Chapter 33: God-Tier Talent – [Ninja's Nature]

(T/N: There is now a p.atreon for this work, and any new work I add will be dropped there first. check it out for an early release of up to 30 chapters edited smoothly. https://www.p.atreon.com/INeedRest)

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Early the next morning, Hana Inuzuka arrived at Colt's residence with a tiny puppy cradled in her arms.

"You lucked out - this ninken was just delivered from our clan's breeding grounds, and it has an excellent pedigree. Should make for a great partner."

Colt peered at the bundle she carried.

This was an exceptionally cute pup with soft black and white fur marked by a distinctive white blaze on its forehead.

Two wide, obsidian eyes stared unblinkingly back at him.

As if already recognizing its future master.

"Arf-arf!"

Colt startled slightly. Was that how puppies barked?

"What breed is this little one?"

Taking the pup from Hana, Colt cradled it gently while asking in curiosity.

He knew little about canine varieties - to his untrained eye, all these milk-pup types looked identical.

Hana too seemed momentarily taken aback before responding.

"The ninken lineage is quite impressive, reported to have some wolf ancestry as well."

Colt nodded, his query merely incidental curiosity.

He had no intentions of training it for combat - simple companionship would suffice so long as it remained cute and well-behaved.

After imparting some guidance on puppy-rearing and leaving ample provisions, Hana took her leave.

Back in the courtyard, Colt settled onto a simple wooden bench he used for meditation training.

The pup obediently parked itself at his feet, dark eyes blinking placidly up at its new master.

Though Colt couldn't pinpoint why, he got the distinct impression this ninken was...a tad odd.

It was nearly midday before Colt could break from his practice regimen.

"Time to give you a name, I suppose," he mused, gently petting the pup's soft head.

After some contemplation, he finally settled on the perfect moniker.

"I'll call you Ichibi."

Besides the legendary Kyuubi, there were several other fearsome bijuu in the shinobi realm, the mightiest of whom was the Juubi itself.

He hoped that one day, he too could indulge in such arrogant pettings as the Sage of Six Paths did towards those chakra beasts.

"Arf-arf!" The ninken pup barked softly, seemingly in agreement.

...

Half a month later, Colt reclined casually in a rocking chair, eyes closed in deep contemplation.

He had hit an impasse in his training progress.

This bottleneck did not stem from his attribute growth rate - the steady influx of points from Konoha Hospital allowed for consistent stat increases.

His advancement in Sage Mode techniques flowed smoothly as well, fueled by the chakra reserves visibly swelling within his coils daily.

No, his true impediment lay in mastering advanced ninjutsu.

It had been two full weeks since learning the Chidori, yet he struggled to conceptualize the derived Chidori Stream variant he envisioned.

Progress with the Rasengan also was grinded at an agonizingly slow crawl.

This stagnation sowed seeds of self-doubt in Colt's mind. Was he simply...not talented enough?

In truth, his unprecedented earlier success had simply raised his expectations unrealistically.

For others, his current pace would be considered prodigious beyond reason.

After all, it took the legendary Minato Namikaze three full years to develop the Rasengan initially (rumor had it, two and a half just to come up with the name).

Sasuke himself did not begin mastering the advanced Chidori Current until three years after learning the base technique.

To expect completion of either in a mere two weeks, through just sporadic after-class practice sessions, would be sheer insanity.

...

After pondering further, Colt opened his System attribute panel to examine his point reserves.

Points: 28,386

Having recently crossed 15,000 points, Colt intended to directly purchase the Nine-Tailed Beast's chakra seed.

However, a prompt from the System gave him pause:

[Hint: Any acquired Tailed Beast Chakra Seed will begin developing naturally after exchanging for it.

Should the Host wish to fuse other Tailed Beast Seeds, exchange all nine simultaneously to avoid chakra imbalances that could prove otherwise catastrophic.]

The gist - by purchasing the nine-tail's chakra, Colt would essentially become its Jinchūriki host.

Adding further Tailed Beast chakra seeds risked death for him by spiritual dissonance unless he acquired all nine at once.

To manifest the primordial Juubi itself, either exchange all nine seeds together during the initial purchase...

'Or I can just acquire the singular Juubi Seed directly.'

The fusion process would then birth the Tailed Beast in an immature, gestating state.

Colt reviewed the costs - Gyūki's chakra at 7000 points, the Kyūbi's seed being the priciest at 15,000, while each other Tailed Beast cost 5000 points apiece.

A grand total of 57,000 points to forge the Juubi from individual components.

After nearly six years of frugal saving, Colt only had around 30,000 points.

Estimating future earnings rates from routine Konoha missions, he would need to wait for a major conflict like Orochimaru's invasion before accruing enough.

Those chaotic battles provided bountiful harvests indeed.

"Ah, screw waiting. Might as well spend what I have," Colt resolved at last.

There was one other item in the System store that always caught his eye, though he never felt prepared to make the splurge.

[Ninja's Nature: Talent Skill - Upon acquisition, the Host's Ninjutsu potency increases by 30%, while Chakra Recovery accelerates by 30%.

Hidden Effect: Ability to develop ninja techniques and strategies to the utmost pinnacle attainable in this world.]

An incredibly potent passive skill - ignoring the Ninjutsu and Chakra boosts alone, that hidden talent effect made Colt salivate enviously.

What did "pinnacle attainable" even entail in this world?

At a minimum, it implied reaching the level of the Sage of Six Paths himself.

But such divine prowess came with a befitting price tag.

A whopping 8000 points - almost as costly as acquiring half a Tailed Beast's chakra!

Still, Colt rationalized that hoarding points pointlessly only turned one into a glorified hamster.

Better to spend judiciously and treat himself for once.

After all, dealing hefty doses of protagonist-grade thrashings to Orochimaru's forces in the future would replenish his treasury considerably every time.

Not to mention, Naruto would struggle hard in those early days before attaining Shadow Clones and the abundant Uzumaki vitality.

As the boy's closest friend, aiding his growth was practically an obligation.

"System, exchange for [Ninja's Nature.]"

As the words left his mouth, the specified item icon dimmed with a redeemed marker.

? ? ?

"Is...is that it?"

Colt blinked owlishly in sheer bafflement.

...

After a night's contemplation, Colt arrived at the training grounds bright and early the next morning, intent on testing this new Talent's effects.

And just an hour later...

...he experienced first-hand the true terror that was [Ninja's Nature].

As for why?

Well…

Chidori Current - fully conceptualized and rendered.

The Rasengan - mastered effortlessly.