Chapter 80

"Have I said how grateful I am that you guys waited for me here?" Eiji said, grinning widely as he scratched Shirakumo between her eyes. As if to prove how worried she had been, the small white spider wasn't even complaining about the treatment she was receiving. Granted, most of the time it would have been a mere token protest, but she wasn't even giving much that right now.

"It's the least we could do, Eiji," Kumohoshi declared from where she laid some distance away. "You've upheld your end of the deal. Kidomaru and Orochimaru have been dealt with. A stain in the honor of the Spider Clan has been erased thanks to you."

"It was my pleasure, Chief," Eiji replied with a grin. "Honestly, we would have been doomed without your Clan. I think we can call it even." There was a moment of silence then, and he wondered if he'd surprised the gigantic spider or something of the sort.

"The Elders will be pleased that was your response," Kumohoshi said then, sounding proud. "I think, however, that we've been here for long enough. It's good to see you awake, Eiji, but it's time for us to go back."

"Do we have to, mum?!" Shirakumo whined, completely breaking the noble character she liked to act as. "Can't I stay for a bit longer?"

"Let her stay, she can watch me train for a bit and then I'll send her back. Does that sound good, Chief?" Eiji asked, moving the smaller spider down to the ground. He'd have settled her on his shoulder, but, with what was soon to follow, it wouldn't be safe for her to be so close to.

"Ok then," Kumohoshi accepted eventually, prompting a small cheer from her daughter, who tried to salvage her image a little a second later. She failed, of course, but nobody was going to point that out to her. "Once more, it's good to see you well, Eiji. Take care of yourself and don't hesitate to call if you need us," With that, the gigantic spider disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"So, are you ready, brat?" Anko asked Eiji when he stood up and stood in the middle of the clearing.

"I am," He replied with a nod, as his face remained the picture of focus. There was a lot he had to prepare, a lot he had to train, and he had so little time for it. He wasn't completely healed, but that wouldn't stop him from training. Once he was fully healed, he'd have to leave which really didn't help the situation.

"Then, good luck," His teacher told him. Anko looked remarkably subdued, probably because there was little she could do to help him. He'd left her behind for real this time, which left him feeling bitter.

How would his life have been if he'd led a more normal life? If he never befriended Naruto and left the plot develop as it should have? Would he have managed to get her as his teacher? Would he have been happier without having to worry about the butterflies he created?

That didn't matter in the end. It was what it was and he'd just have to make the best of it. No use dwelling on could have beens or should have beens.

"She's ready, Eiji," Hachi informed him and he nodded.

"First things first," Eiji said, crouching slightly. "Project Wolf Spider."

"Let's go, Tsuchigumo," He called, and received a wave of excitement from the Chakra Beast. That was quickly followed by a more literal wave of Chakra that flooded his body. Dark blue chakra, almost midnight blue, started pouring out of his body as a cloak spread over him.

"Cloak, working and safe," He noted to himself. "Let's up it a bit, yeah, girl?" He called mentally and he could hear the bark in his mind. More chakra flooded him, power filling him with a sense of invincibility. That was not all though, far from it. Behind him, he felt a familiar sensation.

A spider leg attached to his back, just like he had when using the Cursed Mark transformation.

"One Leg Mode… Or would it be Three Legs Mode?" Eiji mumbled to himself. "How do you feel about some more, eh, Tsuchi?" He asked, he himself could feel the strain of the Beast Chakra on his body. This time, the Beast seemed to take that as a challenge.

More and more energy flooded him, the blue cloak darkened even more, becoming more dense by the second. Three more legs joined the first one on his back, and he wondered if he looked anything like he had when using the Cursed Seal. He felt the strain of it grow though. It wasn't quite as bad as he'd been before the sealing, but it was on its way there, he could feel it.

[Skill Updated: Tailed Beast Chakra Resistance to Beast Chakra Resistance]

[Beast Chakra Resistance has gone up a level.]

[New Skill Acquired: Chakra Beast Mode]

Eiji blinked at the screens, before focusing on what he was doing. The exhaustion he was feeling wasn't only his. Tsuchigumo was feeling it too. Evidently, the newborn Chakra Beast either wasn't as powerful as the others or just hadn't developed enough. He could feel that fact stinging her pride, but he was quick to reassure her.

Especially after doing a quick check on his Status Screen.

[Beast Chakra Points: 40000/40000]

"This is absolutely amazing, Tsuchi," Eiji told her with a wide grin. He felt her relax, which was a relief. Last thing he needed was a Chakra Beast feeling inadequate and doing something reckless.

In front of his face, the numbers started going down as Tsuchigumo withdrew her support.

"How does she look?" He asked the Orochimaru Shards.

"Like she pushed herself a little too much, but otherwise fine," Kage replied and Eiji sighed.

"Ok, that works. One through Three legs should be fine. Four legs is a last resort," Eiji noted with a nod.

"You looked fine though," Anko pointed out curiously.

"You looked even more like a spider than you did before!" Shirakumo exclaimed, sounding positively excited and proud. Eiji had to smile at how the small spider was bouncing adorably on her little legs.

"I know right?" He replied with a grin. 'Wonder why the legs were of a spider when Tsuchigumo has canine ones.' "It strained Tsuchigumo though," He informed both of them, which made his teacher tilt her head before she shrugged. He guessed it must have looked weird to her, that he was worried about Tsuchigumo. The people from this world had a really messed up look on Chakra Beasts. He supposed they had reason for that too, however. He tried not to hold that against them.

"Thanks for that, Tsuchi," Eiji said, almost forgetting. He received a pleased bark in response and a small smile spread over his face. Then he sighed, cracking his neck as he tried to get whatever little Chakra poisoning he got from that little test. It was a stupid thing to do, considering that he was still recovering, but he needed to test that in a safe enviroment, and he didn't know when he'd get another chance after fully recovering.

[Chakra Beast Mode - Lvl 1

The user accesses the energy of the Chakra Beast sealed inside them. The user can be influenced by the Chakra Beast. Effects increase or decrease with the amount of Chakra supplied by the Chakra Beast. The user may suffer Beast Chakra poisoning.]

'Huh, it's weird that the skill doesn't have any numbers anywhere,' He noted before nodding. It wasn't anything that he hadn't expected though. The skill did what he thought it would do, even if he'd expected numbers or something to appear with it. Maybe it was too variable for the Game to even bother trying to put numbers to it, he supposed.

"Ok then, second," He muttered as he got into position once more. "Project Twice," Eiji added with a half-smile.

Then, his hands came together in a hand seal that he'd thought about using for the longest time. His index and middle finger of each hand crossed into a plus sign as he felt his chakra pooling outside his body on his side. A second later, with a soft puff, a cloud of smoke appeared around him.

Sure enough, there stood a copy of himself.

[New Skill Acquired: Shadow Clone Technique]

Checking his Chakra Points he saw that he'd perfectly halved them.

'Ok, I can probably work with four of these if I don-' He paused mid thought when he summoned the skill's screen.

[Shadow Clone Technique - Lvl 1

B-rank technique with which the user can create solid clones of themselves that dispel when damaged. Any knowledge the clone acquires is added to the user's upon normal dispelling.

Maximum number of clones - 1

Hand Seals - 1

Consumption - Half of the currently available Chakra Points.]

'Hm… Number limit, huh? Maybe that's for the backlash of the knowledge thing?' Eiji analyzed, thoughtful. 'Also, it says normal dispelling. Does that mean that the knowledge sharing only works when they aren't broken by damage? That would be… annoying, but fair, I suppose. Another AU element, it seems. It still works for what I want, at least. No sparring with the clones though.'

"You alright, brat?" Anko asked, clearly worried from his prolonged silence.

"Yeah, just wondering how to best use this," Then he turned to his clone, who was also looking at him confused. 'What's up with that?' "You alright, buddy?"

"Yeah, I'm just not feeling it, you know. Think you can do the training while I relax? You know, it would be quite efficient, right?" The clone asked with a smirk, drawing a snort from his sensei.

"I like this one," Shirakumo decided, looking at the clone. "Can I keep him?"

"You would," Eiji said, shaking his head as he chuckled.

"Did you put all the common sense in that clone, Eiji?" Anko exclaimed with a half-smile and a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe," He replied with a shrug while his mind raced. The clone had said 'I'm not feeling it', which was the code he'd come up with for if they didn't have access to the System. It had been a possibility and he'd decided to have a plan in that case. Now he knew for sure. It was… concerning. Did that mean that the clone's training wouldn't apply to his Skills? That would be… Not so bad, since he'd still have that training done to accelerate the Skill regardless, but it would be a little less convenient, he supposed. "No luck with that though."

"Awww," The clone whined, still with a smile on his face.

"You know what to do, buddy. Take Shirakumo with you, yeah? That way she can tell me if you dispel yourself accidentally," Eiji told his lookalike who nodded with a sigh and walked away pulling out a scroll from his pocket. On his way, the clone picked up the small spider, who seemed excited about possibly seeing him do something stupid.

All part of one of Danzo's gifts from after their little chat.

The man had really come through for Eiji. Not only had he provided him with the Shadow Clone Technique, but he'd also given him scrolls for both Lightning and Fire Manipulation. That's what the clone would be working on off to the side. Eiji really hoped the guy wouldn't get hurt while doing that and dispel. That would be a shame.

Meanwhile, he had one last thing to work on.

"Third, Project Immortal," He said then, taking a deep breath in as he prepared himself. "Are you alright to help me out, girl?" He asked the Beast inside him. He received an immediate positive response to that, but he hesitated for a moment. "Guys?"

"Should be fine, Eiji," Hachi replied.

"From what we saw, One Leg shouldn't even affect her much, if at all," Kage added, to which the boy nodded.

Feeling the chakra coming back to him, Eiji prepared himself. This was a big moment. Just like when he'd first used Sacred Flock. Just like when he'd first used Wit's End. This could be an ace in his sleeve. The power of the first was great, but it still left him vulnerable. The Void was a great tool, but it was something Eiji was reticent to use freely against just anyone. He wouldn't hesitate to use it on Akatsuki, but he didn't have anyone worthy of that hell to practice with.

Thus, he was still developing other techniques.

His hands flew through hand seals and his chakra twisted and turned exactly as it should with Tsuchigumo's ready to help when he started running out. Soon enough, he was done and he couldn't help but laugh. The Chakra Beast Mode made him stronger, faster, and improved even his reflexes. That together with this new technique though, would make him nigh unstoppable if Tsuchigumo could get better at maintaining higher levels.

He couldn't even feel the pain of the Beast Chakra poisoning anymore.

He was on the top of the world.

[New Skill Acquired: World Ender]

He chuckled at that. It was a bit of an over the top name for a technique, but if it ended up being what he envisioned it would be, then it was appropriate.

[World Ender - Lvl 1

S-rank technique with which the user can regenerate themselves while also increasing their Physical Stats.

Physical Stat Increase - 10%

Hand Seals – 19

Consumption - 98 Chakra Points per second.

+Creator Bonus:

Increases efficacy by 50%.]

'10% isn't much, but I'm pretty sure it'll get even better with levels. That Bonus definitely helps,' Eiji thought while looking at the screen. 'Without seals and a Consumption rate of 60 per second, it could even be a viable option even without Tsuchigumo. Although, my fights would have to be short…'

He trailed off, hearing the Beast's growl inside him.

"Ok ok, don't worry, Tsuchi," He told her. "I know how reliable you are now. Just don't push yourself too much, yeah? I don't want anything bad to happen to you, ok?"

He received another growl, but this one sounded more like a childish grumble, which made him chuckle.

"Well, I'll leave this on. Just let me know if it's too much, ok, girl?" He asked, nodding as Tsuchigumo gave an affirmative reply. 'Would the regenerative effect make me develop faster with physical training? If so, I'll have to see about adding more seals to my clothes.'

Pulling out a Kunai, he made a cut on the back of his forearm.

"Eiji?" Anko asked worriedly, which made sense, he supposed. After all, he hadn't told her what this one technique did. An oversight of his. Still, he had to laugh when he saw the wound close almost instantly. 'Not too flashy, but World Ender really fits the name, I think. Once this is leveled, it'll be a force to be reckoned with.'

"Everything is fine, Sensei," Eiji reassured. "More than fine."

[}-o-{]

"Don't say a word, B," A begged more than demanded once Eiji entered the room where the Kumo leader and the two Jinchuriki were being held. It looked much more comfortable than other cells he'd seen before. "Eiji Satou, the man of the hour, as it were."

"Child, more like, aren't I?" He replied with a slight smile. Maybe he was being a little too casual, but these people had apparently refused to leave Konoha until they could meet him to thank him. He thought he could take some liberties.

"Like you are really a normal child," A scoffed and Eiji was almost nervous as that was said. 'A little too close there, A,' The boy thought to himself. "Anyway," The man waved off before taking a deep breath in as he squared his shoulders. Anyone would have thought he was preparing himself for a tough battle or something of the sort. "I wanted to thank you, Eiji Satou, for stopping my people and myself from commiting a grave mistake… More than we'd already done, at the very least."

"To be completely honest, A-sama," Eiji replied after a moment, trying his best to channel his polite self that all Clan Heads and even the Hokage had tried to beat out of him. "I wasn't even trying to do that. I just went against your brother with all I had and… there was a lucky accident, I guess."

"Regardless, you are the reason that a Fourth Shinobi War hasn't started already," A said, and Eiji had to stop himself from wincing at those words. "I may not be Raikage once we move back to our village, but I'll use all my power to ensure that you are repaid for what you've done."

In the privacy of his mind, Eiji thought to himself that what the man was saying could be taken as a threat.

"Well, if your village agrees with you, A-sama," The boy started slowly as an idea formed in his mind and a smile spread over his face. "Then I may have a way for you to do something to assuage the ire other villages have for your people now."

"Oh?" The man raised an eyebrow. "Do tell…"

"Well, you see…"

"You are a terrifying person, you know that, right?" Kage whispered in Eiji's mind as he explained his idea to A.

[}-o-{]

'One last visit for the day,' Eiji told himself as he walked through halls once more. And once more, they were dark and closed. 'I really have to stop visiting prisoners.'

"Iwa won't like this, Eiji," Hiruzen said, accompanying the boy as he walked down the hall. "You have to know that."

"Tough luck. They were the ones that asked for me and they have to know that Konoha isn't in a position to lend me support. If they thought I would just go by myself then they are just dumb," The boy replied, maybe a little too bluntly. He couldn't be bothered to show any respect though. He was getting increasingly more annoyed with the situation he'd been set in.

If people didn't like his choices, then they should have chosen someone else.

"Do try not to antagonize them more than necessary, at least," The Hokage advised with a sigh.

"That's entirely up to them. Again, they are the ones that asked for me. If they start throwing insults my way for no reason, I'm getting the fuck out of there. Peace would be nice, but we can't just bend over backwards for them," Eiji replied. "If you are not ordering me to, that is," He added quickly. He thought he was pretty spot on though. Hiruzen had never outright told him to just take that treatment. It had always been more like… suggestions, so far.

Maybe he was channeling his inner Danzo a little too much, but that was really what he thought. What was peace worth if it meant that his village had to come out being at the bottom of the totem pole, despite being considered the strongest? No, that just wouldn't do. He'd search for peace, but not at the cost of his people.

At his words, Hiruzen chuckled but said nothing. Eiji guessed that was as much approval as he could show for such a statement. The boy had been ready to bow his head and apologize if the man said anything against his words, but it seemed he wouldn't.

"Well, here we are," The Hokage announced as they stood in front of a steel door. "I hope you know what you are doing, Eiji."

"So do I, old man. So do I," The boy mumbled as he opened the door and walked inside. On the other side of the table that was set in the middle of the room sat two ninja. On the left was a girl with long red hair that flowed down, covering part of her face. On the right sat the contrastingly large and imposing figure of a boy that wore his hair in a mohawk of sorts that had a tuft of hair running on each side of his head too.

"Tayuya, Jirobo," Eiji nodded as he closed the door behind him, the Hokage's presence only for him to know. A moment later, he sat opposite to the two ninja as they eyed him up and down.

"You don't look like much, shithead," The girl snarled, only causing him to laugh.

"And you do?" He shot back with a smirk. "Silly girl. You willingly walked into the strongest village in the world following a madman. I think you are hardly in any position to insult anyone, shithead."

Her whole face twisted in an ugly grimace for a moment before she returned to her glowering.

"Why are we here?" The giant of a boy asked, his tone almost polite.

"You are here because I have a proposition for you two," Eiji started with a lazy smile.

He could use the muscle Jirobo had and the Genjutsu prowess that Tayuya had, that was for sure. However, they also weren't that good to guarantee him being polite. Kabuto would have been, if he hadn't been probably the easiest recruit due to his… circumstances.

"And why should we listen to you, huh? Who the fuck even are you?" The girl asked aggressively.

"I'm Eiji Satou," He replied easily and instantly both of them straightened up. "So, they know about me, huh? I think we can use that, don't you, guys?" He said to his own mind.

"Indeed," Hachi nodded and Eiji could almost hear the smirk on his face. Then, the boy closed his eyes, giving up control of his body for a moment. When he opened his eyes again, the one in control was Hachi himself, showing both Sound ninjas the golden slitted eye of their master. Tayuya smirked while the boy squared his shoulders.

Then he blinked again, and he was back in control.

"So, about that proposition," He started speaking then with a smirk as he noticed both of them hanging to his every word now. As he started speaking, Eiji couldn't help but think it was a shame that Kimimaro had apparently killed himself. From what he knew, that little trick would have given him access to a rather impressive member of the Kaguya Clan. A true shame, really.

"So you want us to go with you after S-ranked missing ninja?" Jirobo summarized with a deadpan.

"Basically, yeah," Eiji nodded, smile still in place.

"We are in," Tayuya replied instantly, for once not cursing, wearing a wide feral grin. "I'm in, at least, don't know about this dumbass," She corrected, waving her hand towards her teammate, who simply sighed at her words. "I'll get my flute back though, won't I? If not you can go fuck yourself."

"You'll get your flute back, yes," Eiji nodded slowly, doing a herculean effort not to roll his eyes.

"Then fuck yeah. Beats being in this shitty cell, that's for sure," She said, smacking a hand against the metallic table and leaning back. "And if I don't like you, I can just get the hell away from you all."

"Oh, that won't happen. After all, you'll be too afraid to do anything against my wishes," Eiji replied with a wave of his hand, as if what he was saying was obvious.

"Oh, really?" Tayuya asked then, leaning forward. Jirobo, for his part and probably seeing something coming, seemed to try his best to distance himself from the girl. "Did you think the eye trick would fool me? You ain't Orochimaru, shithead."

"Eh, true, I'm not," He admitted with a shrug before sighing. "Oh well, I didn't want to do this, but it's not a great loss, I guess. You worked directly for Orochimaru, so you must have done something to deserve a few seconds, I'm sure."

With that said, he started running through hand seals.

Seconds later, the girl started twisting and turning as she screamed her lungs out, only kept on her seat because of the cuffs that were wrapped around her wrists. Jirobo, next to her, seemed horrified by what he saw. And the third person in the room, Eiji himself, looked on impassively for a moment before letting up Wit's End.

"So," He started, the smile that had been there for the whole meeting no longer in place. "Are you still in?"