Chapter 38

Flight was a hell of an advantage to have over everyone else. Especially when the flight was something, I needed little in the way of conscious thought to maintain at all times. Why was I saying this? It meant I could study the sals that had been placed on my person while I travelled to Suna in safety and with some measure of luxury. After all, a quick application of may will had made the sand platform reform itself to have some shade from the blazing afternoon sun. My shadow clone was delightfully still as I picked over every line of script that surrounded my body. Examining my own naked body wasn't one of the things I ever expected to have to do, and doing it from the outside looking in was also unexpected, but the awkwardness of the situation was far overcome by the sheer curiosity spurred on by the seal that Danzo had placed on me.

I was a cursed seal, of course. I'd not expected anything less, but the kind of cursed seal it was what something that I could just gape out. My body had taken it in too quickly, so it couldn't be anything that had some serious negative consequences. For him to apply something like that, he'd have had to overcome my chakra in its entirety, not an easy task, I'd imagine. Instead, it had felt like he'd worked both with it in some aspects and around it in others. Now that I could see it, it was clear. Danzo used a different script language than I was familiar with, but enough of it was based off the Uzumaki style, like all the best and strongest seals tended to be. So there were a few things I could understand.

First of all, If I was interpreting things correctly, then this cursed seal was, at least in part, based off on a medical stasis seal. It was designed to keep the subject in their base state and deny any attempts to change that. It was something else, ingenious and inspired, and just the reality check that I needed. I wasn't the only one I this world with a working brain and the ability to adapt to my opponents. I'd shown off my sand transformation willy-nilly, and people were already beginning to come up with workarounds and counters for facing me. It was a wonder how people like Minato Kamikaze and the Raikage were able to dominate the game for so long with their techniques out there and well known. It was a guarantee that people would have analysed the living hell out of their techniques to prepare for facing them. But to them, it didn't matter. I guess that was where things like experience came into play. I'd only been in the game for about half a dozen years. These guys had been doing it for decades before they gained the degree of notoriety that they had later in life. I guess that was the difference between me and them. I needed to gain the necessary experience to make it so something as simple as having myself lose access to one of my principal techniques would no longer be able to essentially cripple me. I needed variety and adaptability.

When it came to Danzo's seal, though, it turned out there was little I could do to deactivate it that would be more efficient than simply waiting for the seal to wear off. Like I initially estimated, it wasn't a perm anent seal. My chakra would have fought that off much too harshly for such a quick application. No, it was a timed seal, and if I was reading things correctly, I had only an hour or so more to wait before it would run its course completely. I just drew the seal on a scroll for my inventory for later study and dispelled my shadow clone to focus on the other thing that the fight with Danzo and his fellows had left me with. This time, a positive thing, at the very least.

**Notice: Hidden Quest Complete**

**Objective: Escape Konoha alive**

**Bonus Objectives: **

**1. Kill Danzo **

**2. Free Jiraiya from Danzo's genjutsu**

**3. Seal Mu **

**4. Kill Orochimaru**

**5. Prevent the "Daimyo" and his caravan from being attacked. **

**Rewards:**

**1. Legendary Loot Roll**

**2. Hidden**

**3. Hidden **

**4. Hidden**

**5. Hidden**

**6. Hidden**

Turns out that the game had turned the entire thing with Danzo into a retroactive quest of some sort. The fact that I failed literally all the bonus objectives was a tad annoying, but the sight of the Legendary loot roll among the rewards was enough to draw all my attention and made me forget all about the bonus objectives and their lost rewards for the time being. A legendary loot roll. The last one had given me _Dark Sister_, the sword that I used as one of my primary weapons. It had literally been the weapon that did the deed for Onoki the fence sitter, the third Tsuchikage. Needless to say, it was baller. Getting anything of that kind of class was just what the doctor ordered to improve my mood at this time when Danzo was making me nearly shit myself at the changes that I'd wrought by butterflying all over the elemental nations without a care in the world.

I commanded the game to make the roll, and it did just that. The ethereal dice flew through the air and quickly changed into a wheel that spun at speeds so high that even I struggled to read its contents. It was in that position for minutes until it slowly began to slow down. Even then, the contents of the wheel were still hidden from me. I could catch the occasional glimpse of the idea of something, but then that would only last for a second or so before it was gone and replaced with something else. I mean, I was fairly certain I saw something like the 'Dragon Smaug' there, but I had to be taking the piss. No way was the game going to gift me with a whole ass mythical creature. That would be awesome, though. Very awesome. I could just imagine summoning a whole ass giant dragon to the battlefield to run interference. Orochimaru and his snakes, and Jiraiya and his toads would be mincemeat in seconds.

When it finally stopped, the wheel disappeared and was replaced by a floating piece of text.

**Loot Roll Complete: Item- Skill Book: Wet Tinkering**

I gaped. I fucking gaped at it because the game seemed intent on messing with every expectation that I had about it. Skill books? Literally, nothing had given me the idea that the game would be able to create skill books for talents that did not even exist in this universe. Sure, scrolls that conferred elemental affinities were one thing, but whole skill books able to give me parahuman abilities from an entirely different universe were a tab bit beyond the game. It made me revisit a question I'd once had, 'Did the game have any limits?' None that I could see right now. But how was this going to work? Was the game going to give me a shard of my own? Make me the host for an inter-dimensional entity with dubious intentions? I doubted it was going to do that.

Gamer's mind, at the very minimum, guaranteed that there was n o chance of anything external being able to influence my mind or mental state. That was at least one worry that was gone. Another one that came up was wondering how the game was going to implement this particular skill set. Was I going to get a shard? Or was the game just going to port a ton of knowledge into my brain.

Well, there was only one way to know. The game had never let me down before (well apart from a few minutes ago when Gamer's body did nothing about the seal Danzo had placed on my person). I took the risk and lifted my hand to click the 'yes' button next to the prompt asking me whether I wanted to integrate the skill book or not. The second I pressed the button, the ethereal book did a nice little animation of dissolving into flower petals before shooting right at my head.

It took the better part of ten minutes for the process to complete itself, but when it did, I suddenly knew. My mind was awash with ideas. A quick glance at my stat sheet told me that a 'Wet Tinkering' skill had been created at level 50. Level 50 seemed to come with countless things I could already do. I had so many ideas of how I could improve my body as it presently was. Make myself stronger, faster, improve my reactions. I could already see half a million things I'd try with Kakashi's Sharingan before integrating it with myself to ensure maximum compatibility. I could probably even halt the blindness effect of the Mangekyou.

What I could do to myself was impressive, but what truly awed me were the depths of improvements I could make to those who weren't me. My mind turned to Shira, and I was already having thousands of ideas of how I'd essentially jerry rig his chakra system to begin to function. Fuck. The Shikotsumyaku. I could see just how I'd integrate it into his body. What did it matter that Shira was an adult? All bodies were nothing more than clay for me to play around with. That was thew power of tinkering at the end of the day. It wasn't science. Not truly. Tinkers sometimes operated within the bounds of science or the laws of physics, but when dealing with powers granted by inter-dimensional beings, those laws we held so dear became nothing more than mere guidelines. What did wet tinkering care for, things like organ rejection and compatibility? I knew that if I made changes, they'd work. They'd stick. Simply because that was how the power worked.

Another advantage of wet tinkering as a new skill was the ten points it had immediately added to my Medical Ninjutsu skill almost instantly. Just lovely. Completely lovely. Had to be the best roll I'd got from the game since ever. I banked to the left as I noticed that my sand had carried me closer to my targets in the moments of inattention brought on by the new ability. I'd go full mad scientist when I returned to Suna, but for now, I had a Daimyo to save.

I drew closer to the position of the Daimyo's caravan as I saw the bodies of dozens of Samurai strewn about. Danzo had been thorough in his attention. While he'd personally come for me, he'd sent this hit squad of immortal ninja after the Daimyo. Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Mist, Haku of the Ice Release, and several of his root ninja were working their way through the Daimyo's guards. All that remained were the three Guardian ninja he'd brought with him and about a dozen samurai that surrounded his form. He remained sitting on his throne, looking bored at the happenings. I watched as Kenpachi, one of the Ninja guards, manoeuvred into the Demon of the Mist's guard, and cleaved his hand from his body before cutting said body in half. In that same instant, the guard was almost sliced in twain by Zabuza's return attack. A tendril of sand around his waist was enough to pull him out of danger before he was sent to the Pure Lands.

All eyes turned to me instantly. "Kazekage-Same" more than a few voices intoned in relief. It was obvious that they were much out of their league in this fight. Dealing with reincarnated ninja was a different kind of ballgame from what the Daimyo's guards had to deal with on a more regular basis. "Hello everyone. I heard you needed some help."

"Took you long enough, boy. I almost lost all my patience" The Daimyo spoke, still seated on his throne.

"I apologise, my lord. I came as soon as I was aware that your company was being bothered by a certain pest problem. I was delayed in similar circumstances myself." I said, ignoring the surroundings for an instant as I focused on the Daimyo.

"I see. I will assume that with you here, then the problem must have been dealt with at your end."

"Unfortunately not. It would have presented too much of a delay, and your safety shall always be the priority, so I allowed the pests to claim another day or two of continued presence on this plane."

"Such a shame. Well, there's nothing to be done about it at this point. Deal with these insects and escort me to my palace, I grow bored of watching them struggle." The Daimyo spoke, dismissing me, and the moment he did I was forced to lean backwards on my sand platform to dodge out of the way of Haku's flying form as the young man came up, launched at my floating body.

I looked down to see Zabuza holding the executioner's blade with the posture of someone who had just swung the sword as a means of launching someone else. I guess they were adapting well to undeath. Haku spun in the air and flashed his hands for a second. My sand platform lifted itself without any input and blocked all the senbon sent flying at me. I turned my attention to the ice release user for a few seconds and flooded the skies that he dared infringe upon with multiple tendrils of sand. His best attempt to dodge was insufficient in the face of my approach. My sand grabbed him by the hand first of all, and then began to crawl upwards.

I only felt victory for a second before a swing of the Executioner's blade tore it from my grasp. Zabuza had thrown his sword up at the ice release user and the young man, credit to him, had not hesitated for a second before cleaving his own arm from his body. I knew undead beings didn't feel anything in the way of pain, but still, it was something of an achievement to so carelessly mutilate one's form. Even the assurance that it was going to heal couldn't make anyone comfortable with that. Our brains had too many natural safeguards for any but the most insane or determined to engage in acts like that.

Haku dropped to the ground and wasted no time in joining his master as they stood side by side, watching me. I commanded my platform to ferry me to the ground as it began losing altitude, and I finally alighted, placing my feet on the solid earth. "Do you know who I am?" I asked the reincarnated shinobi.

"The Kazekage. I heard rumours about a 12-year-old kage before I finally kicked it, but I guess it's good to know it's true. We in the hidden mist weren't the only ones to make the mistake of appointing one of your kind as Kage, I guess. What was that thing the old fart loved to say, 'History repeats itself because the whole world is deaf' or something like that." The Mist missing nine spoke as he performed a few test swings of his blade.

From what I could tell, whoever was responsible for this jutsu wasn't really keen on exercising fine control over their reincarnated ninja. They were probably just given objectives and then set loose. That was the only thing that could explain the way Zabuza was free to interact with me on his own terms. Fascinating. So either the user didn't have the expertise and control to control the targets from this distance, or more worrying, there were too many for them to bother to. I was already aware of three. There could be dozens or even hundreds more. Danzo being the one in charge, if not necessarily the user of the jutsu, meant there really could be no limits to what the caster had access to or the means they'd utilise to achieve their aims, whatever those were. Fuck.

I jumped in place for a second. I'd been fighting almost nonstop for the past few days, but this was the first time I was getting to do it with comparatively nothing on the line. Zabuza and Haku would never be able to beat me. There was no risk, so I could have an infinite amount of fun. And I couldn't deny that I needed the stress relief. Danzo had thrown a wrench into things and given me a lot to think about and plan around. The moment I returned to Suna, it would be working to work against Konoha and prevent them from working against us while we annexed what remained of Orochimaru's resources and took advantage of Iwa's weakness.

I spread my feet about a few inches apart and lowered my centre of gravity before smirking at my opponents. With a thought, Dark Sister appeared in my grip and I gave her a test swing before pointing her right at them as if to say, 'come at me'. Unsurprisingly, Zabuza acquiesced. Flames danced across my Valyrian steel blade in the seconds it took Zabuza to cover the distance between us. His first slash was wide and aggressive. I leaned under it with no difficulty and used the opportunity to worm my way into his guard with my blade in my left hand. She licked at his side, hungry for blood as always. He dodged out of the way and swung Kubikiribōchō at me again. Another dodge, but this time, the follow-up came quickly. Too quickly for me to close the distance. Dark sister was not a small blade by any metrics, but the Executioner's blade made her feel like a toothpick in my hand. My senses warned me of the shift in the air and I jumped backwards, performing a handstand before pushing myself further backwards onto my feet.

It was luckily that I did, as several senbon littered the ground that I'd just covered. I ran forwards, moving in a zigzag to avoid Haku's attempts as I moved to close the distance with Zabuza again. This time, I was the one to swing first. I had bro hope of reaching him, or at least that was what he thought, until the flames that surrounded my blade like an aura shot forwards and followed the arc I slashed into the air. "Getsuga tenshou" I whispered into the air as the attack cut apart the swordsman's upper body while setting most of it on fire. I was forced to jump backwards again as a waterfall slammed down on the space Zabuza and I had previously occupied, dousing the swordsman. I looked up at Haku with a smirk as the Demon of the Mist stepped out of the waterfall, fully healed and intact. I cracked my neck from side to side, a wide smile on my face.

Zabuza reached me first, with Haku on his heels. His first swing was midsection level. I lifted my legs and stepped on the blade for a second before using it to boost myself into a backflip. Haku had followers me into the air with two senbon in each hand. He'd done a good job of closing the distance, but not enough of a good job to figure out what he was going to do the moment he succeeded. In his defence, I don't think there were going to be many 12-year-olds capable of keeping up with him when it came to pure taijutsu.

We were level in the air, and he reached out with a stab that I moved my head out of the way of before grabbing onto his outstretched arm with one of my own. The other came to interfere as he tried to stab into my hand, but it was nothing for me to reach for his chest and amplify his weight by a 100. The Tsuchikage's jutsu proved its utility, as he was unable to move his body and crashed to the ground in seconds. My landing as more controlled as I practically floated down with precise control over the wind currents. Zabuza growled and jumped at me. I ducked out of the way of the sword, releasing Dark Sister out of the inventory into my hand and stabbing at him with the Valyrian steel blade. He was able to get the executioner's blade up in time to block, and the swords sang as they clashed. A beautiful rhythm if I was being honest.

I reared back and swung her again, getting blocked by Zabuza's own blade a second time. I rotated my body to the left as I struck out at him, only to get blocked. A blade like his had many advantages, but there were two chief disadvantages I could take advantage of in a kenjutsu battle like this one. His blade had good reach, but was clumsy in extremely close quarters. That was why I practically hugged his body, not letting him send me more than a certain radius away from him. The second disadvantage was that its size made it unwieldy for close combat that required multiple fast movements. That was why I was a blur, taking advantage of his own momentum as I swung my blade, hitting at him from a hundred and one angles at once.

Even with all of that, he was nowhere near being on the back foot. He took a step back before slamming on the ground with his strength, triggering a mini tremor as several rocks were tossed in the earth from the impact, He used that to gain space and began to go through seals. I almost sighed at him turning this into a ninjutsu battle. It had been fun! But I guess fun things had to come to an end sooner or later and I did have a village to run. He went through the 44 seals for the water dragon jutsu at blistering speeds, to him, and when it was time, he did impressively enough to take advantage of the fact that he essentially had unlimited chakra and created all the water from thin air. It was beautiful, but a flick of m y wrist and an application of my chakra control created a whirling rasengan that spun with millions of microscopic blades within. "You should probably get some distance" I told the Daimyo's guards, waiting for them to disengage with their root adversaries and run further away. The root fools, showing self-preservation deserving of a Darwin Award, began running right at me. I threw the rasenshurinken with a smile. And when the light show ended, I was alone in a valley of my own creation.

XXXXX

"That was one impressive ninja technique" The Daimyo said for the upteempth time as I flew us to the royal palace in the capital. Luckily, we were only a few minutes away, and I could deal with the performative fawning while we made the journey,

There was no delegation to welcome us on our arrival, but that was not unexpected. The rest of the Daimyo's family were not in the capital, so the place was filled with courtiers and the like, but little in terms of people of true importance.

"The Kazekage will escort me to my study. Leave us. We have much to discuss." The Daimyo said to the approaching samurai and orderlies once they realised just who had arrived. The walk there was done in silence and when we finally arrived at the giant double-sided red door, the Daimyo seemed to let out a sigh of relief.

We entered almost as one, with me leading the way, and after I spread my sand across every inch, careful to ensure that we were not being spied on, I broke down into laugher. I couldn't believe it had actually worked. That harebrained scheme. Across from me, my clone was similarly in fits.

"So no-no one have -s actually no noticed?" I asked, struggling to form words through the chuckles.

"Not a person. I just have to pretend to be an asshole, and not a single person has noticed that I've been pretending to be the Daimyo for close to a year now." He said, reminding me of just how this came to be.