An Engine of War

I suppose, since I taught Naruto the Mass Shadow Clone jutsu, I shouldn't have been surprised to get summoned for a talking too with the Hokage. I was surprised because I didn't expect it to be within the hour. I was also surprised when it was a surprisingly not-tense interview.

"Don't tell anyone, keep being friends with Naruto," I summed up. "I can do that."

"Precisely," The Hokage said, pipe in his mouth. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you figured it out. I don't suppose I can ask how?"

"There were several signs – his birthday was the anniversary of the attack and rather than let him celebrate, the Matron kept Naruto inside for his own safety," I replied with a shrug. "Pretty obvious."

There were not mobs of villagers trying to chase Naruto down and kill him. But there was the occasional drunk Jounin, which could be scary if, in the madness inherent in all Jounin, he made Naruto a target in his misplaced grief. Which upset Naruto quite a bit, and he was still mad about missing the festivals since said festivals were stopped about four years ago.

"I see," The Hokage replied. "So, regarding your…'mastery' of seals…would you care to demonstrate?"

"Not particularly, Hokage-sama," I shrugged. "I do appreciate the books you gave me, but I do want to keep some secrets."

"I understand the need for caution," The Hokage replied. "But I do have some things that require a sealing expert to look at."

"Like what?" I asked. "Hyobe's not still stuck in his box, is he?"

"Who?" The Hokage rose an eyebrow.

"Hyobe, the Hyuuga who got stuffed in a box and was nearly smuggled into Grass," I reminded him. The victim of The Organ Trail.

"Oh, him. No, as I understand, he's been released," The Hokage nodded. "I was referring to something else. But I don't want to take chances with it."

"Alriiight," I said, sensing the opportunity for a quest. "What sort of demonstration?"

"Are you aware of the Flying Thunder God?" The Hokage asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I am," I replied. "Do you want me to perform it?"

"Can you?" The Hokage asked.

I simply made one on the floor, slid backward, made another one and then rapidly teleported between the two.

The Hokage coughed. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised in light of your earlier exploits."

"I have that effect on people," I replied.

"I am well aware," The Hokage replied. "We'll have what we need to you to examine after your tactics training with Kakashi."

That was not what I wanted to hear.

Quest Added: Tattoo Removal.

Speak with the Hokage after you've completed your tactics training.

Well, at least it's definitely a quest, then. I wonder what's the deal with the name, they want me to remove something?

"…for your information, Hokage-sama," I began. "I'm not entirely sure I can remove seals on a person without consequences to the bearer."

Why would the perk Whitewash be a thing if it wasn't a certainty?

The Hokage took a long puff from his pipe. "You got a premonition, then?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," I nodded.

"Do you know who you're helping?" He asked.

"No, Hokage-sama."

"What was it called?" He asked.

"Tattoo Removal," I answered.

He barked out a short laugh and I noticed a slight wheeze to the man's breathing. "That was a surprising show of wit from an otherwise arbitrary blood line."

"I agree, Hokage-sama," I replied with a small smile.

"Dismissed," He replied with another smile.

With that, I left. Thankfully, we had all departed after the training exercise so it wasn't like they were still waiting for me, worried that I had done something wrong. So with that going forward, I made my way back to my apartment.

Since I have Lasers and my jutsu has, for all my thinking they were unwieldy, been pretty effective, my pistol's gone from 'reliable form of ranged attack' to possibly being 'obsolete prior to construction' but I'm still going to make it before I pass judgement because EXP. Maybe it's cheap chakra cost and difficulty in dodging instantaneous projectiles will make it worth it.

Then you add that Lightning jutsu that increases my reaction speed, another theoretically worth it but possibly inefficient jutsu, and we'll have all the makings for a brain-dead approach to combat that works perfectly for my casual approach to combat.

And…I guess those tactics lessons with Kakashi will help. Sort of. But honestly, all that thinking really feels like a waste of time when I could just zoom up to them and blow their brains out with a single punch…something my new focus on jutsu has actually helped with by removing the travel time.

I moved in through the window, as normal for me. The front door took too long as usual.

Eh…let's see…that's grab that Kunai.

Kunai in hand, I sat down crisscross and got to work. I placed a seal on the ground keeping it isolated from any extra detritus, because this was going to get messy.

An electrical based version of my finger-knife jutsu…the one I used to get free of the trident after getting shanked in the sewers I used to slice the tip off.

+300 EXP.

7,445 more until level 20.

I sliced the handle off as well, leaving me with just the blade.

I'm sad that jutsu with such high EXP rewards have almost no actual combat value to me. This one was a drill, like the blade with lots of electricity. This, I used to drill into the flat surface of the kunai. I say drill, but I mean melt the metal out of the center to make room for the seals inside, causing it to drip on the floor that I had put a seal on to prevent my apartment from catching fire.

+300 EXP.

There was a knock at the door. I let the steel I had melted out finish dripping on the carpet and whoever was at my door knocked a second time, much more insistently. I stood up, slid over to my front door and opened it up.

"I'm confused," I said, slowly nodding to make it apparent.

"Well, none of us could decide on anything to do and so we decided to come see you!" Naruto smiled, as if that explained why Nichiren, Hisako, Sakura and Sasuke had also come to my house. "Can we come in?"

I have four charisma, they're not supposed to-Nakama. Right.

"I'm kind of working on something," I replied with a frown.

"You mean the guitar?" Hisako asked with a smile.

"No, I mean a weapon," I replied.

"Oh," Hisako's face fell.

"Purely experimental, lots of seals," I explained. "Seriously, it's not something you guys want to watch, right?"

"Sure, we do!" Naruto was still grinning.

"I can't be mad at you," I sighed, face-palming. "Sure, come in. Still don't have furniture, just keep clear of the mess."

"I hope it's not too much trouble, Senpai," Sakura said as they all entered my apartment.

"It's fine," I blinked. In my old life, occasionally we'd take our shoes off when entering someone else's house. I don't care, so…should I explain that? "You can leave your shoes on, I never take my boots off."

Sasuke grunted, aborting the move to kick his sandals off.

"What on earth did that poor kunai do to you?" Hisako asked, pointing at the mess.

"I said I was in the middle of something," I replied, with a frown. "You don't have to be here, you know."

"No, no," Hisako quickly said. "I'm interested in what you're working on."

"Cool," I shrugged, feeling slightly self-conscious with everyone here, but I re-cast the electrical drill and continued my efforts to hollow it out.

The metal dripped onto the seal, which, while not setting my thing carpet on fire, also remained hot, which is good – I needed the metal to enlarge the hilt later on in the project.

"…so what's the point of hollowing out the Kunai?" Sasuke asked, leaning against the wall.

"More surface area for seals," I replied, looking inside the Kunai to see how much was left…I didn't want to make a hole in some portion of the weapon, I might not be able to fix it like I did the walls, molten metal being exponentially more chakra-intensive to fix up than shattered matter.

"So, is it going to be a sword?" Naruto asked with a grin. "A glowing, chakra-"

"No."

"Oh," Naruto's face fell.

"…I think that should be enough," I muttered to myself. I turned to the pile of molten slag and placed a seal to the side the covered the pile, deliberately keeping it warm and…liquidy. Not sure how I'm going to get it to what I need it to do yet, picking up the mess and shaping it is beyond the scope of the repair jutsu.

With my hand on the blade, I made several hand signs with the other one and wrote the seal I'd need on the inside and outside of the barrel. The seal first for the chakra-pointer, going on the base of the cavity I've made. It automatically pulled in chakra from anyone touching it, broadcasting it in a beam similar to the chakra-strings but not being nearly as strong…it wasn't visible, for one. As a bonus, I was able to compress the seal until it was about the size of a dime…. that's what they were called, dimes? Dimes, I think that's what the five-cent piece was called. The really small one.

Fuinjutsu Check Success: 100/80.

+1200 EXP.

5,945 more until level 20.

I suppose it's that high because the seal is capable of interfacing with other seals. The ones I'm about to write, specifically. But first…let's see, it's working.

"Question, do any of you know how to sense chakra?" I asked my house-guests.

"…I do," Sakura replied, putting a hesitant hand up.

"Hold your hand right there for me?" I asked with a frown.

"Okay," She complied with a confused look.

I pointed the kunai out. "Do you feel anything?"

"A little bit," She giggled and smiled. "That tickles."

"Uh huh," I replied, putting the down. "Thank you, I know it works."

And that people will know I'm aiming at them if they can sense chakra. Good to know.

"Sure, Senpai," She said, still smiling.

"So how do you learn to sense chakra?" Nichiren asked.

"It's an awareness thing," I grumbled my replied, knowing about advanced chakra senses from an academic point of view, but unable to do it because it was locked behind a perk. Chakra Sense, specifically. It's a level 6 perk, one I had initially skipped over completely for more appealing picks, but now had a pair of holes I needed to fill…that can go neatly into one of them, actually.

"Senpai's right," Sakura said with a nod in my general direction. "Learning how to sense another person's chakra is mostly being aware of chakra in general. I've started working on it more after the…sewers."

"So can you do it, Daisuke?" Nichiren asked.

"Nope," I replied with a frown.

"Why not?" Naruto asked.

"My bloodline is stupid and arbitrary," Was my response as I puzzled out how to mold the molten steel before me.

"How is it stupid and arbitrary this time?" Hisako asked.

"So…okay, how many of you know about my power spikes?" I asked. "Besides Nichiren and Hisako, since I've explained it to them."

"Nope," Naruto shook his head.

"I've inferred that your bloodline occasionally gifts you a surge of power?" Sasuke asked with a frown.

Sakura shrugged.

"So, my bloodline makes me…static. Training doesn't work for me. At all. In no sense of the word," I explained. "I get better…more skilled, faster, stronger, from power spikes that occur after an arbitrary number of missions are undertaken, jutsu are invented, or kills secured."

"Training doesn't help you?" Sakura blinked and looked up in thought. "At all?"

"Nope," I replied. "Not in the traditional sense…I don't get better at Taijutsu from practice…it's part of why the guitars been so difficult to learn – it doesn't fit the paradigm of everything else."

"So…you think you'll ever learn to play it?" Hisako frowned.

"Oh, I've been getting better," I shrugged. "It's just slow."

"So you need a power spike to learn new things," Sasuke said. "Do you choose what you learn."

"To an extent, yes," I nodded. "I can increase a skill or knowledge base up by an arbitrary percentage. My lowest skill is barter at a mere ten percent."

"What's your highest?" Naruto asked.

"It's tied between Chakra Control and Taijutsu," I replied. "Which are both sitting at literal perfection."

Hisako let out a breath. Sasuke's eyes went wide and he activated his Sharingan for some reason.

"Literal perfection," Sakura raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, Senpai, but I have some difficulty believing that."

"That's fine," I shrugged. "It's just the skills – I'm still not the strongest or the fastest. That comes later."

"So what does this have to do with being unable to sense Chakra?" Naruto asked loudly.

"Every two power spikes, I get something called a 'perk'," I explained. "This perk could be increasing my resistance to physical harm, increasing the power of explosive notes to casting jutsu with one hand."

"You've gotten that one, apparently," Hisako sighed.

"Yup," I nodded. "Sorry, Hisako. I know the Taijutsu possibility bothered you."

"I…you know what, it's okay," She nodded to herself. "That just means you're the best sparring partner I can ask for."

"It's eating you alive inside, huh?" Nichiren asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"Nichiren," Hisako grumbled dangerously.

"…do you have a maximum number of spikes?" Sasuke asked with a serious air I hadn't heard from him since he asked us to help him train. "Or do you just keep going on indefinitely."

"I'm capped at 50," I replied with a frown. "After that, all the missions and kills in the world won't get me any further. I'd need outside help to get stronger."

"You have a limit?" Hisako asked, sounding slightly happier and a little depressed for some reason. "I thought you'd just keep going."

"Nope. I'm at level 19, though, so I've got 31 more to go," I explained with a shrug. "So to answer your question, I can do Chakra-Sensing until I get the perk."

"When are you going to get the perk?" Naruto asked.

"After the indestructible skeleton and maybe after the rest of the elemental affinities," I replied.

"Indestructible skeleton?" Naruto blinked.

"Elemental affinities?" Sakura's eyes got wide. "Are you saying-?"

"Yeah," I nodded, cursing my lack of judgement in what was coming out of my pie-hole. "There was a reason I didn't say anything…I have a big mouth."

Hisako groaned and got this really tired look on her face. Nichiren rubbed his eyes under his glasses. "You got any other surprises for us?"

"I'll just keep those to myself, thank you," I replied with a frown, not needing the fact that I'm a reincarnate to cause more drama.

…though it had to come out eventually.

"Oh wow," Nichiren groaned to himself.

I picked up the blade again and the handle as well. Then I started to heat the handle and bend it slightly at the ring, before getting to work fusing the ring at the end of the handle to the base of the blade…it was primarily for aesthetics - I needed something that resembled a trigger-guard for gun-twirling. Because.

"So…what's this weapon going to do?" Sakura asked after a moment.

"I'll show you when I'm doing building it," I replied, considering the thick pile of slag on my carpet. Another heat-insulating seal on my gloves before I started. Released the seal keeping the slag in one spot and picked it up with a large assortment of chakra strings. Another seal on the handle, it having been bent around like a candy cane to get the ring where I wanted it while still acting like a proper gun handle, in order to get the metal goop to stick around it.

The slag started to form around the handle.

Chakra Control Check Success: 100/95.

+300 EXP.

Like that, I invented mini-strings. Thousands of tiny little tendrils, suitable only for finite manipulation like this, with no combat application that I could see. I used them to sculpt the handle, give it grooves for my finger placement…thankfully, I made sure it fit my hand.

The only thing stopping me from doing this to play the guitar properly is because then the guitar and by extension the game would have won. I cannot let them win. Ever.

"It…looks good?" Hisako said with a frown, tilting her head at the construction. "I still don't get it."

"You will," I replied, getting to work on the seals inside.

Fuinjutsu Check Success: 100/95.

+2400 EXP.

Six of them, in all, actually. By my estimation, it would take time for this particular seal to charge back up full with my chakra before it could discharge again, so I had six of them, each lining the inside of the barrel and filling it to capacity, as compact as I could get them without sacrificing some of its theoretical punch.

And, you know…I wanted a six shooter. Because revolvers are cool.

+300 EXP.

2,945 more EXP to level.

Some additional seals to reinforce the weapons casing to prevent it from breaking. "Alright, I need a target."

There were some worried glances from everyone in the room that stopped immediately when I cast a Shadow Clone that just went over by the window. "I'd check the integrity seals against pressure on the inside of the barrel before initial testing."

"Oh, good point," I nodded, going over the seals. I added a couple of rings on the outside, just in case. "Alright, are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," The clone replied.

"Cool," I said, taking the pistol in my hand and aiming at him. "Death by firing squad in 3…"

"Morbid," The clone smirked forlornly.

"2…"

Sasuke was watching the pistol intently. Sakura leaned forward with interest.

"1…"

"Uhhh…" Hisako pointed a finger in the air.

"Fire."

A bright blue flash erupted right on the clone's body, setting it straight to smoke and I got the clones last memories.

-172 HP.

172 points of damage? Ouch. That was most likely reduced by seventy percent by the clone's own body armor. I'd have to do an unarmored test while I'm alone, no matter how much Hisako would like to see that, but…let's see, divide 172 by 0.3…573.3333…points of damage. "Wow. This thing could kill me if I wasn't wearing my armor."

"Wait, what?" Nichiren frowned, looking at it with renewed interest…or is that fear? "That thing could actually kill you?"

"By a large margin, actually!" I was grinning. My experiment worked! I had an actual weapon that felt a lot better to use than the Ninjutsu I had been using…which was only until I didn't need hand signs any more. "Now I gotta figure out how to store it on my person effectively."

"Why…don't we put it aside for a bit, actually?" Hisako asked with a too-wide smile.

"Yeah, we should go for Ichiraku's!" Naruto said with an equally wide grin. "Your weapon, whatever it is, works!"

"Can we go for something besides Ichiraku?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow. "We just went there yesterday."

"No!" Naruto argued hotly. "There's no place better than Ichiraku's?"

"Ichiraku's is the best ramen place in Konoha," I nodded in agreement. "But not everyone appreciates their ramen like you do, Naruto."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!" Naruto folded his arms and gave me a death glare.

"I'm just saying that some people don't like Ramen as much as you," I replied with a nod. "…variety is the spice of life, right?"

He actually blinked at that. "…alright, I guess. We can go somewhere else. But only if we go to Ichiraku's tomorrow."

"We'll see," Nichiren replied and Naruto pouted.

I quickly stuffed my newest creation into the kunai holder inside my jacket. "Alright, uh…Sasuke, where are we going?"

"…I do know a barbecue place outside the Uchiha compound," Sasuke replied…why does he look annoyed?

"Perfect," I responded.

Everyone started to move forward, but Hisako stayed behind with me.

"…Variety is the Spice of Life?" Hisako asked with a slight smirk. "Where'd you get that, one of your books?"

Oh, right. That wasn't a local saying. Whoops. "Eh, I've heard it from people before."

Quest Updated: An Engine of War.

Completed: Go to the Penguin Empire at around 12am.

Speak with the Emperor.

"Shimoda, it has come to the attention of my advisors that you are technically going behind the back of your village to assist our war effort," The Emperor said, looking down at me. "They're afraid that this will jeopardize your future contributions."

"You're gonna get busted eventually, kid," Yujiro replied, only to start snickering at the baleful glare I was giving him.

"I trust this won't end our arrangement," I asked with a frown. "Emperor-sama, I fail to see how this would be a problem to you."

"Aside from a premature end to our arrangement, it's not," The Emperor replied. "Tell me, how would your Kage feel if he were to find out about what you're doing right now."

"I'm on furlough, it doesn't matter," I replied, my frown deepening.

"It clearly does, since you've been coming to assist the Empire in secret," The Emperor replied. "Do not mistake my caution for ingratitude, I do wish to continue our relationship. But we must be cautious so as to prevent your involvement from becoming endangered."

"What did you have in mind?" I asked, fearing that I wasn't going to like it.

"Your most significant contribution to our war effort has been through your bombs," The Emperor said, sending my hopes to the trash. "We would see you produce those en-masse, if possible."

"With due respect, Emperor-sama," I began, trying really hard to keep my cool. "I wanted to join your effort to be on the front lines. My assistance is contingent on remaining there."

"I understand that much, Shimoda," The Emperor replied, raising an eye-muscle. "But a war cannot be won by a single person. But seeing how important it is to remain on the front lines is to you, I propose a trade. You produce at least one hundred and fifty bombs today and we will allow for your assistance on the front lines in two weeks' time. Is that acceptable?"

"Is there a particular reason I cannot simply make your bombs and be on the frontlines simultaneously?" I asked with a frown. "That worked for the liberation of Blackfoot Island."

"Aside from wishing to reduce the likelihood of your being caught," The Emperor began testily. "We cannot wait for you every time we wish to make an offensive. Our enemies will catch on and begin to plan around the schedule we'd be setting and that's a terrible thing for a war."

He had me.

Why the heck did the Emperor Penguin, the head of a brutal and pragmatic race, of all people, suddenly think it necessary to remove me from the front lines and make me a bomb maker?

Because it's pragmatic and intelligent.

I hate knowing the opponent is right.

"Alright, Emperor-sama," I gave a bow. "I agree to your terms."

"Splendid! And worry not," The Emperor said. "When it's time to assault to heart of our enemies, you will be granted a position on the front lines. I swear this on an oath to you."

"…thank you, Emperor-sama," I nodded, feeling a little better.

Quest Updated: An Engine of War.

Completed: Speak with the Emperor.

Produce the needed bombs: 0/150.

(Optional): Produce Extra: 0/50.

"Yujiro!" The Emperor ordered. "Show him to the boulders we have prepared for him."

"Yes, My Lord Emperor," The Court Jester bowed, and waved me over.

I followed him through the palace then down onto the water as we orbited the Island until we came to what I believe is the West shore where…wow, they did their preparations, alright.

The shore was lined with row upon row of boulders, sculpted to perfect spheres that sunk into the sand 15 rows of 10.

"Here you go," Yujiro nodded and squad 3 slid toward us around the field of boulders. "Squad 3's in charge of guarding you while you work. And don't worry if you screw up, we've got more."

"I…thanks," I nodded, sighing internally. "Okay, I'll get to work."

"Good to see you again, Shimoda!" The captain smiled wide. "Don't mind us, we're just going to be keeping a perimeter around the shore."

"Good to know," I replied.

With that, I got to work. Captain Shizo went for one route around the shore before sticking around me. The others continued their patrol around the shore.

Produce the needed Bombs: 15/150.

"So, I have a question," I started.

"Shoot," Shizo said.

"How many species of fish are we fighting here?" I asked. "Are we also fighting Jellyfish?"

"What's a jellyfish?" Shizo blinked. "But fair question – 'Fish Clan' is just shorthand for the Anchovy and the Herring clans that joined together into a unified body. The Smelts are also a part of it, but there aren't all that many of them left and there was another species that went completely extinct thanks to the sharks, sea lions and ourselves. It's about then that we started storing what we don't eat and trying not to overhunt."

"Okay," I nodded. "So, I don't need to worry about flying fish doing reconnaissance on our movements from the sky or anything."

"You have some weird ideas," Shizo shook his head with a chuckle. "But, no. Fish do not fly and they don't spy on us from the sky. Any other questions?"

"Yes, actually," I replied.

Produce the Necessary Bombs: 17/150.

"Aren't there…non-sapient fish you could be eating instead?" I asked with a frown.

"What, you mean like dumb animals?" Shizo blinked. "I suppose we could, it would make smoothing things over with the Fish-clan easier at least. But there's just one problem."

"What's that?" I asked with a frown.

"Size," Shizo answered. "Both in growth and in numbers…the animal fish simply don't get big enough and there aren't enough of them to feed the Empire."

"Is it possible to grow them larger?" I asked with a frown.

"I don't think so," Shizo replied, rubbing under his beak with his flipper. "I wouldn't know where to start, actually. There's also the natural energy effect to consider."

"The natural what effect?" I asked with a frown.

Shizo blinked. "Shimoda, can I ask you a question?"

Produce the Necessary Bombs: 20/150.

"Sure," I replied.

"Do you know why humans stay in the elemental countries in spite of the shinobi making it hazardous to live there?" Shizo asked with a frown.

"I assumed it was blind stubbornness," I replied with a shrug.

Shizo laughed. "Yeah, that explanation would work for you or me. But no. The reason is because they can't live anywhere else on the globe."

I gave him a deadpan look. "Why not?"

"What do you know about Natural Energy?"

Something…something…something…something called 'Sage Mode'…something…something… "Not a lot."

"Well, here's the basic picture," Shizo started. "The Elemental countries have the least amount of Natural Energy in the world. Everywhere else, if they stick around too long, they end up turning to stone from the exposure."

"You're joking," I said. "Stone."

"Yeah. Stone," Shizo nodded. "Of course, it won't happen over the course of, like a day or a week. No…it happens over the course of decades."

"How do you know this?" I asked with a frown.

"So, there's this age-old technique that's taught to the elders of the empire," Shizo started, looking dead serious. "It allows them to see things without being there. Sometimes right across the street. Other times across the whole world."

"Uh-huh," I said.

"Yeah, I know it sounds hard to believe, but it's true," Shizo said. "I'm not Yujiro – I don't yank people's chains for laughs."

"Alright," I replied, not entirely skeptical because I live in a world where people breath fire and run up walls. "So, have they found out what's the deal with this alliance?"

"Nope," Shizo shrugged. "If they could choose what they saw, we'd have found out by now."

This sounds a little too close to home for comfort… "So what does that have to do with fish sizes?"

"Oh, yeah," Shizo shook his head. "It makes animals smart…and it makes them bigger."

"So, there's no real way to make giant, animalistic, fish," I asked with a frown.

"If there is, I don't know where we'd start," Shizo shrugged. "Interesting concept though."

Produce the Necessary Bombs: 45/150.

"So, can I ask you a question?" Shizo asked a question.

"Sure," I answered…yeah, all the bombs had the gravity seal and the explosive.

"Why are you helping us?"

"My village has suspended me from missions," I replied. It's not like he'd ever be in a position to tell anyone. "Missions are my life-blood, so I went looking for a part-time employer."

"They suspended you?" The muscles around Shizo's beak turned into a frown. "Reckless behavior?"

"You guys have that problem a lot?" I asked with a frown.

"It's endemic," Shizo nodded. "Hearkens back to the days when our ancestors would walk for miles for food. You too?"

"I think 'tactical retardation' sums up their thoughts the best," I replied. "I just like to charge in. They think it'll get me killed."

"It will," Shizo replied with a solemn nod. "Believe me, it will."

"Not you too," I whined.

"I'm serious Shimoda," Shizo barked. "I've seen good men die because they charged in after a target with no regard to what's around that target."

"…sorry," I replied stiffly, still working on the bomb.

"Ah, I'm sorry too," Shizo replied. "Didn't mean to get hostile. How about this? We talk tactics for a bit while you're working?"

"Do I have a choice?" I asked drolly.

"Nope!" Shizo smiled.

"Oh, fine," I said, knowing how impossible it was to dissuade someone with my tunnel vision.

"So, you see a shark swimming toward you with its mouth open. It's flanked by two of its buddies. What's the first thing you do?" Shizo replied.

"Well, I make things explode by punching them," I replied, shrugging. "So charge forward and punch it in the nose, exploding it's brain in the process."

-4 hp.

OW!

I rounded on the penguin who slapped me upside the head. "You slapped me!"

"I'm sorry, when I hear stupidity like that my flippers act on their own and slap the nearest offender," Shizo nodded with a raise eye-muscle. "That would chum the waters, driving the leader's squad-mates into a frenzy with you in the crossfire. Stupid idea. Try again."

"Hit the leader with a lightning bolt," I replied with a frown.

"There you go!" Shizo grinned. "What do you do next?"

"Hit him again since he's still alive?" I put forward.

Block the fin, lay a knife-hand across his beak, right between his eyes. "Don't do that again."

Charisma Check Failed: 4/5.

Shut up, game.

Shizo sighed, gently pushing the hand away. "You're ignoring his friends again, which will still put you in a bad situation."

"Fine, I move backward and hit one of the other sharks with a lightning bolt," I snapped, going back to bomb making.

"See, that's not so hard," Shizo smiled. "You don't even need to move backward necessarily, you could move up or down or to the side, depending on which one you're hitting."

"Fine, I guess," I frowned.

This…continued. He wouldn't let up, smacking me every. Time. That I offered a flippant answer without any thought. Usually, though, it was with his snowballs. No, my implied threat earlier did not dissuade him from treating my…lack of thought with all the force true stupidity deserved.

Quest Updated: An Engine of War.

Produce the Necessary Bombs: 150/150.

I was going to regret asking this, but… "Yujiro said you had extra?"

"Yup!" Shizo asked, having taken a break from pelting my soaked head and jacket with snowballs. "They're actually in this cave over here, if you want a crack at them."

"Sure," I said. Bonus objectives were there for a reason, as I've found out.

After what felt like an eternity of annoyance and blunt, insulting explanations…I was done.

Quest Updated: An Engine of War.

(Optional): Produce Extra. 50/50.

Speak with Yujiro.

"You dive upward, hit him with a lightning bolt then slide to one side after you land so he doesn't chomp on you for staying still for too long," I answered.

Shizo nodded and tossed away the snow ball he had been holding in his hand. "That works."

I blinked. "I…that's all you got to say?"

"Yeah," Shizo nodded. "That's a pretty good first move."

Thank goodness.

"…so, wear's Yujiro?" I asked. "I need to let him know I'm done."

"Probably…oh, I think he should be checking in on us soon," Shizo replied, looking at the sky.

We left the cave, my eyes not even bothered by the extra light by the sun…was it always daytime? Well, I guess if this is at the poles, then it'll be months before night-time.

Yujiro was waddling around the spheres, painted black with the seals I had placed on them. "So, looks like you've got a lot done. You get the extras too?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Hoho! Nice!" Yujiro was grinning so wide I thought his beak would split down the middle and he was rubbing his flippers together. "This'll help us cripple the shark's offensive. The extras can go toward some choice targets I've been wanting to see explode for a long time.

"Assuming we don't need the spares, Jester," Shizo replied with a grin of his own. "You're right. Table Scrap Cove?"

"Table Scrap Cove," Yujiro nodded.

"Table Scrap Cove?" I asked with a frown.

"It's where they dispose of penguin bones after they're finished eating," Shizo replied with a…decidedly angry look. "Specifically, so we can't get them their rites."

"Well, I wish you guys luck," I nodded, hurriedly drying myself off before I left. "Anything else you need?"

"Nope!" Yujiro waved goodbye in an overly excited manner. "See you in two weeks!"

Quest Complete: An Engine of War:

+300 EXP.

Quest Added: Hail to the Emperor.

Go to the Penguin Empire in Two weeks around 12am.

That is an absolutely pitiful amount of EXP for the Penguins.