Chapter 3: First Kill
It was difficult keeping myself from vomiting as I stared at the blood staining my hands, I knew my eyes were wide at this point as they shook.
Holy fuck I just killed someone!
"Uchiha, you okay?" my sensei's voice broke through my panic attack before it could settle in.
Swallowing tightly I replied. "First sentry down, sensei," I announced, marvelling at how calm I sounded. "Moving on."
"Understood."
Taking a deep breath I saw the notification of [Gamer's Mind] activating before I dismissed the window and focused on my mission. 'My team is counting on me,' I told myself mentally as I kept moving silently, a sudden clarity of the surroundings catching my attention as I moved.
It was… weird, I just knew where exactly everything was going to be, the falling leaves, the lone squirrel running up a tree. It wasn't really a 'slow-motion' effect, just… a supernatural awareness of all the things I could see.
The second bandit sentry I was to eliminate came into view as I moved, I could see the vague outline of chakra surrounding him, gathering around his body (his chakra). My hands flashed through a set of seals before chakra alighted my hands.
I leapt, my hands reaching out for the bandit as something alerted him to my presence, he turned, his eyes widening as he took in the sight of me, but was too late to do anything as my hand slammed into his forehead, channeling my [Chakra Scalpel] directly not only into his brain leaving his skin and bone untouched, destroying his brain as blood began to pour from his nose, eyes and ears.
At that moment a new window popped up before me.
Sneak Attack critical! Instant kill!
You killed a Darkwood Bandit
+437 EXP, +500 Ryo gained
[Iron Spear] looted and stored in [Inventory].
Underneath that was another window that I didn't notice in my distraction from my first kill.
You have awakened your Kekkei Genkai, the Sharingan at Stage Two from the stress of your first kill and your resolve to protect your teammates
Sharingan Stage 2 (Active/Passive)[Level 10 - 0.00%] - 25 CP/second when used by non Uchiha, 5 CP/second when used by an Uchiha. +10% DEX when active, can learn opponent's jutsu by watching them form their hand seals - cannot learn elemental kekkei genkai or hiden jutsus. Give supernatural awareness and slight predictive abilities of everything within normal eyesight.
Huh… so that's why everything was so clear to me. Shaking my head I dismissed the windows and focused on my mission.
My two targets were taken out and I was now to attack the camp directly with ninjutsu to cause as much chaos as I could to cover my teammate's approach.
Moving upwards in one of the taller trees I breached the top of it so I was looking down on the camp and formed the five seals I needed for the [Fire Release: Great Fireball] .
Once the seals were completed I inhaled, my chest swelling with the air as I kneaded the fire natured chakra into the desired shape before exhaling, releasing a single massive fireball directly into a group of tents near the center of the camp.
Critical Sneak Attack!
You killed five Darkwood Bandits
+2,187 EXP, +2500 Ryo
2x [Iron Katana], 2x [Yew Bow], 20 [Wooden Arrows] and [Iron Spear] looted and stored in the Inventory!
You have gained a level!
I steadfastly ignored the panicked screams as I formed the seals again and released another fireball on the opposite side of the camp.
Critical Sneak Attack!
You skilled four Darkwood Bandits
+1750 EXP, +2000 Ryo
2x [Iron Katana] and 2x [Iron Spear] looted and stored in the Inventory!
Before I could repeat the action, my sharingan alerted me to fast moving projectiles, prompting me to jump from my perch, five shuriken narrowly missing my head, actually cutting some of the stray strands of hair as the missing ninja we spotted earlier came charging at me.
It was strange, I was barely able to predict his movements - apparently he was just slow enough for me to predict his movements properly - and I could tell he was stronger than me, the question was… how much stronger?
Taking a gamble I dodge under one of his punches and roll behind him. "[Observe]" I vocalized in the quietest voice I could manage.
Name: Tsukiyama Hayami
Level: 19
EXP: 9903/10500
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Title: Missing Ninja (+25% Reputation gains with criminal elements, -25% Reputation gains with lawful elements)
STATS
HP - 2,076
CP - 373
STR - 52
INT - 21
DEX - 38
VIT - 38
WIS - 13
LUK - 10
[PERKS]
Cruel - -100% to Reputation gains, +25% effectiveness to [Torture] skills
Taijutsu Specialist - +2 STR, +1 VIT per level, +50% EXP growth to taijutsu skills
Traitor - -100% to reputation gains among loyal shinobi, has a bounty on their head
Fuck.
Ten levels higher and built like a fucking brick, I cannot let this man hit me.
Thinking quickly I formed the seals for [Chakra Scalpel] to activate it on my off hand before drawing out my kodachi with my primary, channeling my chakra into the chakra receptive metal, a hazy blue aura surrounding it as it accepted the chakra. The brief lull in combat as he warily eyed my now glowing sword allowing me a moment to inspect him. He was easily 7'5" tall and still built like a brick that was all muscle, his hair was dark blue in color and cut close to his scalp with grey eyes that angrily glared at me from his square looking face. He was clad in a dark green rough looking gi-like uniform with the top held closed by a white belt and a pair of shin- and armguards for defensive gear.
You have created a new technique!
[Chakra Flow] (Active) [Level 1 - 0.00%] - +25 Damage, 20 CP/Second
Ignoring the box I charged forward as I slashed at him with my chakra infused kodachi, he caught the blade on one of his armguards. As the blade came into contact with his armguard I whipped my left hand around and ran the [Chakra Scalpel] along the arm he blocked my sword with before kicking him in the chest to launch myself back as he shouted in pain, blood pouring from the cut my [Chakra Scalpel] made in his arm, his hand now hanging limply as he clutched the injury.
In the corner of my eye the screen showing his status updated.
Name: Tsukiyama Hayami
Level: 19
EXP: 9903/10500
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Title: Missing Ninja (+25% Reputation gains with criminal elements, -25% Reputation gains with lawful elements)
Status: Bleeding (Medium: -50HP/Second), Immobile left hand
Well, that's helpful.
"Fucking Uchiha bitch!" Tsukiyama shouted angrily as he threw a punch with his uninjured arm at my head. Oh right, I'm in a fight to the death.
Reacting quickly I dodged his fist, allowing it to narrowly brush past my head as I surged forward to slash at him again.
Only instead of hitting him with my sword, I was drilled in the gut by his knee, spittle flying out of my mouth was thankfully caught by my mask as the force of the blow sent me flying back into a tree.
HP: 311/529
Oh geezus, over 200 points of damage! Well no wonder it felt like a girder slammed into my stomach!
Letting out a cough I gulped in a lungful of air as I forced my body to move out of the way of his follow up attack, a kick that splintered the tree I had impacted against, removing enough of it that the entire tree came crashing down.
Oh sweet mother of fuck.
My fear must of shown in my eyes as Tsukiyama chuckled darkly as he stalked his way towards me. "Fucking little cunt, I am going to enjoy gouging those eyes out of your skull and selling them," he growled angrily at me.
Instead of speaking I grabbed a handful of shuriken with my free hand and flung them at the man before charging towards him.
[Chakra Scalpel] has gained a level!
[Chakra Flow] has gained a level!
He easily dodged the shuriken as he surged forward to meet my charge, his eyes glinting madly as he threw another kick at me. Predicting the movement with the sharingan I leapt off to the side, letting go of my kodachi and [Chakra Scalpel] to quickly form the five seals needed for the jutsu, moving faster than I realized I could move I inhaled and released a steady stream of fire. "[Fire Release: Great Fireball]!"
The flames swept over the missing ninja as his leg was still extended from the kick, garnering a shout of pain from him before a white smoke was seen on the edges of my flames.
Seeing it my eyes widened as I cut off the flames and threw myself forward, a first clipping the back of my head enough to send me tumbling forward.
HP: 256/529
Sweet merciful god even a graze is damaging!
Rolling myself to my feet I was thankfully arms reach of my kodachi so I renewed the [Chakra Scalpel] before picking up my Kodachi with [Chakra Flow] active and double checked my chakra.
CP: 841/952
Alright, looks like my [Leaf Balancing] and [Tree Walking] chakra exercises were paying off with reducing the chakra costs.
Keeping a careful eye on Tsukiyama as he growled angrily at me I tried to come up with a plan, he seemed to be bleeding steadily and there were a couple of scorch marks on his rough gi-like clothing from when I tried to light him on fire.
And then, he locked eyes with my own.
Now, I have not trained very much with my sharingan, hell, I just awoke it, but, I knew it's abilities, including the fact that it could be used to hypnotize illusions with direct eye contact.
Now I had no training with this… but…
Channeling chakra into my eyes I focused and tried to convey a haziness into him as we each searched for an opening to attack.
A box appeared before me a couple of seconds later.
You have learned a new skill!
[Sharingan: Genjutsu] (Active) [Level 1] - Lower levels are restricted to minor illusions while higher levels are able to induce a hypnotic state in their target
Your [Sharingan: Genjutsu] has gained a level!
My moment of distraction was all my opponent needed to charge at me with a heavy punch that I managed to get out of the way of, his blow missing my a large margin even with my delayed reaction.
A new addition to his status confirmed my suspicion.
Name: Tsukiyama Hayami
Level: 19
EXP: 9903/10500
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Title: Missing Ninja (+25% Reputation gains with criminal elements, -25% Reputation gains with lawful elements)
Status: Bleeding (Medium: -50HP/Second), Immobile left hand, Illusion (Minor: Accuracy and Dodging reduced by 50%)
Damn that saved my life. Letting out a breath I dodged another follow up attack before swinging my chakra infused kodachi at his side with a heavy slash.
He brought his leg up quickly in response, catching it on his shinguard, a deep cut alighting the protective equipment as my sword ran across it. Spinning with my momentum I ducked under his kick from the leg he used to block my sword before running my [Chakra Scalpel] against the thigh of his extended leg, severing one of his tendons.
[Chakra Scalpel] has gained a level!
You have copied [Heavy Foot: Retaliatory Strike]!
[Sharingan Stage 2] has leveled up
A roar of pain erupted from his mouth as his leg was cut open from my jutsu, his leg coming down as he unintentionally put weight upon it, causing him to topple over. Seizing the opportunity I surged forward and stabbed my sword into the shoulder of his good arm, essentially pinning him to the ground as it dug into the ground beneath him.
It honestly must've looked like a David and Goliath story, a 4' even seven year old just out of the Academy, straddling the chest of a who knows what rank missing ninja who was bleeding out underneath me. While I wasn't able to see myself, from the look on his face as I loomed over him, it must of been a fairly grisly sight as I realized I had some kind of warm liquid on my face - most likely his blood - with glowing sharingan eyes as I stared unblinkingly down at him.
"Fucking… Uchiha… bitch," he managed to cough out as his HP dropped rapidly.
"Well, I am female, and an Uchiha," I replied coldly raising my glowing hand to strike the finishing blow. "So you're not completely wrong, I'm just not a dog like you are, goodbye."
Before he could even say a word I slashed my hand across his neck and removed his head from his body with frightening ease with the [Chakra Scalpel].
[Chakra Scalpel] has gained a level!
[Chakra Flow] has gained a level!
Tsukiyama Hayami killed!
+1250 EXP gained, +15,000 Ryo(Bounty) gained
[Heavy Foot] Taijutsu Scroll, [Dense Shinguards] and 25 [High Quality Shuriken] looted and stored in Inventory
Fucking hell… I chose this life. Panting I formed the seals for [Mystical Palm] and set about healing my own injuries as quickly as I could before turning to the burning camp and heading in to find and support my team.
The first one I found was Aoi-kun, the civilian boy was wide eyed as he dodged around a bandit's sword, blood coating his hands as he suddenly lunged in, striking the bandit three times with a punch to the throat, one to the temple and a final strike to the back of the neck. The bandit dropped to the ground bonelessly as three sickening cracks were heard.
You have copied [Three Strike: Single Target]!
"Aoi-kun," I called out as I approached, calling up his stats with a quick [Observe.]
[Observe] has gained a level!
Name: Aoi Nanase
Level: 9
EXP: 2500/5500
Age: 7
Gender: Male
Title: Genin (+25% EXP until level 25)
STATS
HP - 95/380
CP - 150/338
STR - 20
INT - 26
DEX - 21
VIT - 19
WIS - 13
LUK - 10
"Here, let me heal you," I told him as I quickly ran through the seals for [Mystical Palm] and placed them onto his back as I healed his damage.
"Yuriko-chan?" he blinked in realization as the healing chakra washed over him. "What happened to you?"
"Ran into a missing nin," I replied, ignoring the trickling of said ninja's blood across my face as I concentrated on healing my friend. "Where is Chika-chan and sensei?"
[Mystical Palm] has leveled up!
"Other side of the camp, sensei encountered two more shinobi that weren't in sight when we were scouting the camp out," Aoi-kun answered in a shaky voice. "Sensei sent me to support you after you didn't attack again like planned."
I nodded in understanding as I finished healing him up. "Come on, they may need our help," I told him as I began moving to where the two were fighting. Aoi-kun hesitated a moment before following after me. 'Probably in shock,' I thought to myself before turning back ahead of me to watch where I was going.
Chika-chan was the next one found, the Yamanaka surrounded by a number of bodies that all had the clear signs of severe poisoning on them as she faced off a group of twenty of them, the girl looking thoroughly exhausted as she barely kept herself on her feet, a quick [Observe] told me that her chakra was running dangerously low and she had the [Exhausted] status on her.
Seeing my friend in trouble I quickly formed the seals for [Fire Release: Great Fireball] and leapt into the air before releasing a stream of continuous fire down onto the men as my momentum carried me over them, several of them screaming in pain as they were caught in the flames.
You killed seven Darkwood Bandits
+3059 EXP, +3500 Ryo
5x [Iron Katanas], [Iron Spear] and [Steel Spear] looted and store in the Inventory
You have leveled up!
[Sharingan Stage 2] has leveled up
I cut off the jutsu and flipped myself around to face them as I skidded across the ground, the bandits obviously unnerved by my fiery entrance and red glowing eyes, meeting the eyes of one of them I trigger [Sharingan: Genjutsu] with a heavy image of fear behind it.
"M-monster!" the man shouted in a panic, I had no idea what the man was seeing as he stared at me, but from the way blood fled from his face, it couldn't have been anything good as he stumbled back several steps. "G-get away from me!"
His panicking began to spread to his friends as he dropped his weapon and sprinted out of the camp, some of his fellows following his example as they followed him, the others were distracted enough by the panic for me and Aoi-kun to charge in and finish of the remaining five bandits with ease.
"Thank god you showed up, Yuriko-chan, Aoi-kun," Chika-chan panted as she slumped to the ground on her knees, letting me place my glowing hands on her back as I began to heal her with [Mystical Palm]. "I had no idea what I would've done if you hadn't shown up…"
[Mystical Palm] has leveled up!
"Well, we did, and you're safe now," I replied as I healed her to max health before switching to [Relaxation] to restore her chakra reserves. "Where's sensei?"
"Here," a male voice grunted as sensei limped towards us. "Were you able to defeat the missing ninja that went after you?" he questioned me as he looked us over.
I nodded in response, finishing the [Relaxation] before moving onto sensei to begin healing his injuries, using the information that using [Mystical Palm] gave me on him rather than my [Observe]. "He's back there," I vocalized, jerking my head back the way me and Aoi-kun had come from. "Is that all of them?"
Sensei nodded in response as he let me heal his body. "Yeah, it is," he sighed in relief. "Well, I suppose congratulations are in order, you just completed a high level B-ranked mission, it was supposed to be a C-rank, but it looks like the information was off."
"Forgive me if I don't start cheering right now," Chika-chan snarked a bit as she sucked in lungfuls of air.
"You all did a fine job," sensei told us warmly, giving us a smile. "How are you all doing with your first kills?"
"I'm not thinking about it right now," I said through gritted teeth as I fought the urge to vomit. "But once I'm finished healing you, I'm going to be losing my lunch."
"Is… is it always like that?" Aoi-kun questioned in a shaky voice.
"Unfortunately, it will get easier," sensei explained with a heavy voice. "But, what you need to do is remember that you are killing people, too many get lost in the act of killing and if you let it, it will eventually break you."
The three of us listened to sensei as he told us about his own first kill and assured us, that so long as we remembered why we killed, to protect our home, friends and comrades, then we wouldn't become monsters. Soon enough we were all healed, and I empty out my stomach of any of the contents still within it and we gathered what we could from the camp and headed off back towards Konoha.
We were bruised, bloody and haunted, but we were now a team, we were now a family.
"I see…" Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed as he closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he sat behind his desk, the four of us arrayed in front of him at a parade rest as we gave him our report on the mission. "Yes, this would definitely have qualified as a B-ranked mission and not a C-ranked one. You all did splendidly in completing the mission, thank you, a shame you weren't able to capture any of them to see who was supporting them, but the threat is dealt with."
QUEST COMPLETED!
Eliminated all of the Darkwood Bandits and the three shinobi supporting them.
REWARD
+4500 EXP, +500 Rep with Konohagakure and Hi no Kuni, -1500 Rep with ?, +10,000 Ryo
BONUS OBJECTIVE
Kill 10 Bandits yourself - Completed
Find out who is supporting the bandits - Incomplete
Succeed without a loss on your team - Completed
REWARD
+3000 EXP and +20,000 Ryo
SECRET OBJECTIVE
Killed Tsukiyama Hayami
REWARD
+5000 EXP, +500 Rep with Konohagakure, +7,500 Ryo
You have gained a level!
You have gained a level!
Well… damn, four levels on a single mission and freaking 60 grand earned. Although I wasn't completely sure how much 60 grand meant here, but hey, it's a big number at least, it has to mean something right?
Once the Hokage dismissed us, sensei told us that we will be meeting up for another mission the day after tomorrow and that we were going to do some training tomorrow, and with that we said our goodbyes and headed home.
I was greeted by the district guards as I walked through, making small talk with them about my week long mission, the two of them telling me the rest of my family hadn't returned yet from their own respective missions before I continued my trek home.
Now, I used to live alone in my past life, but… the silence that greeted me was even more pronounced than I was used to as I walked through the silent house. Maybe it was because I had become so used to at the very least my mother's presence, maybe it was because there was a war going on, but the silence was oppressive as I entered the kitchen and simply stared at the table for several long minutes.
Shaking myself out of my stupor I instead focused on something else, I didn't realize it until when I killed my first enemy, but I had an [Inventory] system! "[Inventory]," I announced to the silent household with a screen popping up, showing me the loot I acquired from the mission.
Pressing on one of the marks for an [Iron Katana] I blinked as with a poof of white smoke it appeared in my hand, ready for use.
"[Observe]"
[Iron Katana] - a simple Iron Katana, made out of cheap Iron and found everywhere - +15 Slashing damage. 75/100 Durability
Huh, well, I suppose I could sell them, or if I somehow pick up the blacksmithing skill I could melt them down for materials. I pressed the sword against the screen causing it to vanish in a plume of smoke before closing the screen all together. "[Status]" I had stat points to assign.
With twenty stat points to work with I carefully thought out my choices before increasing my chosen stats.
STATS
HP - 625
CP - 1600
STR - 25 (27)
INT - 40
DEX - 34 (37)
VIT - 25
WIS - 40
LUK - 15
Looking over the stat changes once again I nodded in satisfaction before closing the screen. Feeling my stomach rumble I turned to the kitchen proper and set about making myself a meal.
Training Ground Eight
+50% EXP gained while in this zone
I was the last to arrive at the training ground the next day, looking over my two teammates I could see the same bags under there eyes that I knew were under my own, looks like none of us got a proper amount of sleep last night.
"Alright, now that Yuriko is here, we can start with the training," sensei announced as I came to a stop before him. "The mission gave me a good idea on what we're working with for your skills, but I also want to know if there was anything else you wished to develop."
"Well, I was hoping to work on senbon throwing," Chika-chan informed, raising her hand a bit. "They're more effective for delivering my poisons."
"I… ah… wanted to learn some genjutsu, I guess?" Aoi-kun said with a shrug. "I realized I'm kind of exposed when I'm trying to close the gap with my opponents."
Sensei turned to me with a raised eyebrow as I thought about my options before remembering the one perk I hadn't been taking advantage of yet. "I think I'd like to learn fuinjutsu," I admitted finally. "I just think it would be a good support skill along my with iryojutsu."
Sensei nodded in understanding. "Alright then, I think I can help you with all of that," he announced as he pulled out three items from his pouch, a package of senbon, a scroll on genjutsu and a scroll on fuinjutsu. "Now, the scrolls are only theory for the moment, I want you to study them and I will quiz you while we're on the road for tomorrow," he explained as Aoi-kun and I accepted the scrolls and Chika-chan accepted the senbon. "Chika, I will be showing you the proper form for throwing the senbon."
With that we started our training.
Our next mission wasn't as exciting as our first one, escorting a minor merchant to a town a couple of towns away with only two encounters with bandits. It did give us plenty of opportunity to test out our skills however as I learned how to make storage seals on my own, Aoi-kun learned a couple minor genjutsus and Chika-chan managed to get herself up to 65/100 with her senbon during the trip.
Once the merchant was secured in his new location and sensei acquired the payment, we were on our way back, not encountering a thing as we took to treetop travel, although we did pass a team of jonin on their way to the front lines, a few words were exchanged, but we quickly parted ways.
Soon, we fell into a routine for about a month, we would go out on a C-rank or a low danger B-rank, and when we returned we would spend some time training, developing our skill further before heading back out on another mission as time passed the nightmares from our first kills faded as we grew adjusted to the fact that we were staining our hands with blood, always remembering the fact we were doing so to protect our home and friends.
Today was supposed to be a training day, but… while the three of us genin trained, sensei was nowhere to be seen, until towards the end of our usual training period he showed up with a severe look on his face.
"Wrap up your training," he said in a tired sounding voice. "We're being deployed to the front line."
All three of us froze in response as we stared at our sensei in disbelief.
"What?" Aoi-kun questioned in shock, subtle shakes visible in his body as he stared at sensei.
"I can't say much, but an operation is coming up and they need every able body to participate, we're being sent because of our performance this past month," sensei explained. "Be at the gate by oh-five-hundred tomorrow morning, and be sure you bring enough for a least three month deployment."
The three of us exchanged nervous looks before nodding in understanding to sensei.
"The front lines… I heard some… bad things about them," Aoi-kun whispered as we headed for the shinobi market district to stock up on our supplies.
"It is," I whispered in confirmation, remembering the haunted looks on my families faces on the few occasions we were able to meet up. "But we will survive, we just need to watch each other's backs like always."
I tried to smile at my friends encouragingly, but it was forced, and they could see it.
"Yeah, we will," Chika-chan announced, sounding far more confident then I felt. "And when we get back, we'll celebrate, alright?"
"Y-yeah… that sounds good," Aoi-kun agreed as I nodded in support of the idea.
"Alright then, let's get our gear!" Chika-chan shouted as she ran towards our first store.
END CHAPTER
AN: Wow… two in one day… and I had to rewrite the entire Tsukiyama fight section too! Something minor to note, I made a mistake with the modifiers to STR and DEX, the numbers in brackets (Like this), I ended up going by a larger amount than what it actually was… oops. But I fixed it, and I'm going to be making a lot of minor adjustments to how the 'UI' works, so please be patient as I refine it. Also I will be putting the new skills descriptions below here when new skills are acquired!
Sharingan Stage 2 (Active/Passive)[Level 12 - 76.98%] - The so called 'HAX' power of the Naruto World, steal your enemy's jutsu by watching them make their hand seals and throw it back in their faces, plus it'll help you predict their moves and can even trap them in genjutsu while looking through enemy ocular based genjutsu, you can even 'see the future' by predicting the movements of everything in your eyesight have fun, but be warned, opponents with sufficient speed can overcome your predictive abilities!- 25 CP/second when used by non Uchiha, 5 CP/second when used by an Uchiha. +10% DEX when active, can learn opponent's jutsu by watching them form their hand seals, cannot learn elemental kekkei genkai or hiden jutsus.
[Sharingan: Genjutsu] (Active) [Level 2 - 32.76%] - An illusionary technique utilizing the sharingan as a medium, the [Sharingan: Genjutsu] allows the user to influence the target when they meet the user's eyes. - Lower levels are restricted to minor illusions while higher levels are able to induce a hypnotic state in their target.
[Chakra Flow: Neutral Chakra] (Active) [Level 3 - 43.91%] - a versatile technique used by many weapon wielding shinobi and samurai to enhanced their weapons in the field, different types of chakra can cause various effects, but neutral chakra simply enhances the damage and durability by a moderate amount - +25 Damage, +25% durability, 20 CP/Second.