Chapter Twenty Five- The Wait For The Slug Sanin Begins
After my small fit of maniacal laughter, I heard somebody knock on my room's entryway. Looking up I noticed Captain Nara looking at me with shifty and judgmental eyes. It seemed I would have to wait to open my loot caches.
I would've told him to screw off and let me enjoy my fantastic jutsu ideas if he had pressed further, but he just sighed in a Nara fashion and informed me that we had a debriefing.
Luckily we didn't have to go anywhere as our squad's lieutenant felt his captains were fit enough to inform us all more casually. Which consisted of a long drawl of Yoru going over a few do's and don'ts.
It all boiled down to a few simple things.
We had to keep this position for six months, this was our foothold to end this part of the war. We had to remain defensive and strong against a Suna army that knew exactly what we were doing. That meant defending the supply lines and don't give an inch. Daily battles like the one we just had would surely be my life for the next few months.
Why were we waiting? Simple, our former commander was on medical and merit leave. The Slug Sanin had been granted half a year of leave, due to her exploits on this front and her squads draw against Hanzo of the Salamander.
It was whispered among the troops that the Toad Sanin was also granted complete leave from the war, I didn't know what he did to get it or if it was just a baseless rumor. But from what Sakumo told me, I doubted the Whirlpool village could continue to hold off the Hidden Mist for much longer.
Though there was always the chance that they would shift focus from us and go for the Hidden Stone, there were some deep-seated grudges between the two great nations. Both of their Second Kage's were bitter rivals that had clashed many times throughout the first Ninja War.
That meant the main command felt it was best to hold our position until our army's ace returned. I couldn't fault the logic, due to three reasons. Sakumo could handle Russo of the Iron sand. But what of the Shiyo siblings? It was also a fact that if the leaf encroached too close to Suna's walls the Second Kazekage would be forced to abandon his northern front. Who would battle the Kazekage?
Simply speaking, we were stuck deep in enemy lines without the firepower to take their village.
Our squad's assignment was to engage the Suna army who would endlessly attack in an attempt to turn this war into a battle of attrition. We and five hundred other squads at that, on a rotating schedule of a week on and a week off with the other half of the infantry division.
We were not in a good position. A battle of attrition against an enemy so close to their doorstep? I doubted our chances given that their supply lines would be ironclad while ours would look like glass in comparison.
Yura warned us of possible rationing in the near future. I thanked the sage that I stored nearly a year's worth of non-perishable food in my inventory. I would hate the taste of rice and beans by the end of this ordeal, but it would be infinitely better than ration bars and mystery stew.
The worst part of it was that we were in the desert, the most you could hunt would be a few lizards. Though I had heard that they tasted like chicken, I wasn't keen on attempting it.
Sadly we drew the short end of the stick as this week was our week and we were to report at the northern wall at six in the morning. Seeing as it was already pitch black outside I practically teleported to my bed to get whatever sleep I could, I was still dog-tired from my last battle.
But there was one thing that kept me awake. Not the loot caches I hadn't opened but the four perk points that were just sitting there in the scroll.
I sighed in exhaustion as I rose into a cross-legged position on my mat.
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{Perk List}
[Apprentice Chakra Control- All jutsu and ability costs are now reduced by 30%. You are now able to enhance yourself with Chakra, boosting your strength and speed at a cost.]
[Odin's Eye- You may have been born with eyes that gave you superior vision and a plethora of abilities. But with 'Odin's Eye' you can glimpse into the secrets of your world and its people. You will have new paths once you can truly 'see'.]
[Wind Nature- Boosts the learning speed, creation, and power of all wind-natured jutsus by 75%]
[Chakra Beast Lvl 2- Changes the multiplier for your chakra capacity. Instead of being 10x intelligence, it will be 25x your intelligence stat] Upgrade: 4PP
[Dexterous Shinobi Lvl 1- Use any jutsu of C-rank or lower jutsu with only a single hand] Upgrade: 2PP
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Two, two perks were available to upgrade. They are staples of my fighting style and I would have no problem leveling them up. Dexterious shinobi particularly due to my new jutsu idea, the variation of the Wind Sickle ninjutsu.
But Chakra Beast had its own horse in the race. More chakra was always welcome, and with how chakra-intensive this technique along with my future higher-ranked jutsu could be?
Still, I would look at all of my options and judge them accordingly.
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{Perk Shop}
[Fuinjutsu User Lvl 1- Begin to understand the eccentric art of sealing, increases your learning speed of fuinjutsu by 30%] Cost: 1PP
[Dual Affinity- Embrace a second elemental affinity onto yourself, it will unlock the element you are closest to] Cost: 3PP
[Kitsunes Child Lvl 1]- As a member of the Uchiha clan you have always leaned more toward the spiritual side of Chakra. This perk will push that affinity a step further, bolstering your learning speed as well as the power of your illusions. 15% boost to the learning speed and power of Genjutsu] 1PP
*[Kill Streak Lvl 1]- Throughout your short career as a shinobi you have shown an apt ability to kill, whether that is with a sleight of hand or a powerful jutsu, the why doesn't matter. With this perk, you will receive a boost in your abilities for every consecutive enemy you kill. You will receive a 1% boost per enemy killed. Limit 30.] Cost 1PP
*[Chakra Sensor Lvl 1]- What is the most valuable tool in combat? Knowing where your enemies are or are coming from hours or even days in advance. Fight blind, fight without hearing. A new sixth sense will become one of your greatest assets on your path to power. Range- 2 Kilometers] Cost 2PP
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"Sage Dammit" I whispered in a mix of frustration and greed. Why did this choice always have to be so hard, why were the two newest perks so perfect for my situation?
They were both leveled perks meaning they could continue to grow stronger.
I toiled over this conundrum for as long as my sleep-deprived mind could allow and came to a simple solution. Well, it was more of a piece of information I had retained from an academy instructor.
One in a thousand shinobi could be a sensor-type ninja. One in ten thousand could be considered an elite sensor that could sense over a dozen kilometers. But there were only a handful of shinobi like Lord Second who could track an enemy from almost countries away.
{Perk Acquired!}
{Perk Leveled up!}
I quickly grabbed my skull as it began to pound and after I foolishly leveled it up right after it felt as if my skull was splitting. I could feel everything, all around me, the entire siege capital, every shinobi. Even a few shinobi scouting ahead towards Suna were within my range.
The only problem? I couldn't control it, blood started leaking from my nose and my eyes became half lidden. The last thing I remember was the sound of my body collapsing against my bed mat.
"Ughhhhh" I groaned as I was awoken by the sound of my companions getting ready for the day.
I rolled to my side moments before Yuru knocked against the entryway.
The oddest thing was he was completely silent, his steps to his breathing were so quiet that I didn't pick it up. It was then I realized I could feel him coming towards my room the second I woke up and I instinctively reacted to it.
"You alright? You look like hell." Yoru asked as he must've heard my groan from a few doors down. His eyes darted around the room and noticed the dried of blood on the floor.
"Do you need a medic?" He continued to press, but I just waved him off with a grunt of annoyance as I rose to a sitting position. After a few stretches, I was fine.
"Thanks for the worry captain, just had a rather large nosebleed before bed last night," I replied in a half-asleep drawl, he responded with a hum and gave me the time. I had thirty minutes until I had to report with the rest of the squad to the northern gate.
As soon as he left my eyes darted around, not to look for something with them but it helped me focus.
'There' I had found the largest chakra signature in the encampment. Making even the jonins surrounding it seem like small flames in comparison. Sakumo Sensei was most likely sitting at his desk in the center of the encampment. It was shocking to realize he had well over twenty times as much chakra as I did. Which was a rough comparison based on our chakra signature size.
After a few more seconds of searching, I found a shinobi that felt like a raging inferno. Powerful but Sakumo sensei still had over triple this man's chakra, which was extremely impressive. We were talking about a Ninjutsu-focused Jonin after all.
Rizen still owed me a jutsu after all and I planned to collect it before I left today. A clone appeared next to me and ran out of the door in hot pursuit.
"This is crazy, I'm even starting to get a vague feeling of their chakra natures...." The more I focused on those two the more I felt I could learn. It brought into perspective how blessed sensor-type shinobi were, now not only could I see chakra but I could also sense it. Jutsu creation would have to be moved up my list of priorities indefinitely.
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{Perk List}
[Apprentice Chakra Control- All jutsu and ability costs are now reduced by 30%. You are now able to enhance yourself with Chakra, boosting your strength and speed at a cost.]
[Odin's Eye- You may have been born with eyes that gave you superior vision and a plethora of abilities. But with 'Odin's Eye' you can glimpse into the secrets of your world and its people. You will have new paths once you can truly 'see'.]
[Wind Nature- Boosts the learning speed, creation, and power of all wind-natured jutsus by 75%]
[Chakra Beast Lvl 2- Changes the multiplier for your chakra capacity. Instead of being 10x intelligence, it will be 25x your intelligence stat] Upgrade: 4PP
[Dexterous Shinobi Lvl 1- Use any jutsu of C-rank or lower jutsu with only a single hand] Upgrade: 2PP
[Chakra Sensor Lvl 2]- What is the most valuable tool in combat? Knowing where your enemies are or are coming from hours or even days in advance. Fight blind, fight without hearing. A new sixth sense will become one of your greatest assets on your path to power. Range: 2-(4) Kilometers] Upgrade: 2PP
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Three perk points were taken but I would never complain, even if they were the last three I'd ever have. Honestly, I had gotten lucky or a 'deal' at least in my opinion. To buy it had taken two perk points but to upgrade had only cost one.
Not only had my survivability skyrocketed but even my tactics would begin to develop around it. Everything would change for the better, from my fighting style to my jutsu and chakra usage.
It was not all roses, as I still had to practice the ability to be able to use it with minimal focus. I had to wipe the sweat from my drow after only thirty seconds of trying to find Sakumo and Rizen. During that during combat would be difficult, but I could still feel around me without putting any effort into it for almost half a kilometer.
'What to do with this last perk point... Save it to upgrade Dexterous Shinobi or Chakra Beast surely' I decided as I got up and began to get ready to fight for an entire week.