Fuck Honor, Reputation and Face!
In the black of the night, the moon is shaped like a silver plate, hanging high in the sky spewing its watery moonlight down.
The dense woods lightly unfold their dense green leaves and branches in the summer wind. The waterfalls crash down as they flow, but the sounds are unable to cover the noises of the sandalwood crickets chirping about.
Yami stepped onto the green grass, quietly approaching a mountain boar.
This mountain boar had its head buried, puffing and snorting as it digged the emerald earth with its snout, rummaging among the soil and grass to look for worms.
The wild boar was an omnivorous animal. It not only ate worms, but also stole bird eggs and was adept at hunting wild rabbits, mice, even venomous creatures such as snakes and scorpions.
Yami crept slowly from behind the boar.
Under the bright moonlight, the greyish black fur coat of the wild pig could be seen clearly. Its body was strong and firm, the four limbs short and rough. On its back was a long and stiff mane, while atop its ears were sparse fur that was erect like needles. With all four limbs on the ground, each foot had four toes but only the two middle ones were digging against the soil. Its fail was thin and short, sometimes flinging about, chasing away the mosquitoes flying around.
Suddenly it stopped digging for its meal, rearing its head up. At the same time the boar's sharp little upright ears quickly trembled a few times. Although Yami had managed to stop his tracks in time, this mountain boar still found him. It immediately turned around and groaned out with warning sounds.
Yami was not surprised by this. A wild animal was not like a domestic one, they were all very alert. Especially the wild boar, they had acute smell and could find bird nests that were often hidden very well.
Even if this mountain boar did not hear any noises, when Yami neared around a hundred meters away from it, it would be able to smell the his body odour and will still be able to sense Yami's presence.
Although Yami had five Gu worms on him at the moment — the Spring Autumn Cicada, Liquor worm, Moonlight Gu, Little Light Gu and the white boar Gu, these Gu were all not able to match each other, and were incompatible.
If Yami had a Smell Lock Gu that could cover up his body odour, and another Quiet Steps Gu that concealed the noise of one's footsteps, he could completely and silently reach up to a distance of ten steps away from the mountain pig.
However if he had these two Gu then Yami would have been keeping seven Gu worms, this would cause his primeval essence usage to be too great and he would have difficulty supporting them.
Gu Masters in general can only feed four to five Gu worms of the same rank. Thus Gu Masters usually do not move alone, but instead form small groups of five, or at the very least with three.
Among the groups, there would be someone specially in charge of detection, one responsible for advancement, one bearing the offence role, another responsible for medical treatment and someone in charge of resisting and holding back hostiles.
Yami continued without stop, getting closer to the wild boar.
The wild boar screeched lowly, the white fur on its neck standing, the symbol of its agitation.
Finally when Yami was near enough, closer than the wild boar's acceptable range, the wild boar's hoofs dug the ground three times before spreading its muscular four limbs, lowered its head and dashed towards Yami.
Its upper jaw was withdrawn, its lower jaw turning upwards, forming two white tusks. Under the moonlight, the tusks shone with light as it stabbed towards Yami.
Yami had no defensive type of Gu worm, and if he was pierced by the tusk, his stomach would be penetrated, his intestines would be punctured and he would be heavily injured if not dead.
"Moonlight Gu." Yami's face was calm as he thought in his mind, causing the Moonlight Gu in his palm to absorb his primeval essence and emit an eerie moonlight glow, interweaving with the moonlight from the night sky.
The wild boar charged towards Yami as his right palm swiped across the air.
With a swoosh, the moonblade flew out and hit the wild boar in the face, causing blood to splatter all over.
The wild boar cried out loudly, turning its anger into fuel as its charge became even faster, and in the blink of an eye, it reached a few steps before Yami.
Yami nimbly jumped to the side, rolling and breaking his fall.
The wild boar charged right past Yami, and with a boom, crashed into a tree behind him.
The tiny tree was only as thick as a human arm, after getting knocked by the wild boar, it received devastating damage as the tree trunk tore open and split into two.
Yami stood up, quickly getting close to the wild boar while a moonblade shot out from his right hand at the same time.
The eerily blue moonblade drew a straight line across the air as it landed on the wild boar.
The wild boar's black fur had several thin cuts on it. The injury was very deep and bright red blood oozed out from it.
The moonblade Yami activated used up upper stage primeval essence, thus it was able to break even a human's toughest bones in one shot. But on the boar, it could only cause such superficial injury, and not damage the bones.
A small wild boar like this was so strong, this showed how cruel the living environment was in this world!
The wild boar growled, and charged towards Yami again.
In the process of sprinting, its blood-dripping wound continued to tear open, and its warm blood poured out like water.
Yami used the same trick, taking a tumble sideways and dodged its charge.
The wild boar, although strong and very ferocious, had one weakness — it could not change directions easily. Its speed was fast, but that meant it could not alter directions easily, so this way, every one of its charges is in a straight line. As long as a Gu Master is attentive enough, it is not hard to dodge.
Boom, boom, boom.
Every time the wild boar charged, Yami would shoot a few moonblades, causing its old wounds to be overlapped with new wounds, and the angrier it got, the more blood flowed.
After a few times, its movements slowed and its growling also revealed a hint of weakness.
"Little light Gu."
This time, Yami not only activated the Moonlight Gu, but also deployed his primeval essence and injected it into the Little light Gu.
The Moonlight Gu after being refined had always stayed in Yami's right palm, turning into a blue crescent moon tattoo. After the Little light Gu was refined, it also resided in his right palm, turning into the shape of a five-sided star.
At this point, his dark green primeval essence entered the two Gu, the moonlight emitting an eerie blue moonlight while the Little light Gu emitted a milky white glow.
The milky white light fused into the moonlight, and the originally small lump of moonlight instantly became twice as big.
"Go."
Yami's right hand sweeped, and an enhanced giant moonblade flew out.
Using only the Moonlight Gu, the size was only palm-sized. But with the addition and help of the Little light Gu, the moonblade's size doubled, and its attack range also doubled as well.
Swoosh!
The moonblade hit the wild boar on the neck, creeping into its black grey fur. It emerged from the other end and flew for about three to four meters before dissipating in the air.
Glup glup...
The wild boar stood on the spot, frozen for a moment, then blood oozed out from its injuries like a fountain.
It abruptly collapsed, half of its head cut off, washed away by the pouring blood, and only a small piece of flesh kept it together with its body.
A thick smell of blood gushed out into his nose.
Yami did not dare to hesitate, pointing a finger at the wild boar, and the White Boar Gu which was residing in his aperture instantly turned into a milky white light and entered the wild boar's body.
Yami stood on the spot, nervously staying alert of the surroundings. Although the beast skin map said that the area was relatively safe, there were always accidents in nature, what if beasts were attracted by the smell of the blood?
After a while, the White Boar Gu flew back safe and sound.
The entire boar had shrunk in half, only leaving behind its black grey fur and the intestines under its skin. As for the meat, most of it was eaten by the White Boar Gu.
But the strange thing was, although the White Boar Gu ate pork nearly a thousand times its size, it did not change physically.
There was not even a drip of blood on it, as it maintained that milky white worm appearance.
"After this meal, I'll come five days later to hunt boars." Yami kept the White Boar Gu, but did not leave immediately. Instead, he took out his knife and extracted the two tusks of the boar.
The wild boar's body had a few things of value.
The first was pork, the second was fur, and the third was its teeth.
But now the wild boar meat was mostly eaten by the White Boar Gu; its skin was full of holes due to the moonblades, being meaningless even if retrieved.
Only this pair of tusks had some value. It could be used as food for certain Gu worms which ate teeth as food, or used as a catalyst for some Gu worm's advancement.
Yami hid the teeth in the rock crack's secret cave before returning to the hostel.
He did not sleep immediately, but sat on his bed and started to cultivate.
Within the aperture, the primeval sea acted like waves, rising and falling.
Yami was now a middle stage Gu Master, so after using the Liquor worm refinement, he had upper stage primeval essence.
Thus, while the people his age had middle stage pale green primeval essence, Yami's primeval essence was dark green.
Now that he killed a boar, there was only 23% of his primeval essence in his aperture.
A Rank one Gu Master was not that strong in battle. Or rather, nature's environment was too harsh. Even if the moonblade could break bones, to kill a normal wild boar, Yami had to use 20% of his upper stage primeval essence.
"White Boar Gu."
His eyes were shut tight, his spirit immersed into his aperture.
In the aperture, a gush of dark green primeval essence rushed up against the flow, injecting into the White Boar Gu.
The White Boar Gu immediately emitted a bright white light, and the light enveloped Yami's body. If one looked from the outside, they would see that Yami's body was emitting a pure white light from the inside.
Yami's every muscle and every inch of skin, was soaked in this white light.
A feeling of numbness and itchiness was felt by him. As the white light modified his muscles, it allowed strength to be slowly infused into his body, thus gaining roots and never to be lost again.
However, after a moment, the numb feeling became pain. This pain was like getting electrocuted, from numbness to sharp pain like getting cut by razor blades.
Yami hurriedly stopped the White Boar Gu.
Anything prolonged was not good.
The White Boar Gu could not be overused, it could be applied about fifteen minutes a day. Exceed it, and extreme pain would be felt, increasingly painful.
If he continued using it despite that, a person might even die from the pain!
Time flies, and with the blink of an eye, it was already the middle of June.
The summer night, with the golden arc of the moon hanging high in the sky, shining its radiance on the green mountain lands.
The winds blew and the leaves danced with the moonlight. The song of the cicadas and bullfrogs were simultaneous with each other. At times the sound of a wolf howling could be heard from afar, echoing throughout the green mountain.
On a river bank, a creek was scrubbing over a piece of smooth cliff rock. Beside this bank, a battle was ongoing.
A mountain boar covered in fine and deep wounds all over kicked its legs and rushed forward once more towards Yami. The blood was pouring from its wounds, marking a road of fresh red liquid.
Yami wrestled with it, showing no signs of panic.
The wild boar was on the verge of death, but it was precisely these moments that wild beasts are the most dangerous. Using the last remaining potential of their lives, their insanity and tenacity, could cause one to get gravely injured at any careless moment.
Yami was peaceful, his black iris glowing eerily under the moonlight, showing the light of absolute calmness.
He had the experience of 500 years, a part of him was engrossed in combat, while another disengaged from the battle, and remained alert towards the surroundings.
Many times when he was hunting wild boars, other animals came to wreck havoc. At times, a wild boar, another time wild wolves, and even once a wandering tiger.
As time passed, the wild boar's attacks gradually slowed down.
Yami's eyes shone brightly as he took a few strides forward, getting close to the wild boar. Raising strength in his shoulder and arms, he carried and raised the wild boar in one breath.
Huff!
Yami growled as his face was puffed red, his arms stretching out and raising the wild boar high above his head.
The wild boar feebly struggled.
Yami's body was unstable, he used all his strength to throw the wild boar.
With a boom, the wild boar was thrown onto a large rock by the river bank. It cried pitifully as sounds of its bones breaking could be heard.
It fell down from the large rock, blood oozing out from its ears, nose and mouth.
It struggled a few times before drawing its final breath.
The surroundings regained its peace.
The river water flowed endlessly, carrying the boar's blood along the river to some far away place.
"My strength right now can compete with a boar! Tonight I'll go try that giant rock at the passageway." Yami stood on the spot, breathing in heavily with a hint of excitement flashing across his eyes.
These days he had used the White Boar Gu non-stop to increase the strength of his body. He could feel strongly now that his strength was getting bigger.
Back then when he fought wild boars, he could only use a kiting technique with the moonblade, but now he could even carry the wild boar, so the increment of his strength had shown great progress.
Of course, the White Boar Gu would not endless give him strength. The limit was a boar's strength, and once he reached the limit, it would no longer grant him any additional strength.
"I can carry a wild boar now, but that does not mean I can go head to head with a boar, like how a strong man can carry another strong man, but it does not mean they have equal strength. My strength can continue to grow."
Feeding all the pork to the White Boar Gu, Yami used his hunting knife to retrieve the boar's teeth, and finally diced up the already heavily torn boar skin, before going into the secret cave in the rock crack.
As for the boar's corpse, it did not need him to do anything. During the summer night, wild beasts roamed freely, and not long after, there should be wild beasts picking up the scent of the blood and rush here to clean the scene for Yami.
Or rather, even if someone found out, it was inconsequential. The wild boar's injuries were all 'edited' by Yami, looking nothing like moonblade cuts.
Back to the secret cave enveloped in red light, Yami threw the two wild boar teeth at a corner.
The wild boar's teeth collided, causing a crisp sound.
At this corner, there was already a pile of wild boar teeth. They were the results of Yami's hunting.
Yami squirmed into the passageway, once again getting to the end of the tunnel.
Walking on the tunnel, his footsteps could be heard echoing in the cave, his vision dyed red due to the light.
Everything was unchanged; the giant rock was still there, quietly blocking his path. As for the hole created after digging out the earth treasury flower, it had already been filled up by Yami.
Haa!
Yami walked in front of the giant rock, raised both hands and pushed.
Although his face grew red with exertion, and he used all his strength, the giant rock did not move an inch.
"With my current strength, I can only carry a wild boar. But this giant rock, it is at least the weight of five to six boars. No wonder I cannot move it. The Flower Wine Monk's strength inheritance is not that easily obtained!" Yami's gaze shone as he estimated in his heart.
He did not give up, but instead came out of the tunnel and returned to the secret room upstairs.
Taking a bamboo tube from the corner of the wall, Yami sat on the ground and opened the lid, taking out the beast skin map and sheets of bamboo paper.
He opened the beast skin map and started to memorise it, using his fingers to draw on the traces on the map to aid in his memorization.
Ever since he had obtained the map, he had been doing this everyday.
Yami did not have a storage type Gu, he could not bring the beast skin map with him everywhere. Carrying a bamboo tube on him while battling is inconvenient too. Thus, Yami put in some effort and was prepared to stuff the entire beast skin map's content into his head.
Some things, even if troublesome, had to be done. In a person's life, those who did not actively resolve problems due to fearing trouble, would always face a dangerous predicament at the end. Yami understood this logic from his previous life.
"When one is young, their memory sure is good. I have already memorised more than half of this map. If I was old, I would probably forget the content while memorising this. Hehehe… of course if I had a Bookworm, I would feed this map to it, and from then on, as long as I do not lose the Bookworm, I will be able to recall this map clearly forever."
Yami had the Liquor worm, White Boar Gu, and was now beginning to have insatiable greed, starting to crave the Bookworm.
The value of the Bookworm was quite close to the Liquor worm and White Boar Gu, all being rare species among the Rank one Gu worms. The market price was expensive and they were often sold out in moments.
In his previous life, Yami did not obtain the Liquor worm or White Boar Gu, but he accidentally obtained a Bookworm. This Bookworm eventually advanced ranks with him, and accompanied him for a whole sixty years.
"Forget it, Bookworms are rare and low in numbers, I won't be able to get one anytime soon. To speak the truth, my current stage is way better than my previous life at this point. Last time at this period, I was still a Rank one initial stage, while the others like Naruto, Shino, Kiba were already upper stage, far beyond me." Yami was not someone who worried over nothing, quickly getting over it.
He was rather satisfied with his current progress.
He was a middle stage, and the others were also middle stage. With his C grade talent, he could maintain the same speed as these A and B grades, it was not easy. Much effort was given to the Liquor worm, as well as Yami's rich cultivating experience.
The other aspect, was also due to Yami.
His act of extortion had caused the classmates to bulk up on training their physical fighting skills under the help of their elders. Unknowingly, it caused them to be distracted, reducing the time they spent on nurturing their apertures. This resulted in everyone's cultivation level being even lower than Yami's past life.
But even so, they were not so far from upper stage now.
Gu Masters' early stage of cultivation was rather easy, seeing effect in a short period of time. Especially Uzumaki Naruto, Kiba and Shino, their cultivation level had already creeped and even seemed to surpass Yami.
With constant cultivation, these three with their talent, or the support behind them, had already begun to show their advantage. The lead that Yami had due to the Liquor worm was starting to disappear.
Of course, there was also the reason of him hunting recently and using the White Boar Gu to raise his strength, or spending much of his time and effort in doing so.
"At this rate, before long, someone will advance to upper stage. The first person that achieves upper stage will get a reward of thirty primeval stones. But this reward, I do not intend to contest for it." Yami had decided long ago.
If he abandoned the White Boar Gu now and rushed for upper stage, he might have some hopes of winning. But that was not Yami's goal. Thirty primeval stones might be good but he did not lack primeval stones at the moment.
The bigger reason was that he needed to remain concealed and keep a low profile to reduce other people's attention towards him, so that he can inherit the Flower Wine Monk's strength inheritance successfully.
This is his real motive.
"The academy has all sorts of rewards, but it is just carrots to pique the student's interest, and most importantly, it is a part of the family's system. Fighting for these little rewards, is not what a wise person would do."
Yami collect his spirits and gazed at the beast skin map again.
The beast skin map had two pages; one recorded the day while the other recorded the night. Many lines of different colours intertwined on it.
These lines, some were straight, some were curved, but they all had their own specific meaning. Only old Tazuna would be clear of their meaning, but it is a pity he died. But even if he was alive, by forcing him to speak, he might not say the truth.
These days, Yami relied on his knowledge and experience, and according to the bamboo paper's comparison, he had already deciphered it all.
"The red cross represents danger, a forbidden zone. The area with the red cross seems to be surrounded by wild boars, it is probably a wild boar king there. With my current strength, I'm as good as dead if I encounter one. Hmph!"
Thinking of old Tazuna, Yami could not help but snort again.
This area marked with a cross was not marked on the bamboo paper. If Yami really believed the bamboo paper, he would probably die by the fangs of the wild boar king one day. This old Tazuna was indeed experienced. To avenge his son, he did not have to act himself, but borrowed the wild boar king's strength. This way, even if Yami dies, he would be able to avoid responsibility.
"But these three spots marked with a red circle, what do they mean?" Yami was perturbed.
This was the beast skin map's final suspicious point.
Three red circles, showing three very isolated areas. They were also very far apart, and had little surrounding beasts, considered safer areas in the wild.
"The red cross represents forbidden area, but what does the red circle represent?" Yami fell into deep thoughts, "Normally, red is the most alert colour. old Tazuna marked these three areas, meaning they are important. It is a pity these areas are far, if not I would inspect them myself and find the reason."
The hot summer sun blazes on, the mountain winds blowing the warm winds around, Elemental Mountain steaming under the hot air.
In the blink of an eye, it was already near the end of June.
"Uzumaki Naruto!" In the academy, the family elder called out.
Uzumaki Naruto got up from his seat and came before the Academy Elder.
Under the admiring gaze of his classmates, Naruto received a heavy bag of primeval stones.
"Naruto, you are the first to advance to upper stage, this is your reward. Good job, continue working hard." Academy elder smiled pleasantly, patting Naruto's shoulders.
Naruto acknowledged with a grunt, his face full of excitement.
He took the money bag over with emotion and returned to his seat.
"I finally did it. The first to advance to upper stage, do you see that big brother, I finally beat you for once!"
His eyes shone with bright light as he swept his gaze over at Yami.
Yami was sprawled on the table, sound asleep. Last night he had killed another wild boar, and after returning to the hostel, he used the White Boar Gu to improve his body and also used the natural essence within the primeval stones to refine his primeval essence using the Liquor worm. Finally, he used his upper stage primeval essence to nurture his aperture, all the way until morning.
He hurriedly ate breakfast before rushing to class, falling asleep as soon as he settled in. He was too exhausted, and Gu Master cultivation could not replace sleep.
"Hmph, even if you don't admit it, this is the truth. Big brother, I have finally surpassed you! This is the first, and there will be a second time, a third time!"
Naruto clenched his fists. This success was extremely meaningful to him. He had already broken through the dark clouds in his heart, creating and opening to allow light to penetrate in.
Even though this light was thin, it gave Naruto hope and encouragement!
"Hmph, I actually lost to that Naruto." Kiba sat on his seat, arms crossed, feeling indignant.
"This is the advantage of an A grade, damn it..." Shino Aburame said with a dark expression. As he cultivated, he felt strongly the advantages of a good talent. Even with his grandfather Shibi Aburame's support, plus his extremely hard work, he was still left behind by Naruto.
"If only I had a Liquor worm, plus grandfather's help, I might not lose to Naruto! Those accursed Uzumaki family brothers! Little brother is A grade, suppressing us, but the brother being a C grade has a Liquor worm. Why did all the good things in this world go to these brothers?" Shino Aburame felt really indignant.
"This time Naruto broke through to upper stage first."
"Of course, he is A grade talent".
"Yeah, even Kiba, Shino, and Yami lost to Naruto. Naruto has gained all the attention this time."
"Yami having the Liquor worm is not putting in effort. Wasting his time everyday, even sleeping in class, he might as well give his Liquor worm to me."
The surrounding students discussed, feeling indignant in their hearts, helplessness and envy.
The academy elder called them one by one, and students went up continuously to collect their primeval stones allowance, and returned to their seats.
"Everyone quieten down." After the allowance was given out, the academy elder used his hand to hit the table. All of a sudden, the academy became silent.
"Now, you've all mastered your second Gu worm and even so much as broke through into the upper stage. In the past half a year, you have all worked hard, and now you have some basics, it is time for you to train in the wilds. True battles, are not scarecrows or puppets, wooden puppets that stand there and await your attacks.
"The following mid year examination, will be held three days later, all students have to attend! The examination content is to hunt wild boars. By collecting wild boar teeth as results to record, those who collect the most wild boar teeth will get better scores. At the end of the examination, each wild boar teeth can be exchanged for ten primeval stones. Furthermore, you are allowed to hunt in groups."
The academy elder's words caused a commotion among the students.
"The mid-year exam is finally here!"
"Every year's students study at the academy for a year, and there is always a mid-year exam and an end of year exam. Looking at the time, it really is time for the mid-year exam."
"Every year's examination content is different, to think that this year, our examination is to hunt and acquire wild boar teeth."
"What should we do? My talent is only D grade, my vital Gu isn't an attack-type like the Moonlight Gu, how can I hunt wild boars?"
"Didn't you hear, the family elder said, we are allowed to hunt in groups. For those with talent that can't make it, or those with Gu worms that aren't suitable, we can help each other and cooperate! When we get boar teeth, we just need to share with one another, and that would work."
"Each wild boar teeth can be exchanged for ten primeval stones, this is the academy encouraging us to hunt more wild boars, and the prize is set for that. For true market value, one primeval stone can buy twenty wild boar teeth."
The students had varying expressions, some were happy while other fretted, some were eager to go, while others called on companions, even Yami was slightly moved.
"It changed! I remember that last year's examination was to collect wildlife honey. To think that it changed to wild boar teeth. Is this the butterfly effect?"
A butterfly flapping its wings can cause a giant storm on the coast of another ocean. A small change in the initial conditions lead to drastic changes in the results.
Ever since his rebirth, Yami had made many changes, the conditions of his current self was vastly different from his previous life. Back then he had already been left behind by Naruto and the others, but now he was adamantly at the top of the student board.
In his past life he did not kill Uchiha Sasuke, in fact they did not even meet. But this life, he did not only kill Uchiha Sasuke, he even excavated the deeper treasures of the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance.
These changes are like a butterfly flapping its wings, indirectly causing changes to the environment. The mid-year examination change is only the first of such symptoms.
"If I continue changing things, will it cause history to become completely unrecognisable as well? In that case, the advantage from my rebirth would be significantly reduced."
Yami looked calm, but was sighing internally.
The feeling of inability and pressing urgency roamed his heart, but he quickly adjusted his mood.
"No matter what, since it has already happened, I can't stop it. What I need to do now is to actively change myself. Even if the events are completely different at the end, I would not slow down my growth just because of such concerns!"
"In my past life I knew nothing about the future, does that mean that in my current life I lack courage? Hehe, even if the world is full of thorns, I will cut through all the thorns in my way and pave out a blood-filled path myself!"
"Every teeth for ten primeval stones, this price is very high. Should I sell all those wild boar fangs I have stocked up at the cave? But if I do, I might attract suspicion? No, according to the Konoha Clan's political situation, if I sell these wild boar teeth publicly, I might get screwed over."
Yami shook his head, the risks were too big. If he really sold these teeth, what could he get in return?
A little over one hundred primeval stones?
"Wait, primeval stones aren't important. Maybe I can use this change to construct my image again." Thinking of this, Yami's eyes shone brightly.
He needed to get rich secretly now, being as low profile as possible. If the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance was exposed, he might even lose his life.
But his current position was awkward.
He stood against all his classmates, being outside the system, and among the higher-ups, he was an untamable, unhappy and indignant, intelligent and cold, C grade talent teenager.
This image was not good, it literally portrayed him as unloyal. But a clan requires loyalty, in fact, any organisation requires loyalty.
No matter which world, loyalty is the value that is most sought after in clans. Loyalty to the clan, loyalty to the country, loyalty to his leader, loyalty to his loved one, loyalty to his friends etc.
As Yami's cultivation level got higher, the higher-ups would only get more concerned, and if needed, the clan may even use hard handed methods on him. At that point, Yami would be really thrown into passivity.
Yami did not like passiveness, he liked to have the control of all matters tightly in his grip.
Because of a series of events before, Yami could only operate on the go, relying on outside strength, and this image he constructed was only to protect himself in times of need.
But now that he could protect himself, Yami needed to be stronger!
Thus, he needed to change this image, letting the higher-ups think that he had given up and joined the clan system. But this conversation cannot be too abrupt, or it would be suspicious.
More importantly, joining this system is only a facade, Yami would not really join them truly, and be manipulated and restricted. He had too many secrets.
He needed large amounts of freedom, and in actuality he was still a loner in operation.
But now the mid-year exam was a chance.
"It seems I have to do some plotting, I'll start from the extortion then." Yami's gaze became certain as everything fell into his scheme.
"You said that during Yami's extortion this time, although he defeated Naruto, Shino and Kiba, he left go of them and did not take their primeval stones?" Hearing the guard's report, the academy elder revealed a slightly shocked expression.
"I dare not lie to lord, it is indeed like this." The guard kneeling on the ground immediately responded.
"Mm." The academy elder did not express his opinion, and waved his hand, "I have understood this matter, you may go."
"Your subordinate takes his leave."
Once the guard had left, the academy elder immediately fell into deep thoughts.
He was originally concerned with this matter as he was afraid Yami would snatch away the thirty primeval stones that Naruto had gotten as a reward. If that was the case, the academy's reward system would have no meaning, they might as well give everything to Yami.
If Yami really did that, the academy would not allow it, and the academy elder was already prepared to punish Yami.
But he did not expect that not only did Yami have no intention to take the thirty primeval stones from Naruto, he even let go of Kiba and Shino as well.
"Yami has hundreds of primeval stones on hand, he might not be too concerned with the thirty primeval stones, that is understandable. But giving up on extorting Kiba, Shino and Naruto, what is the reason?"
The academy elder contemplated, his eyebrows gradually easing. He had understood something.
Kiba, Shino and Naruto, they could be said to represent the three factions of the clan. Letting go of them, the meaning was that he was appealing to the three different factions. This was understandable, as Yami's attitude change meant that he was finally willing to lower his head to the clan.
"Understandable. As he cultivated, Yami may have the Liquor worm, but the situation has gotten clearer to him. The inability of a C grade talent, after a few outbursts, and letting go of the majority of his negative feelings, he is probably rather downhearted and depressed now."
"It seems the clan leader's words make sense, Yami is after all a fifteen year old, how can he go against the clan's system? Now that he has started to accept reality, once he finds the position that he belongs to, he would fuse into the clan naturally."
Thinking of this, the academy elder breathed out a sigh of relief, his feelings becoming more cheerful.
Three days passed in a flash. Soon, the mid-year exam was here.
"Faster, faster, I've lured the wild boar out!" A youngster ran as he shouted out frantically.
On both his legs, there was a light green ring of swirling wind. With these two rings, it led to him having above average speed at such a young age.
However, the wild boar chasing after him became faster and faster, and the distance between them was shortening.
The scorching sun penetrated the forest and reflected on the wild boar, causing both its teeth to shine brightly.
"The wild boar is coming, hold the rope tightly!" The four ambushing youngsters quickly hid in the bushes and pulled the ropes tightly, instantly forming a tripping rope.
The speeding youngster leapt lightly, jumping over the road and continued running.
But the boar behind him tripped over the rope and fell harshly on the ground, crashing five to six meters before stopping.
"Oww!" The four youngsters were pulled along by the rope, and fell to the ground along with the wild boar.
"Strike!" The youngster running ahead turned around and shouted.
The few people lying on the ground frantically stood up, and surrounded the wild boar.
Kacha!
A small budding tree, under the impact of the wild boar, snapped in half and the tree crown fell to the ground.
"What a close shave!" Shino Aburame wiped the sweat off his forehead, feeling lingering fear. "Luckily I managed to use the Dragonpill cricket Gu and leapt three meters to the left, otherwise this tree would've been my outcome."
Pew pew pew!
Moonblade danced in the air as it hit the wild boar's body, causing long and shallow cuts.
Kiba's face was excited, his eyes glowing, his spirits immersed in this battle.
Half an hour later, the wild boar collapsed due to excessive loss of blood.
Kiba breathed roughly and also sat on the ground, his entire body full of mud and grass, at the same time full of sweat.
"Fighting against a living being like the wild boar is indeed different from the wooden puppet, grass puppet during practise battles. I spent thirty minutes just to kill a wild boar, I wonder how are the others doing?"
On a hidden small hill, there was a temporarily built tent. The tent blocked the punishing sun rays and casted an area of cool dark shadowy shade.
Under the cover, there was a few chairs and tables, with the academy elder sitting at the main seat. Beside him, there were other clan elders. A few Gu Masters were standing behind them.
In the surrounding forests around the tent, there were also some hidden Gu Masters.
At this time, the forest ahead had an abnormal disturbance.
Whoosh!
A Gu Master emerged from the forest like a shadow and quickly ran out, kneeling outside the tentage.
"How is the situation?" Academy elder asked.
"Reporting to Lord Elder, at this point, there are no casualties among the students." The Gu Master quickly answered.
"Good, good."
"An afternoon had already gone by since the mid-year exam started. To have no injuries, this is different from the past years."
"It looks like this is all the academy elder's effort."
The other clan elders nodded satisfactorily, praising in turns.
The academy elder shook his head slightly, he knew the reason. This was due to Yami's emergence, extorting his classmates, causing them to practise hard on basic martial arts, thus having such a performance.
He looked towards the kneeling Gu Master, and continued asking, "Then at this point, whose results are the best?"
The Gu Master answered immediately, "Reporting to Lord, at this point, Uzumaki Yami, Naruto, Kiba, Shino, are leading. Shino killed three boars, Naruto and Kiba killed five, and Yami has the most, at eight."
"Oh? To think Yami is leading!"
"In all the years, it is a very rare sight that A and B grade talents are being suppressed by a C grade."
"He has the Liquor worm right? That means he has upper stage green copper primeval essence, so to have such a result, it is understandable."
"I believe that from now on, Naruto, Kiba and Shino would surpass him. Although he has the Liquor worm, his primeval essence recovery rate cannot compare to A, B grade talents."
The other clan elders discussed.
"You may go." Academy elder waved his hand towards the kneeling Gu Master. "Instruct the others, focus on their protecting job. Especially Naruto, Shino and Kiba, pay more attention and ensure their safety!"
"Yes, lord." The Gu Master retreated.
These outdoor combats to most students, it was really their first time. Thus, there was danger and the clan naturally has plans. Dozens of Rank two Gu Masters were concealed in the forests, controlling the safety of this entire examination. At the same time, some Rank three clan elders were staying here to anticipate sudden accidents.
The blazing sun slowly descended from the highest point in the sky, gradually nearing the north-east mountains.
The sunset glow ignited the clouds; it was the sun's last flow of passion.
As the last sunlight shone into the forest, another wild boar fell on the ground.
"Twenty third." Yami calculated in his heart, and then squatted down, skillfully carving out a wild boar teeth.
There was a bag on his back, inside was a large number of wild boar teeth.
At the same time, he had another bag, carrying the teeth of those boars he killed last time. These teeth were originally stored in the rock crack secret cave, and were retrieved by Yami the previous night, stored into a bag and buried in a secret location.
"I am familiar with the terrain and wild boar distribution, at the same time I have upper stage primeval essence to use the Moonlight Gu together with the Little light Gu. The others' efficiency definitely cannot compare to me. Just with this bag on me, I can get number one easily. I wonder what expressions they would show when I take out the other bag later? Hehe."
Yami looked at the sky; it was time to retrieve the other bag.
Thinking of this, in his head, a map showed up.
These days, he had memorized the beast skin map. Yami was clear of his current position. If he turned left and walked along the stream for fifteen minutes, he would reach the location where he buried the bag.
But when he was about to move, he hesitated.
"With my current location, I am only five to six hundred meters away from the nearest red circle marking. Such a rare chance, should I go take a look?"
Once he had the thought, it was unstoppable.
Since he had already won anyway, Yami had a lot of time left.
"That beast skin map had three red circle markings, these three locations were very important to old Tazuna. It is also the only meaning that I could not decipher on the map. I'll go see!"
Yami naturally knew that there were Gu Masters controlling the scene, but this was also why he needed evidence.
Immediately, he acted like he was going to continue killing wild boars, and moved deeper into the forest.
Seven minutes later, he arrived at the red marking location.
A treehouse was hidden among the bushes on a huge tree, and if one did not observe closely they would not be able to find it.
"This is old Tazuna's temporary residence while hunting?" Yami frowned, his heart getting confused.
He climbed into the treehouse.
When he saw the sight in the tree house, his expression changed!
The space in the tree house isn't large, but there were many items inside, so at one glance it seemed extremely messy.
The floor in the center had a thick dark yellow-coloured carpet.
Inside the house, there was an iron stove beside the wall, and on it there was a bronze kettle. Inside the stove there was black coloured soot, and beside it there was a small pile of unburnt dried firewood.
Despite it being summer, the nights in this mountain were still icy cold. The iron stove could maintain the entire treehouse's warmth when lit, despite its small size.
The treehouse has two sets of windows, two to three ropes wrapped as the frame of the windows, connecting the two together in the middle of the room.
On the rope hanged several torn pieces of clothing, the torn patches pieced together. It was obviously an adult's clothing and was still slightly damp, not completely dry from the sun yet.
The light of the setting sun penetrated the windows and shone inside the treehouse.
The treehouse was rather dark internally. At a corner there were axes and hunting knives with beast skin wrapped on the handle. On the blade there was even dark red blood traces.
On the other side of the wall, there was a piece of bamboo paper with a dagger stabbed in the middle.
There was a young man's face on the bamboo paper — it was Yami's appearance!
This all meant that during this short period, someone had come to the hidden treehouse and lived here. The person's intention was obvious, his target was Yami.
The paper was stabbed by a dagger and showed his evil intent to the extremes!
Such a scenario, even Yami was taken aback.
"What does this person want, and why is he against me? No, maybe it isn't me but Naruto." Yami's thoughts flew all over his mind.
Naruto was an A grade talent, the only one in the last three years of the Konoha Clan, and is their only hope. If he could be truly nurtured, he would be the next figure in the clan.
But nurturing was a process.
During this process, there were calamities and human-made disasters.
Ignoring calamities, the most important was human disasters. As everyone knew, Elemental mountain did not only have the Konoha Clan, but also the Kiri clan and Iwa clan. These two forces would not be happy to see the dominating Konoha Clan successfully nurturing an A grade talent.
Thus, sending assassins to get rid of him was a common thing.
In this world, there are little geniuses, and even less of those who could successfully grow up.
A grade talent Gu Masters, it was not that they did not exist. Three years ago, one appeared in the Konoha Clan. In even earlier generations, they also appeared on occasions.
But on Elemental Mountain, out of the three clans in these years, there was only one successful A grade talent nurtured — the Kiri clan's Haku of Rank three cultivation.
Such a scenario was enough to say many things.
"This person, is he from the Kiri clan or the Iwa clan? They want to get rid of Uzumaki Naruto so soon?" Yami frowned, staring at the portrait.
"But why did old Tazuna's beast skin map indicate this treehouse? Was he a spy from the other forces? No, this person is obviously after me!"
Yami's eyes shone with brilliance.
At this moment, he thought of many scenes.
The first time, it was beside the trap, and the four hunter's conversation —
A hunter said, "Second brother Inari, you're almost nineteen, it is time you got married and have children."
Inari said, "Hmph, as a true man, how can I be lusting after such small beauty! One day, I will walk out of this Elemental mountain and roam the world, learn everything in the world and live up to the expectations of my male body!"
The second time was after he himself acted, Inari's peculiar calmness. He pulled his bow and pointed at Yami. The others were already begging for forgiveness.
The third was when Yami was asking questions.
"I ask you, in old Tazuna's family, who else is there?"
A hunter answered, "Tazuna originally had a wife, but that was decades ago, and she was killed by wild wolves that intruded the village. Before his wife died she gave birth to two sons and a daughter. But the oldest son Kaiza died on the mountain while hunting three years ago. There is no one else in their family."
"I, I remember! old Tazuna actually also has a daughter-in-law, Kaiza's old wife. But after Kaiza disappeared, his wife died due to a broken heart. That year, the village even specially sent down a chastity memorial arch! But rumour has it that Kaiza's wife wanted to remarry, and she was actually hounded to death by old Tazuna. When you killed old Tazuna, lord, you are helping us citizens, rooting out the evil and bringing people peace!"
The other hunter quickly added, "That's right, that's right. Actually lord, we have long found this old Tazuna unfavourable. Hmph, he's nothing special, just that he can hunt better than us. We're all just mortals, yet he thinks he's more special than us and purposely moved out of the village to live here. As the younger generation, we sometimes will ask him to teach us and impart his experiences, but he would just outright chase us away and never allow us to show up again near the wooden house!"
old Tazuna's family, moving out of the village, away from people…...
Eldest son Kaiza, died on the mountains three years ago while hunting…...
Kaiza's wife wanted to remarry, and was forced to commit suicide by old Tazuna, and obtained a chastity memorial arch...
old Tazuna chased away all the young hunters who were trying to ask for guidance...
old Tazuna tried his best to hide the beast skin map, and on the bamboo paper, there were no such circles…...
Inari was at such a young age, but was calm towards Gu Masters. At the same time he did not marry, and had the aspiration to surpass mortal realm in his heart…...
Most importantly, the circles on the beast skin map indicated a hidden realm, there was obvious human activity in the area. At the same time this person held strong hatred towards Yami…...
All the clues pieced together, if separated they were not easy to link, but once linked it was peculiar!
The more Yami thought about it, the more he felt that the mist shrouding this mystery has thinned.
The setting sun's afterglow passed through the window and reflected upon his face, the strong light alike to the colour of blood.
The surroundings had fallen into a deadly silence, was there someone secretly peeping at him all this time?
Suddenly, Yami's eyes lit up, his vision crossing through time and space; he had seen the truth!
"Kaiza, did not die."
At this moment, the glow in his eyes radiated the surroundings.
"Not only did he not die, he even became a demonic Gu Master by chance!"
It was not that mortals had no cultivating talent, but that the clan restricted the cultivation methods from leaking out, and controlled it tightly in their hands.
But there was no absolute in this world.
Mortals could become Gu Masters as well, from accidents in the wild and encountering the Hope Gu, opening their aperture. Or inheriting a certain strength inheritance, or getting the personal guidance from a certain clan's member.
But these Gu Masters were not accepted into the clan completely, and could only be their henchmen. Thus, they would not be satisfied and became loner Gu Masters. Their cultivation is extremely difficult. As time passed, as they competed for resources, they would have to kill snatch and murder, turning towards the demonic path.
"Because of some lucky chance, the highest possibility is that he obtained a large fortune from a certain Gu Master's corpse and became a Gu Master three years ago. To hide from others, he sent out the fake information that he died, but no one had ever seen his corpse. old Tazuna's family found out about this and moved out of the village, risking the chance that wild beasts might invade and lived alone, just to hide this truth."
"But there were some problems that occurred, Kaiza's wife did not agree and might have wanted to report to the Konoha Clan. His family had no choice but to kill her, and released some seemingly real and fake information to hide the truth. Something about her remarrying, or forcing her to commit suicide to hide the truth under all these rumors."
"Once in awhile, Kaiza would return home to stay. Thus, old Tazuna had to chase those youngsters who were seeking guidance away. Inari after interacting with his brother had dispelled his fear of Gu Masters, and naturally developed the goal of wanting to be a Gu Master and explore the greatness of the outside world!"
"Because of the fear that Kaiza might be exposed, even at such an old age Inari did not get married. Kaiza could not stay in the house, thus old Tazuna drew three red circles on the beast skin map, these three locations should be hidden residential areas like this. Having three hiding spots, Kaiza rotated his stay around the houses, and lived in the fringe of the three clans' authority."
The meaning of the three red circles was finally revealed!
Red indicated alertness, but most importantly to old Tazuna, this was his eldest son's residence. Thus, when Yami wanted the old man to draw the map, he did not indicate it on the bamboo paper, it was to protect his son. Similarly, he drew fewer red crosses, to avenge the death of his son.
"Maybe at a certain time each year, Kaiza will return home to stay for a while. When he returned, he found that his entire family was dead. After asking around, he found out it was me, thus he used the dagger to pin my portrait on the wall, so that he would exact revenge on me!"
With his previous life's experience, Yami was almost certain this was the truth.
If it was some other power that wanted to assassinate Naruto, they could be much more subtle. They did not have to develop a spy like old Tazuna. After all, old Tazuna lived at the mountain foot, not inside the Konoha village.
"To think that over a beast skin map, I provoked a murderer of the demonic faction. This world really works in wondrous ways," Yami could not help but snicker.
He first killed Inari, the old Tazuna and Tazuna's daughter, and it was all for the beast skin map. old Tazuna was the number one hunter in the village, so his beast skin map had the greatest value.
At that time he was thinking: It's merely three mortal lives, what's the big deal, I'll just killing them conveniently.
In this world, anyone had the right to live, and anyone could die just as easily.
To think that out of nowhere, a demonic way Gu Master emerged!
With regards to this, Yami did not have a tint of regret, but instead felt at ease.
If he had been too merciful at the time, in his goal to obtain their beast skin map, Inari, old Tazuna and sister Tsunami would've been a huge disturbance. To protect Kaiza's secret, they would not give him the real product.
Inari's battle strength could exterminate an ordinary Rank one upper stage Gu Master. old Tazuna was even more experienced with age, and in terms of killing strength, he was even more of a threat than Inari.
Even if he had gotten the real product, old Tazuna would've informed Kaiza, and Kaiza would've gotten Yami's information immediately. No matter how he dealt with it, he would be in the shadows while Yami was out in the open. Kaiza would be having the advantage of being in control of the situation.
"Good thing I killed them at the start! Regardless of what, I have to control the situation in my own palm. This way, even if I do not get the real item, there is no loss to me, and I can even snatch other hunters'. Killing old Tazuna and that girl caused Kaiza to spend a lot of time just to get my intel. Needless to say, those two young hunters must've already been silenced." Yami confirmed in his heart.
There was only a few people who knew the situation, and Kaiza would not attack Jibei. Once Jibei is dead, the clan would send people to investigate. But if those two hunters disappeared on the mountain, it was easy to manipulate. Jibei would not reveal an incident like this as it would affect the clan's evaluation of him, and would even cover up the situation.
The thoughts of Yami flew all over the place in the tree house.
With the knowledge acquired from his previous life, Yami could sense Kaiza's existence, but how was his strength?
Yami had never seen this Kaiza, but with the information at hand, there was much he could analyze from this.
"Courage is built upon the basis of strength, he had collected my information and still wants to exact revenge on me. With such a confidence, his cultivation has to be above Rank one!"
"These three years he had been moving around the three red circled areas, living on the fringe of the three clan villages. Almost everyday he faced the risk of getting discovered and purged. This shows he does not have the strength to roam outside, and roaming outside requires Rank three cultivation.
"This means that, at first evaluation, he is a Rank two."
Yami's eyes glinted with cold light, "Counting the time, he disappeared for three years and cultivated to Rank two now, so he should be a B or C grade talent, and his aperture should have about 40-70% primeval essence."
"These three years, he could survive and at the same time, live at home despite Jibei's observation, so he has to have a stealth-type of Gu worm at work.
Information was the most important thing to a Gu Master's showdown.
Although Yami had no investigative-type Gu worm, with his experience and knowledge, he could forcefully reverse engineer Kaiza's cultivation level and Gu worms to a highly plausible degree.
Very quickly, his mental image of a Rank two demonic faction Gu Master appeared, carrying the hatred of his family's murder and lurking somewhere to kill his revenge target.
"I can kill others, others can naturally come to kill me. This is nothing." Yami laughed lightly.
In this world, anyone had the right to live, and anyone had the chance to die.
Those who kill, are bound to get killed.
Since he committed murder, he should be mentally prepared to get killed.
If he was killed like that, then he would die like that, it was nothing much, and definitely no regrets. This was the path he chose.
This point, Yami had great resolve is the resolution of the demonic way!
"Kaiza wants to kill me, then in this mid-year exam, it is definitely the best chance. Normally, students would reside in the village, and with his Rank two cultivation, he cannot creep into the village, that is courting death."
"Maybe he evaluated that I might come out to hunt. But Elemental Mountain is so huge, he alone has to hide his traces and also have to search for me, it is too difficult. Now that there's this chance, he is most likely to strike."
"He is a Rank two Gu Master, and one that has struggled for three years, living a life of danger and unknown, a demonic faction Gu Master nurtured like this. With my current battle strength, I am definitely not his match. But this does not mean that I have no chance of survival."
Escape!
Yami instantly decided.
Nothing is too shameless if it is to survive, so if he can't fight it, run.
For a Gu Master to make a sudden breakthrough is almost never happening. Fighting against a higher realm is possible, but that is built on the base that the Gu Master has special Gu worms.
Yami had a number of Gu worms in his possession, but the Spring Autumn Cicada was hibernating and unusable, while the Liquor worm, White Boar Gu, Little light Gu and Moonlight Gu were not trump cards to fight a higher realm.
Obviously knowing the enemy was unbeatable, yet resolving to fight to the death, that is a stupid "hot-blooded" behaviour. Even if he wins, that would not win him the favor of fate.
Yami is cautious his entire life even with trump cards, and if the chances of victory is slim, he would choose to avoid combat.
He liked to be in control of the situation, using unscrupulous methods to raise his chances to the limit. He loved fighting assured battles.
Only when he has no choice would he engage in a risky fight.
Thus, his favourite activity was to bully the weak and snatch resources to get stronger. Strong enough until he surpasses his enemies and then stomp on them afterwards, bullying the weak.
There is nothing shameless about this, those who find challenges just to prove their bravery and risk their lives to fight to the death with strong enemies, that is the real stupidity.
But unfortunately, this "quality" has been praised and recommended, because any organization needed the individual to sacrifice themselves to protect the interests of the ones in power.
One just needs to think slightly to know that survival is the prerequisite to all activities.
In order to survive and fulfill the ambitions on their heart, this is a person's greatest courage.
Dying for aspiration, those are fools. Surviving shamelessly for their ambitions, those are true brave warriors!
On the Shinobi World, there have been legendary people who once had to endure the shame of crawling through someone's legs, and there even was one legend who had to eat shit to express his loyalty…...
That's why, fuck off with honor and reputation, and face!
Regardless of organization, they would applaud such a value system. The more that needed to be sacrificed, the more they would be promoted, like a military.
"Which direction should I go, the one that has the lowest chance of encountering Kaiza?" A map appeared in Yami's mind.
"Kaiza already knows I have the beast skin map, now he should be hiding in the forest, searching for me by looking for the wild boar distribution on the map. I cannot go to these places, thus I can only move in reverse to find a chance to survive." Thinking of this, a slightly insane route surfaced in Yami's mind. Under the sunset in the mountain forest, tree shadows overlapped and wild grass grew abundantly.
A pair of bloodshot eyes hid deep in the shadows. His eyes burnt with hatred and anger, as if it couldn't be doused even with a tsunami.
"Yami, I've finally found you..." Kaiza gritted his teeth, growling the words out from his mouth.
Under his gaze, not far away, a youngster with a thin body and pale face was traversing the forest.