4 Chapter 3 - Relief

Chapter 3

I woke to white light and the stinging smell of antiseptic. I woke to confusion and bleariness. Then it all came rushing back.

Sayuri!

My eyes snapped open and cleared as I regained my bearings. What happened? Was Sayuri okay?

The faint sound of snoring alerted me to the presence of someone close by and sure enough, it was Sayuri by my bedside, asleep with messy bed hair and scrunched-up clothes. Relief flooded me. Relief that I'd made it in time. Relief that she snapped out of it. Relief that at least I was able to save at least one person. One person that I cared for greatly.

God, what a traumatic experience. It reminded me of stories of Kakashi's father, Sakumo, who committed suicide after suffering such hardship that he made the conscious decision to rather die than live with the pain. I could only imagine the suffering Sayuri felt after the loss of my parents. I'll have to take care of her somehow, even if I was still a baby.

I sighed watching her sleep.

In the meantime, I might as well do a little system check.

System.

[Notification: you have sustained injuries!]

[Notification: Through obtaining a high level of willpower in a highly stressful situation Kekkei Genkai: Lust Release has created the skill: Lust Aura]

[Notification: You have used Lust Aura without having any chakra. A fragment of your soul will be used in replacement.]

[Notification: Through preventing the death of a loved one despite overwhelming odds, Lust Release has mutated to create its sister Kekkei Genkai: Love Release.]

[Notification: you have fallen into a deep torpor. Recovery rate increased by 100%]

[Notification: you have been healed by a practitioner of Mystic Palm Jutsu!]

Name: Jin Takezuchi (Level 4)

Age: 8 months old

Stats:

Toughness: 5

Agility: 3

Stamina: 2

Cunning: 7

Charisma: 5

Chakra Capacity: 0

Skills:

Ambidextrous (level 2)

Dancing (level 1)

Breathing (level 3)

Observation (level 10)

Lust Aura (Active) (level 1)

Affinities:

Earth Affinity (level 1)

Kekkei Genkai:

[Lust Release] (level 1)

[Love Release] (level 1)

Wow. That's a lot of notifications! One, in particular, looked rather worrying.

But I just got a new Kekkei Genkai! I didn't even know that was possible!

If I could whistle in an impressed manner, I would. First of all, my stats jumped by at least 1 point each from the last time I checked it and I also gained a new skill!

I don't know what it does yet but I'll take it.

The less exciting but equally as important notifications said I was injured and then healed by a medic-nin, which explains why I don't feel any pain in my nose or ankle…now that I think about it, the system doesn't have a health bar or anything like that which is kind of a bummer because I wouldn't know exactly how far I currently am from full health. Guess I'll have to do it the good old human way then: If it doesn't hurt, it's probably fine.

Now to look at my new skill!

Expand Lust Aura

[Lust Aura (Active): An ability that allows the user to exert an aura of lust. At level 1, this aura influences the attention of other beings in close proximity to the user to give the user their undivided attention for a small period of time.]

Huh. That must've been what made Sayuri snap out of that weird funk. Though, how I'd activated it without having any chakra, I have no clue. Instead, it used up a piece of my soul as fuel. That's terrifying. Seriously. I'll make sure not to use it again until I learn how chakra works in this world.

The skill might be useful in snapping other people out of genjutsu but absolutely terrible when I'm trying to lay low and be stealthy, which kind of defeats the purpose of being a ninja. But it also said it was an (active) ability rather than passive, which thankfully meant that I could probably turn it off.

Now onto the Juicy one!

Expand Love Release!

[Love release (level 1): A sister Kekkei Genkai to Lust release. Allows practitioners to perform augmentation to lovers and gain benefits from performing acts of love to loved ones. Also allows the usage of Love chakra.]

Huh. Augmentation to lovers? What does that even mean? And love chakra?! what does it do?

So many questions…but none can be answered until I was able to use chakra. I suspect that all chakra-based skills azwould be locked from progression until I was able to channel chakra.

The rustling of sheets alerted me to movement and, as I'd suspected, Sayuri was finally waking up. Like me before, she took a bit of time to get back to a proper conscious state of mind and I patiently waited for her as she blinked a few times and gave a yawn. Then she caught my eyes and froze.

I gave her a smile and raised my small arms to wave hello.

"JIN-KUN!" She exclaimed as she hugged me to her not overly large but still quite sizeable breasts. Wait. Too tight. Can't-can't breathe.

[Ding!]

[Breathing has increased to level 4]

Wow. Useful.

I tapped her rapidly to make her aware that I was about to suffocate, and when she noticed she released her hug on me instantly.

"Ah!" Sayuri said with an expression of horror, "Sorry, Jin-kun."

I gave her a smile to show her it was fine. Death by boobs was most definitely worth it.

"Sayuri!" I said with an expression of joy. It was a genuine one too because I was so glad to finally have her back after all these months. For now, though, I'm going to make sure that 'Sayuri' was the only word I know. It was strange enough as it was to have my first word be something more complicated than 'papa' or 'mama' and was instead something with three syllables and three vowels. Hopefully, she didn't question it.

Tears welled up in her eyes and she brought me into another hug, being more careful this time.

"Jin-kun!" she sobbed, "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry I almost left you alone! but don't worry! Sayuri-kaachan will never leave you alone again!"

Kaachan? What? Since when did this happen?

[Ding!]

[Due to eliciting a highly emotional connection to another being, Love Release has produced a new subbranch to the skill {observation}: Affection meter!]

[Affection meter: This allows the user to gauge the affection levels of another being. Ranges: -200%(Mortally Loathed), -150%(Extremely despised), -100%(Hated), -50%(Disliked), 0%(Neutral), 25% (Liked), 50% (Trusted), 75%(Endeared), 100%(Loved), 125%(Adored) 150%(Devoted), 175%(Obsessed), 200%(Singularly Captivated)]

Huh, that's cool! I didn't even prompt it to explain what it was this time. Was the system learning my habits?

This affection meter would prove to be useful, especially in obtaining my lust release benefits…

What was interesting though was that in the negative spectrum each milestone of the negative emotions decreases by increments of 50% each whilst the opposite positive emotions increases only by 25% each. Well, now that I think about it, it's way easier to get a person to hate you than to like you. You can make someone hate you within 5 minutes but getting a person to actually like you? It takes a whole lot longer. The extreme ends of each spectrum, though, sent a chill down my spine. Mortally hated? Singularly Captivated? Those were big words. I don't either of them. though

In a way, it is kind of nice that it tells you precisely how much someone hates or likes you. No fake friends for me I guess.

Maybe Sayuri will be my first test subject.

Observe

Observation target: Sayuri Matsumoto (level 48)

Age: 23

Occupation: Chuunin Kunoichi

Threat level: Extremely low (relationship status).

Relationship: Stepmother.

Likes: Cooking, Water jutsus, Gardening, Jin Takezuchi.

Hates: Avocados

Affinities: Water

Affection meter: 105% (Loved)

Huh. Some things have changed since three months ago. Her relationship status for one changed from an unassertive 'Stepmother?' to a confidant 'stepmother', which was fine…I guess…But my parents' names had disappeared from her Likes subbranch. Maybe it's because they were no longer alive? Does the system only register what she liked currently rather than in the past?

More things to uncover.

Then there's the additional affection meter at 105%, which is great! I do feel like going over 175% may be unhealthy. For some reason, 'obsessed' and 'singularly captivated' reminded me of a Netflix series named You and that shit was low-key terrifying. No yanderes. Absolutely not.

But also monitoring people's affection meters seemed kind of wrong. I don't want to talk to people just so that I can get their affection meters up rather than actually wanting to know the person. That would be rather selfish…

Then the flashbacks hit me. I was under the table on that night again. Helpless, terrified, angry. Then I was back watching Sayuri almost hang herself just a short while ago.

I put my small arms around her to bring myself back to the present, to remind myself that I did make it in time.

No.

I must be selfish sometimes. I was no longer Bob Hasek.

I must get stronger to protect, at the very least, the person whose arms were around me right now.

This was the cutthroat world I was in now.

I must be powerful.

By any means necessary.

~Three years later…

"Sayuri!" I called out before giving her a hug.

Sayuri laughed and hugged me back. "Jin-kun! Welcome home!"

"Here!" I said when I backed off and gave her a bouquet of flowers I'd picked. "Happy birthday!"

Sayuri seemed shocked that I remembered. Then she started going teary-eyed.

…why are girls so emotional?

"Jin-kun!" She said before squeezing me.

"Gah! My ribs!"

[Ding!]

[Sayuri Matsumoto's affection level has increased!]

~Two years later…

I had my nose in a book called: Basics of Human Biology, learning what I could about chakra coils and when they formed but so far I haven't found anything yet. What I did find though, was something rather staggering and could possibly explain why harems existed in this world. As it turns out, the birth rate ratio of males as compared to females was a whopping 3-7! That means only 30% of the entire population is male! Girls outnumber us by more than 2 to 1! How?! And why?! What happened to all the XY chromosomes?!

…That's kind of good for me…I guess…

"Jin-kun!" Sayuri's voice echoed as she pried open the front door in a rather dramatic fashion. She had an expression of pride on her face…why does she look so proud?

Normally she wears a mellow expression, like one of those Ara~Ara~ types. She likes to act motherly and kind despite the fact that I oftentimes remind her that no, she did not give birth to me, and yes, I consider her more of an aunt than my adoptive mother. Those comments always end up with her throwing something at me with extreme accuracy whilst claiming it had 'accidentally' slipped her hand. But despite that, her affection meter never goes down for some reason.

Then something caught my eye. It was subtle and ever so slightly different. The cloth of her headband changed colours. But…But that means…

"Congratulations on reaching Jonin!" I exclaimed as I ran to her.

"Y-you noticed?" She asked surprised.

I have her a hug. "Of course!" I said, my voice muffled in her ninja skirt.

I haven't used [observe] on Sayuri ever since I was a baby. It…didn't feel right to quantify someone's affections, especially someone I deeply care about. It wouldn't make our relationship…organic. Thus, I resisted the temptation to use the skill on her to check how much stronger she got, not until I figure out a way to hide that affection level subbranch for the people I care about.

[Ding]

[Sayuri Matsumoto's affection level has increased!]

Heh. It did, did it? I looked up at her and she had the brightest smile on her face when she stared back down at me. It made me feel…special. It was nice…I suppose…Heh, maybe she was motherly after all.

~Five years later…

I was practising my taijutsu forms in our backyard when a weird tingling sensation happened throughout my body. I froze amidst a punch and started sporadically itching all over my body.

"Jin-kun?" Sayuri called from the back porch.

"Everything started getting itchy Sayuri-chan!" I said, rolling on the ground.

Sayuri's eyes widened. "Your chakra coils are finally forming!" She said excitedly. She also gave a little dance to celebrate.

I cursed her enthusiasm as I writhed on the ground.

Many things were different between this world and Kishimoto's manga. For one, a child only started developing their chakra coils at around the age of 12—which means that it was a bit early for me because I'm currently almost 11—before it fully matures at 15. From the initial development stages such as the one I'm experiencing right now, only basic chakra manipulation and channelling exercises were recommended for children to use else they harm their coil development before it becomes sturdy enough for active use. Once matured, one would have the option to attend the ninja academy which served as a sort of ninja high school in this world. When I'd found out this fact through my father's books and general conversations with Sayuri, I'd been thrown for a loop. Starting at 15 would mean that Naruto would graduate at 18 years old rather than 12! Did that mess up the cannon timelines for the chuunin exams and the Akatsuki invasions? I hadn't a clue.

I suspected something was up the moment I found out my parent's ages. From Chakra Manipulation Basics, it stated that chakra users with high capacities are able to extend their life to around 300 years!

Jesus, no wonder Sayuri still looks the same as she always did despite being in her 30s…another thing that she likes to throw things at me for every time that I mentioned it.

The itchy feeling started getting better and when I finally gathered my bearings, I found that I was soaked in this weird black gunk that seemed to come out of my pores.

Gross.

"Jin-kun! Is it over?" Sayuri called as she approached me, her hand holding a hose.

I suddenly had a vague idea of what she was about to do…and it was a rather cold night tonight.

"N-No?" I said shakily.

She sprayed me.

"AHHH! COOOOOOLD"

[Ding]

[Sayuri Matsumoto's affection level has increased!]

Why did she gain affection from that?!?

~Two years later

Hmm…I happened to have 17 free stat points that I've saved up after levelling multiple times. Should I just keep it for later or invest in a stat now and hope it pays dividends?

Hmm…choices, choices.

With toughness, agility and stamina I could just level it up naturally through training and eating a proper healthy diet…and it wasn't like I didn't have time to do anything but train taijutsu all day.

So that left cunning and charisma. The cunning stat was a lot harder to train. I could do it by reading books and scrolls but cunning didn't just cover knowledge but also intuition, critical thinking, strategy and other things. There are lots of aspects to being 'smart'. None of which Bob Hasek had. Some of which I do. But…I was never really too much of a thinker either. I wasn't a Nara who were analytical and strategic, nor was I Orochimaru who was scientific to a fault.

…But then again being dumb gets you killed and there was no forgiveness for weaknesses, not in this world, especially a weakness that was self-inflicted. Weaknesses will be exploited by those who wished you death.

…But on the other hand, my Kekkei Genkai powers are based on doing 'acts of love,' and 'sexual actions.' Despite the gender imbalance, girls wouldn't just throw themselves at you if you had a penis. No. Charisma was necessary for me to do those things. It was the keystone to my unique powers…and…and a small embarrassed part of me wanted to be handsome for a change…call me shallow if you will. Besides, my cunning state was at a fine 19 points as compared to my charisma which was at 13.

I looked into my bathroom mirror to see my reflection. For a 13-year-old, I looked…fine…I guess Pretty average but better than Bob ever looked. My features were exotic, with my mother's golden-yellow eyes, and my father's red hair, but I wasn't exactly handsome per say. I guess it was because of the few pimples I had—screw puberty—and my facial structure—I blame dad for that one—maybe even my permanent scowl even though I wasn't angry at anything…I blame myself for that one I guess. I should smile more.

Alas, the last decade of my life had very few interactions with those my age. All I did was eat, sleep, train, and study. Even without my chakra manipulation, I had other stuff to work on, mainly Taijutsu and chakra coil expansion exercises. The latter was done simply by channelling as much chakra as you can until you're exhausted. Too bad that was the only chakra-based thing I could work on. There will be no glaring weaknesses on Jin Takezuchi dammit!

I was focused on my training…maybe too focused. Sayuri was scared I might have no social skills by the time I enrol in the ninja academy and more often than not made me stop training to go outside and do…social things…

Goddamit. After all of Bob's memories of doing embarrassing shit in public, I might be suffering from PTSD. The backlash and cringe from those memories made me avoid crowns like they were the plague.

I sighed. Why did my powers always have to make me be something that was…not me?

Fucking hell Jin! Be more social! In fact, why don't you be a social butterfly!? It's good for you! Learning to talk to girls will be beneficial for your powers! ←(this was the devil on my left shoulder talking)

I wish angel Jin was here to shut him out on the other side but alas, sometimes Angel Jin was off on vacation.

So…charisma it was then. It was currently at 13 right now increasing it by 17 would take it to a solid 30. Hmmm. Yeah, screw it. All in, baby!

[Would you like to increase charisma by 17 points?]

Yes.

At first, there was nothing. Then there was a tingle right in the middle of my nose. I looked in the mirror and saw that nothing changed so far. Huh…maybe it took a while for it to kick in?

And then the itch.

Holy mother of god.

It was like a swarm of fire ants just decided to take up residency and start feeding on all parts of my body.

Oh god, oh god, ohgodohgodohgod.

The sensation of it was unbearable and I was hit with instant regret. I should've done it slowly, put in the stat points one day at a time in small batches. But no, I didn't have the foresight to see that dumping 17 points into something all at once may have been a bad idea. Maybe I should've upped some of my cunning stat after all.

Because I sure feel stupid right now.

On the bright side though, at least Sayuri was out on a mission for a few days so I can be as loud as I want.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH IT ITCHES LIKE CRAAAZZYYYYY"

"Just put some powder on it!" cried the distant voice of my neighbour.

I stopped my itching for a few moments frozen in embarrassment. If one could see me right now they would have said I lit up like a tomato but I would have sworn otherwise.

Sometimes I wish the earth would just swallow me whole.

Next chapter