Chapter 207 - Tier 02, Life Return & Kakashi's Promise

Daichi's Home

With a huge smile Daichi got up from his spot and went to the nearby pond. He looked at his reflection and saw a small green triangle in the middle of his forehead.

'Huh. I thought it would be in a diamond shape. Perhaps it's different for me because of my gamer system.'

[Skill Strength of the Hundred Seal has upgraded to Tier 01]

[Tier 01 - 25000000 Chakra Points.]

[Tier 01 Seal is in the form of a small green triangle. Cannot add chakra to this seal beyond the marked amount.]

[Since Tier 01 is complete, system has now stopped allocating chakra to the seal. This skill is now inactive.]

'So I need to reactivate again if I want to get this skill to the next level. And it looks like another seal will be formed at Tier 02.'

[Chakra Points Needed to reach Tier 02 - 0/50000000.]

'I need 50 million chakra points to get to Tier 02. But that won't be a problem with the way I'm going to redirect my chakra.'

'Status'

[Name : Daichi Hekima] (The Gamer)

[Class : Genin - ID 012559.]

[Age : 12]

[Title : Capable Child, Explorer, Prodigy, Beast Slayer, Dungeon Warrior, Executioner, Assassin, Mighty Healer, Slug Sannin's Apprentice, Master of the Elements, A Genius of the Continent.]

[Level : 54 (1024/79050)]

.

HP : 27070

CP : 86448

SP : 24645

MP: 13095

.

[Primary Stats]

Strength - 300

Vitality - 300

Dexterity - 235

Agility - 300

Intelligence - 220

Chakra - 500

Wisdom - 215

.

[Special Stats]

Sense - 135

Stamina - 245

Indomitable - 40

Charisma - 63

Persistence - 38

Dignity - 13

Luck - 14

.

[Stat Points - 463]

[Ryo - 30573690]

'86448. That's perfect for this.'

Daichi opened the Hundred Seal skill and thought about activating the skill to begin the next Tier.

[This skill is currently inactive. Once this skill is activated, the system will automatically direct the allocated amount of chakra to the specific location of your body.]

A red system message box popped up next.

[How much percentage of your chakra do you want to redirect to the skill?]

'Lets see, does the system have restrictions in place or can I give it any amount I want?'

Daichi thought about how much chakra he wanted to give the seal and came up with an answer.

'300%'

[Unable to allocate 300% of the user's chakra. Allocating chakra points cannot exceed 150% of the total Chakra points.]

Daichi sighed as he saw the system message. 'Of course there's a restriction. If I did allocate 300% CP points, then that's roughly 180 CP per minute. And if I somehow run out of chakra because of such a large amount that could cause some serious problems.'

The young Gamer thought about it and decided to allocate the maximum amount the system allowed.

'150%'

[86448 * 150%/100 = 129672 —- Estimated at most 385.5 days needed until completion and creation of Tier 02 seal. (Not an accurate time frame due to various factors.)]

'So almost a year huh. But that's not going to be a problem. I completed Tier 01 in about a year and a half when it said I needed around 3 years to complete. So by my estimate I'll be able to finish this in about 6 or 7 months.'

[Would you like to proceed?]

'Yes.'

[Concentrate chakra to the spot on your body where you want to store your energy.]

Daichi concentrated on the spot just below the tier 01 seal. He imagined the 02 seal in the shape of an inverted triangle just below the first seal. 'This way it'll look like a diamond shape when the second Tier is completed.'

[Location confirmed.]

[Strength of the Hundred Seal skill activated.]

[150% of your CP will now be directed every day to your forehead due to the skill.]

[Excess chakra your body produces can now be reallocated to the skill if you wish.]

[Note: Once the second Tier is completed, the user can use Chakra in both tier individually or simultaneously.]

'That's good to know. It seems with each tier, the chakra needed gets bigger and bigger. I can use the smaller tiers if necessary and only use the higher ones if I have no choice.'

Daichi looked at his CP and saw a 90 point reduction each minute. 'I'll have to spend some time meditating everyday to make sure there won't be any problems.'

—-

Academy Dungeon

The Genin spent his days completing D Rank missions under Kakashi and fighting in the Academy dungeon. He honed his Water Affinity to levels that only very few could match.

At the moment Daichi was battling several dungeon enemies along with his clones. There were eight enemies and the real Daichi trapped all of them with the new Shadow Imitation Jutsu.

'You're all going to be my guinea pigs now. Time to see the power of Life Return and find out its limitations.'

[Life Return - Active(LV. MAX): An active skill given to the player when Vitality has 300. This skill allows the user to absorb the Stamina and Health of their target and improve one's own Vitality.]

[Effect:]

[Increase in HP and SP depends on the health and stamina absorbed from the target.]

[Can permanently increase Stamina and Vitality stats with Life Return.]

[Note: Skill has a cool down time of 2 Hours. The user must be in physical contact with the target to activate the skill. Ten seconds are required for skill activation.]

He thought back to the skill description and the experiment he had done two hours ago.

'Once I use the skill, it will be on cooldown for two hours. And the shadow clones I create during the cool down time won't be able to use the jutsu. And when I used the skill earlier, I only got 1 stat in vitality from the enemy. But he was weakened during the battle. Perhaps that's why I didn't get any increase in stamina stat.'

Daichi looked at the clones and nodded. All the enemy ninjas captured weren't wounded or exhausted. The Genin wanted to know if there is a difference in using Life Return on enemies that aren't wounded and exhausted and those that are. The dungeon ninjas captured were all of similar levels.

'If my clones can also absorb the Stamina and Vitality stat and return them to me when dispelled, then this would be one hell of a broken skill.'

The shadow clones came near the trapped, struggling enemies and placed their hands on the enemy's head. The system recognized it's user's intent and a 10 second countdown began. All the shadow clones in contact with the enemy were able to activate the skill and after 10 seconds started absorbing the Health and Stamina of the trapped ninjas.

[100 Exp.]

[15 Exp.]

[135 Exp.]

[20.2 Exp.]

[120 Exp.]

[18 Exp.]

.

.

.

The clones absorbed all the health till the last ninja turned to smoke. And then each one dispelled itself and Daichi had his answer.

'So my clones can absorb Health points(HP) and Stamina points(SP) but they can't help in increasing my Stat points. It seems only I can do that.'

Daichi looked at the skill and it wasn't in cooldown. 'So even if the shadow clones use it, It won't affect me. That's good. Still, even if it's only health and stamina, the clones absorbing them and giving it to me would help me fight far longer. But this kind of strategy would only work on a large group of weaker enemies.'

[Enemies defeated: [654/1125]

[Level : 54 (53867/79050)]

Having spent 16 hours in the dungeon, Daichi decided to end it for the day. He exited the dungeon and left the Academy grounds without looking suspicious.

—-

Training Ground 3

The next morning when Daichi reached the training ground at his usual time he saw Kakashi waiting for him.

'What the hell? He's here before me?'

Daichi rubbed his eyes and looked again to make sure he wasn't seeing images. Kakashi's figure, leaning on the wooden stumps, still didn't change. The Genin used 'Chakra Sense' and 'Observe' just to make sure it was not someone else in disguise.

"Good morning Daichi!." There was a jovial happy tone in Kakashi's voice that sent a shiver down Daichi's spine.

"Um... Sensei… You're early… It's only 7. What's up with that?" The Genin kept a close eye on his teacher in case he was up to something.

"Oh It's just that there was nothing I had to do on my way here. No old lady to help or cat to get around. And I didn't even get lost… Huh. So this is what it's like to get here early huh."

Daichi looked at the man with a deadpan gaze. 'Oh wow.'

"So, why don't we get a new mission? We could complete the mission early and you could have the whole day to train without anyone disturbing you." The silver haired Jonin had an innocent smile as he looked at his student.

"Mm hum…" Daichi just nodded and didn't say anything else. They made their way to the Hokage tower and Daichi kept his vigilance the whole way. Once inside, Kakashi asked for a simple D Rank mission and they got one.

It was a simple mission to rearrange scrolls in the public Library after their renovation. At the Library Daichi was surprised to see that Kakashi had decided to help him out. The Jonin even created a few clones and asked his student to do the same to complete the task faster.

'What is he up to?' The young Genin looked at the man out of the corner of his eyes every few seconds but he didn't see the Jonin doing anything suspicious.

'Of all the countless dangerous situations I've been in, I can't believe this is the one that's freaking me out.'

With the help of their clones they completed their mission in just an hour. They took the mission slip and soon they were at the Hokage tower getting paid. By the time they were done it was barely 8am.

"Tell me Daichi, what will you be doing today?" Kakashi suddenly questioned his student.

"Um… Well… Ur… Training I guess. I'm going to be at the training ground till evening. I want to improve my control over the water chakra nature some more before I move forward."

Kakashi nodded and spoke. "Alright. I won't be joining you today. So you'll be alone in the training ground. This way you can concentrate on your Nature control training."

Daichi tilted his head at that. "What will you be doing?"

"There is something of great importance that I have to get to. It's an emergency and it can't wait any longer." The Jonin didn't say anything more and Daichi didn't ask, seeing the serious air around him. The next second the Jonin vanished in a pile of leaves leaving Daichi to his thoughts.

'I wonder what got him so worked up? Is it some kind of secret mission? He's early today. It must be something extremely serious…'

Daichi made his way to the training ground and slowly improved the strength of his water ninjutsu. Daichi's goal was to create rivers and lakes worth of water without exhausting himself.

'In terms of control and proficiency, I might be slightly better than Kisame Hoshigaki. But when it comes to raw power in Water jutsu he's much stronger than me. I need to go beyond him. I wonder what kind of control techniques the Mist village uses to train their shinobi… Hmm… Kensei might have that info. Or at least one of his books in the library would. But I'm pretty sure I've already looked through everything there regarding Water Chakra nature.'

Daichi trained till noon and he decided to head home and continue. As the Genin walked through the streets he saw a familiar figure standing at the front of a somewhat long line.

'Is that… Kakashi?'

"Hey sensei. What are you up to?" Suppressing his chakra, Daichi walked up to the man and surprised him.

The silver haired man was slightly startled and looked at the Genin near him. "Oh, Daichi? I thought you were training."

"I was. I decided to head home. What about you?"

"I'm waiting…"

"For what?" The Genin raised an eyebrow and looked at the man. He then looked around and saw a poster near the small closed store.

Daichi read the poster and he didn't know whether to laugh or let out a tired groan.

Make-Out Violence to be released on October 07th at 2pm. First 10 copies will be signed by the author Jiraiya.

'Wait a minute. October 07th? That's today..'

Daichi turned towards his Jonin teacher with a stoic face. "This!? This is your big emergency?"

"Yes. The last book was so good that I promised myself that I would be the first to have the next one. It's why I came early." The Jonin said without any shame.

The Genin let out a deep breath of air and relaxed. "And the universe suddenly makes sense again."

"Well, since you're here, I might as well tell you that I won't be available for a few days. I'll be busy with important work."

"Mm hmm" Daichi's face didn't show any emotion as he looked at the man. He stared silently for a few seconds before letting out a sigh. "Okay then, good luck with your reading."

With those words Daichi headed home to train and Kakashi eagerly waited for the next volume release of the infamous Make-Out series.

—-

Several Shuriken flew from Sasuke's fingers with speed and precise aim. But unfortunately his opponent was too agile to be hit by them. He vanished and the young Uchiha immediately jumped away from his position. Sasuke saw his enemy standing where he previously stood. He landed on a thick branch and looked at his sparring opponent.

"That trick won't work on me Daichi. You're gonna need to do better."

The young Genin standing on the ground just smiled at the Uchiha.

"I did do better." That voice came from behind the Uchiha and before he could escape from his spot a blow struck his back and sent him flying. The Uchiha gritted his teeth, tried to ignore the pain and regained control of his body. He landed on the trunk of a tree and slid down to the ground.

Sasuke looked at the Daichi on the ground and the one standing on the tree. It only took a couple seconds to figure out what was going on.

'That wasn't a clone. That was Genjutsu.'

The Uchiha brought his hands into a Ram seal and momentarily stopped his chakra flow.

'Genjutsu Release.'

At that moment both Daichi vanished and Sasuke once again tried to sense his enemy.

'Where is he? Behind? Above? Below?'

But even as he kept up his vigilance, a blow still struck his chest and sent him skidding backwards.

'Damn it. I didn't even see that. Where did that come from?'

Sasuke looked all around but couldn't find a trace of his opponent. Another punch hit his gut taking the breath out of him. Sasuke coughed for a few seconds before jumping away from the location. He landed several meters away and looked at the situation.

'Does he have some kind of invisibility jutsu?... No wait.'

Bringing his hands together one more time. 'Genjutsu Release.'

The next moment Sasuke saw Daichi standing on the tree at the same spot before he punched him.

"A double layered Genjutsu huh. I'm guessing you put the second one when you punched me."

Daichi nodded his head. "Don't believe everything you see. What you saw as the truth could always be a lie. Sasuke, I want you to take this next piece of advice and etch it in your heart. It's going to help you throughout your life."

With a serious gaze the Uchiha nodded and Daichi spoke. "Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear. Especially from someone you don't even know."

"What are you getting at Daichi? I know you wouldn't say something like that without a reason." The young Uchiha narrowed his eyes and looked at the only person he considered a friend.

Daichi looked at the academy student and mentally debated whether or not to say anything more. "You are the last Uchiha of the Leaf village. People inside and outside these walls would try to use you for their advantage. Think for yourself and do not fall into their traps."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and then gave a small nod. 'Why did he say something like that now? Does he know something?'

"Why don't we end our sparring session here. There's something I gotta do today." Daichi jumped down and walked up to the other ninja.

"But it's only dawn. And it's the memorial day of the Nine tails attack. What do you have to do? Don't tell me there's a mission?"

Daichi shook his head at that. "No. I have to arrange a birthday party."

The Uchiha was surprised at that statement. "What?" He couldn't see Daichi as someone who would waste time on something so trivial.

"Yeah. It's Naruto's birthday. We're throwing him a surprise party."

Sasuke was surprised and just nodded in silence. As he turned to leave, Daichi spoke, stopping him.

"Hey, would you like to come to his birthday party?"

"You can't be serious Daichi. I don't have time to waste on such nonsense."

"Come on. It's just one evening. This will do you good."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and resolutely shook his head. "I got better things to do."

Daichi narrowed his eyes and before Sasuke could leave he gave a meaningful warning. "I know you want to become strong enough to avenge your family. But on that journey, don't forget about those around you. It would be meaningless if in the end, you wind up alone. And if that happened Itachi would have won."

Sasuke got furious and gritted his teeth. He rushed at Daichi, throwing a punch aimed at his face.

Daichi blocked the punch and grabbed the extended hand. He blocked the other arm trying to attack him and twisted it. Holding the boy in a submission hold.

Sasuke struggled against Daichi's strong grip. "What would you know of meaningless?! You never lost anyone. You haven't experienced my pain!" He shouted at the Genin.

"You're angry. Take a deep breath." Daichi said in a calm tone, not letting the boy go.

Sasuke struggled some more, not listening to him.

"Calm down. Take a deep breath. You need to control your emotions."

The Uchiha stopped struggling and took a few deep breaths of air. Once he was calm Daichi slowly let him go. Sasuke turned around and Daichi could see the anger on the boy's face.

'I can sense his chakra. Becoming slightly more potent. More powerful. It really is true. The more hatred he feels the more powerful he becomes.' Daichi was keeping a close eye on Sasuke's chakra and noticed the small changes.

With a calm voice Daichi spoke. "You're right. I haven't lost anyone close to me. I don't know what it's like to feel that deep pain. And I hope I never will."

The anger on the Uchiha's face slightly dimmed hearing that.

"But there is someone who can relate to you. Someone who knows the pain of being alone. Someone who goes to an empty home everyday after school."

Sasuke immediately knew who Daichi was talking about.

Daichi continued. "Don't think you're alone in this world. And don't think you're the only one who's experienced crappy situations. But that's life. It happens. Now you can ignore everyone around you and go at it by yourself or you can form bonds with others who can understand you and move through life with people who will stand by you. Your choice."

Daichi turned around and started walking away. "The party will be at 7 tonight. You can come if you want."

Daichi left the forest leaving Sasuke to his thoughts.

---------------

Author's Note.

Yeah, I know this is somewhat of a filler chapter, but in my defense, I've had the 'Kakashi waiting in line for the Icha Icha book scene' in mind for a long time.

And originally, I wrote the Sasuke scene as part of the next chapter but then I thought, if I just post a 2k filler chapter, that would be kind of a dick move on my part. So I moved it here.

Anyway, I'll see you guys later.