6 Chapter 5
'Normal Speech'
'Thoughts'
'Bijuu/Summons/Gamer'
'Bijuu/Summons/Thoughts'
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, The Gamer, or any series for that matter. If I did the last thing I would do is write fanfiction for your amusement. I am also way too lazy to come up with new creative and funny disclaimers to post on every chapter, so I'll be copying this one and pasting it on every chapter. I've got better things to do with my time, like read fanfiction, write fanfiction, eat, do work, work out, read fanfiction...you get the idea.
(P.S. Did you guys know I like fanfiction?)
Chapter 5
I tossed the orb up and down while humming in thought. My vague memories of this world didn't have any information on something like this, so they were pretty useless. Regardless, I could always just ask my teacher about this thing, after all, she was a pretty knowledgeable person.
With that done, I went in deeper into the cave to look for my present. I moved forward carefully and constantly sent my chakra sonar skill pulsing just in case there was another threat that suddenly popped up.
I suddenly stopped still and glanced lazily in front of me as my Trap Detection skill pinged softly.
Trap Detection (Passive) Lvl 90 [48.67%]
Trap Detection allows you to better sense/detect the presence of traps. It is a sub-skill of Danger Sense due to the fact that not all Traps will necessarily be dangerous to you.
90% chance to detect traps
I half-heartedly threw a kunai at the ground ahead of me, causing a pitfall trap to appear. Spikes shot out of the pitfall before kunai rained down from above into the pitfall. No sooner did explosions detonate from within the pitfall, a heat wave spreading out from the trap.
My eye twitched, "Is she trying to kill me…"
After the fireworks were over, I blandly looked at the charred ground around the pitfall and simply walked forward. Eventually, after a few more traps, I came across an opening to the room and saw the smiling face of my teacher.
I looked around the room, searching for something, before stating plainly, "…Where is my present?"
The smile on her lips dropped a little, "You wound me. Am I not enough of a prize?"
I gave her a dull look to which she shook her head with a smile, "Fine here you go kid. I figured this would be helpful due to your large reserves."
I caught the scroll she threw my way and smiled when I looked at it.
Would you like to learn [Shadow Clone Technique]?
Y/N
Daily Quest Complete!
Training Arc Finale
Objective 1 reward: +5 Stat points
Objective 2 reward: A Cool Graduation Present
"Thank you Teacher." I said
She shrugged before smiling, "I think you could make the most out of that thing, so don't worry about it." She walked up to me and patted my head, "Unfortunately, this is going to be our last training session for a little while. You're going to go on your first mission after all and it's going to take a good amount of your time."
"I'm going to miss you." I said softly.
The woman looked at me strangely before she started fighting back laughter. "Pfft!"
"I'm glad I'm the only one who doesn't find this humorous."
Kotoe rapidly shook her head, "N-No it's something else, but don't look so down kid it doesn't suit you."
I nodded and hugged her, my 4 foot 3-inch body only making it up to my 5-foot 8-inch teacher's lower rib cage.
"A shinobi should be more in control of his/her emotions." She berated, though there was no heat to her tone.
"It's fine, I barely have any." I said looking up to her.
"I don't believe that." She started, looking at me, "I think you simply have a hard time expressing yourself. You're a lot better now than you were in the past."
I raised my brow, idly wondering how much more emotionless I could have been before I separated from her. Taking that as her cue, she began to explain, "Tomorrow we will meet with Lord Danzo to get your mission report. Tensions between the villages have already reached the breaking point and skirmishes are already happening between them. I need you to come prepared and stacked."
Seeing me nod seriously, she continued, "Alright, let's get cleaned up." She paused before she remembered something, "Ohh yeah, did you get any spoils from your battle?"
I was about to ask her anyway, so I nodded "Yeah I got a few things." I replied while taking a single fang, the large pelt, and the red orb from my inventory, making it look like I took it from storage seals.
Her eyes widened when she saw the orb and she whistled appreciatively. "Damn kid, you really have amazing luck."
"I take it you know what this is then?"
She nodded slightly, "Yep, it's very rare for one of these things to appear in a chakra beast. Basically, it's the crystallization of their chakra which occurs after a long period of, usually after decades, and its potency depends on the beast's strength."
I held up the red orb to eye level, "So how do I use this?"
She suddenly looked at me seriously, "To be honest it's kind of a good thing that you didn't just ingest it or something. Usually, elemental cores are dangerous to individuals who don't have a natural affinity for that element if they don't take the time to absorb it."
I paused at that statement. "…Is it normal for someone to put a random object, that they found in the body of an animal, in their mouth?" I asked oddly.
Her face suddenly looked strained, "You will meet shinobi in your life that will make you question the definition of normality."
Huh.
I brought back my attention to the orb and looked at her with a raised brow. "I still don't know how to use this."
"Well since you have a natural affinity for all elements…" her expression turned annoyed as she stated that. "Then absorbing this or any other elemental Chakra Beast Cores won't harm you as long as you know how to do it safely." She then pointed at the orb in my hands and continued, "All you have to do is 'wrap' your chakra around the energy in the orb and bring it back into you. It's best to wrap around a little bit at a time to get the most benefits."
I nodded and put it away since I could do that later tonight. "What do you want with these then?" I asked while holding up the fang and pointing at the giant pelt on the ground.
"I'm going to assume that you have more than one of those fangs, so in that case, it's best to just save them for venom extraction. As for the pelt-" She pursed her lips, "It is pretty good for upgrading your defense and it will sell well, so take good care of it. We, unfortunately, won't have time to make something out of it, but afterward, we should have time."
"Thank you." I said putting them away.
She shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Now let's get out of here."
We both performed shunshin and disappeared from the area.
"So you're about to go on your first mission?" A red-haired woman asked as we ate around the table. Kotoe and I weren't really strangers to this family anymore and were welcome to come here as long as either Minato or Kushina were around. Though nowadays, Kushina didn't go out on missions and stayed at home more while Minato had been taking fewer missions as of late. The reason?
I looked at her now large belly and replied simply, "Yeah and it might take a while, though I hope I don't miss the big day." I never actually thought that Kushina had been serious that day when she said she wanted a child. I wondered how much this screwed up my already foggy knowledge of this world?
She rubbed her stomach affectionately, "Yeah, wouldn't it be nice of you to meet your little sister on day one?"
I blinked at her statement before hearing Minato's voice. "How do you know it's going to be a girl?" The blonde asked beside her. On the table around, only Kakashi from his Genin team was here while Obito and Rin were most likely with their families. I knew that Obito loved to stay with his Grandmother while Rin had her own family to worry about as well.
Kushina looked at him with a smile, "Mother's intuition. I bet you that it'll be a girl."
Minato suddenly looked interested, "Ohh? And what're the stakes?
The smile on Kushina's face grew wider, "If I'm right, you will always have to take care of night duty for the baby whenever you are here."
The look of horror on Minato's face made me wonder how bad that actually was. I looked at my teacher and asked curiously, "How bad can it be? He doesn't look so good right now."
Her look was highly amused as she finished swallowing her food, "I've heard stories Yoru and if even half of them aren't exaggerations, well suffice to say that I don't plan on getting a child anytime soon."
I raised a brow while continuing to listen to their bet. Kushina was looking smug while Minato was slightly sweating still. "What? are you scared Mi-na-to."
He grit his teeth before acquiescing, "Fine, but if I win?"
Kushina put on a thoughtful expression before she leaned forward and whispered into Minato's ear. The man's eyes widened comically before he blushed heatedly and coughed. "Alright, I think that sounds fair."
"…I wonder what she promised him."
"You're better off not knowing."
I shrugged and continued eating while enjoying the atmosphere of the dining room. Eventually, we all finished our meals, so I helped clear up the table with Kushina and everyone else. I placed my hand out to stop her from continuing any further before taking the plates she was carrying. "You shouldn't push yourself too much, especially when you are this close to giving birth."
"Well aren't you so sweet Yoru? You're already so protective of your little sister." She replied stroking my head.
"…"
She smiled proudly, "Don't worry Yoru, I'm not some fragile piece of glass. Even like this, I can still devour 20 bowls of Ramen no problem!"
"….No that's not something to be proud of."
The woman smiled at me kindly before stating, "I'm happy for your concern, but I'm a proud Jonin Kunoichi of the Leaf. If clearing a few dishes while pregnant was all it took for me to be put out of commission, then it would be a disgrace to my status."
I nodded my head slowly, after all, she was right. "I apologize if I offended you."
"You don't have to be like that Yoru." Kushina said with a smile. "Now come on and finish up. You've got a long day ahead of you tomorrow don't you?"
I nodded and continued clearing up the place. On a side note, I had finally figured out how Kakashi could eat with his mask still on after I asked him once since I was facing a similar issue. I swore his expression underneath his mask was smug aster he had seen mine of disbelief when he told me. To think that the answer had been so simple…
I shook my head from those thoughts and focused on cleaning up. After helping Kushina and Minato with clean up, alongside Kakashi and Kotoe, we all relaxed and talked with each other for awhile before it was time to leave.
Minato looked at me calmly before placing a hand on my shoulder as I said my goodbyes, "I don't really know what to tell you to do for your first mission because everyone acts differently, however, make sure to always keep your guard up and never lose your nerves."
"Thank you, I'll make sure to keep that in mind Mr. Minato." I replied with a slight bow.
He waved off my mannerisms with a smile before Kushina tacked me in a hug, "And make sure you don't die before you get to see my baby girl."
"…I'll try not to."
Kushina smiled before suddenly blinking. "Ahh, before I forget!" Saying so, she looked towards Minato whose eyes suddenly widened in remembrance before he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
I'm but a moment, however, he reappeared with a scroll and handed it over to me. "Kushina and I decided to give you a little gift just in case it gets rough out there."
I blinked and looked at the scroll in speculation. "…What's in it?"
A dark smile made its way upon Kushina's lips as she replied, "Specially made explosive tags. One of those can easily take out a city block."
I raised a brow and looked at the scroll before carefully putting it away. "I see…thank you." I said with a short bow.
Kushina waved me off. "You need to stop being so serious, it really wasn't a big deal." Having said so, she smiled, "Now make sure you come back alive."
"I will." Was my reply and with that, I said my goodbyes and gave a quick wave to Kakashi who was leaving as well to which he replied with a nod of acknowledgment.
Kotoe and I left the house and eventually made it back to our home where we quickly showered. Kotoe looked at me as she dried off her damp hair, "After this, I'm going to help you absorb that core since it will be beneficial for your development."
I nodded my head in understanding before looking at her contemplatively, "What about you? Couldn't this also help you out as well?"
Kotoe shook her head while grinning, "That's thoughtful Yoru, but I'm all set. The core doesn't even match any of my elemental affinities so the amount of time it would take for me to absorb it would be way longer. That's not even mentioning the fact that I would see fewer benefits due to the mismatch of the elemental affinities."
I filed away that information as I finished drying off myself and agreed with my teacher's words. With that, I took out the orb from my 'storage seal' and made my way to the bed, my teacher beside me.
"I can lead you through the process since I'm a sensor and can tell when you are doing something wrong with your chakra. Start by sending out your chakra and try to 'wrap' it around a small amount of energy in the orb. I'll guide you through the process so don't worry."
I listened to my teacher's instructions and focused my chakra outward, visualizing a 'hand' that grabbed a chunk of the energy.
"Good, now retract your chakra back into your body, with the energy from the core intact, and assimilate it into your chakra core."
My eyes closed, I did exactly as she described and carefully brought the energy back into my core. Instantly, I could feel a surging warmth coming from my abdomen that seemed to spread outwards from that epicenter.
Kotoe placed a hand on my stomach and I could feel her chakra seep into my body before she quickly instructed, "Now quickly make your chakra flow through your coils with the new energy so that it can assimilate evenly throughout."
I did as instructed and felt the warmth spread all over my body. The hot energy of the Chakra Core fully settled down within me allowing me the opportunity to repeat the process of absorption a few more times. Eventually, I released a breath when I had drained the chakra and my teacher looked at me in approval. "Not bad, you caught on quickly." She ran her eyes over my body before placing her hands on my stomach and sensing my chakra "I can't tell you how much your physical attributes have increased by, but your chakra has improved quite a large amount."
Congratulations, your STR has increased by 23!
Congratulations, your VIT has increased by 30!
Congratulations, your ENGY has increased by 15!
Congratulations, 'Natural Fire Affinity' has increased by 10!
Congratulations, The skill 'Second Wind' has been granted by reaching 100 VIT
Second Wind (Passive) Lvl Max
When your HP reaches 0, Second Wind allows you instantly recover 10% of your max HP. Can only be used once per day.
My eyes widened severely at the notice that had appeared, but before I could think about them further, my body was suddenly wracked in pain. Pain so severe that I would have cried out if not for Gamer's Mind. I grit my teeth harshly as cold sweat fell down my forehead and I could feel the veins popping on my head.
I felt Kotoe wrap her arms around me and pulling me closer, "Unfortunately the other side effect of this is that the large influx of energy and strength your body gets can cause you immense pain. If your body isn't strong enough to handle it, it is very possible you will die, however, I've trained you enough that you should be able to handle this no problem. Just relax your body."
I took deep breaths and tried to follow her instruction relaxing into her warm body. "…I would have liked to have known this earlier." I said tiredly as I felt my eyes become heavy in fatigue.
I felt Kotoe rub my head affectionately, "I would have been there for you anyways Yoru. Just relax."
I didn't fight back and let myself succumb to the darkness.
J?'s POV
"Another day another night." I said as I worked from inside my and Yoru's soul. Unlike my other half, I didn't have to sleep, besides, there were still many issues I had to work out on this system that I had created.
There were only a few more hijinks that I had to fix before it could run autonomously, but it would take quite a while. To me, however, time was pretty much meaningless.
"Now then…" I said before getting back to work. I still had some things to manage after all. I had been working on a new skill for my other half for a long time, but calculating spatial and temporal vectors was quite the challenge and proved complicated even for me. It's a good thing that I had managed to make a breakthrough after coming to this world and now the skill was just about finished. I had thought of the best way to introduce this skill to Yoru without making it seem cheap, but the answer had dropped right on my lap.
Tomorrow's Mission.
Yoru's POV
You have slept in a bed. Your HP and MP have fully recovered.
I woke up, my body filled with energy, before looking around and noting that Kotoe had also gotten up as well.
"it's good that you're awake. You have a long day ahead of you after all and you're going to need to be prepared." She stated as she stretched her limbs though I noted that she looked slightly annoyed and frustrated. Maybe she was upset that I'd be gone for a while?
I knew she cared.
"Don't worry teacher, I'll make sure to come back alive. I still have much to learn from you after all." I said seriously as I looked at her. Her annoyance and frustration disappeared, in its place thick amusement before she burst out laughing.
I looked at her dispassionately, "I'm still glad that I'm the only one who cares that we'll be separated for an unknown period of time."
She wiped a faux tear from her eyes as she looked at me with an 'I know something you don't' look, "N-No it's something else. You'll understand soon."
I decided that ignoring the strange woman was best and started to get out of best and prepare myself. The woman behind me did the same and in a moment we were fully clothed in our shinobi clothing.
I admired myself in the mirror for a moment after I was fully clothed. My 4-foot 3-inch frame was covered with the standard ANBU equipment: Black clothing, a grey flak jacket, metal arm guards and gloves, ninja sandals with spikes for traveling into mountainous regions, and three ninja pouches on my back-waist. Now all I needed was the signature spiral tattoo on my shoulder to complete the look. My face from the nose downward was covered with a face mask and I still had the same short white hair covering my head. And those silver eyes…I think they really worked well with me.
"Since you're ready, then let's go." Kotoe said as she too donned her uniform. I noted that she was fully geared up as well and couldn't help but ask, "Are you going on a mission as well?"
"Ohh look at the time! We have to go!" Without even waiting for my reply, she placed a hand on my shoulder and forced me to travel, using her Body Flicker. In but a moment, our scenery changed and we appeared in an underground cavern…place.
Kotoe simply walked forward and motioned to follow. Eventually, we came upon a door that we waited in front of for a while before Kotoe spoke, "We are expected."
She walked in, me following behind, and in front of me, I saw the bandaged visage of Danzo looking at us unemotionally.
"Lord Danzo." Kotoe and I said shortly with a bow.
The man in question nodded then spoke, "War has already approached our front door with the borders of our nation being threatened by the advancement of Iwagakure (Village Hidden by Rocks). Your mission is to aid Kusagakure (Village Hidden in the Grass) in pushing back the invasion of Iwa."
He paused letting the information sink in, before continuing. "If the Rock Village is able to successfully hold a fort in Kusa, then they will be able to lay siege to the border of the Land of Fire and we cannot let that happen." His voice was firm as he explained.
"2 other teams have already left for the mission so you will rendezvous with them at Kusa. Now-" he started, looking at me, "-As an ANBU member, you will have a separate identity, a second skin. Starting from now, whenever you are acting as a member of the ANBU you will be known as Squirrel. TURTLE!" he yelled.
Instantly a form dropped down from above in a kneeling position, "Yes Lord Danzo." The distinctly male form had on the typical ANBU uniform with a turtle face mask covering his visage.
I looked at the individual closely
Name: 'Turtle'
Race: Human
Level: Lvl 68
HP: 50000/50000
CP: 28900/28900
STR: 550
VIT: 500
DEX: 700
INT: 495
WIS: 500
ENGY: 425
"Wait why is he 'Turtle' if his DEX is the highest..."
No one answered my thoughts.
"You will make up the third member of this team with Kotoe being the team leader."
"As you wish Lord Danzo."
The bandaged man nodded, however, my mind was elsewhere, "So that's why she looked amused…" I thought as I gazed at Kotoe's form. Even though it was barely visible, because I was standing right next to her, I could see her body slightly shaking as if trying to repress laughter. The entire thing about me missing her now kind of seemed like a joke, however, I inwardly rolled my eyes at her immaturity.
Danzo looked at Kotoe for a good while before speaking, "Since you have returned to ANBU from inactive duty, you will further be reinstated with your previous name, is that understood, Dove?"
"Yes Lord Danzo." Kotoe, now Dove, stated politely.
Danzo nodded his head before taking out a scroll and holding it outwards. Kotoe moved forward and took it with a bow. "This contains your mission parameters and for you two-" Danzo stated, looking at both Kotoe and me, "They also contain your second face. Wear them as proud shinobi of the Leaf."
Main Quest Alert!
Secure The Borders!
The Third Great Shinobi War has already started. Your mission, should you choose to accept it (you really don't have a choice) is to push back Iwagakure as much as possible so that they can't encroach on the Land of Fire's border.
Reward: 500000 EXP, Skill Book
Failure: Death
"Yes, Lord Danzo" We chorused with a bow.
The man in question nodded his head before looking at me and stating, "There is one other thing I must do in order to maintain the integrity of Root. Yoru."
I bowed slightly and stepped forward before opening my mouth and sticking out my tongue. With a nod of approval, Danzo took out a stamp and placed it on my tongue. I could sense the chakra flowing from Danzo's body and into the stamp before I felt it travel from the stamp to my tongue. The chakra from the stamp molded itself before settling down, after which Danzo removed it.
"The secrets of our organization and the village must never be compromised, so I have placed the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal on you should the worse come to pass and you are at the subject of your enemy. That is all. Dismissed."
"Yes, Lord Danzo" We chorused with a bow for the last time before the elder man went back to his desk work. We took that as the cue to leave and exited the room before Turtle turned to us. "I hope that we can work well together as fellow shinobi of the leaf. We are now partners."
"Likewise." Kotoe said simply and I followed.
The man nodded before looking at me and I could feel the atmosphere become serious, "I don't doubt Lord Danzo's decision to have you on this mission, however, I would like to ask; This is your first mission correct?"
"That's right." I said simply.
I couldn't tell with his mask on, but his tone became even more severe, "Where we are going, we will face enemy shinobi, people that you will be forced to fight and, when necessary, kill. Do you understand?"
I had understood that the moment I decided to become a ninja during the third shinobi war. The moment I agreed to Danzo's proposal almost 2 years ago, I had already lost whatever innocence I might have had. It would be naive to think that I could come out of being a shinobi without a pile of corpses and rivers of blood behind me.
So I completely understood.
My eyes made contact with the dark holes that allowed Turtle to see through his mask and emotionlessly replied, "….I understand."
The man looked me back for a while, my teacher by my side, before he shook his head, "You understand, but you aren't ready."
Before I could even reply, my teacher spoke up, "I believe that I have sufficiently prepared him well enough for any eventualities that may occur." She said sternly.
The man looked at her before shaking his head again, "It may be because you have been inactive for awhile Dove, however, you should remember that a ninja's first kill is nothing that they can prepare for."
His tone was somber as he continued, "Some change after their first skill, pretty much all for the worst. Some drown themselves in odd activities to keep their minds separated from their unfortunate reality; Some go into depression; some even enjoy their first kill and continue with the act for fun; few, such as yourself, find meaningful and helpful hobbies that bring them a sense of peace, however, the one thing they all have in common-" he turned his gaze back to me, "-is that they freeze up the first time they are confronted with the choice to take a life. No amount of training can prepare you for that situation; you can only experience it personally and grow through it."
Kotoe looked at him sharply, however, the man was quick to placate her, "I'm not saying that you haven't trained him well enough or that he doesn't have the skills to do what is necessary, I'm only questioning his resolve. I don't enjoy the fact that we have to use children in war, however, this is the world we live in and at the bare minimum I wish to make sure that my comrades, regardless of their age, are prepared."
She seemed to relax slightly before she replied, "I appreciate your concern Turtle and I will make sure that my charge is ready."
"Of course captain, I didn't mean to doubt you." He said simply.
Kotoe nodded, "Then relax for now. We'll leave at around a half hour, while there is still plenty of daylight so that we can cover a lot of ground. You know where to meet up." She finished, giving him a knowing look.
The man nodded, "Of course captain, I'll see you then." He replied with a short bow and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
Kotoe sighed, "alright, let's make sure we have everything we need and-" she continued, opening the scroll and placing her hand on the center of a storage seal circle. In a puff of smoke, two masks appeared: one that had the appearance of a dove and the other a squirrel. "-this one is for you." She stated, handing me the squirrel mask.
I put it on but noted that Kotoe looked somewhat down. "Are you still thinking about the words Turtle spoke?"
She sighed before nodding, "He's right you know? Some people never come out of it the same and you'll be forced to do what you have to."
I looked at the woman, "But you've turned out alright haven't you?"
I bought I saw her flinch for a second, before she smiled somewhat ruefully, "Trust me, kid, I've got my own fair share of issues I have to work with."
I didn't push further and we lapsed into a momentary silence before my teacher picked herself up, "We have a mission to complete, and I unfortunately never had you experience taking something's life, but-" she paused, looking at me with a smile, "I'll be there for you when the time comes."
I looked at her with an impassive gaze, though inwardly I was glad. "…Thank you."
She waved me off, "Enough of this sappy crap-"
"….but you're the one who started it."
I was ignored.
"-we have a mission to complete so double check your supplies and we'll meet Turtle at the rendezvous position."
I nodded in agreement. Before looking and my palms. "Can I take a life with these I wonder…" 90% of me, the part dominated by cold logic thanks to Gamer's Mind, didn't think much about taking a life. It was simply par of course in this world, and it was something I couldn't escape from. Life was meant to end one way or another regardless and I could always make it painless. I didn't have to like killing, I just had to be willing to do it, if not for anything other than to keep myself alive.
Then there was the 10% of my being that was controlled by emotions which told me that killing was wrong and immoral and that every life was precious. Who was I to decide who lived and who died? Why should I follow the conventions of this world simply because they were expected of me? I could be better and maybe I could even change this world for the better with my power.
"Yeah right..." I thought about my 'emotions'. Unfortunately, I was selfish and wanted to live long. I wouldn't be able to do that if I followed my 'emotions' what I needed was logic dictating my actions in this world. Changing the world? No change came without blood and sacrifice anyway, so regardless I would eventually have to take a life. Humans were unique creatures; each individual with their own thoughts. If I even cared enough to change this world, then there would be people who would oppose me and saying a few nice words would not be enough at that point.
I hated the naive notion that you could change the world, especially one so ravaged by war, if you were nice to everyone around you and stopped killing. It was hilariously childish thinking; true change was fought for over the corpses of others, there was no way around that.
"Plus, I don't really have the drive to try to change this world…" I thought blandly. There were only a few people I bothered to care about in this world and as long as they were fine and alive, then this place could burn for all I cared. I could blame my dampened emotions on my current thought process, but this was how I truly felt. I was a foreigner here from what my extremely foggy memories told me, and I just wasn't too attached to this place. Konoha was beautiful and great, don't get me wrong, but-
"Snap out of it kid." A voice said, shattering my thought process. I noted that Kotoe was gazing at me intently, "I really hope you aren't like that during the mission you know? That's a good way to get yourself killed."
" …I'll be fine, just thinking of some stuff."
The woman looked at me before stating seriously, "I trust that you will be. Now let's get this mission underway."
Turtle, Dove, and I hopped from branch to branch, each jump bringing us closer to our destination. Apparently, since ROOT ANBU were even more secretive than regular ones, we had some kind of secret exit that we used to go on our missions. It was there that we met up with Turtle and made our way out of the village towards our destination.
"I've already explained the mission parameters, however, I need to make sure we are on the same page." Dove started, her foot launching from a tree branch. "We are to rendezvous with the other teams already at Kusa and help them slow down the advance of Iwa long enough for Konoha's main force to arrive. We will use any and all means necessary to achieve victory, is that clear?"
"Yes Captain!" Turtle and I chorused, following behind our team leader.
She nodded at our answer, "Good. It will take us around a day to get to Kusa if we travel quickly enough including the 6-hour break we will take at around midnight. We'll continue at daybreak but before then keep your eyes peeled along the way and don't get distracted."
Turtle and I nodded in agreement while continuing to follow the woman. My gaze held the same impassiveness that it always did as I noted the thin beams of light peeking through the densely covered forest ceiling. Kusagakure was located around 900 Miles (1448 Kilometers) Northwest of Konoha and acted like a buffer between Fire country and Rock country. The main reason it was being targeted was that it was the only direction that Rock country could attack us from efficiently. They would have to take long detours and pass through several of Fire Country's natural defenses if they wanted to attack us from other angles, but they would still come into contact with other nations who wouldn't take kindly to trespassing shinobi.
If Iwa tried to force their way through the other buffer nations, then Konoha could use that to their advantage and create more allies by extending aid and in that way Iwa would become at a disadvantage. As long as we were powerful enough in driving them from Kusa, then the first phase of this war would be in our favor.
I was catapulted from my thoughts when I saw my teacher raise her right hand in a fist, "We'll stop here for now, since it's already late, and set up camp. We've made plenty of progress so we should be able to make it to our destination soon after we finish resting."
Turtle and I showed our agreement and started setting up camp. "Storage seals sure are convenient…" I thought as I 'poofed' a small tent into existence. As long as you had a great fuinjutsu Master make them, these things would be able to store gigantic amounts of materials.
Luckily, Minato and Kushina got the bill.
"I'll take first watch." Turtle began, looking at Dove, "You've been pushing yourself the entire way, no doubt utilizing your chakra sensing capabilities to their fullest. You should rest."
Dove seemed to want to protest, however, I decided to step in, "…No, I'll take first watch."
I could almost hear their heads whip towards me, before Turtle asked speculatively, "Are you sure? This should be your first time traveling such long distances continuously. I was actually surprised you were able to keep up so far, but you need to rest Squirrel. Don't push yourself too far."
His reasoning was sound and worries well-founded, however, I shook my head and replied calmly, "It's fine. I'm an insomniac."
"What?" Dove asked with a harsh whisper.
"…I should have explained that better." I stated simply before shaking my head. "Insomniac isn't really the correct term actually, I can sleep just fine if I want to, however, my body doesn't require sleep to function properly. I believe it is another part of my Bloodline limit."
At this, even Turtle seemed intrigued, "Not needing sleep but being able to get it whenever you want? You have no idea how many shinobi would be happy with something like that and it's only part of your bloodline?" He looked at Dove, "Am I missing something here? I thought we had already told each other of our capabilities and specialties?"
"I thought so as well." Dove replied before looking at me, "When were you planning on telling me this?" Kotoe asked.
I felt slightly bad when I sensed the underlying unhappiness in her tone, so I quickly replied, "…It's not that I didn't want to tell you, but I thought that it just wasn't important enough for you to know."
Kotoe took off her mask, looking at me with a sigh, "To you, it might not have been important, but if your body really didn't need sleep in order to function, then I could have trained you more and gotten you sufficiently prepared."
By this time, seeing the atmosphere between Kotoe and me, Turtle had decided to retreat to his tent area and focus on setting up.
I looked at my teacher, but shook my head, "My body may not need sleep, but yours does. I didn't want to push you into doing more than you already had been doing."
"That's sweet of you kiddo." She started, "but there is no harm in asking if you are really worried about my well being. I can assure you that I won't die from a little less sleep." She gave me a smile before placing a hand on my shoulder, "I know that we all have our own secrets, but I wish that you wouldn't keep something like this from me in the future. I hope that there can be fewer secrets between us in the future. Anything else?"
I looked at the woman in the eyes, debating whether or not I should tell her about anything else I could do, but I trusted her enough, "there is another thing…"
Kotoe looked at me with narrowed eyes before flipping through a few hand seals. I could feel her release a pulse of chakra before she looked at me, "A small genjutsu so that no one can hear us and all they'll see if us two talking to each other. Just in case."
I nodded in appreciation before taking out a scroll. I saw one of Kotoe's brow raise when she saw my take out the Shadow Clone Jutsu scroll.
Would you like to learn [Shadow Clone Jutsu]?
Y/N
I took pleasure in seeing her eyes widen in surprise when I clicked Y and the scroll transformed into motes of light before flowing into my forehead.
Congratulations, you have learned [Shadow Clone Jutsu]
Shadow Clone Jutsu (Active) Lvl 1 [00.00%]
The Shadow Clone Jutsu allows you to create a physical copy of yourself with Chakra. Your chakra is divided evenly between each clone you create, however it should be noted that creating too many can be dangerous to you. Each level of this skill will increase the total number of clones you can summon.
Maximum # of clones: 1
"What…?" Kotoe asked, mouth gaping.
"I can 'absorb' the information from technique books/scrolls allowing me to learn any technique as long as it is well written and explained. The only issue is that the scroll/book disappear after I do so and I only gain elementary proficiency in the technique that I learn."
True to being a capable shinobi, Kotoe eventually schooled her features before looking up at the night sky and rubbing her temples, "…I don't even know what to say, but I know that you are causing me a headache." She suddenly stopped before whipping her head towards me, "Wait! Is this how you learned those other techniques so quickly?"
"…Maybe."
She grit her teeth, "I had thought that you were just a stupidly amazing genius, but now I know that y-you're just a cheat!"
"Jealousy is unbecoming of you sensei."
The woman in question took a deep breath before looking me straight in the eyes and asking me carefully, "…I get the feeling that I will regret asking, but is there anything else that you want to tell me?"
I looked at her for a while and she quickly continued, "Y-You know what? It's best if you simply don't, after all as shinobi we have to keep our sec-"
"I do have another thing I don't mind showing you. Just give me a second." I said, cutting her off and scanning the surroundings. To be honest I wasn't afraid of her telling Danzo or even the Hokage about some of my more unique abilities since in this world pretty much all strange things could be written off as some weird Kekkei Genkai. Hashirama had the ability to make all 9 Bijuu his bitch using plants and no one questioned that shit.
As a matter of fact, people barely even questioned the existence of Bijuu, simply seeing them as masses of sentient chakra or malevolent energy, yet barely even wondering how they were created. They just took 100+ feet tall behemoths in stride, my abilities could only be classified as moderately strange in comparison. Let's not even get started about how the Uchiha could manifest a gigantic humanoid energy construct from their eyes.
That shit made no sense.
And neither did my abilities.
However, if there was anything I wasn't willing to do, it would be giving her, or anyone, knowledge about what my ability truly was. That was a secret I would take with me to the grave.
I was broken from my musings when I heard a light sound of movement coming from the grass to the right of me. I reacted almost instantaneously; drawing a kunai from my pouch and launching it at the creature.
I was rewarded with the sound of metal sinking in flesh and the death cries of the innocent animal I had just killed. I walked up to it, Kotoe gazing at me intently, before I picked it up and brought it back.
Rabbit
HP: 0/100
Would you like to loot the enemy and allow only the necessary drops to remain?
Y/N
I looked my teacher in the eye and clicked yes. I enjoyed the look on her face as the rabbit disappeared into motes of light which traveled to the ground, leaving me with prime slabs of meat and a perfectly skinned hide.
"My ability also allows me to collect the essential resources from dead creatures. I am under the assumption that the useless parts, that my ability doesn't collect, go into the ground and become fertilizer or something; judging by the fact that the lights disappear underground."
Not hearing a reply, I looked at my teacher worriedly, "umm Teacher?"
"…do you understand how indispensable this ability of yours is? How do these skills even relate to your kekkei Genkai? I had thought that your bloodline had to do with your physical body's ability to rapidly adapt to any and all stimuli placed on it, but how does this coincide with that at all?"
"…Teacher."
"I mean sure, if we force it, we can assume that your body is allowing you to adapt quickly by allowing you to absorb information through books or scroll. And maybe it is adapting to its surroundings by removing the need to manually procure and skin animals, but they just don't make sense?!"
"…Teacher."
"Kekkei Genkai manifest in a single ability. The First has the Wood Release, the Uchiha have the Sharingan, and the Uzumaki have their longevity and chakra chains, but them having two abilities as part of their bloodline actually makes sense."
"…Master."
"I mean they have such large amounts of chakra and it is so dense that them manifesting chains made out of the stuff is actually logical. I mean have you ever felt Kushina's chakra? I have to fight the urge to run from her everytime I get close, she just has too much."
"….Mom."
That got her attention.
She narrowed her eyes at me and flicked my head.
-10
"...Ow."
She shook her head and composed her emotions professionally before looking at me, "There's a lot I want to talk to you about, but I already feel like this night has been long enough. I'll let you keep watch, but I want you to take a break eventually and allow Turtle to watch after you. You may not need sleep to function, but I don't want to take any chances. Are we clear?"
I nodded my head seriously before she continued, "Make sure to use your chakra sensing abilities as often as you can. You said that your range is around 650 meters correct?"
I nodded my head to which she explained, "It's a short distance for a seasoned shinobi and can be covered in seconds, however, that should be enough time for you to alert us. If you catch any suspicious movement, do not hesitate to warn us."
"I understand. I would not take a risk with our lives."
"Good." She started before getting up, "I'll let Turtle know of our plan. For now, keep your eyes peeled…and save that rabbit meat for tomorrow."
I smiled at the last point before Kotoe made a hand seal, pulsing her chakra and removing the genjutsu, before she walked away. I sighed before plopping on the ground and taking a meditative position before my mind went through a lot of information.
Almost 2 years.
My first mission.
I would most likely have to take a life.
My brows crinkled and I shook my head from those thoughts before I focused on something more productive. I brought my attention to my station to see how much it had improved and to note what I would need to work on.
'Status'
Name: Yorudan
Race: Human?
Level: Lvl 40 Next Level: 1,250/82,100
HP: 18195/18195 Regen: (318.41 per min)
CP: 37537/37537 Regen: (732.00 per min)
CC: 95%
STR: 172.9
VIT: 195.7
DEX: 136.8
INT: 200.1
WIS: 190.9
ENGY: 384
Points: 292
Ryo: 1000
"It's grown a lot…" I thought as I gazed at the hovering screen. The bonuses I had received from the core had been added to my base attributes further increasing them with my skill bonuses. I had asked Kotoe earlier about these increases, but of course getting easy stats was impossible.
She had explained to me that chakra cores were very rare and that even if you killed a beast that was a century old, it was not guaranteed that you would even get one. Furthermore, these things were obviously highly sought after and stupidly expensive, so people usually kept these things to themselves whenever they were found. I would be lucky to find another one in the next decade or so, apparently.
I sighed and shook my head "Nothing worth getting is ever easy…" I then focused my attention on my chakra control and narrowed my eyes. Obviously, after training with Kotoe for a while, I had learned and practiced the Water Walking technique alongside perfecting the Tree Climbing and Leaf Concentration exercises.
Water Walking (Active/Passive) Lvl 25 MAX
Water walking is a more advanced chakra control exercise and by expelling chakra from your feet to repel the watery surface, you are able to stand firmly upon it.
Increases CC by 25%
Uses: 35 CP per min
Tree Climbing (Active/Passive) Lvl 25 MAX
Tree Climbing uses your chakra to stick to surfaces you can now move more freely and better use your chakra.
Increases CC by 25%
Uses: 25 CP per min
Leaf Concentration Practice (Active/Passive) Lvl 25 MAX
The Leaf Concentration Technique is an introductory chakra control exercise taught to all academy students. This training method is done by placing a leaf over your forehead and directing your chakra onto the leaf, using it as a focal point. Every level, a new leaf can be added. This technique helps hone your concentration.
Increases CC by 25%
Uses: 15 CP per min
Combined, I had gained a 75% increase in my chakra control and adding that to my base CC of 20%, I now had 95% CC. I had asked Kotoe if there were any ways to further increase my control, but she had only looked at me strangely and replied.
"To be honest Yoru, your control is by far the most perfect I have ever felt. The way your chakra fluidly obeys your command as it flows through you and the speed at which you can cast your jutsu….I had the pleasure of watching Lady Tsunade as she worked once and your chakra control is just as great, if not better, than her own. It's perfect."
"However the problem is that it isn't." I said to myself as I recalled that memory. They couldn't see a numerical value of their chakra as I could and I was pretty sure that my other half wasn't just messing with me, so that had to mean that my control wasn't truly perfect. The issue was that I could train no further in the other techniques which left me wondering how else I could improve my CC to perfection.
What would happen once I did?
I had a theory that to pretty much all shinobi, individuals who had a CC of 90% or greater would be classified as having 'perfect control' and this was only due to the fact that no one here could actually quantify how perfect their control was.
But I could.
However, that left the question, "How can I actually perfect my control to 100%?"
My brows knitted in thought. "My CC is at 95%...where is the other 5% going to come from?"
I activated my meditation skill as I crossed my legs. I made sure to set my Chakra Sonar skill so that it would automatically pulse every 0.5 seconds before focusing on myself. "5%..."
"Why is there only 5% left?"
"Where does it come from?"
"How do I train now?"
My brain calculated numerous possibilities and drew from the knowledge that I had on chakra theory. When I had gained Eidetic Memory from getting 50 in INT, I had been able to recall all the information that I had studied that I hadn't been able to before. That included the information I gained from the books Kotoe had me study and the more advanced ones she had gotten me after.
"5%...5…..5….5….why 5? What can I do with the chakra that would give me 5% more control to perfection? Wait, what are the other aspects of chakra? Physical and Spiritual energy….created from cells….but what is an aspect of chakra that could give me 5%."
I felt my brain turn, but I calmed down and rationalized, using my Hyperfocus skill to its maximum capability.
Hyperfocus (Active) Level 2 [64.57%]
can use it per day.
USAGE: (2 per day)
DURATION (65.48 minutes)
A fact I found was that Hyperfocus didn't apply to just skills as well, but also my thoughts. I could Hyperfocus on a singular thought in my mind and to the point where it consumed my other thought processes.
"5….5 aspects of chakra….Wait….Wait! 5 elements! Chakra is divided into 5 main elements. What if….What if I need to perfect my control over the main aspects of my chakra in order to gain absolute perfect control!"
For figuring out how you can further improve your Chakra Control past normal standards, you have gained +10 INT and +10 WIS.
My eyes shot open and I breathed out a sigh. This had been bugging me for a long time, but considering I had always been either training or sleeping, or just focusing on other things, I had never had the time to sit down and think about it like now since there was rarely a time where I could just be by myself and relax. Besides, it hadn't been on my mind until recently.
I stood up and decided to keep my focus, though I was slightly distracted as I contemplated my discovery. Mastering control over all the elements wouldn't be hard, however, it would be insanely time consuming, but hopefully, the gains would be well worth it. I truly wondered what having full 100% control over my chakra entailed, after all, chakra was just another form of energy so maybe I would be able to shoot techniques around easier.
"But the time..." it had taken me a year to increase my Natural Lightning Affinity to 25% and my Natural Water Affinity was only at 20%. If I wanted to train in even more affinities, it would take me years before I could perfect them to a full 100%.
Thankfully the answer to my problem was in my hands.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu." I thought, and with a single hand seal, a copy of me appeared. We looked at each other, both of our gazes impassive.
"so you're my clone…"
"I guess so…"
"..."
"..."
"How does it feel to understand that your existence is just a construct of energy that can be controlled and ended by the will of some other being?"
My clone paused, before replying. "...to be honest, Because of that, I fear neither death nor pain because any small amount of it would probably kill me anyway. I have to say that not having to worry about things such as life, death, hunger, thirst...it's all kind of freeing. I don't have to worry about anything that isn't related to the reason I was brought to being."
"Hmm, interesting."
We continued to look at each other before I asked, "And what if I simply had no objective in creating you? What if I just asked you to live your life however you wanted."
The copy of me shrugged, "I suppose I would do whatever you would do until I got bored and dispelled myself."
I sighed, "That's actually quite…enviable."
Since he was me, I could tell that he was smiling under his mask. I put it on the back on my mind to work on that eye smile that Kakashi hadn't shown yet. Somehow could remember that future Kakashi had an eye smile, yet I couldn't remember anything important. I couldn't even remember the circumstances surrounding Naruto's birth…wait would he even still be born?
Ohh well.
I looked back at my clone and said simply, "I'm going to practice this technique so I'll have to dispel you. There's a lot about this technique that I want to test out in the future like-"
"-if you can get EXP from clones and if so now much."
I smirked, "I like talking to myself."
"….That's sad."
"No one asked you."
"No, but I am you."
"..."
"..."
"...Just dispel already."
I swear he looked smug before he burst into smoke and disappeared.
I was definitely too smart for my own good.
Before I get PM's from people I need to make this clear. There is actually a difference between the [Shadow Clone Jutsu] and the [Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu]. The first one is a Jounin Level technique that any shinobi with large enough reserves can learn which splits your chakra into only a few clones, but with proficiency, the amount you can produce will increase. The second one is actually a Forbidden Technique which forcefully spits your chakra into hundreds up to thousands of copies. This is the one that Naruto learned in the series and is the one found is in the forbidden scroll.
Also, no Yoru will never tell anyone about his Gamer abilities. I'll never understand stories that go down that route, but I believe that is the epitome of stupidity. Seriously, who in their right mind would actually tell other people about such a broken ability? Don't even get my started on how ridiculous a party system is. That crap is so irritating.
