Chapter Five- A Mad Dash
I blitzed toward the frontline at my highest speed, my signature jutsu 'Thunder step' working overtime to allow me to arrive beside Lady Tsunade a few seconds after leaving my squad behind.
I'd lie if I said I didn't take a modicum of pleasure that my entrance was marked by a falling lightning bolt. The slumping shoulders of Suna's army were another thing that caused my smile to rise, along with the growing scowl that began building on Russo's face.
"How was your vacation Sakumo?" The beautiful woman asked me curiously, though her eyes never left the duo on the other side that were surrounded by puppets and about a hundred other puppeteers. Well over six hundred mechanical abominations circled them, filled to the brim with projectiles and hidden blades coated in poison. That position itself was undoubtedly a new connection they cooked that somehow none of our antidotes would work on, but that was a headache for the woman standing next to me, I'm just here to bang some heads.
"Very nice Princess Tsunade. I even stumbled upon a cute little apprentice, going to put the kid through hell" I responded with a small smile as I waved to Russo and pointed to my chest. His scowl grew more pronounced at my childish jab. However, his anger paled in comparison when I noticed the female of the Chiyo siblings. I couldn't blame her though, I did murder her son after all.
"You? And an apprentice? Oh that poor child" Tsunade replied with a smile of her own as we continued our pre-battle banter.
"What is the situation though Tsunade? It's rare to have both forces attack full force at once. What's the cause?" I asked her seriously.
"I have received new orders….. I am to join my teammates in the Land of Rain by the end of the month." Her answer froze the smirk on my face, they intended to focus her, Jiriaya, and Orochimaru against Hanzo. 'What the hell is wrong with the Third Hokage, without Tsunade here our push will be halted indefinitely. Does he intend to stretch this war out? Whirlpool will probably be worse off than us without Jiraiya. This move is asinine'
"That is….. Something" I replied unintelligently as I still couldn't find the reason for such a move besides lengthening this war, we have Suna on the ropes, if they intended to move resources they should send Orochimaru here. If I had another S-rank shinobi with me, I'm sure we could be planting the Leaf's emblem on their Kage's tower in a few weeks at most.
"I agree. The goal of this battle is to remove the Chiyo siblings to cover my absence." She replied. So she won't be Tsunade the Healer in this battle, an interesting change that I'm sure those three won't expect.
"Where do you need me?" I asked as there was nothing else to say. I was a shinobi, my opinion didn't matter, results did.
"I'll need your squad with me, the puppet brigade needs to be held back to give me a chance to take the siblings out. You are the only one who can keep Russo in check, so I'll need you to keep him as far from my battle as you can." She ordered to which I could only nod, understanding the strategy, a full offensive while I played decoy.
"Sorry Sakumo, but after this battle, you'll be the commander of the Western Army. Congratulations on the promotion" She said with a sweet smile that caused me to frown.
"Yes, I accept the position with honor" I said with a large amount of sarcasm that caused her to chuckle at me. As if every soldier's mind were in sync, they all charged at once. It seemed my arrival was the straw that broke both the leader's patience.
POV change…. Tometsu Uchiha
"Alright everyone, prepare yourself for full combat!" Tora said with a snarl as he ate a weird pill and threw another to his ninja hound. It seems he takes the role of leader when Sakumo is gone. We could already hear the cries of battle after only a minute of Sakumo's departure.
Taking that to heart I added my spare points to intelligence before I realized something I had forgotten about in the chaos that was my earlier battle.
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Level 6 (2030/3000)
Name: Tometsu Uchiha
Chakra: 300/390
Title: Konoha Genin (10% boost to fire-natured jutsus)
Strength:18
Dexterity:22
Agility: 27
Endurance:21
Intelligence:39
Stat points:0
Perk Points:1
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'The hell is a perk point? I know I got a 'perk' for chakra control, but what can I do with a perk point?' I wondered as I tried to find something that could help me survive this battle. It seemed the 'scroll' understood my question as it rolled itself up and showed something new once it reopened.
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{Perk Shop}
[Dexterous Shinobi Lvl 1- Use any jutsu of C-rank or lower with only a single hand] Cost: 1PP
[Fuinjutsu User Lvl 1- Begin to understand the eccentric art of sealing, increases your learning speed of fuinjutsu by 30%] Cost: 1PP
[Chakra Beast Lvl 1- Changes the multiplier for your chakra capacity, instead of being 10x intelligence it will be 15x your intelligence stat] Cost: 1PP
[Dual Affinity- Embrace a second elemental affinity, it will unlock the element you are closest to] Cost: 3PP
(Hint: Perks with a 'level' can be upgraded further with perk points. The shop will also randomly update, do not waste your points!)
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'Well, I got what I asked for….. There are only two options for me considering I'm heading into the heart of a war. I need more Chakra, desperately. The one-handed seals sounded indefinitely useful but I couldn't prioritize that over more chakra.' With my decision quickly made I chose the perk and felt the energy in my core implode. It hurt in an odd way that wasn't physical before it went away.
{Perk Purchased!}
[Chakra Beast Lvl 1- Changes the multiplier for your chakra capacity. Instead of being 10x intelligence, it will be 15x your intelligence stat]
'A fifty percent boost to their chakra before entering war is something any ninja would kill for. I've done everything I can to prepare now, if I survive is another question' With resolve I withdrew my sword and kept running towards the sounds of explosions and death.
"No reason to be so tense kiddo, it's not like we're running into a literal tornado of death," Rei said with a smile as he noticed me mentally preparing myself. The oddest of the group was the civilian Seal user, I'd like to have more of a chance to talk to him. Hopefully, we both survive this 'death tornado'.
"That is a horrible joke, but I like it" I admitted as I smiled.
"I just received the signal from the Captain" Hizai said as his eyes were alit with chakra. 'Well, that is a smart use to relay messages over a long distance.'
"We're meant to join Lady Tsunade who is engaged with the puppet brigade, Tokestu you are to head to Sakumo. He is currently headed west and fighting against Russo and a few other shinobi." Hizai said as we all split as soon as we caught sight of the two forces engaging each other.
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[Quest Accepted]
The Fangs Apprentice
Objective: Prove yourself on the battlefield by helping your teacher defeat Russo of the Iron Sand.
Reward: Title,???,???
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'On my own huh? Screw it, I got this. I am a Uchiha!' I steeled my resolve as I borrowed some pride from my father and charged toward the west.
Without even blinking I released a barrage of shuriken as I passed a battle between a few chunin and genin. Another got in my path but my hands already flew through seals. 'Wind Style- Great Breakthrough' I released the jutsu at the chunin without halting my charge. It hit him dead on and he flew backward toward his comrades.
[Suna Genin killed +300 exp]
'I killed one, keep going' I resolved as I arrived next to the group that was battling, my leaf comrades nodded to me as they noticed my crimson eyes and headband.
In sync, the three chunin I was with flew through hand seals that I would recognize anywhere.
"Fireball jutsu!" "Fireball" "Fireball jutsu" The three Leaf chunin with me yelled as I finished my own set of seals.
"Wind Style- Great Breakthrough" I whispered from behind them as my wind jutsu propelled and strengthened all three of theirs. A moment later a large explosion went off that was followed by pained screams. I was already gone, but I sent a wave to my comrades as I kept up my mad dash
[3x Suna Chunin killed +3000 exp]
[2x Suna Genin killed +500 exp]
{Level up...+5 stat points}
Without even pausing I dumped the points into intelligence to receive some of the chakra I just used and continued forward, dodging the stray shuriken and avoiding a battle between Jonins on the way.
I saw a flash of white hair a few minutes later, being chased by a wave of iron sand. The sand would harden randomly and turn into weapons that Sakumo would dodge in a flash of lightning.
There was nothing I could do to assist in there but there were a few Suna shinobi who were standing on the sidelines like me. Though they were harassing him with projectiles, I realized what my role here was. Keep the distractions away from Sakumo so he can focus on his battle.
My job was easy for two reasons, I could tell none of these shinobi were jonins and they hadn't even noticed me yet.
I arrived behind a chunin that gave throwing projectiles at Sakumo too much attention. His head hitting the ground caused the other four ninjas to notice me. Three genin and one chunin were all that separated me from my silver-haired teacher.
[Suna Chunin killed +900 exp]
"Group up, the tree fuckers a kid!" The chunin who was the de facto leader of these guys ordered aloud.
"I don't fuck trees, damn weirdo!" I replied as I threw two entire handfuls of shuriken. With little success besides a few wounds on the genin. I charged forward with my sword drawn, heading straight for the chunin.
I arrived near him and I sent a stab toward his neck, he blocked it with a kunai and sent a kick that hit me in the side. I jerked back from the blow as I threw a kunai that landed in the Suna shinobi's knee.
I quickly jumped back as the genin pelted the area I was just in with projectiles. I began flying through hand seals mid-air, the chunin fell to knee once the kunai landed in his knee. I took advantage of that by hitting him with a 'great breakthrough' that sent him flying.
[Suna Chunin killed +1100 exp]
[Level up….5 stat points added]
I didn't have time to notice the sand chunin land twenty meters away in a pile of crumpled limbs. I was after all already being attacked by three genin that seemed intent on not letting me leave melee range.
I leaned into Sakumo's swordplay for this and began parrying their kunai. I received a multitude of blunt hits from their legs, but I managed to take one of their arms to turn the tide. I smiled at them crazily as my eyes turned crimson. I looked at them all and dropped an already-lit paper bomb on the ground near all of us. A chakra-assisted jump later and I was twenty feet in the air looking down on the melee fighters.
"Fire style-Fireball jutsu!" I yelled as the explosion from the paper bomb was punctuated by a ball of fire that swallowed the genin whole.
[3x Suna Genin killed +950 exp]
'I'm surprisingly good at this.....It must be my blood. My clan has been fighting since before history was recorded after all' I landed on the scorched sand with a tired sigh. I dropped the five points from my level up into my intelligence stat.
I was reeling after my solo victory against two chunins when I realized a slight problem. 'Why hasn't the quest been completed'
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[Quest]
The Fangs Apprentice
Objective: Prove yourself on the battlefield by helping your teacher defeat Russo of the Iron Sand.
Reward: Title,???,???
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'I took away the distractions... This damn scroll can't want me to actually participate in Sakumos battle, right?' I finished the thought in complete disbelief as I observed the battle before me, it was a beautiful sight if I was being honest. A lightning bolt against a mountain of black sand, how could I intrude on something like that?