Did you think I was dead? Nah, I'm fine. Updates will be much slower, though. Here's some story!
Coming here was a great idea! There are so many weird plants here to absorb! My philosophy is the stranger, the better. Purple leaves? Yes, please! It curls up when I poke it? Absolutely! Does this one eat bugs? I guess I'll take this one, so long as it doesn't make me eat bugs, too. I haven't gained any noticeable abilities yet, but I'm sure it'll start working soon. Also, I found out that when I try to absorb something larger than what I can hold in my hand, I just wind up absorbing a chunk of it. Sorry about that one, trees. There are weird bugs here, too, but I'm avoiding absorbing them for now because they give me the willies.
I've been walking for a while, and I haven't seen many animals yet, but I can hear some rustling nearby, so maybe there's a mouse or something. That's weird; all the birds just stopped singing. It's so quiet now, aside from the rustling, which sounds like it's coming closer- That's not a mouse, that's not a mouse, that's definitely not a mouse. That is a huge centipede, like as long as a house, huge! Maybe it's friendly or just curious? No! Definitely not friendly! I can't handle this! Coming here was a terrible idea!
The giant centipede reared back, lifting the front of its body off the ground. Liquid dripped from its twitching fangs as it screeched and chattered and hissed at me before lunging forward. Only a quick substitution technique saved me from being impaled by fangs the size of swords. I scaled the side of a tree and watched the centipede's mandibles shred the log with which I had switched. It was pretty clear that there was no way I could take down this creature. With no way to fight it effectively, I needed to escape.
The centipede spotted me and skittered up the side of the tree before lunging. I was forced to abandon the branch I was standing on. Once again, I narrowly avoided a painful death by using a body flicker. This thing was too fast to outrun and too big for any of my usual traps, so I'd have to take it out from a distance. The kunai I threw clattered harmlessly off the centipede's armor, falling away to the forest floor. Maybe if I throw it harder? Calling on my totally awesome chimera powers, I channeled the mantis shrimp's super strong arms. The disconcerting feeling of my arms turning liquid passed after a moment, and I drew another kunai.
This time, the kunai buried itself in the centipede's side, missing its head. That was enough to punch through, but it didn't do enough damage to stop the rampaging centipede. If I'm going to stop this thing, I'll probably need to – oh no. The idea I had was honestly a pretty terrible one because it involved intentionally getting close to the centipede, but I was out of other options. Just as we reached the bank of a small stream, I twisted around with a kunai in hand. I threw a kunai over the centipede's big ugly head with my enhanced arm strength. The knife flew through the air, burying itself in a tree trunk behind the centipede. I used a body replacement technique to switch places with the kunai before drawing another from my hip pouch.
The centipede skidded to a halt as best it could, screeching angrily at having lost sight of me. I used all of my strength to hurl the kunai at the back of the centipede's head, using a replacement technique to swap places with it a moment later. The centipede must have sensed something was amiss. Whether it was the whistling sound of a rapidly approaching projectile or the sound I was making (that definitely wasn't screaming), the centipede started to turn its head. A fraction of a second later, my mantis shrimp punch hit the centipede's head, combined with the momentum I'd gained by swapping with my moving kunai. The centipede's head exploded as cracks shot through the length of its black carapace. I flew forward and tumbled to a stop on the ground, totally not groaning about the scratches and bruises I just got. I definitely killed the centipede, but I nearly died, and even worse, got totally covered in bug guts. Yay, I hate this.
I wish I had armor like that stupid centipede. If I did, maybe I could have fought it like a normal person instead of having to explode it. Suddenly, the feeling of my bloodline activating washed over me, and not just in my arms. My whole body felt like it was being turned to liquid, rearranging itself. The changes swept up my arms and shoulders from my fingers, now covered in black, armored plates. Feeling suddenly dizzy, I staggered over to the bank of the stream and fell to my knees.
There, on the water's surface, I saw my reflection. Thousands of black-armored scales overlapped across my face, making me look kind of like a weird fish-human. A total body transformation? Sensei is totally gonna make a big deal out of this, and Orochimaru-sensei will definitely bother me with more tests.
Is it too late to go back to just having freaky arms again?