The Arm's Rebellion

[Akuto POV]

I felt my chest bump against a shoulder as the sound of footsteps reached my ears. I was finally awake.

I pretended to stay asleep but unfortunately, it would seem that the captor noticed and I was roughly thrown to the ground.

But I still tried pretending only for a feminine voice to speak out, "I know you're awake," The voice said as I internally sighed and cracked open an eyelid.

"This shit never works..." I mumbled as I caught sight of the woman in front of me and was barely surprised to see a black-haired woman.

'I knew it...' I thought to myself as I gained a curious look and concentrated on Sayuri, 'Inspect...'

I restrained my surprise as a massive screen appeared before me.

|][]===========[][|

|]Status[|

Class: Uchiha Swordswoman

Age: 32

[]Sayuri Uchiha[]

Strength: 145

Dexterity: 175

Vitality: 120

Defense: 135

Intelligence: 350

Charm: 36

Intrinsic Skills: [Uchiha Bloodline] [Indra Chakra] [Sharingan (EMS)] [Rinne-Sharingan]

Skills: [Kage Bunshin no Jutsu] [Chidori] [Kirin] [Chidori Variations...] [Fire Style: Dragon Flame jutsu] [Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire jutsu] [Fire Style: Pheonix flower jutsu] [Fire Style: Fire Ball jutsu] [Kagutsuchi] [Summon Jutsu: Snake] [Summon Jutsu: Hawk] [Indra's Arrow] [...]

Talents: [All Chakra Natures] [Kenjutsu] [Shurikenjutsu]

Transformations: [Susanoo] [Perfect Susanoo]

|][]===========[][|

Damn. Sayuri's specific stats aren't as overwhelming as Naruko's, but, across the board, her's are way more balanced.

Sayuri's stats are just overall a lot more controlled while still remaining strong, with a few specializations in things like dexterity, which surpass Naruko's.

Not to mention the overwhelmingly large catalogue of skills in comparison to Naruko who only had a select few powerful ones.

'Each have their own strengths, but I think--'

My thought process was interrupted by dizziness that overwhelmed me for a few moments before calming down.

I shook my head tiredly and turned to the cause of my current dizziness who was looking at me disapprovingly.

Although I was initially taken aback by her, my current irritation overpowered that feeling and caused me to give her a dirty look.

Another headache hit me, I let out a low, "Fuck," and Sayuri reprimanded me, "Language."

It was at that moment that I knew this would be a very long trip.

...

...

...

It's been quite a bit since I woke up, and nothing of note has happened, except for a certain event that I chose to deal with.

The certain event in question being the reward for completing the quest.

After a moment of concentration, I commanded the system to bring up the notifications.

[Mission accomplished!]

[Reward granted!]

[Selecting random skill...]

I couldn't help the excited grin that was stretching across my face as the screen before me blinked rapidly.

I knew that the mission was completed earlier but I wanted to wait a little until things were less overwhelming and calmer.

Everything was happening so fast, but at least I finally completed the mission due to Sayuri kidnapping me.

Though, I am still curious about what happened to Mitsuki since I just suddenly vanished.

Well, whatever, right now I gotta worry about my new skill!

The irritating sound of clacking echoed through my mind at every flash of the system as it slowly began to stop.

Then, the screen came to a slow stop and the system displayed the skill I earned.

[Congratulations...]

[Skill [Psychokinesis] Acquired!]

A flood of energy entered my body and began coursing through my veins as I stared curiously at the notification.

Suddenly, the energy stopped coursing through me and I felt it redirect somewhere completely different.

'Huh?'

[Skill [Psychokinesis] Removed]

My eyes widened in shock as I felt the skill's energy completely leave my body.

My mind was overwhelmed with panic as I attempted to keep my exterior as calm as possible.

'What the hell? System, what happened with my skill!?' I asked frantically within my mind as a notification appeared before me.

[Skill gain process has failed]

'Failed!? How the hell does that even happen!?'

I took a moment to process what occurred before spotting my right arm which had morphed back into a claw and gaining a rather doubtful thought.

I considered it, I carefully thought about it, and I stared dead-eyed at the arm.

'Hey, symbiote, did you do this...?' I questioned, not really knowing how that would happen but still having doubt.

As expected, not a single response came from the symbiote and I was left panicking by myself.

'System, answer me, what did this?' I inquired desperately as a notification appeared before me

[Skill gain failure was the result of--]

Wait, what the hell is happening...? System, why'd you stop in the middle of your sentence?

[SkUUU*UUill-!-- [gain pro--cess&%$())] iiiiiiinter''upted^!*+...]

[ERROR Detected]

Woah, woah, woah! Hey, what the fuck is going on, system!?

[Er- Er- Errooooooooor error!-==-]

[Quel que chose avez--sk-- Interrupción del proceso de-- Skill gain function]

French!? Spanish!?

My mind was overwhelmed with panic as I felt my chakra spike and frantically shouted within my mind.

However, as I was panicking, a sudden calming *PING* played and the screen began flashing once more.

What in the fuck...?

And then the screen turned red once more.

[Alert! Mental Threat Detected!]

'Wha--'

"Aargh!" I suddenly shrieked in pain as I dropped to the ground and felt my entire being fluctuate chaotically.

'What the hell is this pain...!?' I thought painfully as I grit my teeth tightly, 'Fuck! It's like I'm being corrupted from the inside!'

It felt as though my body was rapidly cycling through everything I had, activating, deactivating, and distorting everything inside me. Everything but the symbiote which seemed to be relishing in it.

It wasn't just my body-- actually, the main source of the pain was my mind which seemed to be getting overrun with a foreign mind, as though being consumed.

With the strange force assaulting my mind, I hurriedly attempted to save myself, 'System, activate... Dark Determination...!'

[Dark Determination activated!]

[Mental Fortification boost has activated in response to mental threat]

I grinned with evident pain at the system's message, thankful for such a useful skill, before a shocking message displayed itself.

[Mental Fortification has failed]

Despair overcame my face for a moment before agony overwhelmed me and I focused on pushing through the pain so adaptation could save me.

[Skill: [Adaptation] has detected a threat]

'Oh thank god. Now time to endure. Resist it!'

The sensation of torture was as though key aspects of myself were being overtaken by a terrible force that I couldn't explain.

Pain overwhelmed my mind and I could just barely make out Sayuri next to me as my symbiote arm, which seemed to be growing on my body, lashed out.

I could slightly hear Sayuri tell me to calm down as she approached me and looked into my eyes.

However, I was hit by a bolt of raw chakra as Sayuri attempted to cast a genjutsu on me that got blocked by the symbiote and the symbiote smacking Sayuri.

A wave of unknown energy travelled through my symbiote who spread further up my arm and became more vibrant as it vibrated joyously.

My right arm twisted and vibrated as it send waves of intense pain into the rest of my body.

It felt as though every individual cell of my body around the area of my right arm was being utterly tortured and consumed by an internal force.

The skin around the symbiote arm steadily shifted into a dull purple, black veins spread from the symbiote and into my physical body.

The symbiote arm was glowing with a purple-white aura that seemed to be overtaking my brain-- a glow I'd only just noticed despite being present the whole time.

[Skill: [Adaptation] is adapting...]

Despite Adaptation putting in work and attempting to save me, I felt the force push harder to overtake my mind.

My eyes glowed with the bright light of corruption as I arduously persevered in the face of this unnatural power.

I wasn't expecting any miraculous thing to save me as my mind was about to fall victim to the domination, but thanks to the combined power of Dark Determination, my high Luck stat, and my own force of will, I managed to stay strong just long enough.

[Adaptation Complete]

[Skill: [Mental Control Resistance] Acquired!]

I smiled and felt all my powers reign back in again and my mind fall back into a state of calmness, the blue glow being forced back into the symbiote.

The new resistance skill took effect immediately and seemed to have formed some kind of passive defence around my mind.

I heard a faint shriek of rage within my mind as I fell onto my back tiredly.

Out of the corner of my vision, I spotted Sayuri sitting down on the ground with a confused expression on her face.

'Alright, system. Talk. What just happened?' I asked, staring angrily at the air above me as a message appeared.

[It would appear that the [Symbiote] used its biological control to manipulate the skill and stole it]

'Ooooh, really?' I asked sarcastically, 'I figured that much out myself...' I thought to myself as I focused on the event that just occurred.

If this damn symbiote truly DID manage to do something as absurd as taking my skill from me, then it's safe to assume that it used that skill to do what it did to me.

The implications of the symbiote being able to do such a thing with the system's skills are terrifying, but what's more terrifying is the fact that this damn thing was about to use my new [Psychokinesis] to literally take control of me.

If I didn't have Adaptation, would I have been screwed? Most likely.

I mean, if I think Psychokinesis does what I think it does, then the symbiote must've used its inherent host-control abilities and link to my mind in conjunction with the power of Psychokinesis to try to take me over.

Damn, slime.

But again, how was the symbiote even able to do this? How in the HELL was it able to steal the skills from the system, something not even perceivable by most?

The only real answer that could make any sort of sense would be that the symbiote somehow has some measure of awareness-- hell, even ability to interact --with the system.

And if we go off this theory then we can also conclude that the symbiote's mysterious awareness of the system has something to do with me. Since the symbiote was moulded to be bonded to me, made by the system, and bonded directly to my body's functions, it was close enough to develop some kind of interactive quality with the system through me.

Therefore, through the use of it being able to interact slightly with the system's capabilities, used its inherent control over its host's (me) body to give itself the skill.

Anyways, no matter the method, it's still a terrible development.

I have not had any encounters of any kind with the symbiote so I can't really come to any kind of agreement or anything with it.

Damnit, system, what do--

[The system has readjusted for the unpredictable situation of your [Symbiote]. Expect no more troubles to arise from it in regard to skills. Unfortunately, customizations shall be disabled for a short while to recalibrate the system]

'Oh... Well, holy shit, that's helpful. Thanks,' I thanked the system before turning to my right arm.

'Hmm... What happens if the damnable symbiote decides to use MY skill to take me over again...?' I asked myself, getting a bit frustrated at the loss, 'I suppose my adaptation will keep resisting it if it tries to do it again so not much danger...'

So the current analysis of today is that I was knocked out, dragged out into the middle of nowhere by a prickly bitch, and finally got my reward for suffering, only to have that skill stolen from me.

Overall, this shit was pointless as hell. All I did was give a skill to something that intends to backstab my ass every chance it gets.

Actually...

You know what? Fuck it. Hey, system.

[What is your inquiry?]

I want you to repay me for what happened to my skill. I lost it to no fault of my own so give me a prize.

[I do not think I can do that for you]

Why? Your shitty defences allowed another creature to steal my rightfully deserved skill, so again, reimburse me, please.

Another screen appeared before me, three dots being displayed on it for a moment until a full sentence appeared.

[Considering...]

[Offer accepted. Host shall be granted a free random item as reimbursement for skill loss at the hand of the system]

My eyes widened in shock and my jaw dropped. I was completely not expecting for this to work.

'But, why are you giving me an item? Why not another skill?'

[You have already gained a mind control resistance skill. This free item is already more than enough to compensate]

I agreed with the thought despite wanting a new skill.

If it was going to work, why not embrace it? 'All right, give me the item now!' I told the system.

As soon as I commanded the system another roulette began spinning rapidly in the air above me.

After a couple of seconds, the spinning roulette came to a stop and landed on a rather curious symbol.

It appeared to be a symbol displaying the image of an oddly shaped syringe with a long spine-like organism behind it.

It looked awfully familiar to something I had once seen in my past life, but slightly different.

[Congratulations!]

[Item: [Titan Serum] Obtained!]

My face shifted into an expression of surprise as I felt my hand get filled with a cylindrical-shaped object.

'Titan Serum? Like the spinal fluid serums from Attack on Titan? Does that mean I could turn myself into a titan...?' I asked myself in confusion.

I thought of the possibility but quickly dismissed it. Why the hell would I willingly do that? I'd just be some mindless pure titan.

'But still... I'm pretty curious about how it would affect someone in this world...' I thought to myself as I glanced over at the serum, 'Inspect...'

----------

[Titan Serum]

[Details: Allows one to be turned into hulking, mindless, monstrosities of flesh, with a tendency for cannibalism]

-----------

No, I don't want that! A titan serum that doesn't make me a Shifter?! I want to keep my sanity for the rest of my life! Even after I die... I want to stay just the way I am for a while! Ten years, at least!!

Anyways.

Hm. Seems to be exactly like the normal one. That's a shame, I would've liked to turn into Titan shifter but it seems that won't be possible.

Actually... that doesn't seem like that bad of an idea. Who says I couldn't customize the serum to turn me into a shifter?

If I did, not only would I gain the ability to transform into a giant monster, but I could also gain insane regeneration. I mean, aside from the titan's powers themselves.

It could be interesting, but I'd rather not do it.

It just seems like something I wouldn't really need right now. Again, my whole thing is stealth, a giant monster transformation doesn't really help me with that.

That doesn't mean I won't eventually use the serum, but just not now. I'd probably only keep it as a last resort thing.

Besides, just to have this serum be useful, I'd have to customize it to turn me into a Titan Shifter, so it'll serve its purpose as a backup plan.

Or maybe I could use it as an attack. Basically turning my enemy into a useless giant baby.

'Alright... Now that that's settled, I should probably deal with Sayuri since she's been staring at me this whole time,' I thought to myself as I put the syringe into one of my spare sealing scrolls.

"Akuto," She spoke shortly as I turned to her, "What just happened?" She asked seriously as I gained a sad look.

"Sorry, Ms. Sayuri..." I apologized, Sayuri raising a brow in confusion as I continued, "I was trying to secretly do a jutsu, but something went wrong and... you know... this happened..."

She seemed to be judging whether I was lying or not, but soon just sighed and stood up, "Get up..."

She reached out her arm and then pulled me to my feet once I grabbed onto it. Oddly, she didn't let go.

She gave me a look, "I do not believe you. But there's nothing I can do to you as I don't know what happened... So don't cause trouble and I won't have to make a mess," She warned as surprise crossed my face.

Internally, I clicked my tongue in annoyance and then simply just sighed, "I see, then..." I mumbled to her.

She glanced at me one more time, "No chakra, no seals, no weapons, no freedom until we get to the nearby town. Then we'll deal with this and you'll talk," She said harshly.

I was about to get upset, but I quickly pushed it down and walked up next to her, prepared to get back to walking.

As we walked, I wondered why the symbiote never spoke to me. It also weirdly let me use it however I wanted most of the time, and yet apparently wanted to take me over.

I wondered about that a lot in my free time. A seemingly sentient creature willingly acting as an arm.

Just the thought was weird. But for some reason, it also wanted to consume me?

It was quite odd, I wonder why that is?

Oh well.

Only Ymir knows.