"You don't know your chakra nature yet, do you?" Yugao inquired.
Itsu and Yugao found themselves in a training ground. Training ground 15, to be specific, just one above the one he had been in the previous day, he had idly noticed on the way in. It wasn't of much note, other than the tree density being slightly denser than the other ground.
"No, no I haven't," Itsu responded. They had learned of chakra natures in the academy, but had never gone through the process of discovering their own natures. It was rather obviously a method to reduce the likelihood of children attempting nature jutsus before becoming a genin, as Shino and Itsu had brainstormed about once.
"Ah, I guessed not. I figured I'd ask, though. Sometimes clans sneak their kids some chakra paper to give their kids a head start. Usually the Uchiha or Hyuga, but that's because they never really cared about the usual rules.
"Anyhow, here's some chakra paper," she pulled two squares of paper from her pouch. "Run some of your chakra through it, and we'll see what you got," she showed her paper to him, and suddenly it split and crumbled away. "It's reactive to chakra, and whatever happens when the chakra hits it implies what your nature is. Mine's earth and wind, by the way. Admittedly though, I'm not much for ninjutsu. I focus more on kenjutsu."
Itsu picked the piece of paper offered to him from her palm, running his eyes over it. It was entirely uninteresting, so he did as she said. The paper split in half, falling to the ground. That meant wind or earth, based on Yugao's own paper and explanation.
"Ah, wind! That's convenient. I actually learned that element, my original affinity is earth. It's the best for kenjutsu, which is why I learned it specifically. You can channel natured chakra through weapons, which will be the first thing I'll teach you, by the way. Water and earth chakra are mainly for defensive uses, fire just sets the thing on fire, and lightning is cutting power and numbness. Wind chakra, though? Insane cutting power. Can absolutely shred through things. Most of the jutsu for wind release is some form of wind blade, actually. It's just the best suited for cutting things. Lighting is a second best, though."
"So, am I starting with a sword then?"
"That brings me to your training. No, not yet. I want to get you at least a little used to natured chakra before starting kenjutsu, it'll make the process a bit smoother. I'll be teaching you the basic wind releases, but a lot of wind nature is elemental control more than knowing jutsus.
"The Kage said you were interested in stealth, poison, and senbon as well. Projectiles have never been my best, but I'm more than competent enough in them to teach you well. Same with stealth, though I'm definitely better than most. Don't know a lick about poison, though, but you're not going to be in a serious combat scenario for a while yet, so it's not a big deal.
"Poisons can be nasty, though," she pulled down one of her unattached arm sleeves, revealing a bandage wrapped around her left bicep. "I took a hit from a kunai pretty deep a few days back, and it had some nasty stuff on it. Recovery time is about a month, which is why I'm here to teach you. We aren't guaranteed much time together, but I hope to get to know you well in that time." Her smile grew a bit, "Since we don't have much time, I'm going to have to push you extra to keep up with your peers. I'm a firm believer in putting your all into what you put your mind to, and I hope you'll be the same!"
Yeah, Itsu could do his best. He trained extra on top of his demanded academy training, after all. He wasn't afraid of hard work.
"That I can do."
"Excellent!" She beamed, "Let's get started then! You've got decent chakra control, right?"
Itsu contemplated the question. His peers were always ahead of him, except Naruto, who had awful control, but that wasn't much of a fair comparison. Shino, Choji, and Shikamaru had all come from clan families and had been doing chakra control exercises for years longer than him. Compared to the other civilians, though? He was spectacular, if Itsu could smugly toot his own horn.
"Yeah, I'm pretty good. Not the best, though," he responded appropriately.
"Ah, good. I want you to work on a chakra exercise in your spare time, using your chakra to walk up a tree. It's not that difficult. I recommend counting your steps as a way of measuring progress, that's how I was taught. Otherwise, you're at the point you can probably pull off gale palm, it's a really simple jutsu.
"Handsigns are snake, ram, boar, horse, and then bird. Most wind releases end with bird, actually. The gale palm generates a gust of wind, simple as that. If you clap your hands at the end, it'll even use the burst to push you around. Give it a try, and keep a eye out for how your chakra is natured while you use it."
He was a little surprised to be learning a jutsu on the first day, but she had said they'd be learning fast. It was nice, frankly. He'd been feeling a bit stifled by the academy and had been wanted to expand his horizons just a bit.
Itsu ran his hands through the handsigns, projecting his chakra as he had done dozens of times before. He was used to the feeling of the chakra forming, there was something subtly different about this time. It was more than just the shift of a new jutsu, but he couldn't quite place the words to how. Upon reaching the bird, he forced the chakra out of his hands, and an admittedly pathetic gust of wind came out.
"First try! Not bad at all. A bit weak, but that's to be expected. You notice the shift to natured chakra?"
"I… think so?" Itsu nodded, indeed having noticed the weirdness of the jutsu. "It felt off from just learning a new technique, but I can't quite describe it."
"Yeah, that's the one. Your affinity is just how your chakra naturally shifts, so it shouldn't feel uncomfortable or anything. It's learning the other releases that are hard, as you have to force it to form in a way that it doesn't want to. Focus on that change, you need to become more comfortable with it. The more used to it you are, the more efficient the conversion. Give it a few more runs, I want you to at least be able to knock away a shuriken or something with it for practice."
Knock away a shuriken? Itsu's eyebrows rose. Oh, god, was he going to get stabbed? That seemed mighty inconvenient.
Regardless, Itsu went through the motions of the gale palm, this time focusing on the sensation of the chakra changing. And, it was changing. He hadn't been able to notice it at first, he realized, because he had expected the sensation to be something akin to converting his chakra into void energy.
Rather than the shift into void energy, entirely different energy, it was more of a warping of the same energy. Wind chakra had a different flow to it than base chakra, a floatiness that could be breathed out like a breath.
So, Itsu fed more chakra into his seals as they formed, guiding his chakra into the floaty energy of the wind. He finished the seals, and pushed. From his hands, a solid gust of wind blew.
Now that was enough to knock a shuriken off course. Perhaps even throw someone off balance. Still, it took a fair bit of chakra. For all his daily emptying of his chakra reserves, he still couldn't toss out jutsu casually.
"Yeah, that's what I like to see!" Yugao gave a small cheer to Itsu. "You're still learning, so even a simple technique like that is going to be costly. As you get more comfortable making wind chakra, though, you'll be more efficient and we'll be able to channel it into weapons and start learning some basic kenjutsu. Consider that your incentive for learning quickly!"
Honestly? Not a bad bit of bait. He was very willing to pick up kenjutsu, eager, even. He hadn't thought he'd be able to learn it on his own for at least a year into being a genin, with swords and other weapons more dangerous than kunai being barred from those without proper clearance. The convenience of a user of kenjutsu as a teacher, he supposed.
"Now that you have that down, it's time to get training! I had a bit of an idea, what if we sparred while practicing the gale fist? It's no use to have a jutsu and not be able to use it in a pinch. Oh, and I was told about your bloodline limit. Teleportation, seeing through walls, seeing lines of sight, and hiding your chakra? Quite a special thing."
Itsu smiled at the thought of his mark. Yeah, it was special, wasn't it?
"I can see a representation of the amount of sound something makes as well," Itsu tacked on.
"That too," she nodded, "I'd like you to keep that out of the spar, for now."
Not use his mark? Itsu realized his confusion must have shown when Yugao decided to elaborate.
"See, I don't know your baseline. I want to see how you fight, improve on that, and then how best to integrate your bloodline."
Ugh, that did make some sort of sense. He'd accept it, but it was somewhat disappointing.
"Oh, don't make that long face! We'll at least get to some level of your bloodline by the end of the month, and that should be enough to set you on your own. Now, come on, let's begin."
He had found the catch to this situation.
Seeing Yugao snatch a shuriken, quick to Itsu's eyes but likely slowed so that he could notice it, his mind flashed through a counter. He could dodge or deflect, but if he used gale fist he could potentially reverse the attack.
Itsu's hands flashed through hand seals as she threw the shuriken, forming the jutsu just a moment before the projectile would have cut into him. The burst of air slammed into the shuriken, knocking it back with more accuracy than he'd been able to get before.
Itsu waited for Yugao's reaction. She swiftly dashed a foot to the left of the projectile and charged directly in for a close-quarters exchange. The thing he was worst at.
He managed to divert a quick punch but wasn't fast or flexible enough to avoid the follow-up knee to the stomach, sending him backward and forcing him to gasp for the air that was knocked from his chest.
"You're still not aggressive enough," Yugao commented idly. "You should have gone in after your gale fist sent the shuriken back at me, kept up the pressure. Don't give your opponent time to prepare or compose themselves."
She patted Itsu on his back, the boy still gasping for air on his knees.
"Don't feel too bad, though," she encouraged, "You're getting much better already. I kind of gave you the hint on using the gale fist to knock back a projectile, but you've managed to use it somewhat effectively already. Not to mention, you're picking up some taijutsu habits. I was a little surprised you went for a deflection of my punch, considering how you just tried to run away the first time I did that."
She wasn't lying when she had said she would put her all into whatever she put her mind to, and hoped the same from him. Every spar felt like he was pushed to the limit, movements and strategies allowed enough to show how effective or ineffective they are, before being swiftly countered and forcing him to confront a new challenge.
The worst part was how encouraging Yugao was.
"Come on, you can get a bit more in. One more spar?"
Shino was a slave driver, sure. But he always operated in a different way. When Shino came up with some ridiculous exercises, there was an underlying understanding that Shino was doing it because he found it funny. Oh, he didn't laugh, but Itsu could tell from his crinkled eyes and more amused mannerisms that he enjoyed making Itsu a fool just a little bit.
Yugao was the opposite, she'd come up with a situation that had him practicing his senbon throwing, taijutsu, and ninjutsu all in one series of attacks. When she did that, it wasn't with any amusement, as far as he could tell, just a genuine desire to see him improve by presenting something to overcome.
With Shino, he could just use the bit of irritation as fuel to try harder, and he often did just that. With Yugao, he couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed with himself for not being able to match her enthusiasm in training him, his spirit willing yet flesh sore and battered.
Itsu rose a foot from his kneeling position, pressing it into the ground. Now, with the adrenaline from the fight gone, he could feel every exhausted muscle and bruised segment. His leg flexed for a second, and then collapsed.
"I think," Itsu gasped, "I need… another break."
"That might be the case," she sighed. "Again, you've done well today. I was worried about taking this job and having to deal with a lazy kid, but I'm happy you've got such a work ethic!"
"I… appreciate… it."
"You really are tuckered out, huh? And still willing to keep trying. I know that feeling. Unfortunately, I think we're done for the day."
Done for the day? Why? He was getting better, he just needed a couple more tries and he'd be satisfied.
"Overtraining will ruin you, kid," Yugao ruffled his hair, "besides, I've got a date in an hour! Don't want to miss it, we've been planning it for a week, after all."
Alright, that was fair enough. Prior plans override, and he was lucky he was getting special training in the first place. He looked into the sky, finally noticing the sun had already crossed its peak and had begun its descent down to the horizon.
"We've been training that long?" Itsu questioned, his first non-gasping sentence since he'd been kicked.
"Yep! You've got a tendency to get really focused, I've noticed. Willing to ignore pain, soreness, and even how long you've been sparring. It's something special in a fight, and why I'm pushing to make you more aggressive.
"Though, it's also got some downsides. Mainly, you're going to push yourself too hard sooner or later. I don't know if it'll be physical injury or burnout, but keep an eye on yourself. Not saying to slow down, just be aware.
"That being said," she clapped, "No more physical training today! At least nothing serious. Walk back home, and in a couple of hours put some time into the tree walking exercise I mentioned."
She walked to a tree and began stepping perpendicularly upwards as an example.
"Don't worry too much about succeeding, it's the effort that matters. We'll go on our first d-rank tomorrow, but we won't be going on then as often as other teams, maybe once a week? They're good to do for the pay, but frankly, you couldn't afford any decent equipment off d-ranks anyhow, so we'll be trying to kick you up to c-rank ranks, or at least some of the more important d-ranks."
C-ranks? Most genin didn't get to go on c-ranks till they'd been training for at least a half year or so, and she expected him to get to that level in a month? Itsu stared in disbelief at Yugao, but she remained firm, returning a small, encouraging smile.
Ah, well, if she believed he could do it, he wasn't going to try and stop her.
Itsu slightly nodded, she continued, "That's the spirit! Meet me outside the Hokage's residence at nine. It's tradition to get your first mission from the Kage, even I did it back when I was starting."
"I'll be there," Itsu firmly nodded, making to stand. His illusion of a resolute warrior quickly crumbled as he stumbled to his feet.
"Well, off you go!" Yugao giggled a bit, turning in the opposite direction, and waving over her shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Itsu's sore legs seemed to groan as he started his walk back. "See you tomorrow," he replied, but she was already gone.
Damn, she was quick. She was always quick, Itsu was aware, but she never really displayed that level of speed in their spars, so it was easy to forget. Yugao was evidently very good at judging a person's reaction time and speed, and keeping herself just above it to force him to keep improving himself to try and match her.
Yeah, Itsu was happy he had Yugao as a teacher. He'd only had her for a day, but she made a very positive impact. Her personality was enjoyable, she was like a less thickheaded Naruto. Heh, Itsu laughed in his mind, how would they interact with each other? Would their unwavering optimism cascade together, creating an ever-increasing wave of positivity, overwhelming anyone in their path?
The thought of Yugao and Naruto taking over the world through the power of optimism managed to make him laugh out loud this time, though only a raspy, coughing laugh as his exhausted lungs didn't much care for the exertion. He'd have to introduce the two of them sometime.
"Eh? Shino, you're here too?"
Itsu stood outside the Hokage's residence, waiting for Yugao. It was a quarter till nine, Itsu having wanted to be a bit early. He was a bit paranoid of potentially disappointing his teacher, he could admit, and had resolved to put in just a bit of extra effort in everything to keep up. It was why he had spent two full hours on the tree-walking exercise the night before, losing himself to a focused trance where ignored his failures and threw himself repeatedly into attempt after attempt.
It really hadn't done much to help his sore muscles, though. Getting out of bed this morning was an absolute chore.
"Oh, Itsu? Are you picking up a mission as well?"
Shino wasn't alone, though. He was with his team: Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzaka, and a black-haired jonin woman with green eyes. Immediately upon looking at her, his marked hand began to itch.
Genjutsu?
He quickly flashed his hands together, flaring his chakra, and the woman's eyes swapped from green to red. This woman was clearly Shino's team leader, so why was she casting a genjutsu on him?
The woman smiled, "Sorry, I was curious. Shino had mentioned to his teammates that you were always better than him at detecting genjutsu, and I was curious how accurate that was. I'm Kurenai, lovely to meet you." She stuck out her hand to shake, which Itsu accepted after a moment of hesitation.
"Oh?" Itsu raised his brow at Shino, "You mentioned me?"
Shino's eyebrows furrowed, a clear sign of him being slightly irritated. "Oh, yes, we never did get around to talking about my bell test. Yes, Kurenai-sensei is rather capable in genjutsu, and we struggled a great deal against it. Why did I mention you? Because they first assumed that being friends with a top scorer in genjutsu could give us some ideas."
"Ah, that makes sense. So, you're here for a mission, then?"
"That's right," Kurenai cut in, "Meeting with the Hokage at 8:50, so we best get moving."
That seemed to spur the group into action, and they followed Kurenai as she paraded them into the Hokage's mansion. Shino nodded at him, which Itsu returned. Kiba ignored him, as per usual, unless he was mocking him in a spar. Hinata gave a small, awkward wave, which he took pity on and gave a nod back, watching as she scrambled to keep up with her team.
Hinata was always pretty uncomfortable, wasn't she? Hopefully she'd get some confidence, sometime. It was a little hard to be around.
"Met Kurenai, huh? Her genjutsus are such a pain to deal with."
Itsu jumped at Yugao's voice coming from behind him. A quick glance over the shoulder informed him that, yes, she had just shown up right behind him.
"Oh, sorry about that," Yugao ruffled his hair, "Didn't mean to surprise you that much. Just wanted to stay out of Kurenai's way for now. Don't get me wrong, she's nice, but… her habit of putting people she's friendly with under genjutsus to see if they notice can be pretty irritating. Especially since I had a bit too much to drink last night," she finished with a grimace.
Huh, she did have a bit of that look to her. It wasn't particularly noticeable, but there was a tinge of bloodshot to her eyes and her hair was just the slightest bit more messy than it had been the previous day. He had seen his father and mother in similar states after attending big parties with the intent to "make connections," though they'd also complained about headaches afterwards.
Maybe she did have a headache, though, it would explain her reluctance to deal with a genjutsu.
"Don't worry about it. How was your date last night?"
Ah, that wiped the grimace right off her face.
"It was wonderful," Yugao crooned, "We had a lovely dinner, and then we went and watched the moon and stars. And then-" she cut off, slightly blushing. "Ah, well, we were drinking throughout most the night, admittedly. We went through about three bottles of sake together."
That was quite a bit of sake. Itsu had never drunk, his father had attempted to give him a bit of sake, but had been caught by his mother which led to his father getting a rather harsh reprimand. That was one of his fondest memories, Itsu thought melancholically, his father's slightly fearful, pitiful, and apologetic face as he tried to get his wife to forgive him etched into his mind.
"They've probably got their meeting done by now, yeah?" Itsu asked.
"Oh, right, right. Got a little caught up in my thoughts, there. Yeah, let's head in!"
The pair entered the building, Itsu following along behind her. He had taken this path just a couple of days earlier, he realized. For most people, this tradition would be the first time they entered the Hokage's residence, and the first time they'd meet the Kage in person. The tradition held a lot less power over Itsu, who had now gone through this twice already.
"So, you're friends with Kurenai?" he inquired as they walked to the office.
"Ehh… kind of? Most jonin know of each other. It's more of a friend of a friend situation, though. Keep it a secret, but I find her a little difficult to be around. Sure, there's the whole genjutsu thing, but she also spends a lot of time with Anko… who you don't know, I just remembered. Ah, just know that she's someone to keep an eye on."
"Ah, I see." Yeah, he knew that ninja could be scary, that's most of what he heard in his travels. It was just strange to remember that, with all the ninja he'd spent his time with being at the very least tangentially friendly.
"Hey, Hiruzen!" Yugao strolled into the Hokage's office, startling Itsu. She was on a first-name basis with the Hokage?
"Ah, Yugao," The Hokage welcomed her in. "Had quite a night, I see," he followed up with a smirk, "Would some tea help?"
Yugao rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I'd like some tea. No need to call me out on it."
"Ah, and Itsu. Tea? And how has your training been coming along?"
"I'd love some tea," Itsu responded, having enjoyed the Hokage's rather excellent tea before. "And the training has been good, sir."
"Ah, lighten up!" Yugao ruffled his hair. She seemed to like to do that. "He's a big softie. He won't make you, but he prefers a more casual address. Obviously, be formal in serious situations, though."
"Ah, that reminds me," the Hokage cut in, "you came here for your first mission, yes?"
It appears that the Hokage had already expected them, and had prepared some tea beforehand, pouring them both a cup.
Yugao nodded, "That's right, figured he'd get a bit of groundwork in, a bit of recovery time as well. The kid worked himself to the bone, yesterday. You weren't lying when you said he wouldn't disappoint me."
The Hokage gave him a personal recommendation? He knew the leader of the village said he would arrange a personal tutor, but it was rather flattering that he had personally told her that he would be up to her standards.
Hiruzen shuffled through some papers, before handing Itsu a document. "Here, I think you should have some experience with this."
"Ah, thank you Ho- Hiruzen," Itsu said, picking up the paper and reading it.
The paper was a request from a business, outlining a shipment and a lack of sufficient workers to unload the shipment.
"I'll be filling in to unload supplies, then?" Itsu inquired. It was certainly a strange flash to the past.
"That's correct. The economy and trade of Konoha is almost as vital to its operation as the shinobi itself," Hiruzen winked, "Just a bit of wisdom from an old man."
"It's a status thing, too," Yugao followed up, "Merchants can hire extra hands just about everywhere, but getting a ninja to work with the supplies gives a bit of authenticity to the idea they're selling expensive and quality goods."
That wasn't something Itsu had heard of, despite literally being raised by a trader.
Sensing his confusion, Hiruzen chucked, "It's not particularly efficient for most to hire ninja. Most make do with farmhands. It's only the large mercantile groups and businesses that can afford to sink the costs."
Ah, that made sense. Well, compared to the horror stories of cleaning up sewage and other sorts of inconvenient missions, this D-rank was far more appealing. Gato Transport Corporation's shipment would be unloaded to perfection.
"You two, move your asses! We both know that's not the fastest you can carry that box!" The surly man in charge of the shipment growled at two of his employees, both clearly struggling to hold the weight. "And you, shinobi boy, you get that cart!"
Yugao was lounging against a tree, not assisting with the job as in her words, it was "your mission, not mine." Itsu thought that was bullshit. Maybe the rest of the workers were rubbing off on him. Still, it wasn't all that difficult of a job.
Chakra enhancement was really absurd. Large boxes like the one the manager had barked at the two struggling employees for not carrying fast enough were manhandled with ease by his chakra-reinforced muscles. He couldn't lift the whole shipment or anything, but the boxes were no struggle.
The cart Itsu was assigned was less of a cart and more of a horse-drawn carriage. Horses were quite a rarity in the elemental nations, so it was a neat break from the norm. It wasn't his first horse, though, so Itsu simply eyed it with curiosity and he entered the covered wagon.
There was a significant quantity of boxes and bags, filling up the carriage with the exception of a pathway through the middle. The bags were always the most inconvenient, in Itsu's opinion, so he figured he'd get them out of the way first.
"Heave, ho, heave, ho," Itsu mumbled, in mockery of a tale about ship hands he'd once heard, as he swung the burlap bags over his shoulders, allowing the bags of… grain, perhaps? He wasn't quite sure, but they rested over his back all the same, and began to move the bags two by two from the cart to their designated area.
There wasn't much of note that occurred during this part, just moving back and forth between the hustle and bustle of a shipment load. Itsu had long since zoned out, idly thinking about whatever came to mind as he mindlessly delivered sacks. He emptied the cart of bags rather efficiently.
Then came boxes. Itsu hadn't paid much attention to the boxes, focused on the bags, and otherwise rather unaware. Humming, Itsu ran his hands down the aisle of boxes, trying to figure out his strategy for getting them all out in the least inconvenient way he could.
Itsu's hand paused on a display case full of bone. There wasn't anything particularly interesting about it, just chunks of bone in an unmarked wooden box with a glass display top.
Everything went silent. The manager's shouts, the thumps of boxes, and the groans of employees were all gone. Itsu drew a kunai with his right hand and a senbon in his left and swiftly turned around, hopping from the carriage.
"The hell?" Itsu blinked for a moment. 'Outside' was not the forests or city of Konoha, but rather a plateau of wetted, grey stone connected to nothingness, similar rocks floating in the distance, upon which the carriage rested for seemingly no reason. "The void?" Itsu asked in bewilderment, head darting around.
"Been a while, hasn't it?" a familiar enigmatic voice asked from behind him.
Resting on the lone cart's side was the Outsider, still garbed in his brown coat.
"Why the surprise?" the void-being asked, amused. "I did say that we'd meet again when you found some whalebone."
Whalebone? Itsu's mind flashed to the display case. That was whalebone?
The only place you could find whales was the Land of Mist. The islands in the Mist, however, did not tolerate the hunting of whales. The great mammals were a venerated species, even the natural deaths of whales were forbidden from trade.
Itsu had looked into purchasing whalebone and had come up with nothing long ago. It wasn't illegal to purchase in Konoha, or any of the surrounding nations, but obtaining some from the Land of Mist was a trial. There were a few merchants who knew his father who promise to keep an eye out for him, but he had heard nothing from them since he had first asked.
How had the Gato Transport Company gotten ahold of some? Well, there was the civil war occurring. It was hardly impossible that some whale could have slipped out.
Itsu made to speak, but the Outsider cut him off with another speech. "Now that you have found some bone, I come with another deal. The choice to go along is yours alone, of course." The Outsider blinked from the side of the cart to a few feet away from Itsu and crossed his arms. "What I ask of you is to obtain that whalebone. Should you do so, you will receive a mission, in a week. There will be a woman with the desire to pass on the art of bone carving to a younger generation, who has commissioned an assistant to help her carve some decorations.
"What I ask from there is that you carve a piece of bone and brand it with my mark, creating a rune. Try pulling the void through one, you will see what I mean," the Outsider said, producing such an item, a circle of bleached white bone blackened with a concentric mark, the same as the one on his hand. "Once again, I ask nothing for this."
Itsu cautiously took the offered item, inspecting it thoroughly. It wasn't anything truly special visually, just a bit of marked bone, but Itsu could feel what the Outsider had meant. The rune was bathed in the void energy he had grown familiar with, his hands felt as if he was holding onto a bag leaking oil despite the dryness of the bone.
Itsu suddenly knew what the Outsider had meant about pulling the void through a rune. He latched on with his own void energy, enveloping the rune. The oil of the void was suddenly wrenched into him, sinking into his system. The concentrated void energy meandered a bit and then slithered up to his eyes.
Itsu inhaled sharply as his eyes stung and his vision blurred for a moment, but the pain quickly passed. "What was that?" Itsu demanded.
"Well, you had such difficulty finding whalebone. It seems only right that you get a way to find it, amongst other things."
That didn't explain anything, but Itsu didn't get a chance to demand any more answers. The Outsider was rather keen on being the one in charge of the flow of conversation, it seemed. Itsu just found it rather grating.
"Once you have created a rune, there are a few things you may do with it. I ask that you make a shrine of it."
A shrine? What?
"This is for both our benefits. The void has a… limited influence on the world," The Outsider began to pace. "You may absorb the rune as you did, or break it down into bone charms. Or, you may make a shrine for the rune. It will not be as noticeable as the other options, perhaps, but the void, and thus your powers, will run stronger through the world.
"Shrines can't be concentrated, though. Only one shrine has a significant effect on an area. One or two per country, depending on the size, would have any noticeable impact on you." The Outsider stopped pacing, standing stiffly in front of Itsu. "I ask you again, to make shrines. I look forward to your decision."
Itsu's hand rested on the display case of whalebone, in the carriage again as if he had never met with the outsider. The sound of the workers resumed, and all was normal.
How strange. The Outsider seemed to interact entirely separately from the world, yet clearly held some influence on reality. That reminded Itsu, was whatever the rune had done to his eyes reflected in reality, despite the ethereal nature of the space he interacted with it in?
Itsu flicked on his void sight. "Huh, incredible," Itsu muttered. His greyscale vision had changed. It still highlighted life in orange, displaying their cones of vision and waves of noise. Now, though, it highlighted more than that.
The whale bones in front of him glowed an ethereal blue-green, for example. In the pockets of the workers around the carriage, he could see keys, money, knives, and a few other objects of interest glowing blue. Yugao was the most prominent, her form covered with splotches of blue, whether it was a sword, kunai, or even a few of what he recognized as sealing scrolls.
That was incredibly convenient. He was basically a living detector now. Try and sneak a thrown kunai behind some dust? Ain't gonna happen. The thing is blue now, how would he miss it?
Itsu picked up the display case and left the cart. He ducked around a couple of others carrying boxes and made his way to the manager.
"Oy! How much for this, I'm looking to buy," Itsu called out to the man.
"Eh? Oh, the whalebone!" the manager eyed him curiously. "You got good taste kid, but I doubt it's in your price range. Though…" he trailed off, locking eyes with the forehead protector rested on, well, his forehead, that indicated his place in the ninja corps.
"Name your price."
The manager gave the price, forcing Itsu's eyebrows upwards. It was a significant amount, nearly a quarter of the savings he had inherited from his parents.
Damn, that was a lot of money. His parents were pretty damn well off, and the ten pounds or so of whalebone in his hands was evidently worth the price of a small house. One on the edge of the village, sure, but still a small house.
Well, haggling time.
"How about-" Itsu began.
"Nah, none of that," the manager interjected. "I could get a better price than that with a little bit of effort. If I wanted to spend time making a deal, I'd do that myself. Yes or no?"
Was it worth it? Admittedly, he didn't use his money for much. The occasional seasoning for the otherwise bland Aburame food, some Ichiraku ramen, his clothing preferences, and the admittedly excessive amount of senbon and other equipment he blew through with training were about it, and that didn't cut into his expenses much. But still, it was a lot of money. And it wasn't just any money.
It was his parent's money.
Could he burn through such a significant amount of what his parents left him? On some chunks of bone? No. He couldn't do it for some chunks of bone.
"I'll take it. I'll need some time to pick up the money, though."
"Then I'll hold on to it till later," the manager plucked the case from his hands and tucked it under his arm. "Just meet up back here when you do, I'll be waiting."
He wasn't giving up his parent's inheritance for bone. He was making a deal, after all. He was giving it up for more power, for more control over his life.
It never hurt to sacrifice a little bit for some power.