hands up in a cross-seal and readied myself for a quick get-away. “Shadow-clone jutsu!”Chakra-smoke surrounded me for a the briefest of moments. Using that window, I immediately apparated away. Since my clones are ‘born’ with any plan or knowledge in my head, I was sure the two I created could take it from there. This probably won’t work again, but eh.I appeared in Training Ground 3. Quickly looking to see no one around, I deactivated [Void Gaze] and focused on creating an access point to the Mirror Dimension. The sound of tinkling glass echoed through the clearing as the distorted space in front of me appeared as if it were cracked. I quickly walked through.The other side was just as normal. It appeared as if I had not gone anyplace else at all. I turned around and closed the doorway with a gesture and looked about myself.“Strange.” I murmured and started a bit when my voice echoed. I chuckled. So now I was in a place where no one could see, hear, or bother me, and nothing I do affects the outside world. Nice! I cracked my hands and grinned. Let’s see how far I can go with my clones and [Rapid Learner] in the span of half a day and a full night – the skill should see a very fast learning experience, going by how fast I picked up earth and air bending in Karakura.I guess I’m going to have to wait another day to meet my friends. Exploring this new method of training was going to be so much fun! Besides, I actually do have the Team exam tomorrow anyway, so I’ll be seeing Itachi and Mai then.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
PING!
[A skill has levelled up!
Mark of the Outsider (Active) Lv 87 (0.91%)
Granted to those who pique his interest regardless of moral alignment or sanity, the Mark allows you to bend the rules of reality. The Mark allows you to access the capability to cast spells, where otherwise you would need a focus of some sort. With your constant use, it has attuned itself to your energy system thoroughly.
-50% RR costs for spells cast through the Mark.
Branches of Magic: Animation, Combat, Conjuration, Transfiguration, Utility.]
So, apparently, I was right. The new version of the Mark allowed me to cast spells from the Harry Potter universe. When I cast a spell, the Mark glows white and thrums a bit – not painfully, but with a sensation of energy travelling through it. I tried out every single one that I could remember and managed to get it to a high enough level with every increasingly difficult spell. The costs of each varied but given my obscene regeneration rate and large RR pool, costs were practically dirt to me. It helped that around the time it hit level fifty, I got a negative effect to spell costs. If I ever do end up in that universe, I ain’t gonna need a wand, that’s for sure.I checked my new watch, stolen from Karakura and set to the proper Konoha time. There were no wristwatches here yet, so I didn’t see anything wrong with picking it up along with the various food and electronics I pilfered. With an hour to be at a respectable hour at training ground three, I stopped weaving spells around me like a pro and straightened.“Alright guys. It’s time to dispel.” I announced, stretching to get that satisfying pop out of my back. The assorted clones around me immediately halted whatever they were doing.“But, boss, we’re still good to go.” One informed him.Oh yeah. I assigned a skill or two to every five clones and let them have at it. Since I had used my expedient method of creating them, each shadow clone was armed with half of my total chakra. Given the halved time for energy regeneration and the costs of my techniques, especially the chakra ones, that was practically obscene. We had the rest of the day from the afternoon after Tisha adopted Naruto, and the entire night. Being in the Mirror Dimension allowed me to really cut lose. Additionally, it seemed that there was a nuance between my game system and the shadow clone technique that I hadn’t known. If a created skill is practiced, the increase is immediately visible in my system – they don’t need to dispel to transfer the experience. Furthermore, when it came time to evolve the skills in question, my clones could select an option that they – and by extension, I – approved of and the change was visibly in my skill list immediately. Thus, I concluded that only the notifications appeared to me when they dispelled, and not the experience being transferred.Thinking about it, I feel the tiniest bit guilty about probably keeping my ANBU watchers up that long back in the real world. Hopefully they had a shift change; given that Neji was getting more energy by the day, at least from what I remembered, I don’t think Hizashi would quite appreciate what I’m putting them through.“Just because I’ve made my peace with being overpowered, it does not mean we should get there as soon as possible.” I sighed. “That damned skill we got cuts our training time into a third. Given that we’ve been training since yesterday, I really don’t think it will take us long to master all the skills we have even if I create only one clone and laze about all day.”“Actually, boss, we’ve already mastered all the skills we’ve been allotted.” A clone piped up. “One team used the [Time-Space Gate] to travel back to the real world to work on [Silver-tongue] and [Eavesdropping] ages ago.”I blinked. “I must have been really focused on practicing air-bending to not have noticed that. Was it sometime around when I discovered that having [Gamer’s Mind] effectively negated the requirement for me to ‘disconnect myself from my earthly attachments and step into the void’ in order to master the art?”“Yep.” Another nodded. “By the way, it’s totally a relief that the clone that practice combustion-bending didn’t suddenly develop the required tattoo on his head.”Said clone rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why that tattoo was a thing in the first place. Probably meant for them to look cool.”I rubbed my forehead. “Alright. Whatever. So, if all our skills have been mastered save a couple, what’s the point in continuing to exist? Dispel. Now.”They saw the logic in my words. It was to be expected – I mean, they’re me! Wait, does that mean that they should have known about my train of thought in the first place?Thankfully, they began to dispel in the order of skills they’d been given. Three dispelled at once, so every time a group vanished, I got a new notification. It seemed that the group outside got the message too, and dispelled. I guess since everyone had our new eye-technique active, it was the firs one to pop up.PING!
[A skill has leveled up!
Void Gaze (Active) Lv 74 (61.03%)
An eye technique developed due to the entwinement of the Mark of the Outsider with your soul, as well as various little bits of your ability that exist quasi-independently from your physical and mental bubble. The Void Gaze allows you to see energies both in living beings and non-living objects, as well as in the environment around you. Since you can see these nuances of energy, it is easy for you to replicate a skill you have seen performed in front of your eyes. Physical barriers mean nothing to you. You are also able to deduce exactly where the critical points on your enemies are. Hitting these points will allow you to instantly score a critical hit.
Cost: 3RR/sec.]
Wonderful. This is like the Byakugan and Sharingan combined… except that I can’t see all around myself in a sphere, nor can I predict enemy movements. They don’t look much different from my normal eyes, honestly – the sclerae just turn pitch black. I guess it’s something my system derived from the Outsider himself.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Ninja Art: Chakra Enrichment (Active) Lv MAX
By nudging your chakra through an object, you grant a bonus to its properties. For weapons, it adds extra damage and an effect based on chakra type. For armor, it adds extra protection and an effect based on chakra type.
Neutral Chakra:
Weapons: + (INT+STR) Damage
Armor: + (WIS+CON) Durability.]
An OP skill for sure. As my stats scaled, the damage and protection bonuses were going to be massive. Given that my new attribute limit was now probably ten thousand… I shudder to think of the raw damage I’ll be able to unleash as I power on.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Fire-bending Master (Active) Lv MAX
By using your body’s internal workings to regulate energy, you are able to control the destructive element of fire in great magnitudes. As a master of the art, the things you can do with fire are legendary.
Energy refuel limit: 250Units/sec.]
Oh, yeah. Apparently, I can refill someone’s energy using fire-bending. I have no idea how that works. Well, that one episode in Korra showed that old lady scanning the avatar’s energies with Fire-bending, but I’m not really sure how that evolves into the transfer of energy. When I used it on one of my clones, I could choose to refill their QI or RR. There wasn’t a screen that popped up for it, but a passive mental sense that I had to experience. That was strange as hell. I’m willing to bet that if I am to use it on someone who doesn’t actively use their physical and mental energies separately, I’ll be able to target their chakra.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Earth-bending Master (Active) Lv MAX
By using your body’s energy to exert your iron will, you have learned to manipulate the unyielding element of earth. As a master of the art, the things you can do with earth are legendary.
Earth-sense radius: 100km.]
Toph’s Earth-sense was really fun. A bitch to learn, but fun. It had, coincidentally, showed me several lab-like chambers underneath the village. I’m willing to bet those belong to Orochimaru. It also let me know of a single chest buried under the Hokage Mountain. I’m not entirely sure how to get through to it quietly, so I decided to hold off for now.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Air-bending Master (Active) Lv MAX
By using your body’s energy to open yourself up to the nuances of the world around you, you have learned to weave the element of air. As a master of the art, the things you can do with air are legendary.
+99% evasion chance.]
That was a very fun learning experience. I don’t actually need to expend energy to fly anymore; it updated my [Energy Medium] skill! It’s really hard to believe that a juvenile move like Aang’s air-scooter was the thing that really let me grind this skill out like crazy.
[Due to a special action, multiple skills have fused and evolved!
Avatar (Active) Lv MAX
As the vessel for Raava, a spirit dedicated to maintaining balance, you are gifted with unimaginable control over the four basic elements and their derivatives. By using your body’s energy to redirect and flow with change, you are able to control the healing element of water in solid, liquid, and gaseous states. By using your body’s energy to exert your iron will, you have learned to manipulate the unyielding element of earth. By using your body’s internal workings to regulate energy, you are able to control the destructive element of fire in great magnitudes. By using your body’s energy to exert your iron will, you have learned to manipulate the unyielding element of earth. By using your body’s energy to open yourself up to the nuances of the world around you, you have learned to weave the element of air. Your mastery with the elements allow you to manipulate them with the pure power of your mind. In times of great need, you may enter a focused state that allows you finer, yet greater, control than you could ever manage out of.
10Qi/sec in Avatar State.
Water-healing limit: 250HP/sec.
Earth-sense radius: 100km.
Fire-transfer limit: 250Units/sec.
+99% Evasion Chance.]
….Well, since I’m NOT MAD AT ALL, I can totally appreciate what a NOT OVERPOWERED skill this is. Really. I’m TOTALLY fine with this. Yes.Anyway, I can’t dwell on that. I have more notifications to see to.[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Magic Specialty: Titan (Active) Lv MAX
You use magic to enlarge yourself. Along with your physical size, your physical and mental attributes and capabilities gain a boost. Every spell casted in your enlarged form is magnified, and you take less damage.
+10% for every 0.5m on all physical stats.
+1% effectiveness for every 0.5m for all spells.
-50% damage.
Cost: 1 RR/m.]
The values are unbelievable, and it was fun destroying Konoha when you’re huge (given that it would repair itself after a while to reflect the real world again), but I really don’t think I’ll be using this skill at all. Even putting aside the fact that it looks a lot like the Akimichi Clan Hijutsu and thus leaves me able to being sued because of it, I’m not really the ‘grow large and smash’ kinda guy.[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Hollow Method: Pulse (Active) Lv MAX
A sensing technique used only by the most proficient spiritual energy users. As a master in its use, by pulsing out your own spiritual energy and calling it back in, you can pinpoint beacons of energy around you via spiritual resonance over vast distances and gauge their strength.
Max sphere radius: 10km.
Cost: 1% of RR.]
My most useful technique, I’ll admit. It took the clones mastering it having to sleep on the floor and doing it in turns because of the percentage costs of Reiryoku that couldn’t even be kept up with by my totally overpowered regeneration rate. The advantages are well worth it, though. I can sense any sort of energy now, over TEN FUCKING KILOMETERS MAX, and I get back the level of any people hit with it. It’ll be fun for infiltration and stuff since I’m certain nothing can hide from it.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Hollow Method: Steel Skin (Active) Lv MAX
Your mastery of Reiatsu allows you to condense it around your skin, forming a barrier between an incoming attack and you. It cannot be broken, only powered through. Because of this barrier, you take less damage.
-75% damage.
HP + 5000.]
Useful. As. Hell. Shadow clones won’t be so fragile anymore. The jump from ten per level to five thousand is huge, but it was an evolutionary choice between more HP or having a resistance to hollow techniques. Since I’ll probably never be facing the latter, the former was the most viable choice.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Ninja Art: Leaping Locomotion (Active) Lv MAX
Using chakra directed to the lower-leg muscles, one can increase the distance covered by a single bound. Your proficiency allows you to cross distances others can only dream of using a series of jumps.
Speed: 1km/sec.
Cost: 0.1 CP/sec.]
That’s going to come in handy only when I want to get places alone. This, coupled with the Speed-Force, should see me there in an instant, almost. I wonder if there’s a way to teach skills to others…?
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Ninja Art: Chakra Scalpels (Active) Lv MAX
The user forms a sharp blade out of their chakra that covers both the hands from fingertips to wrist at best. It allows them to cut into a living body without breaking the skin, decreasing chances of infection. You can sever nerves, muscles, and even chakra pathways, and choose to solidify your scalpels to inflict damage onto flesh.
Damage: (INT + DEX)
Cost: 0.1CP/min.]
Good for when I need to be understated and low-key. Otherwise? I think I should branch out into medical studies to really get my effort’s worth from this skill. That’s actually one of my next goals. Even though I’m not on Tsunade’s team, I’m on another her old teammate’s. I’ll eat my own shoe if the two never exchange students at least once in a while to cover the bases they can’t teach effectively. And if not, then, well, Orochimaru experiments and stuff, later on in canon. It’d be monumentally stupid for him not to know any medicine at all – I’ll learn from him.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Ninja Art: Thrall of the Shadows (Active) Lv MAX
You surrender to the shadows. This allows you to port directly from one shadow to another. While covered with shadows, you are invisible to everyone. You also gain a higher chance to score a critical hit in any situation as long as this technique is active.
-100% to enemy vision cones.
+50% critical chance.
Cost: 0.1CP/sec.]
Super. Awesome. Skill. Even just the shadow-teleportation thing is super cool, but add in the invisibility thing and you have, like, a superpower or something. I wonder if it would take much effort to learn to manipulate shadows like the Nara do… Hm. Actually, I guess this was a Nara technique that Shishito had laying around.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Ninja Art: Illusory Embodiment (Active) Lv MAX
By ejecting chakra from your body and manipulating it, you are capable of creating a basic illusion of yourself. The image produced is intangible and intelligent but vanishes after ten solid objects pass through it. These are capable of casting illusions on others and reflect the same amount of mastery you possess.
Cost: 1CP/clone.
Maximum Duration: 4000 sec.]
Not… something I’d use a lot, but it was good for the perk points. Until the last moment, when it evolved, the clones working on it were so pissed. I’d have been, too. But the moment they chose this evolution, they were… not excited, but at least not lethargic about it anymore.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Ninja Art: Instant Exchange (Active) Lv MAX
You can instantly substitute with any object at any time. The size of the object poses no difficulty to you and performing this technique continuously does not tire you.
Range: 500m.
Cost: 5CP.]
If it weren’t for the distance limiter, this would be like a pseudo Flying Thunder God. It’d be just sad if something like Substitution could evolve into something like that, though, so I’m glad it didn’t.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Snooping (Passive) Lv MAX
Allows you to hone-in and focus to listen in on things happening around you. External noise no longer disrupts your ability to listen.
Range 250m.]
Useful for spying, I guess. Hey, cool! I’m learning more rogue tricks!
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Serpent-tongue (Passive) Lv MAX
Your mastery with words allows you an amazing chance to persuade targets, compelling them to see your view of thinking and gently tugging them onto your path.
99% chances of success.
+20% chance of working for every positive REP with target.]
This really came as a surprise. I never really thought that It’d shoot up to ninety-nine percent when it reached level hundred, but hey, it’s welcome! Now I’m just a smooth-talker as my Dovakhiin back home! Also, it totally helps the village that I just up-talked Naruto and the Uchiha clan.
[A skill has leveled up!
Eccentricity (Passive) Lv 51 (9.22%)
Sometimes, people don’t understand why you are doing what you are doing. Because of this, they may think you are insane, really foolish, or just plain endearing.
51% chance to earn positive REP with those around you.
49% chance to make those around you think you are crazy.]
Wow, tough crowd out there. Alright, so… the only skills remaining that I can level are [Eccentricity], [Advanced Telepathy], [Void Gaze], [Mark of the Outsider], and [Magic Specialty: Mirror Dimension Access]. I can work on those today after our team disperses! Plus, I’m pretty sure that the two clones fighting out in the real world should have mastered taijutsu by now. Let’s leave and see?Wait, wait. I need to check out my [Inventory] first and check out that Onmitsukido armor set! I can wear it from today instead of these horrendous Espada robes. Like, seriously. I. Hate. White.I opened up my inventory, and there were five pieces of gear. I checked them out carefully.
[Onmitsukido Headgear (Black) – 100/100 DUR
A facemask and an attachable hood worn by Onmitsukido members.
+10% critical chance.]
[Onmitsukido Short-robe (Black) – 100/100 DUR
A simple but tough short-robe tied with an obi worn by Onmitsukido members.
-10% damage.]
[Onmitsukido Gloves (Black) – 100/100 DUR
A simple set of dulled-metal-laden gloves worn by Onmitsukido members.
+10% unarmed damage.]
[Onmitsukido Leggings (Black) – 100/100 DUR
A simple pair of leggings worn by Onmitsukido members.
+50% evasion chance.]
[Onmitsukido Boots (Black) – 100/100 DUR
A simple pair of dulled-metal-tipped boots worn by Onmitsukido members.
Footsteps are silent.]
Holy. I equipped it all immediately. The color was a decent black that would blend well with shadow but also would quite stand out otherwise. The facemask was Kakashi-style, so I set it and the hood down for now. I equipped my Zanpakuto to my back and hopped around a little to get a feel for the new armor. It honestly felt like I wasn’t even wearing anything at all – no weight, no hinderance in movement… nothing!Cool.I looked through my inventory to sort through the items. Alongside a seriously massive amount of junk food, electronics, solar chargers, and a few clothes, there were a couple of items I had totally forgotten about!First up was that arm of Hashirama that Danzo had melded into his body. Hm… how had he done that, again? Oh right – a steady exposure to Senju chakra, courtesy of Orochimaru, and a near-continuous application of healing jutsu for a few days. Hmm… Should I…? Why not? Okay, so learning medical ninjutsu is the next priority. I may have an extensive list of magic in my repertoire, but I’m not sure how it would react with chakra, and I don’t know jack shit about magical healing besides the water-bending variant, which I’m not sure about. So, iryo-ninjutsu is next on the learning list.Second was… that S-rank pay from the Hokage. Ninety-thousand ryo… not bad. Oh boy, Kakashi must be absolutely loaded. I chucked the cash into my [Inventory] and watched the total rise. Wow, I have way too much money. I guess I should start collecting more to start up my Augmentations Company. So that’s on my to-do list.And lastly… oh, the chakra paper. I tapped it and pulled it out, eyeing it speculatively. My chakra is neutral, right? So… what would happen if I used this? Should I use this?I shrugged and pushed it back into my inventory. After the exam today, I’ll split the paper into three and offer a piece to Itachi and Mai. They get to know their affinities too, and it will prevent a total loss of a perfectly good sheet of chakra paper.I created a Time-Space gate and exited out into the real world, then created and dispelled a shadow clone to let the other two know to dispel. Let the ANBU worry about where I got to – it’s not the first disappearing act I pulled.PING!
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Master Brawler (Passive) Lv MAX
You are a master of hand-to-hand combat, able to hemorrhage opponents with a combination of skill, technique, and tactics. Your enemies are almost never able to dodge your attacks, and you now have a much higher chance to score a critical hit.
+95% chance to cause damage to internal organs.
+50% critical chance.
1% evasion chance for opponents.
Styles learned: Konoha Academy Style, Arrancar Hakuda.]
Great! I’m good with just my hands now, too. Nice.I walked to the center of the Training Ground and sat cross-legged on the ground. What to do to pass the time… Ah, wait! The perks! I navigated over to the [Perk] menu and gaped at the amount of points I had in my wallet. Well, of course I have that many, I maxed out almost all of my skills! I rolled my eyes at it, though.Now, between the two, I first purchased [Augmentations], which gave me a passive skill.
[Due to purchasing a perk, a new skill has been created!
Bio-mechanics (Passive) Lv MAX
You know all there is to know about merging technology and the human body via mastering the two fields individually and then bringing them together.
+99% chances of success to create augmentations.
+99% chances of success to implant humans.]
Oh, what do you know! I DID get the knowledge of Adam’s DNA and the idea of the serum with which he was experimented on. This… could be a real life-saver and money-maker. Especially for ninjas. It seems medical studies just took a higher priority. Actually… this will help me with the Hashirama implantation, too! Better be on the safe side, though.Now… I’m not really big on [Zaiphon], especially since I already have a pretty full deck. Hm… I guess… I could give it to someone. But who?“Good morning, Gundan-kun!”I blinked as a familiar voice sounded. I looked up and saw Mai and Itachi looking down at me. Wow, I was so out of it that I didn’t even notice them approach me. I smiled back. “Hey, Mai, Itachi. I take it that the two of you just arrived?”“Yeah.” Mai nodded. “Orochimaru-sensei didn’t even tell us what time to meet him, so we thought dawn was best.”Wait… idea! “Mai, may I see your hand?”“Eh?!” she squeaked, blushing.I quickly waved my hands at her. “No, no, it’s not what you think! I read in a book the other day that by pressing certain points in a person’s dominant arm, their entire body gets relaxed. Since we have the test now, I think it’s best we were at our best, don’t you?”Mai’s blush calmed a little. “Oh. Well… sure.” She thrusted her hand out, still blushing.I stood and took her hand. For some reason, Itachi activated his Sharingan. I shrugged it off and pretended to massage her hand while I surreptitiously drenched her hand in my chakra and tapped at the screens.PING!
[Are you sure you would like to give Yamanaka Mai the Eye of Mikhail?]
Yes. I don’t know what good it will do, but yes.
[You have given Yamanaka Mai the Eye of Mikhail!]
“There you go.” I released her hand.She looked at it oddly. “I… actually feel very relaxed! Thank you, Gundan-kun.”I nodded at her distractedly as I observed the new list of perks in front of me.
[Perks:
1. Bloodline 2 – Unlock a bloodline.
Cost: 250 PP.
2. Mutant Gene 2 – Unlock a mutant gene.
Cost: 250 PP.
3. Magic Specialty 2 – Unlock a specialty field of magic
Cost: 250 PP.
4. Conduit Gene 2 – Unlock a Conduit element.
Cost: 250 PP.]
Okay, so the bloodline is probably a Kekkei-Tota, otherwise known as three-element fusions. I… honestly don’t know who to give that to. If the mutant gene offers the X-men genes, I’m definitely giving Naruto Iceman’s. I don’t know whether it will compound with his ice release or enhance it, but I want him to be awesome, dammit! The Magic specialties better be good ones this time. And as for the conduit gene… it will be from the second game. Hey, another ice-related one, or napalm, or… Ray-sphere lava, I think, plus some swamp monster thing.Okay, so the magic specialty goes to me. I need it. I could give the Ice-conduit gene to Naruto just for kicks and give a different mutation to someone else… Sakura! Oh crap, I complete forgot about her! I’ll give her the mutant gene. But who to give the Kekkei-Tota to…?“Gundan-san, I was wondering if you would do the same for me…?”I blinked, then stifled the urge to face-palm. Of course, Itachi was right here in front of me! “Sure!” I chirped. “Gimme your hand.”Strangely, his Sharingan was still active, but I paid it no mind as I flooded his hand with my chakra. I heard him gasp suddenly, but I didn’t bother to investigate as the excitement of what I was doing came over me for a second. I selected the [Bloodline 2] option and affirmed it.
[Please select one of the following:
Fire + Wind + Lightning = Energy
Fire + Wind + Earth = Dust
Fire + Wind + Water = Scorch
Fire + Lightning + Earth = Steel
Fire + Lightning + Water = Dark
Fire + Earth + Water = Quicklime
Water + Wind + Lightning = Storm
Water + Wind + Earth = Crystal
Water + Lightning + Earth = Power
Earth + Wind + Lightning = Gravity]
Oh. Wow. Um… what do I pick? Itachi is, above all, an efficient ninja. He’s a master of everything from throwables, to swords, to hand to hand… hell, I think he should have been a Kage. So, what do I give such a person?I closed my eyes and just jabbed forward, then opened my eyes.
[You have selected Fire + Wind + Lightning = Energy. Are you sure?]
Nope. But I do wanna give him something, so.
[You have given Uchiha Itachi the Energy Release!]
“There, all done!” I beamed at the boy and let his hand go. “How do you feel?” I asked him, nonchalantly waving the screens away and focusing on him.He was looking at the place my screens were a moment before. Wait, could he have seen them? Nah, if he could, then other Dojutsu users could, and I don’t think they can, so. He finally responded after a long while of silence. “Indebted.”I tilted my head. Was this about the Uchiha Clan thing? Mai spoke for me instead. “For the hand-rub, Itachi-kun?”Itachi finally turned to look at me with a gaze that unnerved me slightly. His eyes were watering. Did I hurt him by accident? “Itachi, you okay?” I asked, putting my hand on his shoulder. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”“No.” he shook his head a little wildly. “Not in the least. Thank you, Gundan-san.”“It… was just a hand-rub…” I trailed, not sure what was happening.“Ah. It is so refreshing to see someone arrive on time.” A voice hissed, and the three of us immediately fell into battle stances until we spotted Orochimaru looking at us amusedly from the top of a tree, yellow eyes glinting in its slight shade. He hopped down a few ways away and smiled at us. It had the mixed impact of making me feel pleasant and unnerved. “Now that you are here, let us begin the test. Your objective is to best me in combat. The first two to do so will pass. The last will be left behind.”PING!
[Main
Quest Alert!
Glare of the Snake
You have passed the Academy and are now faced with the true Genin test. Pass it to officially join the Hidden Leaf village as a team-ninja!
Objective
Pass the Genin exam.
Bonus Objective
Defeat Orochimaru using only Water-bending.
Rewards
+20000 EXP, New Title, Capability to take missions, ?.]
That’s… odd. I’ve never had a bonus objective show up on a quest alert screen before. I guess it’s like a challenge or something. Eh. I accepted the quest. “We know better than to believe that, Orochimaru-sensei.”“Yeah! A team is made up of four members, not three.” Mai added, taking a leap back. “We’d never fall for that.”Itachi just unholstered his Gunbai from his back and held it out in a stance.“Whether or not that is true, you still have to defeat me to pass!” the man hissed with a wide grin and charged.I slid in front of Itachi and pulled water from the grass around us, careful to avoid draining the boy himself, and launched it, taking the man by surprise and blasting him backwards. Before he could hit the ground, however, he faded into mud.“What…?” Itachi trailed, looking at me with wide eyes. “You… that was not ninjutsu, there was no chakra involved. And your eye…”“Now’s not the time, Itachi.” I grumbled, drawing water from the nearby river and healing the grass back, then creating a ring that hovered around the three of us. “For now, just know that I can manipulate water like nobody’s business.”“Hey, yeah! I remember you doing that for that kid you like… Naruto, yeah?” Mai asked, smacking a fist against her open palm. “I thought it was just a jutsu you knew, at the time. Do you have a bloodline?”I paused. “Yes, but that’s not important right now. I’d rather just stick with bending water, if you don’t mind.”Itachi’s eyes narrowed. “That statement… are you implying you can manipulate the other elements as well?”“There’s a time to talk, and a time for action.” Orochimaru’s voice reverberated around us, with no discernible location. I wonder how he’s doing that. “Now, it’s the time for action. A capable ninja must be proficient in the three basic ninja arts, so let’s see how you fare. Lesson one.”Nothing happened. Itachi and Mai shifted, though, and two loud cries of ‘Kai!’ reached me.“Genjutsu detection is exemplary.” Orochimaru noted. “Lesson two.”Suddenly, three clones emerged from the ground, all in front of us. I didn’t think before spinning on my heel and sharpening the water I had into three distinct blades, slicing through the clones with ease. Before I could turn to help my friends, though, a gigantic serpent leapt out of the trees and headbutted me hard enough to fly off and plunge into the water.Big. Mistake. No one hurts my friends, even if it is our sensei!I manipulated currents in order to give me a whirl, then shot out of the river, a tornado of water keeping me aloft. A gesture of my hand had a majority of the body’s volume crashing into the serpent, then freezing solid. I waited a few seconds for it to break out, but it just vanished into smoke.Good.The tornado of water bent, then shot me forward straight towards where Itachi was helping Mai with her Orochimaru clone. Wow, he dealt with one all on his own? I guess he really is a prodigy. I landed a few steps away from the clone and brought my hands from behind me to the front in a large half-circle, blasting it with a large quantity of water.“Taijutsu… passable.” The man’s voice spoke.Itachi’s eye twitched.“Lesson three-”Before he could finish that, Itachi was already running through hand-signs. “Fire Style: Grand Fireball!”From his mouth, a veritable hell-storm surged forth blazing into the trees and setting them alight. The sudden shift of Itachi’s eyes signaled me since I was watching him carefully, and I quickly turned around, bringing up a wall of water and freezing it into ice to block the wind technique Orochimaru used.“I’ve just about had enough of this.” Mai grumbled, forming hand-signs. “Cover me while I take him over. You’ve got to somehow keep him in one place.”Her clan technique. Right. If I didn’t have the bonus objective to look to, I’d have created a shadow clone in the untouched part of the forest and have it swap with her, but I had to stick to water-bending. Eh, you can’t have it all, I guess.Itachi and I both looked at each other and nodded. With a gesture, I phased the wall of ice into water and brought it down, then parted it from the middle to create two spheres of water that hovered in the air. A few meters away from us stood a smirking Orochimaru. “Ninjutsu – also exemplary. Now, where would little children like you learn to do things like this?”I grit my teeth. I probably had more power than he did in his pinky when I maxed my stats! “Do not underestimate an opponent – the only weak opponent is a dead one.” I recited from a book I’d read.He gave a grin full of teeth. “Correct, Gundan-kun. But now… what will you do?”I didn’t have a choice. I dropped the balls of water and switched into a slightly different stance that looked like my water-bending one, but a slight bit altered. “Mai, hit him with it when I give the go-ahead.”“Yes.” She agreed, hands primed for her technique.I inhaled… then exhaled. I reached out with my senses… then grasped.Orochimaru instantly went rigid, his eyes wide in alarm.“Now!”“Mind-body Transfer Technique!” she called out, then slumped over. Itachi quickly darted forward and supported her weight easily, looking at me with wide eyes.“Alright. I’m in.” Mai spoke in Orochimaru’s voice… from Orochimaru’s body. She looked up looking a little disturbed. “Oh god. Having a penis is so gross.”“Mai-san!” Itachi gasped, face red. “That is inappropriate!”“I guess Ryosuke and I rubbed off on her a little bit.” I grinned.“Gundan-san! That’s not much better!” Itachi was close to resembling his brother’s favorite food.“What- oh, wait.” Double entendre. Oops.“Alright, so what do I do now?” Mai asked, tilting Orochimaru’s head. Ugh, that looks so wrong.Itachi sighed, blush receding. “Does this not count as a win for us? I do have some ninja wire on me that we can use to tie him with.”We proceeded to do just that. Given that Mai had control of him now, I let go of his blood and helped Itachi in tying him up as securely as possible. Then, Mai returned to her body, and slowly regained consciousness.“I really hate my clan techniques.” She groused, standing free of Itachi’s support.“Well, well. It seems that I was bested after all.” Orochimaru murmured, and then… poofed into smoke? When the smoke cleared… I sweat-dropped.Sitting now in a very loose set of wire-binding was one Mitarashi Anko, in all her purple-haired glory. She grinned up at us cheekily. “What, you didn’t think it would be that easy to win against sensei, did you? He’s one of the fastest ninjas in the village besides Hokage-sama! Nah, you only fought against plain old Mitarashi Anko, and that’s with me holding back!”“High praise, Anko-chan.” The real Orochimaru hissed, blurring into existence on pure speed alone. Itachi and Mai gasped. I wasn’t quite so impressed – I could do the same if I wished to, after all. With a single dragon hand-sign, he vomited out some water that put out the forest fire Itachi started. “And you three… impressive.” His eyes glinted. “Were you to show even a shred less potential than you did, I would have declined this team on principle alone. I am not one to teach useless cannon-fodder.”Mai gasped and pointed at Anko. “You! We were fighting another Genin all along?!”“Perhaps I spoke too soon.” Orochimaru dryly commented. I managed to hold in my snicker.Anko glared, standing and dusting off her clothes. Hm, she wasn’t wearing her trench-coat yet, just a tan long-sleeved shirt and a skirt. Hm. “I am a Chunin, you-”“So, do we pass?” I asked, a bit urgently. Anko was not one to skim on words, especially the foul ones. “The girl said we’d pass if we bested her, and we did.”“Yes.” He smiled a scary smile. “I suppose you do pass.”PING!
[Quest Complete!
Main Quest: Glare of the Snake
You have passed the Academy and are now faced with the true Genin test. Pass it to officially join the Hidden Leaf village as a team-ninja!
Objective Completed
Pass the Genin Exam
Bonus Objectives Completed
Defeat ‘Orochimaru’ using only Water-bending.
Defeat ‘Orochimaru’ in less than thirty minutes.
Impress the real and fake Orochimaru.
Rewards
+20000 EXP, New Title, Capability to take missions, Water Style: Serpent Manacle Scroll, +REP with Orochimaru, +REP with Mitarashi Anko.]
[You have levelled up multiple times! You are now level 3!
Received 60 stat points and 200 perk points!]
WOAH. Thirty stat points and a hundred perk points per level? Nice!“Now that the test is out of the way…” Mai trailed, then rounded on me with an incredulous expression. “What in the world was that, Gundan-kun? You never told us you had a bloodline! And I thought,” here she sniffed, “I thought we were friends.”I flapped my arms in panic. “No, no, Mai, don’t cry!” Wow that rhymed. I’m a loser. “It’s just… I already got so much flak at the orphanage for my hair from Rufi and Toji… I didn’t want you guys to hate me, too.” I said, making my voice small and fiddling with the mud with my feet. I was laying it on thick, but I didn’t want to deal with a crying prepubescent girl.“Oh, Gundan-kun!” Mai cried out and launched forward to hug me. “We’d never make fun of you, you’re our friend!” she said, then turned to look at Itachi. “Right?”“Of course, Mai-san.” Itachi nodded, then looked at me with… something in his eyes. “Gundan-san, you can be rest assured that we would never think less of you. You are our precious friend after all.”That… why would he say something like that after just knowing me for a year?! “Th- thanks, Itachi, Mai.” I gathered myself and sighed. “Well, if you want to know so badly…” I trailed off, realizing that Orochimaru and Anko were still there. “Um…”“Oh, don’t mind us!” Anko reassured. The sound of her voice caused Mai to jump away from me with a strangled sound. “I, for one, love me some drama.” She grinned, twirling a kunai on her fingers. “Please continue.”Orochimaru simply remained silent.I sighed. “Very well.” I walked a few steps away, then turned back to them and channeled Reiryoku into my eyes. “I call them the Void Gaze.” I explained, slipping into a stance. “You may have noticed I have strange colored eyes. I guess you could say that they allow me control over the four elements.” I whipped my hand around and a stream of water condensed from the air. “Water.” I dispersed it and slammed my foot on the ground, causing four spikes of earth to rise into the air and then hit the ground with a thud. “Earth.” I punched the air at my sides and fire spouted from them, almost brushing the forest again. “Fire.” I spun on the spot and a gust of wind radiated out from around me. “Air. They’re all mine to work with. And that’s not including the sub-elements.”“Sub-elements? And what about lightning, that’s a main chakra type, too, right?” Mai asked, eyes wide. Hm. It seems I’ll have to get used to those expressions being on the faces of people around mem for now.“Well, I don’t use chakra… or any form of energy to control my elements. Theoretically, I shouldn’t have a limit.” I quickly moved on before they had time to dwell on that. “The sub-elements are… other forms of the basic four I can control. For example, as I practiced with water, I learned how to turn it into ice and steam… and eventually… control the blood in people’s bodies.”“That is how you froze Anko-san in place for Mai-san to land her clan technique on you.” Itachi surmised. Oh wow, his Sharingan was active. Wait, how did it have three tomoe already in both of them?! Why were they already this advanced?! If Fugaku did something, I swear…“Yep.” I nodded, not letting any of my inner apprehension show. “I can also control the water in vegetation, to an extent, to manipulate plant-life, but only things like vines or flowers; trees are too rigid for me to bend. That’s for water. For earth, I can also manipulate metal and lava. For fire, there’s lightning and a strange form of combustion. For air, there’s only sound – I haven’t been able to find anything else.” Which is downright strange. I should have had found many more sub-elements to master my bending skills, but maybe they’ll unfold as time went on.“Incredible.” Orochimaru breathed. “What is this strange form of combustion?”I sighed and turned sideways, eyeing one of the boulders uprooted from the ground. Taking a deep breath, I focused… what seemed like a beam of hyper-heated air shot from my forehead and obliterated it into dust.“I see.” Orochimaru said plainly.I cut the connection of Reiryoku to my eyes and eyes the gathered people unsteadily. “Well… what do you think?”“I’m calling bull.” Anko said, finally finding the ability to close and move her jaw like a normal person. “I mean, you practically don’t need to practice ninjutsu at all! You can just” here she did an odd gesture with her arms “bend the elements! The only drawback I can see is your eye-color!”I started to speak but then paused. “My eye-color?” I asked, condensing water from the air into ice and looking at myself. How odd – my eyes were one amber and one crimson. Oh. OH. When I bent water or earth, my eye colors changed to green and blue. When I bent fire or air, it would be like this. How novel. “Well, it’s also not as versatile as ninjutsu.” I pointed out. “Or, at least, I haven’t trained with it enough to have learned more.”“How did you train at all?” Itachi asked, tilting his head. I internally squealed. “Between the Academy, training us, being a socialite, and your own personal time, when, exactly, did you manage to train?”I scratched the back of my head. “I managed to make time. My dream… it needs me to be strong. So, I had to become strong by any means necessary.”“Do your eyes have any other skills or quirks that we should know about?” Orochimaru asked, arching an eyebrow.“Well… I can see chakra, both in and outside people – that means I can also see their chakra points.” I elaborated. “Because I can see the way the energy flows, and because I have perfect memory and chakra control, I can replicate the effects and essentially copy anything I see.”“Like the Sharingan…” Itachi trailed.“That’s it. I’m so done.” Anko raised her hands in the air. “Boyo, your eyes are cheating life.”Ah, if only you knew about the rest of my skills. I chucked awkwardly. “Well… it’s not like I chose to develop them, you know.” And that actually was the truth. [Void Gaze] as a separate skill only formed when I advanced from being a human to a Nephilim.“How about that mark on your hand?” Orochimaru asked, eyes alight with interest. I guess he was trying to milk me for all I was worth since I was finally talking. He and his teacher must have been brainstorming about me since a year, their time. “Where did that come from?”“Well…” I trailed, thinking about how to play this. “It’s something I’d rather not talk about.”Itachi’s eyes narrowed. “Is it not a simple tattoo like we were led to believe?”“Please. Let’s just… not.” I ‘shuddered’. Damn bonus objectives. But being realistic, this was bound to come out sometime. I mean, I’ve practically mutated several people that matter to the story, and some that don’t. “I don’t think I’m strong enough to talk about it yet.” I threw in, hoping they’d just let it go.The clearing was engulfed in silence. While Orochimaru looked suspicious, Anko and my team were looking at me oddly. Wait… was that… sympathy? But then, a smirk graced the man’s features. “If that is what you wish.” Our new sensei allowed. “Since you are now part of a clan, I believe that falls under clan secrets.”“What?!”“Oh, c’mon, sensei!”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell us you were adopted into a clan!” Ryosuke whined. “I mean, really, Gundan!”“I happened just yesterday!” I protested. “I was going to tell Itachi and Mai after the team test, and then you guys when we met next!”Currently, my group of friends and I were gathered at a park in the shinobi district. While Itachi had practically dragged me to his house to bring along his mother and brother, Mai had gathered the rest of the Konoha Seven and brought them here, where they proceeded to grill into me. Obviously, Team 2 had passed their test… whatever it was.“Still!” the boy protested, although less vehemently. “The Uzumaki! You’re now an Uzumaki!”“Adopted.” I pointed out. “I’m not actually related by blood.”“Commoner, aside from a blood-test, there is no way to be certain.” Hideki enlightened me. “Perhaps this new Uzumaki woman found you to be a member and simply has not told you yet.”I highly doubted that, considering Shaak Ti wasn’t even human, and so shook my head. “Nah. The corps has my blood-work on file. We’d know if I was.”“Yes. Because you have a bloodline. How troublesome.” Biko whined. “This is the sort of stuff you tell your friends, Gundan.”I hung my head. “I already told you guys – I just didn’t want to be disliked.” I shook my head and looked up at Mikoto, who seemed endlessly amused. “Mikoto oba-san, please help me.”She smirked and shrugged. “You dug yourself this hole by not believing in your friends, Gundan-kun. You must deal with it.”Traitor aunt!“Gu- da!” Sasuke gurgled, slapping my face.I sighed and wove the water from my glass into a dragon and made it fly around the boy’s head, just out of reach. He happily squirmed around and tried to get at it.“And to think, all this time, I thought it was a jutsu.” Mai sighed. “So, when do we get to meet your new mother and siblings?”“I consider her an aunt, at best.” I reminded them. “And you already know Naruto.”Kitsuna just gave me a look.“Alright, fine.” I sighed. “How about we all meet up this weekend, say… at the Senju Clan Compound? It’s where we’re currently staying. I’m sure Tsunade-sama won’t mind.”“You’re living with Tsunade of the Sannin.” It sounded like a monotone drone coming from Mai, as if she were just as ‘done’ as Anko was earlier today.I sighed as the dragon belched out steam that didn’t even come close to Sasuke. “Yes. But not in the same house. Anyway, I’ll ask her just to be sure. Wait, she’s Team 2’s sensei, right?” I asked, blinking owlishly. “I’ll just catch here when we visit the Training Grounds in the morning. You guys are right next to us, if my memory serves well.”“A party. How quaint.” A familiar voice said, appearing behind us and scaring the crap out of almost everyone there including me... but not Mikoto, or even Sasuke, apparently, who was too engrossed in the flying water dragon to pay much notice. “Am I invited?”“If you’re going to pop in and make us scream again, I’m going to have to say no, Kakashi-senpai.” I sighed. “Besides, we do not know each other well enough.”“But you do know me.” He persisted, although he still did not look up from his green-cover book. ‘Make Out Hot-spring’, really? “Knowing about you from the Bingo book and knowing you as an acquaintance are two very different things.” I pointed out. “Besides, I’d rather not have someone who reads smut in front of children at my place.”The book was instantly snapped shut and set aside. He then blinked at the assortment of people present, before bowing towards Mikoto. “Greetings, Uchiha-sama.”Mikoto looked like she couldn’t decide whether to be angry or amused. “Greetings, Hatake-kun.”“Yo.” He waved at everyone else.“Hatake Kakashi of the Sharingan.” Mai noted, sounding too much like Kitsuna. She then turned to me with a neutral expression. “Are there any other S-rank shinobi you know that we need to know about?”“Gundan always performs the unexpected.” The real Kitsuna offered in way of explanation to Kakashi’s questioning sound.“Like he doesn’t know.” I muttered under my breath.“Oh, that’s right.” He blinked. “I have been made aware of your eyes. Can I hope for privacy on the matter for me and my team?”“As long as the lot of you stop following me around.” I pouted, crossing my arms. “I’m a big boy now, you know.” I smiled, gesturing towards my headband, tied around my arm as it was. “I can take care of myself.”“You’re five.” Biko muttered.“Six, actually.” I shrugged. “It was my birthday a couple of months ago.” I wonder how my time from the Bleach universe in going to factor in, if at all…?The collective blinked. It was odd as fuck. “Your birthday passed by and you didn’t even tell us?!” Ryosuke demanded, looking scandalized.I blinked. “Considering that I got you guys hard and grueling training for a present whenever you lot mentioned your birthday, I thought we could let it slide.”“Gundan-san, your ‘hard and grueling training’ allowed us to graduate early, one would argue it is an invaluable gift.” Itachi pointed out, looking at me as if I was insane. “In addition to that, each of us here owe you far more than simply that for molding us into who we are today.”I blushed. “Look, I’m not really big on birthdays. I forget most of them all the time and so I don’t expect much in return. What’s the big deal?”“What’s the big- ow!” Ryosuke complained.“We totally understand, Gundan-kun.” Mai assured me, although I could see a calculating glint in her eye. “Also, could you please purchase some mochi for me from the stall over there?”As she held out some ryo, Itachi held out his arm for his brother back. Well, maybe she just wants to calm Ryosuke down about the whole birthday thing, hopefully. I stood up and proceeded to do as asked, having a bad feeling all the while. It didn’t help that when I got back to the table, the hushed conversation instantly quietened. Oh well… too late to eavesdrop now.Kakashi stayed with us well into the evening after we ate, trying to make conversation. As budding shinobi, he asked us how our training was going and gave us pointers along with Mikoto on what we should hear up for next. I politely declined their advice, informing the group that I already knew what to work on; I swear I saw his eye twitch.When the group dispersed, Kakashi opted to walk me home.I huffed as we began to short distance walk. “The Senju compound is literally two minutes away. And I can teleport. You know that, so why do this?”He shrugged. “I figured that to move up from ‘ANBU who stalks me’, I should actually spend some time with you in proximity.”“But why does it matter?” I asked, waving to a passing Inazuka member. He had been the one to explain the village economy to me a year ago. “You’re my watcher, I’m your target. What’s the point in being friends?”“At the rate your advancing, it won’t be long until you’re Jonin.” He stated point-blank. “I’d just rather know a fellow genius who could, one day, be watching my back.”I rolled my eyes. I guess having the [Rapid Learner] skill did make me a genius in the most open sense of the word… “I’m not buying that, but I’m not going to be an ass and chase you off when you’re clearly putting an effort into doing this.” I smirked. “Besides, it’s not like you can’t use the company.”His single visible eye narrowed. “I’m not a loner.”“Okay.” I shrugged. “Tell me when the last time was that you spent time with any friends you have outside of a mission?” By this point, we had reached the compound, and he walked in right alongside me without much fanfare. Hm… I suppose I should create a couple of clones to play gate-guards and relieve the ANBU. Probably not anytime soon though.He was silent right until we reached the door of my house. “I don’t see why I must tell you that.”I chuckled. “Whatever let’s you sleep at night, pup. Goodnight, and remember your promise!” I walked in quickly.When I next checked, only Hizashi and he remained as my ANBU watchers. Better, I suppose. It would have been folly to leave a new bloodline totally unguarded after it went public, after all. *** “So that’s it?” Tsunade asked, almost disappointed. “That’s the brat’s secret?”“I wouldn’t be sure.” Kakashi muttered, rubbing his eye. “He still hasn’t come clean to any of us about the Mark yet. The way he said it all those days ago… I think that’s what it’s called.”“Regardless. We can’t afford to pressure him.” Hiruzen said, frowning. “He’s brought a lot to the table to risk breaking his trust in us. He’s not only changed the village’s social climate in every sense, but also redeemed Naruto in the eyes of the villagers. Add to that, he’s managed to diffuse inter-clan tensions far enough that anything left can be counted as friendly rivalry. The way this Shaak Ti appeared is a conundrum, but I won’t have any one of you pressuring him for more information on the Mark. Clearly something happened that day on the waters of Naka Lake – something that we have no clue about or can grasp the idea of. Perhaps the Mark itself is his bloodline, and all these other oddities about him are cropping up from there.”“That would not be too great of a leap.” Orochimaru agreed. “Eye-techniques do not simply occur randomly. He takes us for fools if he believes that that will just slip over our heads like that. Granted, the origins of the Sharingan and Byakugan are lost to time, but they have a history nearly as old as the advent of chakra. His… ‘Void Gaze’ is too powerful to have suddenly appeared in an orphan who simply bears a resemblance to the Niidaime.”“Void Gaze…” Shikaku hummed. “Didn’t Taka say describe the Mark as something similar? A ‘void’ that sucks in his mental energy and sends it off to god knows where?”A minute of silence passed by in the office.“This Shaak Ti… or Uzumaki Tisha, as she’s been renamed,” Orochimaru began, “do you not find it prudent to have her tested? If we were to harness her Senjutsu capabilities…”“She’s already told us about it. Gundan’s already been tested, and I myself have run tests on several blood samples we have on hand of random shinobi.” Tsunade sighed. “Nothing resembling these ‘midichlorians’ exist in our blood. But from the routine test we ran on her, it’s obvious she isn’t lying.” She withdrew a few lab test reports from a file in her hand and set it on the table. “There are tiny micro-organisms in her blood that our equipment could barely detect, and that too was only because they’re practically drinking in the Nature Energy all around us. I tried to extract them, but they don’t survive if not in direct contact with her blood.”“So, for now, at least, this is lost to us.” Hiruzen murmured, then straightened. “I want you to destroy any samples, lab-reports, and any history archived about Gundan-kun and Tisha-san in the Hospital, Tsunade. Have everyone who worked on them report to T&I for immediate memory wiping.”“You’re going to help them remain secret?” Orochimaru asked, disappointed, but intrigued.“I have a feeling about that boy.” Hiruzen admitted, trading glances with Shikaku. “I have a feeling… that he’s going to change our village even more. I won’t pressure him, or have him on our bad side.” He turned to Kakashi. “Effective immediately, you are removed from the ANBU roster. Instead, you will be assigned an extended-duration S-rank mission.”Kakashi sighed. “What is it, Hokage-sama?”“Protect Gundan-kun and help his growth as a shinobi.” Hiruzen ordered. “Lay down your life on the line, if necessary. Jiraiya has already informed me that word of his intelligence has spread beyond the walls of the village. When his other capabilities are more widely known, he’ll be under a microscope by practically every political and military power in the Elemental Nations.” He wearily rubbed the bridge of his nose. “He may very well be an Elite Jonin in capability, but he needs to have the right mindset and tactical know-how to act the part.” He turned to his student next. “Orochimaru, I’m changing your punishment. Instead of having to take D-ranks for the next year, you’re going to focus your attention on making your team as strong as possible. Fugaku was elected as Clan-Head recently, so Itachi is, as of now, the Uchiha heir. Guide him and the Yamanaka girl as best you see fit.”Orochimaru found this news far more pleasing than the lack of invasive tests being done on his student and said boy’s new guardian. “As you wish, sensei.”“A year… oh, wait, for Danzo’s arm.” Shikaku sighed. “Troublesome. Have we found it yet, at all?”“Wait. You’re telling me we haven’t found it and destroyed it yet?!” Tsunade demanded, turning angry. “That’s my grand-father’s genetic material out there, in god-knows whose hands!”“We only had it’s remains on Danzo’s shoulder and the written records to understand what it was, Tsunade, and we haven’t found the arm.” Hiruzen sighed. “It was the reason I had all of Gundan-kun’s equipment stripped and searched. It wasn’t anywhere on him, sealed or otherwise. Perhaps Danzo had a failsafe active on it, but something of this nature wasn’t written up with everything else.” He thought for a moment before turning to Kakashi. “Before you resign, set your team up on a permanent guard around the Senju clan compound.”“Will do.” Kakashi nodded.“Sensei!” Tsunade interrupted, looking far less than pleased. “What are we doing about the arm made from my grandfather’s cells?!”“We already have a couple of ANBU tracking teams on it.” Hiruzen assured her, mollifying her a little. “I also personally made sure that there were no traces of Senju DNA left in Orochimaru’s labs.”Said snake-man eyed his female teammate wearily. “I was only doing as ordered.” He lied.“Whatever. You’re still not off the hook yet.” Tsunade muttered, then turned and strode from the room. As far as she was concerned, the trust she had in Orochimaru was shaken, and would take a long time to renew. The Sannin were teetering on the edge of permanently disbanding. *** I dispersed my shadow clones and smirked at their progress. Having a skill that reduced learning time, in conjunction with this method of training, had allowed me to master my skills at an inhuman pace. I really don’t know why Naruto didn’t just learn everything under the sun using this method… oh wait. The mental feedback. I guess I was lucky that I had [Gamer’s Mind] to take care of that.Okay. Time to look at my screens.I navigated over to my [Character Page] to assign my points and froze. I was supposed to gain two points each to [LCK] and [AGL] per level when I chose the path of the rogue. But now, they read eight points higher. Given that I leveled up twice, that meant four points per level, rather than two.Hell yeah! Being OP for the win! I mean, it’s not like I can fight it at this point, so I’m going to ride this wave for all it’s worth!Also, worth noting, my name had changed from simply Gundan to Uzumaki Gundan, although I didn’t get any bonuses. Probably because I’m adopted and share no actual blood relation with any Uzumaki. Cool, but not really worth anything in my system, I guess.Since I had sixty points, I assigned ten to each. I was a little bummed when I didn’t get a skill as I crossed the threshold, but it made sense. I got a skill at the fifty, hundred-and-fifty, two-hundred-and-fifty, and five-hundred-point thresholds when my attribute cap was a thousand. Now that it was ten times higher…Eh. Whatever.I chose to navigate over to my [Perks] menu next and study it.
[Perks:
1. Mutant Gene 2 – Unlock a mutant gene.
Cost: 250 PP.
2. Magic Specialty 2 – Unlock a specialty field of magic
Cost: 250 PP.
3. Conduit Gene 2 – Unlock a Conduit element.
Cost: 250 PP.]
I had eight-hundred and twenty-five points remaining, so these were doable right now. First off, I selected the [Magic Specialty 2] for myself.
[Please select one of the following:
Air
Water
Earth
Fire
Celestial Gate
Perfume
Archive]
Ugh. I’m getting really tired with all of these ridiculous choices. Well, I’m reasonably sure that Elemental Make won’t have Memory-Make, and besides that, I don’t see any of them worth the shot. The other elements I can easily bend to my will, too. The Celestial Gate magic is too much like summoning for me to be comfortable with. So, I guess that my choice is obvious.
[You have selected Archive magic. Are you sure?]
Not in the least. But let’s give it a whirl!
[You have learned Archive magic!]
PING!
[A skill has been created due to purchasing a perk.
Magic Specialty: Archive (Active) Lv 1 (0.00%)
Using your brain as a pseudo-mainframe and magic to affect the world around you, you transform your magic into a literal super-computer that can compute information and transfer it at a rapid rate. You can also interface with other entities using this skill to lend them it’s benefits.
Features Unlocked: Calculator, Map, Telecommunication.]
Wait… wait, wait, wait… wait a minute. The guy with this spell, didn’t he give Lucy her Urano Metria? So… does than mean that, with enough practice… I can give others my skills?! Yes! This is the very thing I had been looking for! I guess I’ll have to level it up to unlock its features a bit, but hey, this is wonderful! Eh, if only I’d have unlocked this yesterday! Then I’d have been able to make more clones to work on it.Okay, skill-orgasm done. So now, I’ve got a mutant and conduit gene each to deal with…I quickly but quietly made my way up the stairs and into Tenten and Naruto’s room. Thankfully, both were fast asleep. I quickly but gently took Naruto’s hand, and what do you know? I guessed correct. The Five powers most prominent in inFAMOUS 2 were up for grabs. I quickly gave him the Ice Conduit Gene and left it at that.Now, for the mutant gene. I quickly cast a Disillusionment charm over myself and soundlessly apparated to the civilian district. Slipping into [Subterfuge] but casting a Silencio on my feet to be sure, I made my way to the Haruno household. Wait... don't my boots cancel all noise? Eh, whatever. It's good practice.Unfortunately, the entire family was up and running about. I had to wait a couple of hours, during Which I created multiple clones to go and play with Archive, until the family finally fell asleep. I walked up the wall and into Sakura’s room, who was, thankfully, asleep. Taking her arm, I quickly selected and accepted the [Mutant Gene 2] perk.
[Please select one of the following:
Sonic Screaming
Solar Energy Projection
Bestial Morph
Complete Human Shapeshifting
Telepathy
Diamond Skin
Magnetokinesis
Energy Absorption and Redirection
Elemental Control]
These… are all the powers from the X-Men: First Class movie! The one where Sebastian Shaw is the Villain. Holy. But wait, why wasn’t Azazel’s teleportation on here? Eh, there’ll probably be a good reason for it.So, what’s a good choice for someone in her position? I know she’s always been called a banshee in fanfiction, but right now she looks like a little angel sleeping in her bear blanket. Aww! I wish I had a teddy-bear on hand to leave for her.Okay, random choice again.
[Are you sure you would like to give Haruno Sakura Magnetokinesis?]
Sure! I’m all for powerful women!
[You have given Haruno Sakura Magnetokinesis!]
Great. Now that she’s on a surefire way to being super cool, I’m going to go be somewhere where I don’t feel like a creep. Withdrawing my chakra gently and setting her hand down, I quickly vanished back to my room, then dropped the spells and left [Subterfuge], checking my new list of perks.
[Perks:
1. Armiger – Blessed by the Magic Crystal of Insomnia, you have been granted an ancient power.
Cost: 300PP
2. Bloodline 3 – Unlock a Bloodline.
Cost: 300PP
3. Conduit Gene 3 – Unlock a Conduit Gene.
Cost: 300PP
4. Enhanced Mode 1 – Unlock a special phase of your powers.
Cost: 300PP
5. Fullbring Final – Unlock a Fullbring.
Cost: 300PP
6. Magic Specialty 3 – Unlock a Magic Specialty.
Cost: 300PP
7. Mutant Gene 3 – Unlock a Mutant Gene.
Cost: 300PP
8. Signature Weapon 1 – Unlock access to a renown weapon as one of your Zanpakuto forms.
Cost: 300PP]
Oh boy. Eight? That would mean I need… two-thousand and four hundred points. Damn I’m grateful for the level up bonus of a hundred, or else I’d have to master a rather large number of skills. Okay, so planning…Armiger will go to Tenten. I’ll just have to make sure none of Noctis’ Sasuke-esque behavior develops in her. Given her propensity for weapons in canon, this is the perfect power for her to have. It even fits well with her summoning. Bloodline three will have four elements now… I’ll give that to Hideki. It will probably drag him to the front-lines, but damn if he doesn’t deserve something good – he’s a tsundere, but a tsundere that I’m friends with. That reminds me, I still need to find a way to train Mai in the use of Zaiphon. I wonder how I’ll do that… never mind; I’ll figure something out eventually. The Fullbring can go to… Biko – the only one of my friends I haven’t powered up yet. Hey, it says final! So that means… there’s at least another set of Conduit, Mutant, and Magic options… oh boy.I’m itching to give the Conduit gene to one of my friends, but I don’t know which one and to whom. I’ll probably have a choice between the Second Son powers, so… Video. Definitely. Neon may look aesthetically pleasing, but Video is massive in sheer capability. That will go to… Ryosuke? He’s an orphan so people won’t be too taken aback if he suddenly develops strange powers. The Mutant gene can go to… someone. I’ll figure it out later.Three will go to me. Enhanced Mode is probably like a powerup that fictional characters use, like Goku’s Super Saiyan Mode or Natsu’s Lightning-Flame Mode. I can’t wait to see what it can be. No one else I know can use magic, so there. And since only I have a Zanpakuto amongst everyone I know, I’m the only logical choice.So, there. That’s a good plan all hashed out. Now, I have a hundred and one perk points on hand, so I will need at least a hundred and ninety-nine more to purchase another. God, only leveling up ain’t gonna cut it fast enough for me. Hopefully the experience required only grows by five-thousand each time; since I’ve become a Nephilim a lot of things have changed in the system.Great. Now that I’m done with that, it’s time to go to ask Tsunade about the gathering, then on to team training!A full hour later saw an almost exasperated Orochimaru looking at a sheepish trio of Genin and an amused Anko. Tsunade seemed very interested in me… I think that Hiruzen and the Sannin are talking about me behind my back. She quizzed Itachi, Mai (the two of whom were already present), and me on my control and teaching thereof but was not very surprised when I showed her my mastery on the subject. I wonder what she would have said had I shown her my flight skill…? Regardless, she did allow the gathering to take place, but on the caveat that the Sannin and Hokage be allowed to attend. Needless to say, Mai was thrilled.“Since you three have decided to show, we will begin our first day as active duty ninja.” Orochimaru began reaching into his pocket and pulling out three sheets of paper. I almost smacked my forehead in irritation – I forgot about the chakra paper thing again! “Since we will be occupied performing only training for the next year, I refuse to lag behind. Let us begin by testing your elemental affinities.”“Sensei, if I may ask,” Itachi spoke up, “will we not be performing missions?”“Our team has been banned from missions for a reason I don’t find that you need to know of.” He said, making the three of us sweat-drop. I wonder why that happened… “Here.” He said, handing the papers out. “Channel your chakra through it and we can observe the results.”The three of us looked at each other and did just that.Itachi’s paper split cleanly into two sharp halves. One burned up almost immediately, and another crinkled until it formed a ball. Mai’s paper was drenched so bad it almost lost its shape. Mine… remained the same.“Strong wind, fire, and lightning affinities.” Orochimaru noted, looking at Itachi’s paper curiously. “Three elements from the beginning… my, my. We do have a prodigy on our hands.”Itachi blushed but said nothing, looking at me meaningfully. I arched an eyebrow, wondering what that was all about.“A strong water affinity.” Orochimaru noted, observing Mai’s paper. “Almost strange to find one in Fire Country, but that is a boon for us.”Mai blushed, but asked, “Sensei, how is it strange? Didn’t the Niidaime have a water affinity?”Orochimaru sighed but indulged her. “The Five Great Countries are named because of more than a flight of fancy. In Fire country, almost all the inhabitants have a primary fire affinity. In Water Country, the same happens with a water affinity, and so on. The only exception to this is Wind Country, who find an affinity for fire or earth most of the time – wind is truly a rare affinity to have.” He explained, looking at Itachi. “Of the active shinobi currently in Konoha, only two have a natural wind affinity – Sarutobi Asuma, and me.”Oh, yeah. Orochimaru was especially fond of wind ninjutsu, I remember from the manga. He threw around Great Breakthroughs like they were going out of style.“Since Water is the natural opposite of Fire, that you have an affinity for it is out of the norm.” he continued. “There are currently only eight active ninjas in Konoha with this element naturally.”“Sensei, you keep saying ‘naturally’.” I noted. “What’s the reason for your emphasis on it?”He smirked for some unknown reason. “Good catch, Gundan-kun.” Oh god. Even when he’s not being evil, he sounds pedophilic. Why hasn’t anyone called him out on it yet? “The natural affinity of a ninja is one he is most inclined to. Whatever element he may choose to use, he will never find as great results as he would with said element. However, he may choose to develop an affinity to another element. In this case, his developed affinity will never be as strong as his natural one, but it will be far better to use than other elements he has not worked on.”That made sense. So, if canon Naruto tried a lightning jutsu, he’d have been able to use it, but it would not be as effective as Sasuke’s – at least, before he got Ashura’s powers. “Then, that means…” I trailed, looking down at my paper.“Correct. Normally, if you so choose, you can develop an affinity for an element.” He nodded, then gently took the paper out of my hands and eyed it critically. “Your case is an exception. You see, it is impossible for any living organism to have elementally-unaligned chakra. Whether they be newborns, animals, or plants, all who live and have chakra possess a propensity to a certain element. You posses none.” He turned to hold the sheet of paper up for everyone present to examine. “Notice how none of the standard effects are being represented on this paper, even a little? This is theoretically impossible and violates many recognized laws of chakra nature.”“But it’s because of his bloodline, right?” Mai asked, face scrunched up. “Since his bloodline is the first to emerge of its kind, at least publicly, shouldn’t it be seen as a quirk of it?”“That is the case, yes.” Orochimaru allowed. Wow, even Anko seemed really into this impromptu lecture; but that’s probably because she worshiped the ground the snake-sage walked on… at least for now. “However, unless we test it further, we can’t be sure. Given that his chakra is neutral in nature, I am hesitant to allow him to perform any elemental-manipulation exercise and risk losing his bloodline completely.”I doubt that would happen, otherwise I’d never be able to learn bending in the first place. I’m pretty sure I was born with neutral chakra so that I could pick my favorite Bloodline from the perks’ menu. If everything went as planned, I’d have an affinity to all the elements soon enough.“So, let us not dwell on this for now.” Our teacher interrupted our individual silent musings. “Since we now know your elements, I can teach you some jutsu that I know.” He brought his hand up in a cross and created two clones, who began to herd Itachi and Mai to different parts of our training ground. “Anko-chan, you must continue your poison-brewing practice. Unseal your chemistry set and begin.” He ordered.“Hai, sensei!” said girl saluted, before turning and heading for a relatively flat stretch of ground a few paces away.“That girl… talented, but tactless.” He muttered, then turned to me.I didn’t feel comfortable with the way he was regarding me. “What will we be doing, sensei?”He was quiet for a moment. “I… am unsure.” He said. From his tone of voice, he wasn’t very happy about it either. “What do you wish to learn?”“Well…” I trailed, honestly unsure myself. “I’m an expert with taijutsu and genjutsu, and my sword skills are the best in the world, so I guess I should move on to mastering the other ninja arts besides ninjutsu. I would like to learn medical ninjutsu and sealing, in that order.”He looked at me with a growing smirk. “Expert in three branches of shinobi combat? Care to show me?”I shifted from foot to foot. “Um… sure…? How, though?”“In a spar, of course.” He spoke as if I was an idiot. “We will be testing your combat skills first, and your illusion skills after.” Saying that, he opened his mouth and reached into it with his hand, and pulled out a straight, simple looking sword. I wasn’t fooled, though. That was the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, the sword made by the Rikudo Senin that can cut through anything. Would it cut through my Zanpakuto, too, I wonder?Only one way to find out.PING!
[Main Quest Alert!
Underneath the Molting Skin
Your new teacher, Orochimaru, wishes to test your claims about your ability. Prove yourself right.
Objectives
Best Orochimaru in a kenjutsu spar.
Best Orochimaru in a taijutsu spar.
Pass Orochimaru’s genjutsu test.
Bonus Objectives
Do not use any special Zanpakuto souls during the spar.
Rewards
50000 EXP, +REP with Orochimaru, +REP with Mitarashi Anko, +REP with ?, ?]
I accepted the quest, and, not reacting to his odd way of unsheathing his sword in the least since I secretly found it to be cool, simply reached behind and undid my Zanpakuto sheath, holding it loosely in my left hand to go into my favorite sword stance. “As you wish. I will be using Iaido, if that is fine with you.”His face split into a grin. “You may use whatever you wish.”I cocked my head. “Very well. Let’s begin, sensei.”And then we clashed.He thrusted forward with his sword, but I parried it and used the opportunity to slash his arm. His expression was priceless. I had wondered what he would look like when he realized I was holding back in the test yesterday. Now, I guess, this was it.Form there, we devolved into a dance of blades. Instinctively, I channeled Reiryoku to my eyes. Every strike of his, I parried with my sheath and retaliated with my sword. For every contortion his wove his body through, I danced around him. For every time he increased his speed, I calmly matched with my own tempo.Sometime during the clash, I scanned him.
[Orochimaru – Level 94
(Incomplete Snake Sage)
Race - Human
HP - 23910/26100
CP - 31950/32300
Constitution - 261
Strength - 285
Agility - 398
Intelligence - 323
Luck - 50
Wisdom - 210
After being orphaned, Orochimaru was mystified with the idea of immortality. To that end, he worked himself endlessly through his life, using his clever mind to spot every trick in the book and make several new ones to work smartly on his way to power. He believes that, by mastering all ninjutsu, he will be able to achieve true immortality. A brilliant scientist and gifted learner, he allied himself with the snakes due to using the summoning jutsu without having signed a contract – it is perhaps because of this alliance that he opted to present himself as a member of his summoning species more than a human.]
Those stats were beyond the standard five-points-per-level rule. He’s augmented himself immensely and worked hard to get where he is.Pity he’s still human. Each stat point of mine is ten times as effective when compared to one of his. I already outmatch him in every way, except for his hit-points and chakra-level, something which I’m inclined to believe uses a different system for NPCs.That title though… it was worth looking into it. I wonder if I can see his race and title only because I ascended?I ducked under a swing of his sword and struck his stomach hard with the hilt of mine, sending him flying and crashing into a tree.PING!I ignored that and slashed my sword downward, and then sheathed it. “Is that proof enough, sensei?”When the cloud of dust cleared, Orochimaru was sitting at the bottom of a tree that crashed, rubbing his stomach. “Impressive.” He murmured, but his eyes looked hungry. Oh god, I wasn’t doing anyone any favors by winning against him, was I? Well, I can’t exactly fail this quest, and for some reason it makes me have a better relationship with him? I’ll have to abuse [Serpent-tongue] to get him back on track, I suppose. “Why did my sword not cut yours?”“My sword is special, too.” I shrugged. “More than that, it is the spirit behind the man who wields the sword that matters, not the weapon itself.”“Is that so?” he asked, standing and popping his shoulder back in its socket. “How?”“You fight to win.” I explained, setting my sword back on my back and crossing my arms. “I fight to prove myself to you, so that I can grow stronger to protect those important to me.” Images of Naruto and Shaak Ti flashed through my mind. “Thus, my will is stronger than yours.”“Nonsense.” He spat. “Your sword is simply superior to mine, impossible as it may be.” He then proceeded to swallow his own weapon. “That is the answer.”I shook my head. “It is not my sword, but my beliefs that strengthen me. That is how, without an ounce of formal combat training, I was able to take down ROOT in a single evening. My mind thought then what it thinks now – I need to protect my own.”“You and sensei would get along famously.” He snarled. “A shinobi’s strength comes from his chakra, his skill, his arsenal! Not his ‘heart’!”“Is that so?” I arched an eyebrow. “Then let me prove you wrong.” I slid into a familiar stance. “I will best you with my fists as well, while holding myself back.”“If I win,” Orochimaru said, slipping into a strange stance of his own, “you will give me your sword.”“And if I win, you will have to spend an hour with me every day, whenever I say, for the next year.” I responded in kind, smirking. “Deal?”His face twisted in a grimace before it lost all emotion altogether. “Deal. Let’s begin!”PING!Not now!The taijutsu match-up went much the same. He was an impressive contortionist, but I was a master at hand-to-hand fighting. There wasn’t much he could do to take me by surprise with my eyes switched on given that this was a no-ninjutsu battle. We dodged and struck almost in tandem, like a strange dance of violence that only we were privy to. Fighting a ninja was far different than fighting an Arrancar, that was for sure. The souls were all power and no finesse, while the humans were balanced in both areas. It was only de to my maxed-out skill that I was able to surpass him while staying well-below what my highest speed was.PING!Oh for fuck’s sake!The bout ended when he recovered from an over-balance that I forced him to take. While he rolled forward on the ground, I leapt over him and kicked him like a football, sending him flying and hitting another tree. I scanned the cloud, to be sure.
[H
P -
1962/26100]
Woah. I… am. AWESOME! I just owned OROCHIMARU in COMBAT! HOLY FUCK! I SO don’t regret being as strong as I am! Well, being a Nephilim is a huge part of it due to the way my stats overpower his, but still!There was the sound of coughing from the dust cloud, which soon was carried away by the breeze. He looked up at me with a conflicted expression. “How?! How can you win against me?! I have done many things to reach where I am today! You are a brat barely out of the Academy!”I simply straightened and shrugged. “I told you. You fight only for yourself. I know you seek immortality, Orochimaru-sensei; I have my way of knowing such things. What you don’t realize is that it’s not our age that makes us immortal, but the memories we make whilst we live.” Cheap advice from me, given that if I worked hard enough at it, I could probably be functionally immortal as well. “Until you seek false happiness, you’ll never be able to beat me.”PING!I ignored that as the both of us stared steadily at each other. He, with a snarl on his face, and I, with a small smile.Eventually, he scoffed and opened his mouth wide. Two hands emerged from within and spread it even wider, and soon, a saliva-covered Orochimaru emerged from the previous body. Wait, did he already experiment on himself to make himself that snake-of-snakes?! Wait, no, Sasuke used the technique, too, in his battle against Itachi, so I guess it was just a normal technique.“Your genjutsu aptitude remains to be tested.” He growled, and then went through rapid hand-signs.Silence. I felt a bit awkward just standing there, so I spoke. “Um… sensei, genjutsu doesn’t work on me.”I could see the vein in his forehead throbbing with his anger and irritation. “Fine! Cast one of yours at me, then, and let’s see if I can break it.”Here we go. My one last chance to shove him onto a better path. I didn’t bother with hand-signs, and merely let my gaze connect with his. Instantly, he was on the ground an unconscious, in a dream fabricated to test his version of happiness against a normal person’s.“Sensei!/Gundan-kun!”I blinked, then turned around. Anko, Itachi, and Mai, were rapidly approaching. I noticed that the man’s shadow clones had popped… probably because he was off in la-la-land.I held out my hand to prevent Anko from approaching. “Stop. We’re still not finished with our bout. When he wakes, we will be done.”She glared at me, pointing at me accusingly. “Who are you?! It is impossible for a six-year-old brat from the Academy to defeat Orochimaru-sensei!”I chuckled. “Rest assured, I am Gundan, truly. I’m just… talented.”The three boggled at me as if I was insane.“You… just took on a Sannin… and won.” Mai spoke flatly. Odd. Was Kitsuna affecting her more than I thought?“Yes…?” I trailed, wondering where the question was.Given that the three were content in boggling their eyes and looking at me, I turned to regard my screens.
[The Void Gaze has copied the Swordsmanship Style: Serpent’s Tail!]
[Serpent-tongue was successful!]
[The Void Gaze has copied the Martial Arts Style: Snake Style!]
[Serpent-tongue was successful!]
Oh, wow. Cool.“Gundan-san… just how strong are you?”I turned to Itachi and sighed. “I’m strong because of many reasons, Itachi. Honestly, no one can really understand them. Tisha oba-chan might, but no one else.”Mai just screamed in aggravation. “This is unbelievable! First, you have a hidden bloodline that none of us knew about! Now, you’re a combatant on par with Orochimaru of the Sannin! Why are you even a Genin?!”I frowned. “I may be strong, but I have good reasons for remaining where I am.”“Oh yeah?” Anko challenged, crossing her arms. “What is it? Does the Hokage not know? Are you actually a secret ANBU plant? Are you-”“The Hokage offered me a Jonin position right after I… right after I rescued Naruto from a shadow organization much like ANBU.” I admitted, somehow unable to meet their eyes. “He’s a person of interest to many factions for many reasons – and before you ask, they’re S-rank secrets.” I ran a hand through my hair and looked at the sky. “I refused the promotion. The look on Hokage-sama and Jiraiya’s faces were laugh-worthy. I didn’t know why I did it at first. But when they asked… I already knew.”“What was the reason?” Itachi whispered. I still couldn’t bring myself to look at him.“It was… you guys.” I answered back. I finally brought my eyes down to look at the expressions of pure shock on their faces. “You, Itachi, and you, Mai. Also Hideki, Ryosuke, Biko, Kitsuna… I couldn’t leave you guys behind.” Dammit why were my eyes leaking? “For better or for worse, you guys were stuck with me the moment you agreed to join our little study group – we’re the Konoha Seven, dammit! We either advance altogether, or not at all!” I said, waving my hands about. “Some measly promotion ain’t gonna separate us, no sir!”The two of them were emotional. Dammit, I was emotional. Wasn’t there a skill to prevent this? Why was it not seeing sadness as a ‘mental debilitation’?“Gundan-san…” Itachi trailed, looking at me with wet eyes.“Gundan-kun…” Mai whispered. Her eyes weren’t any drier.“You’re an idiot.” Anko whispered, crying for some reason as well.I wiped my eyes and shrugged. “So yeah, I’m stupidly powerful, and I’ll only continue to grow. But… I want you guys to grow right alongside me.”“Ugh…” Orochimaru groaned. We all turned to see him slowly getting to his feet.“Sensei!” Anko called out, running towards him to help. She was just about to offer a hand but flinched back, unsure.Her face morphed from anxious hesitance to surprised joy when the man grasped her shoulder to steady himself. “Thank you, Anko-chan…”“Sensei…” Anko trailed, eyes wide.Okay… so maybe my [Serpent-tongue] worked wonderfully…Orochimaru looked up at me and… oh hell. His eyes were clouded with indecision. The scary monster of a man from just a few minutes ago was gone, replaced by a weary man who just wanted a door out. He turned to gaze at the three of us collectively. “I need… I need to see my sensei.” The man straightened, then looked at me head-on. “From tomorrow… I will train the three of you to the best of my ability. For today, I think Gundan-kun is more than adequate to train you both.”My eyes were wide. Okay, I think it worked a bit too well…He looked at Anko next. “Meet me at the Main Lab in the afternoon. There is something I must do.” And in the next second, he vanished in a swirl of leaves.The four of us stared at the spot he was in for a long moment, before Anko turned and launched at me, hugging me so tight I was afraid my HP would start falling. “I don’t know what you did… but thank you.” Then she released me and messed my hair. She vanished, too.PING![Quest Complete!
Main Quest: Underneath the Molting Skin
Your new teacher, Orochimaru, wishes to test your claims about your ability. Prove yourself right.
Objectives Completed
Best Orochimaru in a kenjutsu spar.
Best Orochimaru in a taijutsu spar.
Pass Orochimaru’s genjutsu test.
Bonus Objectives Completed
Do not use any special Zanpakuto souls during the spar.
Best Orochimaru in all three bouts in less than ten minutes total.
Change Orochimaru’s worldview.
Rewards
50000 EXP, +REP with Orochimaru, +REP with Mitarashi Anko, +REP with Sarutobi Hiruzen, 300PP, Ninja Art: Speed Enhancement Scroll, +REP with Jiraiya, +REP with Tsunade]
[You have levelled up multiple times! You are now level 5!
Received 60 stat points and 200 perk points!]
Whew. That’s… wow. I swiped that away and looked at the spot she occupied with a sad smile. I guess… at her heart, she was always someone who loved Orochimaru after all.“Gundan…”I sighed and turned to two anxious messes. “Look, I get it if you guys don’t like me anymore…”“No!” Mai interrupted me immediately, eye brimming with tears. “How could you possibly say that?! You’re so… you!”I blinked at her. “Okay…”“In the beginning…” she started, then sniffed and squared her shoulders. “In the beginning, mom asked me to be your friend. I didn’t know what to think when I met you the first day at the Academy and was shocked beyond belief when you said you wanted to pass out in a year. I knew that I’d have to pass along with you because we were supposed to be on the same team.” She admitted, looking at the ground.Okay, nothing I didn’t already know.“But then… I got to know you.” She continued, smiling a small smile. “The way you are, the way you behaved… the way you cared… Gundan-kun, no one amongst us is weary of you. I can say this with complete confidence that we looked to you for support in this past year. The way you took care of us, took care of Naruto, and took care of the village… it won our hearts. I think Hideki and Ryosuke both like you more than all of us combined.”Wait… what?“So… yeah. Tomorrow you might spring a new bomb on us, but we aren’t leaving. We may be mad, we may not understand why you have to keep all these secrets…” here, she looked up at me resolutely. Next to her, Itachi did the same. “but you’re never going to get rid of us, not but a long shot. We don’t call you our mother because it’s funny – we call you that because you’ve nurtured and helped us grow the way a mother would.”“Mai…” I trailed, honestly unsure how to deal with this. My heart felt like it would explode any moment.“We all feel the same, Gundan-san.” Itachi added his own two cents. “None of us would ever abandon you, no matter what.”“You guys…” What the HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO SAY HERE?! WHAT WORDS COULD POSSIBLY FIT THIS SITUATION-Oh, fuck it all.I lurched forwards and brought them both in a crushing hug. “You six are my family… and I swear: no harm will ever come to you or yours while I breathe.”“Figures.” My mumbled somewhere over my head. “You’ll just bash them over the head like you bashed Orochimaru-sensei.”I laughed a shaky laugh as I withdrew and looked up (a little) at the two of them with a wide smile. “So… what now?”“Now,” Itachi answered, “you train us.”“Yeah.” Mai nodded. “We’ve got a whole day to use.” She squinted at me. “What… do you have for us?”I decided to give them something good. “Well, I’m good with this technique called Chakra Nagashi…”“That’s a Jonin-level skill.” Itachi simply noted – no surprise, no inflection.“Well, he’s a Jonin-level ninja.” Mai shrugged. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s gotta be good.” She clapped her hands. “Let’s get started!”“Wait, before that…” I cleared my throat. “What exactly did you mean by that thing with Hideki and Ryosuke?”The two of them paled a little.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
My hands, a small flame burning in each, worked a fixed ellipsoid over Itachi’s body. Slowly, the boy’s exhausted countenance was replaced by his usual calm and near-stoic demeanor. Just to be safe, I kept it up for a little while more than necessary before dismissing the flames and smiling. “There you go. Now, continue practicing.”He had an easy smile on his lips. “Hai, okaa-san.”I pouted as he quickly rose to his feet and walked a few paces away from the shade of the tree I was currently lazing under. Orochimaru hadn’t come to any of our team meetings for the full week. Tomorrow we had unanimously decided to take an off-day from our training to be in good spirits for something no one would tell me about set to happen in the evening, although I wasn’t doing much of it visibly. There was a very good reason for that.“It’s a pity that only you can rejuvenate someone’s energy like that. Medics would love to get their hands on a similar technique.”I sighed and turned to regard the teenager next to me with a neutral gaze. “Kakashi, if you’re not teaching me anything, you must simply remain silent.”“And distract you from… staring at your hands?” he asked, tilting his head.Ugh, he was so infuriating. “I’m trying to create a technique; I’ll have you know.” I muttered, cupping my hands to my side. “It’s just… difficult.”And it really was. The Kamehameha was not as easy to create or use as Goku had made it seem. Granted, the only information I had on that franchise was the limited exposure to one of the games, Dragonball Z Budokai 3, I think, or at least something along that line. The only information that I had to go on was that it was a beam of some sort. The only other things I knew about the franchise was that he had a monkey tail or something, he had an attack named Spirit Bomb even though it used chi, and there was a dance they could use to fuse two people together. I didn’t much like that anime, to be honest.“Sure.” He drawled, in a way that made me want to smack him. “Need any help?”“No, thank you.” I answered far too quickly. “Um… I already have a similar attack that… holy shit! Kakashi, you’re a genius!”“I know.” He eye-smiled. “But in what-”“Silence!”I stood and walked a couple of steps away. I cupped my hands to my side and concentrated. I’m gathering physical energy in the space between my palms. It’s being gathered. Gathered. It’s contained in a thin shell. A very easy-to-poke shell. The energy is so volatile, it’s barely being contained. It’s almost too chaotic, but it’s a chaos I control.I opened my eyes and saw that there was a brightly-shining white ball between my hands. Okay, step one down. Now comes the hard part.I thrust my hands forward, and imagined the shell gaining a tiny hole…BOOM!A beam of pure chi emerged from my hands and shot straight ahead, making a hole in the three trees it passed through.PING!
[You have created a new skill! Would you like to name it?]
Curious, I selected no.
[Due to a special action, a skill has been created!
Saiyan Move: Kamehameha (Active)
Lv 1 (99.0%)
After condensing your chi into a ball, you poke a hole in its shell to launch a concentrated beam of pure energy forwards.
Damage: 100HP
Cost: 250QI
]
It was just like a cero! Well, besides the different energy being used, and the fact that you only had to poke a hole in it rather than rip its shell entirely.I stood and smirked. This was another skill for my clones to master. I waited the few seconds it took for my energies to regenerate, then created a clone to go off somewhere he wouldn’t be seen to enter the Mirror Dimension and practice it. You know, it’s odd that the access skill hasn’t leveled up even a single percent. There’s probably a very good reason for that, one that I’ll later curse myself for missing.“An interesting technique...” Kakashi said from next to me, making me yelp in shock.Unthinkingly, I reached out and smacked his shoulder. “Don’t do that!”He looked at his shoulder, then at me, and blinked. “Ow.”Huffing, I pointed at him accusingly. “You’re an Elite Jonin. That was like a feather’s caress or you.” … Not. Since I’m a Nephilim and no longer a human, my stats are ten times as effective as a normal person’s in this world. I wonder how much pain he didn’t let show.“Ma… you’re so overdramatic.” He rolled his visible eye. “It’s like dealing with a child.”“I’m six!” I indignantly reminded him. “Even in this messed up world, I’m still technically a child!”“You know what I mean.” He waved me off, although his eye tightened a tiny bit.I groaned, turning around to see my teammates/friends/students practicing Chakra Flow with their respective weapons against one each of my clones – Itachi with his Gunbai and Mai with her Naginata that I gifted her. “Don’t you have anything better to do than bug me?”“Nope.” He spoke all too cheerfully. “I’m going to be spending a lot of time with you, so get used to it.”“Go bug Anko!” I hissed, jabbing in the general direction of the girl without looking. She was also practicing against one of my clones but was using regular kunai for weapons. “Ask her on a date or something but leave me alone!”“I’m wounded.” Kakashi clutched at his heart. “You have hurt my feelings.”“Good. Now leave.” I nodded resolutely. “I need to find a way to get started on medical studies and sealing, and you’re not helping.”“But we haven’t done anything fun!” he whined. “You’ve just been teaching your co-minions for the past few days, and you worked on that technique all day! Let’s just settle down and read some books.”Oh, yeah. The day after I began instructing Mai and Kakashi on Chakra Control, Leaping, and Flow, I got a new skill.
[Teaching (Passive) Lv 1 (0.00%)
You are able to coach others in what you know.
10% chances of success.
-0.5% to learning time for your students.]
It quickly built up to its current eighty-seven level of success, courtesy to teaching Naruto and Tenten their alphabet and numbers. When it crosses level ninety, I’ll have a hundred percent chances of success, which would mean that nothing I teach others would ever go over their heads. Hell, I’d probably be able to teach animals how to dance! That would mean that I can get started on Naruto’s and Tenten’s education early, especially given their special circumstances.“Have you considered that I like to teach?” I grumbled, turning back around to glare at him. “And besides, I would love to read. But,” I quickly stopped him from speaking by holding up a finger, “I want to read medical and sealing books, not… not… smut!”“Excuse me?!” he gasped. “The Make-Out series is a marvel of literature!”“On the opposite end of the spectrum!” I snapped. “Now either leave me alone or teach me something I don’t know!”He made to speak, then paused. It was disturbing how much emotion of his was unreadable given than only a single eye and a little surrounding skin was visible. “If I teach you something, will you teach me something, too?”My eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What would you like to learn?”“I want to trade knowledge. I’ll give you a scroll on something impossible to learn in Konoha, while you teach me that technique of yours that you just made.” He said plainly.I narrowed my eyes further. “You do realize that there’s nothing I can’t deconstruct on my own given enough time and motivation?”He shrugged. “That’s not my problem. I’ll give you the scroll that anyone else interested in the field would kill for. It’s not much use to me since I can’t effectively involve the techniques it’s meant for in my repertoire. In return, you’ll teach me…?”I judged him for a moment, looking up and into his eyes to gauge his sincerity. In the end, I sighed. “The technique I just used utilizes only what you know as Yang chakra. Can you separate your chakra into the two?”“Yes.” He nodded. “I learned how to do so while I… was creating a technique of my own.”Ah, the Chidori. “Alright then. Go get the scroll, and I’ll teach you the Kamehameha.”“‘Kamehameha’?” he asked, tone amused.“Just go.” I waved him off.He was gone and back in less than a minute and tossed me a crimson-colored scroll. “Here.”I examined the name written on it. “‘Dancing Characters’… this is a sealing manual! How did you get this?!”He looked at me as if I was an idiot.“Oh. Right. ANBU.” I sighed, then created a shadow clone. “Here. He’ll stick with you today and teach it to you. Why do you wanna know it so bad, anyway?”“I have a technique I was thinking about… this might help me learn it.” He said simply, then put a hand on the clone’s shoulder and vanished.How strange. Anyway, I’ve actually got something to do while my clones master all my skills! This is great! *** “Well done!” I beamed. I’m glad that they’ve finally gotten it down! I’m pretty sure this is due to the progress in my skill; never underestimate the difficulty in teaching babies; I have a newfound respect for my parents. “Now that you’ve learned Chakra Flow and Leaping, and are moderately good with control, I’m offering you a choice. You can tell me anything you want to learn, and I’ll teach you.” After I learn it myself, of course. It won’t take all that much time.Mai tilted her head and made that cute thinking face that only children our age can. “Well… I wanted to learn Sealing.”I looked at her pensively. “Sure. Just give me two days to gather the necessary materials.” Read: steal them. I’m pretty sure I can’t master Fuinjutsu from just a single scroll – I think it’s high time I raided the Hokage’s personal library. He’s called the ‘Professor’, so he’s bound to have something on hand. Plus, there was that Forbidden Scroll of Seals that Naruto stole in the start of his story, so at least my efforts won’t be wasted; even though by ‘effort’, I mean waltzing in with a couple of tacked on spells. “So, we can work on chakra control in the mean-time?”She nodded happily. “Sure! A shinobi should always train chakra control in their spare time, after all!”Oh yeah, I keep forgetting that normal people’s skills can deteriorate if not practiced over time, doubly so for control. “Alright.” I turned to my other teammate. “How about you, Itachi?”“I would like to train my bloodline.” He spoke, eyeing me meaningfully.I looked at him a bit oddly. There were these looks he’d give me at times he thought I wasn’t looking that unnerved me. Oh god, I hope it’s not another crush like Hideki and Ryosuke have on me. Having to put those two down was going to be hard enough, but with him, our camaraderie might be affected. Oh, well, I guess there’s no helping it. “Sure.” I created a clone. “Mai, this one will instruct you on the Chakra String technique. You can work on it until you’re exhausted, and then…”“Don’t worry, Gundan-kun. I have to meditate regularly to focus my clan techniques… I can work on that when I’m low on chakra.” She assured me, then followed my clone a few ways away, far enough that we couldn’t be heard.I turned to my other teammate with a heavy sigh. “Alright, Itachi, we’re effectively alone. During the past few days, you’ve been looking at me oddly, as if I should get something you’re trying to convey. What is it?”He looked unsure for the barest of moments before he seemingly steeled himself and spoke. “I know you’ve done something to my chakra system, Gundan-san.”I froze. “What?”“Before our Genin Exam.” He explained. “Your chakra felt oddly rampant, so I activated my Sharingan to check. When you grasped Mai-san’s hand, you injected some of your chakra into her network and caused it to change. It became calmer, and stronger, all at once. Oddly, there was a strange energy signature near her left palm, but I had dismissed it as irrelevant… until you did something similar to me.”Oh. What a relief – he didn’t see my system screens. Good. Still, I better play this well. I shuffled my feet in signs of nervousness and wrung my hands together. “What… what did you see happen to you?”“Orochimaru-sensei’s lecture on chakra natures was incomplete.” He continued. “Yes, people are born with elemental inclinations. Yes, it is impossible for anyone to have neutral chakra, like you do, because of your bloodline. But what he didn’t mention was that every standard living creature has only one elemental inclination by birth. Naturally occurring multiple affinities are a sign of only one thing… a bloodline.”Hey, that’s convenient! So, this is how Yagura differentiated bloodline-holders from-FUCK! I totally forgot about the bloodline massacres in the Mist! I need to get there as fast as possible! Holy hell, how could I just not remember something like this?! But… I need to keep my cool until the end of this afternoon and leave a clone behind to escape quietly. I can go and be back before morning… yes, that’s what I’ll do. “I… I’m sorry if I’ve offended you in any way-”“Nonsense.” Itachi resolutely said, putting both his hands on my shoulders. “I feel only gratitude for what you have done. Never feel otherwise. And worry not about your secret – I have not and will not inform anyone that it was you who gave it to me.”I ‘deflated’ in relief. “Good… Itachi, what I did that day, it’s unique to each person. What I do is inject my chakra into someone’s system to bring up the latent potential that lies inactive within them. Not many people have this potential and may not believe me when I say so. Once I do it, it also takes a certain number of days before I can do it again – the only reason I could do it twice that day was that I hadn’t done it in a long while.”Itachi listened to my spiel with rapt attention and nodded at the end. “I suspected as much. It is obvious that, otherwise, you would have empowered the entire village was it within your capability.” He offered a rare smile.I snorted and punched his shoulder lightly, making sure that my body language was now relaxed. “Meanie. Anyway, do you have any idea what it could be…? Yours has three elements… so it’s a Bloodline Selection as opposed to a Limit.”“I… am unsure.” He frowned. “I combed through the Uchiha Clan Archives just to see if any of my ancestors had a combination of these elements, but none did. I think I’m going to have to focus on my elemental training and see what happens. I have already begun working on the second stage of Fire Elemental Manipulation – what remains is Wind and Lightning.”“I think I can get Kakashi to teach you about Lightning Elemental Manipulation in exchange for a technique, and Orochimaru sensei can help you with Wind.” I mused. “Then we can work on channeling the chakra through your body and creating a technique to see what happens, but we should take it a step at a time, just in case.”“Agreed.” He nodded. “If I may ask… what exactly is your relationship with Kakashi-senpai?”“I have no idea what that scarecrow is thinking by stalking me.” I flat out said. “However, if he’s around, we should take advantage of his presence. I don’t know any Lightning users besides him… do you?”“No.” Itachi shook his head. “I believe that he is the only Lightning Element-inclined ninja within Konoha.”Wow. That… made a lot of sense. “Hm. Okay, then, I’ll ask him the next time I see him.”“Ask me what?”I whirled and threw a dozen shuriken straight at the source of the voice. My situational awareness was top-notch, and I knew that it was Kakashi, but I needed to project some weakness. Hey, this could be my quirk! “Don’t do that!” I chastised him the moment he dodged them all.“That’s not a nice way to welcome your superior.” He drawled, then walked over to us and crouched down. “So, what do you need my help with?”Itachi simply smiled and made his way to train on his own. Giving him privacy in his use of what was undoubtedly Uchiha-Clan oriented fire-training, I turned away from him completely and leveled Kakashi with a glare. “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”“So are you.” He shot back, eye-smiling. “Is it not only polite to play along?”I grumbled, truly this time. Letting people know about you had their drawbacks. “Whatever. Well, I need your help with Itachi’s training. He needs to learn Lightning Manipulation later on.”He hummed. “A bloodline. That is a circumstance only seen twice before in the Uchiha Clan.”“Oh, really?” I asked, curious.“Indeed. Before Uchiha Madara became the clan’s most infamous shinobi, there was another – Uchiha Kagome, a woman with strange abilities. It is said she could look into the Pure World, and converse with those present. She could also… bring someone back.” He said as if it were nothing.I was floored. An Uchiha Necromancer? I guess this was the inspiration for Tobirama’s jutsu… “What happened to her?”“She just… went missing one day.” Kakashi shrugged. “Some say she still haunts the forests of HI no Kuni, hungry for souls to devour.”“You’re a terrible story-teller.” I scoffed. But seriously, who would’ve thought? “And the other?”“Uchiha Jin.” Kakashi continued, eye drifting to the sky. “He had an elemental bloodline called the Typhoon Release. As a bastard Uchiha, he was shunned for the longest time until he awoke it, and became Clan Head three generations before Uchiha Madara.”“You seem to know quite a lot about the Uchiha Clan.” I commented. “I didn’t take you for the scholar type.”“No one would take you for one either.” He shrugged. “What do I get in exchange for teaching him?”“Another technique, if you want?” I hedged, honestly unsure.He shook his head. “No… instead, I would like a favor.” *** I sighed as the memory feedback from the clones hit me. It wasn’t a bother to deal with, but it did mean I was all the stronger now. I never could decide whether is was a happy or resigned emotion.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Educating (Passive) Lv MAX
You are able to coach others in what you know perfectly. Due to investing a lot of time spreading knowledge, you are able to bypass the negatives of having an unfavorable reputation with your students and tech them regardless.
-50% to learning time for your students
.]
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Magic Specialty: Archive (Active)
Lv MAX
Using your brain as a pseudo-mainframe and magic to affect the world around you, you transform yourself into a literal super-computer that can compute information and transfer it at a rapid rate. You can also interface with other entities using this skill to lend them its benefits. While Archive is active and you are the sole presence in your network, the flow of time is slowed down.
Features Unlocked: Calculator, Connect, Emulation, Library, Map, Office, Skill Download/Upload, Synchronize, Telecommunication.
Time Dilation: 75% ]
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Dark Gaze (Active)
Lv MAX
An eye technique developed due to the entwinement of the Mark of the Outsider with your soul, as well as various little bits of your ability that exist quasi-independently from your physical and mental bubble. The Dark Gaze allows you to see energies both in living beings and non-living objects, as well as in the environment around you. Physical barriers mean nothing to your sight. Since you can see these nuances of energy, it is easy for you to replicate a skill you have seen performed in front of your eyes. You are able to use your eyes as a focus to cast magic, along with being able to deduce exactly where the critical points on your enemies are; hitting these points will allow you to instantly score a critical hit.
]
Perfect. This is going to help me a lot with where I’m going.I didn’t want to bother with a disguise – I’d rather people recognize me and know that crossing me is… suicide. Instead, I simply tied my leaf headband actually onto my head and grasped my sword’s sheath loosely in my left hand.“I foresee some interesting things.”“Master Ti.” I greeted, turning to look at her with a smile. “Good afternoon. How are the two brats?”“Out with your clone.” She said, looking a bit tired. “Chakra control exercises are… difficult.”“It’s because of your Force. It’s running through you, forcibly expanding your energy coils now that it had access to it.” I explained. “Not only is working large coils difficult but…” here I activated [Dark Gaze] “they’re continuously expanding. You already have more chakra than most Chunin, otherwise known as journeymen ninja.”“Will they ever stop expanding?” she asked, frowning.“I’m… not sure.” I hedged. Hm… given that she’s going to have so much chakra, though… “Give me your hand.”She looked at me as if I was crazy. “No. No more. I am already-”“You’re going to have a lot of chakra.” I patiently informed her. “It is only good sense to make use of it. The midichlorians that live in your body are filling your now-active chakra system with the Force, somehow negating the petrification aspect of Natural Energy. You’re almost in a perpetual Sage-Mode that just keeps getting more powerful as your chakra reserves grow, and that happens as you gather more of your Force.”She sighed. “I’m not sure about this decision.”“We seldom are.” I shrugged, then gently took her hands and navigated over to the perk menu and selected [Bloodline 3].
[Please select one of the following:
Wind + Lightning + Earth + Water = All-Killing Ash Bones
Lightning + Earth + Water + Fire = Organic Transformation
Earth + Water + Fire + Wind = Regeneration of the Primordial Chaos
Water + Fire + Wind + Lightning = All-Encompassing Light
Fire + Wind + Lightning + Earth = Inorganic Transmutation]
I informed her of her choices and watched the emotions play across her face with an unfair bit of smugness. Ha! Now I’m not going to be the only over-powered person running around!“I… I don’t know…” she bit her lip, looking a bit terrified. “How does anyone make a choice between those?!”I felt a bit guilty now, damn. “Not sure. I’m guessing you don’t want the All-Killing Ash Bones, though?”She nodded, eyebrows furrowed. “Yes. I… I believe the Regeneration…”Hm, I could definitely see where she’s coming from. Not only does she already have a lot in the way of attack and no defense, but she already has the Ionic Conduit Gene, which means she doesn’t necessarily need Lightning Chakra at all. Plus, the bloodline sounds awesome; not that it may be a factor in her deciding, of course.“Are you sure?” I ask, holding her hand over the option in question. “By choosing this option, you’re covering all your bases b having every other basic element that you can’t control come effectively under, but you’ll forever wonder what the other options would do.”She bit her lip, then breathed deeply. “I would rather not do this altogether, but you’re right. I… feel a great calamity approaching. While the Force on this planet does not allow me the skill of foresight, there certainly are vague feelings that I can interpret. Having this sort of power would be… beneficial.”I almost groaned. Of course, there was a calamity approaching – nothing could ever be just sunshine and rainbows, no matter how short a while.I accepted it anyhow and withdrew my chakra from her body, then looked at her with my new eye-technique still active. “No irregularities in your network, just the continual expansion. However, I can see your elemental inclinations now… how do you feel? You’re the first person I’ve done this to who can talk.”She looked at me with exasperation. “Of course… I feel well – no different than before.”I tilted my head. “Hmm… okay. Well, after my clone puts you through another set of chakra control exercises, I’ll see what we can do about practicing your elemental manipulation.” Seeing her confused look, I explained further. “For each of the five basic elemental affiliations that exist in this world, there are two exercises meant to allow a person better control, understanding, and feel of their chakra. These exercises will undoubtedly help you control your new bloodline better since I don’t know much about it.”She frowned. “Given your foreknowledge, have you really not heard of this before?”“Nope.” I popped the ‘p’ and deactivated my eyes. “Most of the bloodlines I know about I’ve already seen. There are many in the options I was presented with that I never even thought existed, honestly.”She hummed but said nothing, brows furrowed in thought.“Anyway, I’m off to… somewhere.” I said lamely. “I don’t know when I’ll be back, but it will be before morning.” I walked up to my clone and had it dispel. Immediately, I was filled with that new sense of pride I started feeling when I fooled around with teaching. Naruto and Tenten both called me ‘nii’… I have no idea how to feel about this, so I ignored it for now. I created another in its place. “This one will guide you and take care of the babes until I return, so worry not.”She turned to look at me with a sigh. “Just… simply be here on time tomorrow afternoon.”I arched an eyebrow. “You’re in on it, too?”“You won’t dislike what your friends have planned for you.” Was all Shaak Ti said on the matter. “On that note, Mai is an excellent origami folder.”Eh…“Okay.” I shrugged. “See you in a few hours.” And then I slipped into stealth and the Speed-Force and vanished from the spot.Okay… so I’m headed to the Mist. Yay. But what do I do there? Do I sneak in the village and use [Serpent-tongue] to turn public opinion on Yagura? Nah, the poor guy is under an illusion and does not deserve it. Wait, Obito doesn’t have Shishui’s Mangekyo. This means that if I can break him out of the illusion, my work will be done since it isn’t an absolute technique. Okay, that should be easy with [Telepathy], right?Yeah, I guess- HOLD THE FUCK UP.I backtracked a few paces and, yes, I just passed through Wave. Oh god, the number of times that I’ve seen the wave mission go through in fanfiction… I just wanted fanfic authors all around the world to just be done with it, seriously. Plus, it totally sucks that a businessman and a corrupt daimyo was all it took for this village to fall into ruin.I sped around the place a bit until I stopped in an alley. The people here weren’t as bad off in canon, yet, but they were well on their way there. How should I handle this…?Quick-plan – make a bridge, heal the sick, gather food for them. That should give them a big enough head-start in life. Gato can’t place a foothold here if the village was never this pathetic in the first place.PING!
[Side Quest Alert!
Raising Nami
You have seen and read enough iterations of the salvation of the village known as Wave. End this repetitive horror prematurely.
Objectives
Build a bridge connecting the island to the mainland.
Heal all the sick in the village.
Gather enough meat (0/100kg).
Repair the dam.
Bonus Objectives
Sow feelings of gratitude for Konoha in the populace of Nami.
Rewards
10000EXP, ?]
…..Dammit.Okay, Mist can wait one more day, right? I mean, it’s been a year since I’ve been living in the Elemental Nations, and no word has come of the bloody civil war happening yet. I shouldn’t be too late by just delaying my mission one more day.Just as I was about to accept it, though, I frowned. A recovering population with nothing in the way of defense… they would be prime targets for bandits and brigands of all kinds. Hmm…I accepted the quest and created a shadow clone, which leaped off the branch I was currently perched on and made his way back the same path I came, eager to finish one off all the bandits in Nami no Kuni – the Speed-Force and my sensing ought to be enough to track all of them down in a night. I waited a few seconds, and then another clone came into existence and sped towards the capital city to try and get word on Gato – if I fix up Nami, he’ll just find another dilapidated town to control; a man like that can’t be left unchecked. Another clone a few seconds later was assigned the tedious duty of hunting, skinning, and gathering meat and pelts – useful not only for clothes but also furnishings and stuff.I, myself, simply leaped back to beyond the island limits, got down onto the main road, and began walking at a leisurely pace, not doing anything to hide my identity and ensuring that my head-band was firmly in place. A few seconds of walking quickly brought me to the shore. I looked around, feeling a bit curious. Nami was a fishing village, so surely there should be-Aha.“Um, excuse me.” I politely offered to a curious-looking fisherman docked at the shore. “Can you tell me the way to Nami, please?”“It’s just across the river.” He answered, eyes flashing to my head-band then back to my face. “Who wants to know?”“I’m Uzumaki Gundan, a ninja of the Hidden Leaf.” I told him. “I was told to visit Nami no Kuni and help to improve life there.”“Why?” the man asked, looking a strange mix of surprise and relief. “I mean, not that I’m not grateful, but we’ve been neighbors ever since Whirlpool fell, and yet he Leaf hasn’t tried to help us.”I shrugged, looking at a loss myself. “I honestly don’t know. I mean, I was wondering the exact same thing, let me tell you. I guess we just finally realized we’re not the only people we’ve got to look after in the world.” I offered a disarming smile.He grinned. “You look a little young to be a ninja, but you’re far smarter than other kids your age, so that fits. The name’s Kaiza. I can take you across and to the village of Suisen, if you want.” He patted his boat fondly. “This girl is the fastest rowboat in these waters.”Oh. Wait. Now I know where I remember his face from. This guy is Inari’s step-father someone. But wait, I gotta play this cool; I frowned. “So… the only way to get across to Nami is by boat? Sorry, but that would eventually mean that your economy would go into a steady decline, being so cut off from the rest of the world.”The man’s grin faltered, and he sighed a heavy sigh. “Ain’t that true, kid. You can only grow so much in the same ground repeatedly, after all, and the transport of goods costs and takes too much. There was some talk around town of making a bridge, but we don’t have the resources needed to take care of it.”Bingo. “A bridge? Interesting idea…”“I wouldn’t lay that on your superiors, kid. Making a bridge that long and that big costs a pretty Ryo.” The man smiled sadly.I looked surprised. “No, Kaiza-san, I was going to build it myself. With ninjutsu.”He looked shocked, then skeptical. “You can do something like that?”I grinned and offered him a thumbs-up. “I have a special bloodline that lets me control the elements better than any other shinobi alive. Give me a crack at it, and I promise you won’t be disappointed.”He smiled a bit but then deflated. “But… we wouldn’t know how to pay you…”“I don’t need payment.” I shook my head resolutely. “Just… I can only do so much, so in return for me making this bridge and offering whatever help I can, you have to promise me that you will help these people get back on their own two feet.”He had a strange expression on his face. “Kid, I’ve not even been around here for long – I just moved down south from Tetsu no Kuni. What makes you think they’ll listen to me?”Tetsu? Kaiza was from the Land of Iron? That… is something not mentioned in canon. “Okay, then lead me to someone who is looked up to around here, and I will do the rest.” I said resolutely.He looked at me for a long moment, as if measuring me. Suddenly, I was struck with a strong feeling that there was much more to this man than met the eye. I scanned him just to be sure.
[Muramasa Kaiza – Level 98
(Legendary Smith)
Race - Human (Immortal)
HP - 78000/78000
CP - 74500/74500
Constitution - 780
Strength - 846
Agility - 892
Intelligence - 745
Luck - 50
Wisdom - 910
?]
Um… WHAT?! No, wait, deep breaths… so I was right – even ascending beyond humanity didn’t allow my scans to tell me what I don’t already know as background information. But… holy hell – this was THE Muramasa! And… he’s immortal. Wonderful… well, at least I know that this definitely wasn’t the case in canon. Plus, how does he hide his massive chakra levels from sensors and stuff, being alive as long as he has? Oh, wait, of course. He’s learned to seal – that’s how he makes his swords so amazing. Damn. But wait, Kaiza died in the original story, right? So, was this more Gamer shenanigans, or was there more to his death than canon told us?Eh, it’s not important. Immortal or not, blood still runs in his veins. If he’s a threat, I can take him.“Alright, kid. Let’s see what you can do.” He crossed his arms and grinned at me.I shrugged nonchalantly and turned to leap back up onto the flatter ground, while Kaiza opted to keep his façade and climb like a civilian after securing his boat. Well, I’m not going to call out the man on lying when I do it so much myself.I walked to a good starting point and turned to look back over at the wide river. Wow, this is going to be like the Bandra-Worli Bridge back home; no wonder Team 7 was so impressed with the construction. On that matter, how did Tazuna even get as far as he had with construction when Gato would obviously actively try to suppress his efforts? Is that a plot-hole right there?I shrugged and fell into my earth-bending stance, then slammed a foot on the ground. Chi pulsed out in waves from my foot, crossed my sensing range, and then got back to me with lots of information. Alright, so if the river-bed was that deep, and the shore was that far away…I shoved my hands down, almost touching the ground, and grasped the earth in a long, wide stretch between this shore and the next. Then, I heaved.An earthquake seemed to rend the area. A mild one, but one, nonetheless. The water ahead of us began to ripple, then wave out from the center as I brought land up.I heard something behind me but didn’t dwell on it as I focused on my goal. The water was rushing outwards towards both sides now, and I could see the earth beneath the water. Soon, it broke through the surface and continued to rise until it was level with the roads on either side. A stomp on the ground compressed it and hardened it into a tough rock. A series of gestures ensured that there was ample space for water to flow beneath. Twin gestured made the rock on either side rise up a bit to act as rails.And there. A large, very wide, hard-to-destroy bridge.I dusted imaginary dust off my hands and turned to a gaping Kaiza. “Alright. Lead on.”“Kid…” he looked at the bridge as if he wasn’t even sure it existed. He walked past me and carefully stepped on it, then hopped up and down as if it would suddenly give. You now, for being immortal, he isn’t much of a believer in people’s skills. “I didn’t know ninja could do this.”“Not ninja, just me.” I clarified, walking up to him. He fell into step beside me without even prompting. “I have a bloodline, as I told you.”“That’s a helluva powerful bloodline.” He commented, looking at me oddly. “Did you use a lot of energy?”“Not a single drop.” I grinned. “It’s a bonus to being me, I guess.”“I never heard of such a bloodline among those big-uns back in Whirlpool.” He continued. “Yours must be the first of its kind, eh?”Ah, curiosity killed the cat – he just revealed too much. However, I wasn’t going to call him out on it. “I’m not actually an Uzumaki.” I shook my head. “I was adopted into the clan by a survivor because I took care of a baby clan-member in the orphanage we were both at.” I smiled sadly. “I wonder where all the Uzumaki are, now… the Leaf would welcome them with open arms.”The rest of the walk passed in fun conversation. Kaiza wanted to know all about the Leaf, Naruto, and Tenten. I told him how much was safe about those three topics. Then, he wanted to know more about me personally. I guess I piqued his interest – not that I blame him, mind; if someone did what I had done in front of me, I’d be pretty curious about them, too. On the way there, a clone popped and let me know that more than enough meat had been gathered, already.Suisen turned out to be the very village Tazuna lived in. It was a couple of hours’ worth a walk away from the new bridge and looked far better than what it did in canon. The people were livelier, there were children playing about, and, perhaps most importantly, it wasn’t deathly silent. People waved to Kaiza as he walked about and offered me curious looks. Finally, after walked a little way into town, Kaiza led me to a little larger-than-normal but still simple-looking house.A young girl opened the door, rather nondescript, honestly, and smiled at Kaiza. A quick scan told me she was just as ordinary as she looked, but she was smarter than average. They had a moment of silent conversation before the door opened wide enough to let us in.“Ah, Kaiza-kun. And a stranger.”I turned towards the matronly voice to see an old lady sitting in a comfortable-looking chair by the fireplace. When I say ‘old’, I mean ‘she looks like she’s going to kick the bucket any second now’. Her hair was almost fully white, she was more wrinkly than canon Hiruzen, and her voice rattled more than my old window.“Asuka oba-sama.” Kaiza greeted her, rushing to her feet and plopping himself there. “How are you? I haven’t been here for a few days…”“You worry too much. I’m fine. Ran is here to take care of me.” She smiled. “The real question is for you. There was a tremor a few hours ago…”“Ah… that is because of him, here.” He gestured toward me. The woman’s eyes flew to me with renewed interest shining. “He raised a bridge between the mainland and the island. It’s huge! You simply must see it, oba-sama.”“Alas, if I could walk that far, I wouldn’t even be here.” Asoka sighed, but then looked towards the girl. “Ran-chan, go tell Tazuna-kun to go have a look at this bridge and let me know what he thinks.”Ran, who had her mouth agape since Kaiza spoke, shut it with a click and bowed before quickly leaving.Next, the lady turned to me. “It is a fair day today for Suisen. I must admit, were you not to come along, I don’t know what would have happened to this village.”“It was the right thing to do.” I tilted my head. “That, and it was also an order from my superiors to help Nami no Kuni. May I ask if Suisen is the only village in the land?”“Yes. We ourselves are remnants of the civilians of Uzushiogakure that fell more than a decade ago.” The old lady informed me with a very depressed tone. I think she could give Kitsuna a run for his money. “But tell me, child, who are you?”“I’m Uzumaki Gundan, pleased to meet you.” I bowed. “I was adopted into the Uzumaki clan by a sole-survivor in the Leaf for a good deed.”“An Uzumaki lives?” the old lady suddenly looked a lot livelier. Wait… no…“Hai. Her name is Uzumaki Tisha, but she’s been hit with selective Amnesia so she doesn’t remember much of Uzushio, if at all.” I answered, straightening. “I honestly doubt that she is an Uzumaki at all, but Uzumaki Kushina’s son is alive and well. I’m his adoptive older brother.” I dropped the name because… I had this feeling…“Kushina had a son? Ha! Serves her right! Now maybe she’ll learn how it feels to deal with her type.” Asoka grinned a toothless grin. “Ah, but where are my manners, my name is Uzumaki Asoka.”“Please, don’t give your name so easily.” I sighed. “I could have been a hunter for all you know.”“My eyes see far more than most, Gundan-kun. I can see the sincerity and truth in your words, no matter what masks you choose to put up.” She said in reply.“The Minds Eye of the Kagura.” I breathed. Karin’s sensing technique, it was. “You have it. You’re… really an Uzumaki.” I quickly scanned her and yes, indeed, she was who she said she was. “How…?”“My story is a long one.” She admitted, then frowned, causing her wrinkles to grow more prominent. “Have you found any others? And does this… Tisha… treat Kushina’s son well?”“Naruto is cared for as if he were our own.” I assured her. “Alongside him, we also adopted a girl so he would not feel alone. She is of not much note.”She hummed. “Come closer, child. Let me have a better look at you.”I hesitated but walked closer, sending a glance to Kaiza, who shuffled out of the way and stood.“You… are drenched with a strange emptiness. It is foreboding, and yet inviting – it tis hard to decide.” She spoke. “However, you have the capability to weather the storm, and already have in an instance – your spirit bears a mark of resilience… no, two of them. You have been broken multiple times… but you do not fall. Tell me, how is it that one so young is so strong in both body and mind?”I gulped. That was the most insightful thing anyone said about me ever since I got here. “It is my dream to do the best for those I call my own from the shadows, so that they may not need to do unspeakable things for their ambitions to come true. For this, I must be strong.”She looked at me shrewdly. “The Leaf did not send you. You came of your own volition.”“Yes, oba-sama.” I sighed, “I heard about the situation of Wave from someone, and felt I had to do something to remedy the situation before it got worse.”Kaiza leveled a slightly betrayed look at me for a while, but neither of us paid much attention to him.“I won’t ask you why.” She said finally, after a long staring match. “But I will welcome your help. We have a lot of people ill at the local clinic. I’ll have Ran show you there when she returns while Kaiza can go fetch some medicine from the nearest town.”I created a shadow clone which flashed out of there. “It will be here soon. Meanwhile,” I turned to Kaiza, “please show me to the sick.” *** In the Leaf, Kakashi looked on at Gundan from afar, a light smile on his face as he watched the boy play with his adoptive siblings. He was like a packet of sunshine that the Leaf was very lucky to discover. Even if it weren’t for the Hokage’s orders… he was sure he’d have wanted to protect him anyway just because of what he now meant to Naruto.The young ex-ANBU was in no delusions – he had a duty to Naruto and he failed to perform it. Even now, he was scared of what would happen when Minato and Kushina would eventually find him in the Pure World… how would that encounter go? What would they say when he would admit that he was too embroiled in his own emotions to accept responsibility of raising a child?They’d be disappointed, for sure.He lifted his head-band from the Sharingan just to record this moment and treasure it forever. It was often said that the reason the Uchiha Clan is such a dull bunch is that they’re forced to remember forever moments they’d rather not – those of battle, recorded by the perfect-memory-granting bloodline they used. As a way to counteract that, every Sharingan user was given express advice to activate it in moments of happiness as well, just so that they can forever remember it and counteract the number of ill memories they’ve recorded.As he watched the scene before him, though… something nagged at Kakashi.The Sharingan did not allow one to see another’s chakra pathways or tenketsu like the Byakugan did, but it could see chakra in general. Ever since Gundan had been assigned a team, he’d developed this strange aura around him that could only be seen with a Dojutsu – a shade of grey so perfectly between white and black that was invisible to the normal eye. The Hokage theorized it had something to do with his Dojutsu since they turned the Sclera of his eyes black when active and changed the two colors each eye was depending on the elements that he ‘bent’.Now, though… that aura was only half of its maximum potential.The Hatake frowned, not liking this. It was infamous amongst all those who knew that Gundan’s natural chakra recovery rate was inhumanly high – theoretically, the brat could replenish his chakra in fifteen seconds or more (he was definitely not jealous!). So why was this aura so diminished? It was as if it had been… cut… into half…FUCK, not AGAIN! *** “There you go, all healed.” I smiled at the adorable little child, maybe half my age, looking at his leg in wonder. I pulled the water away with a gesture and let it slowly settle in the pot net to me. “Just be sure to try not to fall again soon, okay?” I looked at his mother. “Another fall so soon might stress the bone again and cause it to snap. Make him take it easy for a couple of days.”“I will.” The mother had tears in her eyes. “Thank you so much.”“Yeah, thanks, one-san!” the boy beamed.My smile turned a little brittle. “I am a boy, little one.”“Really? But you’re so pretty!”The mother was mortified enough to bow again in thanks and quickly usher the boy out.It was almost eight in the evening, and I apparently just finished healing the last person that needed attention in the village. A good portion of that time was spent talking to Tazuna, who wouldn’t stop asking me questions about the bridge’s composition, something which I couldn’t exactly say since I created it using earth-bending. Meanwhile, Kaiza had taken to leaning against the wall of the little stand a kind man offered us to help heal the ailing. A lot of it was injuries from environmental hazards, and the rest were simple sicknesses.Speaking of that bastard, he was currently laughing at me.I just glared. “Laugh it up all you want, Kaiza, but I’ll have the last laugh when I prank you back in retaliation.”“I look forward to it, brat.” He grinned. Some time around when I was healing, he vanished and soon returned holding a simple-looking sword. From his title, though, I knew it would be far from simple. “Let’s go visit Asoka oba-sama again. She said she’d be waiting up for you.”I nodded and stood, reaching into my inventory out of sight and pulling out a large roll of money to hand over to the man who gave me his stand. “Here. For your stand. I’m sorry you couldn’t sell your fruit, today.”“Nonsense!” the man shook his head, pushing the money back. “You healed our sick, filled our storehouses, and built that bridge for us. You owe us nothing. On the other hand, we owe the Leaf a lot.” He seemed to think for a minute before the metaphorical light-bulb went off in his head. He quickly ran into his house and emerged not a minute later with a large scroll that he had quite the difficulty carrying. He looked at it, then at me, and then pushed it in my hands. “A wandering merchant sold this for cheap to me when he passed us by. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to open it. I reckon it must be some of that chakra magic at work again – you can make more use of this than I can.”I looked at the scroll curiously. It had strange script all over it… some sort of seal, no doubt. I slung it over my free shoulder by the cord it had. “Thank you for your generosity. If there’s anything more I can do…”The man just shook his head and walked away, muttering about ‘brats who didn’t know when to stop giving’.Kaiza seemed to find that amusing, too.The two of us quickly made our way back to Asoka’s, who turned out to, indeed, be awake. She welcomed me with a warm smile this time. “Welcome back, you two. So, everything has been done?”“Yes, oba-sama.” Kaiza replied. “The brat offered to help build us new homes, but I denied him. If the people do nothing for themselves, it might make them overly reliant on help to get by.”I opened my mouth to protest but Asoka’s words stopped that train of thought. “Good choice.”I sighed in defeat. “If that is what you two wish…” Honestly, building a house is child’s play with earth-bending and then some manual roofing being done, but if these two didn’t want me to do so, how could I force them? “… then I have done all I can here.”PING!
[Quest Complete!
Side Quest: Raising Nami
You have seen and read enough iterations of the salvation of the village known as Wave. End this repetitive horror prematurely.
Completed Objectives
Build a bridge connecting the island to the mainland.
Heal all the sick in the village.
Gather enough meat (126.3/100kg).
Repair the dam.
Bonus Objectives
Sow feelings of gratitude for Konoha in the populace of Nami.
Help the populace of Suisen decide to better their own lives.
Rewards
10000EXP, +Random Skill Scroll, +REP with Muramasa Kaiza]
[You have leveled up! You are now level 6!
Received 30 stat points and 100 perk points!]
Nice! I could check my inventory for the scroll later.“In your efforts, I have judged you.” Asoka spoke, drawing me away from the screens. “You may not be an Uzumaki by blood, but you are one by heart – and it does my old bones good to see one of us again.”“Thank you, oba-sama.” I bowed.Her surprisingly strong grip reached for me and straightened me up before pulling me into a light hug. “No, thank you, Gundan-kun, for all you have done. In just one evening, you have transformed the face of Suisen, and thus, Nami no Kuni.” I felt… odd. Her embrace felt much like my own grandmother’s. She pulled away with a labored breath. “And now that I have met one of my own… I am finally ready to depart…”That set off alarm bells.She made a few single-handed hand-signs with surprising dexterity before a small scroll appeared in her hands. “Gundan-kun, ever since the last Uzumaki left the grounds of our village, it has been plundered countless times in search of knowledge and valuables. While the latter we chose not to protect… the former is sealed in a vault deep beneath the village itself under the Central Obelisk… you should know what I’m talking about when you see it. I want you to have the key.”My breath caught in my throat. “Oba-sama…”“Fulfill an old woman’s last wish and take it.” She insisted, forcing the scroll into my hands with a growingly-shaky grip. “I hope it serves you better than it ever did us… Pandora’s Box.”My blood froze. “Pandora’s Box?! Here?!”Her eyes sharpened and focused on mine. I cursed myself at the slip, but… which universe did the box come from? And how? Why? This was definitely from long before I was ever born so… Was Seonil’s grandfather right when he said Jinhan-Han’s powers affected the world around him, too?“You know of it.” She concluded, the sighed. “Then its burden falls onto you. My time is over and done, and all I want is to sleep…” she turned to the only other person present. “Kaiza-kun, Gundan-kun will need help on his journey. I want you to stay by his side and help him to the best of your ability.”Kaiza did not protest and only nodded with watery eyes. “Hai… oba-chan.”“I have already instructed Ran in what to do.” Asoka sighed as if a great weight was lifted off her shoulders. “And now…” she leaned back in her chair and rested herself fully “I can… finally…”Silence.“She’s gone.” I breathed, reaching forward and closing her eyes. Asoka was an old woman and had she wanted to live, she could have let me heal her. I guess… mental exhaustion is more potent than I ever gave her credit for.“She waited all this time for someone she could entrust that scroll to.” Kaiza answered, looking upon the woman with a teary smile. “Now she can rest in the Pure World.”I tightened my grip on the scroll. “How far are the ruins of Uzushiogakure from here?”“You wish to go now?” Kaiza asked, shocked. “Are you not to be back in your village by tomorrow morning?”“I’m a fast boy.” I shrugged and stood. I hesitated for a moment, then properly pulled the blanket over the dead woman. “And I owe it to her to lay this burden to rest. Besides…”“This ‘Pandora’s Box’” he totally butchered the pronunciation of the name, by the way, “has you worried.”“It is something that has contained the vilest of evils in many times.” I solemnly confided. “If one is here, it is my duty to see it destroyed.”PING!
[Main Quest Alert!
Blue Core of Hope
A Pandora’s Box exists under the ruins of Uzushiogakure no Sato. Find it and discover its secrets.
Objectives
Find Pandora’s Box.
Open or Destroy Pandora’s Box.
Bonus Objectives
Do not use any magic.
Do not use any bending skills.
Rewards
75000EXP, ?]
Yes… my duty… *** “He’s not in the village?”“No, Hokage-sama.” Hizashi shook his head. “Sempai immediately proceeded to fetch me to check his coils, and I’m certain that what we’re looking at is a Shadow Clone. Gundan-kun has never shown any regression in chakra quantity.”Hiruzen sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “That boy, I swear…”Sarutobi Hiruzen owed a lot to Uzumaki Gundan. The boy united most of his village, nipped problems in the bud, and, perhaps most important of all, reunited the Sannin. Oh, he had been watching the boy with his Crystal Ball the entire week, and so he had seen the effect his words had had on his student. Orochimaru and Anko were now off with Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Shizune to god-knows-where. Team 2 were assigned individual training with their clan until the day after, however, so he was certain they’d be back soon.But it didn’t allow the boy to just go wherever he pleased! Gundan should know that he has responsibilities now and that shaking them off like this to gallivant to somewhere was a major risk to his continued existence!“Kakashi, assemble your squad and prepare for an S-rank mission, deployable in five minutes. You, Hizashi, Riruka, and Ren are to find and monitor Gundan-kun.” He ordered. “I’m not entirely certain why he chose to go outside the village, but that boy never does anything without a damn good reason – if he’s in trouble, you’re authorized to lend assistance.” Unlikely, given the boy’s prowess, but only Jiraiya and he really knew how far the boy could go.“Hai, Hokage-sama!” Kakashi and Hizashi bowed, then vanished in swirls of leaves.Hiruzen made a face. They could at least have the decency to scatter dirt around outside his office!
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Kakashi’s eyes widened when he looked upon Suisen for the first time in a long while. The village had a bridge making up the gap between the river that had set it apart from the rest of the land of fire. That would have been alright on its own but…The people seemed a strange mix of melancholic and overjoyed. On one hand, there was a feast being kept for who knew what reason, but on the other side of the village, near the cemetery, a small group of people was gathered and burying someone. Ouch, what an unfortunate day to celebrate.“Mom, where did Gundan-sama go?”The entire quartet stilled where they were, hiding in the shadows of the trees. So Pakkun has been right, Gundan did come here after all!“Kaiza took him towards the ruins of Uzushiogakure, last I saw.” The boy's mother answered, before squinting at his leg. “Why? Does the bone hurt?”“Nope!” the boy shook his head. “I just wanted to ask the way to Konoha! I mean, they sent him here, right? So, he’s the reason we have so much food and everyone is okay again!”Kakashi silently groaned. Of course. The boy had a hero-complex a mile wide. Of course, he’d somehow find out an entire village needed help, leave the village without tripping the sensing dome, and speed off to help. By his actions so far, this was only logical. Plus, he can teleport! He doesn’t need to physically walk through the barrier as long as he was near the gates and could see beyond.“Well, you’re not going to be able to see them soon. Kaiza-san is a civilian, so they’ll be at a slow pace.” The mother chided. “I’m sure Gundan-sama will return soon, Koto, so be patient for a few days.”Kakashi signaled his team to stealthily make their way across town, and they did so with great care. He passed by the funeral himself but was too occupied to bother with analyzing who it was who was being buried.“They’ve departed to Uzushio… should we follow suit?” Hizashi asked, shifting from foot to foot. Personally, the man adored the adopted-Uzumaki ever since he saw how he was with his son. Neji had been a quiet child ever since his mother passed away, even at such a young age that he shouldn’t have even comprehended the loss, but the arrival of Gundan had brought joy back – not just to him, but the entirety of the Hyuuga Clan.“Yes.” Kakashi said firmly. “I don’t know whether Gundan knows this Kaiza, but we should be prudent in assuring their safety anyhow.”“I don’t know what you’re all yammering about. He’s got as much chakra as a Chunin, now.” Riruka grumbled. “But orders are orders… let’s go make sure the little troublemaker is fine.”The others nodded, and the next instant there was only a small breeze in their wake as they took to running across the water towards the destroyed village. *** There you go! My clones popped!There were ten [Location Collectible]s in Nami no Kuni. I only got nine, but one of my clones found some sort of cavern buried deep underground. I’ll be investigating that later, though. For now, I have 450 points to spend.That’s right, each collectible was worth fifty stat points now. I guess it makes sense – a greater number required to ascend into a higher race would mean that I will be able to find more points. But if each point is worth ten of that of my peers, and I’m going to have an abundance of them…I shuddered.Anyway, sorting out the points…. Here we go! Oh wait, I had ninety points on hand already, sixty from when I redeemed Orochimaru and thirty from now, so I spent eighty in each statistic, then another thirty in both [Agility] and [Luck]. My new stats looked pretty good when it included the Rogue Path bonus.
[Character Page
Uzumaki Gundan – Level 6
Race: Nephilim
Title: Outsider’s Chosen
Next Level: 5,000/30,000 EXP
HP - 14000
QI - 14000
RR - 14000
CON - 130
STR - 130
AGL - 172
INT - 130
LCK - 172
WIS - 130
Resistances:
Physical – 90%
Chakra – 6% (-50% vs Tainted)
Spiritual – 43%]
And since I now had four hundred and ten perk points, I decided to buy a perk for myself. From whichever universe Pandora’s Box has come, it is bound to have either something very powerful in it or guarding it. I can’t risk not having an ace under my sleeve. I selected [Signature Weapon 1].PING!
[Please select one of the following:
War’s Great-sword
Death’s Twin Scythes
Fury’s Whip
Strife’s Guns]
The weapons of the four horsemen from Darksiders. Okay… I haven’t played any of them besides the second one, so I chose the one I was most familiar with.
[You have chosen Death’s Scythes.
WARNING: This option will occupy a permanent slot in your soul collection and cannot be removed.
Are you sure?]
Yes.PING!
[Due to a special action, your Zanpakuto has grown more powerful!
Zanpakuto – Akuma-sha (Legendary)
The physical manifestation of the power of your Reiryoku, Akuma-sha is the only Zanpakuto in existence that has sentience but not a soul or avatar. Instead, the blade consumes the spirits of any weapon it destroys and gives you unrestricted access to their powers, even those that are hidden from the original wielder.
Soul Storage: SHINIGAMI, Ryuujinjakka, Senbonzakura, Suzumebachi, Zangetsu, (Empty), (Empty).
DMG: STR + (0.5)AGL]
So… it added a soul without taking up one of the empty two spots… I guess the six I got at the start were for me to play around with. So, if the total soul limit is ten, I have a total of four perks to choose signature weapons from. Cool. I’m really glad I trained with Akuma-sha in the Mirror Dimension, otherwise, I’d be going into this totally blind.I wonder what’s with the translated and capitalized name, though? Ah, probably something similar in effect to when my name got translated. Huh.I looked to my side and saw Kaiza easily keeping up with me, looking at my fingers as if puzzling out something of great confusion. The man was probably wondering what I was tapping away at in thin air. I wasn’t going to tell him a thing as long as he kept his secret away from me – it was only fair.After a half-hour of silent traveling (which was extremely frustrating for me given that I could have easily crossed the distance in a few seconds with the Speed-Force), we came across what would be the first in a series of whirlpools that surrounded an island.“It is too powerful to occur naturally.” Kaiza hummed, eyeing the vortex critically. “This wasn’t as strong before…”I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. We need to get to Pandora’s Box as quickly as we can.”“Alright, I can’t take it.” The man huffed, turning to round on me with an incredulous expression on his face. “Aren’t you going to ask me how I’m walking on water when I’m supposed to be a civilian? Or about this sword in my hand? Are you not curious at all?”“I think the most pressing matter is the container of alien things that can destroy the world as we know it.” I said, meeting his gaze with my own. “Besides, your secrets are yours to keep. If you cross me, I can end you, however invincible you may think you are. A lot of chakra does you no good if I can stop you before you use a single technique.”He looked shocked for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. “In my life, I have never seen someone as overconfident as you.”I shrugged. “Overconfidence for some, a fact for me.” I ruffled my hair. “Look, we can each argue our cases with each other till the sun rises, but as it stands, we need to find Pandora’s Box as soon as possible.” I shuddered. “I just hope it hasn’t been opened yet.”And really, I do. Only in a few of the franchises that something called a ‘Pandora’s Box’ has been involved in has it been anything good or neutral. More often than not it has been something that unleashed monsters never imagined or evils that brought down pantheons. I have no desire to see it opened, only destroyed. By my hands. With extreme prejudice.No power in the world is worth the chance that this world could get destroyed.“You seem to be familiar with this… ‘Pandora’s Box’. What I do not understand is how.” He finally spoke as we began to cross. “You said it contained the vilest of evils in ‘many times’…”“People are entitled to their secrets, are they not?” I ask in way of a reply. “I am not in the mood for word-games, Kaiza. Either ask me what you want directly or remain silent. I must prepare myself mentally.”He remained silent for about three or so whirlpools until we reached solid ground, and ran up the short hill, only pausing at its apex. “This…”I don’t know whether it as through the rigors of time or the actions of man, but the proud hub once known as the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools was a massive, expansive ruin. Its size was far greater than Konoha – if my home was a city, this was a metropolis. The architecture looked very different from anything I had seen with my eyes; it reminded me of the skyscrapers from Amegakure, smooth and structured. Even in ruins, it was a magnificent sight to behold.The village itself was set in some sort of depression in the land – either crafted through jutsu or occurring naturally. It was surrounded by a ring of hills (at least from the outside; form the village they probably looked like mountains) and had no water bodies in it at all. No building larger than two floors remained standing, but you could easily see pieces of the once-grand structures flung about haphazardly. That’s right, Rock, Cloud, and Mist had attacked together with the best of their forces, that meant six of the nine tailed-beasts were employed in battle here…How strong had Uzushio been to warrant that amount of might?I bowed my head in silent respect for a moment before I gathered my Reiryoku and pulsed it out. I ignored Kaiza’s startled reaction and focused on the readings I was getting from the technique… there! A flare of strange chakra right in the center of the village!I broke into a run and ignored Kaiza’s calls behind me, focusing wholly on my destination. When I landed, I looked up in awe of the giant monolith that stood before me. In sharp contrast to everything else here, the tower was not in disrepair at all and was a cyan-colored structure that reached about eight or nine stories – the largest building I have seen yet in this world. Since Naruto is two this year, Uzushio fell what… some… twenty or so years back? How advanced was the Uzumaki Clan to have built this? I’m sure there was a heavy application of Doton but still…Come to think of it, the rubble that’s present around me is too much for a village filled with houses that were only one or two stories… did this mean that the entire village was like a modern city, like Rain?“Slow down, kid!” Kaiza reprimanded, landing next to me with no sound other than harsh breathing. Oh, that’s right, my stats now trump his. “You’re fast when you want to be.”“I can go faster.” I said impatiently, not bothering to look at him. Then I sighed and leveled an apologetic look at him. “I’m sorry for my behavior. It’s just…”“You need to destroy Pandora’s Box.” The man nodded. “From the instant that this thing was mentioned, you have this haze about you… a focus that’s both admirable and frightening. I hope this isn’t nearly as bad as you make it seem.”I shook my head. “No. It will be worse.”He lapsed into silence at that, so I took the opportunity to close my eyes. A slam of my foot on the ground revealed a tunnel that went deep below… very deep…There!Around seven hundred meters below us, a large chamber existed! And not just that, there was a couple of tunnels! It… it was a lab of some sort. I could see a lot of medical equipment… and a large library of scrolls and books!Skill jackpot!And then, at the end of it all, a large cavern with a chakra sphere. I bet that Pandora’s Box is inside. One I get a look at it, I’ll definitely know from which universe it is!I took out the scroll that Asoka gave me, and unfurled it, slamming it face-first onto the only door visible. The entire tower was set aglow for the briefest of moments before the door clicked.“It’s open.” I needlessly said, withdrawing the now empty scroll and setting it in a pocket. “Kaiza… I don’t know what we’ll find within, but if I don’t make it… promise me you’ll return to the Leaf and take care of Naruto and Tenten.”The man looked at me solemnly for a moment, before nodding. “I swear it.”I offered him a wane smile and pushed the door open, looking down into only a tunnel that reached deep without much light. I turned to him and gave a weak smile. “Shall we?” *** Kakashi dodged, charging up the new technique he learned from the very person he was rushing to protect and firing it. The strange sea serpent groaned, then fell into the waters.Next to him, Riruka was focused on healing Hizashi as quickly as she could, while Ren watched on with a worried expression.“This is strange… I didn’t hear or see any sound of battle before.” Kakashi murmured as he looked upon his injured comrade. “It’s… suspicious.”“Don’t think I’m crazy but…” Ren looked towards the island of Uzushio, still a few ways away but close enough to see, “I think this creature let the two of them through.”“But why?” Kakashi stressed, running his hand through his hair in agitation. “Gundan was adopted as an Uzumaki, he wasn’t really one. There should be no reason that he was allowed to pass, unless…”Ren nodded worriedly. “Unless it was a trap.” *** I swiftly lowered myself into the tunnel, a flare of chakra surrounding me and lighting up the darkness withe eerie blue light. Kaiza slid down along the wall using some sort of technique that I was too single-minded to focus on. Even at the speed I was going, it took me a whole twenty seconds to reach the bottom. Because I was flying, I landed without much fanfare.“Some ride.” Kaiza huffed, then looked at me with a strange expression. “Are you some sort of Doton expert, kid? As far as I know, only the current Tsuchikage knows that jutsu.”I shrugged. “Not really. But that explanation makes far more sense than the truth, so believe what you will.” I gestured that we should continue with a hand and walked forwards towards the Library Cavern.“You’re interesting, Uzumaki Gundan.” He said after a few moments of silence. “After your self-appointed mission is done with… I’d like to come to the Hidden Leaf with you.”I looked at him oddly. “Are you sure? What about Suisen?”“Asoka oba-sama ordered me to be with you, but she didn’t specify until when.” The man clarified, smirking. “It would be rude to offend the soul of the woman who saved my life.”Saved his life? But he’s immortal! Maybe he meant it metaphorically… “Okay. You can come back with me.” We could use a master-smith, either at the compound only or for the village as a whole. “You’ll have to subject yourself to the security evaluations, though.”“I’m familiar with them. Don’t worry, nothing I don’t want to be known will be.” He waved me off. Well… he has lived a long time. Maybe he knows how to fight off Yamanaka jutsu…I didn’t get a chance to say much as I opened the door at the end of the tunnel.As soon as I did, torches lit themselves both behind and in front of us. A large chandelier overhead illuminated a room full of gigantic shelves, all filled with scrolls.I walked to the nearest shelve and looked at the title of a scroll… it was a water-element jutsu. I turned to another shelf entirely to check another one out – this claimed to have the first half of the Warring-Clan Era records.“There’s… so much here…” I said in awe. “No wonder the Uzumaki were targeted. How could any village not be stupidly strong with this much knowledge in their hands?”“I’m not surprised.” Kaiza answered, although his tone was quiet with respect. “The battle between Whirlpool and Mist, Rock, and Cloud is legendary. Not because it brought down the strongest village, but because the month-long siege led to the attacking three villages to lose almost all their forces.”“Woah.” I mean, like, the Leaf had around two thousand shinobi currently, after the Kyuubi attack. It is said that, at one time, the Cloud had more than triple that amount. I guess I know what brought it down now…Damn.I quickly brought my hands together and created a couple of hundred shadow-clones. “You know what to do. Bring me anything that you may find as interesting.”My clones nodded wordlessly and vanished in streaks of black lightning. All around the cavern, similar flashes could be seen.“You know the Raikage’s Lightning Armor, too?” Kaiza asked, tone incredulous.I turned to smirk at his visage, which was contorting into several amusing expressions. “Now, now, Kaiza-san, remember what I said about being allowed to keep secrets? Any anyway, it’s better that I seal away the entire Library now, rather than after destroying Pandora’s Box and setting off whatever traps it may set off.”He raised his hands in frustration, then crossed them. “Anything else I should know? Are you capable of summoning dragons, or making a moon, or something?”“Not yet.” I grinned cheekily.In the time it took to finish that exchange, the library was emptied, and my clones dispelled themselves, save one who personally handed me a few scrolls, then burst. I looked at them curiously. All four were skill scrolls… and made me grin like Cheshire. Since Kaiza chose to go sulk as he walked on, I chose to learn them immediately.PING!
[You have acquired the skill scroll: Chakra Manifestation.
Would you like to learn this skill?]
Yep!
[You have learned a new skill!
Ninja Art: Chakra Manifestation (Active) Lv 1 (0.00%)
By expelling potent chakra and manipulating it outside your body, you are able to effectively create objects of pure chakra.
Cost: 100CP/sec.]
I guess this is how Kushina made her Kongo Fusa. Being the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, her chakra had turned so potent, not even the fox himself could fight against her chains.
[You have acquired the skill scroll: Chi-blocking Taijutsu Manual.
Would you like to learn this skill?]
Hell yes!
[Due to a special action, a skill has been updated!
Master Brawler (Passive) Lv MAX
You are a master of hand-to-hand combat, able to hemorrhage opponents with a combination of skill, technique, and tactics. Your enemies are almost never able to dodge your attacks, and you now have a much higher chance to score a critical hit.
+95% chance to cause damage to internal organs.
+50% critical chance.
1% evasion chance for opponents.
Styles learned: Arrancar Hakuda, Konoha Academy Style, Uzushio Chi-Blocking.]
I never would have guessed that this would come from here of all places. But, well, I’m benefitting like crazy.
[You have acquired the skill scroll: Sheath-shield Kenjutsu Manual.
Would you like to learn this skill?]
Sounds interesting. Why not?
[Due to a special action, a skill has been updated!
Master Swordsman (Passive) Lv MAX
A true master of the way of the sword, your self-taught style in conjunction with several others makes you a fearsome opponent.
+100% damage with bladed weapons.
-99% chance for your opponent to dodge.
+50% chance for a critical strike.
Styles learned: Iaido, Konoha Swallow, Uzushio Sheath-shield, Fire-Country Slash, Twin-Sword Dance.]
That’s… an awesome style! Hell, yes! Using chakra to effectively make your sheath a shield? Dude! I’m so fucking pumped right now, it ain’t even funny!
[You have acquired the skill scroll: Kikoro Secret Technique – DNA Manipulation.]
Would you like to learn this skill?]
Hold the hell up. What? Are you… game, are you telling me that I can actually manipulate DNA?! Like, what Orochimaru has essentially been trying to do all his life so far?! Game, y u du dis. Like, seriously. I made my cool with being overpowered, hell – I miss being able to just tromp anyone in my way, but… this is insane. If I study biology enough and have samples of DNA available, I can change… a lot of stuff.I can make Tenten and myself a real Uzumaki. I can make Shaak TI a real human, if she wants. Hell, I can make anyone anything I like!So… should I get this skill? I’ll probably need extensive DNA samples, though… where would I get-Ah. Wait. Orochimaru’s labs. If not the samples themselves, I should at least be able to get the location of the source. I know for a fact that the Hokage’s bodies are behind their respective stone faces. I just need to find an Uzumaki sample. I can also include the particular markers from Adam’s DNA that will allow me t work with augmentations. Hell, now opening a business with augmentations as its focus is viable now! I can just include the specific sequences that allow people to accept implants as a prerequisite somewhere in the process!But I’m pretty sure this technique wasn’t in canon. Or… it was, and it just wasn’t discovered? I don’t know, this just seems too convenient. I know that practically no one could even come here, but…Crap. There’s that bad feeling again.Oh well. I’ve got a technique that allows me to alter DNA. That’s slick as fuck.
[You have learned a new skill!
Ninja Art: DNA Manipulation (Active) Lv 1 (0.00%)
Using dense chakra folded down on a chromosome, you are able to alter it in any way you see fit. You can currently make one change to an organism safely.
1% chance of success.
Cost: 10000CP/sec.]
That’s insane. My costs are already being cut down by 99%. What, was the cost a million, before? Holy. But, like, I get it. I mean, we’re talking about altering DNA here – it’s no small deal. But, like… did the residents of Uzushio really have that much chakra? And how?I didn’t suddenly become all-knowing about DNA, though. I’m going to have to study a lot before I even try this. And fuck attempting it on humans first, I’ll begin with conjured animals. No way I’m taking this anyway near humans without getting the chances of success as high as it can go.Okay… so I’m deadlier and more story-breaking now… yay, me!I shook my head and wiped the scary grin off my face to replace it with a small smile, then rushed to catch up with Kaiza. I paused when I saw a location collectible hovering at the exact center of the cavern.PING!
[You have discovered: Uzushiogakure Vault! 1/50 Uzushio locations discovered!
Map feature unlocked!
Please select one of the following –
10000 exp.
500 Perk Points.
50 stat points.]
I grinned widely as I selected the perk points, the immediately created a clone that zipped back towards the entrance. I had thought that since Uzushio was destroyed, there wouldn’t be any collectibles, but I guess that they somehow exist even in spite of the dilapidated state of the village.I rushed back up to Kaiza, where he had paused in front of a mural in the tunnel beyond. I looked at it with trepidation. On it was a mountain, surrounded by clouds both above the peak and below. Something about it struck me as familiar, though…“What do you think this is trying to say, super-brat?” Kaiza asked, although there was no heat behind the term.I looked around and sighed. “There are a series of murals here… let’s look at them all and then decide.In the end, we surmised that it told a story. At first, there was nothing, only that mountain and some smoke around it. Then, a woman entered the scene and pulsed out something… maybe chakra. A meteor crashed on the mountain and cracked open to reveal a tree.I recognized that tree very well. The God Tree, it was.So… the meteor arrived because someone called it here? But who?I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. The [External Influences] perk was really messing up the history of the world as I know it… damn. How much is all my foreknowledge worth, really? Does Madara even exist here? Is Hagoromo is wandering the Astral Plane?Eh. Whatever comes, I can take it.My clone popped, then. It chose the perk points option for four more collectibles, and then went on to select the stat points option for all the others. So I now had a total of two thousand six hundred and ten perk points, and two thousand two hundred and fifty stat points.First, let’s raise my agility and luck to five hundred each… then divide by four and slot them into the others… oh, wait, two points extra than a multiple of four… so I’ll just slot those two into one each of my main stats, since those two are actually behind the others now, by a whopping twenty-seven points! I think this is the first time in the entire session that something like this has happened. Oh, well.I looked at my new stats before I confirmed it.
[Character Page
Uzumaki Gundan – Level 6
Race: Nephilim
Title: Outsider’s Chosen
Next Level: 5,000/30,000 EXP
HP - 53800
QI - 53800
RR - 53800
CON - 528
STR - 528
AGL - 501
INT - 528
LCK - 501
WIS - 528
Resistances:
Physical – 90%
Chakra – 6% (-50% vs Tainted)
Spiritual – 43%]
Cool. I’m so much stronger than even Kaiza now… it ain’t even funny. Nothing can hold me back now, ha!Since I had quite a bit of perk points to spend, I moved over to the menu in question and selected [Magic Specialty 3]
[Please select one of the following:
Alteration
Conjuration
Destruction
Illusion
Restoration]
These… are the five schools of magic from the Elder Scrolls series! I’m so happy to see that Fairy Tail isn’t the only place my magic options come from! Anyway, what to choose?Destruction is useless to me with bending. Restoration is also equally useless since I can easily destroy any undead rather than repel or banish them. Illusion has nothing I can’t already do with the Mark, and Alteration… what were the spells there, again? Something about armor, changing one thing to another, and… draining magicka to fill health or something. Useless.That left only one.PING!
[You have selected, Conjuration. Are you sure?]
Of course! Daedric Lords, come forth to do my will!
[Due to purchasing a perk, a skill has been created!
Magic Specialty: Oblivion Summoning (Active) Lv 1 (0.00%)
You are able to open portals to the realm of Oblivion, calling forth allies to help you in battle.
Roster: Wolf, Flaming Wolf.
Cost: 500RR/summon.
Limit: 1 entity.]
Cool. I guess ‘Summoning’ implies bringing a Daedra or Atronach here from Oblivion – the plane, not the game. Actually, Skyrim is the only Elder Scrolls game I ever played; a pity ever since I heard that you can craft your own spells in Oblivion. Still too close to Kuchiyose, actually, but since I’m already overpowered as fuck…Anyway, next is… [Enhanced Mode 1]!
[Please select one of the following:
Blight Enrichment
Elemental Enrichment
Eterano Enrichment
Solar Radiation Enrichment.]
Okay, I have no idea where these are from. That word, though… blight… could it be… from the Dragon Age universe? And weren’t there spells in the same that allowed you to enchant your weapons in battle with elements? Eterano is obviously from Fairy Tail (again), but solar radiation… where could that be from?Eh, I’ll go with that, I suppose. Try new things and all, right?
[You have selected Solar Radiation Enrichment. Are you sure?]
I guess? Eh, the choices here really let me down.
[Due to purchasing a perk, a skill has been created!
Solar Radiation Enrichment (Passive) Lv 1 (0.00%)Your body’s cells drink in the radiation of a yellow sun, granting you preternatural capabilities in strength, speed, and various other ways .
+1% to all stats.]
Okay… not mysterious at all… I’m sure I know where it’s from though… ugh.Anyway, that brings me down to two thousand and ten perk points. More than enough to clear out this tier and move on to the next one when I get back. I eyed Kaiza for a moment, but then I realized that I know nothing about the guy, so dropped that idea immediately.In fact, I’m actually rather sad that I didn’t get any skills when I crossed the 500-point mark for my stats. Here’s to hoping I’ll get something at the 1000-point threshold.We finally got to the end of the long tunnel, and Kaiza paused, turning to look at me expectantly. I sighed and steadied myself, then reached forward (and up, much to my chagrin) to push open the door.The room beyond was alight, but not with the orange light of a fire. Instead, blue seals everywhere bathed the room in an eerie glow. From the very walls to the ceiling, and even the floor – all were covered in entwined lines of bright glowing seals. In a circular pattern, they all converged on a translucent sphere of chakra in the center, within which…Was Pandora’s Box from God of War.Okay, back the fuck up. Kratos released Hope and all the evils within when he destroyed Olympus. That box should be empty!Wait… blue…Chakra was blue. The power that Kratos released at the end of the third game… was blue. And, and! Heightened emotional states always affect chakra in strange ways! Does that mean… the magic of the God of War universe was chakra all along? And… it actually happened here, in this world?Nah, maybe I’m overthinking this. Maybe the box just appeared here… somehow. Maybe the ghost of Athena sent it here-Oh. Fucking. Hell.Athena!I turned on my heel and apparated back to the murals, appearing there a second later. Sure enough, the woman depicted there was the perfect representation of Athena! She called the Shinjuu here from… wherever the Ootsutsuki Clan comes from! But why?!At the end, after Kratos stabs himself with the Blade of Olympus, Athena appears distraught that he did so. She wanted the power for herself. She calls it ‘Hope’, but maybe that’s because the ability to use chakra itself gave her hope of redeeming mankind from the ashes?’It makes sense! She brought forth the Shinjuu to gather the chakra that had dispersed back into a single item to consume it and regain the power. But… something went wrong, because I’m clearly not in a roman-cultured world.I apparated back to a harried-looking Kaiza.“Where did you go? How did you go?” Kaiza demanded, then shook his head. “You know what, I don’t want to know.”“Let’s save it for later.” I waved him off. “That, right there, is Pandora’s Box.” I pointed it out. “I need to destroy it. Remember: open it under no circumstances.”“Gundan-kun!”I whirled around, staring incredulously at the group of four that appeared behind us, panting as if they had run a marathon. “Kakashi?! Hizashi-san?! What are you two doing here?”“That’s… something we… should be… asking… you…” Kakashi panted, trying desperately to breathe.I quickly rushed to them and got to work, calling out two embers of flame in my hands and rejuvenating his chakra. He exhausted himself almost completely – what was he thinking? I quickly did the same for the other three, who I recognized as the ANBU team who kept watch on me before. “Are you four insane? I kept a shadow clone in the village for a reason! I didn’t want anyone coming after me!” I bonked Kakashi on the head.Hiashi gasped and activated his Byakugan. “Gundan-kun… your chakra…”He winced. “You… have gotten stronger. Of course, you have. Brilliant.”I narrowed my eyes at him, but internally worried. I guess I should have expected this… I’m too strong to control myself now… but, eh, that can be dealt with later. “Kakashi-”“So, these are ninjas from the Hidden leaf, hm?” Kaiza butted in, inspecting each of them critically. “A Hyuuga, an Inazuka without his dog, a civilian girl, and… Hatake Kakashi, son of the White Fang.” He smirked at me. “If he’s anything like his father, you’ve got an overbearing friend on your hands.”“You are a horrible secret keeper.” I deadpanned, then cleared my throat. “Everyone, this is Kaiza-san – a citizen of Suisen.”He waved his hand without much fanfare.“Kaiza-san, this is the ANBU group that kept watch over me when I was still an unknown.” I gestured towards the four of them. The Inazuka [Inazuka Ren – Lv 73], and civilian [Sato Riruka – Lv 71] both laughed nervously. “They’re really bad at staying hidden, but they seem strong enough.”“Not everyone can have a bloodline that breaks the norm of what’s known as normal, brat.” Kaiza shrugged.Kakashi narrowed his visible eye at me. “You told him about your bloodline? In fact, you’re in deep trouble for leaving the village in the first place – explain yourself.”Okay, time to play this carefully. I forced a blush on my face and looked away. “I was going to be back before morning, or else I wouldn’t even bother leaving a clone. I heard about how Wave was going to fall into an economic depression soon and… well… I couldn’t help myself.” I slumped. “But then, I found an old lady Uzumaki there, Uzumaki Asoka, and she told me about something being here… something that shouldn’t be.”“How do you know what should and shouldn’t be here?” Kakashi asked, tone softer but no less stern. “You haven’t been here before… have you?”“No.” I shook my head, then bit my lip. Okay, what to blame this on…. Ugh. I guess I have to come clean about some things. I sighed, removing a glove and holding up the Mark for everyone to see. “This Mark… is not a part of my natural bloodline.”“We guessed as much, Gundan-kun.” Hizashi said, Byakugan active and focusing on my Mark intensely. “It is in no way tied to the other abilities you have mentioned to us so far and has no prior occurrence of existing. A Dojutsu is fine, no matter how strange, but a seal?”“It’s not a seal.” I said, stiffening to exhibit nervousness. I fidgeted with the glove in my hand. “It’s… a gift. From a god.”Silence.“He’s known as the Outsider.” I spoke, not wanting to give them a chance to do so before I get it all out. “He has existed since eons and eons ago and is very powerful. He lives in an alternate dimension called the Void. He gives the Mark to those he believes can be a catalyst for great change… or can make his observation of the various universes interesting.” I gestured towards the murals on the walls. “When I sleep, he shows me things… events that have occurred in places far away in both space and time from ours… and so I know that Pandora’s Box shouldn’t be here… not form what I’ve seen.”There was even more silence before Kakashi finally spoke, “Other dimensions?”“There are many, countless of them.” I nodded. “There are some with minor changes, like if your father had not died, or the Sandaime sacrificing himself for the Shiki Fuujin instead of the Yondaime, but… there are some that are far different. Massive buildings of stone and metal, carts that fly, technology and medicine that we can never even imagine… and, of course, magic. It goes by different names in different universes, all with their own laws and rules and nuances, but it is an almost uniformly existing parallel between them all.”“This… Pandora’s Box? What is it?” Kaiza asked, eyes looking far away.I nodded, weaving a genjutsu to show the story around us with a simple thought. “In another world far from ours, although I doubt that now, humanity was not the only race to live. First, there were the titans, born of the Primordial beings and out of chaos and earth. Of them, the leader was Kronos, a Titan who had control over time. Over the years, his power waned as he grew complacent in himself and his brothers’ strength. All was as he wished until a prophecy was made by… I can’t remember whom. A child born of his would be the cause of his downfall. To prevent this, he decided to eat his children, for he was as tall as the tallest of mountains, then.“However, his wife, Rhea, was not so heartless so as to do this. After giving up many of her children to her husband, she grew weary when a last was born, a white-haired child that struck at her wrecked heartstrings. So, instead, she offered up a stone to her husband disguised as him, and Kronos was fooled. The child, Zeus, was secreted away by Rhea and Gaia, a titan who was both Kronos’ mother and wife and was raised strong in body and soul. When he was strong enough, he faced Kronos and freed his siblings before retreating to grow in strength and power.“The Titans, and the Gods, as Kronos’ children came to be known, faced in a cataclysmic battle that reshaped the earth known as the Great War. Zeus forged a sword out of the very power that ran through the earth to end the war, known as the Blade of Olympus. He used it to put a full-stop to the conflict.“When the dust settled, the Gods decided to rule over man in the Titan’s stead from the throne of Olympus. Zeus took dominion over the heavens. Poseidon ruled over the seas. Hades ruled over the Underworld. Together, they were known as the great three, for their power was the greatest amongst the gods.“However, the evils that roamed the land plagued their citizens and even threatened to encroach upon their own minds. So, Zeus had Hephaestus, a master smith Olympian, construct a box to hold them all. The evils were gathered and imprisoned there, and Athena, Zeus’ daughter and Goddess of Wisdom, slipped in a powerful force to help hold the evils within. This box… is known as Pandora’s Box.”I let the Genjutsu fade as I spoke. “What follows is a long story of manipulation, betrayal, and revenge, but that is a story for another time. What’s important is that if that’s the same Pandora’s Box like the one from that world, then it shouldn’t be here. There aren’t supposed to be any pathways between the worlds at all.”“That’s Athena.” Riruka said suddenly, pointing at the woman in the mural. “But…”“This looks like a piece of history documented by the Uzumaki… somehow. It is clearly after any vision I have ever seen of this world.” I nodded. “This raises many questions… something I hope to investigate in the chamber where the box is held, and also destroy it once and for all.”Kakashi sighed heavily, rubbing his uncovered temple. “You… are a very troublesome boy, Gundan-kun.”I grinned shakily at him. “Hey, it’s my job to protect everyone, remember? No one has to do anything they don’t have to on my watch.”He looked at me solemnly, then slowly nodded. “Alright. What should we do?”“For some reason, I can’t bend the elements or use magic in these halls.” I lied. For some reason, this prompted a confused look from everyone present. “Don’t worry, though, my sword will be more than enough to handle anything that comes our way. We need to go to where the box is being kept, try to find out what happened, and then destroy it. If there’s an open gateway into our world, then we must see it closed before something more dangerous from the other worlds come through.”“We need to report this to the Hokage.” Riruka protested. “We also need backup in case things get worse.”I shook my head. “We’re lucky that the leak hasn’t let out anything else. If something else comes through in the little time we’re gone, even with me teleporting us all into Konoha, then what? The world I just spoke of… is one of the tamest I have seen in my visions.” Well, not really, but eh, semantics. “Plus, we have a legend,” I pointed at Kakashi, “a Hyuuga,” Hizashi, “an unknown man with a lot more chakra than anyone I have ever seen,” I gestured towards Kaiza, “and best of all, me. We’ll be fine.”“But still…” Riruka weakly continued.I sighed and made a shadow clone, who then proceeded to walk over and stand next to Riruka. “Okay, let’s split up then. You and the Inazuka return to Konoha and explain the situation to the Hokage. My clone will bring back you guys, and anyone else he will send as support. We are quite far from Konoha, but any major battle should be felt there.”“Good idea.” Kakashi nodded. “Even though I don’t like losing good combatants, we’ll be getting much more in return.”I looked at him weirdly. “You’re okay with me just ordering you lot around like that?”He shrugged. “You know the situation better than me. I’ll trust you.”I smiled a small smiled and nudged him with my shoulder. “Thanks.”“Don’t mention it.” He looked away.Kaiza chuckled. “Oh, this is just precious.”“What?” I asked him, confused. He just waved me off in response. So, I shrugged and nodded at my clone, who vanished along with Ren and Riruka. I turned to lead the way towards the chamber in which the box was being kept. “A word of warning – what is magic to me is mental energy to you lot, so don’t be sure that just blocking will allow you to escape its effects if you face it. Dodge or try to turn it back on the caster, okay?”“Let me guess – the Mark allows you to do magic and that’s how you’ve been teleporting around.” Kakashi sighed. “Wonderful. We need to try to build a defense up against that.”I shrugged. “I’ll see what I can come up with. Wait. I… my clone just teleported…”I quickly brought up the quest screen and, yes, the bonus objectives that told me not to use magic or bending were both slashed out.“Sonofabitch!” I swore. Ugh, so much for that! Wait, no, recover! “I guess my skillset was just blocked on the way here, which is… suspicious…” I chuckled weakly.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
I paused outside the gigantic metal doors that looked like they led to a vault. Something… was giving me a really bad feeling. I don’t have anything close to premonition, but…“Gundan?” Kakashi asked, coming up to my side to put a hand on my shoulder. “Is something wrong?” “No… yes… I don’t know.” I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. In the entire time since I’d been reincarnated, I had never felt such nervousness. Isn’t [Gamer’s Mind] supposed to stop things like this? I’m not sure. “Something tells me we’re going to have something on our hands that we won’t be able to handle like we usually do. But on the other hand…” I looked up at him and bit my lip. “We don’t know what’s in the Box, and it falling into the wrong hands could mean the end of life as we know it. I’m… worried. Even when I took down ROOT I didn’t feel this trepidation, this… bone-deep instinctual call to just not open that door.”“You’re afraid.” Kaiza quietly said.I gulped. Was that what this was? Fear? That means [Gamer’s Mind] should really be stopping this. What was up with the game system?“But that’s okay.” Kakashi spoke, glaring at the man with his single visible eye. “Bravery is not an absence of fear, but the notion of not letting your fear control your actions. Whatever we may face beyond those doors, you will not be alone.”It was then that a quiet pop was heard. Instantly, the three of us were on guard, but we shouldn’t have bothered.“Ah, the effects of your technique re most unyouthful, Gundan-kun…”“Stop whining, Gai.”“I am never going to do that again on my own free will!”“If things over here go smoothly, we’ll make the journey back on foot.”My eyes widened as I took in the assortment of people now present before us. “Orochimaru-sensei! You came, too?”Orochimaru said nothing at first, looking me from head to toe. That was odd… why would… Wait. Was he looking to see if I was okay?“After being informed of the magnitude of the situation, we felt it best to all be here.” He answered, eyes tight. “Of course, in order to do that…”“We came along, too, brat!” Jiraiya grinned. “So, whatever is in this big bad box of yours, we’ll be able to handle it!”“And I came along to help you handle them.” Tsunade scoffed, gesturing towards the men in the group. “We will be more than strong enough to meet whatever is in there head-on.”Why was my vision blurry? This is odd. I wiped at my eyes and truly smiled at them. “Thank you. All of you. With you here… we cannot fail.”So, what if there was going to be something in there I wasn’t sure I could face? So, what if my [Gamer’s Mind] wasn’t working as it should? I know what I have under my belt… it’s a lot more than anyone in this room can boast.“Well said, my rival’s protégé!” Gai made himself known, giving me a thumbs up and a grin, what was normally called a ‘nice guy’ pose, possibly in his honor.“What’s this about Gundan being someone’s protégé?” Orochimaru frigidly asked, turning to Gai was a raised eyebrow in an otherwise impressively expressionless visage. “I was under the impression I am still his Jonin sensei.”“You Konoha ninja are so hair-trigger when it comes to emotions, it’s not even funny.” Kaiza snorted.“Perhaps,” Hizashi bit out through grit teeth with a look at Kaiza, “what our new associate here is trying to say, is that now is not the time for such a discussion. The chamber beyond holds this Box, and we must be wary.”I turned to my shadow clone. “Get to Tisha and get her into our special place. Train her as much as you can over there. I feel like we’re going to need her by our side.”The clone nodded and vanished soundlessly. Hm. So he purposely ensured that I would hear the popping noise that normally accompanied apparition so that I would be aware it was him, something to keep in mind for later.“Your ‘special place’?” Orochimaru asked, tilting his head curiously.“Later. For now, we move in.” I waved him off and turned to face the door fully.Alright… deep breaths.I opened the door with a small push.Waiting with bated breath, we all took a collectible sigh of relief when nothing immediately happened.“This… this is…”Or maybe that wasn’t relief I heard in their tone, but awe. I certainly couldn’t begrudge Kaiza his half-sentence, because in front of us was the Chamber of the Flame.The gigantic chamber was in darkness, but when I opened the door, fires began to light themselves on torches, chandeliers, and sconces all around. It threw the room in an extremely bright orange glow. I walked in without effort, feeling as if, for all intents and purposes, I had entered another world.“It’s almost a perfect recreation.” I muttered, casting my eyes around. The Chamber of the Flame… those three women up there,” I gestured to the statues of three woman holding various instruments and not, as before, the gear to lift up the pedestal the box was on, “are the three muses. And someone seems to have done a pretty accurate depiction of the Olympians.” I nodded towards the individual paintings on the walls. “Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Ares, Athena, Aphrodite, Hera, Helios… and many more.”“Your dreams… they are those people.” Kakashi murmured, his single eye studying the giant portraits with a careful countenance. “This is a point in your favor.”I stuck my tongue out at him, then sobered. “That gold box… that’s the one. Please, people, fan out. We don’t know what can emerge, and I’d rather be best prepared for anything.”Without a word, our entire group spread out to form a rough circle around the box, far enough away from it to be able to prepare, but close enough to react. Taking a chance, I examined it as I walked up to its gleaming surface, appearing as if it were only polished yesterday, for all intents and purposes.
[Pandora’s Box – Legendary
?]
Oh shit.“I feel… a sense of foreboding that I did not before entering this room.” Hizashi spoke from where he was already in a Jyuuken stance. “That box is playing with my emotions.”I looked at the box with a narrowed gaze. Could whatever be in it be strong enough to affect even my system?I braced my hands on its edge. “Steady. Be prepared. If the worst comes to pass… don’t hesitate to kill me to take out whatever comes through.”Without waiting for an answer, I pushed.And then I was pushed.I braced myself and weathered the strong gale of wind that spiraled around the box, its cover blew off the moment even a crack of a gap was available. I guess it is because of my skill, but I wasn’t knocked back. The others, despite being at such a distance, were not so easily grounded and were blown back against the walls.A slender hand grasped the edge of the box, and with a small sound of pleasure, a woman pulled herself up.“Well, well, well… what have we here?”“Aphrodite.” I spoke, mind racing to think. Did Kratos kill her? I don’t think so. I remember him fucking her, though, and then I remember scouring the internet for an answer. Her being left alive was meant to be a metaphor, that love never dies or some shit like that. “A pleasure to see you.”She did not reply, taking the time to stand while I stepped back, and all around us, the Konoha ninja did the same.She was garbed in the same torn garment that left her breasts to hang free, but that was not all she had on her person. The Golden Fleece was reduced in size and adorned her left arm, somehow merged with the sun God’s shield. When she stepped out of the box, I saw the boots of Hermes on her legs. On her waist was a strange collection of items, including but not limited to Poseidon’s Conch Shell, the Claws of Hades – each on either side of her shapely waist, and even the heads of Helios and Medusa, albeit with their orifices closed. ON her back, the Blade of Olympus was thrumming with godly energy, completely intact and exactly how it was before Kratos stabbed himself with it. Her right forearm seemed embedded with glowing yellow orbs. When my eyes reached her face, it was to note that her hair seemed alight, as if a spotlight shined only on it, and her eyes were of pure emerald.I scanned her immediately.
[Athena – Level ?
(Last Olympian)
Race - ?
HP - ?/?
CP - ?/?
Constitution - ?
Strength - ?
Agility - ?
Intelligence - ?
Luck - ?
Wisdom - ?
?]
“It is good to know that no mortal is resistant to Aphrodite’s thrall.” She said, and instead of that flowing voice I had expected, I got the voice of-“Athena.” I gasped, and suddenly it was as if a haze was lifted from my vision.Wait. WHY DID I OPEN THE BOX? I WAS SUPPOSED TO DESTROY IT!“You. It’s you. You’re powerful enough to overwhelm all of my skills.” I realized. “It was you who made me stop on my way to Kiri to help Nami. It was you who compelled that Uzumaki to hand over the key-scroll to me. It was you who sent me into a panic outside the door, and it was you who didn’t even make us stop and think that we had decided to destroy the box, not open it. It was… all you.”“Hm. It seems I am not yet used to Aphrodite’s power. I seem to have lost control.” The woman muttered eyes narrowed. “Very well. You will die.”My eyes widened as I immediately slipped into the speed-force. Even then, I was not fast enough to dodge completely and got nicked under my eye as I threw myself back to avoid the Blade of Olympus being brought to behead me from an overhead swing.Shit.SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!SHE WAS ON A WHOLE OTHER LEVEL!And if I could beat Orochimaru, the strongest of the Sannin, without much effort, and she could slaughter me…We were all doomed.Immediately, the backs of Kakashi and Kaiza filled my vision. “Gundan, what’s-”“Not now!” I quickly slammed my hand on the ground. Around us, the walls began to tremble.“Such a strange set of powers for a mortal.” Athena murmured, looking intently at me. “And an even stranger demeanor. Why do you worry about these insects?”“Remember, Athena, that you and your family once thrived on the very attention these insects showered on you.” I said in way of answer, gritting my teeth. I didn’t really appreciate how far down we were when Kaiza and I took the tunnel. “Or that is, at least, until Kratos destroyed them all.”Her calm demeanor was replaced by one clearly governed by rage. “That imbecile… undoing what he wrought upon the world took eons of careful gathering… to lock away the realm of the dead, to tame the seas again, to calm the heavens, and then banish the primordial chaos… it was because of him that I had to open myself to… outside influences.”Thankfully, she seemed to be prey to the common villain fault of monologuing. “But he’s far beyond your reach. Nothing you do will ever bring you even close to where he is. He destroyed the door to Yggdrasil.” Actually, I have no idea if he did. All I knew about the latest God of War game was that he somehow leaped into another dimension and had a family. His kid was an archer or something... and Norse mythology was the new setting? Not sure...Athena’s gaze brightened. “You know how he left. You, a mortal, somehow know things you shouldn’t – things no one should have told you.”The rumbling around us increased in intensity. “You brought the Shinju to the world… you needed it to gather all the ‘Hope’ that Kratos dispersed into the world. It condensed it within itself and became Chakra as we know it today.” I murmured, trying to find a connection. “What did you do to the Uzumaki Clan? Why control me to awaken you?”“The mortals who called that hovel above us their home?” Athena laughed. “Oh, they were so fun to play with. Summoning the World Tree consumed a lot of magic that I had gathered from the deities as they died, you see. I fell into a long embrace while it did its work. Fortunately, gathering the magic of powerful beings, those who were once well above me in level, raised me to even greater heights. Now, I am far more than I ever was. My magic acted of its own, and enthralled the people of this land.”“You were controlling the Uzumaki?” Tsunade asked in disbelief.I quickly shouldered through my comrades and grasped Tsunade’s blood and pulled, yanking her out of the way as a green electric arc pierced the stone wall behind her.Athena’s gaze snapped back to mine with an interested gleam. “Yes, a very strange set of powers for a mortal.”“You taught them sealing – the magic of words.” I continued, throwing caution to the wind. If I could just keep her busy until we were out, we may have a chance. “The world believes the Uzumaki ‘discovered’ it, but really, it was you who were feeding them the knowledge required, even in your slumber. You were the one who possessed them to build this chamber, this monument, and the library outside…”“You are wise… for a mortal.” Athena remarked. “Yes, indeed. I was the one who… nudged them, shall we say? Yes… I nudged them in the right direction…”“What I don’t get is why.” I frowned. “Throughout Kratos’ siege on Olympus, you were the one who kept reminding him about the value of humanity, who kept urging him to think for them. You were meant to be their guiding light, their final salvation once the chaos took over the world. So why not leave them be? What is it you desire?”“I desire to rule!” Athena barked. “No, not desire… I deserve to rule. I was to be their savior, the one they would look to when they needed guidance. I would have forged them into a civilization far greater than they could have ever been on their own!”“Wait… the evils.” Of course! “You absorbed the essences of the Gods, but they were affected by the evils from Pandora’s Box! Athena, you’re infected!”“Nonsense!” she sheathed the Blade of Olympus on her back and unhooked the Claws of Hades from her waist. “This is who I was always meant to be!”“You’re blinding yourself.” I realized. “Pride of yourself, greed and gluttony for power, anger and envy against Kratos, your slothful slumber and manipulation while you gathered your energy, and… um…” I shrugged. “I’m not actually sure about lust, but given the way that you’re dressed…”“You lie!” she screeched and drew back her hand to launch a bolt of lightning at me.Fortunately, that’s when the chamber shot out of the ground. With a gesture, I quickly caused it to explode outwards, and then we were all in the air.I immediately righted myself in the air and dodged Aphrodite’s lightning bolt, forming several shadow clones. Four of them dashed forward immediately, elements spinning around their form as if they were as agitated as I was. A few shot outwards, dodging debris as they made their way to our comrades and attached themselves to them, transformed into a less cumbersome form, and used air-bending to guide them safely to the ground and then dispersed.Around me, four shadow clones stilled in the air. Almost as one, we all drew our Zanpakuto from their sheaths.Okay, Athena was far, far beyond me. Even when I was in the speed-force, she was too fast. It stands to reason that all her other parameters would be the same.But, I smirked, I had a weapon that can end her in two hits.“Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi!”Unfortunately, when I was using a particular Zanpakuto spirit, any clones I had made couldn’t use the same one. Also, while I was in Shikai or Bankai, I couldn’t make any clones at all. Since this state revolved around something to do with the soul, I thought it best not to interfere.“Slash, Zangetsu!”“Scatter, Senbonzakura!”“Reduce all creation to ash, Ryuujinjakka!”“Reap the souls of the unworthy, Shinigami!”No idea where that last one came from, but hey, at least I knew how to release my Zanpakuto, right?The haze of spiritual energy around me and my clones cleared, showing us holding our initial-release weapons. The clone with Shinigami had Death’s default combat weapons – twin scythes. I wonder what its abilities are…“You… are no simple mortal.” Athena acknowledged, swatting away a funnel of fire without any visible discomfort. “But you are centuries too early to challenge me, the last God.”“I don’t know how, or why you’re here, Athena…” I spoke, feeling determination settle in my bones and falling into a Chi-Blocking stance instinctively, “but I won’t let you take over the world!”And then, as one, we shot forward.Without her even looking at us… I just knew…Athena was smirking. *** “This brat is something else.” Kaiza murmured, looking up at the display in the sky with grudging respect.“It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but Gundan-kun will always surprise you.” Orochimaru commented eyes narrowed as he took in the battle. “Jiraiya, get ready. In spite of that sword’s marvelous abilities… Gundan is being pushed back.”And indeed, Kakashi noticed, while all the clones wielding those strange weapons were attacking in conjunction with the clones using Gundan’s unique bending abilities… The woman who called herself god was not even phased. She dodged and weaved, and used her claw-like purple weapons to great effect.“Yosh! Gundan-kun is most youthful to be able to keep up with the likes of her!” Gai yelled… right next to his ear. “Unfortunately, it seems we have to step in.” He brought his hands forward in a cross…But was interrupted when a shadow clone was kicked in such a way so as to crash into the earth right in front of them. The force was tremendous and caused the ground to erupt, sending them flying into the air.Almost immediately when Kakashi felt the earth start to rise, however, it was swiftly brought down.“Don’t interfere.” The clone hissed, flipping himself upright and pulling back his hands. “If I could defeat Orochimaru-sensei while not using one of my many tricks, then you lot are way below our league. Stay. Out.” It commanded before it shot its hands forward. A square segment of the earth it was on began to rise and shoot into the sky, where it suddenly broke off from the ground itself. The clone grabbed its makeshift weapon and slammed it into the woman’s side… but even as the earth crumbled, she did not budge.“Gundan-kun is many things… but he is not one to boast.” Hizashi quietly spoke. The best we can do now is try to contain the damage…”“The Four Violet Flames Formation.” Tsunade suddenly spoke, then turned towards them with a gleam in her eye. “Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Kakashi, we’re going to cast that barrier.”“That weak technique? Please.” Kaiza waved her off. “I know a far stronger one… and I don’t need any of you to use it.” He unsheathed his sword and, with a single powerful movement, buried it into the ground right up till the hilt. “I anticipated using this technique soon enough, so I came prepared.”He went through an astounding number of hand-signs in a few short, precious seconds, the rate of which even Kakashi had trouble keeping up with.“Sealing Technique: Decagonal Barrier of the Wanderer!” *** I was getting frustrated.I was standing back, letting my clones battle it out with their all in it, but it was to no avail. My fire-bending and earth-bending clones expired multiple times in spite of my high evasion chance, and I had to constantly create new ones. Thank god for my high regen rate…Magic was ineffective against her, even the Killing Curse had no effect. The elements were a mere nuisance to her, not even a distraction. As I observed her, whirling the Claws of Hades about her like a maelstrom (haha) of death, I narrowed down the options I had remaining.Bankai and telepathy.That’s literally it.Nothing else works, dammit! Hierro against her was like creating a normal shadow clone – it didn’t matter how strong its defenses are, a single hit dispels it. Cero bounced off the Golden Fleece, even the highest grade one. I needed the Speed Force to keep up with her because of those damned boots of hers. [Titan] did me no good, as did [Chakra Enrichment]. At least I was able to send her attacks towards me that I couldn’t dodge into the Mirror Dimension, and that, of all things, helped me level it up like crazy – it sat at a satisfying level eighty-three now, with some useful perks…If I even lived after this fucking battle!I cursed as a grand gesture of my hand cracked the ar in front of me, and a beam of pure solar energy from Helios’ Head vanished through it.I did have another strategy… but after that, I’d be completely vulnerable for fifteen seconds. It wouldn’t be too much of a bother if she were underpowered like every single other foe I had faced so far, but…Something tells me Athena was meant to be the Final Boss. Like, of the entire system. Did I just wreck the story? Possibly. Do I care? Fuck no.I hissed as I conjured a slab of metal and apparated to another spot in the sky to avoid the arc of electric energy that she fired from the Eye of Atlantis.Okay, you know what? I’m through waiting.Fifteen seconds of vulnerability… here we go.I mentally activated the [Ninja Art: Shadow Clone Technique], and funneled all of my energy into it, saving only a point of each not to fall into chakra exhaustion. The sky was suddenly obscured by a massive cloud of smoke. And when it cleared…Fifty-three thousand, seven hundred and ninety-nine clones stared at Athena with a hateful expression.To her credit, the goddess wasn’t even phased, although she did drop her stance when the clones around her leaped back for a second wind, to allow their regeneration to replenish their energies. Distantly, I think I heard a shout of “That’s it, I’m so done with this brat!”, but I’m not sure why someone would say that.“You are beyond most mortals I have met.” Athena commended me, flicking the Claws of Hades and sheathing them at her sides. There was no sheath, but they stayed there… magic, I guess? The chains around her forearms vanished into golden light. “Even the Ghost of Sparta would see his end at your hands.”“Thanks, but no thanks.” I smirked. Okay, but can you blame me if I feel smug about getting praise from the final boss when I’ve clearly triggered the fight way too early? I didn’t give anything away when I saw a few clones silently disappearing into black portals under cover of their comrades. Okay, so stall her until they get back. I can do that. “If Kratos weren’t granted a certain honor,” of being the main character “most of the things he did would have been impossible, demigod child of Zeus or not.” Especially on easy modes; like seriously? “Personally, I always preferred the other one.”She smiled an indulgent smile, although it looked wrong when someone’s eyes were glowing like a freaking glowworm. “He too, had the same blood Kratos did.”“Not what I was implying.” I snorted. Seriously, though. If Deimos were the main character of the games, he’d never have died a death as shitty as he did. “But I digress. You seem to have all of Kratos’ weapons and artifacts…” which, if I get as loot, would make me super beyond what I am now. But then again, can you call me super anymore when I’m struggling so badly? It’s like I’m fighting Alduin as a level one Argonian unarmed and naked, “I was wondering, weren’t they all destroyed at some point or the other?” In fact, I was pretty sure he beat Zeus to death with his bare fists.“I am on a higher plane of existence than you can even imagine, mortal.” Her smile vanished and she narrowed her eyes. “I played this game so long because it amused me. But whether there is one of you or thousands, it will make no difference.” She pointed towards the earth far, far beneath us. “Allow me to hasten your end.”There was a loud crack, and Athena suddenly vanished from where she was and appeared a few meters away, a visage of annoyance pointed towards Shaak Ti, at whose side was…“Sandaime-sama!” I gasped and immediately apparated to him. “It is not safe here-”“Gundan-kun, we will talk of what, exactly, a person is meant to do at what time later.” He spoke, leveling a look at me that made me remember the times when I was sure to get an earful from a friend of mine. Fuck. I totally forgot about the situation with Konoha! “For now, I will help in battling this… Athena.”“Speak the name of your reaper clearly, mortal.” Athena spat. Hey, that was so racist. It’s not his fault that her name comes from a completely different language tree! “You are far beneath even the child at your side – you don’t deserve my attention.”Hiruzen’s eye twitched. Wait, he was in the air! Was Shaak TI holding him up with chakra strings? How long did my clone keep her in the Mirror Dimension, and what else does she know? “You will be no reaper today, woman.”“You delay the inevitable.” Athena sneered, and whipped out the nemesis whip from… somewhere. Huh, I guess the way Kratos shifts weapons in the games in plausible after- HOLY SHIT!“Please retreat, Hokage-sama!” I advised, slipping into the Speed-Force to appear in front of him as quick as possible and wrenching open a door to the Mirror Dimension with a gesture. Then, I pushed forward, swallowing the unfamiliar stream of green lightning emerging from the crossed weapons.Athena frowned, then her eyes widened when the portal grew close. Since I was still in the Speed-Force, I was able to see a blur as she dodged the incoming portal and stilled a few steps away from its edge, which closed with the sound of several glass shards tinkling.“Such control over interdimensional portals…” she smirked, “do you even know what you toy with? The inhabitants of that realm are far greater than even I.”It was then that I was hit by a sudden rush of memories. A lot of memories.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Magic Specialty: Mirror Dimension Access (Active) Lv MAX
Through select knowledge, you can open a doorway into the Mirror Dimension – an alternate layer of reality that naturally coexists with the base. Once the doorway has been created, it is impossible to exit without utilizing an interdimensional relocation skill. As a master of the art, your magic is unparalleled while within. Time flows strangely within – foreign objects and beings do not age, and a dilation effect is active.
+100% effectiveness to magic skills while in the Mirror Dimension
Time Dilation: 1:100 0]
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Magic Specialty: Oblivion Summoning (Active) Lv MAX
As a summoner of the denizens of the realm of Oblivion, you are capable of summoning them and theirs to aid you in various situations at no expense of your own. Through mastery of this art, you have no limits to the number of things you can bring forth, and share any beneficial effects applicable to you with your summons.
Creatures Roster: Wolf, Flaming Wolf, Flame Thrall, Frost Thrall, Storm Thrall, Dead Thrall, Daedric Lord, Daedric Spell-weaver, Daedric Chef, Daedric Masseur.
Weapons Roster: Spiked Gloves, Dagger, Sword, Axe, Mace, Greatsword, Waraxe, Warhammer, Bow.
Armor Roster: Vestments of the Mage, Leathers of the Rogue, Plate of the Warrior.]
Sweet! Plus, a clone was busy outside the barrier plotting with Kaiza and Orochimaru. It took an unbelievable ten years to max out my Oblivion summoning, though – that’s… woah. I guess the quick leveling up in Skyrim was just, like, game-logic. I mean, it was obvious but… ten years?! Damn.A new plan began forming in my head as I frowned at Athena. “In all my time within, I have never encountered another being.”“The denizens are above your mortal comprehension. You are, after all, a mere human. What you can perceive simply does not include the wavelengths of reality they exist on.” She fell into a stance. “I grow tired of conversing with you. Your caliber is high enough to warrant asking you: any last words?”Shit, shit, shit! The moment she moves, it’s all over! I can’t hope to match her physical attributes, and our magic is only at a stalemate due to the sheer versatility of my skills. Even though it was giving me a bad feeling, I had no choice…“Yes.” I spoke calmly, then channeled Reiryoku to my eyes. “Legilimens!”My telepathy-fueled spell was effective immediately. The daylight and scenery from the sky abruptly vanished and I was surrounded by darkness. Green wisps of light hovered around me, looking, for all intents and purposes, like lazy fireflies.“You dare…” And suddenly, Athena was in front of me. Not in her Aphrodite body, but her actual ghost-self from God of War 3. “You are brave, for a mortal.”“I have no choice… I cannot allow you to disturb the status quo… my world is too young, yet.” I whispered. “Please, Athena, try to fight the hold these things have on you. You’re so out of character, it’s not even funny!”For a moment – a single, short-lived, yet somehow pregnant instant, her face morphed into confusion; it was the sort you couldn’t fake. But then, the very next second it was gone. Was this what it was like for Zeus and the others? My heart went out to them; I had [Gamer’s Mind] to protect myself, but what did they have?“You speak blasphemy.” She growled, then smirked. “Perhaps… yes.”A sharp pang of pain suddenly burst through my head, but just as abruptly vanished.“Tell me, mortal, have you heard of the phrase, ‘a taste of one’s own medicine’?”PING!
[System Alert!
System breached by a higher bein^(*@!*@)!@*_!)@*!#*]
My head hurt!I heard her speak something else, but my head was too busy being on fire for me to understand. I tried to grab at my head, to smother the agony somehow-But then, suddenly, I wasn’t in her head anymore.“Yvon?”My eyes flashed open and I looked up, a groggy feeling keeping my body from responding properly. I recognized this. This… this was my memory.I wasn’t in her head anymore… she was in mine.“Jake?” I felt myself asking, voice rough with the amount of alcohol I had consumed. “What’s… where are we?”“In the car, man. You have a very high alcohol tolerance, but you’re super drunk right now, ain’t ya?” he asked, and his handsome face was alight with a boyish grin. God, ho old was he here? He was… twenty-one, I think. And I was seventeen. “Listen, um… the guys wanted…”I scoffed. “I… I know what they-ay?” I hiccupped, “What they… what they want. What men always… want.”“So… you’re okay with it?” he asked, tentative. God, please say no, please say no…“Will you come, too?” I felt myself asking, hopeful. THIS ISN’T TIME FOR YOUR STUPID CRUSH, DON’T TRUST-“Sure.”And then the familiar nightmare played. He didn’t even have the decency to take me indoors – I was outside behind his villa, in the dark. They came, one by one, and at that point in my life I was too used to rough ministrations to bother and at that moment, too drunk to care. When they were done, I waited… and waited… but he never came.“Such despair… such rage.” Athena’s voice spoke, in awe, almost. “You loathed yourself for so long… but wait… there is so much more….”The scene flashed, and we were in the library of our college, yelling at each other.“I didn’t know you were such a nice person, Yvon.” Jake whispered. “Please, I… you’re like a little brother to me…”“Yeah, that’s cuz I do your assignments and shit.” I felt myself scoff. John, a good friend of mine, had a hand on both of our chests, keeping us apart. My fingers itched to pull out the switchblade hidden in my sleeve. “I don’t think I know any sort of older brother who sells out his little one to his friends, do you? Friends who, I might add, keep pestering me even after you supposedly made it clear it was only for one night. I see them every day, Jake. They ask me to help them with their shit too.”“Just say no!” He almost shouted, exasperated, throwing his hands in the air. “It’s not like they’re holding a gun to your head!”“That’s unfair, bruh. You know he can’t say no to anyone.” John said in my defense. He then turned his eyes on me. “And why is this the first time I’m hearing of this, Yvon?”I averted my eyes and was glad to. John had one of those ‘looks’… one that felt he was looking into your soul. “Whatever. I need a smoke, and I’m getting out of here.” I felt myself say, backing off and out of the private cubicle. “Just… stay away from me and tell your friends to back off.”“Resignation, desire, sadness, anger… you say I am consumed by the evils, yet once upon a time, you were, too.” Athena’s voice spoke again, sounding amused. “But… you have so much more…”The scene flashed and we were outside the canteen. I was smoking, and… this was a familiar scene to me. My girl best-friend, Leah, was sitting with me and grinning like a cat that caught the canary.“See?” she happily said, showing me her ring. “We’re engaged!”For me, that’s when I really felt the world slip from under my feet. At that point, college had been hell for me. The curriculum was too easy for me, and I was breezing by with almost perfect scores in everything. There wasn’t anything to keep me occupied from… anything. I’d already gotten caught thrice drunk and creating a nuisance of myself within its walls, and Jake still was a friend/enemy that I had a crush on.But… Leah had known. She knew what he did, I told her myself. She knew how I felt, she knew how I…“That’s great.” I felt myself tell her, beaming a wide smile. I was really proud that my voice didn’t crack, and my eye didn’t brim over. “I’m… so happy for you.”The scene flashed, and I was super drunk, and on a call.“You’re getting married, huh?” I felt myself ask, face wet. “Well, it’s good to know that being a third wheel is good for something.”“I… I don’t know what to say.” Jake said in way of reply, voice lacking any inflection.“Are… are you happy?” I asked then, and my heart clenched so bad I thought I was having a heart attack.“…Yes.”With a scream, I threw my phone against the wall of my bathroom. No one would hear, my mother was too busy being passed out drunk to care. The bottle in my hand, empty, followed, and it broke into several pieces that covered the floor of the small face. I fell to my knees, hard, and felt the glass bite into my skin with a small bit of happiness. The pain was the only constant… ever.How was any of it fair? I always helped people, always listened to their problems, always smiled and always said yes to all the men who came asking for… favors. Yet, that day, I had no one to call and cry to. I didn’t have anyone who would be bothered with my problems, with my-How does he get to be happy when I’m not?“ENOUGH!”I wasn’t that pathetic boy anymore. I couldn’t be. I didn’t want to be him! I had been studiously avoiding thinking of my past for this very reason – I had a problem letting things go. What right did this bitch have to dredge up my worst memories?!“GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE! PROTEGO!”“You are too weak to-”“PROTEGO!”“Cease this-”“FUCK YOU, YOU GREEK BITCH! PROTEGO!”With a flash of color, we were back in the real world.PING!
[System Alert!
Due to the actions of a higher being, [Gamer’s Mind] has been strengthened to protect the user.]“You have NO RIGHT!” I yelled at her, startling Hiruzen and Shaak TI behind me, but I didn’t care. I surged forward in a rage-induced battle-daze. “Ban kai – Jakuho Raikoben!”I wasn’t thinking about him, I wasn’t thinking about him, I wasn’t thinking about him-WHY WAS [Gamer’s Mind] NOT REMOVING MY RAGE WHAT“DIE!” I screamed, shoving all of my Reiryoku into the rocket launcher in my hand, and sent it flying towards her at speeds even she could barely comprehend.The resulting explosion whitened out the sky.I didn’t bother to wait for the flames to die down. I crossed my arms in front of me, and two summoning orbs appeared in them with a thought. “You wanna see pain? I’ll give you pain!” I snarled, and my hands flashed downwards, empowered with the Speed-Force subconsciously.A gigantic purple spherical portal appeared in front of me, and Atronachs began pouring out of them. Flame ones shot out fireballs into the visible Reiryoku as they emerged, and Storm ones fired lightning bolts. Above us, the clouds began to darken as storm clouds began to gather.“I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT HIM, YOU BITCH! I WAS HAPPY HERE!” I screamed, holding the portal open. I felt something trail down my cheek, but that wasn’t important. “I WILL SEE YOU SUFFER FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TODAY!”A chuckle rang out. Another. It soon cascaded into full-blown laughter.From the cloud of Reiryoku, a minotaur emerged, charging straight at one of the Atronachs via falling. It crushed it with one hand but was immediately immolate by another of my summons.Another emerged. And then another. Suddenly, the cloud dissipated to show a wounded Athena holding the Claws of Hades, and the fabric of space and time in front of her ripped.“You dare! You attempt to invade my mind and have to audacity to get angry when I do the same?” she chuckled, then leveled an expression of rage at me through the golden blood that poured down her face. “I will enjoy seeing you and your army crushed to death!”“Bring it on, whore!” I snarled, focusing more intently. Another portal opened on the earth beneath me, and Frost Atronachs poured out, raining blows on Athena’s own spawn that managed to reach the ground alive. “Your death ain’t gonna be quick, oh no, I’m going to make it last.”A bolt of lightning shot down from the heavens and struck Athena head-on. Shaak TI attacked using the element of surprise, hm? The blue magnum continued to cascade on her for a long few seconds, then cut off with a faint exploding sound.Athena… was weakening. Blood flowed freely all across her body, and she panted as she tried to soothe her back with her hand. I was sure that if I could see her HP, she’d be down to a quarter by now.I grinned and continued to allow Atronachs to pour out of my portal. When I got tired of standing and effectively holding the door to death open, I abandoned it and shot forward, creating and dispelling a shadow clone. This got the message to my other clones who were in wait, and the veritable sea of black-clad boys surged forward, feeling the anger I felt and the determination that flooded every inch of my being.Athena was going to be eradicated. Painfully.“Ban kai – Tensa Zangetsu!”“Ban kai – Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!“Ban kai – Zanka no Tachi!”“Ban kai – Shini no Kotoba!”A cloud of Reiryoku smoke enveloped the four of them before it dissipated to show them holding fully released weapons. I didn't pay much attention to them, I simply charged up the launcher with more Reiryoku and aimed at Athena. Around us, the elemental clones were gathering all they could - air, fire, earth, water, lava, combustion... everything, and aimed at Athena with the Speed-Force coursing through us.“Die!” We all screamed as one and launched our strongest attacks. *** PING!
[Defeated the Final Boss!
Rewards: +99999999EXP, +1000000 Stat Points, +100000PP Last Olympian Armor Set, Last Olympian Weapons.
The Roads Between Unlocked!]
I don’t… I don’t want this anymore…PING!
[Quest Complete!
Main Quest: Blue Core of Hope
A Pandora’s Box exists under the ruins of Uzushiogakure no Sato. Find it and discover its secrets.
Completed Objectives
Find Pandora’s Box.
Open or Destroy Pandora’s Box.
Defeat Athena
Completed Bonus Objectives
Win the Final Fight before ascending five times.
Win the Final Fight before ascending four times.
Win the Final Fight before ascending thrice.
Win the Final Fight before ascending twice.
Rewards
75000EXP, Fruits of My Labor Perk, Equipment Switch (4 Slots), Skill Book: Copy Magic, Skill Book: Megaflare, Summoning Contract: Chocobo, x1 Chaos Revenge]
[You have leveled up multiple times!]
I don’t care…“Legion?”I turned to look at Shaak Ti fully, not even panting. My energies and health had been fully regenerated by the time they had gathered their wits enough to approach me. Around us, the purple-hued barrier fell and Kaiza solemnly pulled his sword out from somewhere behind them.“Tisha-san. Hokage-sama.” I greeted. I willed [Gamer’s Mind] to be active in full force. I wouldn’t be able to talk otherwise. “As you can see, the threat has been neutralized,” I spoke, gesturing towards the pile of ash that was once Athena. Dramatically enough, a sudden breeze blew it away. “so I… I request a few days of leave.”Hiruzen looked at me with a strange mix of horror and pity. Jiraiya wasn’t that far from it. Tsunade actually looked… sympathetic, while Orochimaru looked only contemplative.“Gundan-kun…” Kakashi began but said nothing else. Odd. Perhaps he didn’t know what to say? At his side, Hizashi looked similarly tongue-tied.“Athena… dredged up some memories of an alternate future of mine I’d rather forget.” I lied, feeling [Serpent-tongue] do its work. “I just… need some time.” I whispered and turned away to apparate.“Acknowledged.” I heard Hiruzen say. “You are granted an indefinite leave of absence, to be revoked only at your wish.” He then paused before speaking. “I could arrange a session with a Yamanaka-”“Not needed.” I waved him off. “I just need some alcohol, and a good smoke or two hundred.” That’s how I’d been dealing before, and it was a tried and trued method.“Brat.” Kaiza spoke, making me turn my head just so, to look at him from the corner of my eye. “You have three days. After that, I’m coming for you.” He smirked. “After what I’ve seen… we have to spar.”It was odd… to see someone treat me so normally after all this. But… it was a welcome strangeness. “Of course. Accompany Shaak Ti to the Leaf, if you still wish to join the clan. I’ll take care of some finer details when I get back.”I initiated the spell without waiting for another second and felt the familiar sensation of space pressing down around me. When I took that leap, I didn’t know if I was fleeing from, or to, but… I needed something familiar.Somehow, a flash of blue eyes and whiskers brought a sense of calmness to my heart.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Hah, just a snot-nosed brat like you?” The man in front of me sneered. “What, did the Leaf not have enough Jonin on their payroll? Did they-”“You irritate me.” I frowned, then reached out with my hand.The man’s expression morphed into horror when his body began to walk towards me of its own accord. “What… what is thi-”I slashed my Zanpakuto through his neck and released his body from my control. The head fell to the ground, but then rose into the air when I manipulated the blood still within. A flick of my fingers opened up my inventory and withdrew the purchased sealing scroll. Setting the head down carefully on its open surface, I flared my chakra and it went straight in in a soft plume of smoke.I sighed and ruffled my hair. This… didn’t help at all. I took another sig from the bottle of Jack in my hand, then turned on my heel and apparated.When I burst into reality(?) again, I was in front of the Hokage Tower.I ignored the stares and whispers and made my way in, paying no heed to the rest of the people. I walked right into the Bounty Collection Office, and slammed my bottle down on the kiosk. “I wish to turn in all the Leaf Bounties.”The man behind the desk with a generic name I couldn’t even bother to register looked up at me from a book and snorted. “Ha! Go home, drunken brat, and stop making up-”With a scoff, I threw the scroll with the heads towards him. “Look inside.” I said simply. The world was blurring and turning a bit, an effect I can only objectively note because of my gaming powers, I’m sure. But then again, whenever I drink, I’m usually too out of it to bother about what being drunk feels like, or get too smashed to remember it the next day.The man looked at me skeptically, but opened the scroll and channeled chakra without checking the matrixes. Idiot.With a considerable larger plume of smoke, a mountain of human heads, still dripping fresh blood (and possibly turning the scroll worthless) appeared on his desk. There were just too many, and some rolled off of the flat surface with wet squelches.The man turned green. “Who-”“These are all of them.” I interrupted him, not interested in his drivel. “I opted to turn them in here simply because it’s more convenient. I can always take them to a private Bounty Station if you refuse to compensate me.” I shrugged, and took a huge gulp of the whiskey in my hand. “Now, are you going to pay me or do I have to take this to the Hokage?”The man frantically nodded and pulled out a huge pile of paperwork onto an adjacent desk. He paused, looked at me and shuddered, then reached into a safe to count out and hand me my rightfully earned moolah. “There. That should be all…”“Thank you.” I quipped back, then turned to walk the hell out of there.PING!
[Quest Complete!
Side Quest: Cleaning House
In the Bingo Book is a comprehensive list of people of interest and missing-ninja – ninjas who abandoned their home either with or without traitorous intentions. Eliminate all of the latter and bring their heads to the bounty collection office in the Hokage Tower.
Completed Objectives
Eliminate all the missing-ninja of the Hidden Leaf.
Eliminate Academy Student Missing-ninja (19/19).
Eliminate Genin Missing-ninja (4/4).
Eliminate Chunin Missing-ninja (7/7).
Eliminate Jonin Missing-ninja (2/2).
Completer Bonus Objectives
Eliminate all the ninjas via death.
Eliminate all the ninjas within one year.
Eliminate all the ninjas within one week.
Eliminate all the ninjas within one day.
Eliminate all the ninjas within one hour.
Rewards
159000000Ryo, +New Title, +10000Ryo, +20000Ryo, +50000Ryo, +Mask of the Reaper x1.]
I didn’t bother with the quest screen. In fact, the ones from earlier even were still on there. The only time I used the interface was to accept the bounty hunting quest after moping around for a few hours, thinking it would help me re-center myself. I don’t know what’s up with [Gamer’s Mind], but it’s ether not working as it should, or I’m just too goddamn pathetic for it to handle my shit for me.“Gundan-kun?”I sighed, then turned around to focus on who spoke. Shaak Ti and Kakashi, of course, had paused where they were currently walking out of the doorway to the staircase that led to the Hokage’s Office. “Yo.” I waved at them. “What are you guys doing?”“We were just debriefed on the mission.” Kakashi spoke, eyeing me warily. “Why are you covered in blood?”I looked down at myself in surprise. When did… ah, wait, I think it was that female academy student who tried to suicide-bomb me with explosive tags…? I halted her fall towards me, but she exploded anyway, splattering me with gore.The actual damage to my person had been negligible. “Ah. Well, I guess I need to get changed.”“That’s alcohol in your hand, isn’t it?” Shaak TI asked, looking at me with concern. “Legion, it’s not going to help-”“Let me just stop you right there.” I interjected. I vanished the bottle with a look – as long as I was still drinking, she probably wouldn’t leave me alone, being the matronly woman that she is. Plus, I have so many bottles of alcohol in my inventory, it ain’t even funny – vanishing a bottle won’t hurt my stores at all. “I’m fine, I just need to clear my head a bit. I’m not depressed, or suicidal or… whatever.” I shrugged. Then I thought of something. “How are the kids? My shadow clone with them disintegrated during the battle.“I stopped by on the way here. Thankfully, they were still sleeping. It’s quite early in the morning, you know.” Kakashi idly replied, then a tone of irritation entered his voice. “That Kaiza… he refused to leave their side, however. I had to request the Hokage to not detain him until you returned.”That… was surprising. Huh. I guess the immortal really was a man of his word.“The Hokage wanted to speak to you.” Kakashi continued.From the corner of my eye, I saw the Bounty Clerk rush up to the leader’s office. “Ah, well, can’t say no to him.” I waved a hand over myself and the blood vanished, leaving my Onmitsukido set pristine once more. Another repaired it from the rigors of battle. “Let’s go.”I walked up the stairs and into the Hokage’s Office without waiting for a reply. I activated my [Snooping] skill a few steps from the door, just in case.“- he’s clearly too powerful to be a Jonin, forget being a Genin. I recommend we promote him regardless of whether he wants it or not. Maybe that will give him some goodwill towards the village.” That voice… was that Nara Shikaku?Behind me, Kakashi, who also had beyond-human levels of hearing and knew that I did too, groaned.I opened the door without much aggression, in spite of anger being one emotion I was feeling at that moment. “Believe me, Shikaku-sama, if I wanted to destroy this village, no one could stop me.”The man turned to smile lazily at me. “As I thought.”“Ah, Gundan-kun.” Hiruzen spoke, looking up from a paper (likely the list of my bounties) with a surprised look on his face, but it was clearly fake. “When you took down Hinotama, did you-”“Find the scroll he stole from the Academy?” I completed his query for him, then pulled out said scroll from the folds of my short-robe and tossed it to Jiraiya, who stood next to him with a pensive expression on his face. Since I wanted to stay here, it wouldn’t do to antagonize the Hokage. “Here. It looks like he read a lot from it. He used a couple of the jutsu in our ‘battle’. Or… at least he tried to.”“I see.” Hiruzen smiled. “I take it you have no intention of accepting a promotion, still?”“Nah. I’m gonna move on with my friends, or not at all.” I smirked. My eyes traced the confirmation window of my quests. “I… took a lot of time to think. I can’t say what Athena made me see has not awoken feelings I’d best keep hidden, but…”“But?” Orochimaru, who stood with Tsunade on Hiruzen’s other side, asked with a narrowed gaze.“But I won’t let it hold me back.” I confirmed. If I did have feelings of any sort for Jake even after what he put me through, I’m an idiot. A massive idiot. There are people around the world with worse experiences than what I’ve been through, and I’m sur they got over it. I spent my entire past life running away from myself, and where did it get me – hanging from a rope on my own fan. Nah, this time around I’ve got people who actually care about me around me, so I’m going to let them in and help me for a change. “I’m going to fight tooth and nail to be the best, because it’s my job to protect the people of this village from the shadows.” Hiruzen’s small smile was replaced by a big and true one. “That is good to hear.” He cleared his throat. “I have spoken with the rest, and we have a basic idea on what happened. What you have done… it is no small feat, defeating an enemy that even my fastest ninja could barely keep track of.”Maito Gai offered me a thumbs up and a beaming smile from where he was.“I’d like to recompense you with the higher-end pay of an S-rank mission, and grant the Uzumaki Clan permission to purchase property and start a business in Konoha.” He spoke, then sighed tiredly. “Even though it will be a lot of paperwork, you deserve it.”“I don’t need the money, remember?” I shrugged, pointedly looking at the bounty list in his hand. “Instead, I’d like to ask that Kaiza be allowed to join the Uzumaki Clan.”“Do you trust him?” Hiruzen asked me, eyeing me critically. “At most, you know him for barely a day. How can you be sure he has no ill intentions?”I tapped my head. “I have a million alternate realities in my head, Hokage-sama. Surely you trust me to be a good enough judge of character?”We had a staring contest, then, the both of us. I was aware of everyone else’s uncomfortable countenance as they either fidgeted, or shifted from foot to foot.“Yes. I do.” Hiruzen finally spoke, reaching into a drawer. “Here. Fill this out.”“Are you not going to ask to meet him?” I asked, confused, as inputted the information required.“Something tells me I will, soon enough.” The man cryptically answered, smiling and sharing a secretive smile with everyone present.I groaned. “Whatever is going to happen today evening, there better be lots of alcohol.”“Ninja or not, you’re still six.” Tsunade frowned. “Come to think of it, who even sold you that bottle?”“That’s for me to know, and you to never find out.” I shrugged, straightening and handing over the paper. “Here.”Hiruzen picked up the cup of tea at his side and took a sip, eyes scanning over the paper. “This looks to be in order. Very well, Uzumaki Kaiza is now part of the Uzumaki Clan of the Hidden Leaf.” He nodded. “You’re free to go. I’ll be summoning you in a few days to really get a handle on the situation. Until then, Team 3 is granted a one-week paid holiday.”“We don’t do anything besides train.” I pointed out. “Very little of which is actually overseen by Orochimaru-sensei.”Jiraiya laughed sheepishly when Hiruzen, Orochimaru, and even Tsunade turned a glare on him. “Aha…ha… whoever is keeping Orochimaru and Tsunade from work is a real slag… ha…”I sweat-dropped. “Um… ok. Well, if Tsunade-sama hasn’t trained her team for a while either, then I guess I have a lot to do.”“You’re going to train your teammates and Team 2?” Tsunade asked, surprised.I shrugged. “I have a lot of knowledge and skills to share. Why not? I’m not working today, though. I’ve gotta save some energy for whatever’s happening. I may not need to sleep, but mental exhaustion is a thing.”“You… don’t need to sleep?” Hiruzen blinked.“Nah. But if I do so at least for an hour, any injuries I have get healed. After that, it’s just a good way to waste time.” I shrugged. “Oh, speaking of which, I’ll be visiting Konoha General one of these days to help out with the patients. I’m sure Kakashi has already told you about my health and energy restoration capabilities. I’ll be employing them to ease a bit of the pressure.”I waved behind myself as I walked out of the stunned room, Shaak Ti in tow, towards home. *** “Happy early/late Birthday!”My eyes were wide as I took in the amount of people who occupied the medium-sized training ground of the Senju Compound. I don’t think I knew all of them…“Thank you so much.” I said in response, and bowed. A loud cheer rang from the gathered crowd.“Gundan-nii!” a nasally whining voice caught my attention, and I looked (not very) down to see Naruto trying to grab me. “Say thanks! Is bad manners!”“No, Naruto, you should say ‘it is’.” Tenten corrected.“Should not!”“Should so!”“Should not!”“Okay, you two, calm down.” I ruffled their hair. It’s hard to believe they’re speaking so well even with how young they were… my [Educating] skill was overpowered as fuck. Come to think of it, is there any skill of mine that’s not overpowered? “There, Neji, Sasuke, and Hinata seem to be waiting for you two, why don’t you go and play?”“Okay!” Naruto grinned, and pulled a beaming Tenten (who was already waving to Neji) along with him.Ah, the joys of being young and oblivious.“Like it, Gundan-kun?” Mai asked, voice unusually soft. I tore my gaze away from the group of now-playing toddlers (which somehow had Choji, Shikamaru, Ino, and Kiba added into the mix) to focus on my group of friends. “I’m sorry, I know you probably wanted something small… but we had to invite our sensei, and then Hideki wanted to invite his family, too, and then Tsunade-sama invited Jiraiya-sama and Hokage-sama, and then I thought I’d invite my family… and then our families thought it best to invite our clan heads…”“So troublesome.” Biko sighed. “What she’s trying to say is that everyone wanted to meet the person who single-handedly reduced Konoha’s home bounties to an all-time zero in an hour.”“People who recognized you at the Bounty Office this morning were quite vocally praising you, Gundan-san.” Itachi quietly nodded. “My father was intrigued, and insisted he meet you.”Huh. Interesting. Fugaku wanted to meet me? Please let him not be thinking of a coup, oh god-“That explains the clan heads…” Ryosuke allowed, “but who’re the creeps over there?”The party had already dissolved into groups at this point. Naruto, and what looked like most of the Rookie 11, were running around playing with an extra Yamanaka besides Ino… ah, that must be Jyuuni, Mai’s younger sister – she’d be in Tenten’s generation. Kiko, Mikoto, Shishito, Hitomi, Hira (Hideki’s mother), Yoshino, Chomai, and… someone who had to be Ino’s mother were all gathered in one place, watching the younger kids with a warm sort of smile almost eerily similar to each other. The ‘dads’ were huddled around the refreshments table, trading barbs and jokes and laughing. Kaiza laughed loudly at something Chouza said. At his side, Katsuhiko almost mirrored the sound and jabbed Fugaku in the ribs, who smirked in response. Even Hiashi and Hizashi were present, the only way to tell the difference being that one had his forehead covered and were listening intently to something Inoichi was telling them alongside Joka, who was sagely nodding along, and Shikaku, who was pretending to be asleep while standing. Shino and his father, meanwhile, were standing in front of what looked like an army of…I blinked. I totally forgot!“Holy crap, there are so many of them.” I muttered. “I mean, I knew that there would be some, but…”“You are aware of their identities?” Kitsuna asked, arching an eyebrow. “Does this have something to do with…?”“I think they were ROOT agents.” I nodded. “They were needed to be emotionless weapons, and so they were sapped of all emotion. People say it was through a certain type of training, but they don’t look old enough to have finished it yet.” In fact, there were only a couple of kids my age in there, one of which seemed younger than me. Most of them were older, but still not up to Fuu and Torune’s canon ages. Then again, being the hands of Danzo at that point of time, they ought to have been trained from an extremely early age…Wait… Torune was right there! And… I think the kids my age were Sai… yep, definitely him and his brother.“I’ll be back.” I muttered and made my way over.Before I could reach my destination, however, I was waylaid by none other than… “Hokage-sama!” I almost said at once, and hastily bowed.“Ah, no need for such a formality. While I’m here, I’m simply Sarutobi Hiruzen.” The man sheepishly waved me off.I straightened, and offered him a smile. “Thanks for making it. You deserve a day off.”“Considering the only thing on agenda today was a council meeting, and most of the Shinobi Clan heads are here, well…” he chuckled. “But we all get our blessings. How do you feel now?”“Simply forgetting an emotion just does not happen, even for me.” Well, technically… “Old wounds… you know? But I have a lot more to focus on here and now.” With a nonchalant wave of my hand, the air around us grew a bit distorted. “Since we’re here, there’s something that needs to be said.”Hiruzen’s eyes perused the air around us with an intrigued expression. “Just now, that was magic, yes? I’m assuming it’s a spell to… give us privacy?”“Astute as always, Hokage-sama.” I smiled, then frowned. “I’m leaving the village tonight to travel to the Mist. There’s a high probability of a movement there in the near future that will result in the loss of hundreds of lives, that will result in further bloodshed via a rebellion. I want to stop it.”He looked at me for a long moment, likely mentally sifting through intelligence reports on the area. “How are you going to stop it?”I opened my mouth and… paused.How was I going to stop it?I’m assuming I can’t just keep a clone there for life with instructions to break Yagura out of Obito’s genjutsu again and again, that’s just nasty. Besides, Obito could simply do away with Yagura, have Zetsu impersonate him, and run the movement from there, which will be a hassle to deal with. I don’t know sealing to create an anti-illusion tag or something, and I can’t deal with Obito right now because somewhere, a part of me is filled with despair and I can’t reasonably ask someone to put aside their own while I’m under its influence myself. And I really want to bring him back to the Leaf…What was the reason Obito did it again? Ah, revenge for Rin. Since the world was going to fall into the Mugen Tsukuyomi anyway, in his plans, the ones left alive from the ordeal would eventually be happy. But for now, his rage was simmering hot, and he wanted Mist to pay.The only solution to that…“By dissolving Mist.” I said bluntly, causing Hiruzen to arch an eyebrow. *** “… and then Yoshino was all ‘How dare you try to antagonize our future baby-sitter?’ You know, after she phrased it like that, I’m most inclined to simply left events roll by as they are.” Shikaku finished, making Chouza laugh again. “It’s troublesome.”“The brat is good with kids? Is there anything he’s not good at?” Kaiza huffed, annoyed.“Well… they say he’s not good at anything he hasn’t tried even once. You can catch him off-guard, but then he’ll master it and turn the situation back around on you.” Kakashi shrugged.“He’s six!” Kaiza protested.“You get used to knowing he’s better than you no matter what, after a time.” Orochimaru hissed in pleasure. Gundan was, after all, his student.“He’s being called ‘the Little Professor’, can you believe it?” Chouza smiled. “He’s all the rage n ton lately – people who frequent our restaurant talk about him all the time.”“Don’t tell anyone this, but Tsunade really wanted him on her squad because of his control.” Jiraiya added, sipping his saucer. “I think he’d make an even better medic than her.”“But… as a medic, his bloodline would go to waste.” Inoichi pointed out. “Bending four elements out of five as easily as one would their own body… it’s something nations would happily go to war over.”“He can use all five.” Kakashi added, nose deep in his book. “He calls Lightning a subset of Fire, since they’re both forms of energy.”“That… is ludicrous.” Fugaku snorted. “Fire is heat energy, and Lightning is… something else entirely.”“Well, if it weren’t true, he wouldn’t be able to use it so well, would he?” Kakashi eye-smiled, jerking his chin towards where the subject of their conversation was putting on an elemental show for the ex-ROOT operatives.“If he’s going for a reaction from them, he’s going to be disappointed.” Inoichi sighed. “Kami, but the past few days were a nightmare. Danzo really had a disturbing training regimen for his forces. Effective, but messed up.”“Ah, wait. That one just gasped.” Katsuhiko pointed out. “And Shibi’s son seems to be enthralled. Considering that he’s an Aburame, that just as difficult.”“Why isn’t he playing with the other kids?” Hizashi wondered, looking to where the clan heirs and other children were all playing tag.“He’s a bit of an odd case. Doesn’t like socializing much, even by Aburame standards.” Katsuhiko explained. “Much like the Uchiha Clan, if I’m being honest.”Fugaku gained a tic mark on his head simultaneously with a blush. “You…”“Just like the Uchiha Clan, huh?” Shikaku wondered, eyeing the odd sight of the normally composed Uchiha Fugaku running after Katsuhiko with his sandal. He looked towards the softly-smiling Shibi, and made a decision.Meanwhile, across the ground entirely, the women were bonding of their own accord.“… can’t imagine what it must be like.” Mikoto softly murmured. “My sympathies.”“If I deemed it best forgotten, then perhaps it is the way it should be.” Shaak Ti, known as Uzumaki Tisha, allowed. “I have, however, found family here in the Leaf, so I am… content.”“Oh, Naruto-kun.” Hitomi nodded. “Of course. To be honest, there were many of us who wished to take the poor dear in, but…”“His ‘situation’ forced Sarutobi-sama to prohibit anyone from doing so.” Hira added sadly. “I wished to raise him since he reminds me of my teammate, but I was not allowed.”“Ah, those geezers of yours would’ve had a heart-attack!” Inazuka Tsume barked in laughter.“It was the same situation with you, Tsume-chan…” Yoshino sweat-dropped.Chomai nudged her. “Well, at least he’s happy now. Gundan-kun juggled taking care of him and the Academy for a year, you know. He still managed to pass the four-year course in one, while doing jobs on the side to earn for additional things the orphanage wouldn’t grant them.”“That boy is too good for his own benefit.” Shishito sighed.Yoshino raised her nose up at her. “That true… especially since the first time you met him, you drenched him in Explosive Sap.”Said Yamanaka woman was about to retort when an incredibly heavy weight settled on the group. Everyone turned collectively to stare at Tisha, who seemed emotionless; hoever, the killing-intent permeating the air spoke otherwise.“I’m sure it was an honest mistake… was it not?” she smiled a seriously not-friendly smile.“Of course, Tisha-san…” Shishito replied, hiding her fear. The chakra levels she could sense from Tish were ungodly… truly, the Uzumaki Can was to be feared.“Holy hell, woman! You’re just my type!” Inazuka Tsume interrupted the moment, slinging her hand over Tisha’s shoulders and pulling her in close. “How about we ditch this joint and pick up some sake for a private night of our own?”“Ex… excuse me?” Tisha stuttered out, and… was she blushing? “This… this is highly inappropriate…”Every other woman besides the two sweat-dropped. *** “Nii-chan! Nii-chan!”I looked towards where Tenten was running towards me, followed by the usual gaggle of her friends, and let the elemental show continue while my back was turned. Maybe the ex-ROOT would let an expression slip if I wasn’t looking?She ran to me holding something black, then stopped before me and sniffled, holding it up to me. “Nii-chan… I didn’t mean to… it was an accident…”“It was my fault, too…” Ino sobbed.In Tenten’s hands was a small black… noodle(?) that was twitching. I scanned it.
[? – Level 1
(Beginner Crawler)
Race - ?
HP - 5/20
CP - 50/50
Constitution - 2
Strength - 1
Agility - 3
Intelligence - 5
Luck - 1
Wisdom - 1
?]
“We were running… we did not see…” Neji bowed his head.“You can save him, right, nii-chan?” Naruto asked me.I smiled at them. “Of course, I can. Just wait a second.”My hand twirled outwards and drew back in. A thick band of water broke away from the dance and hovered close to me. A gesture had it reform into a blob and settle around the snake. Then it began to glow.“P… pretty…” Hinata murmured.The wounds of the little snake almost vanished in front of my eyes immediately. Makes sense, since it had far less HP than I could heal per second. I kept it up for a fw moments longer, then released my hold on the water. I splashed onto the ground.The little black snake blinked its eyes open and its little tongue slipped out to scent the air. Wait… snakes don’t have eyelids… gods that’s freaky.“Who has saved me?” it hissed. I blinked in surprise. How did- Oh wait. Parseltongue is a language. And I have a setting that allows me to instinctively know all languages… neat- HOLD UP.Does this mean I can speak to all animals? I mean, here people speak to ninja-dogs right? And their partners always understand them. I’m sure that in some fictional world, there will always be a language that animals speak, or a human who can understand their languages.Does this mean I essentially have the All-Speak? Awesome!“I did.” I spoke, looking at the little snake.It turned its head towards me at once. “You… you speak the noble tongue!”“I suppose so.” I smiled. “I would like to apologize on behalf of my little ones. It was a mistake that they wounded you.”He, because the voce had male undertones (and explaining how I knew that was… freaky), turned to look at the gaggle of children who were looking between me and the small snake in my hands in obvious surprise. “These hatchlings… they hurt me involuntarily…?”“Yes.” I nodded. “I have healed you, however. I daresay you are now in a better condition than when they found you.”“You… have impressive foresight.” The snake hissed, turning back towards me. I absently noted someone tall come to stand behind me but paid it no mind. “I have lost the way to my nest and cannot seem to find the way back.” He looked at me critically. “You, speaker… you seem to be a mortal capable of understanding the magnificence of snakes. I will be your familiar.”“Um… what?”The snake eyed me up and down; he looked adorable doing that. “You seem to be intelligent enough. I don’t know why you pretend you cannot hear me.”“I can hear you.” I pointed out. “I just don’t understand you. My siblings and their friends harmed you, so I healed you. If you want I can try to send you back home, but-”“You of course, are not going to turn down the opportunity to take me as your familiar.” The snake drew back and hissed, trying to appear threatening. “I, Boop, accept your request to be your familiar.”Aww! So adorable! I pulled him up to my face and rubbed my cheek against his head. “Your name is Boop? That’s so cute!”“Stop this molestation at once, human! I am a dignified snake!” It hissed, trying to pull away.“And anyway, you can’t intimidate me into making you my-”PING!
[You have chosen a familiar!
Souls tied! You may now instinctively know where the other is, how he is feeling, and whether or not he is safe!
Boop – Level 1
(Familiar of the Gamer)
Race - Black Python
HP - 20/20
CP - 50/50
Constitution - 2
Strength - 1
Agility - 3
Intelligence - 5
Luck - 1
Wisdom - 1
?]
I stared at the latest screen in shock. IN WHAT WAY DID I ACCEPT THIS?!“I can feel the bond settling. It has been done.” Boop hissed smugly. “Now, human, I demand to be kept away from the little-ones.”“My name is Gundan.” I managed to bite out. “And these ‘little ones’ are the future of my village. I will never, ever stray far from them as long as they need my protection.”Boop hissed. “But… but I hate hatchlings!”“Tough. You forced this on me, so now you bear with it.” I replied, radiating smugness of my own. “And besides, I’m six years old. Aren’t I a hatchling as well?”“You smell of blood and hard battle.” Boop noted. His tail came up to jab in the children’s direction. “They smell of strange human foods! Except the cat one. He reeks of foul energies. At least the one behind you smells lke home.”The one… behind me…?I whirled around, charging up a Cero…Only to see a stunned Orochimaru.“Oh.” I let the technique dissipate into black light. “Hello sensei.”“Gundan-kun.” The man spoke, eyes locked on my mouth. “I know you have a penchant for the impossible, and I have long since made my peace with it. It helps when your comrade was also shown-up by his student… but that’s not saying much, considering who he is.”“Hey!” Jiraiya protested from… right next to him. Huh. Why was everyone gathered around me again?“But… did you just… speak… with that snake?” Orochimaru asked, eyes alight.Wait… he’s the Snake Summoner. But he can’t speak to snakes… I can.“If it helps, I think I can speak to all animals.” I offered in sympathy.When Tsunade face-palmed from his other side, Boop hissed. “You, human, have a lot to learn about social interaction. *** It turns out, I get to be appraised by the snake who holds the contract on the next team training day due to sheer pride on my teacher’s part. I tried spending an entire hour teaching Orochimaru Parseltongue, but since I was essentially using a translation software that change my language depending on who I was talking to, it didn’t work at all, even with my [Educating] skill. I guess it would have worked if I had Parseltongue as a skill in my repertoire, but since I didn’t…Once everyone left, I made a clone to tuck the children in for the night and oversee Shak Ti’s training in the Mirror Dimension. It’s high time she learned about her powers and affinities; with the latest upgrade to the skill, she won’t even age in there. Best milk it for all we can, hm? I formulated a solid plan before I created the clone, and told it to be back only before morning…Then I rubbed my hands together. Time to be devious.“Something tells me you’re going to do something foolish, human.” Boop hissed in my ear.I sighed. “Not foolish, wise. I’m giving power to my allies.”He reared back in surprise. “What? Why would you do that? Why not keep the power for yourself?”“Since I can learn these powers if I want to in some shape or form, it’s not that hard to part ways with them.” I shrugged. “I possess a technique that allows me to analyse, decipher, and shape virtually any spell, technique, or skill performed if there is some form of energy utilized with it.”Boop went very, very still. “Any spell? You have the means to learn any spell just by seeing it performed once?“Yep.” I popped the ‘p’. I eyed the floating screens in front of me with trepidation. “It comes from a magic I know called Archive. Essentially, it allows me to use magic to compress and decompress information in my brain, thus using it as a vast processor. Because of this, creating and learning new skills is easy.” I began accepting the notifications as I spoke. Hey, familiar or not, I literally just met this snake. I’m not sure what ‘familiar’ means, anyway; is it like a pet or something? Many fanfics and media interpret it differently, so which version was I stuck with?“That… would mean that you are capable to taking over the world.” Boop mused. “Ah, I am the familiar to the next overlord!”“I’m not taking over the world.” I firmly said, waving the last screen away and opening up the interface. The row of familiar icons now had a new one – it looked like a talon of a bird. I tapped it, and a totally newscreen opened up.“Is this Archive?” Boop asked, gingerly gesturing with his tail.“Ah, so you can see it?” I asked, turning my head to look at t with surprise. “Must be because you are my familiar… but then why didn’t you say anything about the messages floating in front of my face all the time?”“There is always a right time and place for questions… I simply did not find one.” He said evasively, studying the screen intensely. I wonder what language it’s in for him? I rolled my eyes and turned to do the same.
[Familiar Page
Boop, Level – 1
Race: Black Python
Title: Familiar of the Gamer
Next Level: 0/100 EXP
HP - 20/20
CP - 50/50
Constitution - 2
Strength - 1
Agility - 3
Intelligence - 5
Luck - 1
Wisdom - 1
A young hatchling, Boop has only just set out into the world. He doesn’t know who his parents are, or where he comes from. It is a thirst for this knowledge that drives him.
+Add Perks.]
“Why does it call me ‘Familiar of the Gamer’?” Boop asked, turning his head to face me fully.I shrugged. “The person who uses ‘Archive’ is referred to as a Gamer. Don’t ask me why – it’s a quirk of the ability and I can’t change it.”“Interesting.” Boop hissed, turning back to look at the screen. “Why is this ‘Add Perks’ greyed out?“I’m assuming it won’t be available to us unless you pass a certain threshold of power – also called a level.” I hypothesized. “Oh, and you cross a level by getting experience, which you obtain by completing quests, or missions.”Boop hummed. “Set this aside and draw up your own page. I wish to compare the two of us.”I frowned. I wasn’t sure I was going to like the look of my page with all the experience I got from Athena…
[Character Page
Uzumaki Gundan – Level 100
Race: Nephilim
Title: Outsider’s Chosen
Next Level: 75,404,999/Bank
HP - 53800
QI - 53800
RR - 53800
CON - 528
STR - 528
AGL - 877
INT - 528
LCK - 877
WIS - 528
Stat Points: 1002820
Resistances:
Physical – 99% (50% Damage Reflected)
Chakra – 6% (-50% vs Tainted)
Spiritual – -50%]
Okay, deep breaths. Deep breaths. Inhale… exhale. Remember, you decided to be okay with being overpowered. Keep that in mind.“Human, I demand to know how you are so strong.” Boop hissed. “You have far more in each of your parameters than I.”I deflated. “Just yesterday, I fought with someone of a higher race than I. She also had incredible techniques and weapons at her disposal. Since I survived the ordeal, I am far more powerful now.”“I approve.” Boop bobbed his head. “We snakes are born with an instinctive urge to survive. That you did so against unsurmountable odds is respectable.”“Aw, thanks!” I smiled. “Well, it looks like I’ve reached the level cap for this race, so all that’s left to do is prestige – that means ascending into a higher race. A pity about all that experience and stat points though… I wonder what ‘bank’ is…? Probably because I maxed out my level cap…”I murmured to myself as I allotted the maximum possible stat points to each attribute. I had been right – it took ten thousand points each. Seeing the numbers filled me with almost instinctive denial, but… well, I guess I have to be okay with this for only a few minutes until I ascend.My finger hovered over the accept button for a fe seconds, before I sighed and resignedly pressed it.PING!
[Due to crossing the 1000-point threshold for both Intelligence and Wisdom, a skill has been updated!
Educating (Passive) Lv MAX
You are able to coach others in what you know perfectly, and with great efficiency. Due to investing a lot of time spreading knowledge, you are able to bypass the negatives effects of any physical, psychological, or social minuses, and tech them at the same level regardless.
-75% to learning time for your students.]
[Due to crossing the 2500-point threshold for both Intelligence and Wisdom, a skill has been updated!
Educating (Passive) Lv MAX
Due to investing a lot of time spreading knowledge, you are able to bypass the negatives effects of any physical, psychological, or social minuses, and are efficiently able to coach others in what you know perfectly.
-90% to learning time for your students .]
[Due to crossing the 5000-point threshold for both Intelligence and Wisdom, a skill has been created!
Eyes of Oblivion (Active) Lv MAX
Eyes granted by mysterious forces. It allows you to see echoes of energies both in living beings and non-living objects, as well as in the environment around you. Since you can see these nuances of the body and energy, it is easy for you to replicate anything you have seen performed in front of your eyes.
Special Abilities: Conditional Foresight, Critical-point Identification, Magic Focus, Telescopic X-Ray Vision. ]
[Due to crossing the 1000-point threshold for both Constitution and Strength, a skill has been updated!
Might of the Offensive Stonewall (Passive) Lv MAX
You cannot be interrupted or knocked down by enemy attacks. Enemies cannot longer resist being knocked back by your attacks if chances exist. When health bar is empty, you are reinvigorated and regain fifty percent of your health twice a day.]
[Due to crossing the 2500-point threshold for both Constitution and Strength, a skill has been updated!
Might of the Offensive Stonewall (Passive) Lv MAX
You cannot be interrupted or knocked down by enemy attacks. Enemies cannot longer resist being knocked back by your attacks if chances exist. When you are killed, you are revived and regain seventy-five percent of your health thrice a day. ]
[Due to crossing the 5000-point threshold for both Constitution and Strength, a skill has been created!
Combat Clarity (Passive) Lv MAX
As a veteran of combat and master of multiple styles, you have developed a sixth sense that allows you to predict your opponents’ moves if they are using a style you know.
-99% enemy dodge chance. ]
[Due to crossing the 1000-point threshold for both Agility and Luck, multiple skills have been combined!
Path of the Rogue (Passive) Level MAX
By choosing this path, you permanently devote yourself to the shadows. You can pinpoint the person who is emitting the sensation of wanting to very-much kill you, and from where. Your mastery with words allows you an amazing chance to persuade targets, compelling them to see your view of thinking and gently tugging them onto your path. You can hone-in and focus to listen in on things happening around you.
99% chances of persuasion success (+20% chance of working for every positive REP with target).
+50% damage to the same sex.
External noise no longer disrupts your ability to listen.
Listening Range 250m.]
[Due to crossing the 2500-point threshold for both Agility and Luck, a skill has been updated!
Protagonist’s Tumultuous Luck (Passive) Lv MAX
Interesting events will happen to you much more frequently as time passes on. You are also able to sense the nearest item that has extradimensional origins regardless of distance.
+200% chance for Plot Events to occur.
+500% currency from quests.
+75% chance for rare item drops .]
[Due to crossing the 5000-point threshold for both Agility and Luck, a skill has been updated!
Protagonist’s Tumultuous Luck (Passive) Lv MAX
Interesting events will happen to you much more frequently as time passes on. You are also able to sense the nearest item that has extradimensional origins regardless of distance.
+350% chance for Plot Events to occur.
+750% currency from quests.
+99% chance for rare item drops.]
That… actually isn’t bad. There’s barely a new skill in there – and it just raises percentages for the others. I waved the screen away thoughtfully. Now, I can do a lot more damage to men than I can to women… I wonder why that is…PING!
[You have reached the limit for all of your attributes. Would you like to Prestige?]
Totally. Bye-bye, massive boatload of experience and stat points!
[Name: Legion
Race: Nephilim
Current Level: 100
Path: Rogue
Are you sure you would like to Prestige?]
Totes.
[Please select your race:
God (+ Paragon Alignment)
Titan (+ Infamous Alignment)
Undying]
Okay… definitely not Undying. I don’t know why, but I’m getting a bad feeling from that option… maybe it’s the system’s way of punishing someone for not choosing an alignment? Ugh.So… good or evil?I remember loving playing as a heartless bastard in the inFamous games… but those weren’t real. I couldn’t interact with anything outside of my character, and, let’s be honest, no one cares about a virtual life unless they’re a goody-two-shoes.But now… I’m in a whole world crafted specifically for me. Plus, I can visit other, real, worlds. Do I really want to be a heartless bastard there, too?I knew the answer.
[Are you sure you wish to ascend as a God?]
Yep… although I feel a bit dubious about Gods being morally good.
[Please select your Godly Domain:
Heavens and Ruling
Seas and Earthquakes
Underworld and the Dead
Motherhood and Marriage
Agriculture
Blacksmithing
Wisdom
Love
War
Music, Medicine, Prophecy, Archery
Hunting
Travelers, Merchants, Thieves, Messengers
Wine
Home and Hearth]
Why am I not surprised?Okay, let’s think. The only reason I’d want to be a god of Wine is if I don’t have any alcohol on me, which, given my massive stock, is pointless. I can hunt easily, I excel in combat, and have no need for agriculture. Motherhood and Marriage is right out. Hestia, Hermes, and Apollo were awesome, but nah. Having just killed Aphrodite’s possessed body, I’m not exactly eager to take over her domain, too.Wisdom could be useful. The Great Three, too. Blacksmithing will probably help my crafting…Hmm… I… Bending takes care of being a god of heaven and the seas, and let’s face it, [Wisdom] is always my third priority when it comes to stats…That leaves only one.
[You have begun the process of Prestige! Please visit the Character Page to finalize the changes.]
My eyes began to throb. It felt like there were hot coals where they used to me just a minute ago. My entire body hurt, too, and it was almost excruciating and despite my pain supposedly being brief, it continued to hurt. I held myself back from screaming, though… I would not give in that easy.I navigated over to my [Character Page] and skimmed it.
[Character Page
Uzumaki Gundan – Level 1
Race: God
Title: God of the Underworld
Next Level: 0/10,000.
Banked EXP: 75,404,999; Banked Status Points: 946,686.
HP - 12,000
QI - 12,000
RR - 14,000
CON - 2
STR - 2
AGL - 7
INT - 4
WIS - 4
LCK - 6
Stat Points: 3000
Resistances:
Physical – 99% (50% Damage Reflected)
Chakra – 6% (-50% vs Tainted)
Spiritual – -50%]
Okay, still what I expected. I started out with a base ten thousand for the meters now, and it increased by a thousand for every point in it. Also, my regeneration now counts per every fifteen seconds by default; considering my [Chakra Medium] skill, my energies regenerate every seven and a half seconds. Also, a starting requirement of ten thousand experience points means that it will increase by that every time. Cool.But what was this about banked experience and points? Was it because I had maxed my level before I ascended? There was shiny blue accept icon next to it, but I was scared of touching it… I’m pretty sure that the experience required to level up has only doubled… it would mean that if I withdraw those points… I’ll have enough to ascend again. Same goes for the stats…. Ugh. I already have three thousand points left over from levelling up normally, though, so I don’t really need those points anyway.So, let’s sort it out. Thousand into my mains, and five hundred each into the others…There we go.
[Character Page
Uzumaki Gundan – Level 1
Race: God
Title: God of the Underworld
Next Level: 0/10,000.
Banked EXP: 75,404,999; Banked Status Points: 946,686.
HP - 512,000
QI - 512,000
RR - 514,000
CON - 502
STR - 502
AGL - 1007
INT - 504
WIS - 504
LCK - 1006
Stat Points: 0
Resistances:
Physical – 99% (50% Damage Reflected)
Chakra – 6% (-50% vs Tainted)
Spiritual – -50%]
Excellent. That takes care of that.“Wait, hu-…” Boop started, then abruptly paused. “Wait, godling. Does this mean you truly have ascended into a higher being? How can you take what this magic says at face value?”I looked at him confusedly. “What do you mean? This ability can lie to me no more than I can stop breathing. It’s simply impossible.” … I think.The snake gave me an odd look. “Then… you truly are the God of the Underworld, now?”“Yes…?” I trailed. “where are you going with this?”“Oh.” He hissed in a small voice. “I was hoping I was dreaming while awake when I caught sight of the being that materialized behind us.”My eyes widened in surprise. I used chakra to stick Boop to my shoulder as I whirled around, fire spinning around my hand…And came face to face with the Shinigami.You know that feeling when you’re taking an exam, and you know you’re going to fail it? Try to picture that, but also add the fact that you haven’t studied to it. And you’re hungover… and have not slept at all.Multiply that thousand-fold, and maybe you’ll approach what it feels like to be around this thing. I scanned him without delay.
[Shinigami – Level 100
(Reaper of Souls)
Race - God
HP - 100,000,000/100,000,000
CP - 100,000,000/100,000,000
Constitution - 99,990
Strength - 99,990
Agility - 99,990
Intelligence - 99,990
Luck - 99,990
Wisdom - 99,990
Contracted by the creator himself, Shinigami has taken the job of collecting the souls of the dead when they die and ferry them to the place they best belong – Tengoku, Jingoku, or his own stomach.]
I eyed the spectral being with… not awe, because I could easily become him if I so wished, but trepidation. Why would he show himself here?Shinigami looked at me for the longest moment, arms stretched out to his sides as usual, face twisted into a demented grin. His eyes, however, told a different story – there was something in there that shook me to the very core.Was that… allegiance?As if in response to my thoughts, and perhaps truly so, the being bowed to me.I could barely breathe. WHY was he bowing to me? My godly domain… is the underworld. Shinigami ferries souls. He’s essentially the Thanatos of this world… so why would he bow to Hades?He straightened and vanished.“Godling… never summon him when I am present with you.” Boop shakily hissed. “I can, perhaps, stand yearly visits… but no more.”“That’s just mean.” I huffed. “It’s not like he chose that appearance… I think.” I frowned. If theShinigami was subservient to me… did that mean that the souls in his stomach were essentially my playthings? Or did I not have authority over that?Ugh, my head’s spinning.I closed my [Character Page] and opened up my [Skills] list.
[Skills
Strengthened Gamer’s Mind and Body (Passive) Lv MAX
You cannot be affected by negative mental debilitations and emotions, and your body behaves as if it were in a game and reacts accordingly.
Immune to Negative Mental Status Effects.
Restore HP, energies, and remove debilitations by sleeping in a bed.
Skills advance 500% faster.
Protagonist’s Tumultuous Luck (Passive) Lv MAX
Interesting events will happen to you much more frequently as time passes on. You are also able to sense the nearest item that has extradimensional origins regardless of distance.
+350% chance for Plot Events to occur.
+750% currency from quests.
+99% chance for rare item drops.
Godly Domain: Underworld (Passive) Lv MAX
As the ruler of the Underworld, you command the dead and their jailers. A soul of a god allows you to wield weapons affiliated with death and the afterlife and do so with far greater efficiency. Necromancy, and communing with the dead, comes as naturally as breathing. The dead will always help you if you call, no matter the situation.
Might of the Offensive Stonewall (Passive) Lv MAX
You cannot be interrupted or knocked down by enemy attacks. Enemies cannot longer resist being knocked back by your attacks if chances exist. When health bar is empty, you are reinvigorated and regain fifty percent of your health once a day.
Energy Medium (Passive) Lv MAX
Only a bare minimum of energy is required to initialize a skill. Due to unshakable control, you now regenerate all energy at a much higher rate.
-50% delay in regeneration of energies.
-99% chakra cost for chakra-imbued skills.
Exercises Discovered – Leaf Balancing (0.1 CP/min), Tree Climbing (0.2 CP/min), Water Walking (0.3 CP/min), Chakra String (0.4 CP/min/string), Cloth Stiffening (0.5 CP/min/m2), Senbon Balancing (0.6 CP/min/needle, Flight (0.7CP/min).
Solar Radiation Enrichment (Passive) Lv 1 (0.00%)
Your body’s cells drink in the radiation of a yellow sun, granting you preternatural capabilities in strength, speed, and various other ways.
+1% to all stats.
Path of the Rogue (Passive) Level MAX
By choosing this path, you permanently devote yourself to the shadows. You can pinpoint the person who is emitting the sensation of wanting to very-much kill you, and from where. Your mastery with words allows you an amazing chance to persuade targets, compelling them to see your view of thinking and gently tugging them onto your path. You can hone-in and focus to listen in on things happening around you.
99% chances of persuasion success (+20% chance of working for every positive REP with target).
External noise no longer disrupts your ability to listen.
Listening Range 250m
Bio-mechanics (Passive) Lv MAX
You know all there is to know about merging technology and the human body via mastering the two fields individually and then bringing them together.
+99% chances of success to create augmentations.
+99% chances of success to implant humans.
Educating (Passive) Lv MAX
Due to investing a lot of time spreading knowledge, you are able to bypass the negatives effects of any physical, psychological, or social minuses, and are efficiently able to coach others in what you know perfectly.
-90% to learning time for your students.
Eccentricity (Passive) Lv 51 (9.22%)
Sometimes, people don’t understand why you are doing what you are doing.
51% chance to earn positive REP with those around you.
49% chance to make those around you think you are crazy.
Combat Mogul (Passive) Lv MAX
As a veteran of combat and master of multiple styles, you have developed a sixth sense that allows you to predict your opponents’ moves if they are using a style you know.
-99% enemy dodge chance.
+50% critical chance.
Master Brawler (Passive) Lv MAX
You are a master of hand-to-hand combat, able to hemorrhage opponents with a combination of skill, technique, and tactics.
+95% chance to cause damage to internal organs.
Styles learned: Konoha Academy Style, Arrancar Hakuda, Uzushio Chi-blocking.
Master Swordsman (Passive) Lv MAX
A true master of the way of the sword, your self-taught style in conjunction with several others makes you a fearsome opponent.
+100% damage with bladed weapons.
Styles learned: Iaido, Konoha Swallow, Uzushio Sheath-shield, Fire-Country Slash, Twin-Sword Dance.
Master Marksman (Passive) Lv MAX
You are a master at hitting your target, whatever the type of projectile you use.
Accuracy: 100%
Accuracy penalty: -2% for every 500m after 500m.
Highest speed: 10 projectiles/sec.
Master Illusionist (Passive) Lv MAX
Weaving illusions as a master, none can escape you, Sometimes, casting illusions doesn’t even incur a cost.
+99% chance to inflict double damage.
+50% chance to cast an illusion at no cost.
Advanced Telepathy (Active) Lv 75 (3.62%)
Your scrying skills now allow you to see into the mind of the person you are observing and manipulate it. By connecting with others on an emotional level, you are able to understand what they feel and why.
1 sec in target’s mind is 0.005 sec in real life.
4 CP per second while looking into someone’s mind
Eyes of Oblivion (Active) Lv MAX
Eyes granted by mysterious forces. It allows you to see echoes of energies both in living beings and non-living objects, as well as in the environment around you. Since you can see these nuances of the body and energy, it is easy for you to replicate anything you have seen performed in front of your eyes.
Special Abilities: Conditional Foresight, Critical-point Identification, Magic Focus, Telescopic X-Ray Vision.
Avatar (Active) Lv MAX
As the vessel for Raava, a spirit dedicated to maintaining balance, you are gifted with unimaginable control over the basic elements as well as their derivatives. In times of great need, you may enter a focused state that allows you finer, yet greater, control than you could ever manage out of.
10Qi/sec in Avatar State.
Water-healing limit: 250HP/sec.
Earth-sense radius: 100km.
Fire-transfer limit: 250Units/sec.
+99% Evasion Chance.
Exemplar Speed Force Connection (Active) Lv MAX (100%)
The Speed Force has sunk a fragment of itself in you. Your now have a far better connection with it than most speedsters in the multiverse.
Increase speed by 10000 times when active.
Subterfuge (Active) Lv MAX
A master of the unseen, you are able to stay hidden even in the most unorthodox of circumstances. Unless the target has a massive advantage, you cannot be found.
-99% chance to be detected.
+50% chance of landing a Critical Strike.
Mark of the Outsider (Active) Lv 99 (5.61%)
Granted to those who pique his interest regardless of moral alignment or sanity, the Mark allows you to bend the rules of reality. The Mark allows you to access the capability to cast spells, where otherwise you would need a focus of some sort. With your constant use, it has attuned itself to your energy system thoroughly.
-50% RR costs for spells cast through the Mark.
Branches of Magic: Animation, Combat, Conjuration, Transfiguration, Utility.
Special Ability: Arcane Bond.
Magic Specialty: Mirror Dimension Access (Active) Lv MAX
Through select knowledge, you can open a doorway into the Mirror Dimension – an alternate layer of reality that naturally coexists with the base. Once the doorway has been created, it is impossible to exit without utilizing an interdimensional relocation skill.
+100% effectiveness to magic skills while in the Mirror Dimension
Time Dilation: 1:100
Magic Specialty: Titan (Active) Lv MAX
You use magic to enlarge yourself. Along with your physical size, your physical and mental attributes and magical capabilities gain a boost.
+10% for every 0.1m on all physical stats.
+1% effectiveness for every 0.1m for all spells.
-50% damage received.
Cost: 1 RR/m.
Magic Specialty: Archive (Active) Lv MAX
Using your brain as a pseudo-mainframe and magic to affect the world around you, you transform yourself into a literal super-computer that can compute information and transfer it at a rapid rate. You can also interface with other entities using this skill to lend them its benefits.
Features Unlocked: Calculator, Connect, Emulation, Library, Map, Office, Skill Download/Upload, Synchronize, Telecommunication.
Time Dilation: 75%
Magic Specialty: Oblivion Summoning (Active) Lv MAX
As a summoner of the denizens of the realm of Oblivion, you are capable of summoning them and theirs to aid you in various situations. Through mastery of this art, you have no limits to the amount of things you can bring forth, and share any beneficial affects applicable to you with your summons.
Creatures Roster: Tiger, Flaming Tiger, Flame Thrall, Frost Thrall, Storm Thrall, Dead Thrall, Daedric Lord, Daedric Spell-weaver, Daedric Chef, Daedric Masseur.
Weapons Roster: Spiked Gloves, Dagger, Sword, Axe, Mace, Greatsword, Waraxe, Warhammer, Bow.
Armor Roster: Vestments of the Mage, Leathers of the Rogue, Plate of the Warrior.
Hollow Method: Zero (Active) Lv MAX
Compress your spiritual energy into a ball with great pressure, then ‘rip’ its shell to expel the energy in a cascade of great power that completely bypasses armor and resistances due to its spiritual nature. Having a great mastery over it, you now can use multiple variants.
Simple Cero: 500 HP Damage; Cost: 100RR
Gran Rey Cero: 1000 HP Damage; Cost: 500RR
Cero Oscuras: 2500 HP Damage; Cost 1000RR
Hollow Method: Pulse (Active) Lv MAX
A sensing technique used only by the most proficient spiritual energy users. As a master in its use, by pulsing out your own spiritual energy and calling it back in, you can pinpoint beacons of energy around you via spiritual resonance over vast distances and gauge their strength.
Max sphere radius: 10km.
Cost: 1% of RR.
Hollow Method: Steel Skin (Active) Lv MAX
Your mastery of Reiatsu allows you to condense it around your skin, forming a barrier between an incoming attack and you. It cannot be broken, only powered through. Because of this barrier, you take less damage.
-75% damage.
HP + 5000.
Ninja Art: Chakra Enrichment (Active) Lv MAX
By nudging your chakra through an object, you grant a bonus to its properties. For weapons, it adds extra damage and an effect based on chakra type. For armor, it adds extra protection and an effect based on chakra type.
Neutral Chakra: Weapons: + (INT+STR) Damage; Armor: + (WIS+CON) Durability.
Ninja Art: Chakra Manifestation (Active) Lv 1 (0.00%)
By expelling potent chakra and manipulating it outside your body, you are able to effectively create objects of pure chakra.
Cost: 100CP/sec.
Ninja Art: Leaping Locomotion (Active) Lv MAX
Using chakra directed to the lower-leg muscles, one can increase the distance covered by a single bound. Your proficiency allows you to cross distances others can only dream of.
Speed: 1km/sec.
Cost: 0.1 CP/sec.
Ninja Art: Chakra Scalpels (Active ) Lv MAX
The user forms a sharp blade out of their chakra that covers both the hands from fingertips to wrist at best. It allows them to cut into a living body without breaking the skin, decreasing chances of infection. You can sever nerves, muscles, and even chakra pathways, and choose to solidify your scalpels to inflict damage onto flesh.
Damage: (INT + DEX)
Cost: 0.1CP/min.
Ninja Art: Thrall of the Shadows (Active) Lv MAX
You surrender to the shadows. This allows you to port directly from one shadow to another. While covered with shadows, you are invisible to everyone. You also gain a higher chance to score a critical hit in any situation as long as this technique is active.
-100% to enemy vision cones.
+50% critical chance.
Cost: 0.1CP/sec.
Ninja Art: Illusory Embodiment (Active) Lv MAX
By ejecting chakra from your body and manipulating it, you are capable of creating a basic illusion of yourself. The image produced is intangible and intelligent but vanishes after ten solid objects pass through it. These are capable of casting illusions on others, and reflect the same amount of mastery you possess.
Cost: 1CP/clone.
Maximum Duration: 4000 sec.
Ninja Art: Instant Exchange (Active) Lv MAX
You can instantly substitute with any object at any time. The size of the object poses no difficulty to you and performing this technique continuously does not tire you.
Range: 500m.
Cost: 5CP.
Ninja Art: Organic Shapeshifting (Active) Lv MAX
By utilizing memory as a medium and chakra as a catalyst, you can effectively change shape into any living creature you have observed in the past. This technique cannot be dissipated unless you consent.
Cost: 0.1 CP/sec.
Ninja Art: Shadow-clone (Active) Lv MAX
You bring a non-elemental tangible clone into existence by this skill, splitting your energies evenly into each of them, including yourself. It can act independently from the user. Any knowledge the clones gain is transferred back to the user.
Maximum Creation Range: 1km
Ninja Art: DNA Manipulation (Active) Lv 1 (0.00%)
Using dense chakra folded down on a chromosome, you are able to alter it in any way you see fit. You can currently make one change to an organism safely.
1% chance of success.
Cost: 10000CP/sec.
Saiyan Move: Kamehameha (Active) Lv MAX
After condensing your chi into a ball, you poke a hole in its shell to launch a concentrated beam of pure energy forwards. By concentrating more energy, you are able to empower this technique beyond what its limits should be. Strong emotions take it to the next level.
Damage: 5000HP
Cost: 150QI.]
That’s a lot. I’ve accumulated a positive wealth of skills, right here. Against Athena…It wasn’t enough.I need more skills, more techniques, and more power in case something like that ever happens again. The [Bank] is a good start – I’ve got an emergency ascension in case anything goes wrong. But I also need good abilities to properly utilize those skills.I closed the screen and opened up my inventory. The Megaflare and Copy Magic skill books were sitting there innocently. I learned them immediately.
[You have learned a new skill!
Magic Specialty: Megaflare (Active) Lv 1 (0.0%)
Gather yourself to unleash a massive blast of non-elemental magic.
Damage: 5000HP
Cost: 95% of RR.]
[ERROR! Redundant skill detected. Updating parent skill.
Eyes of Oblivion (Active) Lv MAX
Eyes granted by mysterious forces. It allows you to see echoes of energies both in living beings and non-living objects, as well as in the environment around you. Since you can see these nuances of the body and energy, it is easy for you to replicate anything you have seen performed in front of your eyes.
Special Abilities: Conditional Foresight, Copy Magic, Copy Skill, Critical-point Identification, Magic Focus, Telescopic X-Ray Vision.]
So it notifies me in case of redundancy? Not bad. Anyway, so counting my [Megaflare], I have… [DNA Manipulation], [Chakra Manifestation], [Mark of the Outsider], [Advanced Telepathy], [Eccentricity], and [Solar Radiation Enrichment] to level up. Then… I think I’ll take a little trip. I have eyes that can copy stuff, like a Pseudo-Sharingan. I totally need to make use of it. And with the [Time-Space Gate], it will be like I never left.But first… Perks.
[Perks
Armiger – Blessed by the Magic Crystal of Insomnia, you have been granted an ancient power.
Cost: 300PP
Conduit Gene 3 – Unlock a Conduit Gene.
Cost: 300PP
Fullbring Final – Unlock a Fullbring.
Cost: 300PP
Mutant Gene 3 – Unlock a Mutant Gene.
Cost: 300PP]
Alright. I have a whopping 111618 points to spend, so let’s just say Konoha is going to get a major power boost.“You should rest here, Boop.” I said quietly, setting the snake down on my bed. “I’m going to be off for a while, but I’ll come back soon enough.”I felt the snake’s resigned countenance through our familiar-master link. “You’re set on sharing your power with your nestmates, yes? Fine, Godling, but bring me back ten mice as appeasement.”I nodded absently and made my way out.First off, I gave Tenten the [Armiger]. There, she’s essentially Noctis, now. Then, I spelled myself undetectable and made my way into Konoha.I visited Ryosuke first. Poor kid looks like he literally just fell asleep. Nonetheless, I cast a sleeping spell on him just to be sure, and quietly used his hand to select [Conduit Gene 3].
[Please select one if the following:
Smoke
Neon
Video
Concrete
Paper.]
Then, it was a simple matter. Video was one of the most OP powers in the inFamous universe, so that’s what he got. When I set his hand down, I spent a good, long, minute cackling, thinking how I wasn’t going to be the only overpowered brat around anymore. Then I remembered where I was, and left quietly.Sneaking into the Nara Clan Compound was quite easy. For some reason, however, when I passed by the open field that was included in the property, the deer caught my presence and tried to follow me in. Poor random Nara Clan member… he was so harried trying to convince the deer not to enter the actual house area… I swear I was laughing so hard even my spells would break.But I digress.I visited Biko first, and gave her [Mutant Gene 3].
[Please select one of the following:
Phase-shifting
Mutant-gene Replicator
Super-speed
Cryokinesis
Energy Absorption and Expulsion
Portal Creation
Solar Radiation manipulation
Energy Expulsion via Hands]
Okay, powers from Days of Future Past. I can work with this. Biko is a Nara, a clan that works with strategy and intelligence, although she’s a cut above the rest. Any mutation that would reward a straight-forward approach was right out. That left precious little, but I had my eye on one that could help her prosper magnificently…
[You have given Nara Biko the Portal Creation Mutant Gene.]
Let her deal with the specifics… I’m not really going to get involved unless she asks me. Naras like a good puzzle, and I’m sure she’ll enjoy working this one out when it manifests.Since I was in the compound, I gave Shikamaru the [Fullbring Final] before leaving. There was no bell tolling or any random object appearing, though, which means the system has chosen something for him using an object he already has or will have in the near future.I walked out of the compound and stopped a few feet away before I opened up my perk menu again.
[Perks
Etro’s Salvation – Become a the bearer of the Heart and Eyes of Etro, tethering her to this realm.
Cost: 400PP.
Magic Potential – Introduce in yourself the capability to use magic.
Cost: 400PP.
Eighty Gods Vacuum Palm – Learn the secret of utilizing chakra to impact objects from afar.
Cost: 400PP.
Card Captor – Receive the Book of Clow and Cerberus’ uncontested loyalty, becoming the next Card Captor.
Cost: 400PP.
Conduit Gene Final – Unlock a Conduit Gene.
Cost: 400PP.
Bloodline Final – Unlock a Bloodline.
Cost: 400PP.
Mutant Gene 4 – Unlock a Mutant Gene.
Cost: 400PP.
Magic Specialty 4 – Unlock a Magic Specialty.
Cost: 400PP.]
Good. I can work with this. 110418 points left. Before anything, though, I quickly Chose [Bloodline Final] for myself.
[Are you sure you wish to purchase Fire + Water + Earth + Lightning + Wind + Yin + Yang = Truth Seeking Chakra?]
HELL. YES!
PING!
[You have obtained Truth Seeking Chakra!]
And… no other notifications. Hm… It seems I have to access it on my own once before the skill is made… I wonder how do I go about doing that…Anyway, time for [Magic Specialty 4]!
[Please select one of the following:
Arc of Time
Arc of Embodiment
Great Tree Arc
Maguilty Sense
Subordination Magic
Ushi no Koku Mairi]
Daaaaaamn. What the fuck do I choose from this?Well, the voodoo doll one and the controlling one is out – useless. Same goes for Maguilty Sense. The only real choice is between the three Arcs.…OH GOD THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING.Okay fine. I’m just going to close my eyes, tap, and whatever one of those I get, I’ll go with.So I did just that… then carefully peaked my eyes open.
[You have chosen: Arc of Embodiment. Are you sure?]
Certainly.
[Due to purchasing a perk, a skill has been created!
Magic Specialty: Arc of Embodiment (Active) Lv 1 (0.00%)
Using magic to conjure, you are able to materialize anything, as long as it does not live.
Cost: Variable.
Limit: 1m3.]
Okay… that’s all I’m going to keep for myself. Time to move again.I quickly made my way into the Yamanaka Compound, and into Inoichi’s house. The place was filled to the brim with flowers, likely poisonous ones, so I didn’t linger long. I just gave Ino the [Card Captor] perk and left. A pity – if it had shown up earlier, I’d surely have given it to Sakura. Hehe, cuz, you know…Anyway, I hightailed it out of there and made my way to the Aburame Clan compound. Annoyingly, even the insects here were buzzing around me like no man’s business. I just ignored them and made my way to the Clan Head’s house, quickly locating it and thus, Shino. For him, I chose the [Mutant Gene 4]; it offered me a selection of powers from Age of Apocalypse. I chose Jean’s [Psionic Capability]. If the Phoenix Force does try to control him, it’s going to have another thing coming to it.As I was making my way out of the house, though, I happened upon the room in which Torune was resting. That’s right, since he was close to the Head’s family, he was living with them while he acclimatized himself with the outside world again. God, that kid is… what, three? Half my age, and already mentally far older, and forced already to bond with those tiny insects that look purple…Danzo, I swear, if you were alive, I’d keep giving you doses of Crucio.I sighed and walked over to him, pondering my list with pursed lips. What would fit for him…? I don’t know what energy being a Conduit uses…Ugh…I took his hand gently, and tapped the screen, following the choice to the end. I hope it doesn’t come back to haunt me later, given how Yeul reacts to her visions…I apparated out of there after giving him [Etro’s Salvation].I made a quick trip back home to give Boop [Magic Potential], then stood and thought about who to give the last Conduit gene to. I wonder what elements is it even going to have…?After a few minutes of contemplation, I decided on Sasuke. A main character can never be too overpowered, after all. And I did give Naruto the Mutant, Conduit, and Bloodline genes for the Ice-release…Giving Sasuke the same won’t hurt… right?Before I could change my decision, I quickly apparated right into his room (perks of being a family friend, I suppose), and took his hand. I gave him Kaguya's Vacuum Palm perk, and then selected the other option.
[Please select one of the following:
Glass
Gravity
Magnetism
Plant
Steam
Steel
Tar
Wire]
Woah. That’s… wow. Quite the selection. I remember Glass and Wire being concept ideas for second Son, but the rest…Okay, so he has a strong lightning affinity, right? So, a good conductor makes sense…
[Are you sure?]
Hella.
[You have given Uchiha Sasuke the Wire Conduit Gene!]
Great. Now, for the new options…
[Perks
Blacklight – Obtain the capability to utilize the Blacklight Virus.
Cost: 500PP.
Mutant Gene Final – Unlock a mutant gene.
Cost: 500PP.
Magic Specialty Final – Unlock a magic specialty.
Cost: 500PP.]
With 107,218 points, here we go. Let’s go for the final specialty, although I an guess what it will be…
[Please select one of the following:
Dragon-slayer.
God-slayer.
Devil-slayer.]
Called it! I’m definitely going for the first.
[Please select an element:
Armor
Blade
Corpse
Earth
Fire
Ghost
Iron
Lightning
Poison
Shadow
Sticky
Sky
Water
White]
Clearly, God Serena was an arrogant asshole to rename his slayer magics like that. Ugh.So… which element? What I’d like to choose from are Earth, Fire, Iron, Lightning, Water. The rest are either unappealing, or just plain disinteresting. Water sound promising, but if I end up in a desert and need to use my magic… I have to keep in mind that I can’t eat elements I conjure on my own.So… let’s go with…
[Are you sure?]
Nope. But let’s go ahead.
[Due to purchasing a perk, a new skill has been created!
Magic Specialty: Lightning Dragon-Slayer (Active) Lv 1 (0.00%)
Using magic to imitate a dragon, you use the element of lightning to startling effect. You can be nourished by consuming lightning or electricity. However, you can no longer bear being on transportation.
Damage from Lightning attacks received converted to HP, QI, and RR.
Spells learned: Roar.]
Excellent. Another spell to master.I looked at t he last two options, and thought back to my friends… I think Hideki and Kitsuna are the only ones I haven’t given anything to, so they’re getting them. But… who gets what?I apparated into the Kurama Clan compound and made my way up into Kitsuna’s room with ease. Through way of random choice, Kitsuna got the final mutant gene. It gave me a selection of obscure mutations I’ve never heard of before, so I chose the most OP-looking one – Mutation Creation. I have no idea how that works, a mutation to create them, but hey, what could possibly go wrong?I patted the boy’s head and apparated away, Appearing at the Hyuuga Clan gates. Alright, this could be a bit tricky…Wait… nope. It won’t be. I casted a Notice-Me-Not on myself. That way, on the off-chance that the Byakugan can see through my spells, they won’t dwell on me for long and will, hopefully, forget ever seeing me.With that on me, I slipped into the Speed-Force and made my way through the compound, [Eyes of Oblivion] active to try and see which was his room… there!I found him furiously writing something, then crumpling the paper up and tossing it away. He was mumbling something under his breath, something about ‘blasted commoner making me all flustered’, but even though I was not on a schedule, I’d rather have this done fast. I put him to sleep, and then gave him [Blacklight].I looked to my perks menu, but even though there were still many concealed options, none were clear to me. I shrugged; at least it was a job well done for today. Plus, I have so many skills to level up now….I sighed and apparated away. *** Far, far away from Konoha, a strange portal opened high up in the sky. A strange being emerged, hulking, and yet with demonic-looking wings that were capable of keeping him aloft. Not much else could be seen, save for the luminous red eyes this creature possessed.“Scanning planet.” A computerized voice emanated from a box it was holding. “Scan successful. Planet deemed suitable for habitation. Message sent to Apokalips High-Command.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“… and… done!” I beamed, setting the brush down and stretching my hands upwards. Outside my window, birds were chirping away (an unnaturally large amount content with settling out of my window) and the golden rays of the sun for only just peeking out over the Hokage Mountain.The new Uzumaki Clan compound was actually a compound lying unused ever since the village was founded, supposed to be for a mystery clan that never actually joined. It lay between the Uchiha and Senju Compounds, which made me suspicious a bit, since there wasn’t really any other clan besides my new namesake’s that mattered. Regardless, the place was actually just a little smaller than the absurdly large Uchiha Compound and was pretty ancient Japanese in architecture. The buildings looked noticeably older than any other in the village, even the ones closer to the mountain.The house we chose to inhabit was the Clan Head’s house – since Shaak TI was, officially now, the head. Naruto, Tenten, her, and I all lived in the large two-story house that would give a Hyuuga propriety-envy. It was completely made of wood, with rice paper doors and proper mats everywhere. Needless to say, we had a lot of renovating to do. The only thing that saved this place going up in flames from Kurama’s attack two years ago was that it was on the opposite side of the village.Kaiza chose to live in a slightly smaller house adjacent to ours. I invited him to stay in our own, since there were so many rooms, but he just shrugged it off. I didn’t push – a seal master and a master-smith needs his own space after all.I looked on the scrolls in front of me with satisfaction. My Shadow Clones and I worked most of yesterday and the entire night to translate and replace appropriate words of the textbooks I lifted from Karakura. All academic levels, and most subjects that were available in the bookstores – all books of true knowledge were transcribed and carefully edited. I honestly could live with the age the Elemental Countries seemed to be stuck in, but a few tech comforts that I wouldn’t have to hide would be more than welcome.I gathered all the scrolls and placed them on one large sealing scroll, then flared my chakra. In the faintest plume of smoke, the scrolls vanished. Nodding, satisfied, I stood and turned to my window. There were not a lot of trees in the compound, so I could get a clear view of over the wall and of Naka Lake.“Good morning, Gundan-kun!”“Gah!” A burst of hyper-heated air shot out from my forehead and only just missed Kakashi, travelling forward into the air and exploding harmlessly a few hundred meters away. “Don’t do that! And why are you outside my window so early in the morning?”“A little birdie told me you were going to Konoha General before your team meeting today.” He shrugged. “So, I decided to accompany you since I don’t have anything to do.”I eyed him with clear (and comical, given the crinkling of his eyes) suspicion, “Did Hokage-sama put you up to this?”“Ah, it wounds me that you would think of me so poorly.” He whined.“Do your flames of youth need fanning? I’m sure Gai would be happy to entertain you if I find him.” I smirked, arching an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure I heard him run past the compound a few hours ago…”He shuddered. “You wouldn’t.”I just shrugged. “Depends. If you behave, I won’t. If you do…” I trailed.I let that threat hang in the air and turned to my closet, pulling out my new ninja gear. Since I didn’t want to sew the Uzumaki clan-symbol onto my Onmitsukido armor set, I opted to equip that as one of the four sets of gear I could now interchange with due to the reward from Athena’s Bossfight. It worked sort of like Dragon Age Origins’ weapon-interchange system, but it worked for all parts of my gear. I assigned the set and my [Akuma-sha] to slot number two and decided to assign a warrior-based gear and a wizard-based gear to two other slots.That left the default slot, so I decided to actually go out and buy ninja gear for a change. With Kakashi, Gai, and a harried-looking Kurenai somehow roped into assisting me. I still have absolutely no idea how or why she showed up, but she kept shivering and muttering about youth, so I guess Gai was involved…?Anyway, she apparently proved important since she was actually appalled at my fashion sense (after awkward introductions) and took it upon herself to help me purchase a set that, and I quote, ‘accentuates your beauty’. I gave Kakashi a dirty glare for ‘coughing’ at that.The problem was actually I, and Tobirama by extension, looked pretty much androgynous, and I so hated that. I only picked out my character so long ago, but I was already regretting going along with what I considered to be handsome back when I was alive. Seeing that my growing hair didn’t help things, I paid the barber a visit. After even more directions from Kurenai, I looked appropriately boyish and moved on to purchase my gear.I saw no need for any protective gear. Even my old set didn’t do much for protection, so I didn’t see it as an issue. Instead, I opted for materials that reduced friction – although expensive, it was well worth it. A crimson kimono held close by a black obi, brown shorts, and black ninja sandals. It passed Kurenai’s approval and my taste. A patch of the Uzumaki swirl (which the tailor apparently kept stacks of, the freak) went on the upper back of all seven sets of the outfit I purchased. Hey, I may not need to change that often, but appearances must be kept. The Leaf forehead-protector, I didn’t want to tie around my forehead. Instead, I had it made into a happuri, much like Tobirama and Yamato. A kunai pouch went on the underside of each of my wrists, and a shuriken holster on my forearms, hidden by the billowing sleeves.Now fully dressed, I took a step onto the table and off the window, letting weightlessness take over. “Let’s get going, shall we?” I asked, offering Kakashi a smile and picking him up with chakra strings. “I do have to finish in an hour, after all?”He tensed when he was suddenly suspended in the air, but relaxed and sighed resignedly. “There’s no slowing down with you, is there?”“My, my, Kakashi.” I smirked, deftly soaring through the air. Around us, a flock of birds flew, but I paid them no mind. This animal thing was… strange, but not unbearable. “Have I grown on you?”“You’d like to think that, wouldn’t you?” he continued in that same tone. “You’re worse than Gai…”“Don’t be so hard on him. He’s our comrade, and so deserves our respect.” I chided.The man was about to speak when-“Youth! Such an inspiring sense of brotherhood, Gundan-kun!” Gai shouted from somewhere below us. I looked down to see him actually following us. “Only the best think like you do!”Kakashi just gave me a smug look.The Hatake and I touched down in front of the Hospital just as Gai himself did, amidst the absolute silence of early morning, and offered us a thumbs-up. “What a youthful way to travel!”I mentally tried to recall if Gai and Bee ever met for longer than a few days… and decided to never let that happen. You couldn’t really dislike Gai – he was sunshine in a bottle of ADHD charged up to a hundred thousand volts; however, if you add rapping to that…“Please maintain silence. We are outside the Hospital, after all.”I turned and… blinked in surprise. “Kabuto?”The boy with large round glasses blinked at me in a disturbing way. “Ah, you must be Gundan-sama, the one who ended Danzo-sama.”I rubbed my eyes. “You’re a year older than me, so please don’t refer to me as higher than yourself.”Kabuto looked down. “After Danzo-sama’s death, Hokage-sama tried to send us off to where we were before he collected us. Mother… she said that she was incredibly grateful to you for ending that man, but he duties as an orphanage mother would not allow her to come here in person. Instead, she sent me in her stead, as her shadow, to help you in whatever way necessary.”I blinked.“Ah, I see you’ve already met your new ward.” A familiar voice spoke, and I looked up to see Tsunade coming towards us with a very young-looking Shizune at her side, and a large file in her hands. “Sensei asked me to hand him over to your care. Super-brat, meet medical-brat. Medical-brat, meet super-brat.” She introduced us.Shizune sweat-dropped. “Tsunade-sama…”I gulped. “What do you mean by ‘ward’?”“Kabuto here is to be a part of the Uzumaki Clan.” Tsunade shrugged. “Honestly, it’s more about his bloodline than it is about anything else. He regenerates far quicker than normal human possibility, and being as vitality is a trademark trait amongst the Uzumaki Clan…”I internally grumbled. Just because the kid could regenerate, doesn’t mean he’s an Uzumaki. I mean, in the original timeline, he goes on to be-…“Of course! We would love to have Kabuto as a part of the Uzumaki Clan!” I beamed, pulling him close to give him a tight hug. “Welcome to your new family, Kabuto-san!”“H- hai…” Kabuto murmured, clearly shocked.This works majorly in my favor. Not only do I get to manipulate where Kabuto’s future goes, but I also get a chance to enable his ‘rebirth’ as his own person early. A loose end tied up!“Good to hear that.” Tsunade grinned, then held the file out for me to take. “Now, let’s see how this water-healing of yours works, shall we?”“Alas, even though I wish to witness this youthful miracle, I must finish my morning routine.” Gai fell into depression. Wow, that’s a little extra. “However, I look forward to seeing you heal another someday, Gundan-kun!” And with that, he was off.I waved in goodbye, then accepted the file with a determined air.Turns out, it works pretty well. Healing through bending can’t be explained entirely. The best I can infer is that I make the energy of the water resonate with the energy in someone, convincing the inflicted to use my energy to heal them. Of course, this theory gets blown to hell when you consider the fact that I don’t need to use energy while bending anymore, but that could be chalked up to more gamer shenanigans.Be it a simple gash, or a lost-cause limb, or even an amputated limb entirely, my healing allowed me to cure anything. Poison in someone’s system? Use a combination of bending-healing to encourage the poison to move somewhere easily extractable and bending itself to draw it out. Upset stomach? Heal. Amputated limb? Regrow the damn thing with water-healing. There seemed to be no limit to my healing, and that just made me happy. If it were any other technique, I’d probably be depressed, but this was healing. Plus, this meant I could heal anything chakra can.Another thing Tsunade managed to note was that my Chi was greatly compatible with chakra, being a half of the whole. Ninja patients of mine healed far faster (even keeping in mind the astronomical rate) then civilian ones, and the greater the amount of chakra a person had, the better the healing was.At the end of the hour that I had available, Gai, Kabuto and Shizune were in awe and Tsunade was frustrated since she couldn’t replicate it somehow – she also had a water affinity and believed it to be enough. Kakashi was just resigned, although he did get an earful when he attempted to whip out Jiraiya’s book to read… which made his mood worse, come to think of it.“It doesn’t work that way.” I shook my head at Tsunade and explained my theory. “Unless you have my bloodline, I don’t think it’s going to work.”“Those eyes are worse than the Sharingan.” Tsunade huffed. “You’ve emptied the Hospital. EMPTIED! There’s practically no patient left here besides the psych ward and the coma ward!”“More time for research, then.” I smoothly pointed out. “Team 2 also doesn’t get neglected this way. Anytime you have a major case on your hands, call me in – I’m always available to help. In fact,” I hummed in thought, “if you could arrange for it, I could also heal ninjas who’ve been pulled off duty because of an injury.”Tsunade just glared at me with twitching eyes and stormed off.I blinked. “What did I say?”“Um… Tsunade-sama has… she worked her whole life trying to find a better medical jutsu than the mystical palm.” Shizune hesitantly explained. “Perhaps… to see you effortlessly do what she struggles to…”Ah, Nawaki and Dan. She’s imagining that she could have saved them if she knew my technique back then. Unfortunately for her, no one besides another water-bending master could do what I do, and I don’t think there has been a healing master in Avatar canon. “Should I apologize?”“No, no. Tsunade-sama may be quick to anger, but she also is quick to calm. She’ll see the clearer picture soon enough.” She quickly bowed before I could say anything else. “Forgive me, but I wish to check on her.” She excused herself and dashed out.“I… didn’t mean to upset her…” and I really didn’t! I just wanted to help…A hand came to rest on my shoulder, and I glanced surprised at its owner. “Gundan-sama, you should not feel apologetic for offering aid.” Kabuto firmly said. I smiled and was about to thank him when he continued. “Instead, you must attempt to wrangle out sympathy from this ordeal you’ve been put through, and then wring it for all its worth. If you follow this route, you may be able to turn the village against Tsunade or even the Senju Clan as a whole. If you so wished, you could cause a Civil War because of the influence you hold.”Kakashi and I sweat-dropped. “Um… okay… thanks, Kabuto.”He adjusted his glasses with his finger. “It is my pleasure to share with you my knowledge.”Okay, I guess Kabuto had only just started training with Danzo or something because he’s totally sociopathic or something. I created a clone to escort him back to our compound and made my way to my own training ground with Kakashi. Since people had finally begun to come out, I didn’t want to fly anymore and instead opted to run.“Why are you still here?” I bluntly asked. “The Hokage doesn’t still have doubts about me, does he?”Kakashi sighed. “Honestly? He made me quit ANBU to watch over you and assigned another team to Naruto. But he won’t accept me back anymore or assign me any missions.” He glared a little. “Since you’re the reason I’m stuck here, I might as well accompany you as much as possible.”Oh, right. Going out of the village was a big NO-NO unless you were a Sannin or on a mission. Totally forgot about that. Plus, I don’t think the Sannin exemption is even in effect yet. At this point in the timeline, Tsunade should have left, which she hasn’t, and Orochimaru should be well on his way to defecting, which he also isn’t. Jiraiya could be out of the village for long periods of time, but ever since I first met him, he’s always been here in some form or the other.It really makes you wonder if the fan-theory that Jiraiya as away because of Naruto looking a lot like Minato was real. And I still don’t know why Tsunade is here in the first place.“You’ll live.” I waved him off. In fact… “If you stick around while the kiddos are practicing, I’ll let you in on a secret I discovered to help me train from my visions. I have to be with you to work, but you’ll at least be training in your down-time.”Kakashi eye-smiled. “Thank you, Gundan-kun.”Why was he making me blush? Ridiculous man. “Yeah, well, whatever.” I looked away. I still didn’t know what was under that mask, but still…Nope. Not falling into that straight-crush trap again. Twice is horrible enough.We landed into our team clearing to see Itachi already at work with a tree, and Mai focusing intently on the bird perched on another.“Ohayo, minna.” I greeted, plopping myself on the ground. “Sensei isn’t here yet?”Both looked up from what they were doing and shared a smile. “I don’t know about yours, Gundan-kun, but my sensei is already here.” Mai cheekily said.“Please don’t let Orochimaru-sensei hear you say that.” I groaned. “I’ve already got to train Team 2 sometime in the future, anyway.Itachi gave me a meaningful glance. “Does it have to do with… that?”I felt Kakashi’s inquisitive gaze but ignored it. “Yep. I don’t want anything happening in a situation that can’t be controlled. Speaking of which, Mai.” I turned to her. “We’re going to have an intense fight sometime this week. I want to test something.”The bird collapsed as her entire frame locked up. “An… intense fight?”I nodded. “Just got to check something. Don’t be so terrified; I’d never kill you.”“Kill… not injure?” Mai sweated profusely.“Well, no pain no gain, and all that jazz.” I waved her off.Just then, there was a pop right next to my ear, and enraged hissing could be heard. “Silly godling, if you leave me behind again, I will find a way to talk to these humans and tell them about your darkest secret.”My jaw popped open. “You wouldn’t.” I accused, eyes narrowing at my familiar.Boop hissed out a strange brand of serpentine laughter. “If that is what you wish to think…”I rolled my eyes. “Oh, yeah. Boop, this is everyone. The two children there are on my team – Uchiha Itachi and Yamanaka Mai. And the male next to me is a … friend, Hatake Kakashi. Guys,” I continued, switching to Japanese, “this is Boop, my familiar.”“Pleased to meet you.” Mai and Itachi bowed.“Yo.” Kakashi lazily waved.“The children I approve of.” Boop bobbed his head. “The male smells of ancient knowledge, and the girl smells of otherworldly power. The male, however… leaves much t be desired.”I decided to not translate that bit.A swirl of leaves interrupted this strange conversation, and soon Orochimaru was there with us, a grinning Anko at his side. “Ah, my students. It has been a long few days…” his eyes took in Itachi and Mai appreciatively. “You have improved. This is good. I would not stand for an idle waste of time.”“Arigato, sensei!” Mai beamed. And it was true. I may be far beyond what anyone in this world could reach, and that’s why my training was grueling by their standards. For all intents and purposes, Itachi was already a splendid ninja, so he wasn’t worked as hard as Mai, who probably thought every day of training a little bit of hell somewhere deep down in her heart.Orochimaru nodded and made two shadow clones. “These two will assess your skill level again, and provide you with material for your first bit of training.”“Actually, sensei, if I may…” I interrupted. At the man’s tilt of his head, I pulled out a sealing scroll and flared my chakra. In two puffs of smoke, two similar giant scrolls were laying in front of me. “Remember when I said we’d do everything as a team?”The man was instantly in front of me, eyeing the yellow and red scrolls with interest. “And where, if you can tell me, did you find the location of two summoning scrolls?”Kakashi scrutinized the scrolls as I hinted, “I don’t know, sensei, it’s like I had a dream of it.” I gave him a meaningful glance.Apparently, the scroll the man with the stall had given me in Suisen had been a summoning contract, which, when I unlocked with a little bit of chakra, was actually blank. Unlike most contracts, it did not have any illustration to show which tribe it belonged to, and an absence of names belied the fact that it has never been used. However, I had a good feeling about it, and I trusted my instincts. The other one was the Chocobo contract. Mai, and the Yamanaka Clan by extension ought to make good use of it.His eyes narrowed. “I see.” He unfurled them and looked them over with a critical eye while Itachi and Mai traded loaded glances. Something told me I should be paying more attention to their thoughts, but intruding their privacy to sate my curiosity was a dick move.“And are you certain they’re… safe?” he trailed, looking up at me with interest. The Chocobo scroll actually had several drawings of them, so I guess he thinks it’s a chicken contract or something; it’s the other one he’s worried about.“Positive.” I nodded.“Very well.” He turned to address the entirety of the team. “What we have here, little children, are summoning contracts. I do hope you know what they are?”Mai nodded. “Around the world, there are several tribes of creatures who have learned to master chakra much like ourselves, only stronger, since they seem to have harnessed the type of chakra that naturally occurs in the world around us. A summoning contract is a way of designating allegiance, with their approval, of course.”“After an aspiring summoner signs the contract, the first summons is usually advised to be done with most of the chakra the person has.” Itachi continued. “There usually is a test of some sort administered by the first summon. If the person passes the test, his name remains on the scroll and is accepted as a summoner. If he doesn’t his name vanishes and may try up to one more time before he is banned altogether.”Orochimaru radiated smugness. “I believe I have the smartest Genin team in history. This is befitting of a man of my stature.” He set down the snake scroll in front of me and I nudged the other two to roll to a stop in front of the others. “Unfurl your scrolls. In order to sign a summoning contract, one uses blood. Nick your pointer finger carefully and use it to write your name. Then poke the pads of all your fingers, slather your hand in blood, and stamp it on the bottom of the same column.”We all did so without much fuss, the otherwise silent training ground filled with the bickering of Kakashi and Anko.“Very good.” The man praised when we were done. “Now, observe the hand-signs I am using. Copy them, and slam your hand on the ground, hopefully without screaming the name of your technique like an imbecile. Mold as much chakra as you safely can while retaining some to complete the challenge set before you.” Then, he leaped back a safe distance.The three of shared a look and followed through. Three muted thuds echoed in the clearing.POOF!Two massive and one slightly lesser puff of smoke appeared.“What the, someone signed the contract?”“Kweh, this is most unexpected.”“So, I finally get to see him…”I manipulated the air and blew the smoke away. The sight before me didn’t trouble me a bit, but Itachi and Mai were frozen in awe.Manda, in all his purple glory, coiled on the ground in front of me. “Well, well, well, what have we here?”A giant silver Chocobo was gazing at Mai inquisitively. “This is… a human? Why are you so small, kweh?”And in front of Itachi, to my complete surprise, a gigantic turtle with leonine features occupied the little remaining area in the training ground. It reminded me of a scaled-down lion-turtle. “Did you summon me here, brat?”I completely ignored the other two animals and focused on Manda. Fleetingly, the question of exactly how my two teammates were able to gather enough chakra to summon the bosses of their contracts (probably) floated through my head, but I set it aside for late consideration.“Greetings, Manda-sama. I am the one who can speak to snakes.” I bowed. “I wish to be able to sign your contract.”“This one is great. I can smell it.” Boop hissed into my ear as he, too, ducked his head in respect. “Do not offend him.”“Interesting.” The Snake Boss narrowed his eyes, then they abruptly widened. He spoke quickly in a far more hissier tone, which I took to be translated Parseltongue. “God of Death, why do you wish to ally with us? Surely we are not as powerful as your lowliest servant?”“You can sense that?” I asked sheepishly. This was unexpected.Manda bobbed his giant head. “Of course. Those who practice the way of nature are far more informed than these humans. You do my summoner a far greater honor than he will ever realize, being his student.” Here, he looked towards Itachi and Mai. “I see that those you call comrades are also touched by you.”“I didn’t harm them, did I?” I worriedly asked. Boop hissed in disapproval.“Not at all. I sense a strange type of chakra within the boy – while he has far less than Orochimaru, it is almost a hundred times more potent – perhaps this is how he was able to summon the Lion-turtle Boss Genbu.” Manda observed. “He’s a moody one. Your female, on the other hand, seems to have some sort of foreign energy fluctuation centered around her left hand that pulses with your chakra. You placed it there. Perhaps drawing upon it was what allowed her to call… whatever that is.”“That’s a Chocobo. They’re native to another dimension entirely.” I informed him.“If they move against us, they’ll be digested quickly enough.” Manda waved his tail dismissively. Boop accompanied this with hissed laughter, which drew Manda’s attention to him. “You already carry one of our kind with you?” he bowed his head, bringing it to scent Boop inquisitively. “An honor it is, for us. The caverns of Ryuuchi will resonate with our joyous praises.”I sweat-dropped. “Um… I’m not really that great…”“Humility does not become you, God.” Manda chastised, rearing back to look at me much alike a mother would at a child for misbehaving. “Hold yourself as high as your stature implies. It is bad enough that Orochimaru and his two comrades forced us summons to reconcile… I will not have you, God or no, behaving like a fragile leaf-minded simpleton.”My brows almost reached my hairline. “You made peace with the slugs and the toads? How did Gamabunta react?”“Were it not for Katsuyu, the world would either gain a new snake-skin wallet or a tad-skin satchel.” Manda snorted.“If I am to be your summoner, will I have to offer sacrifices every time I deem it fit to summon you?” I asked, queasy. This was the only part about having a contract with the snakes I dread.“I beg your pardon?” Manda looked confused…… which I too felt. “You require sacrifices to be summoned in the field, do you not?” In fact, I distinctly remember Manda almost ordering Orochimaru to get him a hundred sacrifices while Kabuto and he rode atop his head.“I do not understand. Us snakes seek to gain the most from any endeavor, true, but we do not unnecessarily demand sacrifices.” The purple snake mused. “There is a clause in the contract that states that someone who perverts their soul is subject to more conditions to summon us, but I don’t recall there being any amount of sacrifices involved.”Ah, that explains it. Orochimaru hasn’t created his immortality jutsu yet, so the Snake Clan isn’t irritated with him either. But then what was that title attached to his name… [Incomplete Snake Sage], what did it mean? I asked Manda as much.“Ah, that is merely the chrysalis he is undergoing.” Manda sagely, no pun intended, nodded. “As you may know, snakes test our sages by injecting them with pure nature chakra straight with our fangs. We only accept the strongest summoners, and our sages are to be held to even higher standards. Orochimaru had borne the initial injection, but now must allow his body to acclimatize to the flow of natural energy. As such, we call this phase chrysalis, since it changes the body of the sage at the very smallest level.”That makes sense. “Thank you for answering my questions, Manda-sama. Will you accept me as a summoner?”The snake shivered. “To hear a god address me as being higher than himself… it pleases me.” He looked at me for a long moment. “You bear more energy than most humans can fathom. I sense your potential to be far greater than your servant even. Somehow, I feel as if there is a large part of your power that you have locked away, only to be used under the direst of the circumstances.”How could he POSSIBLY know that?!“I approve. Lulling your enemy into a false sense of security, then striking… it is a most serpentine thing to do.” Manda bobbed his head and grinned a fanged smile. “I approve you, God, as our summoner. Henceforth, us snakes will carry the banner of Death with pride.”“Sure but… don’t let anyone know I’m who I am, okay?” I weakly laughed. “You know, hiding one’s strengths and all that.”Manda just looked at me for a long time, then nodded. “Of course, God. However, if you ever do visit Ryuuchi Cave, you will be given the respect you deserve.” He promised, then vanished in another plume of smoke.Just then, my wrist began to burn. I looked down at my right hand to see a twining snake slowly wrapping around it. When it stilled, I recognized it as a summoning tattoo, one like Orochimaru wore.PING!
[Due to a special action, a skill has been created!
Ninja Art: Snake Summoning (Active)
Lv 1 (0.0%)
By signing the contract and being approved, you are now able to summon snakes. Alongside being excellent combat additives, snakes can also introduce and counteract poisons, transfer messages, and spy easily.
Cost: Proportionate to size of snake summoned.
Limit: 1 at a time.
]
Speaking of which, I waved the screen away and made my way back towards the gathered three since Itachi and Mai still weren’t finished. “It is done.” I said simply.Orochimaru nodded with approval, and Anko grinned. “Perfect, wonder-boy! Now we get to learn snake jutsu,” here she sidled up to me, “together.”“Kakashi might get jealous if you keep so close to me, Anko-san.” I warned her playfully, extracting myself from her grip.“Ah, so you’re not as oblivious as you think.” Anko beamed.I frowned. “What are you talking about? It’s obvious to anyone the two of you like each other.”Anko gave me a deadpan expression, and somewhere nearby I heard someone groan in irritation. “Never mind.”“While we wait for the others,” Orochimaru stepped in, looking at me oddly, “I will instruct you on how to route your summons throughout your body.”It took me less than five minutes to grasp the concept, which seemed to baffle Anko and make Orochimaru smile that creepy-but-not-really smile of his. However, since my friends still hadn’t finished with their tests, I decided to do some elemental training. Mai was still trying to hold onto a happily dancing Chocobo (complete with several mini ones around them playing a dance beat), and Itachi was still deep in a debate with Genbu on the opposite side of the training ground.In response to the decisive refusal by both Orochimaru and Kakashi, not wanting to risk my ‘bloodline’, I whipped out the page of Chakra Paper and channeled a drop of energy into it. It split into four – one burned to ash, one began to tear because it was too drenched, one crumbled into dust, and one crinkled into such a tight ball that it almost grew impossibly hard.Immediately, five screens appeared in front of me.
[Due to a special action, a skill has been created!
Ninja Art: Fire Chakra Manipulation (Active)
Lv 1 (0.0%)
Having a natural fire affinity, you are able to transform your chakra into fire itself, allowing you to use affiliated techniques.]
[Due to a special action, a skill has been created!
Ninja Art: Water Chakra Manipulation (Active)
Lv 1 (0.0%)
Having a natural water affinity, you are able to transform your chakra into water itself, allowing you to use affiliated techniques.]
[Due to a special action, a skill has been created!
Ninja Art: Earth Chakra Manipulation (Active)
Lv 1 (0.0%)
Having a natural earth affinity, you are able to transform your chakra into earth itself, allowing you to use affiliated techniques.]
[Due to a special action, a skill has been created!
Ninja Art: Lightning Chakra Manipulation (Active)
Lv 1 (0.0%)
Having a natural fire affinity, you are able to transform your chakra into lightning itself, allowing you to use affiliated techniques.]
[Due to a special action, a skill has been created!
Ninja Art: Wind Chakra Manipulation (Active)
Lv 1 (0.0%)
Having a natural wind affinity, you are able to transform your chakra into wind itself, allowing you to use affiliated techniques.]
I waved them away nonchalantly. So that’s all…? Intriguing. I wonder why I didn’t get a skill for Yin and Yang manipulation… I guess because it didn’t appear in the chakra paper results…?“This… is impossible.” Orochimaru whispered. “One’s affinity does not simply change… and we tested you recently…”I shrugged. “Maybe it’s my bloodline acting up again?”Kakashi rubbed his eyes. “Gundan…”“What?” I asked, defensive. “I didn’t do anything!” Not true at all, but Itachi knowing is bad enough. I can’t just go around telling people that I can give out bloodlines like candy, especially now that my perk list has dried up, however temporarily. I guess I have to either do something special or wait for something to happen to unlock more options.Anko just shook her head.“Okay, so I know the exercises for Wind training, but not for the others.” I spoke into the silence (ignoring the background noise of a band and a deep, reverberating voice), “Throw me a bone here.”Orochimaru looked at me, then nodded. “Alright. If you are familiar with the sort of training that you must do… somehow… then the others should seem along the same lines to you. DO you know how to produce Wind chakra?”“Split your chakra into two and grind them into an edge, yeah, yeah.” I nodded.“For fire, you must hit two portions of chakra together to spark. For water, you must fold it onto itself until it gains volume. For Earth, you must compress it together. For lightning, you must grant one portion a positive, and the other a negative charge.” He instructed. “Your goal will be to burn, drench, crumble, and crinkle a leaf respectively.”“Sounds easy enough.” I shrugged, then turned to the nearest tree. I brought my hands up in a cross-sign and made four shadow clones, who sped forward. I myself created a chakra string to pull back then leaves for myself and decided to focus on fire.I concentrated. Mixing my chi and reiryoku, I created chakra within myself. Then, I separated it into two and stuck them against each other as if I were striking two stones to make a campfire. After a couple of tries, I understood how to spark it, and did so, letting the feeling of heat permeate my chakra. I slowly let it flow into the leaf…A small portion of it, barely more than the tip, was set alight, but it puttered out just as quickly. Ignoring the notification that came up, I tried again, only to get a slightly better result.I settled in for a long while of training under the disbelieving expressions of the other occupants of the clearing. *** By the time Itachi and Mai were done (finally), I had already leveled up my elemental skills beyond level twenty, but it was slowing down. At the twenty-five-level mark, they gained additional damage and reduced jutsu costs, however, the leaf exercises stopped adding any experience at all. When I asked Orochimaru about the next step and showed him the mastery over the exercises I acquired, he took it in stride, although Anko kept trying to dispel a non-existent illusion and Kakashi seemed depressed.I understand why my astronomical rate of progress could make anyone get a heart attack. Naruto took quite a few days to get just one element down, and that’s with the help of an upwards of a hundred shadow clones. I, however, have the [Strengthened Gamer’s Mind and Body] and [Energy Medium] skills, which allow me to learn five times faster and control my chakra far more effectively. Add in the fact that my skills level up faster than normal already…The speed of learning this is surprising but understandable.So Orochimaru explained the next steps. For fire, I had to burn down a tree using nothing but pure chakra manipulation. For water, I had to drench a large amount of sand. For earth, I had to crumble a giant rock. For lightning, I had to dry up and crinkle a large freshly cut log.So, I set to work and managed to get it up to level thirty-eight by the time they were done. My teammates looked exhausted, one physically and the other mentally, but clutched the contracts in their hands with a sense of possession.“I take it that the tests went smoothly, then?” Orochimaru asked, beaming cheerfully. It was… an odd expression to see on his face. “As expected of my students.”“I was given permission to hold the contract in my clan.” Itachi quietly noted. Clearly, whatever conversation he’d had with Genbu had shaken him.“Same.” Mai noted, sounding tired. “Although I’m so sure it that’s a good thing… those birds tired even me out.”“To… your clans?” Kakashi blinked. “Hm… I expect we’ll be seeing a lot of the bosses in the next month or so if entire clans are going to be signing contracts.”Anko turned to grin at me. “It seems nothing ever remains dull around you.”I grinned back. “What’s life without any excitement?”Just then, an ANBU landed near us and perhaps barely had time to blink before he had to dodge a spike that shot out from the earth. “Don’t do that!” I hissed, blushing.The cat-masked purple-haired woman turned to look at Kakashi in askance.“He doesn’t like being surprised.” He said in way of explanation.“I see.” Wait, I knew that voice… of course, Yuugao! “The Hokage summons you to the front of the gate, Gundan-san.”I nodded. “Of course.” Then, I offered a hand. “Would you like to accompany me?”She stared at my hand for the longest minute… then took it. I smirked, and apparated.Yuugao wrenched her hand out of my grasp as if it were burned. “What… what was that?”“Teleportation, to the lesser mind.” I smirked. “To a more philosophical one…”“You shall not prevent me from prostrating before Jashin-sama!”Wait… I knew that voice, too. I sped to the gates in a swirl of black lightning, surprised beyond measure. Sure enough, a very familiar character was about to pierce his heard with his collapsible rod…“Hidan!”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
I looked around the little training field, eyeing the others present with me. Shaak Ti looked, for all intents and purposes, wholly placid, eyes trained on me in an unremarkable manner. However, the air around her thrummed with the Force, and her hand loosely held onto her lightsaber hilt.Muramasa was scowling, predictably enough. Being one of the only two (yet) immortals present in the clearing, I absently wondered it if had anything to do with that. He’d changed from the rags he wore previous to more suitable clothes, courtesy of my nearly endless pockets, but the garments suited him just as well. The kimono only had a left sleeve, much like the ninja attire of the Hidden Stone, but it was a placid green instead of maroon or brown. The pointer finger of his seal-tattooed hand tapped on the opposite elbow impatiently, as if he couldn’t quite believe we were still talking about this.The last person, the one whose entire worldview had probably just been shattered into a thousand tiny pieces, sat on the ground staring off into the distance. Since he had killed so many ninjas in his bid to get to me, I simply opened up a Time-Space gate, and used the Speed-force to get to him on time, then brought him back here. The other two members of my clan were summoned immediately, in order to help me make sense of this mess.Hidan was a maniac. A sexy and fun maniac, but a crazy zealot nonetheless. Beyond complete mental reconditioning, I honestly couldn’t see much I could do to bring him over on to my side. The man was an S-ranked criminal for a reason – it spoke a lot that it was only due to the utter impossibility of him being dead and his unique sacrificial ritual; were the man to be a polished shinobi of Kakashi’s caliber instead?This whole episode did bring one thing into stark reality, for me – there were dangerous people out there. Hell, there were dangerous aliens out there, too, but I have been sitting on my ass and doing nothing about it. I erased Hidan’s rampage at the village gates from existence because I knew about it, but… what was Kakuzu doing right now? Danzo is dead and gone, so is Nagato still fighting a war against Hanzo, or was he perverted into his twisted sense of superiority by some other means? Orochimaru is reformed, but what of Sasori?What were Obito and Zetsu doing?This… has gone on long enough.I may not even be ten, yet, but I am more powerful than even Madara at his prime. Who needs Heaven Concealed when I have the variations of Cero at my fingertips? Who needs Great Fire Annihilation when I have Fiendfyre? Hell, I’m a powerful telepath! Coupled with blood-bending…I don’t know how I measure up against Dormammu, or other uber-powerful multiverse entities but… for right here, and right now… I was more than ready.PING!
[Main Quest Alert!
Only One Path
You have a comprehensive recollection of every possible problem that can plague the Elemental Nations. Act on them.
Objectives
Eliminate the future Akatsuki members.
Eliminate Toneri, Kinshiki, Momoshiki, Jigen, and Jashin Ootsutsuki.
Bring hope to the scattered clans of the Uzushiogakure village.
Prepare for the worst.
Bonus Objectives
Do not directly kill your priority targets (0/18).
Rewards
1,000,000EXP, ?]
I accepted, of course. Doing this would make the world safer for everyone-Hold up. Jashin is a-
[For formulating the bare bones of a plan, +1 to WIS!]
What…?WHAT?I navigated over to my character screen, and sure enough, my stat had risen by one.But… but how?! I didn’t purchase any perk that should allow me to do this at all! How is this suddenly possible-Then it hit me.“The ‘Fruits of My Labor’ perk…” I whispered, thinking back to the quest confirmation screen from killing Athena. Good god, it’s so obvious, too! Holy shit, holy shit, HOLY SHIT!I… I’ve unlocked the full potential as a gamer…Fuck! I should have saved those stat points which I got after her battle so bad! With the [Time-Space Gate] and the Mirror Dimension at my disposal, I could have earned my way to the next prestige, and then the next, and then…Ultimate power.Nothing could stand in my way, then! Taking down Dormammu would be a cakewalk! Forget the Ootsutsuki, even greater powers would mean nothing to me! I don’t know how many more prestige levels I can cross, but if I do so by using only my own self…Things and creatures in the Mirror Dimension don’t age. Theoretically, I know how the original gamer ground his stats – well, all except luck, which I have absolutely no idea about. Holy hell, this changes everything!Woo! Athena’s decision to try to coerce me into freeing her (I think?) has more than paid off the effort! Okay, celebratory gig! Shaak Ti and Muramasa both gave me disturbed looks as I wriggled in a circle. Behold, the Golden City is to be had! The secrets of the universe are mine!“MuwuhahahahaHA!”“Ahem.” Shaak Ti coughed, making me freeze. “Legion, while I’m sure you have your reasons, I do believe we were doing something important.” She gave me a disapproving look.“You’d get along really swell with Minerva McGonagall.” I waved her off. “Anyway, something has come up. I need to leave. As for Hidan, see if you can-”“The last time you left when something ‘came up’, you ended up freeing and ending a deranged goddess, and then had me summoned to help. Muramasa-san also helped, if you’d recall.” Shaak TI sighed, rubbing her temples with her fingers. “Please give me one good reason why I can’t leave a clone behind to take care of Naruto to come with you?”“Um… because… I’m not going to kill anyone…?” I grimaced. “Besides, you’re making it sound like I go looking for trouble. You know that’s not true; things just tend to… blow up around me… metaphorically, I mean.”“Yeah… there’s no way you’re leaving us behind, brat.” Muramasa huffed. “I promised Aoi oba-san that I’d take care of you, and I can’t do that if you’re not around.”“I can take care of myself.” I insisted. “I did take down a deranged goddess, as your clan head just so eloquently put it. I’ve only gotten stronger since then.”“With our help.” Shaak Ti shook her head. “Muramasa’s barrier was the reason my lightning strike had enough power to weaken her enough to finish her off.”I had to concede to that. It was a bit odd how Athena just suddenly died after her strike like someone scripted the events or something. She was the final boss! It shouldn’t have been that easy. Still left me irritated, though. “I’m not going to fight against armies of men on my own, you know; I’m just going to… to end of all threats I know of.” I shrugged. “I’ve been sitting on comprehensive knowledge of the future for a long time. Time to put it to good use.”“Once this is done, the flow of time won’t be able to be predicted, anymore.” The Jedi Master reminded me. “You know the major players now – once they have been eliminated…”Yeah. After every evil megalomaniac was dead, I wouldn’t know what was going to happen next. But… “That’s why I’ve gotten strong, you know. We both know there are more powerful beings out there, possibly even a handful that can wipe the floor with me with ease. Why should we split our attention? Athena could be just one of the many things that don’t belong here. Why not take out the known quantities first?”“Sounds like a sound plan to me.” Muramasa shrugged. “With these future problems out of the way, you can focus on real ones.”I nodded.“As you wish. I did decide to follow you, after all.” The woman sighed. “But you can forget the idea that we won’t be coming along – I won’t stand for it.”I shrugged. “I can see when I’m losing an argument. Fine, come along. But there are some things I want to do first.”“Like deal with this psycho?” Muramasa huffed, gesturing towards Hidan, whose eyes were now locked on my form. “I still say end him. He can’t remain alive when he’s ashes and scattered into the wind.”“I agree. Not everyone can be saved. Sometimes, in taking a life we offer respite to several others.” Shaak TI shrugged. “Is it morally reprehensible? Perhaps. Is it morally feasible? Yes.”I never did look into her personality much on the Star Wars wiki, so I wasn’t very sure if this fit or not. I didn’t dwell much on it – it helped that I agreed. But Hidan was so… “Alright, Hidan. You have two choices: one,” I raised a finger to emphasize my point, “you keep to your ways, and I burn you to ash and scatter them into a far, far off place, or, two, you stick with me, try to curb your… tendencies and I let you go up against some of the strongest beings in the multiverse.”Hidan looked at me, that unnerving, uncharacteristic stare of his boring into my mismatched eyes.“Or… you can stare at me and creep me out, that works too.” I mumbled, shuddering. Something about that look made me very… bothered. “I’ll talk to you when I get back. Stupefy.”Hidan’s eyes widened before they rolled back into his head, then slumped back on the ground. A wave of my Marked hand saw him rise in the air, then be wrapped in thick coiling ropes.“I think we have a little something to keep safe…” I murmured, then partially closed my hand. A swirling orb of purple formed within its grasp, humming with eldritch energies. When I cast the spell, it created a sphere of similar swirling color ahead of us, almost of a height of double a man. It soon vanished to reveal a red-skinned male, garbed in black armor gleaming with an eerie red light.The Dremora looked upon me for a moment with the deepest contempt, before his eyes widened. Knowing very well what he saw, or rather, sensed, I simply spoke over him. “Keep this one safe. Do not venture out of the confines of this yard, and do not respond to him if he wakes.” I turned around to gesture to my … teammates. “Oh wait, I can’t believe I didn’t think about this before. Create party.”PING!
[A party has been created! Please name the party.]
“Elemental Nations Peacekeeping Force.”
[You have named your party, ‘Elemental Nations Peacekeeping Force’. Party currently has 0 members.]
I turned to look at the other two fully, wanting to see their reactions. “Invite Shaak TI and Uzumaki Muramasa to party.”
[There are no known individuals named ‘Shaak Ti And Uzumaki Muramasa’ in the immediate vicinity.]
I felt my eye twitching. “Invite Shaak Ti to party. Invite Uzumaki Muramasa to party.”The Togrutan, true to her unflappable nature, simply arched an eyebrow at the box in front of her. I felt my twitch intensify when I remembered that she knows. Ugh. Jedi and their damned Force visions.Muramasa, too, reacted quite calmly to the floating message. He looked at it, then at me. “I assume this is your doing?”I groaned exasperatedly. “Ugh, it’s never going to be easy to surprise you two, is it?” The two exchanged an amused glance. I frowned but waved them on.
[Shaak Ti – Level 93
Race - Togrutan
Title - Sworn Second
HP - 10200
QI - 10200
RR - 99200
FO - 73800
CON - 102
STR - 502
AGL - 1007
INT - 922
WIS - 738
LCK - 100
Once a vaunted Master of the Jedi Order, Shaak Ti was defeated on Felucia by who was then Darth Vader’s personal assassin. After somehow being transported to Hueco Mundo, she was rescued by the Gamer, and chose to follow him due to how she has seen he will affect realities.
Telepathy Bonus: Shaak Ti is currently amused by the Gamer’s behavior.]
Rub it in, why don’t you? And she had three energy gauges?!Ugh, anyway, as for Muramasa…
[Muramasa Kaiza – Level 99
Race - Human (Immortal)
Title - Legendary Smith Protector
HP - 78300/78300
CP - 75200/75200
Constitution - 783
Strength - 846
Agility - 892
Intelligence - 752
Luck - 50
Wisdom - 910
?
Telepathy Bonus: He is currently intrigued by his stats listing.]
He was still a blank. Besides tossing aside ‘Kaiza’ and keeping ‘Muramasa’ as his first name, he hadn’t told much of what he wanted. He didn’t even reciprocate when I originally told him about my powers.It was obvious to anyone with eyes, however, that he adored Tenten like no tomorrow. Anyway, he leveled up once, and earned ten points, compared to when I last saw him. Or, at least, he earned five and trained the rest… ugh, NPC stats could be so overpowered, man. I was I could do half of-Wait.Right here, in front of me, were two people with skills I needed to at least get a passing skill in. I had magic that allowed me to download skills… and a nifty other skill that allowed to teach, and upload skills.Could… could it be possible…?I closed the windows and readied my hands in front of me as if to type on a keyboard, opening up my Archive. Surprisingly enough, alongside the gigantic main screen, there were to tabs right up top. One for Shaak Ti, and one for Muramasa. How interesting.I ignored the muttered “There’s a skill even for that…?” from Muramasa and tapped on his icon.I guess my Archive and System Menu interacted with each other more than just superficially because it opened up to a peculiar screen. The base tab showed his stats, the next showed his equipment and the last…It showed his skills.And woah, boy, what a list it was. Everything was mastered to level hundred, of course, God knew how long he had been alive. There were basic ninja arts in there, housekeeping and cooking and stuff, fighting styles… and my prize.“Muramasa.” I called out, pulling the man out from his exploration of his lesser system menu. “Please, come here for a minute. I need a favor.”The man arched a brow, but approached, no weariness visible in his posture at all, an easy grin on his face. “Yes, little god?”I rolled my eyes but quickly schooled my face into a serious expression. “What I’m going to ask you is … I don’t know if it’s going to be offensive, but please bear with me.” I took a deep breath. “I need certain skills I’m lacking to complete my quest in a very certain way. With every quest I receive, I also get an attached bonus objective, one or several. Completing them gives me extra experience, money, or other rewards.”He nodded, having already gotten a rough description of the system from me. Shaak Ti looked up from here she stood, face contemplative.“I need your sealing knowledge for a plan of mine. I am willing to offer a skill in exchange.” I backed out of his screen and quickly opened up my own, stepping away to let Muramasa take my place. “I haven’t found a way to unlock magic in people, yet, but any skill that uses chakra or your individual physical or spiritual energies is yours.”He looked at the screen for one long moment scrolling through the rather long list. It was almost triple the size of his own, and for a moment I was horribly self-conscious. Here was someone, just, like, casually looking through a very detailed list about what I could do, my limits, everything. I wonder which one he would choose, though, oh wait!“Um… you can skip over [Ninja Art: Chakra Manifestation], and [Ninja Art: Organic Shapeshifting]. I’m going to give those out to all trusted members of our clan as soon as I get my hands on a pure Uzumaki blood sample.” I spoke, shifting my feet.He froze for a moment, then scampered back up through the list. “You’re planning to use this DNA changing technique, aren’t you?” he accused, although his voice was a little shaky, who knew why.I shrugged. “I don’t know how many Uzumaki were wiped out during the Siege of the Hidden Whirlpool, but gathering scattered members isn’t going to be enough to bring the clan back up to full strength – I don’t want to insult the clan name by not restoring their former honor and glory. With a pure Uzumaki blood sample, I can use my talents to isolate what makes an Uzumaki one on the basic level and apply that therapy to others using the technique you pointed out. However, the new Uzumaki clan will also have those two techniques as clan techniques. I don’t want to interfere with your DNA because of your immortality, but because you’ve taken on the Uzumaki name, you can have access to those techniques whenever. In fact, as a gesture of goodwill, I’ll download – I mean transfer – those skills to you right now, along with the other one.”He made a strange noise. “You’re going to remake the Uzumaki clan with each and every member having access to those techniques?”“Sure.” I nodded. “I did get one of them from the library itself, and the other… well… let’s just say it was inspired by a clan member.”He shook his head. “I… no, I’m not thinking about this right now. Here, I want this one.” He said, pointing.Why would he want that one…? “Are you sure? I mean, you seem like the frontal combat type, so something like this…”He shook his head. “That’s just it. I’m not a frontal combat type. I’m a smith, first and foremost. It is only with my mastery of seals that I can be effective in combat. I know a lot of ninjutsu, but… something like this can be an ace I need when things get rough.”Wow, we’re quite alike. “Alright then. Exchange of 3 skills for 1…” I ticked off the skills in question, “transfer initiated.”
[Skill Upload Complete: 3 Successful.
Skill Download Complete: 1 Successful.]
PING!
[Due to an import, a skill has been created!
Master Seal-crafter (Passive) Lv MAX
You are a master of weaving chakra through the written word. Due to your proficiency, you are capable of assembling and disassembling a seal with a touch and chakra alone and require no time or materials to complete a seal. Due to the knowledge you possess of multiple languages, you are capable of working without recipes, simply commanding a seal into existence with the effect you have in mind.
Languages: Fire-country Japanese, Wind-country Arabic, Lightning-country Greek, Mist-country English, Rock-country Hindi, Whirlpool-country Mayan.
90% chance for seal’s effects to be enhanced.]
Oh. My. God.I ignored the momentarily blinding pain in my head and closed my eyes visualizing. Let’s take this baby for a spin…I brought my finger up to my right wrist and tapped it lightly. Letters seemed almost to explode outwards, emerging from my wrist and running throughout my body. I felt a little rasping disconnect with myself for the barest of moments, before a feeling of weakness overcame me for a minute. Then, slowly and with an uncomfortable burn, the letters condensed, receding, and forming a cilice-like tattoo around my right wrist.PING!
[You have equipped an accessory!
Sealing Technique: Ten Otherworldly Coffins (Legendary)
Fueled by chakra and magic both, this seal uses a bastardized version of the Mirror-Dimension to create limited-in-scope recreations of the prisoner’s most desired environments. Objects cannot be placed within. You may freely interact with the prisoners within.
Cages: EMPTY, EMPTY, EMPTY, EMPTY, EMPTY, EMPTY, EMPTY, EMPTY, EMPTY, EMPTY.]
That sorts out a future problem to handle. Excellent.“This is…” I turned to look at Muramasa, who was half-sinking into his own shadow. “And…”“Satisfied?” I preened. Kage Yosuru wouldn’t have evolved as it did without Gamer shenanigans, I’m sure. “Anyway, Shaak Ti, you’re up.”I transferred the two skills to her, along with my version of Pesquisa. Apparently it caused a light throb for them that persisted, though, so I was debating taking them along even as the Jedi used her new skill to shapeshift into her human form in truth. I helpfully removed the seal Tsunade applied, even as I kept its blueprint for later use. It was, after all, a derivation of the Kama.“Alright, so, we’re done here.” I clapped my hands. “Daedra, remember my words, guard him with your life.”“Yes, God.” The being spoke simply, staring at me with an unreadable expression. Hm…I absently threw an illusion, muggle-repelling, and silencing charms over the field as the three of us left, plans swirling in my mind.I quickly transferred the knowledge of flight to the other two and took to the air, making haste to the deserts north-east to the Land of Fire. When I was approximately in the middle of the vast sands, I created a twig using the [Arc of Embodiment] and set it on my palm.“Point Me – Sasori of the Red Sands.” *** Sasori, at the moment, was whittling away at his masterpieces. He found it cathartic – even though he had created the best, it never hurt to have more of his pieces on hand, and it helped him immerse himself in something he loved doing all the same. It’s not like time is a problem for him, anymore.His eyes found themselves looking over his cavern as he instinctively worked, eventually landing on his prized piece, of a far larger level above them all. He still wasn’t able to use the Kazekage’s Iron Sand to the best of his abilities in life, his capability being only passable.Being ‘only passable’ was something he abhorred. If he was content with being ‘only passable’, he wouldn’t have advanced as far as he did. Why it was only when-The cave around him rumbled, and he stilled. This part of the desert hadn’t seen any earthquakes in… ever. Chakra strings quickly formed from the tips of his fingertips and joined themselves to many of the puppets around him, raising them in the air, while some remained on the ground to give him an element of surprise.He looked up when a perfect square portion of the ceiling moved down, then slowly shifted to the side and remained there. Three people hovered in the gap, against the shining moonlight far, far above them. At the front seemed to be… a young boy. Astoundingly so, to have mastered the Tsuchikage’s lightweight technique at such a young age. The woman on his left had a massive presence and held her posture as she knew it. Perhaps a bloodline of some sort… what a wonderful selection of bodies!And the last… seemed familiar, somehow. Odd, since he had perfect recall. If he had seen this person anywhere in the past, he would know of it immediately.“Sasori of the Red Sands…” the child called out, slowly lowering himself into the cavern. “I am Uzumaki Gundan of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and I have come to you with an offer.”“Oh?” This he had to hear.The child – Gundan – had the gall to smirk at him. “What if I told you that I could give you the knowledge necessary to take your art to an even higher level, provide you the tools and space necessary, and leave you in peace?”Intriguing. “Make my art perfect? My art is eternal, everlasting. It is already perfect.”The boy touched down in front of him and studied him for a moment, while he did the same. Gundan had a startling resemblance to the Second Hokage, made even more prominent with the metal happuri he wore, but his eyes… such beauty…Gundan raised his hand to his side, and, much to his surprise, a black mist seemed to appear from nowhere and condensed, condensed, until….He offered the creation to him, and Sasori wasted not a moment in connecting a string to it and bringing it closer. He almost jerked in surprise, when, as soon as the string connected, he could see what it was seeing.He didn’t let his surprise and almost-incredulity show, looking towards Gundan instead. Interesting… very, very interesting.“That is only a tiny, tiny part of what I can offer you.” The boy smiled, and Sasori was almost struck with how warm that expression was. Why was he smiling that way at him? Why was he even affected by that smile? He had no human parts of himself to speak of – he was entirely a puppet, so why was his core overheating? “I know little about you, Sasori, but what I do know… it makes my heart clench. That,” he gestured to what Sasori had now pulled to himself, held in a gentle grasp in his hand, “was just the fish-hook, I’ll admit. But if you agree… I can fulfill one of your greatest desires.”Dread. Why was such a beautiful smile making him feel dread?“How would you like to say ‘Hello’ to your parents?” *** Kakuzu exited the bounty station near the edges of Rain Country with a displeased expression. Ever since Hanzo had begun his little war against this Akatsuki, the stations had been lacking in the funds required to pay him for his trophies. He had been told by a reliable source that this one had quite the amount on hand, but it seems that was not the case.He’d deal with the rat later, but for then, he thought about returning back to Earth Country to track that strange creature that the Tsuchikage had put a bounty on. Apparently, it tried to mount an explosive of some sort in the village sewers but was able to sprout wings and flee when faced with ninja. Kakuzu, being a practical man, refused to believe it was a creature of any sort, but a ninja with a bloodline. After all, he hadn’t seen or heard of any creatures such as the gold-armored, green-skinned, hulking thing. Besides, the existence of armor on the thing implied a higher intelligence than a label of ‘creature’ would imply.“Kakuzu of the Hidden Waterfall.”The bearer of Jiongu looked up, to where the voice came from, to spot four silhouettes against the sky, who swiftly lowered themselves so darkness clouded their faces no longer. Two he could recognize almost instantly – he had, after all, skipped past Sasori’s name in his Bingo Book far too many times to forget it. And the second… he had a history with.He raised his hands up immediately, rage almost clouding his judgment. “Fire Style: Intelligent Hard Work.”The magnificent technique all but erupted from his hands in glee, hurrying on towards his target. A massive explosion occurred, setting the tops of the few trees surrounding them alight even though the air had to be quite humid.Wait… the technique should have made contact further, not there! And…The fire began to swirl, slowly shrinking, until he could see the four people behind it, completely unharmed and, perhaps more worrisome, not worried in the least. It was the small boy, he held what was now an orb the size of his head hovering above his palm, too bright to look at. It slowly dimmed down until the flames unwound and flickered above him in a small tongue. “Interesting… you don’t need hand-seals… I wonder, did you relocate your fire-natured heart to your hand to ease the spiking of your chakra?”Kakuzu’s eyes widened.“Regardless, that’s not why we’re here.” The child shrugged. “I am Uzumaki Gundan, of the Hidden Leaf Village. Tell me, Kakuzu, if I were to give you ten million ryo per week, allow you to hunt bounties, and spar with you to refine your abilities… would you join me?”Kakuzu thought about it for a moment, then lowered his hands. *** “Alright, that makes…. what… four members that I’ve dealt with personally?” I muttered, ignoring the gaze of practically everyone around me, save for two. Orochimaru, Itachi, and Hidan are all back at home, Kakuzu and Sasori are here, and Deidara should still be too young and safe away in the Hidden Stone. That left… Nagato, Konan, Kisame, and Zetsu, not including Obito. So now… “We’re heading to Rain next.” I decided, turning to face everyone. “I’m going to ask you to refrain from killing anyone who isn’t a bounty.” I instructed Kakuzu, “and also not kill anyone solely for their Bloodline,” I told Sasori, “because we’re trying to raise the village, not raze it.”“The three of them have seen much.” Shaak TI murmured, falling out of her trance. “But yes. It is as you predicted, the third one is alive.”“Excellent.” I beamed. The Elemental Nations needed more people like Yahiko. “Does the Uzumaki still have his legs?”“Yes.” She nodded, then hesitated, “However… the girl. She’s blind.”I blanked. “What?”“She protected the Uzumaki from an explosion but took shrapnel to her face.” She explained. “Her entire face is scarred, and she lost her vision, but she is otherwise well.”I frowned. Poor Konan… but, however unethical, this also gives us an in with them. “I don’t like it, but we can use that. I can heal her to gain Nagato’s trust. It will make the entire ordeal easier.” I looked up from my hands, and gazed in the distance, towards Ame. “Not many ninjas. The bodies of Hanzo and his faction who died by his side are still there, but the three we’re after are still not within the village walls.” I frowned. “If Konan was blinded, I don’t know much about the spare to predict how he’d try to throw a wrench in the future, but I do know the Uzumaki would have wanted to heal her post-haste. With his special situation… no, that particular power was only good for non-living things… I think? Ugh, I should have researched more about the Paths.”“The Paths… the Six Paths?” Sasori asked, looking for all the world to be unfazed. “The Uzumaki has the Rinnegan?”“Implanted, but yes.” I shrugged. “It’s taking a toll on his body, and I want to find out why. In theory, it should only be his DNA, which I can change the eyes to match with, but if there is another factor, I need to understand it.” I put forward, thinking of the arm made of Senju cells in my inventory. “What is it that I can do to make implantation easier? That is the question I want answered.”“Interesting.” I was beginning to think Sasori would never stop using that word around me.“Okay, if you two lovebirds are done?” I asked, throwing my head back to look at the two hostile-to-each-other-members of my group. Kakuzu and Muramasa barely broke the heated glaring match they were both in to even acknowledge my voice. “They’re still at it, I see.”Shaak Ti simply sighed next to me.I frowned, formulating a plan in my mind. I could go to Rain and take stock of the situation there before recruiting Nagato. If my conversation skills could convince even the vilest of people to reform, surely it would be easy to get Nagato to come home? Then, I need to go up to the moon to take care of that extra piece of crap, Toneri and the Tenseigan, then find the rest of the Ootsutsuki. Finally, I can return home and tie up loose ends by finding the Uzumaki and bringing them back to the village. And there, my quest is complete.I stood and sighed, cracking my joints. Now the hard part… actually doing it.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“You know what I never understood?” I asked, flying alongside my rag-tag group of companions towards our destination, “Why did none of the lot of you ever have a vision about Palpatine’s minions? Sure, Sidious had cloaked himself with the Force or whatever, but even Grievous and Dooku? Even
their
underlings?”
“From what I now know, perhaps things were simply meant to be that way.” Shaak Ti sighed. “The Force on this planet is… potent. While it does not let me experience visions of any sort, as I previously informed you, it does allow me to get… impressions. Feelings, of a sort. It’s why I have decided to always be by your side.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.” I pointed out. “Are you trying to distract me?”
The now-human rolled her eyes. “If only it were possible… my point being, that not all people have reality-altering powers like you.”
“True enough.” I grinned, looking back toward our companions. “If only you knew how much…”
The former Jedi master sighed. “I think I have an inkling of an idea…”
I rolled my eyes, channeling greater reaches of my power to increase our speed. “Anyway, plot’s plot and all, but I think we’ve wasted too much time. My shadow clone will be able to last in case the worst happens, but yours won’t.” I quickly accessed the
[Map]
feature of my system menu and scaled back, watching our progress with contemplating eyes. “We’re still three hundred and twenty-five kilometers away from Hidden Rain. Once we’ve dealt with the more human of our adversaries, you lot are returning home with a shadow clone of mine, while I handle… other matters.”
“Absolutely not.” Muramasa burst into our conversation. “Have you forgotten what we decided before we left?”
“I don’t know if you lot can survive in space.” I pointed out. “I am headed to the moon soon after, and I don’t want to put you lot in an environment you may feel puts you out of your depth.”
“The moon.” The immortal blankly stated, then sighed. “Why does that not surprise me as much as it should?”
I rolled my eyes, sticking my tongue out. “I guess you just know me well enough.” I looked over at the rest of our little troupe, who had their eyes trained on me. “Anything to add, Sasori, Kakuzu?”
“It is… odd, to have to defer to a child.” Kakuzu noted with his eyes narrowed. “However… it is a feeling I believe I will soon learn to live with.”
I nodded. “Good. That should give you practice when you become part of the Uzumaki Clan. Speaking of which,” I created a shadow clone, “go find Karin and her family, Tayuya and her family, Juugo’s clan, and Sakon and Ukon if they have a clan, them too. Offer them whatever and bring them to the Leaf.” Another shadow clone popped into existence next to me while the other fled in a burst of black lightning. “It’s your job to speak to Hiruzen about our new arrivals. If I know myself, I’ll get them there in about twenty or so minutes, so hurry up.” That clone saluted before vanishing silently.
“Wait, did I hear you correctly?” Muramasa said, jerking back in surprise. “You’re getting them to join the clan? Won’t the leaf be against welcoming missing ninja of other villages into their fold? The last checked, our village wasn’t that sort.”
‘Our’ village. Oh, Muramasa… “Sure. But against my speech-craft, not even the most skilled courtier can hold their ground.”
Sasori studied me with an unnerving gaze. “You… are unusual.”
“Thanks.”
“I did not mean that as a compliment.”
“He knows.” Shaak Ti and Muramasa chorused, in fond exasperation. I simply rolled my eyes and sped on.
***
Yahiko looked at Konan with a worried expression as she held on to Nagato, the latter carrying her towards their underground hide-out. They were the last three to survive their Akatsuki, and it stung something fierce. In the months it had taken fighting the good fight, they had become… close. Family, one could say. Their victory against Hanzo rang hollow, echoing the cries of their comrades as they fell.
“Well, well, well…”
Yahiko did not wait, he immediately charged three kunai with chakra and threw them towards the voice before even looking. He felt more than saw his weapons curl away from their intended target, then stop mid-air. He landed on the branch of a tree and looked up.
Hovering in mid-air was a strange group of people. He could recognize none of them, but he could feel their strength enshrouding them in an invisible haze. Oddly enough, the most dangerous seemed to be the child in the center, barely four or five years of age. His eyes were pitch black, and the darkness seemed to emanate from them, clouding a good few centimeters of skin around the eyes themselves… a Dojutsu.
“Yahiko, it’s rude to attack someone before you know who they are.” The child chided, and the darkness in his eyes faded away to show a mismatched pair of green and blue, the green one glowing with an ethereal quality, staring at him reproachfully. “What if I was a friend?”
“Our friends are dead.” Nagato spat, his ripple eyes glaring at the boy. Yahiko wondered why almost all of the entirety of the group was focused on him when Nagato was there… everyone in Rain knew that
he
was the real threat, and not Yahiko himself.
“What about family then, Uzumaki Nagato?” the boy asked, tilting his head. “My cousin?”
Wait.
What?
“What?” Nagato asked, eyes wide.
The boy shook his head. “It took me so long to find you- Holy crap! That girl is injured!”
And in a moment, he was within their guard.
Yahiko’s eyes widened. That speed… it was beyond anything he could ever hope to achieve. His hands were just bout to reach for his holster when he noticed exactly what the boy was doing.
“Let me look at her!” The child snarled when Nagato made to intervened. “I’m a healer!”
That made both boys freeze. A medic ninja…
Maybe…
“Then please… help her.” Nagato asked first before he could even open his mouth. Yahiko turned a suspicious gaze on the child, who carefully cradled Konan’s unconscious face in his hands. The kunai that were still hovering where they had stopped mid-air fell to the ground in a clatter, and his green eye stopped glowing. However, his blue eye began to glow as the rain, which had been pouring from the sky-hole above, seemed to halt in its tracks when it came near. Slowly, the water coalesced around his hands and began to glow a bright shade of blue that almost matched his eyes.
“Oh, thank Kami, it’s nothing I can’t heal.” The boy sighed in relief, waving his hands in entrancing motions that the water seemed to obey. Yahiko would have loudly protested if it were not for the visibly healing wounds on Konan’s face.
“Who… who are you?” he asked instead, eyes wide. Konan’s injuries, as much as it pained him to admit, made him almost certain she’d never be able to see in the future. To perform healing of such a degree at such an age…
The boy looked up from Konan’s rapidly healing visage and smiled sadly at him. “I am Uzumaki Gundan, from the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I came here to find a member of the Uzumaki clan my technique was leading me to, but…” he sighed, turning back to look solemnly at Nagato. “It seems I know why the technique was faltering. Being so close to you… I can feel the chakra fighting between itself and the foreign energy… I was not wrong.”
A sensor like him? “‘Foreign Energy?” Yahiko asked, almost in alarm. He only knew a few reasons the term could come up. Given that the boy – Gundan – was looking at Nagato…
“Those… are not your natural eyes. Someone implanted those eyes into you, Nagato.” He informed them, and Yahiko could feel it as his friend’s world shattered.
“I… what…”
Predictably, Nagato was all out of words. After all, what could one say when the very reason the flame of their hope kept alight was reasoned to be false? Nagato was driven, somewhat, by his eyes – they gave him the strength to protect and cherish that which he deemed most important.
Now…
“We can’t just take you at your word.” Yahiko groused, but internally he wasn’t so sure. He always felt something off about Nagato’s chakra, specifically around his eyes, but he always thought it was to do with the sheer power that was the Rinnegan. He steeled himself and focused – Nagato’s eyes felt like they were a bright flame, much brighter compared to the rest of his body. Once again, he had always assumed…
But then he realized that the eyes, however godly in their capability, drew energy
from
Nagato to use, and the chakra reading should have always been the same.
“Of course. It would be foolish of me to assume you would.” Gundan shook his head in what looked like a somber wistfulness. “But it is the truth. The only reason I was not here sooner is that the presence of whoever originally owned those eyes was too overpowering to the technique. It gave me your general location, but then I was forced to rely on other means to locate you. And even then, that was shaky at best.”
“A technique that allows you to find anyone?” Yahiko asked, surprised despite the situation. That the Hidden Leaf held hold over a ninja with such a technique…
“Of course. Would you like to see?” Gundan asked with a beaming smile, then held up his hand. Black dust appeared from nothing and came together, forming a cylindrical stick in his hand with one end larger than the other, and laid innocuously in his palm. “Point Me – Uzumaki Nagato.”
The stick swiveled and focused on Nagato tensely for a moment before it shook from side to side as if it were sentient and confused.
“This reaction… it’s never happened with this technique before.” He pointed out. “Now for a comparison… Point Me – Yahiko.”
The stick swerved to point at Yahiko in the same tense fashion, although this time it did not waver at all.
“See? That’s how it’s supposed to work.” Gundan nodded down at the stick that lay flat on his palm. At some unseen signal, it seemed to droop, as though there was some life in its dead form that had drained out. “To waver like that, it would mean that the identity of the person is not fixed. Either the target has mental issues, or there is an energy infusion from a foreign entity, or the target is not… wholly made up of himself.”
Nagato blinked down at the boy. He still seemed very out of it. “I… see…”
Yahiko felt his heart drop, but he gently pulsed his chakra to not alert their guests but still break any illusion upon themselves. There was none.
“Anyway,” Gundan clapped, some joy returning to his eyes. “We can talk about all that once we’re back in the Hidden Leaf. Oh, you’re going to love the place! The people are fun to be around, too, except this one white-haired creep who keeps trying to peek on the women’s baths.” He babbled, and Yahiko felt himself stutter – he
knew
that ‘creep’. “He’s tried to cop a feel on me a couple of times too.”
Yahiko could have imagined it, but he felt several of the people in their entourage tense at that. Weird.
“Anyway, so yeah. You’re going to have to deal with a bunch of people to live there with us, but-”
“No.”
Gundan paused in his tirade, then reared back as if slapped. Yahiko felt for the kid – if somehow he could find a family of his far someplace, and he found them, and they didn’t want to return…
“But… why, Nagato? You’ve got cousins in the Leaf! Your clan is going to restart over there! Oh, wait, it’s already started.” The boy suddenly turned to the side, towards the direction he
knew
the village to be in. “One of my Shadow Clones just dispersed. Three Uzumaki families and two entire clans have been recovered.”
“There is a disturbance in the Force.” The woman with them tilted her head to the side, eyes closed. “Oddly enough… someone is crying about paperwork…?”
“Two clans.” The man with the sword and fancy kimono cut in the Uzumaki style spoke in a monotone as if struggling to wrap his concept around it. “Two clans from… the Hidden Whirlpool village?”
“Yep.” Gundan beamed. “One of them has a terrible affliction, though I managed to cure it with seals. They can go into their other form on their own will now – it’s kind of what the deal-maker was when they agreed to move to the Leaf. The other one seems to have been found on the way, but they were headed to the Leaf anyway, so we just happened across them.”
Something off flashed across his face for a moment before a much wider grin spread across it. “Scratch that and make it seven families and four clans. Apparently, there was a whole enclave of Whirlpool survivors hidden amongst the Southern Bluffs.”
“The disturbance in the force just grew louder.” The woman seemed to be trying to stifle a smile… and failing. “I believe, since it’s so clear, I can recognize it easily…”
“Eh, once he comes down from his depression, I’m sure Lord Hokage will see the advantage that three new bloodlines can give to the village.” The boy shrugged.
“Wait… you didn’t tell him. Of course, you didn’t tell him. Why would I think otherwise?” the man with the sword who spoke earlier laughed, almost deliriously. “Let me guess, you also haven’t told him that you’re bringing Sasori of the Red Sands and Kakuzu of Waterfall back with you either?”
Nagato and Yahiko tensed. They knew those names. Hell, anyone with half a brain about them who thought to look at the Bingo Book once in a while to see who to avoid knew those names. Konan still lay blissfully sleeping in Nagato’s arms.
“Of course not.” Gundan waved him off. “But now that you mention it, I probably should.”
Any doubts Yahiko has about the boy’s story suddenly dispelled just as he created a clone and had it vanish.
A few seconds passed in silence, during which Yahiko wondered how creating and vanishing a clone could get a message across what had to be a huge distance.
“Hiruzen is not very pleased with you.” The woman said, face shining in mirth. “The induction of rogue ninja into a village they were not a part of before is not frowned upon entirely, but not well received either.” She smirked, then. “Of course, being they are the highest caliber of ninja around does ease things.”
“Given how recently you’ve joined us, one would think you wouldn’t have time to find out this information.” Gundan said with a pout.
“Yoshino is a very good teacher when she wants to be.” The woman simply replied.
Gundan shook his head. “Oh well, we can see about that sort of stuff when I get back. Anyway,” he turned back to the two of them with much higher spirits. “So there we are! Once we get back to the village, the Uzumaki Clan – which is already set up, by the way, should see an increase in number. It… it would mean a lot to me if my family weren’t far away when I
know
they’re there!”
Nagato lowered his head and glanced to the side. Yahiko could almost see the conflict under the surface, roiling and threatening to overwhelm him. The sheer plea on Gundan’s face wasn’t easy to look at either.
“I’m sorry… brother… but I cannot.” Nagato spoke, at last, raising his head and looking right at the boy who gathered the Uzumaki Clan under his banner. “This village is not just a collection of buildings to me… it’s my home. It is a home I have fought for, shed blood, sweat, and tears for… a home I have lost friends for.” He clenched his eyes and looked down at the ground. “How would they feel if I was to just… and Yahiko and Konan are my family, too! They have been more to me than I could ever ask for. I just… I can’t decide to leave it all behind and be happy somewhere else while they remain here! Besides, the Hidden Leaf is one of the major reasons we are in this position in the first place! The three major countries that surround us use our village as a battle-ground, uncaring of the lives they uproot in the process! How could I possibly swear allegiance to such a place?!”
Through his words, Nagato seemed to grow more and more incensed. However, on the other side, Gundan seemed to grow more and more morose. There were tears in the child’s eyes now, and suddenly Yahiko flashed back to the tearful children on the streets of Rain begging for their dead family to come back to them. The three of them were orphans, too, after all.
Gundan turned away and tried to inconspicuously wipe a tear. Yahiko felt for him, he really did, but what Nagato said was right. Nagato grew up here, and in his (or not, apparently) godly eyes, this was his home. It wasn’t right to ask him to just up and leave like this.
He was about to say something to soothe the child, but he got cut off when the boy turned around and glared at Nagato with eyes as black as midnight – the same Dojutsu he had activated before. “How dare you…”
Nagato almost reared back. “Excuse me?!”
“How dare you judge my village based on the actions of a cowardly few?! Those eyes you have in your sockets might give you great power, Nagato, but they don’t let you see very well, do they? Every village has its black sheep! That’s the whole reason there are missing ninjas in the first place! You can’t expect a large group of people to simply fall under one banner without any differences, whether ideological or moral! If there was a traitor in Rain, right now, would you think your whole village is a group of traitors just waiting to strike?! Huh?!”
Nagato remained silent.
“Answer me, Rinnegan-bearer! Why do you judge an entire people based on the actions of a few?” Gundan yelled, clearly outraged.
“He’s right, you know.” A quiet voice spoke from Nagato’s arms, and everyone there turned to look at Konan, who has her hand on Nagato’s shoulder and was looking at him. “Wasn’t Jiraiya-sensei from the Leaf as well? Can you really compare him to the Leaf ninja who killed your family, Nagato?”
Nagato looked at Konan with a conflicted expression. The two had some sort of non-verbal conversation which made Yahiko smile softly.
“That doesn’t change the fact that Rain needs me here.” Nagato sighed, clearly accepting defeat, and set down Konan next to him. “We are in the dead middle of three major world powers, all of whom have only tentative cease-fire agreements in place right now. If that were to suddenly change, what then? Who will be here to protect the village?”
Silence descended upon the gathered ninjas as the open-roof cave around them seemed to get a tiny bit darker. Nagato
loved
Rain. More than the Hidden Rain itself, he loved its people and did not want them to go through the pain he did. What could convince him to leave?
Yahiko was not blind, and so was not Konan, who looked over at him with solemn eyes. Today was a horrible day for the three of them, and Nagato had been on the brink ever since the first of the Akatsuki died. He had a pure heart, but if he walked on this path any longer…
“I have a solution.” Gundan spoke softly, apparently accepting Nagato’s nonverbal apology. “The main problem is the placement of the village. The entire country of Rain is barren due to the last war, and people are afraid to leave the village. You took care of Hanzo… so you’re its new leader. It is your decision, and I won’t force it on you-”
“I’m not going to force these people to abandon their lives and homes and travel to the Leaf, brother.” Nagato spoke, resolute in that at least. “It is simply not done. We of Rain are far hardier than that! If we cared about our lives more than the village, then we would have left a long time ago!”
Gundan regarded him for a few minutes, then his eyes returned to their normal blue-green form. “I did not ask them to abandon their homes. I only asked if you would very much mind moving the place.”
The woman looked at him sharply. “If you do this, then you will have no chance of remaining anonymous. Your name will be plastered across all the Bingo Books in the known world. Do you even realize what this could look like in other people’s eyes?”
“Nah. They won’t know it’s me.” Gundan shrugged and grinned. “We have a person bearing a legendary Dojutsu right over there. He can take the heat for this. It’s not like he’s going to last long out of the spotlight, anyway. Everyone is going to notice him, and soon.”
“I don’t understand.” Yahiko frowned, speaking after a few moments. “What do you mean?”
“Tell me, Nagato…” Gundan began. The woman shook her head exasperatedly, and the man with the sword looked up as if praying for patience from the Gods, “if your people had the chance to move this entire village someplace else, someplace better, would they take it?”
***
“He has outdone himself this time.” Orochimaru mused, slinking out of the shadows after the crowd finally left the Hokage’s Office. “Entire Ninja Clans and Civilian Families… all from the Hidden Whirlpool village. Sometimes, I wonder what is the extent that his impossible reach will take him to.”
“I feel like just handing him the Hat and getting it over with.” His teacher sighed, rubbing his eyes. “I should just set Jiraiya on full time ‘Gundan-rumor-abatement’ duty. The way that boy’s life has been going on so far… it’s just unbelievable.”
“I think he’s well on his way to graduating from being called ‘Little Professor’, don’t you think?” Orochimaru mused, ticking off his fingers. “He’s a master at hand-to-hand, illusionism, and now seals. Given his natural inclination to all the five elements and his… frankly unnatural learning speed, he’ll have mastered it before long. His exquisite chakra control will see him master medical techniques fast as well. He’s a marksman with any projectile weapon and a master of swordsmanship. And then, he has his bloodline… which could negate having to learn chakra-based elemental techniques entirely. TO say nothing of the changes he has brought about our village… now four clans larger due to him; with three valuable new bloodlines – the Konton Clan’s natural chakra absorption (which, if I may add, he developed seals on the spot to control), the Karamiau Clan’s strange body-melding, at least where twins are concerned, and the Sekiei Clan’s so-called Crystal Release.”
Hiruzen just sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“However, both of us know he will never accept the position while his friends are not Jonin. The Leaf’s Seven, as they’re now being called, are a very popular group amongst the ninja and civilian population alike – they are all adored and admired for their strength and teachers.” Orochimaru smirked. “However, we can’t just hand out promotions to the lot just because we want Gundan to become Hokage.”
Hiruzen startled. “Even
you
want Gundan to become Hokage, Orochimaru?”
“Hiruzen-sensei…” Orochimaru sighed. “Please don’t ask me to explain. Just know… that I would accept only him as my Leader, and no one else.”
Hiruzen appraised his favorite student with narrowed eyes that eventually softened with mirth. “You’re still sore about the fact that he can beat you without using his more powerful techniques, isn’t it?”
Orochimaru hissed, but his pale face gained some color. “Sensei…”
“Lord Hokage!” An ANBU suddenly materialized in front of his desk, kneeling. “We have an emergency!”
“What is it, Tora?”
“We have spotted a large mass of earth approaching the village… and… Lord Hokage…”
“Well?”
“It seems to be the entirety of the Village Hidden in the Rain!”
“…. I’m going to personally wring that brat’s neck!”
***
“This is beyond the scope of even I!” Nagato murmured, trying to break a non-existent illusion, as his people called them, on himself.
“This… is not even the least of what he is capable of, in all honesty.” Shaak Ti answered, maybe enjoying herself a tad bit. Jedi were people too, and they too knew humor.
She could feel the very planet vibrating in pleasure, not physically, of course. It always amazed her what this planet’s Force was like… not even Felucia was this enveloped by the Force! She only wondered what Maris would have thought of being here. Of course, now that she knew this planet’s lore, she knew perfectly well that Maris would just be considered another bloodline-holder.
She cast a sideways look at the Wanderer, who seemed to be effortlessly pushing the entire landmass across the sky. Not a drop of sweat in sight, and not the slightest sign that he was deeply concentrating… indeed, Legion was quite the accomplished… being, she supposed.
Remembering instructions levied onto her, she unfurled two maps, one of the Leaf village, and one of the Rain village, all color-coded to mark certain buildings – civilian houses, shinobi accommodations, Kage towers, and other such things of note. She used the force to hold the maps side-by-side in front of he who she swore allegiance to. “I trust you have a plan?”
Of course, she needn’t have asked. Legion never did
anything
without a plan unless blindsided, and she dared say that the metaphorical ball was entirely in his court. “Hidden Leaf is made of wood. Hidden Rain is made of concrete. I didn’t promise these people more segregation, Tisha.”
Shaak Ti almost sneered at the name. She gave up her Togrutan heritage for this… being, but her name was one thing she wished to keep. It helped to know that at least Legion knew her true name, and was certain to know how this false annotation made her feel.
She kept her silence and watched as he created a shadow clone that then morphed into Nagato’s image. It then flew out of the building they were currently in and hovered a few feet in front of them, and directly above the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
Then, he splayed his arms.
Buildings shuddered, then rose out of the ground. A shockwave, originating from the Hokage Monument, spread out, sending the entire village, still intact, further away and spread out more. A gesture saw the monument itself rise higher, and then the buildings grouped, leaving conspicuous and deep blank holes.
“Brace yourselves!”
The landmass that was once the Village Hidden in the Rain split into almost individual buildings, that then reorganized themselves in a fashion known only to the Wanderer. However, it soon made sense as they slowly descended, almost perfectly filling up the empty spots, and the walls of the other village combining with the new to form a new seamless village-wide border. She absently wondered, if it were day-time and people were about, and Legion had not already worked his magic, how would they have reacted?
She barely reacted as the building they were in, along with the ripple-eye boy and his friends, the Amekage Tower, sunk neatly into place extremely close to the Hokage Tower, almost brushing up against each other.
“There we go!” Legion crowed, and his shadow clone almost reacted to his voice as it zoomed to his side in a flash of black lightning, then burst into a cloud of smoke. “Two fully combined village in one, I present to you, the new face of the Village Hidden in the Leaves!”
“You… even were I to oppose you, I would never have stood a chance… would I?” Nagato asked shaking his head. “I am honored to make your acquaintance… brother.”
Legion beamed, and Shaak Ti knew enough of him to know this one to be from his heart. Opposite to what anyone might think, considering his prowess, he was very soft-hearted, not more so to anyone that baby Naruto himself. “Oh, please, that was nothing…” he brushed it off, although he was blushing as if he were in a competition to be called a tomato.
“I know not of any other who could lift an entire village… and then split apart another… and then integrate the two almost seamlessly.” Sasori offered, eyeing Legion as if he were a piece of meat.
“Indeed… little boy. That display… is worthy of recognition.” Kakuzu almost purred. “Although, I must insist we spar sometime at our full potential… perhaps after you give me the initial deposit you promised?”
Shaak Ti did not like this at all. Her mothering instincts were screaming at her to get the Wanderer as far away from these two men as possible, although she did not completely know why.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“I honestly don’t understand why we can’t just move on with regular life.” I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. “I sorted the buildings into the correct sector, convinced the people of Rain that we’re not evil, gave a speech to the residents of Leaf when they panicked in the morning, made sure everyone settled down in the Uzumaki clan compound alright, and asked Tisha to change everyone’s last names to Uzumaki. I’m sure she even processed the paperwork all by herself and submitted it to the concerned department, since she’s dead tired and sleeping like a log back home.” I looked up, giving a sullen look to my leader. “So… what’s the big deal? I even played it out so that any spies would catch Nagato doing what I did, so I’m safe still from public scrutiny.” That made me think… “Where is he, anyway?”“Jiraiya took his three students for dinner, to catch up, you understand.” Hiruzen warily informed me. Aw, that’s so sweet! It does make you wonder though, if Jiraiya is spymaster extraordinaire, how did he ever believe the three of them were dead? Maybe Obito helped hide news of their existence… and he did reveal that even he had no sources within the village of Rain…I beamed. “That’s good! The three of them have been through a lot lately, and I’m sure some time with their old teacher should help them.”Orochimaru-sensei looked at me blankly.“You… are troublesome.” Nara Shikaku sighed, closing his eyes. “If uniting two villages were as easy as this, Gundan-”“But it is!” I whined. “Rain wasn’t a major village, and Nagato long defeated Hanzo! He’s technically the Kage of the Village! If he’s amenable to join, and the people of Rain have been swayed, what is the big deal? It can’t be housing, because the Uzumaki clan is comfortably settled in their compound, although I will have to expand shortly, and Rain brought their buildings along with them! Granted, they’re kind of tall, but that’s why I raised the Hokage Monument even higher! What can the issue possibly be?!”Hiruzen and Shikaku exchanged a glance.“Well… when put that way…”“Okay, if we’re done here, I need to be somewhere totally else right now.” I pouted, kicking the floor. “Man, it’s like no one appreciates me around here.”Orochimaru snapped his head around to offer Shikaku a scathing look. Aw, he does care!“Unfortunately, you still need to ensure that all the data regarding the new Uzumaki Clan has been compiled, and hold a re-election for Clan Head amongst your number.” Hiruzen mentioned, looking quite gleeful at the idea of someone else having to do some work besides him. How rude!“Fortunately, I have already compiled the data and sent it to the Shinobi Archives, and Tisha was re-elected as Clan Head shortly after everyone was settled in. It’s why she was the one who had to submit all the paperwork for them to change their names legally, and not me.” I explained. It felt weird to say ‘Uzumaki Kakuzu’ or ‘Uzumaki Sasori’ out loud, but at least I didn’t have to say ‘I killed the guy with five hearts and another without a heart at all’. Plus, I had this nagging feeling that there is something I should know about that’s going wrong, but I can’t bring myself to point out what it is… Having them on my side is sure to be brilliant.Hiruzen almost drooped. Many would miss it, but I saw! It was the familiar slouch of someone who was denied some vengeance.Anyway, I’m sure he was being overdramatic. I mean, why would we piss anyone off by joining willing new members to our village? You’d have to be seriously twisted to take it in any other way besides being nice. *** “Lord Raikage, I have some news.”The fourth leader of the Village Hidden in the Clouds, crowned the Raikage, looked up from his work to frown at the ninja kneeling in front of him. He was one the ANBU, and the number etched on his facemask marked him as 3 – 2. So, he was from the reconnaissance division, the vice-captain. “What is it, 3 – 2?”“My Lord, we have confirmed news that Hanzo the Salamander is dead.”That… was surprising; believable, but surprising. Not everyone could be like his old man, fit to fight even as they aged. “Interesting… who did it?”“Rumors had been coming from the land of Rain about a vigilante group forming a few years after the end of the Third Shinobi World War. They called themselves Akatsuki, and were sworn to overthrow Hanzo to release their village from constant strife.”Ay could honestly sympathize with that. He’d hate to see his village in peril all the time from the actions of one powerful man. “Continue.”“The Akatsuki were lured into an ambush and saw most of its members killed, save three. However, one of three was shortly blinded after, and the other was almost dead on his feet from chakra exhaustion. It was the last who defeated the ambush and ended Hanzo all by himself.”Such a powerful ninja had been under the radar? For how long? “If this ninja does not have any allegiances to his village, perhaps we can reach out and recruit him. What techniques does he have at his disposal?”“He has a Dojutsu… if rumors are to believe it is the Dojutsu… the Rinnegan.”Ay stood so fast his chair went crashing into the wall. “The Rinnegan, can you confirm this somehow?”“As I said, my lord, I only have rumors. Up till the day Hanzo was defeated, Rain was closed off from the rest of the world, as you know, and it has only been days.” 3 – 2 answered dutifully, and without much apprehension of his leader. However, he was nervous about how the Raikage would react to his next bit of news…“Have him captured. Take Bee and bring him in as soon as possible. Even if he’s catatonic, we can use him to breed several children with the Rinnegan.” Ay ordered, mind whirling. The Rinnegan was said to be the eyes the Sage of Six Paths himself used. If this man had them, and he could capture the man himself, then the Cloud’s dominance would be unrivaled! Then there would be no need for hatching schemes to kidnap Leaf’s Byakugan or Sharingan holders.“That… will not be possible my Lord.” The agent gulped. “The Rinnegan holder was met with a party of Leaf ninja, and then… the entire village of Rain lifted itself into the air and moved towards the Leaf. It is safe to say he has joined them.”Ay stood silent for a whole minute. Then, suddenly, the desk was crashing against the window and sailed outside the Raikage Tower, and the man had shed his haori and was covered in Lightning.“The Village Hidden in the Leaves!” he roared in fury, causing his assistant Mabui to hurriedly run in, grab the dazed reconnaissance ninja, and run out. *** Yeah, what could possibly go wrong?Anyway, I waved my goodbyes to Hiruzen and vanished with a pop, and appeared in the closest spot I had already been to near the Village Hidden in the Mist. I pulled up the [Map] and tried to compare it with what I could remember of the map of the elemental nations I’d once seen online back in my precious life. Thanks to my godly (literally) [INT], I could even remember perfectly everything from my old life, as well as the new. It was like I had perfect recall, even back then.I closed my eyes in thought, then slipped through the speed-force and vanished, heading towards the Mist.If I’m right, then Obito should be here right now, manipulating Yagura through the Sharingan. He couldn’t just put the Illusion on the man and leave, because Yagura was a vessel for the three-tails, and they could both break each-other out of illusions since they were in perfect sync. I can take care of two problems in one fell swoop, even a third possible one that could arise in the future.I appeared on top of the Mist’s Mizukage Tower, and breathed deeply. The air here… it was heavily laden with a heavy… well… mist, that seemed to be even chakra-infused. I activated my [Eyes of Oblivion] and stared at the yellow space that seemed to surround me, then deactivated it with a sigh. Well, then, no Dojutsu for me… lest it hampers my incredibly easy route ahead of me… did I mention how boring being overpowered was?Suddenly, as soon as I had gotten my bearings, a slightly-forgotten sense of mine made itself aware, almost violently. My eyes snapped open and I almost cursed out loud.What in the world was around here that shouldn’t be? *** “That bastard, Sarutobi…” Ohnoki muttered, looking at the intelligence reports in front of him with consternation. The Leaf was already packed with talent, bloodlines, and prodigies, but to add the thought-dead Uzumaki Clans into the mix… “Reinstate out the standing search order for any Uzumaki. Clearly, we were lax in our search once the village fell.”“Yes, Lord Tsuchikage.” His aide nodded, looking chagrined. Ah, wasn’t it he who was in charge of the entire search operation? The younger generations seemed to be getting more useless by the day, it seemed.He set those reports aside and looked at the ones of actual relevance to the moment – the monkey getting more power was a concern, but not as much as these strange bloodline-shinobi showing up in his village and planting strange boxes everywhere. “Have we managed to get a missive in return to any of our feelers?”“Yes, Lord Tsuchikage.” Jinta nodded, pulling out more scrolls from the pouch at his waist. “The Mist, Sand, Star, and Stone Villages have replied, but Grass simply dismissed our messenger. All three of them have had similar incidents. The boxes that these ninjas seem to be planting there also appear identical.”Ohnoki looked past his papers and settled his gaze on the strange contraption on his desk. No less than seven of these were found in various positions throughout his village and surrounding it. He could only imagine the state of the other Great Villages… well, not the Leaf, since they had fancy seal barriers surrounding it hand-crafted by Hashirama’s wife, and not Mist, because the very air was heavily mixed with a sensory technique tied to a special division who could sense anything that moved within its chakra-infused mist. He wondered, not for the first time, what defenses the Cloud and Sand could have had, but he dismissed the thought almost before it had formed. The Fourth Kazekage’s wife was an Uzumaki civilian, but had reportedly no access to seals or anything ninja-related, and the Sand was notoriously bad with sealing. The Cloud, amassing seals and techniques being the only purpose they joined in two of the three Shinobi World Wars, had a fixed fascination with them, but that endeavor hadn’t amounted to anything besides jealousy.The box was made of a metal none of his people could identify, and seemed only what it was on the surface – a heavy metal box. But many had speculated on the dull blue grooves in the metal, and the strange red circle in the center of the crisscrossing black lines. If they all were an explosive of some sort, the Explosion Corps would have identified it, he was certain – they seemed to have a talent for that sort of thing.“Send out birds to Iron Country and the Hidden Cloud… and, as much as I hate to say it, Leaf.” Ohnoki ordered.His aide, Jinta, tensed. “Even to Leaf, my lord?”“If it were an occurrence isolated only to our village, I could understand it as an attack by one of our supposed ‘brethren’.” He spat the word out as if it were poison, “However, we have received confirmation from no less than three villages! Mostly minor ones, but still. If there is an organized movement of some sort against ninja, I daresay we should share the news.”Jinta still looked dubious.Ohnoki snarled. “Do you think we have enough manpower to take on an enemy who can successfully sneak inside a ninja village and plant these… boxes? We are shinobi, and the only person who can best a ninja… is an even more powerful one. I doubt these boxes are in any way beneficial to us, or else why would they use infiltration in order to bring them us? No. If we do not reach out, we’ll be caught with our fundoshis around our ankles, brat!”“I understand… my lord. It’s a bitter pill to accept, but I understand.” Jinta frowned. “However, will the rest? The Fourth Hokage is the one who brought us down to our knees in the last war, eliminating at least a quarter of our ninja population by himself. Leaf as a whole is responsible for having us lose more than half!”“They’ll have to accept it.” Ohnoki sighed. “If they don’t…”“Lord Tsuchikage, it’s terrible!” a ninja barged into his office. Any other time he’d probably yell at the offender, but the man looked terrified enough that it halted his tongue. Without so much as a by-your-leave, the man continued, “The recon team reported back! They found several naturally occurring caverns and tunnels under the village and heading out towards the ocean, and speculate that it might have once been a network of underground streams or some such, but…” the man looked positively frightened.“Well, spit it out, brat!”“It’s more of those boxes, my Lord!” the man answered, shifting uncomfortably. “The team found more than fifty of them!”Ohnoki put his face in his hands, eyes scrunched. Sometimes, as the youngsters seem to say, he felt like he was getting too old for this rubbish.“Jinta.” He spoke, raising his head from his hands. “Edit the general form letters we’ve been sending out, and send formal requests.”“For what, my lord?” Jinta asked, shaken. He was probably thinking the same as Ohnoki – more than fifty of those strange boxes, in and around their village… and that’s all that had been found so far; if those boxes were anything bidding ill, which they were certain to be…“Send out a request to the four other members of the Great Five explaining the situation and mentioning the other locations having a similar issue.” He spoke, eyes determined. “I’m calling for a Five –Kage summit.”“But, respectfully, my lord, if we were to trek all the way to Iron Country now and something were to happen here…”“That’s why I have somewhere closer in mind.” Ohnoki snapped and turned to look at the map of the known world plastered to the far wall. Specifically, his gaze pointed towards a country marked with four vertical lines. “I hear a far better venue is currently available.” *** I eyed the box in front of me with barely concealed horror.A mother-box.Here.In the fucking Land of Water?In the Naruto universe?!And it wasn’t just one, either, it was tens of them! All sealed in scrolls to minimize possible damage, but the one that was not sealed I could recognize well enoughThis meant Darkseid… a conqueror of worlds, a killer of gods and higher beings all around. Guess what I was?And forget about me! If he’s set his sights on my planet, then what of the people who live here? What about Shaak Ti? What about my brother?Fucking hell, fucking hell, fucking hell-“So, tell me, -”In my panic, I didn’t notice when someone sneaked up on me! I vanished with a crack and appeared a few feet away, staring at…“- are you the one planting these around?” The man who had to be Obito asked, face hidden behind that infuriating mask, but head tilted to the side enough that it conveyed curiosity. “Ah, a space-time technique user… how novel.”“Forgive me, but I don’t speak to people who hide from reality, Obito.” I snarled. I was so not in the mood right now. Holy hell, if there were so many boxes in Mist, what about Leaf? But... there was a barrier technique to identify intrusions, right? Unless…Danzo’s old ROOT tunnels … they were out of the barrier’s range! Could Parademons phase through walls? Screw phasing through walls, they could just dig! But why wouldn’t patrolling ANBU find them? Hell, any patrolling Hyuuga could have seen them with their so-called omnidirectional sight!Fuck, I need to get back right now!“How do you-”“Obito, I’m not in the mood for your petty vendetta right now for Mist ninja killing Rin.” I spat. “These boxes herald a fate far worse than the Moon’s Eye Plan. The creature who is to come is not pleasant.”He studied me for a moment. “You know too much.”“Not for your lack of trying I assure you. How is Black Zetsu these days; lie more to you, lately?” I taunted, subtly creating a shadow clone behind it with clear directions to return back home and search for more mother-boxes. If I could just finish my quest before Darkseid arrives, I might be able to minimize casualties. Even with one CP per shadow clone, there were only so many I could make at one time, even if I used up all my points and ascended. I don’t even know if the Elemental Nations is the only continent on the planet, yet! What if it is as I fear, and this continent is only a small portion? What then?PING!Fuck you, notification! I have so much to do, but so little time!“Listen to me, Obito, and listen well. Madara lied to you, just like Zetsu lied to Madara.” I explained, patience waning. “The Moon’s Eye plan is a way of reviving the mother of the Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Kaguya. Zetsu is her child, created out of her sheer desire to return to what she once was. When she bit into that tree… it was never meant to be consumed by anyone, Obito, that’s why the Otsutsuki are almost higher beings – they consume these Chakra Fruits like we eat food. Zetsu just wants to awaken his mother, who will then cast this world into a sleep so deadly… Obito, White Zetsu were people who survived being part of the Great Tree. Kaguya was amassing an army because her relatives got pissed she ran off… or something. There are five other Otsutsuki members I know of who are deeply entwined with this place’s future, and I need to get rid of-”I almost instinctively slipped into the Speed-Force and leaped over the black hand that reached out to try and grasp me. Chakra threads launched out of my open hand and grasped at the being hidden in the floor, pulling him out and wrapping him tight.“Otsutsuki Zetsu, how nice of you to join us!” I grinned, all shark-like. Thank god I decided to wait. “Are you here to explain how it was you who rewrote the Uchiha tablet in under Naka Shrine? Or how you have been shaping shinobi history from the get-go? How you’re not really an extension of Madara’s will like you led him to believe?”The being snarled, the black half at least. The white half was looking at me with some unnameable emotion.“Yeah, whatever.” I channeled chakra through one of the [Ten Otherworldly Coffins] on my wrist and sealed him within. As far as I know, he doesn’t have a space-time technique, so he should remain there until I’m ready to deal with him.Obito, through the little hole in his mask, has his eyes wide. I cast a glancing look to my side, and of course:
[Persuasion successful!]
[Persuasion successful!]
[Persuasion successful!]
[Persuasion successful!]
“Look, bro, you’ve been dealt a horrible hand in life, and I get that. But if you want any proof of my claims… there should be a control seal over your heart that Madara can use to directly influence your chakra system, and thus your actions. I don’t know about thoughts and mind-set. I sighed. “Just… if you have a way to look, you can just-”SQUELCH!I gaped at the man who ripped out his own heart in horrified silence. “WHAT THE FUCK HIS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU ASSHOLE? YOU WANNA DIE SO BAD, HUH? YOU MAY HAVE HALF AN ARTIFICIAL PLANT-BODY THING ATTACHED TO YOU, BUT YOU’RE STILL HUMAN, YOU IMBECILE!”I raced over to him, summoning water from the air and almost slamming my hands onto his chest, shoving his heart back inside and praying that my water-bending healing would take care of the details.“What’s wrong with the people in this place?! Ripping out eyes, cutting off limbs if they’re too far gone, and now I just saw someone rip their own heart out! What are you people, all secretly masochists?!” I ranted, more to myself than him as I worked on him. The idiot had almost drained all of his HP in one go! Doesn’t he know that the heart is a critical point?!I heard weak laughter. I looked up at him, about to truly call him a masochist, when he suddenly exploded into loud, raucous laughter. It was a frightening sound, and I was sure if I didn’t have [Gamer’s Mind], I would have been affected, too.Blood began to dribble from behind his mask, and I had a very good guess where it was coming from. I smiled a small, sad smile and said nothing as I let the man get it out of his system.I knew what losing everything felt like, after all.I did notice that as I worked, the skin on his right hand seemed to be getting more tan by the minute, and losing its woody texture. A quick glance told me that his other hand was rapidly lightening in skin tone. Soon, the two matched. There was a quiet squelch from behind his mask, and I easily recognized the sound of an eye growing back. The ridges on his neck smoothed out into regular skin.So that cinched it, then. The healing from bending helped me meld DNA together. I guess, me being me, the skill got as overpowered as it possibly could, probably helped along by my ascending into higher races. After all, the benders in the Avatar version of the Elemental Nations were only human…I was a God.It didn’t sink in until right that moment what it meant.I stopped when no visible changes were taking place and bit my lip, looking out into the distance. “Obito… we don’t have much time.”He was quiet for a whole minute before he reached up to his face and pulled his mask off, looking at it, for the first in a long time, with both eyes. A gaze he turned on me.I understood him. Well, not really, I mean, there’s no way to empathize losing your worldly perceptions twice in a row… in a span of a few years, being generous. But now was really not the time for this.I sighed and stood, soon floating in the air to match his height as I set him straight. “I can’t say I understand what you’re going through right now, I really can’t. But right now, we need to focus on the bigger issue, or else there won’t be anyone to save from getting caught in the Moon’s Eye Plan. I don’t know if Madara has set any contingencies or not, but we can look that over after dealing with Darkseid.”His eyes were in their Mangekyou form as he stared at me. Wait; that reminds me, what happens to Kakashi’s eye now? I mean, does it remain as it is or magically vanish or something? I wouldn’t put it past gamer shenanigans for that to happen.It also reminded me of a very important question that plagued me in my past life.“The amount of time you use those eyes… how are you not blind yet?” I asked, tilting my head.His stare was starting to unnerve me, the familiar way he kept looking at me like that. I’m six years old, you pedophile! Well, not that I really cared about my age when it came to sexual matters in my last life, but here I literally have the power to do whatever I want. I’m not going to be giving myself around to keep people near me anytime soon.
Look how well that worked out for me in my past life…
No, Legion, focus. Focus on the planet-enslaving, god-killing, superhero-destroying insane alien headed to conquer your planet! The invasion could literally begin at any moment, and I have no idea which version I have to fight. Also, I don’t know how ninjas shaped up against Parademons, or if that scientist guy… what’s his name… Desaad… yeah, what if he gave the Parademons an edge simply to get this shit over with?I… I need more power, more people… was it time already?Wait… If I’m going to do this, I need some way to… remain as I am. A foolish notion when one considers what’s coming… but what about… after?I raised my left hand and tapped my right. My mind got to work at an insane rate, ad my chakra willed my thoughts to flow into script that exited from my finger and whirled around my entire arm. The script was enormous, and spread out onto the floor as it writhed and shifted. Interestingly enough, Obito did not even shift as the script flowed on the ground beneath him.It was massive enough to reach across the walls and almost onto the ceiling of the Mizukage’s office, then it stilled. I could see the characters move, exchange places, all becoming more efficient as the differences between the languages I knew worked them out.Then, when they remained still for a moment, they receded, wrapping around my entire right arm from elbow to wrist in what looked like a heavy metal chain, that started at the crest of my shoulder and ended on the underside of my wrist. It looked like a high-definition tattoo.PING!
[You have equipped an accessory!
Sealing Technique: Reduction of Being [Legendary]
Using the loopholes between the various sealing dialects available, this seal allows one to restrict their overall potential to any level. There is literally no limit – any number from 0 to 100% is accessible and changeable.
Current Setting: 0% power restricted.]
Good. That… felt weird, but it bade well. I raised my power to the max and felt normal.Okay… first things first… Hashirama’s cloned hand.I opened up my inventory under Obito’s eerie gaze and failed to elicit a reaction even when I pulled out the cloned appendage from seemingly nowhere. I guess his experience with Kamui made him immune to shock form space-time techniques? Also, he was the student of the Fourth…I hovered it in front of me with chakra strings. The arm, being fit for an adult, was a lot larger than my own, but I had an answer for that….I took a deep breath, steeling myself. Then, I used a hardened chakra-scalpel to cut my arm off. Before the pain could even register, and ignoring the quarter of my health that vanished, I jammed the adult arm into what remained of my shoulder, and pulled water from the air to condense around my palm, then channeled energy through it. Slowly, the arm’s flesh and my own melded. Since I was as white as a sheet already, it didn’t do much for my skin tone… or anything else, really. But… I did feel a surge of… something….PING!
[Due to a special action, a new skill has been created!
Heavily-diluted Otsutsuki Chakra (Passive) Lv MAX
Possessing a heavily diluted amount of Otsutsuki chakra, you have a higher connection to Chakra than most. You are also more open to Otsutsuki DNA and techniques.
-100% to Chakra REGEN Delay
+50% Damage to Ninja Arts
-50% Costs for Ninja Arts
???]
This… will this be enough? I mean, yeah, I’m pretty overpowered for being a ninja, but Darkseid is… something else. They amped him up so much… but of course, because of plot, the heroes always succeeded suddenly when they teamed up or something. I could never live with myself if I asked someone to stand next to me while facing that… thing.No, I have to go on. I… can’t stop here. Now, for the points…
[Character Page
Uzumaki Gundan – Level 1
Race: God
Title: God of the Underworld
Next Level: 0/10,000.
Banked EXP: 75,404,999; Banked Status Points: 946,686.
HP - 512,000
QI - 512,000
RR - 514,000
CON - 502
STR - 502
AGL - 1007
INT - 504
WIS - 505
LCK - 1006
Stat Points: 0
Resistances:
Physical – 99% (50% Damage Reflected)
Chakra – 6% (-50% vs Tainted)
Spiritual – -50%]
Ten thousand experience points to the next level. Hundred levels. What does that mean? I tapped the [Banked EXP] button and a new pop-up revealed itself.
[How much EXP would you like released?]
Wait… there were some times in the past level ups that the cost for leveling up increased… Let’s just release all of-Wait, hold up! I don’t strictly need to level up to prestige. The only thing leveling up does for me is give me stat points to spend, but I have a wealth of stat points available, too. I could just…I quickly declined withdrawing any EXP and tapped on my banked Stat points instead, quickly doing the needful. When I was human, it took me a thousand points per stat to bring me up to a Nephilim, then ten thousand to rise as a god. So now, it will require a hundred thousand to ascend even further. I have six stats, so six hundred thousand points will be required. Minus the current amount of points I already have allotted… I will require five hundred and ninety-five, nine-hundred and seventy-four points.So… what am I waiting for?PING!
[You have withdrawn 595974 points! You still have 350712 points remaining in the Bank!]
Excellent… now to allot them, and accept them… there, done.PING!
[Due to crossing the 5,000-point threshold for AGL and LCK, you have gained a new skill!
Speed Force Personification (Active) Lv MAX
The Speed Force has personified itself in you. You now have an unbreakable, unshakeable connection to it. Once a year, you may commune with the Speed Force to increase your favor it feels towards you.
Increase speed by 100,000 times when active.]
[Due to crossing the 5,000-point threshold for INT and WIS, a skill has been updated!
Magic Specialty: Arc of Embodiment (Active) Lv MAX
Shaping energy to your whims, you are able to materialize any non-living object from memory, as long as it does not live. The object that is materialized is permanent and will not fade.
Cost: 1RR/creation.]
[Due to crossing the 5,000-point threshold for STR and CON, a skill has been updated!
Solar Radiation Fortification (Passive) Lv MAX
Your body’s cells drink in the radiation of a yellow sun, granting you preternatural capabilities in various ways. Due to this, you are invulnerable to any sort of damage, but are extremely susceptible to Kryptonite radiation, and to a lesser degree, magic. When you are drained of solar energy, however, this skill is rendered inert.
+10,000% effectiveness to all stats.
Damage taken reduced by 75%
Set Kryptonite Resistance to -100%, reverse skill parameters when affected.
Set Magic Resistance to -50%.
Special Abilities: Laser-vision, Non-reliance on Sustenance, Invulnerability.]
[Due to crossing the 10,000-point threshold for AGL and LCK, a skill has been updated!
Speed Force Avatar (Active) Lv MAX
You are an Avatar of the Speed Force. You now have a free-channel unbreakable, unshakeable connection to it, as it is a part of you. Once a month, you may commune with the Speed Force to increase your favor it feels towards you.
Increase speed by 1,000,000 times when active.]
[Due to crossing the 10,000-point threshold for INT and WIS, a skill has been updated!
Magic Specialty: Arc of Embodiment (Active) Lv MAX
Shaping energy to your whims, you are able to materialize any non-living object from memory, as long as it does not live. The object that is materialized is permanent and will not fade. Enchanting such objects with the effects that you desire are second-nature.
Cost: 0.5RR/creation.]
[Due to crossing the 10,000-point threshold for STR and CON, a skill has been updated!
Solar Radiation Imbuement (Passive) Lv MAX
Your body’s cells drink in the radiation of a yellow sun, granting you preternatural capabilities in various ways. Due to this, you are invulnerable to any sort of damage, but are susceptible to Kryptonite radiation. When you are drained of solar energy, however, this skill is rendered inert.
+100,000% effectiveness to all stats.
Damage taken reduced by 90%
Set Kryptonite Resistance to -50%, reverse skill parameters when affected.
Special Abilities: Laser-vision, Non-reliance on Sustenance, Invulnerability.]
[Due to crossing the 25,000-point threshold for AGL, LCK, INT, WIS, STR, CON, and influx from (1) skill, a new skill has been created!
Godly Domain: Underworld (Passive) Lv MAX
As the ruler of the Underworld, you command the dead and their jailers across all dimensions. A soul of a god allows you to wield weapons affiliated with death and the afterlife. Necromancy runs in your veins, and communing with the dead, comes as naturally as breathing. The dead will always help you if you call, no matter the situation; undead or affiliated creatures will refuse to fight you.
Special Abilities: Procession of the Mighty Dead.]
[Due to crossing the 50,000-point threshold for AGL, LCK, INT, WIS, STR, and CON, a skill has been updated!
Protagonist’s Extraordinary Luck (Passive) Lv MAX
Interesting events are now under your control; you can choose to delay Plot Events, however, the outcome worsens the longer you keep them at bay. You are able to sense the nearest item that has extra-dimensional origins regardless of distance.
+10% severity to Plot Events per week.
Guaranteed all drops from an enemy.]
PING!
[You have reached the limit for all of your attributes. Would you like to Prestige?]
Yes.
[Name: Legion
Race: God
Current Level: 1
Path: Rogue
Are you sure you would like to Prestige?]
Yes… yes I do.
[Please select your race:
Ascendant (+ Paragon Alignment)
Fallen (+ Infamous Alignment)]
Ah, the neutral option was taken out at this point, hm? I wonder why... ugh, wasting time! Very well… I know what I’m choosing.
[Are you sure you wish to ascend as an Ascendant?]
A low burn swept through my body, as if I were about to catch a fever. I shook it off, knowing it to be a side-effect of the [Prestige] process, and accepted.PING!
[You have begun the process of Prestige! Please visit the Character Page to finalize the changes.]
I navigated over to my stats page easily enough. If the current multipliers don’t satisfy me, I can always withdraw my banked experience points, so-
[Character Page
Uzumaki Gundan – Level 1
Race: Ascendant
Title: Death Ascendant
Next Level: 0/1,000.
HP - 120,000
QI - 120,000
RR - 140,000
CON - 2
STR - 2
AGL - 7
INT - 4
WIS - 4
LCK - 6
Stat Points: 0
Resistances:
Physical – 100% (50% Damage Reflected)
Chakra – 6% (-50% vs Tainted)
Spiritual – 75%]
Wait… that’s not right. Where are my banked points and experience? And the experience needed to level up reduced, too!However… I now started out with a hundred thousand points per meter, and gained ten thousand for every point in it, by my calculations. My HP regenerated every fifteen seconds… but why was my QI and RR regeneration…Why were they per second?!I mean it’s great! It’s really going to help me now but… ugh, conflicting emotions. SHouldn’t this be something affected by the calming gamer’s mind effect?Let me look over my skills…
[Skills
Strengthened Gamer’s Mind and Body (Passive) Lv MAX
You are invulnerable to any sort of damage, and cannot be affected by negative mental debilitations, but are susceptible to magic and ???. Your body behaves as if it were in a game and reacts accordingly. Interesting events are now under your control; you can choose to delay Plot Events, however, the outcome worsens the longer you keep them at bay. You are able to sense the nearest item that has extra-dimensional origins regardless of distance.
Immune to Negative Status Effects and Damage, except ???
Restore HP, energies, and remove debilitations by sleeping in a bed; non-reliance on sustenance.
Skills advance 1000% faster.
Guaranteed all drops from enemies.
+10% severity to plot events per month delayed.
Ascendant Domain: Death (Passive) Lv MAX
As the personification of the primordial force of death across the multiverse, you command the dead and their jailers across any and all dimensions. A soul of an ascendant allows you to wield weapons affiliated with death and the afterlife. All matters to do with death and the dead come as easy to you as breathing. The dead will always help you if you call, no matter the situation; undead or affiliated creatures will refuse to fight you.
Special Abilities: Procession of the Mighty Dead.
Heavily-diluted Otsutsuki Chakra (Passive) Lv MAX
Possessing a heavily diluted amount of Otsutsuki chakra, you have a higher connection to Chakra than most. You are also more open to Otsutsuki DNA and techniques.
-100% to Chakra REGEN Delay
+50% Damage to Ninja Arts
-50% Costs for Ninja Arts
???
Path of the Shadow (Passive) Level MAX
You can pinpoint the person who is emitting the sensation of wanting to very-much kill you, and from where. Your mastery with words allows you to persuade targets. You can hone-in and focus to listen in on things happening anywhere near those sworn to you.
99% chances of persuasion success (barring unique resistances).
Combat Mogul (Passive) Lv MAX
As a veteran of combat and master of multiple styles, you have developed a sixth sense that allows you to predict your opponents’ moves. You cannot be interrupted or knocked down by enemy attacks. Enemies cannot resist being knocked back by your attacks. When health bar is empty, you are reinvigorated and regain seventy-five percent of your health once an hour. All energies regenerate continuously.
-99% chakra cost for chakra-imbued skills.
-99% enemy dodge chance.
+99% evasion chance.
+50% critical chance.
Special Abilities – Leaf Balancing, Tree Climbing, Water Walking, Chakra String, Cloth Stiffening, Senbon Balancing, Flight.
Master Brawler (Passive) Lv MAX
You are a master of hand-to-hand combat, able to hemorrhage opponents with a combination of skill, technique, and tactics.
+99% chance to cause damage to internal organs.
Styles learned: Konoha Academy Style, Arrancar Hakuda, Uzushio Chi-blocking, Snake Style.
Master Swordsman (Passive) Lv MAX
A true master of the way of the sword, your self-taught style in conjunction with several others makes you a fearsome opponent.
+100% damage with bladed weapons.
Styles learned: Iaido, Konoha Swallow, Uzushio Sheath-shield, Fire-Country Slash, Twin-Sword Dance, Snake Fang.
Master Marksman (Passive) Lv MAX
You are a master at hitting your target, whatever the type of projectile you use.
Accuracy: 100%
Accuracy penalty: -1% for every 1km after 2km.
Highest speed: 100 projectiles/sec.
Master Illusionist (Passive) Lv MAX
Weaving illusions as a master, none can escape you. You can actualize any damage caused, and sometimes casting illusions doesn’t even incur a cost.
+90% chance to cast an illusion at no cost.
Master Seal-crafter (Passive) Lv MAX
You are a master of weaving chakra through the written word. Due to your proficiency, you are capable of assembling and disassembling a seal with a touch and chakra alone, and require no time or materials to complete a seal. Due to the knowledge you possess of multiple languages, you are capable of working without recipes, simply commanding a seal into existence with the effect you have in mind.
Languages: Fire-country Japanese, Wind-country Arabic, Lightning-country Greek, Mist-country Korean, Rock-country Hindi, Whirlpool-country Mayan.
95% chance for seal’s effects to be enhanced.
0.01% chance for a created seal to fail.
Bio-mechanics (Passive) Lv MAX
You know all there is to know about merging technology and the human body via mastering the two fields individually and then bringing them together. You never fail in any related endeavors.
Educating (Passive) Lv MAX
Due to investing a lot of time spreading knowledge, you are able to bypass the negatives effects of any physical, psychological, or social minuses, and are efficiently able to coach others in what you know perfectly.
-99% to learning time for your students.
Eccentricity (Passive) Lv 51 (9.22%)
Sometimes, people don’t understand why you are doing what you are doing.
51% chance to earn positive REP with those around you.
49% chance to make those around you think you are crazy.
Advanced Telepathy (Active) Lv 75 (3.62%)
Your scrying skills now allow you to see into the mind of the person you are observing and manipulate it. By connecting with others on an emotional level, you are able to understand what they feel and why.
1 sec in target’s mind is 0.005 sec in real life.
4 CP per second while looking into someone’s mind
Eyes of Oblivion (Active) Lv MAX
Your eyes allow you to see echoes of energies both in living beings and non-living objects, as well as in the environment around you. Since you can see these nuances of the body and energy, it is easy for you to replicate anything you have seen performed in front of your eyes.
Special Abilities: Conditional Foresight, Copy Skill, Critical-point Identification, Laser Vision, Magic Focus, Telescopic X-Ray Vision.
Avatar (Active) Lv MAX
As the vessel for Raava, a spirit dedicated to maintaining balance, you are gifted with unimaginable control over the basic elements as well as their derivatives. In times of great need, you may enter a focused state that allows you finer, yet greater, control than you could ever manage out of.
100Qi/sec in Avatar State.
Water-healing limit: 500HP/sec.
Earth-sense radius: 200km.
Fire-transfer limit: 500Units/sec.
Air-sense radius: 200km.
Speed Force Avatar (Active) Lv MAX
You are an Avatar of the Speed Force. You now have a free-channel unbreakable, unshakeable connection to it, as it is a part of you. Once a month, you may commune with the Speed Force to increase your favor it feels towards you in exchange for a task.
Increase speed by 1,000,000 times when active.
Subterfuge (Active) Lv MAX
A master of the unseen, you are able to stay hidden even in the most unorthodox of circumstances. Unless the target has a massive advantage, you cannot be found.
-99% chance to be detected.
+50% chance of landing a Critical Strike.
Mark of the Outsider (Active) Lv 99 (5.61%)
Granted to those who pique his interest regardless of moral alignment or sanity, the Mark allows you to bend the rules of reality. The Mark allows you to access the capability to cast spells, where otherwise you would need a focus of some sort. With your constant use, it has attuned itself to your energy system thoroughly.
-75% RR costs for spells cast through the Mark.
Branches of Magic: Animation, Combat, Conjuration, Transfiguration, Utility.
Special Ability: Arcane Bond.
Magic Specialty: Dragon-Slayer (Active) Lv 1 (0.00%)
Using magic to imitate a dragon, you use the elements to startling effect. You can be nourished by consuming elements that you embody.
Elements Assumed: Lightning, Shadow, Death.
Damage from affiliated elemental attacks received converted to HP, QI, and RR.
Special Abilities: Roar.
Magic Specialty: Megaflare (Active) Lv MAX
Gather your mana to unleash a massive blast of non-elemental magic that ignores all resistances. Beware of friendly fire.
Damage: 999,999HP
Cost: 1% of RR.
Magic Specialty: Arc of Embodiment (Active) Lv MAX
Shaping energy to your whims, you are able to materialize any non-living object from memory, as long as it does not live. The object that is materialized is permanent and will not fade. Enchanting such objects with the effects that you desire is second-nature.
Magic Specialty: Mirror Dimension Keeper (Active) Lv MAX
Through select knowledge, you can open and close a doorway into the Mirror Dimension – an alternate layer of reality that naturally coexists with the base.
+10,000% effectiveness to magic skills while in the Mirror Dimension
Time Dilation: 1:1,000
Magic Specialty: Titan (Active) Lv MAX
You use magic to enlarge yourself. Along with your physical size, your physical and mental attributes and magical capabilities gain a boost.
+25% effectiveness for every 0.01m on all physical stats and magic spells.
Cost: 100 RR/sec/0.001m.
Magic Specialty: Archive (Active) Lv MAX
Using your brain as a pseudo-mainframe and magic to affect the world around you, you transform yourself into a literal super-computer that can compute information and transfer it at a rapid rate. You can also interface with other entities using this skill to lend them its benefits.
Special Abilities: Calculator, Connect, Emulation, Library, Map, Office, Party Management, Skill Download/Upload, Synchronize, Telecommunication.
Magic Specialty: Oblivion-bound Summoning (Active) Lv MAX
As a summoner of the denizens of the realm of Oblivion, you are capable of summoning them and theirs to aid you in various situations. Through mastery of this art, you have no limits to the amount of things you can bring forth, and share any beneficial affects applicable to you with your summons.
Creatures Roster: Tiger, Flaming Tiger, Flame Thrall, Frost Thrall, Storm Thrall, Dead Thrall, Daedric Lord, Daedric Spell-weaver, Daedric Chef, Daedric Masseur, Daedric Instructor.
Weapons Roster: Spiked Gloves, Dagger, Sword, Axe, Mace, Greatsword, Waraxe, Warhammer, Bow.
Armor Roster: Vestments of the Mage, Leathers of the Rogue, Plate of the Warrior.
Hollow Method: Zero (Active) Lv MAX
Compress your spiritual energy into a ball with great pressure, then ‘rip’ its shell to expel the energy in a cascade of great power that completely bypasses armor and resistances due to its spiritual nature. Having a great mastery over it, you now can use multiple variants.
Simple Cero: 10,000 HP Damage; Cost: 100RR
Gran Rey Cero: 25,000 HP Damage; Cost: 250RR
Cero Oscuras: 50,000 HP Damage; Cost 500RR
Gran Rey Cero Oscuras : 100,000 HP Damage ; Cost 1,000
Hollow Method: Pulse (Active) Lv MAX
A sensing technique used only by the most proficient spiritual energy users. As a master in its use, by pulsing out your own spiritual energy and calling it back in, you can pinpoint beacons of energy around you via spiritual resonance over vast distances and gauge their strength.
Max sphere radius: 100km.
Cost: 0.1% of RR.
Hollow Method: Steel Skin (Active) Lv MAX
Your mastery of Reiatsu allows you to condense it around your skin, forming a barrier between an incoming attack and you. It cannot be broken, only powered through. Because of this barrier, you take less damage.
-99% overall damage.
HP + 10,000.
Ninja Art: Elemental Chakra Manipulation (Active) Lv 28 (57.1%)
You can imbue your chakra with elemental natures, allowing it to take on various properties, or actualize a mix of two, three, four, five, six, or seven elements.
Elements Learned: Water, Earth.
Ninja Art: Snake Summoning (Active) Lv 1 (0.0%)
By singing the contract and being approved, you are now able to summon snakes. Alongside being excellent combat additives, snakes can also introduce and counteract poisons, transfer messages, and spy easily.
Cost: Proportionate to size of snake summoned.
Limit: 1 at a time.
Ninja Art: Chakra Enrichment (Active) Lv MAX
By nudging your chakra through an object, you grant a bonus to its properties. For weapons, it adds extra damage and an effect based on chakra type. For armor, it adds extra protection and an effect based on chakra type.
Neutral Chakra: Weapons: +2(INT+STR) Damage; Armor: +2(WIS+CON) Durability.
Ninja Art: Chakra Manifestation (Active) Lv 1 (0.00%)
By expelling potent chakra and manipulating it outside your body, you are able to effectively create objects of pure chakra.
Cost: 100CP/sec.
Ninja Art: Leaping Locomotion (Active) Lv MAX
Using chakra directed to the lower-leg muscles, one can increase the distance covered by a single bound. Your proficiency allows you to cross distances others can only dream of.
Speed: 1km/sec.
Cost: 0.1 CP/sec.
Ninja Art: Chakra Scalpels (Active ) Lv MAX
The user forms a sharp blade out of their chakra that covers both the hands from fingertips to wrist at best. It allows them to cut into a living body without breaking the skin, decreasing chances of infection. You can sever nerves, muscles, and even chakra pathways, and choose to solidify your scalpels to inflict damage onto flesh.
Damage: (INT + DEX)
Cost: 0.1CP/min.
Ninja Art: Thrall of the Shadows (Active) Lv MAX
You can port directly from one shadow to another. While covered with shadows, you are invisible to everyone. You also gain a higher chance to score a critical hit in any situation as long as this technique is active.
-100% to enemy vision cones.
+50% critical chance.
Cost: 0.1CP/sec.
Ninja Art: Illusory Embodiment (Active) Lv MAX
By ejecting chakra from your body and manipulating it, you are capable of creating a basic illusion of yourself. The image produced is intangible and intelligent but vanishes after ten solid objects pass through it. These are capable of casting illusions on others, and reflect the same amount of mastery you possess.
Cost: 1CP/clone.
Maximum Duration: 80 hours.
Ninja Art: Instant Exchange (Active) Lv MAX
You can instantly substitute with any object at any time. The size of the object poses no difficulty to you and performing this technique continuously does not tire you.
Range: 500m.
Cost: 5CP.
Ninja Art: Organic Shapeshifting (Active) Lv MAX
By utilizing memory as a medium and chakra as a catalyst, you can effectively change shape into any living creature you have observed in the past. This technique cannot be dissipated unless you consent.
Ninja Art: Shadow-clone (Active) Lv MAX
You bring a non-elemental tangible clone into existence by this skill, splitting your energies evenly into each of them, including yourself. It can act independently from the user. Any knowledge the clones gain is transferred back to the user.
Maximum Creation Range: 1km.
Maximum Duration: 40 hours.
Ninja Art: DNA Manipulation (Active) Lv 1 (0.00%)
Using dense chakra folded down on a chromosome, you are able to alter it in any way you see fit. You can currently make one change to an organism safely.
1% chance of success.
Cost: 10,000CP/sec.
Saiyan Move: Kamehameha (Active) Lv MAX
After condensing your chi into a ball, you poke a hole in its shell to launch a concentrated beam of pure energy forwards. By concentrating more energy, you are able to empower this technique beyond what its limits should be. Strong emotions take it to the next level.
Damage: 50,000HP
Cost: 150QI]
Okay… I can work with this. I hate not knowing what probably the only thing is besides magic that I’m vulnerable to, but… well… beggars can’t be choosers.Okay, so no time to lose. I created a single shadow clone who vanished into the mirror dimension to train up the few skills that were lagging behind. I waited for my energies to refill before creating another, who took Obito’s arm and vanished in a pop, heading to the Leaf to hand over the boy to his friend.For a fleeting moment I wondered… could I bring Rin back? Or Minato? Or… everyone?I was a god before, on par with the Reaper. But now… now, I’m above him. Bringing back powerful cards like those could really help in protecting the populace while I was fighting off Darkseid.Yes… that’s what I need to do. But first…Another clone was created; the process of prestige has vanished the clone I had looking for more Uzumaki members, so I created another. The Point-Me spell seemed to go haywire somewhere in Water Country, but it could never get a proper lock-on. Perhaps the effect of seals… My new status ought to give me the needed boost.Another clone was created; this one popped back to all the buried chests I’d found using Earth-sense, to open them and see what lay within. There was one in every country, so quite a few were waiting to be found.Another clone was created; who vanished in a burst of black lightning. My banked points were gone, so I needed all the stat points I could get.Another clone was created; this one ran off to find the Jinchuuriki of various villages and bring them to me to have their partners extracted. This was a crucial step to prevent any contingencies Zetsu may have placed into motion… much better to burn the roots than cut the tree.Another clone was created; who took flight and vanished soon after. This one would complete the remaining objectives of the main quest.As for me… I crossed my legs, sitting comfortably in the air, and closed my eyes.I was a Death Ascendant, now. I could, and would, use all the help I could get against a tyrannical alien hell-bent on ruling the masses and converting them has he pleased, especially when it came to ensuring that the ones I loved were safe. So many targets…. I know their names, their faces… and they would be reborn for the betterment of this world.“I am Legion. I am Death.” I found myself speaking. “Heed my call. Your people are in need. Shinigami won’t stop you. The afterlife can’t keep you. By my will come forth, into the living world once again.”My eyes snapped open.“[Procession of the Mighty Dead].”In front of me, a void in space and time opened in the form of a tiny tear, enough for a person at a time to walk through. I smiled at the people who walked in the little office, slowly filling up as more and more people walked out of the opening in a trance, only to gain full awareness once they had cleared the way for the next person to come through.I smiled a small, hopeful smile.Darkseid won’t know what hit him.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Being a clone, it was an insistent existence.
Imagine being created for a purpose, knowing what it was, and being single-mindedly devoted to complete it. That is what being a shadow clone meant; the fact that what the clone transferred all his memories to the original was a welcome quirk of the Shadow Clone technique to all the participants.
To further that reasoning, being a fragment of the original wasn’t so detrimental anymore when you had all of his power. Clone #1 didn’t know whether it was the prestige or something else, but it now had access to the original’s entire repertoire, with no reductions, including the gamer quirks. Now, he could open an inventory, view his stats, and the whole package.
It smirked as it felt more being created, and one raced right behind him. Now that they were so fast, Clone #2 appeared right next to him in a few scant seconds on top of the Hokage Tower, with Obito on its shoulders. “Legion wants this,” it patted the man strung over his shoulder and brushing the ground, he’d be touching it if Clone# 2 wasn’t levitating, “where he belongs.”
“That’s all on you.” Clone #1 raised its hands. “That’s your aim. Mine is to track more mother-boxes, so that’s what I’m going to do.” It leaped away.
“I can be a bit dense at times.” Clone #2 mused to empty air. “Think, has the
sense
ever tingled when we were in the village?”
Clone #1 paused mid-air, then doubled back. “Huh.”
“Yep. For some reason, there can’t be any mother-boxes in the Leaf. Hell, if there was, our senses would’ve gone off the moment we landed in the dead-center of the village.” Clone #2 shrugged.
“I don’t want to take any chances.” Clone #1 shook its head. “I don’t want myself pissed at me.”
“Traitor. You just don’t want to have to deal with two of Minato’s students in a day.” Clone #2 accused.
Clone #1 gave it a smirk and took off once again, this time shifting into the Speed-Force and disappearing… at least until Clone#2 let the Speed-Force overtake itself as well and move towards where he could sense an invigorated Kakashi.
It appeared in front of Kakashi, who was sparring against his ‘eternal rival’ at the crack of dawn. Wow. How long had Legion been staring at the Mother-boxes?
“Kakashi. Just the man I wanted to see.” Clone #2 beamed, and vanished and reappeared in between the two of them, forcing them to jump apart. It then rushed forward and unceremoniously shoved Obito into a blinking Kakashi’s arms. “Hereisyourfriendwhoyouthoughtwasdeadforalongtimebuthe’sactuallynotI’mjustaclonebye-“
Before he could vanish, a grip caught its hand. Since he did not want to tear Kakashi’s arm out of its socket because healing it would take the time that it could spend to do… better things, it sighed and resigned itself to its fate, turning to look at a shell-shocked Gai and a stone-still Kakashi. “Gundan-kun-”
“Clone.” Clone #2 helpfully reminded him.
“Please stop acting as if I am not here.” Obito spoke quietly, shifting out of Kakashi’s hold to stand on his legs. The poor Hatake did not even know how to react. “Kakashi. It’s… been a while.”
“Obito.” Kakashi breathed deep, eyes wide. “How… how…?”
“I am certain this is a youthful story.” Gai nodded, but his eyes were not on them, but focusing on something in the distance. “But… perhaps this is a story much suited to be heard in front of the Hokage?”
Kakashi turned to look upon him, then his gaze slid back right to the clone. His lone visible eye flashed in… something. It was something that gave the clone a positive tornado of butterflies in its stomach, and it didn’t seem to be slowing anytime soon.
“Alright.” Kakashi nodded. His eyes slid to Obito, narrowed, then back to him. “But, Gundan, know this; after whatever this is, when it’s over, we’re going to have a long talk about what you did when you vanished.”
“Sure.” The clone shrugged, but then its eyes softened. “However… I think you two can be a bit late for the meeting. There are things you two need to talk about.” It nodded, then clapped a hand on Gai’s shoulder. “Let’s go, youth-man.” And then the two of them vanished in a pop.
They left behind two old friends in a breezy clearing.
***
“Otsutsuki Toneri.”
This clone didn’t know what it was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t a toddler (SO ADORABLE!) in a cot. It shrugged and gathered up the sleeping bundle in its arms, before creating another clone that split off in search of the Gedo no Mazo to destroy it once and for all.
Then, the logistics of its situation registered. Here was a smol bean, an alien descendent youngling that needed tending to at this stage of life. There was no other living organism present here at the moment. It stood to reason that someone or something took care of this baby who had just stepped out for a moment.
“Well… fuck me.”
“Oh, is that what you’re waiting for, beautiful?”
It whirled at the voice, grabbing Toneri in a protective embrace and leaping backward, hovering in the air as it glared at the newcomer distrustfully.
Pale hair? Check. White garments? Check.
Scythe?!
“It has been ages since Jashin has laid eyes on as pretty a specimen like you.” The now-identified Jashin proclaimed, then his eyes widened with manic glee as they settled on Toneri. “And already taking to matronly duties! You will make an excellent slave.”
The clone stared at him in disbelief.
“Are you awed by my presence?” he preened, flexing. Unfortunately, he only wore lower-body garments, so his chiseled physique was on full view. “Feast your eyes upon the body of a true alpha male.”
Its eye twitched. “You remind me of people I met online. And not in a good way.”
“Online?” he murmured, tilting his head in confusion. “I thought the denizens of this pitiful planet had not achieved space-flight yet. No matter, once we find Ishikki, we will punish him for the faulty information he has fed us.”
A sense of alarm began to rise in the clone’s chest. Space-flight? It ruthlessly pushed it down to focus on then and there. “That’s cute. You’re assuming you will leave this chamber at all.”
Jashin laughed. “Spirited! I like that!” He then sneered. “Just like Kaguya… and I broke her well enough before she escaped and tried to build her husk army to defend against me…” His grey eyes glowed, and marks began to spread across his body, looking eerily like those of Hidan’s. “I like to break them, oh yes…”
It created another clone and moved to hand over Toneri to it, but had to hasten its action and pull out
[Akuma-sha]
mid swoop to block against Jashin’s sudden attack. The scythe ground against its zanpakuto and sparks flew.
“Hand over my descendant. He will make a worthy next vessel.” Jashin ordered, the jovial tone from his voice almost completely gone. “Defiling Kaguya’s brood will be so exhilarating… oh yes…”
The clone grit its teeth. “No way in hell, pedophile.
Sting your enemies to death, Suzumebachi!
”
Sometimes, bonus objectives could just fuck themselves.
***
This clone frowned, staring down at the stick it was currently using for a focus, which insistently pointed at the moon, going so far as to jab at it. It thought that if the stick had a voice, it would be screaming at him, for some reason. However, Jashin was nowhere to be found, and the only place on the moon it hadn’t already searched yet was the Otsutsuki palace, where one of its brethren was currently handling things. You’d think the stark white clothes, skin, and hair of their clan would stand out against the blackness of space…
Well, on the other hand, at least it can safely say Darkseid isn’t approaching by space. No ships for miles around, no planets, either. Only the sun and stars. It probably wouldn’t be too off if it assumed that its planet was the only one to exist in this system; another one at the max.
It sighed and sped forward. Now was not the time for such thoughts… not when it had someone to hunt. But it bore incentive for thinking about it, that’s for certain. Shinobi amongst the stars… that could be cool-
Wait… what was that?!
All other thoughts fled its mind as it single-mindedly sped forward. It couldn’t be…
But, alas, it was. The annoying ‘out-of-this-realm’ sense it possessed was tingling.
Floating in space in front of it was a giant contraption it was
very
familiar with. How many times had Legion read the codices in the games he played about it, marveling at its fictional function? Yet here it was, its core bright against the blackness and pinpricks of light, just as grandiose as one might expect. With its eyes, it could easily see shadows flickering through the viewing stations, all attention focused right at itself. If it focused enough, it could probably read their lips, if the species in question had any, but right now it was still in shock. If space could transmit sound, it did not doubt that there would be several demanding to know who or what he was right at that moment.
“A mass effect relay… well, fuck.”
This changed things, and not in a good way.
***
Another clone in space suddenly has a mild sense of alarm, as if something of Major Significance was happening at the moment, but shrugged it off and kept its mind to the task at hand. The pressing question on its mind was growing to be more and more of import as he neared his targets.
How do you eliminate uber-powerful beings without killing them?
It slowed to a stop once it noticed two white pinpricks on the outermost reaches of its vision. Great, now the problem needed an
immediate
answer.
The two figures stilled and turned to face its approaching form. While closing in, the clone could easily spot the suppressed glee on Momoshiki’s and confusion on Kinshiki’s faces.
Wait… that’s right. Naruto empowered Boruto’s Rasengan to kill Momoshiki, in turn cursing his son with being the next vessel of the alien. The clone’s non-existent blood suddenly boiled.
There was a danger to its future nephew right in front of it.
Like hell, it was going to let some flunky bonus objective keep the danger present.
It barely arrested its movement but brought both its hands forwards. Ten ominous-looking black balls began to form at their tips.
The glee was instantly wiped off Momoshiki’s face.
“Gran Rey Cero!”
Even as the attacks sped forward, it swerved to the side and brought its hands together. Time to try something… “Seeping crest of turbidity, arrogant vessel of lunacy! Boil forth and deny, grow numb, and flicker! Disrupt sleep, crawling queen of iron, eternally self-destructing doll of mud! Unite, repulse! Fill with soil, and know your own powerlessness!”
Reiatsu began to coagulate above its outreached hand, black wisps that were invisible against space but stood out in stark contrast against the sudden flare of light from the impacting Ceros.
“Hado 90, Kurohitsugi!”
***
The cave system was old. Very old. The clone could practically feel the age of the caverns in every breath it took… there was a thought. It was just a chakra construct, right? Did it even need to breathe?
It kept waking, content with taking its own time. It was going on to face a being that gave peak-Naruto and peak-Sasuke trouble, so it could be patient. Eventually, when it began to hear a voice, however, it blended with the ample shadows on the cavern floor.
“… the vessel is beginning to deteriorate…. must commence transfer…”
It smirked, and edged forward, only covered hair and darkened eyes poking out of the shadow. In front of him a few ways away, an old man was hooking himself up to some machines that looked
way
too advanced for the Naruto world. The man then proceeded to activate it somehow and laid down on one of the two bed-like platforms hovering in the air. On the other platform was a very familiar face.
The moment the man’s eyes closed, it blurred in black lightning while drawing its clone version of Akuma-sha and slashed straight on the device. Not wasting a single moment, it grasped the old man’s head and delved into him with Telepathy, eager to leave its target in a comatose state and learn all it could in the process.
***
“Sensei?”
“Wait… how is this possible?”
“…”
“Where are we?”
I smiled. This was the ultimate high, bringing someone back from the dead. For a moment, I felt an odd sensation that someone was pouting at me, but dismissed it as nothing.
“Namikaze Minato.” I spoke instead, relaxing my posture and opting to hover in the air while ‘standing’ instead. “Senju Tobirama. Senju Hashirama. Shimura Danzo. You have all been chosen to save your world.”
“Gundan,” Danzo grunted, “what is the meaning of this?”
“As we speak, forces beyond your reckoning prepare to enter our world using these boxes.” I gestured to the doorways to hell concealed in innocuous mother-boxes on the tables. “These are called ‘mother-boxes’. They utilize a phenomenon called a ‘boom-tube’ to facilitate immediate travel across theoretically any distance. An insane but powerful creature can attack our planet at any moment. That we have these precious few seconds to get you caught up on matters is a welcome respite.”
“You know this child, Danzo-kun?” Hashirama asked, but then his eyes widened. “Wait, your chakra…”
Danzo looked away from the searching eyes of his mentor.
“We can settle these squabbles later, people.” I huffed impatiently. “Did you lot miss the part where I mentioned an uber-powerful madman who will soon be arriving amongst us to take over the world?! I only resurrected you to protect the population of this world while I do battle with Darkseid himself. Plus… honestly, my presence here could attract any unknown amount of trouble next, and if, for some reason, I am no longer here, you lot can stay behind to do what needs to be done.”
“So this is your doing?” Tobirama asked, and his hands tensed.
“Of course, not!” I was appalled. How dare he… “Look, Tobirama, I have people I care about here. I love this place. I’d never give it up for anything!”
“His heart speaks true, brother, I sense it!” Hashirama clapped his brother on his back. “But… the uncanny resemblance the two of you share… surely you are related?”
My eye twitched.
“No. Bloody. Time!” I barked, making Hashirama cringe and his brother eye me with something akin to approval. “You know what; let’s just get back to the Leaf. I’d rather debrief everyone at the same time.”
A black sphere appeared next to me and vanished in wisps of darkness to reveal a clone of mine. It vanished shortly after.
PING!
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Master Telepath (Active)
Lv MAX
You see into the mind of the person you are observing and manipulate it. As a master of the art, you can do wonders. By connecting with others on an emotional level, you are able to understand what they feel and why.
1 sec in target’s mind is 0.00001 sec in real life.]
This one was a pain to evolve since the second-generation clone assigned this skill had to relocate to the real world and test it out on random prisoners. I wouldn’t want to be them. However, I did learn new combat styles, so I guess that’s okay.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Blessing of the Outsider (Active)
Lv MAX
Granted to those who pique his interest regardless of moral alignment or sanity, the Mark grants access to cast spells. As a master in its use, you now hold sway over those you have gifted it to.
Branches of Magic: Animation, Combat, Conjuration, Transfiguration, Utility.
Special Ability: Arcane Bond, Mirror-spell, Negation.
Perks: No Cost.]
It literally took just one spell. Ugh. You’d think Evanesco would have come up earlier, but eh. At least I’m good with magic now. This should help in the aftermath of the battle.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Magic Specialty: Dragon-Slayer (Active)
Lv MAX
Using magic to imitate a dragon, you use the elements to startling effect. You can be nourished by consuming elements that you embody.
Elements Assumed: Lightning, Shadow, Death.
Damage from affiliated elemental attacks received converted to HP, QI, and RR.
Special Abilities: Brilliant Element, Claw, Crushing Fang, Grip Strike, Iron Fist, Roar, Sword Horn, Waxwing Flash, Wing Slash.
Secret Arts: Heavenward Halberd, Bind.
Perks: Dragon Force, No Cost.]
Dragon, meet human. The best magic type ever is now my bitch. Bow down to me, dragons, your god has arrived!
…
Okay no, I sound crazy.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Ninja Art: Snake Summoning (Active)
Lv MAX
By signing the contract and being approved, you are now able to summon snakes. Alongside being excellent combat additives, snakes can also introduce and counteract poisons, transfer messages, and spy easily.
Cost: 0.01 x (Proportionate to the size of snake summoned.)
Limit: 100,000 at a time.
Perks: Extendable appendages, Flexible Body Structure, Poison Immunity.]
This was quite fun. To mix things up, I summoned snakes in a myriad of ways and chatted up those who were willing to stay. Apparently, the Great White Snake Sage wanted to meet me due to a prophetic vision she had. Ew, prophecy, right? But also, wow, upcoming Sage mode, because heck yeah!
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Ninja Art: Elemental Chakra Revelry (Active)
Lv MAX
You can imbue your chakra with elemental natures, allowing it to take on various properties, or actualize a mix of two, three, four, five, six, or seven elements.
Water – 3/3; Earth – 3/3; Lightning – 3/3; Wind – 3/3; Fire – 3/3; Yin – 3/3; Yang – 3/3
Element combinations Learned: Boil, Dark, Crystal, Dust, Energy, Gale, Gravity, Ice, Lava, Magnet, Plasma, Power, Sand, Scorch, Steam, Steel, Storm, Swift, Quicklime, Wood.
Special Abilities: All-Encompassing Light, All-Killing Ash Bones, Inorganic Transmutation, Organic Transformation, Regeneration of the Primordial Chaos, Truth-Seeking Chakra.
Perks: Double Damage, No Hand-signs.]
This skill was the easiest to max out by far. Complete all the elemental exercises, break into the Hokage tower to find more information then combine all of the natures. It took my clone only one week… which is kind of cheap, honestly.
[Due to a special action, multiple skills have fused and evolved!
Elemental Personification (Active)
Lv MAX
Whether or not influenced by your energies, you can manipulate all. You can imbue your chakra with elemental natures, allowing it to take on various properties, or actualize a mix of two, three, four, five, six, or seven elements. You can be nourished by consuming elements that you embody.
Healing limit: 1000HP/sec.
Energy transfer limit: 1000Units/sec.
Primary Element: Death.
Elements Assumed: Water, Earth, Fire, Air, Lightning, Yin, Yang.
Element Combinations Assumed: Boil, Crystal, Dark, Dust, Energy, Gale, Gravity, Ice, Lava, Magnet, Plasma, Power, Sand, Scorch, Shadow, Steam, Steel, Storm, Swift, Quicklime, Wood.
Special Abilities: All-Encompassing Light, All-Killing Ash Bones, Inorganic Transmutation, Organic Transformation, Regeneration of the Primordial Chaos, Truth-Seeking Chakra.
Special Arts: Bind, Heavenward Halberd, Inhale.
Special Techniques: Brilliant Element, Claw, Crushing Fang, Elemental Phase, Grip Strike, Iron Fist, Roar, Sword Horn, Tail Strike, Waxwing Flash, Wing Slash.
Perks: Air-sense, Avatar State, Damage Conversion, Dragon Force, Double Damage, Earth-sense, Elemental Drive, No Cost, No Hand-signs.]
So… me being an Avatar, a Dragon-slayer, and an elemental chakra user all combined into one, huh?
I really don’t know how to feel about that. How does that even work? Am I supposed to just randomly learn to slay dragons with so many elements like that? Well, at least I can phase into a lot of things now… and… control pretty much everything…
Ugh, but life is going to be so boring after this…
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Ninja Art: Chakra Actualization (Active)
Lv MAX
By expelling potent chakra and manipulating it outside your body, you can effectively create objects of pure chakra.
Range: 10km
Perks: No Cost, Unbreakable Constructs.]
Not really going to be used much, but hey, you ain’t skilled in a skill unless you max out the skill, so here we are.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Ninja Art: DNA Manipulation (Active)
Lv MAX
Using dense chakra folded down on a chromosome, you can alter it in any way you see fit. You can freely manipulate DNA as a master of this technique.
Perks: Forever Successful, Permanent Changes.]
This. Was. HELL. At least I’m done with it now, though. The world is literally my playground now. I’m going to make some huge changes once I’m done with Darkseid – having major plans in your head is only satisfying when they actually can come into play.
I waved off the screens and turned back to my resurrected compatriots. “So, yeah. Please gather around, we need to head off to the Leaf as soon as possible.”
Before anyone could say anything, another clone popped in. “Legion, all of the Jinchuuriki are being held captive in the Mirror Dimension.”
I took a second to think. Being beyond god-level allows you to do so many things in each millisecond. Add that to the Speed-Force, and you have a scarily good strategist on your hands. “Very well. Deal with Zetsu and the other Ootsutsuki in the seal, then pop so that I can extract the tailed beasts.”
I reached out a hand towards the clone, and it touched the only filled-in diamond shape on my left wrist, vanishing into the seal.
“Okay… what are we waiting for, a theme song? Gather around!” I gestured impatiently. “Make a large circle. Everyone gets connected to me by their hands.”
“Why are you holding Jinchuuriki captive?” Minato demanded, withdrawing a tri-pronged kunai. “Who are you?”
“Explaining that would take a whole lotta time we don’t have.” I shook my head. “You humans should never have meddled with the Tailed Beasts in the first place. Now that you have… anyway, at least I wiped your mess up. I’ll extract the beasts, let them free where none of you lot could ever hope to even catch a glimpse of them, and leave them there to live as they see fit.” I turned to glare at Hashirama. “I don’t know what you were thinking, handing them out like party favors like that – they’re living things, not property; and definitely not
your
property, in any case.”
The man leveled him a solemn look. “One does what he must to ensure peace.”
“Yeah, yeah, peace. There have been three World Wars, am I right?” I asked of Minato, rhetorically. “It’s totally like a utopia.”
A trio of clones materialized next to me. “Legion. There have been more than a few complications.” They then dispelled.
I stilled. No way. No fucking way.
“Bloody shit-bucket cum-stained skeleton asshole ruining my fucking afterlife-”
Oh. That’s a thing. I hate the calming effect of Gamer’s Mind… or at least its new, derivative skill.
Anyway, so at least I can check one thing off my list.
PING!
[
Main Quest Completed!
Only One Path
You have a comprehensive recollection of every possible problem that can plague the Elemental Nations. Act on them.
Completed Objectives
Eliminate the Akatsuki members.
Eliminate Toneri, Kinshiki, Momoshiki, Jigen, and Jashin Ootsutsuki.
Bring hope to the scattered clans of the Uzushiogakure village.
Prepare for the worst.
Bonus Objectives Completed
Do not directly kill your priority targets (15/18).
Find all living members of the Hidden Whirlpool Village.
Create a transcendental skill.
Rewards
15,000EXP, 150,000,000,000 Ryo, Property Management System, DNA Meld: Ectonurite, Ultimate Ninja Armor Set, Reaver Mage Armor Set]
[You have levelled up multiple times!]
Wait, why was the EXP I earned greatly reduced? I adhered to the bonus objectives and everything!
Ugh.
Okay, well, I finally got my power-up for Orochimaru-sensei. He’ll do well with an Ectonurite’s abilities. I spared only a moment for a full-body shudder, picturing the horrifying image if the sample was from the Omniverse show… hopefully it’s from the original.
Anyway, I quickly navigated over to my character page, to see 900 stat points waiting to be assigned… and that my
[AGL]
and
[LCK]
had risen by 300 points each… so… I get 60 points per level up, and 20 points each into my main attributes at the same time… nice.
I quickly assigned my points, putting 150 points into each of the stats.
[
Character Page
Uzumaki Gundan – Level 15
Race: Ascendant
Title: Death Ascendant
Next Level: 0/1,000.
HP - 252,000
QI - 252,000
RR - 254,000
CON - 152
STR - 152
AGL - 457
INT - 154
WIS - 154
LCK - 456
Stat Points: 0
Resistances:
Physical – 100% (50% Damage Reflected)
Spiritual – 100%
Chakra – 100%
Poison – 100%]
Excellent.
Also, another thing to check off was the reunion the Uzumaki Clan... or at least all of the survivors of the entire village The last surviving outpost of the Uzumaki had buried kilometers beneath the earth, a position only made inhabitable by a myriad of seals and techniques that require upkeep. There was only one clan there, made of seven people, but it was
something
, at the very least. With this, all the surviving Uzumaki were officially under the Leaf’s banner.
“Okay, so that’s that.” I beamed at the very confused recently-revived people present. “In spite of my life being a flaming fucking mess, at least some good things come out of it. Anyway, as I said, gather ‘round, everyone. We don’t have a minute to waste.”
“But you-”
“I don’t have time for this shit.”
***
“So… let me understand this right…” Hiruzen began, rubbing his forehead but unable to fight a smile for some reason off of his face. “You can indiscriminately bring people back to life now?”
Next to him, Orochimaru’s eyes hadn’t left my face since I walked in followed by some of the Leaf’s finest.
“What discrimination?” I asked, tilting my head.
“Like, being in the belly of the Shinigami.” Hiruzen explained, shooting Minato a side-eyed glance.
I blinked. “Ah. Yes. I… suppose he’s my subordinate now.” I mused, a small smile on my visage. Maybe I could do something nice for him, or her?
“Your bloodline is… revolutionary. It plays with the rules of the universe, and allows you to break established universal laws alike at your will.” Hiruzen muttered, but then straightened and beamed. “At least now I know why some of my more sensitive sensors fainted when you suddenly appeared in the village.” He turned to Minato, who looked amused at the byplay between us. “So, Minato, will you be taking the hat today or tomorrow?”
“Um…” the man shuffled his feet, oddly enough looking like a dejected puppy, before muttering, “how about never.”
“He
will
have to make time for little Naruto.” I absently agreed.
“About that… how old is he right now? And…
when
are we? Nothing major seems to have changed so it couldn’t have been that long…” Minato trailed.
“About a year and a few months.” Hiruzen informed him, not unkindly but a bit grumpy. “And Naruto is being well-taken care of by your wife’s clan, so he’s not left out in the cold, as one might say.”
I shuddered, numerous fanfics coming to mind where Naruto was
way
worse off than in canon.
Minato blinked. “My wife’s clan?”
“Oh, yes. I scoured the elemental nations to find the remnants of the Uzumaki Clan.” I shrugged. “They’re all under our banner now.” I looked at Hiruzen. “Boy, if
that
doesn’t throw the power balance in the village, I don’t know what would.”
Hiruzen glowered at me. “Yes, thank you for that, by the way.” He bit out. “Never before have the Uchiha and Hyuuga felt threatened by another clan, and that was before the Kurama Clan came back into the mix.” Then, he offered me a sly smile. “And before they calmed down a bit.”
I beamed back at him. “All in a year’s work, Lord Third.”
Just then, a clone materialized next to me and dispelled.
“Oh, wonderful… I was right.” I created a clone, who took a deep breath and spread out his chakra. “Alright, people, I’m giving you a little summary of the situation via an illusion, watch closely.”
While the clone was busy regaling the lot of them with what I previously thought was fictional history, I busied myself in mentally preparing myself. I mean, all the villages I the world are gonna be-
Oh crap.
The other villages!
I could probably make enough clones to protect everyone since most of my abilities don’t need any energy used anymore and the one-hit-dispel thing has been taken care of, but do I really want to risk that?
No one dies unless it’s their time, and my involvement doesn’t count.
I quickly created four clones, who zoomed away with the Speed-Force to do what I thought up. Hopefully, Darkseid is the only being who needs major attention. If he’s already enslaved a Kryptonian, or, god forbid, another higher being from another universe…
Maybe… maybe I need to bring back more people from Konoha as well.
I sighed and stalked to the ‘hidden’ filing cabinets, dispelling the major protections on it with a flex of my chakra. I grabbed the highest tier 'Deceased Personnel' file available and skimmed through the pages.
Yes… this should do nicely for a menu.
But before that, there was one more problem to take care of.
I apparated to the highest point I’d been in the sky while still being in the planet’s atmosphere and drew my legs to myself. I also decided to wrap myself in a cocoon of energy, just in case.
Before all in front of me was filled with darkness, there was a brilliant grey light in the distance. A beat of silence followed before I opened my eyes in an entirely different place, surrounded by very familiar figures.
“Shukaku. Matatabi. Isobu. Son Goku. Kokuo. Saiken. Chomei. Gyuuki. Kurama.”
I bowed to each of them in turn, before taking to the ‘air’ and hovering in the midst of them at face level. “For too long you have been treated inferior. For too long have you been used by humans for their selfish ends, disregarding your status as living beings and being considered monsters, or worse. I would offer you a respite from it all.”
“Speak, Death Ascendant.” Kurama spoke, eyes narrowed but concentrated on my form.
I was a bit taken aback and looked around at the others. The varying expressions on their faces were either of scrutiny, awe, or outright fear, in case of Shukaku. “You know of my nature?”
“Don’t patronize us.” Gyuuki snorted. There are very few beings in the world who could reverse entirely the death of our containers as they were extracted. Unless Rikudo-sama or his brats have suddenly come back to life, you are a being who has tamed death.”
“And, Shini-sama, it doesn’t help that the Shinigami bowed to you when he came for Han, and then vanished without protest.” Kokuo stated calmly.
I rolled my eyes. “Honestly, that seal was worse than the original it was ripped off of. I need to infiltrate Stone and recover the scrolls they plundered from Whirlpool… however impossible the idea may seem.” Perhaps a traitor in the Uzumaki main family? Every clan had its black sheep, after all. A seal devised to drag the container into Shinigami’s belly upon extraction of the tailed-beast within was devious, to say the least. “Regardless, my offer comes with a… request.”
“Of course it does.” Son Goku scoffed.
Matatabi whacked him with one of her tails. “Listen to the calm Death Ascendant before condemning him, you imbecile.”
The ape grumbled but grudgingly fell silent.
“A being approaches. More terrible than your original combined form. More terrible than your father could ever hope to be. He has destroyed planets with his armies, and I wish him not to have a hold over you. Please, accept my request – no matter what happens, if even this planet is destroyed, do not attempt to come back.”
The beats stilled. “You’re asking us… not to get involved?” Kurama asked with disbelief.
“I’m asking you to not even think about getting involved.” I nodded. “As of now, I do not know this being’s capacity. He is not even supposed to exist. I cannot risk him imprisoning you all within him and milking the lot of you for all the power he wants. No.” I glared at Kurama. “It was bad enough I waited this long to free you even after I knew I was strong enough. No more. I can’t stand to see you all enslaved again.”
There was silence for a moment before Chomei spoke in a small voice. “Where would we even go?”
I looked at each of them in turn, and they seemed to be amenable. Only Kurama kept his narrow-eyed stare on me with any suspicion, and I met it head-on.
When he finally relented and sighed, I grinned. “Leave that to me.”
If Kurama turned his head and looked a bit lost, I pretended not to notice.
***
“Desaad, how long until we reach this new planet?”
“Patience, Mortalla… we have almost arrived to herald our lord’s glory.”
In the darkness, two blood-red eyes opened.
“Very well. Let us see if these… ‘X-Men’ were worth indoctrinating.”