Chapter 27

[Quest Complete: Finish your first Root mission.

Rewards:

+1 to all Physical Stats.]

[Chakra has gone up a level.]

I kept quiet as I read over the screen before my eyes moved towards my sensei. Anko was skipping and humming besides me as if I hadn't just ruined someone's business. Granted, nobody would notice for a while, but it was done. 'There's no way she didn't notice, is there?' I thought warily.

Still, regardless of that, she hadn't said a word, and unless absolutely necessary, neither would I.

I took a deep breath in and tried to dissipate the worries in my mind. I had done what I could. Now it all rested on Naruto's and Danzo's hands. Not reassuring at all, but it was what it was. I couldn't do more without a risk of absolutely destroying my new life.

That wouldn't happen.

"So, what you wanna do, little guy?" Anko asked, breaking me from my thoughts. "Are you going to worry the whole day or are you going to do something productive?"

"You mean training? I thought you wanted me to do that less," I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I do, but it's better than what you are doing now so, take that as you will," She shrugged.

"Well, I need to cheer up, as you pointed out," I sighed before a small smile replaced the frown on my face. "So, I'm gonna visit the Inuzuka vet, that always helps."

When I didn't receive a response to that, I turned towards my teacher and saw her staring at me. 'Huh, that hadn't happened in a while?' I thought, slightly amused by her expression.

"That's where your girlfriend works, isn't it?" She said after a moment and I sighed. Not the reply I had expected, but that was Anko for you.

"For the last time, she is not my girlfriend," I tried. Not even sure why though, considering just who I was talking with. But I felt like I needed to at least do that much.

"Sure she isn't, brat, sure she isn't."

"Why do I put up with you?" I wondered more to myself than to her.

"Because you train better under my instructions than by yourself?" I hummed at that and it was her time to sigh. "You are supposed to deny that. What happened to not being a training maniac?"

"Well, everyone calls me that already, might as well go with it, right?" I asked back and she groaned.

"Why do I put up with you?" She copied my question.

"Now that's the real question."

[}-o-{]

"Yeah, I get what you mean," Hana said sympathetically. "I know I'll be feeling the same thing with Kiba when he has to take his first C-rank out of the village."

"You sure? I wouldn't miss him too much," I replied with a smirk as I continued petting the dogs around me. For some reason the older canines wanted attention more than the puppies. Unusual, but not unheard of. I enjoyed myself either way, so I wasn't complaining.

"He is a brat, but I still love him," She defended, punching my shoulder when I looked at her with a mock-baffled expression. "That's my brother you are insulting you know?"

"Don't worry, I don't hold it against you, I promise," I nodded solemnly. At that, my shoulder received another punch that I welcomed, completely unrepentant.

"I don't even know why I keep letting you come here," She grumbled under her breath, just loud enough for me to hear. Her response was one of the puppies getting his head out of the bowl of food and barking at her. "Right, the food, how could I forget?"

"Is that all I am to you, guys? The food delivery?" All the dogs nodded with a bark and I deadpanned at them. "Truly, you hurt me, so much," I said with a completely neutral voice. The worst fake depression ever was quickly broken by Yuki, who positively tackled me on the chest and started licking the 'sadness' out of me. "I love you too, Yuki," I chuckled while petting her.

The dog, in response, nodded and barked with an 'expression' that clearly said 'And don't you forget it.'

I was spending entirely too much time at the vet, evidently.

[}-o-{]

"So, you are doing your first C-rank mission too?" I voiced after what had been a long moment of silence at my house.

"Yeah, we are going to a village that seems to be having trouble with some 'gang'," Ino explained, mimicking the '-' with her fingers. "Apparently, our job is only to find some information, from there either Asuma-sensei will help us deal with it."

"Hmm," I hummed, it was good that I was cooking. It gave me a reason to be less talkative.

"You are worrying too much," Not that it mattered, apparently, since Shika could see right through me. "We've been training a lot, you know we are good. You've seen it," He continued and I couldn't help but sigh.

"I know," I said in a whisper that only I could hear. "I know," I repeated out loud. "But a brother worries," I send the same words I had told Sasuke their way. I could almost feel them rolling their eyes.

"Stop acting like you are older than us, Eiji," Ino whined, which did little to support her case, really, even if they didn't know that.

Well into the night of that day. I sat at the table, like I did every day. Once more, with more purpose than I had during my two years at the Academy.

"You know the deal," I spoke at the emptiness of my home.

There were lots of reasons for making another deal with Danzo. First, I needed to keep up appearances. It would be weird if I asked for protection for Naruto and nobody else. They could even realize that I knew things would go awry. Second, I was actually worried, since I didn't know if they would go into a 'cursed' mission due to the changes I had caused. Third, I was actually worried regardless. And forth… I had probably already dived too deep by that point.

Regardless, the paper appeared and I took it, the mission having already been accepted in my mind without even needing to read it.

'Too deep indeed,' I thought wryly to myself.

[}-o-{]

"Kamidamnit, just stop being so annoying would you!" I shouted as I did a hand seal and unleashed eight shuriken on a snake as long and as thick as a tree. And being that we were in Konoha, that was saying something.

[Sparkling Shuriken has been maxed.]

[Quest Complete: Max one Lightning Release jutsu.

Rewards:

+5 Lightning Manipulation levels.]

'Great, but so not the time,' I thought dismissing the screens and substituting myself with a nearby rock after another hand seal. A second later, another snake snapped its jaw closed right where I had been standing, instead getting a mouthful of rock.

[Substitution Technique has been maxed.]

'Are you doing this on purpose, Game!'

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me," I muttered to myself as I saw around ten snakes slithering around me, on the ground and on the trees. Anko really had gone all out today, "Fuck this, I'm out."

And sure enough, I activated both Running and Free Running and got out of there like the devil was on my heels. It wasn't as exaggerated as one would have thought, that phrase. Passing in between hostile snakes proved to be a challenge, which is why I was very happy for my skill's boosts. In the end, the only one that touched me was the one I used as a stepping stone to jump away. The hiss I received promised years of pain for me though.

'Too many enemies, time to get creative,' I thought to myself as I ran through the forest, a drop of sweat going down my brow.

And creative I got. Not exactly original though, since I used a now common strategy for me in the forest but on a larger scale. As I traveled through it, I kept throwing around shuriken and kunai. A second later, I heard the explosions behind me and the hisses of my probably fallen foes.

That wouldn't work on them all though, and it would also catch the attention of the other residents of the forest. How the place's ecosystem worked at all with so many predators and so little prey, I would never know. But I wasn't going to start theorizing on that at that moment.

Eventually, I stopped running and chuckled to myself.

Why? Because I found it funny that I had stopped right where I started, even if it had been on purpose. The stunned and completely unconscious snake that had taken my Sparkling Shurikens still lying on the floor, twitching from time to time. Some distance ahead, I could see the dust and fallen trees product of the first few explosions. There was one snake that had seemingly had the misfortune of being right under a tree while it fell.

In other circumstances, I should have probably been doing something other than just standing there. Every second staying still was a second where something could jump on you in the Forest of Death. For me though, the forest was little more than child's play unless Anko participated herself.

"You are one scary kid, you know that?" My teacher asked, not for the first time and probably not for the last one either.

"I don't know what you are talking about, sensei," I said, in voice entirely too innocent for what I had done. Maybe being Anko's student had started to affect me. 'Huh, food for thought, I guess.'

"Will you give the finishing touch?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as the corner of her mouth twitched.

A second later, we both let out a smirk. As I turned back to the forest, I saw a snake hanging on the air, trapped in ninja wires, giving me its best attempt at puppy dog eyes. It was a good one at that, but the joke was on it, I was immune to that already. Turns out that going to the vet had been good for something.

A hand seal later, the forest lit up as electricity traveled through my fingers onto the threads wrapped around them and towards the not small amount of snakes and random animals trapped on my ninja wire net.

[Stunning Thread has gone up a level.]

[Stunning Thread has been maxed.]

"I think I'm starting to see why you call me a monster, Anko-sensei."

"Took you long enough, brat."

[}-o-{]

'Wow, the list of maxed skills certainly grew a lot,' I thought to myself a week or so later, as I looked over the screens in front of me.

I was also alone, both in the house and in the village, at least as far as I was concerned. Team 8 had also had to go on a C-rank mission. This one though, was a safe enough one that I didn't feel like I needed to interfere. Which was good, I didn't want to deal too much with Danzo, if I could help it.

Regardless, the past few weeks had been productive indeed.

[Eiji Satou

Main Title: Anko Mitarashi's Apprentice

Secondary Title: Shadow of the Shinobi

Energy Points: 700/700

Chakra Points: 525/525

Strength: 35

Dexterity: 39

Constitution: 35

Chakra: 35

Chakra control: C]

I was very proud of my stats, if I was being honest. Although the fact that Anko refused to tell me where I stood in comparison with Chuunin and such was annoying as fuck. But I would have to wait for the Exams, I guessed. I was just happy that she had promised to teach me Water Walking soon. I had started to get a little impatient seeing Chakra control stale so much.

[Lightning Release: Sparkling Shuriken – Max

E-rank technique with which the user launches a weak lightning-infused shuriken at their target.

Projectiles have a 30% chance of doing lightning damage if they fly close enough.

Consumption – 5 Chakra Points per shuriken.]

Certainly not my strongest jutsu, nor the most useful. However, I was attached to it since it was my first one and it also worked very well when I didn't need too much power. Sparkling Shuriken was certainly a good way to save chakra, if Stunning Thread was out of the question.

Speaking of which…

[Lightning Release: Stunning Thread – Max

E-rank technique with which the user powers a thread of ninja wire with a weak lightning charge.

Consumption – 5 Chakra Points]

The jutsu was probably one of my favorites, surprisingly enough. It was very versatile and it didn't escalate too much if I used in in a myriad of wires, as I had started to do in the forest. Granted, it still took the total 5 points for each thread used, but the trick was that it didn't matter how long the threads were. It was probably my most efficient jutsu, if nothing else.

My other Lightning jutsu weren't quite there yet, but Flashing Shuriken only needed a couple of levels to max too. And now that this pair was maxed, I would have that much time to level the others up.

[Yin Release: Basic Mirage – Max

E-rank technique with which the user creates a small illusion for their target to see.

Consumption – 1 Chakra Points per illusion.]

This one got me to be surprisingly happy. I had never been a fan of Genjutsu, but I couldn't deny the usefulness of it, especially now that I didn't need to use hand seals. Anko had promised to get me the next variant of it, Minor Mirage, D-rank. It was probably as far as I would get on that branch, but once I maxed that?

Genjutsu was the ninja branch that was the most balanced throughout all ranks. After all, one could do as much damage with a small illusion than they could with a big one. The only thing that mattered was how you used them. As evidenced by my first spar with Anko and the hidden explosive tag.

[Yin Release: Genjutsu Dissipation – Max

D-rank technique with which the user disrupts their own chakra flow to free themselves or others from Genjutsu.

Consumption – 5 Chakra Points per use.]

Now, this one was not my favorite jutsu but I could certainly say that was the one that made me the happiest. My newly found respect for the Art of Illusions had certainly raised my respect for this technique too. I even had plans to develop a jutsu that was a step up from the normal Dissipation. But that was for the future.

From there, I had also maxed the Academy Three. Which, wasn't as good as one might expect. Yes, Substitution was awesome, and the fact that I could use it without hand seals and that the size requirement had been reduced to a quarter of my size was great. But the other two… meh. Clones weren't so great when they could be easily identified as such. And transformation was very situational, and not very combat oriented, which was what mattered to me, really.

'Things are looking very good,' I thought to myself as I leaned back on my chair.

A second later, a scroll appeared on my table.

Jutsu Creation: Introduction. Part 3.

'Well, let's see how long it takes me to create one after finishing this,' I grinned.

Granted, I wouldn't be able to make anything elemental. But I could, as far as I knew, create something on the level of the Basic Clones or such with only the Introductions series. And I had some ideas already about what to make.

'No rest for the wicked, I guess.'

[}-o-{]

"I'm not surprised anymore," Anko said, sitting on the shore of a small lake and lazily resting her cheek on her hand. As for me? Well…

[New Skill Acquired: Advanced Chakra Control Exercises – Lvl 1]

I was standing on the water, admiring my new skill in all its long-named glory. 'How I missed you, even though your name is still ridiculously long,' I thought to myself with a grin before continuing to walk on the lake. Even through my excitement, I made sure to stay as focused as possible, since, despite the skill, it was still pretty easy to unknowingly fail the skill.

Nerfed game and all that. 'I'm used to this at this point.'

"Well, besides this," My teacher started explaining. I had no delusions that she was doing this for anything that wasn't causing me to fall in the water. She was a bitch like that. "I've got the Minor Mirage scroll right here, together with the normal Body Flicker. We won't add anything else to your training though. I want you to master either Electromagnetic Strike or Embers before I give you anything new. And I think you can guess what I'll give you."

Indeed, I could. Still, I kept myself silent, less I lost my focus for something as stupid as speaking. She would never let me live it down.

"You have enough low rank techniques as it is. From here you are only climbing up, but I want your foundations solid for that," She continued explaining. I simply gave a stiff nod before biting my tongue. Something had caused a ripple in the water, and that was like someone poking me while I was balancing on a rope. "Ooops," Anko said innocently.

My eye twitched.

Sometimes I hated her.

A second later, my eyes widened as I saw a huge snake swimming under me.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me!" I shouted as the thing lightly pushed my right foot with its nose.

All I could hear was my sensei's mad laughter as I swam up and tried to pull myself up with my chakra's support on the water.

"Gotta keep that concentration up, kiddo!"

Granted, her methods, while batshit insane, were also equally good at helping me improve. My speed while leveling skills under her tutelage proved that. Working better under pressure and all that, I guessed.

I still hated her though.

[}-o-{]

The cackling of lightning formed around my feet after a few hand seals. Electricity made itself visible around my feet, flying about like it danced at my whims. I didn't focus on that though. Instead, I took a step forward and there was a now familiar blur around me. Fortunately, I was getting better at following the Lightning Flicker's speed.

My right foot, still charged, did something entirely different from what I usually did. Instead of stopping my charge against the ground, I kicked forward, an accelerated and lightning infused boot met the thick fur of the biggest beast I had found in the Forest of Death as of yet, a white tiger. It was actually impressive, since its head was as big as I was.

Still, the pitiful beast let out a sound that might as well have come from a kitten as my kick sent it slightly airborne before it hit a tree. It twitched, the electricity making its muscles twitch on their own, but eventually, it tried to stand up again. It never got the chance though, since I had hardly been idle. A second thunderous kick hit its head, killing it instantly.

[Lightning Flicker has gone up a level.]

[Lightning Release: Lightning Flicker – Lvl 12

D-rank technique with which the user infuses lightning on their legs to propel themselves in one direction.

Hand Seals – 2

Range – 24 meters

Consumption – 14 Chakra Points.]

'One less seal, one less Chakra Point cost, two extra meters,' I noted with a satisfied grin. 'Very nice.'

"You really want to improve on that jutsu, don't you?" Anko asked, lazily sitting on a tree branch over where I stood. I smirked at the snakes hanging nearby, who were eyeing me warily. The smaller ones even trembled under my gaze.

It was so satisfying, to see the tables turned a bit.

"I really do," I nodded, turning back to my teacher. "It's a very cool technique, the only problem is having to do the hand seals. If I can get it mastered, I'll be one hell of a weapon in my arsenal."

"You are not gonna hear arguments from me, kiddo," She nodded, something akin to pride showing over her usual amused/mocking expression. "I half expected you to focus on Strike or Embers, to get something of higher level."

"I learned the power of speed some time ago," I explained, looking around, searching for a new target to practice. I had stopped using my wire nets some time ago. It had gone past the point of being amusing or anything of the sort. Now it was just sad. And since I had already maxed the Stunning Thread skill, there wasn't much of a point in going around spamming it.

"Valid point," She nodded, although I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her intent stare. "Don't mind me. I'm just wondering if I'm here for anything else other than giving you scrolls and signing your missions."

"Nonsense," I said, shocked she would say something like that. "You also spar with me sometimes!"

Silence permeated the forest before both of us broke out in laughter.

"Oh, didn't expect that from you, brat!" She said, still laughing and now holding her sides. "I'll make a decent madman out of you yet."

"I'll do my best, sensei!" I said, making my best impression of Rock Lee. She shook her head, still chuckling to herself.

"Man, I expected this teaching thing to be a lot more annoying."

I withheld my own opinion on that. Anko would have probably hated to teach anyone that wasn't me. Especially if she was given a team. The only exceptions I could think of were Sasuke and Shino. The former being a monster on his own right and the latter being level-headed, skilled and adaptable enough to survive her training. Everyone else would have had trouble following, and that would have gotten on her nerves very easily.

"But focusing on one jutsu doesn't mean you get to ignore your other techniques," She added, sitting straight and with her voice serious. I nodded, even though I knew I could do just that, since I had the Game. Still, it wasn't worth arguing over. "And this bunch of snakes are the ones that are a thorn on my side. Feel free to play to your heart's content."

At that, my red eyes moved towards the several snakes hanging from the trees. Said serpents stared back for a few seconds at my slowly widening grin.

"Go into the forest and find me a pack of… whatever. I need quantity of opponents instead of quality right now," I ordered and, after a second of silence, several snakes nodded before they disappeared into the forest. I suddenly had the urge to let out an evil cackle.

"I really like you, kiddo," Anko said, shaking her head and pulling a dango stick from… somewhere. "Never change."