PING!
[A skill has levelled up!
Mark of the Outsider (Active) Lv 87 (0.91%)
Granted to those who pique his interest regardless of moral alignment or sanity, the Mark allows you to bend the rules of reality. The Mark allows you to access the capability to cast spells, where otherwise you would need a focus of some sort. With your constant use, it has attuned itself to your energy system thoroughly.
-50% RR costs for spells cast through the Mark.
Branches of Magic: Animation, Combat, Conjuration, Transfiguration, Utility.]
So, apparently, I was right. The new version of the Mark allowed me to cast spells from the Harry Potter universe. When I cast a spell, the Mark glows white and thrums a bit – not painfully, but with a sensation of energy travelling through it. I tried out every single one that I could remember and managed to get it to a high enough level with every increasingly difficult spell. The costs of each varied but given my obscene regeneration rate and large RR pool, costs were practically dirt to me. It helped that around the time it hit level fifty, I got a negative effect to spell costs. If I ever do end up in that universe, I ain't gonna need a wand, that's for sure.
I checked my new watch, stolen from Karakura and set to the proper Konoha time. There were no wristwatches here yet, so I didn't see anything wrong with picking it up along with the various food and electronics I pilfered. With an hour to be at a respectable hour at training ground three, I stopped weaving spells around me like a pro and straightened.
"Alright guys. It's time to dispel." I announced, stretching to get that satisfying pop out of my back. The assorted clones around me immediately halted whatever they were doing.
"But, boss, we're still good to go." One informed him.
Oh yeah. I assigned a skill or two to every five clones and let them have at it. Since I had used my expedient method of creating them, each shadow clone was armed with half of my total chakra. Given the halved time for energy regeneration and the costs of my techniques, especially the chakra ones, that was practically obscene. We had the rest of the day from the afternoon after Tisha adopted Naruto, and the entire night. Being in the Mirror Dimension allowed me to really cut lose. Additionally, it seemed that there was a nuance between my game system and the shadow clone technique that I hadn't known. If a created skill is practiced, the increase is immediately visible in my system – they don't need to dispel to transfer the experience. Furthermore, when it came time to evolve the skills in question, my clones could select an option that they – and by extension, I – approved of and the change was visibly in my skill list immediately. Thus, I concluded that only the notifications appeared to me when they dispelled, and not the experience being transferred.
Thinking about it, I feel the tiniest bit guilty about probably keeping my ANBU watchers up that long back in the real world. Hopefully they had a shift change; given that Neji was getting more energy by the day, at least from what I remembered, I don't think Hizashi would quite appreciate what I'm putting them through.
"Just because I've made my peace with being overpowered, it does not mean we should get there as soon as possible." I sighed. "That damned skill we got cuts our training time into a third. Given that we've been training since yesterday, I really don't think it will take us long to master all the skills we have even if I create only one clone and laze about all day."
"Actually, boss, we've already mastered all the skills we've been allotted." A clone piped up. "One team used the [Time-Space Gate] to travel back to the real world to work on [Silver-tongue] and [Eavesdropping] ages ago."
I blinked. "I must have been really focused on practicing air-bending to not have noticed that. Was it sometime around when I discovered that having [Gamer's Mind] effectively negated the requirement for me to 'disconnect myself from my earthly attachments and step into the void' in order to master the art?"
"Yep." Another nodded. "By the way, it's totally a relief that the clone that practice combustion-bending didn't suddenly develop the required tattoo on his head."
Said clone rolled his eyes. "I don't know why that tattoo was a thing in the first place. Probably meant for them to look cool."
I rubbed my forehead. "Alright. Whatever. So, if all our skills have been mastered save a couple, what's the point in continuing to exist? Dispel. Now."
They saw the logic in my words. It was to be expected – I mean, they're me! Wait, does that mean that they should have known about my train of thought in the first place?
Thankfully, they began to dispel in the order of skills they'd been given. Three dispelled at once, so every time a group vanished, I got a new notification. It seemed that the group outside got the message too, and dispelled. I guess since everyone had our new eye-technique active, it was the firs one to pop up.
PING!
[A skill has leveled up!
Void Gaze (Active) Lv 74 (61.03%)
An eye technique developed due to the entwinement of the Mark of the Outsider with your soul, as well as various little bits of your ability that exist quasi-independently from your physical and mental bubble. The Void Gaze allows you to see energies both in living beings and non-living objects, as well as in the environment around you. Since you can see these nuances of energy, it is easy for you to replicate a skill you have seen performed in front of your eyes. Physical barriers mean nothing to you. You are also able to deduce exactly where the critical points on your enemies are. Hitting these points will allow you to instantly score a critical hit.
Cost: 3RR/sec.]
Wonderful. This is like the Byakugan and Sharingan combined… except that I can't see all around myself in a sphere, nor can I predict enemy movements. They don't look much different from my normal eyes, honestly – the sclerae just turn pitch black. I guess it's something my system derived from the Outsider himself.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Ninja Art: Chakra Enrichment (Active) Lv MAX
By nudging your chakra through an object, you grant a bonus to its properties. For weapons, it adds extra damage and an effect based on chakra type. For armor, it adds extra protection and an effect based on chakra type.
Neutral Chakra:
Weapons: + (INT+STR) Damage
Armor: + (WIS+CON) Durability.]
An OP skill for sure. As my stats scaled, the damage and protection bonuses were going to be massive. Given that my new attribute limit was now probably ten thousand… I shudder to think of the raw damage I'll be able to unleash as I power on.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Fire-bending Master (Active) Lv MAX
By using your body's internal workings to regulate energy, you are able to control the destructive element of fire in great magnitudes. As a master of the art, the things you can do with fire are legendary.
Energy refuel limit: 250Units/sec.]
Oh, yeah. Apparently, I can refill someone's energy using fire-bending. I have no idea how that works. Well, that one episode in Korra showed that old lady scanning the avatar's energies with Fire-bending, but I'm not really sure how that evolves into the transfer of energy. When I used it on one of my clones, I could choose to refill their QI or RR. There wasn't a screen that popped up for it, but a passive mental sense that I had to experience. That was strange as hell. I'm willing to bet that if I am to use it on someone who doesn't actively use their physical and mental energies separately, I'll be able to target their chakra.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Earth-bending Master (Active) Lv MAX
By using your body's energy to exert your iron will, you have learned to manipulate the unyielding element of earth. As a master of the art, the things you can do with earth are legendary.
Earth-sense radius: 100km.]
Toph's Earth-sense was really fun. A bitch to learn, but fun. It had, coincidentally, showed me several lab-like chambers underneath the village. I'm willing to bet those belong to Orochimaru. It also let me know of a single chest buried under the Hokage Mountain. I'm not entirely sure how to get through to it quietly, so I decided to hold off for now.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Air-bending Master (Active) Lv MAX
By using your body's energy to open yourself up to the nuances of the world around you, you have learned to weave the element of air. As a master of the art, the things you can do with air are legendary.
+99% evasion chance.]
That was a very fun learning experience. I don't actually need to expend energy to fly anymore; it updated my [Energy Medium] skill! It's really hard to believe that a juvenile move like Aang's air-scooter was the thing that really let me grind this skill out like crazy.
[Due to a special action, multiple skills have fused and evolved!
Avatar (Active) Lv MAX
As the vessel for Raava, a spirit dedicated to maintaining balance, you are gifted with unimaginable control over the four basic elements and their derivatives. By using your body's energy to redirect and flow with change, you are able to control the healing element of water in solid, liquid, and gaseous states. By using your body's energy to exert your iron will, you have learned to manipulate the unyielding element of earth. By using your body's internal workings to regulate energy, you are able to control the destructive element of fire in great magnitudes. By using your body's energy to exert your iron will, you have learned to manipulate the unyielding element of earth. By using your body's energy to open yourself up to the nuances of the world around you, you have learned to weave the element of air. Your mastery with the elements allow you to manipulate them with the pure power of your mind. In times of great need, you may enter a focused state that allows you finer, yet greater, control than you could ever manage out of.
10Qi/sec in Avatar State.
Water-healing limit: 250HP/sec.
Earth-sense radius: 100km.
Fire-transfer limit: 250Units/sec.
+99% Evasion Chance.]
….
Well, since I'm NOT MAD AT ALL, I can totally appreciate what a NOT OVERPOWERED skill this is. Really. I'm TOTALLY fine with this. Yes.
Anyway, I can't dwell on that. I have more notifications to see to.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Magic Specialty: Titan (Active) Lv MAX
You use magic to enlarge yourself. Along with your physical size, your physical and mental attributes and capabilities gain a boost. Every spell casted in your enlarged form is magnified, and you take less damage.
+10% for every 0.5m on all physical stats.
+1% effectiveness for every 0.5m for all spells.
-50% damage.
Cost: 1 RR/m.]
The values are unbelievable, and it was fun destroying Konoha when you're huge (given that it would repair itself after a while to reflect the real world again), but I really don't think I'll be using this skill at all. Even putting aside the fact that it looks a lot like the Akimichi Clan Hijutsu and thus leaves me able to being sued because of it, I'm not really the 'grow large and smash' kinda guy.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Hollow Method: Pulse (Active) Lv MAX
A sensing technique used only by the most proficient spiritual energy users. As a master in its use, by pulsing out your own spiritual energy and calling it back in, you can pinpoint beacons of energy around you via spiritual resonance over vast distances and gauge their strength.
Max sphere radius: 10km.
Cost: 1% of RR.]
My most useful technique, I'll admit. It took the clones mastering it having to sleep on the floor and doing it in turns because of the percentage costs of Reiryoku that couldn't even be kept up with by my totally overpowered regeneration rate. The advantages are well worth it, though. I can sense any sort of energy now, over TEN FUCKING KILOMETERS MAX, and I get back the level of any people hit with it. It'll be fun for infiltration and stuff since I'm certain nothing can hide from it.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Hollow Method: Steel Skin (Active) Lv MAX
Your mastery of Reiatsu allows you to condense it around your skin, forming a barrier between an incoming attack and you. It cannot be broken, only powered through. Because of this barrier, you take less damage.
-75% damage.
HP + 5000.]
Useful. As. Hell. Shadow clones won't be so fragile anymore. The jump from ten per level to five thousand is huge, but it was an evolutionary choice between more HP or having a resistance to hollow techniques. Since I'll probably never be facing the latter, the former was the most viable choice.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Ninja Art: Leaping Locomotion (Active) Lv MAX
Using chakra directed to the lower-leg muscles, one can increase the distance covered by a single bound. Your proficiency allows you to cross distances others can only dream of using a series of jumps.
Speed: 1km/sec.
Cost: 0.1 CP/sec.]
That's going to come in handy only when I want to get places alone. This, coupled with the Speed-Force, should see me there in an instant, almost. I wonder if there's a way to teach skills to others…?
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Ninja Art: Chakra Scalpels (Active) Lv MAX
The user forms a sharp blade out of their chakra that covers both the hands from fingertips to wrist at best. It allows them to cut into a living body without breaking the skin, decreasing chances of infection. You can sever nerves, muscles, and even chakra pathways, and choose to solidify your scalpels to inflict damage onto flesh.
Damage: (INT + DEX)
Cost: 0.1CP/min.]
Good for when I need to be understated and low-key. Otherwise? I think I should branch out into medical studies to really get my effort's worth from this skill. That's actually one of my next goals. Even though I'm not on Tsunade's team, I'm on another her old teammate's. I'll eat my own shoe if the two never exchange students at least once in a while to cover the bases they can't teach effectively. And if not, then, well, Orochimaru experiments and stuff, later on in canon. It'd be monumentally stupid for him not to know any medicine at all – I'll learn from him.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Ninja Art: Thrall of the Shadows (Active) Lv MAX
You surrender to the shadows. This allows you to port directly from one shadow to another. While covered with shadows, you are invisible to everyone. You also gain a higher chance to score a critical hit in any situation as long as this technique is active.
-100% to enemy vision cones.
+50% critical chance.
Cost: 0.1CP/sec.]
Super. Awesome. Skill. Even just the shadow-teleportation thing is super cool, but add in the invisibility thing and you have, like, a superpower or something. I wonder if it would take much effort to learn to manipulate shadows like the Nara do… Hm. Actually, I guess this was a Nara technique that Shishito had laying around.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Ninja Art: Illusory Embodiment (Active) Lv MAX
By ejecting chakra from your body and manipulating it, you are capable of creating a basic illusion of yourself. The image produced is intangible and intelligent but vanishes after ten solid objects pass through it. These are capable of casting illusions on others and reflect the same amount of mastery you possess.
Cost: 1CP/clone.
Maximum Duration: 4000 sec.]
Not… something I'd use a lot, but it was good for the perk points. Until the last moment, when it evolved, the clones working on it were so pissed. I'd have been, too. But the moment they chose this evolution, they were… not excited, but at least not lethargic about it anymore.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Ninja Art: Instant Exchange (Active) Lv MAX
You can instantly substitute with any object at any time. The size of the object poses no difficulty to you and performing this technique continuously does not tire you.
Range: 500m.
Cost: 5CP.]
If it weren't for the distance limiter, this would be like a pseudo Flying Thunder God. It'd be just sad if something like Substitution could evolve into something like that, though, so I'm glad it didn't.
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Snooping (Passive) Lv MAX
Allows you to hone-in and focus to listen in on things happening around you. External noise no longer disrupts your ability to listen.
Range 250m.]
Useful for spying, I guess. Hey, cool! I'm learning more rogue tricks!
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Serpent-tongue (Passive) Lv MAX
Your mastery with words allows you an amazing chance to persuade targets, compelling them to see your view of thinking and gently tugging them onto your path.
99% chances of success.
+20% chance of working for every positive REP with target.]
This really came as a surprise. I never really thought that It'd shoot up to ninety-nine percent when it reached level hundred, but hey, it's welcome! Now I'm just a smooth-talker as my Dovakhiin back home! Also, it totally helps the village that I just up-talked Naruto and the Uchiha clan.
[A skill has leveled up!
Eccentricity (Passive) Lv 51 (9.22%)
Sometimes, people don't understand why you are doing what you are doing. Because of this, they may think you are insane, really foolish, or just plain endearing.
51% chance to earn positive REP with those around you.
49% chance to make those around you think you are crazy.]
Wow, tough crowd out there. Alright, so… the only skills remaining that I can level are [Eccentricity], [Advanced Telepathy], [Void Gaze], [Mark of the Outsider], and [Magic Specialty: Mirror Dimension Access]. I can work on those today after our team disperses! Plus, I'm pretty sure that the two clones fighting out in the real world should have mastered taijutsu by now. Let's leave and see?
Wait, wait. I need to check out my [Inventory] first and check out that Onmitsukido armor set! I can wear it from today instead of these horrendous Espada robes. Like, seriously. I. Hate. White.
I opened up my inventory, and there were five pieces of gear. I checked them out carefully.
[Onmitsukido Headgear (Black) – 100/100 DUR
A facemask and an attachable hood worn by Onmitsukido members.
+10% critical chance.]
[Onmitsukido Short-robe (Black) – 100/100 DUR
A simple but tough short-robe tied with an obi worn by Onmitsukido members.
-10% damage.]
[Onmitsukido Gloves (Black) – 100/100 DUR
A simple set of dulled-metal-laden gloves worn by Onmitsukido members.
+10% unarmed damage.]
[Onmitsukido Leggings (Black) – 100/100 DUR
A simple pair of leggings worn by Onmitsukido members.
+50% evasion chance.]
[Onmitsukido Boots (Black) – 100/100 DUR
A simple pair of dulled-metal-tipped boots worn by Onmitsukido members.
Footsteps are silent.]
Holy. I equipped it all immediately. The color was a decent black that would blend well with shadow but also would quite stand out otherwise. The facemask was Kakashi-style, so I set it and the hood down for now. I equipped my Zanpakuto to my back and hopped around a little to get a feel for the new armor. It honestly felt like I wasn't even wearing anything at all – no weight, no hinderance in movement… nothing!
Cool.
I looked through my inventory to sort through the items. Alongside a seriously massive amount of junk food, electronics, solar chargers, and a few clothes, there were a couple of items I had totally forgotten about!
First up was that arm of Hashirama that Danzo had melded into his body. Hm… how had he done that, again? Oh right – a steady exposure to Senju chakra, courtesy of Orochimaru, and a near-continuous application of healing jutsu for a few days. Hmm… Should I…? Why not? Okay, so learning medical ninjutsu is the next priority. I may have an extensive list of magic in my repertoire, but I'm not sure how it would react with chakra, and I don't know jack shit about magical healing besides the water-bending variant, which I'm not sure about. So, iryo-ninjutsu is next on the learning list.
Second was… that S-rank pay from the Hokage. Ninety-thousand ryo… not bad. Oh boy, Kakashi must be absolutely loaded. I chucked the cash into my [Inventory] and watched the total rise. Wow, I have way too much money. I guess I should start collecting more to start up my Augmentations Company. So that's on my to-do list.
And lastly… oh, the chakra paper. I tapped it and pulled it out, eyeing it speculatively. My chakra is neutral, right? So… what would happen if I used this? Should I use this?
I shrugged and pushed it back into my inventory. After the exam today, I'll split the paper into three and offer a piece to Itachi and Mai. They get to know their affinities too, and it will prevent a total loss of a perfectly good sheet of chakra paper.
I created a Time-Space gate and exited out into the real world, then created and dispelled a shadow clone to let the other two know to dispel. Let the ANBU worry about where I got to – it's not the first disappearing act I pulled.
PING!
[A skill has leveled up and evolved due to reaching the maximum possible level!
Master Brawler (Passive) Lv MAX
You are a master of hand-to-hand combat, able to hemorrhage opponents with a combination of skill, technique, and tactics. Your enemies are almost never able to dodge your attacks, and you now have a much higher chance to score a critical hit.
+95% chance to cause damage to internal organs.
+50% critical chance.
1% evasion chance for opponents.
Styles learned: Konoha Academy Style, Arrancar Hakuda.]
Great! I'm good with just my hands now, too. Nice.
I walked to the center of the Training Ground and sat cross-legged on the ground. What to do to pass the time… Ah, wait! The perks! I navigated over to the [Perk] menu and gaped at the amount of points I had in my wallet. Well, of course I have that many, I maxed out almost all of my skills! I rolled my eyes at it, though.
Now, between the two, I first purchased [Augmentations], which gave me a passive skill.
[Due to purchasing a perk, a new skill has been created!
Bio-mechanics (Passive) Lv MAX
You know all there is to know about merging technology and the human body via mastering the two fields individually and then bringing them together.
+99% chances of success to create augmentations.
+99% chances of success to implant humans.]
Oh, what do you know! I DID get the knowledge of Adam's DNA and the idea of the serum with which he was experimented on. This… could be a real life-saver and money-maker. Especially for ninjas. It seems medical studies just took a higher priority. Actually… this will help me with the Hashirama implantation, too! Better be on the safe side, though.
Now… I'm not really big on [Zaiphon], especially since I already have a pretty full deck. Hm… I guess… I could give it to someone. But who?
"Good morning, Gundan-kun!"
I blinked as a familiar voice sounded. I looked up and saw Mai and Itachi looking down at me. Wow, I was so out of it that I didn't even notice them approach me. I smiled back. "Hey, Mai, Itachi. I take it that the two of you just arrived?"
"Yeah." Mai nodded. "Orochimaru-sensei didn't even tell us what time to meet him, so we thought dawn was best."
Wait… idea! "Mai, may I see your hand?"
"Eh?!" she squeaked, blushing.
I quickly waved my hands at her. "No, no, it's not what you think! I read in a book the other day that by pressing certain points in a person's dominant arm, their entire body gets relaxed. Since we have the test now, I think it's best we were at our best, don't you?"
Mai's blush calmed a little. "Oh. Well… sure." She thrusted her hand out, still blushing.
I stood and took her hand. For some reason, Itachi activated his Sharingan. I shrugged it off and pretended to massage her hand while I surreptitiously drenched her hand in my chakra and tapped at the screens.
PING!
[Are you sure you would like to give Yamanaka Mai the Eye of Mikhail?]
Yes. I don't know what good it will do, but yes.
[You have given Yamanaka Mai the Eye of Mikhail!]
"There you go." I released her hand.
She looked at it oddly. "I… actually feel very relaxed! Thank you, Gundan-kun."
I nodded at her distractedly as I observed the new list of perks in front of me.
[Perks:
1. Bloodline 2 – Unlock a bloodline.
Cost: 250 PP.
2. Mutant Gene 2 – Unlock a mutant gene.
Cost: 250 PP.
3. Magic Specialty 2 – Unlock a specialty field of magic
Cost: 250 PP.
4. Conduit Gene 2 – Unlock a Conduit element.
Cost: 250 PP.]
Okay, so the bloodline is probably a Kekkei-Tota, otherwise known as three-element fusions. I… honestly don't know who to give that to. If the mutant gene offers the X-men genes, I'm definitely giving Naruto Iceman's. I don't know whether it will compound with his ice release or enhance it, but I want him to be awesome, dammit! The Magic specialties better be good ones this time. And as for the conduit gene… it will be from the second game. Hey, another ice-related one, or napalm, or… Ray-sphere lava, I think, plus some swamp monster thing.
Okay, so the magic specialty goes to me. I need it. I could give the Ice-conduit gene to Naruto just for kicks and give a different mutation to someone else… Sakura! Oh crap, I complete forgot about her! I'll give her the mutant gene. But who to give the Kekkei-Tota to…?
"Gundan-san, I was wondering if you would do the same for me…?"
I blinked, then stifled the urge to face-palm. Of course, Itachi was right here in front of me! "Sure!" I chirped. "Gimme your hand."
Strangely, his Sharingan was still active, but I paid it no mind as I flooded his hand with my chakra. I heard him gasp suddenly, but I didn't bother to investigate as the excitement of what I was doing came over me for a second. I selected the [Bloodline 2] option and affirmed it.
[Please select one of the following:
Fire + Wind + Lightning = Energy
Fire + Wind + Earth = Dust
Fire + Wind + Water = Scorch
Fire + Lightning + Earth = Steel
Fire + Lightning + Water = Dark
Fire + Earth + Water = Quicklime
Water + Wind + Lightning = Storm
Water + Wind + Earth = Crystal
Water + Lightning + Earth = Power
Earth + Wind + Lightning = Gravity]
Oh. Wow. Um… what do I pick? Itachi is, above all, an efficient ninja. He's a master of everything from throwables, to swords, to hand to hand… hell, I think he should have been a Kage. So, what do I give such a person?
I closed my eyes and just jabbed forward, then opened my eyes.
[You have selected Fire + Wind + Lightning = Energy. Are you sure?]
Nope. But I do wanna give him something, so.
[You have given Uchiha Itachi the Energy Release!]
"There, all done!" I beamed at the boy and let his hand go. "How do you feel?" I asked him, nonchalantly waving the screens away and focusing on him.
He was looking at the place my screens were a moment before. Wait, could he have seen them? Nah, if he could, then other Dojutsu users could, and I don't think they can, so. He finally responded after a long while of silence. "Indebted."
I tilted my head. Was this about the Uchiha Clan thing? Mai spoke for me instead. "For the hand-rub, Itachi-kun?"
Itachi finally turned to look at me with a gaze that unnerved me slightly. His eyes were watering. Did I hurt him by accident? "Itachi, you okay?" I asked, putting my hand on his shoulder. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"No." he shook his head a little wildly. "Not in the least. Thank you, Gundan-san."
"It… was just a hand-rub…" I trailed, not sure what was happening.
"Ah. It is so refreshing to see someone arrive on time." A voice hissed, and the three of us immediately fell into battle stances until we spotted Orochimaru looking at us amusedly from the top of a tree, yellow eyes glinting in its slight shade. He hopped down a few ways away and smiled at us. It had the mixed impact of making me feel pleasant and unnerved. "Now that you are here, let us begin the test. Your objective is to best me in combat. The first two to do so will pass. The last will be left behind."
PING!
[Main Quest Alert!
Glare of the Snake
You have passed the Academy and are now faced with the true Genin test. Pass it to officially join the Hidden Leaf village as a team-ninja!
Objective
Pass the Genin exam.
Bonus Objective
Defeat Orochimaru using only Water-bending.
Rewards
+20000 EXP, New Title, Capability to take missions, ?.]
That's… odd. I've never had a bonus objective show up on a quest alert screen before. I guess it's like a challenge or something. Eh. I accepted the quest. "We know better than to believe that, Orochimaru-sensei."
"Yeah! A team is made up of four members, not three." Mai added, taking a leap back. "We'd never fall for that."
Itachi just unholstered his Gunbai from his back and held it out in a stance.
"Whether or not that is true, you still have to defeat me to pass!" the man hissed with a wide grin and charged.
I slid in front of Itachi and pulled water from the grass around us, careful to avoid draining the boy himself, and launched it, taking the man by surprise and blasting him backwards. Before he could hit the ground, however, he faded into mud.
"What…?" Itachi trailed, looking at me with wide eyes. "You… that was not ninjutsu, there was no chakra involved. And your eye…"
"Now's not the time, Itachi." I grumbled, drawing water from the nearby river and healing the grass back, then creating a ring that hovered around the three of us. "For now, just know that I can manipulate water like nobody's business."
"Hey, yeah! I remember you doing that for that kid you like… Naruto, yeah?" Mai asked, smacking a fist against her open palm. "I thought it was just a jutsu you knew, at the time. Do you have a bloodline?"
I paused. "Yes, but that's not important right now. I'd rather just stick with bending water, if you don't mind."
Itachi's eyes narrowed. "That statement… are you implying you can manipulate the other elements as well?"
"There's a time to talk, and a time for action." Orochimaru's voice reverberated around us, with no discernible location. I wonder how he's doing that. "Now, it's the time for action. A capable ninja must be proficient in the three basic ninja arts, so let's see how you fare. Lesson one."
Nothing happened. Itachi and Mai shifted, though, and two loud cries of 'Kai!' reached me.
"Genjutsu detection is exemplary." Orochimaru noted. "Lesson two."
Suddenly, three clones emerged from the ground, all in front of us. I didn't think before spinning on my heel and sharpening the water I had into three distinct blades, slicing through the clones with ease. Before I could turn to help my friends, though, a gigantic serpent leapt out of the trees and headbutted me hard enough to fly off and plunge into the water.
Big. Mistake. No one hurts my friends, even if it is our sensei!
I manipulated currents in order to give me a whirl, then shot out of the river, a tornado of water keeping me aloft. A gesture of my hand had a majority of the body's volume crashing into the serpent, then freezing solid. I waited a few seconds for it to break out, but it just vanished into smoke.
Good.
The tornado of water bent, then shot me forward straight towards where Itachi was helping Mai with her Orochimaru clone. Wow, he dealt with one all on his own? I guess he really is a prodigy. I landed a few steps away from the clone and brought my hands from behind me to the front in a large half-circle, blasting it with a large quantity of water.
"Taijutsu… passable." The man's voice spoke.
Itachi's eye twitched.
"Lesson three-"
Before he could finish that, Itachi was already running through hand-signs. "Fire Style: Grand Fireball!"
From his mouth, a veritable hell-storm surged forth blazing into the trees and setting them alight. The sudden shift of Itachi's eyes signaled me since I was watching him carefully, and I quickly turned around, bringing up a wall of water and freezing it into ice to block the wind technique Orochimaru used.
"I've just about had enough of this." Mai grumbled, forming hand-signs. "Cover me while I take him over. You've got to somehow keep him in one place."
Her clan technique. Right. If I didn't have the bonus objective to look to, I'd have created a shadow clone in the untouched part of the forest and have it swap with her, but I had to stick to water-bending. Eh, you can't have it all, I guess.
Itachi and I both looked at each other and nodded. With a gesture, I phased the wall of ice into water and brought it down, then parted it from the middle to create two spheres of water that hovered in the air. A few meters away from us stood a smirking Orochimaru. "Ninjutsu – also exemplary. Now, where would little children like you learn to do things like this?"
I grit my teeth. I probably had more power than he did in his pinky when I maxed my stats! "Do not underestimate an opponent – the only weak opponent is a dead one." I recited from a book I'd read.
He gave a grin full of teeth. "Correct, Gundan-kun. But now… what will you do?"
I didn't have a choice. I dropped the balls of water and switched into a slightly different stance that looked like my water-bending one, but a slight bit altered. "Mai, hit him with it when I give the go-ahead."
"Yes." She agreed, hands primed for her technique.
I inhaled… then exhaled. I reached out with my senses… then grasped.
Orochimaru instantly went rigid, his eyes wide in alarm.
"Now!"
"Mind-body Transfer Technique!" she called out, then slumped over. Itachi quickly darted forward and supported her weight easily, looking at me with wide eyes.
"Alright. I'm in." Mai spoke in Orochimaru's voice… from Orochimaru's body. She looked up looking a little disturbed. "Oh god. Having a penis is so gross."
"Mai-san!" Itachi gasped, face red. "That is inappropriate!"
"I guess Ryosuke and I rubbed off on her a little bit." I grinned.
"Gundan-san! That's not much better!" Itachi was close to resembling his brother's favorite food.
"What- oh, wait." Double entendre. Oops.
"Alright, so what do I do now?" Mai asked, tilting Orochimaru's head. Ugh, that looks so wrong.
Itachi sighed, blush receding. "Does this not count as a win for us? I do have some ninja wire on me that we can use to tie him with."
We proceeded to do just that. Given that Mai had control of him now, I let go of his blood and helped Itachi in tying him up as securely as possible. Then, Mai returned to her body, and slowly regained consciousness.
"I really hate my clan techniques." She groused, standing free of Itachi's support.
"Well, well. It seems that I was bested after all." Orochimaru murmured, and then… poofed into smoke? When the smoke cleared… I sweat-dropped.
Sitting now in a very loose set of wire-binding was one Mitarashi Anko, in all her purple-haired glory. She grinned up at us cheekily. "What, you didn't think it would be that easy to win against sensei, did you? He's one of the fastest ninjas in the village besides Hokage-sama! Nah, you only fought against plain old Mitarashi Anko, and that's with me holding back!"
"High praise, Anko-chan." The real Orochimaru hissed, blurring into existence on pure speed alone. Itachi and Mai gasped. I wasn't quite so impressed – I could do the same if I wished to, after all. With a single dragon hand-sign, he vomited out some water that put out the forest fire Itachi started. "And you three… impressive." His eyes glinted. "Were you to show even a shred less potential than you did, I would have declined this team on principle alone. I am not one to teach useless cannon-fodder."
Mai gasped and pointed at Anko. "You! We were fighting another Genin all along?!"
"Perhaps I spoke too soon." Orochimaru dryly commented. I managed to hold in my snicker.
Anko glared, standing and dusting off her clothes. Hm, she wasn't wearing her trench-coat yet, just a tan long-sleeved shirt and a skirt. Hm. "I am a Chunin, you-"
"So, do we pass?" I asked, a bit urgently. Anko was not one to skim on words, especially the foul ones. "The girl said we'd pass if we bested her, and we did."
"Yes." He smiled a scary smile. "I suppose you do pass."
PING!
[Quest Complete!
Main Quest: Glare of the Snake
You have passed the Academy and are now faced with the true Genin test. Pass it to officially join the Hidden Leaf village as a team-ninja!
Objective Completed
Pass the Genin Exam
Bonus Objectives Completed
Defeat 'Orochimaru' using only Water-bending.
Defeat 'Orochimaru' in less than thirty minutes.
Impress the real and fake Orochimaru.
Rewards
+20000 EXP, New Title, Capability to take missions, Water Style: Serpent Manacle Scroll, +REP with Orochimaru, +REP with Mitarashi Anko.]
[You have levelled up multiple times! You are now level 3!
Received 60 stat points and 200 perk points!]
WOAH. Thirty stat points and a hundred perk points per level? Nice!
"Now that the test is out of the way…" Mai trailed, then rounded on me with an incredulous expression. "What in the world was that, Gundan-kun? You never told us you had a bloodline! And I thought," here she sniffed, "I thought we were friends."
I flapped my arms in panic. "No, no, Mai, don't cry!" Wow that rhymed. I'm a loser. "It's just… I already got so much flak at the orphanage for my hair from Rufi and Toji… I didn't want you guys to hate me, too." I said, making my voice small and fiddling with the mud with my feet. I was laying it on thick, but I didn't want to deal with a crying prepubescent girl.
"Oh, Gundan-kun!" Mai cried out and launched forward to hug me. "We'd never make fun of you, you're our friend!" she said, then turned to look at Itachi. "Right?"
"Of course, Mai-san." Itachi nodded, then looked at me with… something in his eyes. "Gundan-san, you can be rest assured that we would never think less of you. You are our precious friend after all."
That… why would he say something like that after just knowing me for a year?! "Th- thanks, Itachi, Mai." I gathered myself and sighed. "Well, if you want to know so badly…" I trailed off, realizing that Orochimaru and Anko were still there. "Um…"
"Oh, don't mind us!" Anko reassured. The sound of her voice caused Mai to jump away from me with a strangled sound. "I, for one, love me some drama." She grinned, twirling a kunai on her fingers. "Please continue."
Orochimaru simply remained silent.
I sighed. "Very well." I walked a few steps away, then turned back to them and channeled Reiryoku into my eyes. "I call them the Void Gaze." I explained, slipping into a stance. "You may have noticed I have strange colored eyes. I guess you could say that they allow me control over the four elements." I whipped my hand around and a stream of water condensed from the air. "Water." I dispersed it and slammed my foot on the ground, causing four spikes of earth to rise into the air and then hit the ground with a thud. "Earth." I punched the air at my sides and fire spouted from them, almost brushing the forest again. "Fire." I spun on the spot and a gust of wind radiated out from around me. "Air. They're all mine to work with. And that's not including the sub-elements."
"Sub-elements? And what about lightning, that's a main chakra type, too, right?" Mai asked, eyes wide. Hm. It seems I'll have to get used to those expressions being on the faces of people around mem for now.
"Well, I don't use chakra… or any form of energy to control my elements. Theoretically, I shouldn't have a limit." I quickly moved on before they had time to dwell on that. "The sub-elements are… other forms of the basic four I can control. For example, as I practiced with water, I learned how to turn it into ice and steam… and eventually… control the blood in people's bodies."
"That is how you froze Anko-san in place for Mai-san to land her clan technique on you." Itachi surmised. Oh wow, his Sharingan was active. Wait, how did it have three tomoe already in both of them?! Why were they already this advanced?! If Fugaku did something, I swear…
"Yep." I nodded, not letting any of my inner apprehension show. "I can also control the water in vegetation, to an extent, to manipulate plant-life, but only things like vines or flowers; trees are too rigid for me to bend. That's for water. For earth, I can also manipulate metal and lava. For fire, there's lightning and a strange form of combustion. For air, there's only sound – I haven't been able to find anything else." Which is downright strange. I should have had found many more sub-elements to master my bending skills, but maybe they'll unfold as time went on.
"Incredible." Orochimaru breathed. "What is this strange form of combustion?"
I sighed and turned sideways, eyeing one of the boulders uprooted from the ground. Taking a deep breath, I focused… what seemed like a beam of hyper-heated air shot from my forehead and obliterated it into dust.
"I see." Orochimaru said plainly.
I cut the connection of Reiryoku to my eyes and eyes the gathered people unsteadily. "Well… what do you think?"
"I'm calling bull." Anko said, finally finding the ability to close and move her jaw like a normal person. "I mean, you practically don't need to practice ninjutsu at all! You can just" here she did an odd gesture with her arms "bend the elements! The only drawback I can see is your eye-color!"
I started to speak but then paused. "My eye-color?" I asked, condensing water from the air into ice and looking at myself. How odd – my eyes were one amber and one crimson. Oh. OH. When I bent water or earth, my eye colors changed to green and blue. When I bent fire or air, it would be like this. How novel. "Well, it's also not as versatile as ninjutsu." I pointed out. "Or, at least, I haven't trained with it enough to have learned more."
"How did you train at all?" Itachi asked, tilting his head. I internally squealed. "Between the Academy, training us, being a socialite, and your own personal time, when, exactly, did you manage to train?"
I scratched the back of my head. "I managed to make time. My dream… it needs me to be strong. So, I had to become strong by any means necessary."
"Do your eyes have any other skills or quirks that we should know about?" Orochimaru asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Well… I can see chakra, both in and outside people – that means I can also see their chakra points." I elaborated. "Because I can see the way the energy flows, and because I have perfect memory and chakra control, I can replicate the effects and essentially copy anything I see."
"Like the Sharingan…" Itachi trailed.
"That's it. I'm so done." Anko raised her hands in the air. "Boyo, your eyes are cheating life."
Ah, if only you knew about the rest of my skills. I chucked awkwardly. "Well… it's not like I chose to develop them, you know." And that actually was the truth. [Void Gaze] as a separate skill only formed when I advanced from being a human to a Nephilim.
"How about that mark on your hand?" Orochimaru asked, eyes alight with interest. I guess he was trying to milk me for all I was worth since I was finally talking. He and his teacher must have been brainstorming about me since a year, their time. "Where did that come from?"
"Well…" I trailed, thinking about how to play this. "It's something I'd rather not talk about."
Itachi's eyes narrowed. "Is it not a simple tattoo like we were led to believe?"
"Please. Let's just… not." I 'shuddered'. Damn bonus objectives. But being realistic, this was bound to come out sometime. I mean, I've practically mutated several people that matter to the story, and some that don't. "I don't think I'm strong enough to talk about it yet." I threw in, hoping they'd just let it go.
The clearing was engulfed in silence. While Orochimaru looked suspicious, Anko and my team were looking at me oddly. Wait… was that… sympathy? But then, a smirk graced the man's features. "If that is what you wish." Our new sensei allowed. "Since you are now part of a clan, I believe that falls under clan secrets."
"What?!"
"Oh, c'mon, sensei!"