Chapter 194 - Joint D Rank Mission

It has been a few days since Daichi's water training and stat upgrade in the forest. Since he had made significant improvements the boy decided to take a few days off to rest and relax. Other than completing the daily exercise tasks he had set for himself, Daichi didn't do anything else and just enjoyed his time.

'Its been so long since I just spent time doing nothing… Ahh…'

Daichi was in his backyard under a tree enjoying the quiet atmosphere. Even though his body was relaxing his mind was working on what to tackle next.

'Lets see my progress. I'll decide from there. Status.'

The boy's eyes immediately went to the primary stats.

[Primary Stats]

Strength - 277

Vitality - 289

Dexterity - 235

Agility - 275

Intelligence - 218

Chakra - 500

Wisdom - 214

.

'Strength, Vitality and Agility are all close to 300. There is no point in wasting time getting them to 300 by training. Using points to get to the next stage is the best move. I have 507 free points remaining. I should at least use some of it now.'

Having made a decision, Daichi added 23 points to Strength stat, 11 points to Vitality and 25 points to Agility.

'A total of 59 points to get these three stats to 300. That's a good trade off. Now till these reach the mid 400s I'll just increase them using training.'

A few seconds after the three stats reached 300 points, several system notifications started popping up. Daichi quickly felt the changes in his body. He felt his muscles tighten and felt the increased power coursing through his body.

The young gamer began looking through each of the messages.

[Strength stat has reached 300.]

[The passive skill Giant's Strength has evolved to Tank Man.]

'So the skill evolved. Tank man huh. I suppose it's a fitting name for a fighter like me. I wonder what's changed?'

The boy noticed that new effects were added to the skill.

'Augmented muscle density and bone strength. A reduction in damage taken and incoming Damage nullification of certain levels… Not bad.'

[Vitality stat has reached 300.]

[HP formula is revised]

[You have gained the new skill Life Return.]

Daichi immediately opened the details of the new skill.

[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. Once the skill is activated, the longer the contact the longer the Health and Stamina drain.]

Daichi read the skills and his eyes widened as he looked at the effects. 'I can permanently increase two of my stats by using this skill? Amazing. Even though there are some restrictions, the value of this skill far outweighs their demerits… I need to test this skill. I need to see their true potential… It looks like I'll have to prepare for the next dungeon soon.'

[Agility stat has reached 300.]

[The passive skill Swiftness has evolved to Shadow Speed.]

[Hidden limitations placed on the skill due to the insufficient strength stat points have now been removed. New effects have been added.]

Daichi read the last part and his suspicions were proven correct. 'The system said I could increase my speed to 5 times but I was never able to achieve that speed. At best I was able to increase my speed by 3 times. It seems my theory was correct. My body didn't have the strength to withstand those speeds and thus there were hidden limitations. But I wonder why the system didn't tell me about the restrictions placed… Question for another time I guess…'

Daichi looked at the new effects of the evolved skill.

[Enhanced body part velocity.]

[The ability to move body parts at extreme speeds in almost all directions allowing the user to cover a wide range of motions quickly.]

'A perfect skill to take the enemy by surprise or unleash unsuspecting fast attacks… This will definitely come in handy.'

After going through each of the blue boxes Daichi opened his status page and looked at his current condition.

[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 : 51 (52787/68125)]

.

HP : 27040

CP : 86424

SP : 24570

MP: 13000

.

[Primary Stats]

Strength - 300

Vitality - 300

Dexterity - 235

Agility - 300

Intelligence - 218

Chakra - 500

Wisdom - 214

.

[Special Stats]

Sense - 132

Stamina - 242

Indomitable - 37

Charisma - 58

Persistence - 35

Dignity - 7

Luck - 11

.

[Stat Points - 448]

[Ryo - 30484501]

Daichi looked at his stats and smiled. He leaned back against the tree and took in a deep breath of air and let it out.

'Strength invites challenges. I have no doubt that when canon starts Orochimaru, Akatsuki and others will come for me. Obito and Zetsu will take every factor into account and I will no doubt be a new variable to them. Our clash is inevitable. The story only focused on a few enemies since it was about Naruto and Sasuke. But I doubt they are the only ones in the shadows. So the question is, who else will get in my way?'

Daichi looked at the clouds and relaxed in his spot. 'It won't matter. I won't allow myself to fall.'

—-—-

Daichi stood in front of the Hokage and waited for his new mission.

"Since Kakashi is unavailable you'll be working with another Genin team. I'll explain the mission details when they get here. It shouldn't be long now." Hiruzen said as he looked through the details in the scroll.

A few seconds later there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened and Daichi saw Team Guy entering. Might Guy had a wide smile as he entered the room and he was followed by his three students.

"Good morning Lord Hokage. My youthful team is ready for our next mission." Guy greeted the Kage and then turned his attention to Daichi.

"Ahh young Daichi, you're here too. Where is Kakashi?"

At that moment the Guy's students also looked at Daichi. Lee had a wide grin as he looked at his best friend and Tenten greeted Daichi with a polite smile while Neji didn't even bother looking his way. He stood stoic and kept his attention on the Kage of the village.

"Guy, right on time. I've given Kakashi an important task and so he is unavailable at the moment. So for this mission Daichi will be joining your team and will be under your care." Hiruzen said as he looked at the Jonin.

"Yosh. It will be my pleasure to have young Daichi on our team." Guy gave a thumbs up to the Genin gamer and stood in attention.

Lee was extremely happy to be able to work with his friend. He went and stood near his friend. "Oh Daichi. Our first mission together. This will be awesome."

Daichi chuckled as he looked at his friend. "That depends on the mission Lee."

"What mission do you have for us, Lord Hokage?"

At Might Guy's question the kage gave a scroll to the green spandex wearing Jonin.

Hiruzen began explaining the mission. "Now, this might be marked as a D Rank mission but it is a very important one. There are apparently some parasitic organisms that got into the Great Southern Lake. They were most probably flushed here due to the recent unexpected rains we've been having. We suspect they are lamprey. Your mission is to eliminate them now before they have a chance to spawn and kill the fishes later."

Tenten tilted her head and thought about the situation. "Lamprey? Aren't those the fish that hook onto other fishes or something? It's going to be hard to get rid of all of them."

"Not to mention that if it's already at the point where the Lamprey are high in numbers where we're noticing the death and injuries on the population of fish then it'll be a big problem if we're not thorough." Daichi gave his thoughts as well. He then looked at the Hokage and asked a question. "If I'm not mistaken, then the Great Lake is one of the back up food supplies for the village isn't it."

Hiruzen nodded his head. "Yes it is. That's why despite the mission being a low D Rank it has such great importance. We cannot afford to have that supply be destroyed by parasites."

"What about chemicals? What are they called… Ah yes Lampricides. What about them?" Guy asked the old leader.

"What's that sensei?" Lee asked at that moment.

It was Hiruzen who answered Lee's question. "There is a chemical called Lampricide. It's a toxic chemical dangerous to Lamprey but harmless to most other aquatic species. The problem is we have no shipment here in the village at the moment. Not in the quantities we need anyway. We'd have to ship it from the capital or coastal facilities that have access to the material. That will take time which we do not have."

Daichi crossed his arms as his mind went through the different scenarios. He went through different options, but one stood out to him. But for that he needed to know the limits.

"Lord Hokage, what's the acceptable collateral damage?" Daichi had a serious face as he looked at the kage.

The others became silent at Daichi's question. Hiruzen looked at the strongest Genin in the room and sighed after a few seconds. He then answered the boy's question. "Right now, we have an estimate of the edible fishes in the lake. If it comes down to it then their population should not be reduced to less than 60% of their current number. Also no permanent damages should be done to the lake itself… You must complete the mission with these parameters in mind." The kage looked at everyone as he said those last words.

A new quest appeared in front of Daichi.

[Quest Created - Wipe out the Invasive Species]

Daichi looked at the mission details and accepted the quest.

"Yes sir.!"

"Dismissed."

The four Genin and one Jonin left the room. Guy looked at his students and the new addition to his team. "This mission will be a tricky one but not impossible. We will complete it with excellence and show everyone our BLAZING SPIRITS!"

"YES GUY SENSEI!" Lee shouted alongside his sensei.

"Now then…" Guy leaned forward with his right hand extended straight.

"Oh right." Lee extended his right hand and placed it on top of Guy's. The Jonin then looked towards Tenten.

'Oh God this is so embarrassing.' The weapons specialist after a few seconds hesitatingly put her right hand on top of Lee's.

Guy's attention then focused on the two remaining ninjas of their team.

Neji looked like he swallowed a lemon and Daichi had a twitch above his eyes. Daichi met the excited eyes of Lee and Guy and just sighed. He then glanced at Neji and just decided to go with the flow.

'Oh well, when in Rome…' The young Gamer reluctantly extended his arm and joined the others and Neji soon followed.

"Hahaha. Yes! Onward with the Power of Youth. ATTACK! ATTACK! ATTACK!" Guy shouted with a wide grin.

"YES SENSEI. ATTACK!" Lee joined his sensei with great enthusiasm.

There were other ninjas walking by who looked at the five. They chuckled when they saw Daichi, Neji and Tenten's red faces.

"Let's gooo…"

With that the team made their way to the Great Southern Lake.

—-

The five ninjas stood at the shore of the Great Lake.

"So my dear Genins, any ideas?" Guy asked his students.

"I don't know much about Lamprey but aren't they eaten just like other fishes? There's probably a lot of information available about them. Maybe we could find a book that tells us their characteristics or how to catch them?" Tenten gave her thoughts.

"But we don't know if they have started reproducing yet or what fishes they're feeding upon. Finding information on them is a good idea but we don't have a lot of time to waste." Neji said as he looked at the giant body of water.

"Tenten, you're right about the Lamprey being edible but as Neji said, we don't have time to research the matter thoroughly." Guys said to his students.

Lee looked at his new temporary teammate. "What do you think, Daichi?"

"Hmm… Let me see what we're dealing with." Daichi said as he took a few steps on top of the lake.

Neji narrowed his eyes at this. 'So he knows water walking. Not unexpected.'

Daichi created a shadow clone and then got down on one knee and placed a hand on the surface of the water. The other four people were paying close attention to his actions.

A second later several Chakra strings came to life from the palm touching the surface of the water. The chakra threads rushed down and quickly caught two fishes.

Daichi pulled back the chakra strings and looked at two captured fishes. He kept the native fish just below the surface of the water while he examined the intruder closely.

'Observe'

[Lamprey]

[HP: 5] [CP: 1]

[This is a parasitic Lamprey not native to the Land of Fire. They are an invasive species that migrate up the river to spawn. It is also sometimes referred to as the Vampire fish. They have an eel-like body without paired fins. It's mouth is a jawless round sucker-like and wider than the head with sharp teeth arranged in concentric circular rows. An adult Lamprey can reach up to 120 cm.]

"What are you thinking, young Daichi?" Guy asked the boy.

"I'm curious to see their tolerance towards heat when compared to the other fishes here." Daichi gave his reply.

"And how would you find that out?" Questioned Tenten.

At that Daichi placed the struggling Lamprey back under water and he slightly extended his chakra strings. Now both fish he caught were about half a meter under the surface of water. They were both struggling to get away but were unable to break hold from Daichi's strings.

The shadow clone Daichi also created two strings and had them form a loose coil around the two fishes. He made sure his strings didn't touch their bodies.

Daichi changed the properties of the string to fire and began to heat up the water around the two fishes. But this was a slow process. He made sure to pay attention to the changes in the fish at each degree increase.

Soon the Lamprey started to struggle harder and after a few more seconds fell limp. Daichi stopped increasing the heat and looked at the other fish that was native to the Great Lake.

It was struggling but still alive and relatively unharmed. Daichi memorized the amount of heat the water was exuding when the Lamprey died and now he had a plan. He just needs Guy's permission to execute it.

He turned towards the Jonin and spoke. "It's just as I thought. Lamprey can't survive in hot water. They have very low tolerance for high temperatures in water. I'm sure they can't even tolerate tropical waters. But the native fishes on the other hand are hardy and can tolerate temperature fluctuations and heat."

"But even if that's true, if we heat the lake then, then many native fishes will die." Lee said, trying to think of a different way.

"Yes. It's why I asked the Hokage about collateral damage. Sometimes sacrificing the few is necessary for the good of the many. I know it's not a pretty concept but…" Daichi didn't say anything anymore and just looked at his temporary instructor.

Guy sighed and spoke with a rare serious face. "It's true. Sometimes those measures are necessary. But not done lightly."

He looked at Daichi and nodded his head, giving the boy permission to move forward with his plan. But there were certain preparations that needed to be made first.

Daichi got up and looked at the Great lake. At that moment he was seeing the village in place of the water and the Uchiha clan as the Lamprey.

'Sacrificing the few to save the many. But still, people aren't fishes. It's not a decision that can be made when it comes to humans… Was there really no other way… Itachi?'

—--------------

Author's Note.

This mission will be completed in the next chapter and a new B rank mission will begin.

I know it might seem like I'm delaying canon and writing filler chapters but that is not the case. I do want to start canon as soon as possible but I also want to write some original mission arcs and not bore you guys with the variations of the same missions you've all probably read a hundred or thousand times already.

I hope you're enjoying the variety of tasks I'm coming up with for Daichi.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on the missions I'm coming up with.