20 Chapter 19

Miko's statement which was more or less a request, although jokingly, didn't reduce the tension. The guards had long since dispersed the crowd of civilians watching the event take place.

"Who do you thin…"

Reid tuned out the guards for a moment. He would have liked to end this right here but he could see why his mother had stopped him. Infiltrating foreign nation and then proceeding to kill one of their people.

Although he acted in retaliation, it was still an unforgivable act to any nation or group. That would make their trip here a complete waste of time. While he hasn't been able to finish him off, he was able to test out his new skill [Substitution].

While a bit different from what he was expecting, it did its job. In simpler terms, unlike the substitution jutsu, this skill swaps the user out with a physical illusion made from the user's aura.

The downside to this skill was that it wasn't as instantaneous he would have liked. It took a bit over a full second to activate and the consumption wasn't something to laugh about.

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Ap:1055/1250

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There's also the fact that he only used [Aura Flow] and [Substitution] once and yet he lost almost 200 Ap. And that is with the passive effect of [Aura Control] reducing the Ap cost for aura related skills.

From his point of view there are two solutions to these problems. The first being to level up all three skills to reduce the aura cost further. The alternative being to increase his aura reserve to compensate for the cost.

'The most effective…would be to go for both. Reducing the cost while increasing my maximum capacity would allow more room for me to use more skills consecutively.' With his theory of chakra and aura, he planned on recreating ninjutsu so he needs all the extra aura he can get.

Something he had also discovered earlier when sparing with his mother was that certain skills grew faster when used in actual combat. Practicing katas, while a good method for leveling a skill, is inefficient when compared to an actual fight when leveling up [Combat Mastery].

Despite Adam not being much of a fight, he had some gains from it.

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[Throwing Mastery has leveled up!]

[Aura flow has leveled up!]

[Aura manipulation has leveled up!]

[Substitution has leveled up!]

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Notifications are muted during fights to avoid distractions, something I'm really thankful for. It would be very annoying to see them in combat. Out of all of these, there was only one that he really wanted to see. There it lay at the end of the list.

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[Aura has leveled up!]

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He suppressed the excitement that welled up inside. Now he was one step closer and one step away. It just needed that final push and he knew just how to get it.

His eyes flew to Adam who was still on the cold ground in pain, though he seemed to be working around getting up.

'That hit to his back was supposed to fracture if not break his spine. I keep forgetting neglecting the shielding ability of aura. Had it not been for that, he wouldn't even be able to dream of moving his legs.' He thought in annoyance.

He watched as one of the guards helped the bull faunus up and took him away.

'Most likely to own of their medical facilities. Although you survived, you have given me a very simple but effective idea. I suppose I should thank you for that…' he thought before finally focusing back on what was happening.

"You snuck into our nation, scared our civilians and attempted to kill one of our brethren! What stops us from killing you lot where you stand?" A faunus who seemed to carry a fair bit of authority among them spoke as they all aimed their spears at the group.

Miko seemed amused for the most part as she spoke.

"First off, while I admit that we snuck in and scared your people, you ignored the fact that it was your 'brethren' who attacked us first." She started as a few of the surrounding faunus let out threatening growls.

Although they claim to want equality with humans, they are very biased when it comes to their own wrongdoings.

A faunus could burn down an orphanage and they would justify it as fighting for their rights but a human who refuses to employ a faunus would be looked at as an faunus discriminator.

"Acts of terrorism committed under the veil of faunus rights…Hn! Pathetic." He muttered under his breath but they still heard him, evident by the increasing intensity of the glares he received.

"You…!"

Just before they could say anything to protest, Miko continued speaking.

"I wasn't finished." She said in a tone that made the hair on their backs stand on edge. Even Reid raised a brow at the chill in his mother's tone.

"You attacked the heir of the Uchiha clan…my son. What makes you think I won't kill you fools where you stand?" She finished as her tone turned cold at the end and dark blue aura seeped from her body. The temperature around them seemed to have taken a massive drop as a chill passed through all the guards.

The one who seemed to have authority just a moment ago looked as white as snow as he took a step back, followed by another, until he was running to the tail end of the guard formation.

Reid stared at his mother like a fish out of water. In all his life- his new life- he had never seen her like this. Powerful and Dominating. The ability to put fear into an opponent's heart without raising a finger.

Any doubts he had about how she became the clan were cleared instantly with that show of power. At the back of his mind, he hoped that they would attack so that he would see her in action. He knew she held back massively in their spars so he was hyped to see her fight.

'Though I doubt they'd be able to make her serious if just this was able to scare them that much.' He turned to Ashton who stared at his mother in shock and slight fear. His eye twitched at the sight of the boy older than him once again being scared.

'If I hadn't seen it myself, I'd wonder if our fight was simply a fluke. It's like he's scared of everything…' he wonder to himself about the older boy.

Although he thought that, he was in fact also intimidated. It's simply that he was partially able to push that to the back of his mind. Subconsciously, he knew that she wouldn't attack him so that helped of only a little bit.

"What's going on here!?" A deep mature voice called out as it made it's way from the back of the cluster of guards. They parted way to reveal a tall, muscular faunus with black hair, a thick beard and yellow eyes.

He was quite…hairy but he seemed to carry a lot of authority as the guards immediately straighten up as they hear his voice.

"Apologize Chief Ghira. We found the humans trespassing on menagerie. They tried to kill brother Taurus an-" One of the guards explained briefly but was cut off as Miko spoke up.

"You conveniently keep forgetting to add the fact that he attacked us first." She added, sounding a bit annoyed.

Sensing her annoyance, the guard quickly took a step back as the memory of her chilling tone played out in his head. Ignoring the guard's fear, Ghira spoke up.

"You dare to do such a thing? Although you say you were attacked, I need not remind you that you are on faunus territory. It would be in your best interest to leave." He demanded. The guards behind him seemed to gain a bit of confidence as Ghira spoke.

Meanwhile Reid was absolutely cursing Ghira in his head. He wanted to avoid meeting the belladonnas but it seemed fate had other plans for him.

'The irony. I wanted to avoid meeting Blake but I ended up meeting her father. What misfortune…'

"You've grown brave house cat. It seems Kali's finally been do something about that stutter." She spoke in amusement as the surrounding guards, Reid included looked at her in shock.

They had addressed him as chief which she had clearly heard but she proceeded to talk to him like that. Reid was starting to think his mother enjoyed causing problems. Even Ghira seemed shocked but the words that came out of his mouth shocked them all.

"There's only one person that could call me that and get away with is. That sadistic amusement on your face…Miko, is that really you?" Ghira said in genuine shock and realization as he seemed to recognize her.

"What the hell is going on here?" Reid couldn't help but ask out loud.