Another chapter out!

Sorry it took me so long to get this done, I recently moved into my own apartment and has been busy for the last few days. I'll be returning to my weekly schedule now on the updates. ^^

But now she's working on graduating! She'll join the war once she's graduated, of course, and she'll be able to properly affect the story.

Hard training

I'm punching at the training pole in front of me with fluid motions, each hit hard against the pole and cracking up both the wood and my knuckles in the process. But I don't care; despite the blood getting smeared over the post, despite the ache in my body I keep going. I keep on pushing myself to the best of my ability. I can't stop, I need to perfect this taijutsu if I'll be able to use it against a teacher on the graduation exam. I take a slight step back to breathe easier, stretching out my trembling fingers a bit. It's a lot harder to use this on unmoving targets… It's easier to use against zombies or real people; at least the style that I am developing. I should try and have someone help me with this but everyone else are busy with missions or their own training.

I clench my teeth together, running towards the wooden pole and jump slightly into the air to kick it hard with a roundhouse kick, not so hard that it'll break apart but hard enough to make a solid 'crack' ring out through the air. When I feel that I'm dropping momentum, I turn my body in the air to aim a second kick at the pole with my other leg. I then push away from the log, doing a small flip to land properly on my feet. Once I land on the ground, I quickly shift my momentum forward, jumping at the log once more but this time with punches. Left, right, left, right, always shift my momentum so that each hit are hard and unyielding.

Finally, after a little over a year of trying to come up with my own style, a notification ring out through the air as I'm letting myself take a small break. I smile tiredly as I read the window, legs and arms shaking slightly at the strain I've put myself through.

Ding! A skill has been made through a special action!

Mio Taijutsu (Passive) Level 1 EXP 00%

+A taijutsu Mio has created from a combination of her clan's basic taijutsu and the characters Natsu dragneel's and Ichigo Kurosaki's fighting styles. It deals heavy hits with fluid movements, not a single movement wasted and always shifting weights to deal the hardest hits.

+10% DMG and 5% Attack speed

+1% decreased DMG when blocking attack

+1% DEX, STR, VIT and AGI

Would you like to give your taijutsu a proper name?

[Yes] [No]

I laugh tiredly at the notification window, letting myself sit down and just breathe. As the skill is created, I can feel a new wave of information flood over me, giving me the 'right' way to do it and displaying how many flaws I had in my technique as I was developing it. This gamer ability is amazing; there's so much to my taijutsu that I missed before now, so many things I can do that'd make my fighting style even more fluid. I still have a long way to go; but at least I have a frame to follow thanks to my gamer ability.

I reach up and press the 'yes' button, hands still shaking as I think of a name for it. Well, I have no idea what I should call it. I can't just call it 'Mio taijutsu' though, that's too boring. Dragon dance? That sounds cool at least; and once I finish with this last Fairy tail power I could equip dragon slaying magic with enough points, that'd mix in well with this fighting style. Yeah… Yeah I'll go with that. So I slowly type in 'Dragon dance' as the name before I press confirm. The name of my skill shift to 'Dragon dance Taijutsu' and I smile proudly at it. Yeh, that's so cool. I'm going to be like a small dragon once I've gotten good enough at it. Small yet powerful.

I lie back on the ground after I've closed all the windows, staring up into the blue sky and panting heavily. A few clouds are starting to appear… Then it should rain within next week or something. At least it won't be as bad as last year's rain, this would be one that lasts a day at most. Damn I'm tired…. I've been working since 6am, now it's 11. That's... 5 hours of almost non stop workout. I really can't handle more than that; I've never done this long workout before. I let my eyes close as a wind blow over me, sand brushing over my bare and sweaty skin. I should be disgusted by this, that the sand is sticking to my sweat, but I'm not. It just is; sand is just as much of home as my house is. And I adore it.

I'm tan enough that I don't have to worry too much about the sun either. I can just lie here; take a break and just relax. It's 3 months left until the graduation exam. I've trained my genjutsu to the level it's needed as well as my transformation jutsu. I still gotta work on clone and substitution. My taijutsu is past the level it's needed, I got a D-rank-… The wind feels so nice… It's warm and- cosy… My eyes close and I succumb to darkness, something I haven't done in years.

I'm shaken out from my deep sleep by a unfamiliar voice calling out to me, but I have no idea for how long I've been asleep for. I slowly open my eyes, blinking a few times to get used to the light and see who's standing over me. I haven't seen this person before… It's a boy with dark red hair and a slight frown on his face as he's glaring down at me. Who-?

"Get up, you shouldn't be sleeping in the middle of a training field."

I blink a few more times before I slowly sit up. I can't help but wince as all of my muscles protest against me moving, being locked up from not stretching after my workout.

"I… was training…"

I mumble softly, tired as I flex my bloody hands and roll my shoulders to try and get rid of some tension. I'll need mom to give me a massage later, this is annoying as all hell.

"Wha the time…?"

I mumble, looking up at the boy with a tired frown. He seems familiar; but I can't really place how. The boy huff softly, crossing his arms with a frown still present on his face. It's like it's permanently attached to him… How old is he? Now when I look closer he's more like Aiko's age. And a flak jacket; jounin?

"It's past noon. A kid like you shouldn't train without supervision, where's your parents?"

I scoff loudly at his high and mighty tone, struggling to stand up on my shaking limbs. I just get back up again, ready to keep going; I can't stop now… Huh, I haven't gotten a flashback in a long time. I steady myself, glancing up at the guy through my matted dark red hair. We actually have a similar hair colour; his is darker though.

"Where do you think? They're in the war. I have to train and- and get stronger…"

I take a deep breath, straightening up as I use chakra to fortify my limbs. With chakra running through me I don't feel as fatigued and my limbs stop shaking. With my strength returned I stare up at the older ninja with a deeper frown.

"Thanks for waking me up, but I came here first. So shoo."

"You're going to continue training like that? You can barely stand as it is, kid. Go home."

He says rudely, glaring at my bloodied knuckles with a slight shake of his head.

"Fuck no, I can't stop just cause I've reached my limit."

I shift on my feet, taking out a health potion from my inventory. It boosts my stamina and heals all wounds I have so it's really useful. I drink the whole bottle, face scrunching up at the bitter taste but I keep on drinking. Once the bottle's empty, the bottle poof away into smoke from my hand and I'm enveloped by a faint red aura. I don't care if he saw it, it's not really a huge secret in the village what can be obtained in my ID. I gag slightly at the aftertaste, stretching slightly as my body feels energized again and glare up at the guy again.

"See? I'm fucking fine and I can keep going. I have to practice."

The guy has a calculative look in his his face, studying the faint red aura around me. I brush off the dried blood on my skin, only to reveal that my scrapes have healed completely without any kind of mark. I really love my gamer body, though I kinda miss getting scars from hard work.

"... You're Masago. Mio Masago."

He says as if stating facts, which he really is. I scoff and roll my eyes at him, crossing my arms similar to how he's doing.

"Oh no, really? What gave you the idea? That I'm a kid, have fucking glowing pink eyes or I have the Masago crest on my clothes? Of course I'm Mio. Now who are you?"

"Watch your tone, child."

He says sternly, not moving an inch with that calculative look still on his face. He doesn't look offended though, despite my heavy sarcasm. He seems like a chill dude but I can't be too sure, I don't really like the monotone way he's speaking.

"I'm Rasa, Jounin. And I still say that you should return home, that 'potion' of yours won't last you long. It deprives after an hour."

I don't let myself get affected by the knowledge of his name, at least not show it, as I bark out a laugh. Focus on the last part…

"For you normal ninja maybe! But this stuff heals a Masago permanently, This thing will last until I exhaust myself again. I know way more about it than you do, so don't talk about it as if you know better."

Holy fucking shit, this is Rasa the future fourth Kazekage what the fucking shit is he doing here shouldn't he be out in the war holy fuck I can't let this get to me I gotta play it cool but holy fuck its the future Kazekage!

"Again, watch your tone, child."

Now he's frowning more, uncrossing his arms as he stare down at me. He seems more annoyed than curious now, but it's too late to take back my words. Besides, saying something different now wouldn't be me. I just let my mouth run off on it's own to try and NOT freak out about the powerful individual in front of me.

"I have a name you know! Mio, M-I-O. Or do you think I'm so weak that I'm not 'worthy' of being remembered by the great jounin Rasa? I'm going to be graduating soon. And once I'm older I'm going to be stronger than anyone in this whole village. So you better bet I deserve to be remembered by name."

I say without thinking, straightening up and meeting his gaze with a defiant glare. Holy fuck I'm challenging the future Kazekage!? What am I doing!? I don't let any part of my inner panic show, just glaring up at the older male. I can't back down, my mouth already ran off on me. Fuck fuck fuck. I have no idea how he- Fuck me, mouth always get me into too much trouble! Why can't I fucking think before saying or doing anything!?

"Oh? That arrogance will get you nowhere girl."

He says, changing child to girl as if it's more of an insult. I twitch and bristle angrily at his tone, to which Rasa apparently relish in. I can feel the hot burning anger of my chakra in my chest, effectively distracting me from exactly who is standing in front of me. He's an arrogant prick? Well, with what he did to Gaara I can kinda see that, but how fucking dare he look down on me like that!?

"Once you graduate you'll be sent out into the war. And there you'll see the vast difference between you and another experienced ninja. You'll die before you ever become the, so called 'strongest' that you strive to be. But I doubt you'll ever become that strong even if you survive."

"Oh yeah!?"

I scream out angrily, taking a step closer and raising a fist at the elder male. Now the burning feeling of anger is hindering me from thinking about the consequences, I just want to prove to him how wrong he is. I want to beat his face in with my fist.

"I'm stronger than any normal kid when they're 13! I'm not scared of some stupid ass enemy shinobi! I'll become even stronger than you, mister high and mighty!"

"I highly doubt that, girl. A child like you shouldn't speak to their superior in that way. You'd be more suited as a backup than a front force, but even that would be stretching it."

His eyes narrow slightly at me, but I refuse to back down. He's insulting me big time and I won't let him just walk away before proving myself. He just feeds the fuel to the anger residing in my chest, making my whole body heat up at the pure fury coursing through my veins.

"Okay then lets go!"

I cry out angrily, making some distance between us and taking out my tonfa from my inventory and shift into a fighting stance. I'm glaring hard at Rasa, whole body bristling in anger at his constant wave of insults aimed towards my ability. I'll fucking show him weak girl…!

"Spar with me! I need to train against a moving target anyway!"

Rasa raise an eyebrow at me, not really surprised by my sudden deceleration.

"Spar? And what makes you think I have time to waste on some girl's wishes?"

"Well you're obviously here to waste time, or you wouldn't still be talking to me! So let's go! I'll fucking show you how strong I really am!"

I point at him with one of my tonfa, ready to spring into action as I do my best to feel my surroundings through the burning hot anger inside of me. He's using gold dust, magnet release; it could appear anywhere even beneath my feet. Rasa sigh softly, shifting his posture slightly. I can feel his chakra seep into the ground and move towards me, making me thankful for my high level chakra sense and I shift my grip on my tonfa, ready to move once the chakra source get closer.

"There's no point in you even trying. You'll be defeated in mere seconds."

"Try me!"

I shout back, eyes narrowed in concentration as I try to pinpoint where the chakra in the ground is. 3… 2… 1…! I quickly jump to the side to avoid the burst of gold sand that sprung up from the ground under me, using the same momentum to shift my weight forward and shoot towards Rasa with my tonfa raised. I'm delighted to see his eyebrow raise slightly closer to his hairline, just before I swing a tanto at him that's easily blocked by his gold dust. It's really sturdy… damn it I don't have any lightning jutsu to nullify it. Fuck, I just want to punch him to show he shouldn't underestimate me!

I quickly move back before he has a chance of taking hold of my weapon using his dust, murmuring a soft 'Dragon fire' to activate my fire jutsu without hand seals and release the blast of fire towards Rasa. The range and power is halved when I activate a jutsu like this, but it's to serve as a distraction more than anything. Rasa easily dodge the stream of fire and I have to jump away as well to avoid another grab at my feet before I can take advantage of the distraction I made. I glance towards my chakra bar with my heart beating loud in my ears due to adrenaline, It's doing good… I grit my teeth as I focus back onto Rasa, seeing that he's completely calm and unemotional like he has the upper hand. Maybe he does have the upper hand but still! I'll get him eventually!

"I'm not such a 'weakling' am I!?"

I shout out, twirling my tonfa in my hands and charging them up with charka. It's a way to make them denser and deal more damage to my opponents, easy but effective. Rasa snort softly at my declaration, still frowning.

"You're still just a child. You have a lot to learn girl."

"Shut up, bastard! I'm still getting better!"

I quickly dodge another attempt at grabbing my legs with gold dust, very glad that I have my chakra sense to help me, and charge towards him with my tonfa held at my sides. I mumble a quiet 'clone jutsu' to activate the technique, creating two illusions of me running side by side. Using clone jutsu on command make the jutsu last only for a few seconds, but… I have no idea what I'm planning with this, I just want to take him off guard enough to punch him; I just move on instinct. I start in the middle but then I change place with the clone on my right using a quick replacement jutsu and aim a tonfa strike towards his head. That little distraction didn't fool him as I'd hoped and he easily block my strike with his hand, taking hold of my arm to lock it in place.

I grit my teeth angrily, twisting around in his grip to kick at him, but Rasa just block this too and hold my two limbs steadfast in his grip. With my left arm and right leg restrained, I use his hold on me to my advantage as I aim a kick towards his chin with my left leg. But before I can even move my limb, it's restrained by gold dust wrapped around it. I tremble at the strain as I try to move, teeth grinding hard against each other while I aim a livid glare at Rasas blank face. He's strong… But I'm not going to give up…! I'll fucking show him that I'm not some normal girl with average scores and abilities!

"Had enough yet?"

I just punch at him with my right tonfa as a response, determined to hit him one way or another! But this is also stopped in its tracks by his gold dust, encasing my upper arm and stopping my arms movement just a centimeter away from between his eyes. Fucking hell, this bastard is impossible to hit! I twitch when he start twisting my leg in an uncomfortable angle but I just snarl at him; I won't back down…!

"I- I'm not some... some girl! I'm not just some kid! I'm Mio Masago. And I'll- I'll prove to you that I'll be the fucking strongest in this whole village! Don't fucking underestimate me!"

He doesn't look amused by my vow, simply letting go of my right leg and punches me hard into the gut before I get any chance to react. My stomach and lungs are burning from the hit and my breath is knocked out of me due to his fist aiming for my diaphragm. As my body grows limp at the lack of air, I can feel his gold dust pull back from restraining my limbs before Rasa still holding me up in front of him kick me hard in the side to have me fly away from his grasp. I tumble across the ground from the harsh hit, coming to a stop on my back after at least two flips from the raw force of his kick.

My whole right side is hurting now too added with my stomach and lungs, causing me to instinctively curl up while holding my side in pain after my tumbling over the ground has stopped. Fucking ow, that hurts… My lungs are still burning from the lack of air, body hurting like I've had a car rammed into my side, but I force myself to slowly get up on my knees while holding my stomach and side. Body trembling, I lift my head just enough so I can glare at Rasa; he's just standing there with his arms crossed. I can faintly see the countdown for my debuff 'winded' is counting down slowly as I'm still struggling to stand up. I've been winded two times prior… And no matter how many times I experience it, it never really gets better.

"Why do you keep on trying? It's useless, girl."

Rasa frowns at me, slightly frustrated or exasperated if I am reading his tone right. My gaze is wavering slightly due to my lack of air but I just grit my teeth and snarl towards him. I dropped my tonfa and they're now lying by his feet… But I still have my fist, I can't back down. After a few seconds of struggling, I stand up slightly bent over in pain as I shifting into a fighting stance once more. My side is throbbing in pain, but I ignore it all as my debuff has disappeared to let me breathe properly. The debuff lasts for 7 seconds but I wish it could end sooner every time.

"S-Shut up, old man. Like you'd know about conviction… I won't stop- until I get to punch your face! I'm strong, damn it!"

"No good huh..?"

He asks boredom, closing his eyes as if resigned. This causes me to grit my teeth angrily, he sees me as no threat at all…! I jump forward to attack him again, using my recently made Dragon dance taijutsu to full practice. It'll be easier to use it on a moving target. I can feel myself get even more annoyed as Rasa is blocking all of my strikes with seemingly no effort at all; anything I try to do he's one step ahead of me. I try to surprise him with a body flicker and any small trick I've come up with so far but even that doesn't work. I'm getting increasingly frustrated as the fight goes on. I just want him to shift from that neutral expression of his and punch him!

The fight ends before I can even process it, as if Rasa wants to really display the huge difference in power level between me and him. He counters one of my punches with a knee to my stomach while keeping me in place by holding onto my arm. A similar strong force collides with my chin, making me almost bite my tongue off with the force of my teeth slamming shut. I can see sparks behind my closed eyelids as he just hit me again, this time in the cheek hard enough to make me once again fly back a few meters. Or what I presume are a few meters with how long my back slides along the ground. Now I'm very thankful that I always reinforce my body with chakra or I'm sure I'd have been worse off.

I cough loudly, gripping onto my stomach as my whole body is aching from the hard hits he dealt in one quick succession, my body relaxing as if he just physically hit the anger away from my system. Fuck he's strong… No wonder he'll become Kazekage someday. I force one of my eyes to open, lifting my head just enough to aim a weak glare towards Rasa. My vision is blurry from unshed tears and lack of oxygen in my lungs, but that won't make me falter; I don't give up so easily! I'll stand back up, I'll get back up soon to punch his face..! Despite the drive to beat him, my body refuses to move from its crumpled position.

"Stubborn girl… You've lost this 'sparring match' two times now. How long do you intend to keep on losing?"

I slowly turn over to my left side, the side that's hurting the least, with my whole body trembling simply from turning around. My everything hurts, especially my stomach and jaw… But I can't give up..! I will prove to him that I'm strong! I can and will achieve my goal, he won't make fun of me!

Ding! Your physical endurance has leveled up!

Your VIT has gone up by 1!

Shut up I don't need that shit right now! Still on the ground, my limbs are trembling as I force myself to stand up once more. My whole body is aching from every movement, but I can't let that stop me; I have to stand up! I have to show him to not look down on me!

"As- As many times… It takes for m-me to win."

I say proudly, flinching as I force my body up onto two feet once more while supporting most of my body weight on my shaking knees. I need to stay strong; I need to be consistent. I can't lose- I won't lose! I won't lose my determination to win just cause he's more powerful than I am. There's always a way... I will get his recognition! I am strong! I can feel blood gather up in my mouth as I glare fiercely at Rasa and I spit it out, quickly running my tongue through my mouth and discover I've cut open the inside of my cheek from that blow to my jaw. That bastard…

"I'll fight over… and over. Because you think- think I can't make it… Then I'll fucking prove I can!"

I snarl angrily at him, ignoring the drops of bile, blood and spit dripping down my chin as I once more shift into my fighting stance despite the pain in my body. Rasa is just staring at me without any emotion present on his face, unimpressed if anything… He's looking down on me as a person and a ninja. I won't allow that; I'll never allow that!

"I'll beat you... Not now- but one day I will! And then- then you'll be forced to recognize my strength!"

Not even that makes any type of emotion shift on his face as he just... stares. I can hear him let out a soft snort, shaking his head as he start to turn away from me. He tilt his head back slightly, his chin up as he's looking down at me in all the ways a human can look down on someone. It makes me clench my fists harder, the slight movement causing pain to shoot up into my abdomen.

"That day won't ever come, girl. That's a dream that you'll never be able to acquire… Because I'm aiming to become the next Kazekage, that is the person who's the strongest in this whole village. You will never reach the power level of a Kazekage, I can guarantee it."

With that said, he turn and walk away from me. So he's already planning on being a kazekage? It was around this time that the third got killed and Rasa got appointed, during the war. But to say that I'll never be able to reach that level of power- that's just arrogant and a bullshit move. I'm not tied down by fate or destiny; I can create my own. Despite my whole body screaming in pain that I should just sit down and rest, I take a few steps in an attempt to follow him but I'm forced to stop as my legs almost give out underneath me. So instead, I scream out in defiance towards his retreating back.

"Oh yeah!? Well that's just a better goal for me then! I'll beat you one day Rasa! And on that day, you better recognize me as the strongest! And I'll be able to tell you 'I told you so'!"

Rasa just continue walking away, his posture completely relaxed as if he never heard me. It isn't until he's out of sight that I let myself relax, sinking to the ground and coughing up bile, spit and blood that's still stuck in my throat. Ugh, that bitter potion taste way better than this shit. And I missed lunch, mother gotta be really worried about me right now. Fucking hell, I'm a complete mess; he threw me around like I was nothing to him.

I take out another potion from my inventory, having a huge stock of those from the many times I've entered the zombie ID and let others train in it. I chug it down and let it heal all the aches in my body I got from fighting Rasa and honestly relieved that the bitter taste wash away the taste of bile and blood. When the bottle is consumed and I wipe off the disgusting slob on my chin and to my best to shake the mess off my hand. Once my body isn't an aching mess anymore, I let myself really think of what happened. …. Holy fuck, I just challenged the future fourth Kazekage to a fight. I basically made him my end goal opponent…! … Fucking hell, I'm more badass and crazy than I ever gave myself credit for.

Ding! You got a quest!

I frown slightly at the notification window, still annoyed over my obvious loss, and then look at my newly acquired quest window. My eyes widen slightly as I read it, jaw dropping at the pure delicious reward I'd get from it. No fucking way…

Beat Rasa!

You've just declared Rasa to be your end goal to being the strongest in the village. Prove to him that you're strong and that a girl like you deserve his recognition!

Quest requirements:

Defeat over 100 enemies

Master 30 Jutsu

Defeat Rasa

Quest reward: +10 fame, 10 000 EXP, 70 000 Ryo, Legendary jutsu scroll

Quest failure: Rasa will never recognize your strength.

[Yes] [No]

Legendary jutsu sign me the fuck up! And that much EXP! Holy shit, that's such an awesome reward! I immediately press yes, getting even more determined to prove myself as I stand up with my anger and annoyance forgotten for now. I'll attack him at any moment I got, someday I'll take him by surprise! I'll continue to try even if I haven't completed the first two requirements. Now as a kid I can't match his physical strength. But soon, soon I will. I'll continue to work hard!

I stand up, shaking off the slight dizziness that comes with it and call my mother on the party chat while making my way home. I'm going to punch Rasa in the face one day for calling me a failure like that… She is quick to pick it up, sounding frantic and worried from how long I've been gone from home.

"Mio! Thank the Maker you're ok. Where have you been? I've been worried sick about you!"

"Sorry mom. I accidentally fell asleep after training this morning. But you won't believe what happened; do you know who Rasa is?"

I say sheepishly, still jogging through the streets towards my home without using body flicker. Sometimes it's nice to just jog and it's easier to talk while not focusing on the jutsu.

"Rasa…? Isn't that the man who learned the Kazekage's technique from just observing it? I've heard that he's a very smart man."

"Yeah, yeah, that guy. You see, I got him to spar with me. And now, I've gotten a quest to beat him! And I'm determined to succeed one day!"

I start to grin wider as I can imagine her expressions as I tell her this. I'd have waited until when I got home, but then she'd have been a lot more stern with me. I can hear her sigh loud and tiredly on the other side of the link and I imagine she's placed a hand over her forehead. I'm determined and excited, she knows there's no way to talk me out of this one.

"Mio… You can't pick fights with everyone who underestimate you. We've talked about this."

"But mom, I couldn't just stand by when he was insulting me to my face! So we fought and now I'm determined to beat him one day. Cause I WILL beat him! He may have beaten me today, but I'll win one day!"

"Oh Mio… Yes, yes, you'll beat him one day… But just make sure you get home, alright? You've missed lunch and it's close to dinner time already. I'll make you a little snack later in the evening ok?"

She says with fond exasperation in her voice, to which I find myself smiling widely. I have the best mom who can accept me like she does; I have no idea how bad I'd have gotten if my parents were as strict as Yuuto's parents, Ichigo and Daisuke.

"Ok, sounds great, mom. I'll see you soon! Love you~."

I ignore the glances I receive from a few kids playing on the road that I run past, they'll get used to us Masago as they grow up like the rest of our village. I've gotten used to the looks I get from being weird or different apart from other 'normal' ninja.

"Love you too, my Cherry."

I then end the call, focusing on jogging towards the compound. Another successful day at training… After food it's funjutsu study and later chakra control practice with meditation for memories during night time. I'm making great progress so far, I still have a lot to work on but I'm certain that I can make it in time for the exam; I will make it. I'll ace the exam, become a part of the war to be stronger and defeat Rasa to prove I'm the best in the village! Heh, beating a Kazekage. Now that'd be something to boast about! I wonder if the fame points will go up if I beat him when he's received the Kage position.

I'm watching my prey carefully, eyes narrowed in concentration while I still pay attention to the energies around me. I do my best to ignore the constant 'klirr' sound from when I receive money by the zombies that the team of chuunin are killing on the other side of the village. We aren't scheduled to reassemble at my clan compound for another hour, so I still have plenty of time to get more EXP. I have to level up my substitution jutsu one more level to meet the criteria for graduating; clone jutsu is good so it's only that one left. I jump to another roof to get closer to my target, infusing chakra into my feet to make my steps quieter. The zombie doesn't notice me, of course, but this is more for practice of hiding my presence than anything else.

The zombie I'm hunting is a Level 10 zombie, alone and slowly walking down the streets of Suna. I'm sure that I can take it on without my cousins with me; I'm very sure of it. If it shows some sort of unique ability, I've saved before I started stalking after this zombie so I have my fail safe. I haven't died yet, and I don't plan to, but it's better to be safe than sorry. I jump across to another roof, staying silent as the night while I follow the zombie along its route. This is a good way to level up my stealth and the soft paw technique; I'll need it for the war.

Ding! Your Stealth has leveled up!

Nice, just what I wanted. I ready my bo staff when the zombie stumble into an empty alley and I quickly jump down to land silently behind it. I jab my bo staff into the middle of it's back hard, eyes narrowed in a determined glare.

-146 HP!

I don't stop my momentum to let the zombie react, using the element of surprise to my advantage; I hit it hard in the head, throwing it into a wall and quickly follow it by another hit to its stomach.

Worst critical point -493 HP! -146 HP!

I have to jump away when the zombie's claw swipe at me, putting a bit of distance between us. The zombie ninja draws out a kunai from it's pouch and charge at me with a loud, hungry moan. While my attention is focused on the zombie, I continue to spread out my senses to make sure this one won't get any backup; I might be able to handle them alone but more than one and I could easily be overwhelmed.

I twirl my bo staff around, hitting away the zombie's wrist before the weapon can come in contact with me. I use the other end of my bo staff to hit the zombie hard in it's chin, forcing its head up towards the moonlit sky. I follow up with a hard kick against the zombie's abdomen to force it at mid-distance one more.

Worst critical point -493 HP! -132 HP!

I glance towards the zombie's HP, noting that it has only little over 200 HP left. I spring forward, shifting my hold on the bo staff to slam it down hard on top of the zombie's head to finish it off. With that last hit, the zombie disperse into smoke, making a 'klirr' sound at the added ryo and letting a potion and zombie hand drop.

You gained 80 EXP and 203 Ryo!

I still have no idea what I should do with the zombie hands. I crouch down and touch both, letting them fade into my inventory like they usually do. I should try and kill higher level zombies with how easily I can take down level 10 ones, but a part of me is still unsure. They have dead light eyes and despite the fact that I've gotten better, I can still be affected by it from past memories of guilt. I don't want to risk too much just because I got too greedy for more power.

I sigh as I step out from the alley, stretching slightly with a quiet groan when I hear my joints pop. I still got a lot of time to kill; I should look for more solo genin zombies to beat, they're kinda rare since they travel in groups of 3 but I really shouldn't take on a team without my cousins. So I jump up onto the roof of a house next to me, silently making my way towards a small group of weaker signatures I can feel nearby. This chakra sense is really handy to find opponents with, I'm very glad chakra sensing has become a sort of coping mechanism for me. Once I arrive at the group, I see that all of them are level 10 and 11 ninja, a group of 6 which is two teams… I shouldn't risk it, at least not yet; I'll observe them for 15 minutes tops and see if they split up or not.

As I'm in the middle of stalking the small group, I can sense a huge flare of chakra coming from the middle of the village. My eyes widen in surprise and confusion as I can feel the fake nature chakra in the air gets pulled in that direction as well, leaving nothing of the fake chakra behind. The zombies I was stalking fall to the ground, having the majority of their energy drained as well and rendering them unable to move. It's all being sucked in to one single point… This- This is really bad. This cannot be good in any way.

I use a body flicker to rush towards the center of the village despite my own rule to not step into jounin territory when I'm alone. I need to find that group of chuunin and fast, this can't be anything other than this world's boss! I'm such an idiot, every stage has a boss, I should've realized it'd appear sometime! Fucking damn it this is bad, this is really, really bad; I have never met a boss before so I have no idea how strong it can be!

I'm having a difficult time with finding the group of ninja with my chakra sense, the range of my ability and the huge beacon of chakra on top of the Kazekage tower is proving to be very distracting. When I'm forced to exit my body flicker due to its low level, I direct my eyes towards the top of the tower to see what's happening. I can feel an ice cold pit form in my stomach; not panic or dread, but heavy sense of unease. All that chakra is being centered in one single point and is gathering into some sort of visible, dark chakra mist. This-this is bad… this is really bad, I need to find them fast.

I focus forward again, pushing my body to run as fast as I'm able to go. Why did they have to be so far away?! I know we went different ways to not interfere with which zombie we hunt but now is a really bad time for this! Chuunin class all four of them, but that chakra that's gathering- it's Kage Level or beyond! It's still getting stronger! None of us can handle this kind of opponent... I spare another glance towards the Kazekage tower as I'm running along a shinobi road and I can see a faint outline of a person gathering within the mass of wispy chakra. That thing is so fucking powerful already…!

It's heavy and dense; having drained all chakra that existed in the air as well as the surrounding zombies, it's understandable that it's gotten so compressed to fit inside one single form. I can feel and see the dark tendrils of foul chakra stretching out from it, wavering in the air like terrifying tentacles that could kill anything it touches. The dark chakra within this form is flickering, flickering in the way that any resets from my family does. No fucking way, it has all elemental affinities?! Fuck fuck fuck we can't handle that kind of opponent, we all need to go fast. I just hope I'm fast enough to reach them!

I let out a cry of surprise when I trip over a small bump on the road that I really should've noticed, sliding against the shinobi walkway due to my speed and getting the wind knocked out of me in the process. Damn it I was too distracted by the boss that I didn't pay attention to where I was going! I ignore the pain in my knees and arms, pushing myself up to my feet with a slight stumble to keep going. I glance down at my countdown for being able to use body flicker again, watching the counter go down with that cold pit of dread still in my stomach. Come on, come on… 2… 1…!

I disappear into body flicker and make my way towards the chuunin once more, but not before I can feel the boss disappear in a similar way from the Kazekage tower. I curse loudly when I can feel it approach the team of Suna ninja much faster than I am able to and I grit my teeth angrily, why is it going towards those guys!? If only I was faster… I need to be faster!

"Swift agility!"

I cry out to increase my speed by 100%, it being an ability I got by leveling up my running skill to level 25. I had almost forgotten about it in my rush to get to my comrades! The chunin are sticking together and I can hear them fighting the boss as I'm getting closer to them. I appear in the middle of the road with a nervous frown on my face, landing crouched down from having jumped the rooftops here while looking towards the team of ninja. And then….

Blood…

My eyes widen in horror as I watch the shadow surrounded creature easily kill one of the chunin by cutting off his head with only its hand. I do my best to shake away the memories of my past that tries to arise, eyes wide and mind reeling to come up with something, anything that can stall this thing. I don't have time to unlock a special skill...! I don't have any kind of binding or good genjutsu!

I put away my bo staff into my inventory, running through the hand seals needed for dragon breath jutsu as fast as I'm able to and blow the stream of fire at the creatures back; to give the other ninja some sort of distraction and have the thing focus on me instead. I have a fail safe, they don't.

Super effective! -576 HP!

Ok that's good to know, fire is something it's weak towards. I didn't think this through properly when the thing just charge through the flames straight at me with its hand raised. I can barely see what it looks like through the dark shadow aura surrounding it and the speed that it's traveling in. But it's- its wearing a Kazekage robe and a Kazekage hat. It's only thanks to my enhanced speed that I manage to dodge the hit towards my throat, the sharp chakra only causing a small wound on the side of my neck instead of cutting my head clean off my shoulders. I suck in a harsh breath at the stinging pain from my wound, it's most likely deeper than I imagine, and just let my body move; I kick the thing into its side as hard as I can, infusing as much chakra into my limb as I'm able to so much that it hurts.

I don't let myself react to the way the thing is launched through a building wall from my kick. I don't let myself bother about the sickening crack sounding out through the area that indicates my broken leg from the amount of strain I put it through. Nor do I care about the searing pain running through my body and chakra from the impact. I just use my still intact leg to shoot myself towards the group of chuunin gathered close together. I tumble headfirst into the man in the middle, clinging onto him to not fall down to the ground and as a way to ground myself to reality.

"Grab onto me!"

I scream out loudly, eyes closed tightly with tears starting to gather in my eyes. Adrenaline is still rushing through my veins, making me unable to feel the full extent of pain from my broken leg. As soon as I feel hands settle on both my shoulders, I scream out 'ID escape!' just in time when I can feel the boss launch towards us once more with it's sickening chakra reaching towards us. I sag in the grip of the chunin when I feel the nature chakra I'm used to, the nature chakra I've grown up in and away from that cursed place.

Then the dam breaks….

The rest is a flurry of sounds and colors as I let myself feel again. Those dead eyes of the chuunin keep on staring at me as the head is flying through the air, accusing me of his death and for not being fast enough. My broken leg is making my whole body burn like I'm on fire and any movement draws another cry of pain from my throat. I can vaguely register myself gripping onto my hair and apologizing. Apologizing over and over again like a broken record while I continue to cry cry and cry. Apologizing for being weak, for not being strong enough to protect them, for not seeing it sooner.

I can feel a calming chakra seep into my head and then everything turns black…

A bit of an reality check for her this time, not everything can be a walk on roses. All abilities have some kind of setback in the long run, no matter how useful it is. So her first boss encounter, they're very dangerous and with her current level they could kill her immediately.

She needs quite a few more reality checks to really become a better person, she's getting there but not yet. I hope you're all enjoying the story so far!

This chapter's question: Is there something bad or good you want to happen to Mio as a character development thing?

Review replies:

hiareportsyou: I didn't know about the two fingered salute, but it'd kind of suit Mio's personality in that case, no? XD It's just a way for her to greet people and say goodbye to people. Thank you for sharing!

cupcake: Thank you! She's not the best person, no, so it's understandable. ^^

Alright, thanks for sharing your opinion. X3

EmikoTsubasa: No worries, thank you for your opinion. Demon ID is certainly something I've considered. ^^

Yeah kind of that sentient, be able to communicate with her. I've been getting some ideas for it and wanted to know what others think about it.

Not really, I mean I post my stories for my own sake, to get feedback on my writing and world building as well as have some sort of goal to work towards to keep me going. I don't post stories to become famous, I post stories because I want to share what I love and have written. Writing stories have also been a great way for me to improve my English, both speaking and grammar, so it's really up to yourself what you want to do. If you write for yourself or write for others, it doesn't matter. As long as you're having fun while doing it.

Jotitoboy: Juss, thanks for your opinion.

I don't know about Nawaki either, I'm pretty sure he died kinda early on. Nawaki got the necklace, died, then Dan got the necklace and died in the third war. I think Nawaki died before the third war if the timeline are supposed to fit so I don't think she'll have any opportunity nor time to save Nawaki.

The teacher has already been chosen as there has been politics involved in her graduation more than anything else. ^^ But thank you anyway!