PIN 4

Get us to 500 stones by the end of the week and I'll drop an extra chappy.

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The Projection appeared in a flash of white spiritual energy in front of Aaron, who was still meditating and reorienting his senses to the energies of the new world.

Through his meditations, Aaron had stumbled upon a startling discovery with his Mind Palace. Without the need to actually trigger the skill, which he loathed to do, it granted a photographic memory.

Aaron had no doubt it'd come in handy for what came next.

"How was the town?"

"More…interesting than I expected," the Projection said. "There's someone in there who can see us."

Aaron blinked. "Well, that's well within the limits of expectation."

"Not if she's the only one," Projection Aaron added. "She also seemed well tapped into the politics of the rural town. She could be useful."

"You laid the groundwork?"

"Of course, I did," Projection Aaron huffed at the question. "Used her desperation to get a closer understanding of the target, his routine, weaknesses. She'll also be useful for what comes after."

"Excellent," Aaron nodded, rising to his feet. "Let's get this over with then." The Projection merged back with him, and the memories came flooding in.

Astral Projection Lv 41

Karin looked the same as he remembered: short red hair, intense red eyes, and a ridiculously potent energy signature.

Karin seemed completely perplexed by Aaron's new look.

"What happened to you?" she asked, but Aaron answered her question with one of his own.

"Are you ready?"

"Y-yes," she said with some hesitation.

Aaron touched her shoulder, which seemed to startle more than comfort her.

"You feel different."

"You remember what to do?"

She nodded. "Go home, stay out of sight, and play dumb."

"Good."

Karin turned around to leave the compound but paused to look at Aaron one last time. "And you promise you're not going to kill him?"

"It will all be fine, Karin," Aaron said. "Go home."

She lingered a bit longer before she finally left. Aaron found her empathy for the kid confusing, but he supposed he was not one to talk. He felt for her, even if he wouldn't go so far out of his way to jeopardize his mission solely for that.

Aaron stalked his way into the mansion, his footstep light as a breeze, as he approached Hayato's room. The kid was in the middle of undoing his hand bandages as he stepped in.

Time seemed to slow down as Hayato understood the danger.

He was an enemy ninja likely here to kidnap or assassinate him.

To his credit, the kid moved even faster than he'd done during practice. Energy swirled around his limbs as he leaped back, and his hang dug into his side pouch for a weapon.

A ball of wind slammed into his wrist, straining it and putting an abrupt stop to his attempt at defense.

Just as he landed, the very air in the room shuddered and reversed.

A shocked Hayato came flying into Aaron's waiting hand. A punch to the gut knocked the air out of him before he could react, and a precise blow to the neck rendered him unconscious after that.

Aaron was a tad disappointed. He'd expected more, but then again, he'd hardly given the boy time to react.

'Let's see how well he does in an actual fight.'

Aaron carried Hayato to the outskirts of the village, where he placed his hand on his head and reluctantly attempted a technique he felt conflicted about.

Energy Bending

His eyes shone blue as tendrils of spirit energy emerged from Aaron and bored into Hayato's head, latching onto his mind.

For anybody who was not the avatar or had a ridiculous fount of spirit energy to draw from, it would've been suicide. Energy bending was basically a mental energy tug of war with disastrous consequences for the losing side.

Hayato's defenses caved in seconds, but his mind was a tangled, foreign mess. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen before, and he could not make heads or tails of it, even when he tried to draw on the superficial knowledge he stole from his grandfather about Mind invasion and control.

Aaron knew Mind Palace had more answers, but he wasn't quite ready to explore them, nor did he have the time.

However, what he did know for sure was that Hayato's mind would collapse if he pushed further without fully understanding the ninja's mind.

So, he decided to extract information the old-fashioned way…enhanced interrogation.

Aaron had his back against a tree, reading the boy's status when Hayato woke up.

Estimated level: High Genin-Low Chunnin

Son of Zasui the Blue Dragon, Hayato is the foremost Genin of his generation. He's skilled in Kenjutsu and Fire Style Ninjutsu.

STR: 62

VIT: 65

DEX: 63

CHR: 80

HP: 6500

CHR: 8200

Aaron noticed his body shift, but he let the boy play dead for a while longer so that he could devise a strategy.

'After all, if I was going to become him. I need to understand how he fights.'

Ten long seconds passed before Hayato made his move. A smoke bomb went off, and a figure darted out. Aaron recognized it as Hayato, but the energy profile didn't quite match. It was so faint it nearly melded with the ambient energy.

'Some kind of illusion or double?'

Aaron leisurely swiped at Hayato, generating a strong breeze that swept away the dust hiding him.

The surprise nearly made him fumble the technique he was in the middle of weaving. It was a familiar one. 

Fireball Jutsu.

Hayato took in a deep breath and spat out a Fireball at Aaron. The Phantom dashed left, easily avoiding it. It splashed against the tree behind him, setting it ablaze.

It was larger than anything the Projection had ever seen the kid use.

'Not bad. It would've taken a Master firebender to throw a Fireball that large.'

"Don't tell me this is all you can do?" Aaron taunted.

Hayato gritted his teeth and pulled a handful of shuriken from his pouch. "You should've kept me tied up, you fool. You don't know what you're up against!"

He flung a handful of Shurikens at Aaron, all of which he evaded easily using the circular foot movement of the Feather fist martial art style. Mid-pivot, Aaron sensed movement in the background and leaped into the air to avoid a spray of kunai and shuriken. He perched on a tree, his eyes tracking the double of Hayato that'd just tried to ambush him.

"Interesting," he muttered as he raised a finger and pointed it at it.

Stinger

A compressed air projectile fueled by a chunk of Chi shot from his finger and destroyed the double's head before it could react.

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