Forging ahead
[Vitality increased by 2!]
[Agility increased by 2!]
[Perception increased by 2!]
Cole greeted the next morning mentally sore and defeated.
Training made him realise how truly out of his depth he was. There was nothing quite like getting kicked around by a teen girl to build character. Cole didn't even try to correct the sexist undertones in that statement, if only to prove himself against Yuya that much more. Because it truly takes a competitive spirit to not give up on oneself after hours of pitiless beatdowns.
Yuya was an incredible pugilist. She slipped around reckless punches with room to spare, blocked kicks - the few that connected - like a champ and ducked into his cover with unnatural grace. And when she went onto the offensive it was like staving of an avalanche. There was one other instance when Cole almost lost consciousness. Yuya feinted a left cross - a hit that could have never connected because of its missing reach, but Cole's monkey brain instinctively tried to block anyway -, stepped diagonal over her right, spun on the ball of her left foot and transitioned into a devastating heel kick that lifted Cole for a mere instant into the air. Her purely physical specs and technique made her a force to be reckoned with, and that was Yuya without active chakra usage.
Chakra, the great un-equaliser.
Yuya wasn't particularly adept at any of the three jutsus, but managed to replicate a lesser version of the Body Flicker Technique, at great chakra cost. A fully trained ninja might shrug it off as being imperfect, too slow, and what have you, but against Cole, a civilian, it rendered every form of defense useless. To instantaneously appear behind him was plain unfair. Combined that with the resulting, chakra empowered hits and suddenly Cole was back at square one.
Though it helped formulate a progression path for his abilities.
He needed a sensory ability to keep up with his opponents' speed and a movement technique of his own. Cole hadn't yet put much thought into an offensive ability. It was theoretically possible that he would never need one in the first place, based on the assumptions that he could become a martial master through stats alone and that the latter wouldn't be soft capped, by a biological limit for example. Given the right weapons and with the ability to potentially shrug of any future attack with Aeon, or heal any wounds with Lay on Hands, he could beat anyone in a battle of attrition - so long as the thread fed energy into him.
That was Cole's biggest issue. He didn't have a grasp on the nature of the thread and what it did with his eyes was unsettling, to say the least. There hadn't come another point in which he naively overexerted his powers, not yet. Should it happen, Cole was afraid he'd be left with more than just a cosmetic change, if his eyes were just that in the first place and not a ticking time bomb.
'Too much thinking dude...'
The choice wasn't his anyway. Did it matter if the thread proved harmful later down the line, if it was his only tool to progress in the end? Simply put: no.
Cole groaned, he'd need to revisit these thoughts at a later date, the thread was still growing into his new powers anyway. He hoped it would stay that way for much longer, not when the first major act was about to begin any time now.
Zabuza and Haku, indomitable fighters that would much rather kill themselves on an opponents blade than give up. His best bet would be to outbid Gatō and hire the two mercenary ninjas for himself, with what money was anybody's guess.
That would be the egoistical option anyway. Much smarter would be to inform Kakashi about Zabuza's presence and send an elite strike force to take the swordsmaster out. What rankled Cole about this option were the politics involved - could they even send ninjas into a sovereign nation, at the behest of a stranger no less? - and the chance for growth he would be taking from Team 7.
Naruto and Sasuke were delicate subjects and integral parts of the world's survival. Only when Cole had absolute assurance that his power could grow infinitely and defeat a pseudo-god like Kaguya and all the other Ōtsutsuki ilk with it, could he intefere as much as he liked.
Cole jumped from the bed, he would need to clear his head and what better way to do that than training until he blacked-out. Watching his status grow was also heart-balm.
---
Name: Cole Marin
Title:
Sex: Male
Age: 22
Health: 160/160
Vitality: 16
Strength: 15
Agility: 18
Perception: 13
---
Insight:
Gain information on a selected target, dependant on familiarity. (Cannot evolve further.)
---
Screen:
Designate abilities and gain additional information about them. Limited to the User's field of vision. User's Intelligence checked against target's Intelligence. (Cannot evolve further.)
---
Repose (Level 2):
Passive: Regenerates Resources every second. [Currently: Health]. Increases Level of Repose with usage.
+ 0.1 Resource Regeneration per Level.
Currently: 0.2 RR
Active: Calms the User down and reduces stress, fatigue and mental trauma. Increases Level of Repose with usage. Additional effects added with Level.
---
Lay on Hands (Level 5):
Mode One: Restore a designated Resource every second, or Cure a single Ailment, of a selected target via touch. Increases Level of Lay on Hands with usage.
+ 0.5 Resource Restoration per Level. Increased speed of Ailment Cure per Level.
Currently: 2.5 RR | Fast
Mode Two: Channel Lay on Hands to greatly restore a designated Resource, or greatly Cure a single Ailment. Effect dependant on channel time. Activated via touch. Increases Level of Lay on Hands with usage.
Mode Three: Exchange User's designated Resources to restore a target's designated Resource and Cure a designated Ailment. Effect dependant on the amount of used Resources. Increases Level of Lay on Hands with usage. Increases Vitality with usage.
---
Aeon (Level 1):
Passive: Regenerates Health every second. Increases Level of Aeon with usage.
+ 0.25 Health Regeneration per Level.
Currently: 0.25 HR
Passive: Increases Health Regeneration per second and Durability of the User when in contact with earth or stone.
+ 0.25 Health Regeneration per Level.
Currently: 0.25 HR
+ Minor boost to Durability. (Does not increase.)
Active: Increase User's Durability. Durability boost increases with Level. Increases Level of Aeon with usage.
Active: Temporarily attain minor version of a designated solid's properties. Touch required. Increases Level of Aeon with usage.
------------------
"So, what do you think of them Kakashi?" The question had been on Hiruzen's mind ever since Team 7 had been established.
The white-haired ninja crossed his arms and thought for a while. "Well... They are all over the place, to put it simple." Hiruzen scoffed, they were children after all. "Let's begin with Sakura. She is observant and highly intelligent, but she is also, for a lack of a better word, a scaredy-cat."
Hiruzen thought about what kind of trials the former Anbu captain would put a young kunoichi through and felt a bit of pity for the girl, he still prompted him to continue.
"All it took was a simple genjutsu to break her fighting spirit. On account of all the knowledge and expertise she has, she should have been able to dispel it easily. Her infatuation with Sasuke is a severe weakness that enemies will exploit. And I fear the result will be costly."
Hiruzen smiled to himself. Many people thought Kakashi a heartless in-human that only lives for the sake of his missions. That he is worried about a genin's future, after just a single day, spoke volumes about the man's character. "What do you think we should do?", he asked easily, packing his favorite pipe.
Kakashi was quick to answer. "Shock treatment. Put her into a prolonged genjutsu until she overcomes her fear."
Hiruzen started and almost scattered his tobacco, perhaps Kakashi was indeed a bit more pragmatic than others. "Aha... Let's put that aside for now, how did Naruto and Sasuke handle themselves?"
"As expected." Kakashi put a hand to his chin. "Although, Naruto was... different."
That was something he dreaded to hear. "How so?"
"He was much... calmer, at the start at least. He began with the Shadow Clone Jutsu and encircled me. Using the clones as cover he threw kunais and throwing stars either through gaps or through the clones themselves. It was... well thought out." Hiruzen sensed the man's astonishment among the lull. "But, once I managed to rile him up, he threw off the handle and with it went every ounce of strategy..." That was, indeed, typical of Naruto. "If we temper his patience he will surely soar through the ranks."
Stellar praise from the mouth of someone like Kakashi. Hiruzen shook his head. One more person left.
"Sasuke remained, throughout the exercise and up until the very end, the same toplofty brat he had been before. Although highly skilled in nin- and even taijutsu, his sheer disregard for his teammates is unacceptable and neither does he take well to provocations. In a way, he and Naruto are very much alike." Kakashi slumped where he stood, an all too familiar look of displeasure but also joy. "All in all, they pass. Naruto reverted back to his old self and tried to sneak a bite, therefore I tested them accordingly. Albeit greatly reluctant... it was Sasuke that offered Naruto his food. They appeared to see a teeny-tiny bit more eye to eye."
The first signs of mutual respect between the two prodigies, now that is what Hiruzen wanted to hear. Alas, his spirits were dampened by the variable that kept nagging him, even while he slept.
"Then we have to thank Mr. Marin for that." The conversation Naruto had with the enigmatic man was no secret and it served as proof that the stranger really had a peculiar power. That it allowed him to identify chakra imprints was quite useful. The Land of Water and the Land of Lightning had proven difficult with the release of information pertaining to their archipelagos and islands. They remained noncommittal whether a place like Germany actually existed. He really wanted to curse out the other Kages. Hiruzen couldn't allow someone as suspicious as Cole Marin to run around freely for much longer.
"That we might very well do." Kakashi nodded along. "I take it we should keep surveiling him and the girl as well?"
"Yes, please." Hiruzen began lighting his pipe, lying on the table, all but forgotten with his building stress. "Speaking of, anything odd about the training of theirs?" Cole Marin had actually become a little celebrity in the Academy, or more specifically, those that frequented the training fields. It wasn't often kids saw an adult novice-ninja, who also gets beaten up over and over again.
"No. Miss Yuya still thrashes him.", Kakashi was smiling patently obvious now.
Hiruzen drew his first puff of the day. Maybe Cole Marin was just plain insane.
(Chapter 14. Today was a tiring day and it can easily be seen by the quality of this chapter. I was really dissatisfied with the direction I went here, but I just couldn't write myself out of the deadlock I got myself in. Hopefully the next chapter won't suck so bad.
I'll probably put Cole's status into another auxillary chapter like the timeline and keep updating it intermittently. Cheers lads.)