Apotheosis

Bum-bum-bum-Bum!

Level 50.

Finally.

Wow.

With the creation of this last jutsu, I've hit max level.

Now, let's take Will of Fire and…oh, that option's greyed out. Not aligned with Konoha. Is there one I can get by being aligned with the Samurai? No?

That's just unfortunate.

Alright, let's take Unstoppable. A Five percent chance to not take any damage from an attack might not seem like much, but if the attack I dodge is normally enough to take my HP from 790 to 0 then it'll be worth it. Besides, I don't think anything else here is worth taking. Solar Powered gives me health regen, but I already have enough of that with my Nutriwater Seal…which I've since upgraded so that it gives 200hp a pop instead of just 50hp.

I maxed out my thirteen skills six levels ago, so nothing to do here. There were no more, no less.

It's been a few weeks since I told Naruto everything. About his Father, about the Kyuubi. I hadn't meant for my treasonous actions to attract so much attention, but what's done is done. The fact that Sarutobi Hiruzen was unable to stop Orochimaru from escaping because he was emotionally compromised came out and I imagine that calls for his resignation will come soon.

Assuming that the meeting and its details aren't classified triple-s-black ANBU-tell-anyone and you're dead which it probably was.

I hadn't meant to saddle all of that with my old team and the Rookie 9. But it happened, because I got emotional, because I underestimated the connection that Naruto and the Hokage shared, and because I underestimated the bond Naruto now shared with the rest of the Rookie Nine. Well, that and I underestimated Ino's crush on me.

Hisako's too.

As far as they're concerned, I have done everything I can to get them move on and date other people. If they want to keep waiting for me, I guess I can't stop them. But I won't promise that it'll turn into anything either.

I let out a breath and allowed my test chamber's door to slide open. Inside the circular, metal plated room were black scorch marks and my silhouette burned into the floor.

The jutsu that got me to level 50, the last in a long line of suicide jutsu, was detonated by a clone. 'Big Man', as I call it, was a Fission Release technique turning me into a nuclear bomb. It did damage in the trillions. If I let this thing loose, there was no saving anyone in the blast radius.

Its name was a portmanteau of 'Fat Man' and 'Big Boy', the two nuclear bombs used to end World War 2, dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. I'm a walking nuclear bomb now, with this jutsu. Part of me wondered which bomb I was; there were two of them, after all. Could there even ever be a second?

Anyway.

I also felt sad.

Konoha was a dark place. The best of a bad bunch, sure, but it was dark. But I had memories there. Lots of memories. Good ones, bad ones, painful ones. Ones that I can only look back on and laugh even though it was not funny at all when it happened.

The Monster House, where I had been Genjutsu'd into thinking the village had been attacked by the Brotherhood of Steel. The Organ Trail, where I managed to save a member of the Hyuuga clan from having his eyes scooped out of his head…I wonder what happened to him, I never met him.

Of course, things started to get serious when the Behemoth attacked, sending clones to kidnap the rookie 9. I saved their lives but got in trouble for recklessly taking a fight I couldn't win. I probably could've won that fight if I were smarter, used tree-walking to stick to him whenever he popped out of the water and just hammer on him. But my Aquaphobia was in full swing there and wouldn't let me go beneath surface of the sewer water.

And, well, I had ten INT so definitely not smarter. Try 'proactive'. Yeah, if I were more inherently proactive, things would've been so much better. I could've solved the charisma issue way before the Chunin exams if I had looked for something to boost it while I was still in the academy. Sure, I didn't have any Ryo to my name to do that, but theft. Theft is the time-honored solution to lack of funds in all RPG's.

I blame depression and a hyper-focus on why I built my character-sheet the way I did. Also, morals that say stealing is wrong. Made my decision to dump CHA feel justified with every enemy I plastered all over the walls. So, a perverse form of pride.

Honestly, the entire CHA debacle just makes my head hurt the more I think about it. I was more than a little dumb. But if it wasn't for that, I would never have met the Penguins. Love those guys to death and I think they might be the only true friends I've got left in the world anymore.

Good memories.

It wouldn't be a surprise if more than a few of my old friends hate me now. Probably not Naruto, but definitely Sasuke, Sakura…Nichiren's probably having panic attacks, he was always scared of me. If Hisako didn't hate me with all the heartbreak's I subjected her too, I would start questioning her mental health. Anko…maybe she doesn't hate me. I mean, after telling her what Sarutobi did, I wouldn't be surprised if she was as mad at him as she was at me when I failed to report Orochimaru's presence in Suna.

Which means she might've considered joining me in breaking from the village. Which wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, she's highly capable, loyal to the people who earn it unless they severely transgress on it and really attractive.

I never really felt anything beyond that physical attraction but maybe that's because she's made it fairly clear that she's not interested due to how young I am. No point in wasting your time after that, right? Then again, maybe she'd change her tune now that I had the Lady Killer perk?

Nah, let's not tempt her into Hebephilia, especially after I made such a big deal about not doing that myself with Ino and Hisako. That'd be disgustingly hypocritical of me.

Still, maybe presenting her the option might be a good thing to do. Stop her from getting executed by the village if she tries anything without a support system in place. I might swing by and check up on her, just to make sure she's doing okay.

I knelt down on the floor, sending chakra through it to see if the testing chamber would hold. The steel had only held because I gave the room a serious ablative coating that got burnt off by the blast but by my readings, the room seemed solid.

Good.

Very good.

So, what's on the agenda for today?

Well, nothing.

I got a meeting with Mifune tomorrow to show him the instructional book on Jutsu I was going to share with the samurai. Just a small thing, talking about chakra control and the academy three, framed as being solely for the education of the adults in the Land of Iron. Don't let the kids touch it.

Normally, I wouldn't have much problem with kids being exposed to Jutsu, but according to Mifune, they're already being training in Ninshū, which comes with Chakra's strength and speed enhancements which is perfectly fine for my purposes. Besides, Ninshū is just as good in the long run.

The book itself was almost done and then afterwards, I was going to need to put something together to start spreading Ninshū to the rest of the populace. You know, once I actually understood it.

Like, I get the theory, sharing chakra to understand the other as intimately as yourself. But the mechanics seemed to elude me, which meant that actually learning Ninshū was tied to a quest, if I could learn it at all.

Unless it was like the guitar, where I'd have to learn it the hard way.

Which wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, it'd just be inconvenient.

I can do patient.

…I hate being patient.

With that, I walked out of the chamber and shut the door behind me with chakra-strings. Then I teleported to the office I made.

It was a traditional Overseer's office, from Fallout, which the RPG system that I was under comes from. No amount of training can raise my skills, no amount of work can make me better at something. I couldn't throw for anything in the academy despite the fact that I was trained on how to throw a Kunai for years because my Ranged skill was in the toilet.

Then, there was that charisma thing again. I could've raised the stat with perks, but I only got one of those every other level and since 50 was max level, I would only be getting 25 of those. If I had spent every perk I got increasing charisma to dig myself out of the hole, I wouldn't have gotten any other perk until level 18, with only 16 unique perks to choose from. Better to raise it with just one perk, that being Almost Perfect.

And it was better.

Even if it was the single most harrowing thing I've ever done.

The rush of memories cast in new light as I understood each social situation better, seeing every mistake, every screw up laid bare in the harsh sunlight of twenty-twenty vision nearly made me want to take my own life.

I hadn't felt that bad since the Kyuubi attacked the village.

Anyway, the office had a circular window overlooking the rest of my vault, my home. There was a desk sitting in front of it, and past the window, I could see the cafeteria area, the hallway to the testing chambers, another hallway that I'm thinking will be a museum of some kind, a tribute to the video game to which I owe all the power I have and the pain I've experienced.

It was very important to acknowledge your roots, you know.

The chair creaked loudly as I sat down. It was noisy by design, I like audio feedback to my actions. Even if it's just sitting my twelve-year-old self in a chair.

In front of me was the draft of the book I was writing, written and edited perfectly by my jutsu. I just needed to write the last chapter, bring everything I teach in the book to a solid cap and I was at a loss. I knew what I wanted to say.

"Anyone can do Jutsu."

And they can, even if their attempts are laughably inept because they've never even touched their chakra coils before and they were heavily atrophied. That's mostly going to be a problem with civilian adults in the Elemental countries…

Anyway, the problem is that I'm writing for the audience of Samurai, a group of people who very much are opposed to Jutsu of all kinds. Therefore, I had to tell everyone to be careful of what they're seeing, that the book is really only for educational purposes.

But that is absolutely not the book I want to write.

Anyone can. Everyone should. People should build their homes with Earth release, use Lightning release to power their own homes and Wind release to get to wherever they're going. Fire release to warm themselves and Water release to bathe. Jutsu should. Be. Everywhere.

But there has to be a compromise. For now, at least.

I mean, Mifune and his advisors are already somewhat suspicious of my intentions, even if he's tentatively letting me lay out a plan to use Jutsu to improve the Land of Iron's infrastructure. I have to show him that Ninjutsu can be beneficial and that the Samurai can practice both Chakra arts in harmony.

But that means making concessions to their suspicion to assuage their fears and help reinforce the notion that I am here to help. Which means sacrificing the positive note that I wanted to end my book on.

Man…

Alright, let's do it. Be as neutral as the rest of the book. Matter of fact. Common sense safety precaution. No jokes, I don't know what the Samurai's sense of humor is like or how tolerant they would be of a Ninja. They might take it as an insult somehow.

Best to just avoid the idea of humor for now.

With the final words of the book flowing onto the pages, chakra turning into ink, the book was finished. I took a breath and creaked open the cover, a high-quality thing I made with Solid-Release. The book opened like an instructional manual or a field guide, carefully introducing how Ninja use chakra, the various benefits they get from it, diagrams, etc. Hand signs are shown in detail, as is how to funnel chakra through them. Then the academy three, the jutsu that absolutely every ninja everywhere will know and how to counter them.

True genius is taking something that is deep and complex in of itself, and unfolding it so that a child may understand it.

I don't remember where that quote came from, but it had a point.

Can a child understand this book?

I think so.

"And that'll be it for today," Kakashi said, digging into his vest pocket to fish out his book. "Rest up, we'll be meeting here again tomorrow at the same time. More training."

"Yes, Sensei," Sakura nodded, gasping for breath as she had doubled over and fell to her knees.

Beneath his mask, Kakashi frowned and held in a sigh. They aren't at Cell 13's level yet. I need to pace them better.

Sasuke simply grunted and walked off, his gait slow and even to avoid betraying just how burnt out he truly was. Sakura slowly sat up.

"Sensei?" Kakashi looked down from his book and saw Naruto down there, looking barely the worse for wear, thick layer of sweat on his skin. "I had a question."

Is this going to be about Daisuke? This is going to be about Daisuke, Kakashi thought wryly. "What is it, Naruto?"

"If I brought Daisuke back, what would happen to him?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi actually did sigh this time. "Naruto, I wouldn't worry about that. Leave that to the Hokage."

Which was shorthand for leave him to ANBU, but if any of his old comrades actually succeeded in bringing his wayward pupil back to Konoha in any form at all, he'd be shocked. Daisuke had crushed Orochimaru beneath his bootheel and then the Hokage alongside an entire contingent of ANBU almost a few months later.

"It's not good, is it?" Naruto pressed.

"Naruto," Kakashi started warningly, then he abated. He had seen one village super weapon go rogue because of the way he was treated, he didn't want to cause the same thing to happen again. "No, it isn't."

Naruto groaned in worry and disappointment. "Well, how do we make it so that it doesn't happen?"

Kakashi's one eye blinked. Well, both of them blinked, but only one was visible. "Naruto, he exposed two S-class secrets to more than half the clan heirs in Konoha and his teammates. The only way that'd happen is if he got a pardon straight from the Hokage."

Naruto let out a depressed sigh. "Sensei, I wish everyone could just, I don't know…"

Kakashi tilted his head as he looked at his student.

"Get along," Naruto finally finished. "Realize that, yeah, people make mistakes but we don't have to, you know, blow up at everyone over it. Like yeah, Daisuke let out two S-class secrets and Gramps didn't kill Orochimaru, but Orochimaru is dead and, well…I was going to be told anyway."

Sakura walked up to hear the conversation with a frown.

"I don't think there's any point in being mad about it," Naruto shrugged. "So, the Hokage should Pardon Daisuke and then they should talk it out. Then Daisuke could come back and Konoha could be…whole again."

"That's a nice thought," Kakashi said, playing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "But Daisuke had an insubordinate streak a mile wide and the Hokage pressed the one button guaranteed to get Daisuke's enmity for life."

What else would you call going off to the summons realm for more power when placed on a mission ban designed to curb a lust for power? Sure, Daisuke tried. He really, really tried to accommodate the demands placed on him by the Hokage, but the few areas he fell short in…were massive. The summons, running off to kill Orochimaru and then leaving Sunagakure in the middle of the Chunin exams to finally fix his issues when the Hokage had made it abundantly clear that he wanted as close to a natural progression as possible.

"So, then I guess I'll just have to become Hokage," Naruto shrugged with a determined steel in his eyes. "Then I can give Daisuke his pardon and then have him and the Old Man talk it out."

Kakashi chuckled lightly. "I guess you will. Sakura, did you need anything?"

"No, I'm just waiting on Naruto," Sakura replied. "But, Naruto? If you want to become Hokage, you're going to need to improve your chakra control. It's no where near where it needs to be."

"Aw, come on, Sakura-chan," Naruto pouted. "I've gotten way better since we graduated."

"I'll see you two later," Kakashi said with an eye-smile and a wave as he took out his erotica novel.

"See yah, Sensei," Naruto waved goodbye.

"Bye Sensei," Sakura bade.

Kakashi disappeared in a black blur of motion and Naruto sighed in depression, turning around and walking towards the road. Sakura followed after him.

"You really miss him, huh?" Sakura asked with a frown.

"Yeah," Naruto said. "We were always there for each other, you know?"

"I know you guys were really good friends," Sakura replied.

"More like brothers," Naruto said. "The village shunned me. I didn't really have many friends growing up, their parents always telling their kids to stay away from me. Daisuke's only sort of friend was Hisako and that's just when they'd spar in Tai Jutsu classes. I mean, you remember what he was like. He freaked them all out. The kids didn't hang around me because of their parents, but they wouldn't go near Daisuke unless they absolutely had too."

"So that just pushed you together, huh?" Sakura asked.

"I wouldn't say we did everything together," Naruto said with a shrug. "He was always reading books and I was always pulling pranks. But we could talk about anything to each other…we trusted each other. Now he's gone."

"I'm sorry, Naruto," Sakura said regretfully. "I couldn't imagine what it would be like if Ino left like that."

"Even though you were rivals for the past few years?" Naruto asked with a smirk.

"Especially when we were rivals," Sakura pointed out. "Ino was there for me too, like you were there for Daisuke. I didn't have a lot of friends, people made fun of my forehead. Then Ino started talking to me one day and…I owe her. Huge."

"Well, glad you aren't rivals anymore," Naruto shook his head. "Fighting over the same guy like that was ridiculous."

"It's a girl thing," Sakura replied defensively, trying to look anywhere with her eyes except at Naruto. "You wouldn't understand."

"Sure, it is," Naruto teased. "As much as beating each other up and being friends after is a guy thing, right?"

"Exactly," Sakura said, nodding sagely.

"Wait, I was joking," Naruto replied, blinking.

"Come on, that is totally a guy thing," Sakura pointed out with a smug expression. "You didn't start getting along with Sasuke until after you were punching each other in the face."

"Okay, good point," Naruto muttered. Then he perked up. "Wait, that's a great point. Daisuke loves fighting. Maybe if I can beat him or at least fight him hard enough, he'll actually sit and listen to me when I tell him he needs to come back!"

"That sounds like a terrible idea," Sakura squawked. "You're going to fight Daisuke. I mean, he'll probably just laugh at you if you tried. Look what he did the Hokage!"

"So that's why I've got to train like crazy to get to the point when Daisuke at least has to take me seriously," Naruto affirmed, nodding to himself. "It's a guy thing, Sakura, you wouldn't understand."

They had come up to the gate leading into Konoha, meaning that their current conversation was now outlawed; they were becoming surrounded by people who didn't know the contents of the Double-S classified meeting.

As it was, Sakura just groaned in irritation. "Fine."

"Anyway, I was going to the Akimichi Diner this Friday," Naruto began, stopping to look at Sakura. "I got invited to head over there at anytime and I've been meaning to see what their Ramen is like. Want to come?"

"Ah, I can't, Naruto," Sakura said with a frown. "I had some training exercises with my parents that I've been needing to go through."

Naruto blinked and shrugged. "Alright. Well, if your schedule clears up, you know where I'll be. See you later, Sakura."

Sakura blinked owlishly at Naruto's retreating form, tilting her head slightly. Actually, the Akimichi Diner is sounding pretty good…

When I first unlocked Creation Release, I had come upon the concept of a Jutsu to remake myself. To ascend to immortality as a purified version of those zombie ninja-things that I remembered being in Shippuden.

The image of a resurrected Madara Uchiha laying waste to an army with infinite chakra and the inability to die set to a number of AMV's was really powerful. As in I want it.

But even at max level, using a Jutsu to give myself theoretical godhood was just thoroughly unappealing. Because as much as I love getting more power, I love challenges more. Physical, violent challenges where I might actually die in undertaking them. Nothing more exhilarating, nothing more fun, than diving into a situation where I might die and the coming out on top. Tobi was out there, he could go through walls and teleport and I didn't want to spoil the challenge by simply powering up until it was irrelevant.

Right, so case closed. No god-mode, no infinite chakra, the preservation of at least some small, tiny possibility of challenge left in this world for a man who is almost too powerful for anyone to hope to fight.

Right?

No.

It's not closed because of my ultimate goal.

I want to go home. I want to see my family again, I want to see my country again, I want to see my civilization again.

I want my old name again.

…a name that I don't even remember anymore.

The crashing sound of wood nearly startled me. Looking down, I saw that I had put a hole in my desk in anger.

I didn't even realize that I was forgetting things. I thought my memory was perfect…it is perfect. Isn't it?

Guess not. Need to start writing things down. Pronto.

With a grunt of annoyance, I repaired the desk. I need to stop getting angry at the pull of a trigger. I might've been able to salvage the situation at Konoha if I didn't get mad at Sarutobi deliberately rubbing everything I had lost when I came to his miserable village in my face because I pointed out that he was a weak old man who had no business leading anyone anymore.

Focus. You're getting mad again.

Whatever. The point is, I'm trying to breach dimensional boundaries and get back home again. Something that this game…

Intelligence Check Failure: Success Not Possible.

Ninjutsu Check Failure: Success Not Possible.

Fuinjutsu Check Failure: Success Not Possible.

Perception Check Failure: Success Not Possible.

…is telling me is impossible.

Part of me is wondering if it's declaring it impossible because I don't have enough chakra. I mean, I capped out at 185 chakra points. Really not a lot. I mean, I started out at 76 at level 1, but still. 76, 185 and whatever are barely anything when comparing them to infinity.

Even if it doesn't actually change any of the checks to Successes, I'll only help myself accomplish my goal by going through with this Ascension thing. But it'll also remove any hope of finding my primary source of joy, at all. Which, I mean, I've been needing to find some other way of living. I was going to get to this point regardless so it was going to happen.

I just need to get in front of it. I mean, I'm sure I'll get some level of fulfillment from spreading Ninshū all over the elemental nations and then slowly ushering the world into a golden age of technology and understanding. The key is to do it from behind everyone else to make sure that what I end up building can stand without me being there to babysit.

But man, I was so looking forward to that fight with Tobi and the rest of the Akatsuki. Actually, why don't I just go take care of them right now as some sort of last hurrah?

Because I need them to be a bogey-man that the rest of the elemental nations can focus on while I'm spreading Ninshū to the civilian populace under their noses. They can't do that if they're dead.

Technically, I wouldn't need to do any of that if I just assumed Emperorship of the Elemental nations and lead them directly. But I refuse to do that because (a): I'm not their god and (b): I'm not their father.

I want the people in charge, and then the people themselves, to choose for themselves to follow the direction I'm setting up. I don't want to force anyone to follow my vision. Besides, if I took over directly, that would be shooting the whole 'build it so it can survive without me' goal in the foot, I feel like.

Well, I mean, I don't know. There's no skill for Statecraft. Barter is technically Economics when you got to higher levels, but that'd only help with making laws intent on preserving the natural flow of an economy, like breaking up monopolies and stuff like that.

Essentially, I'd need to learn governance the hard way.

I mean, I'm sure I'll learn plenty as I'm working alongside Mifune. Actually, that's a requirement, now. I'm going to pick his brain on how he rules the Land of Iron. Then, when I'm introducing myself to the Daimyo's, I might learn a lot from them too.

Actually, I could send a few clones out to everyone right now and just start shadowing-no.

No clones.

Clones are the worst.

New rule for me. Unless it's a humanitarian crisis like a natural disaster that needs me to be in multiple spots at once, no clones. Clones are the Harbingers of Boredom and I hate boredom. Loathe it completely.

What was I talking about?

Right, the whole Ascension thing to make it actually possible to jump dimensions.

What am I even going to do when I get home?

That is a question to consider after I've gotten home.

…

Man, I don't want to do this.

But it's got to be done.

…I can only imagine the amount of eye rolls I'd get if someone were to actually 'see' the internal debate I'm having. 'Just take the powerup you idiot'. Too much of a good thing, niggling voice of criticism in the back of my head. Too much.

My hands slowly and methodically went through the hand seals needed to do this. I felt my chakra shape itself into each element individually and then combining into one. Fire. Wind. Lightning. Earth. Water. Creation release.

Here we go.

Ascension.

I thought that I underwent a drastic transformation when I picked up Almost Perfect. The way I could feel my body changing in waves across my skin, growing muscle and warping bones. This? I could feel this changing my very chakra coils, which in turn was spreading throughout my body.

It felt like my very soul was changing, but the process wasn't…painful, per se. But it felt vast and very permanent. Like a fire was being set inside me, never to be extinguished. Like I was being cleansed by the very essence of purity.

By the time it was done, I still felt warm and I felt a vast sea of eternity coursing around inside me. Like I could do anything.

Then the game froze.

At first, I panicked, expecting the game to glitch out or something. But instead, I got a new message.

Perk Unlocked: Apotheosis.

By all your powers combined, you've ascended to godhood! Eternal Life, Eternal Youth, Eternal power, they're all yours. You will never die or suffer penalties because of old age. You also have Infinite Chakra and Hit Points.

My health and chakra bars appeared for a brief second in my vision, and then disappeared.

Yay.

In contrast to the infinite oceans of chakra swirling inside me, I was dead inside.

My old purpose in life had truly lost all meaning, now.

The kicker is that I know it's for the best.

Take a deep breath, Daisuke.

You're going to be too busy trying to uplift the elemental nations and finding a way home to get distracted by physical altercations.

Let all your frustrations out.

Even if the perk says I'm a god, I'm not going to be their god. They'll learn how to govern themselves. They'll stumble and fall along the way, but they'll come to my way of thinking. Or they might find something better. In which case, more power to them. I'll learn from them.

But I've got a lot of work to do.