Author's Note: Glad you all continue to enjoy the story. Do not worry about the Q&A sessions, I will not reveal spoilers about the story in any answers, and so will not answer questions related to spoilers. Keep in mind, I don't have the whole story planned out, so it's subject to change. On that note, I do have only one extra character to aid, though they are not the main protagonist, they are a fun addition I thought would be entertaining. It's still Ainz's story, however.
Here's the chapter Q&A:
Can Ainz use [Wish Upon A Star] to give Shizuka a child? What kind of entity would that child be?
Full Stop. Go to Horny Jail. Jokes aside, I have no idea, possibly? The child would be human, probably based on his original human genetics? Just have no clue about this.
Can Ainz use [True Death] on Edo Tensei/Reanimation Jutsu targets?
No comment. This question is just asking for power-to-power comparison and I do not answer questions related to that.
If Ainz used Instant Death Tier Spells on Jinchuuriki, would it kill them both?
I'll answer 'if it could' because I'm not answering yes or no. Even if it could, the Tailed Beast would reform later somewhere else. As when a Tailed Beast dies, it reforms, not resurrects. A technicality difference that I hope you understand.
The Overlord of Nadeshiko
Chapter 6
Shizuka rubbed her forehead with her left hand, while her right continued answering sheets and approving or rejecting paperwork requiring the village leader's permission or opinion. It was another busy day, looking more and more like another day stuck in the office, and this time without the excuse to leave and find a husband. Admittedly, she used that as a means to escape the drool of paperwork, but Ainz had seen the end of that.
Her mind wandered, thinking about the fact that tomorrow the ceremonial marriage would occur and she'd be married to Ainz Ooal Gown. She disliked the fact of a marriage, especially not long after her previous lover's death, but even she was not excused from the cultural laws.
There were a few clauses that would prevent that law from occurring.
One was that the male victor wasn't an enemy of Nadeshiko village.
Also, the man cannot be considered a B Rank or above target in the Land of Water's Bingo Book.
Lastly, the cultural law does not apply during missions unrelated to it.
That last clause was to prevent complications in enemy ninja trying to exploit Nadeshiko's laws during a kunoichi's mission. When Ainz had found Shizuka, she hadn't been on a mission, rather in 'search' of opponents to defeat and increase her strength to avoid marriage in the first place… That turned out well.
Regardless, this was her fate. To marry Ainz Ooal Gown, a ninja that continued to surprise her with both his power and intellect, he managed to tame those chunin-level wolves with a wave with a jutsu that required no hand seals. In fact, none of his ninjutsu requires the formation of seals so far, an oddity that intrigued her.
The ceremony wasn't anything complex, Shizuka had to tell Ainz what to do beforehand, there was a tradition in it.
A knock on the door drew her thoughts.
"Come in," Shizuka said, looking up from the paperwork towards the door across from her desk.
The door opened, revealing her long-time friend and attendant, Tokiwa.
"Lady Shizuka," Tokiwa spoke formally while Shizuka was in the office, she carried a small blue booklet. "The graduation of this year's genin," She explained as she placed it down on the desk.
Shizuka picked it up, opening it, revealing each page dedicated to at least two potential genin per page. As the leader of Nadeshiko Village, Shizuka had the right to form specific teams of genin from the list of graduates taking the kunoichi exam. Even Ainz did not have this right, even if he held some militant control now, certain things were still outside his positional power.
A team of kunoichi in Nadeshiko Village had three members. That was two genin for one chunin leader; the chunin can be a jonin as well, but the village lacked kunoichi in the rank to fill in for all teams. So jonin leaders were reserved for the only genin with great potential. It wasn't a fair system but in this ninja world sacrifices had to be made to secure the future of the village's prosperity.
Of course, a few teams of four in Nadeshiko did exist, but that was for the odd occasions.
"Noteworthy genin this year?" She had an inkling of an idea already, familiar with the village as a native resident. Most genin did not display any particular talents, and Bloodline Limits within Nadeshiko were nearly non-existent, especially given the Mist Village's recent purge four years back of Bloodline Limit holders in the Land of Water. Luckily, Nadeshiko Village was far away enough from The Village Hidden in the Mist to avoid most problems caused by the village's brutal practices.
It was no surprise that Nadeshiko Village had adopted an approach more like the Land of Fire's Leaf Village.
Nowadays, the Fifth Mizukage had tried to strengthen diplomatic ties with Nadeshiko Village, but the times of the Bloody Mist had kept Shizuka wary, preferring to keep the Mist Village at arm's length, even if it might prove detrimental in an economical sense.
"It's quite an average year again," Tokiwa answered. "A few exceeding in particular talents over others, but nothing eyecatchingly unique…" She trailed off, which was unlike her attendant.
"Tokiwa?" Shizuka asked.
"There's one girl," Tokiwa said, "She's unlike the others, first-generation, the father died from illness while the mother gets by with embroidery. She's shown to display a high level of intellect, maturity, and an unusually high chakra pool for our village."
This interested her, "A whirlpool descendant, perhaps?" Shizuka questioned, Nadeshiko Village's peninsula was right below the ruins of the whirlpool village, whose members had rumors to have high chakra reserves and increased endurance. Although Shizuka knew most of the village by face, that didn't mean she was aware of everybody on a personal level.
Tokiwa paused for a moment, likely trying to remember information about that particular group, then replied, "No, she doesn't have red hair and no special chakra qualities."
"Odd, but with large chakra reserves, she'll fit well with a ninjutsu specialist," Shizuka flipped through the pages to look for the girl, paying attention to descriptive notes and finding a matching one. Shizuka blinked, taking a good look at the aforementioned genin's picture. "She must get her looks from her father. Any particular troubles?"
"Her large reserves give her chakra control problems, and has issues with working alongside with others of the same age, preferring more experienced kunoichi."
"Mmh…" Shizuka thought for a bit. "Then I'll make her fill in a spot with older members," She said, writing down the assigned group on the genin's profile. "Strange name." The village leader remarked. "I'm sure Kluke can handle her when she returns."
The profile image was of a petite young girl with blond hair and ice-cold blue eyes.
In just one more day, Suzuki Satoru, known as Ainz Ooal Gown, shall be married to a woman he still barely knew. He could already feel the clapping of hands from Peroroncino for netting himself a wife, and the scolding words from his sister Bukubukuchagama for forcing a girl to marry due to politics. There were also various other opinions from the other Supreme Beings he could imagine, positive and negative feedback that Satoru couldn't help but almost hide in shame, embarrassment, and mentally proclaim that it wasn't his fault!
His emotional suppressor activated.
The sudden return to cold calculation he'd taken to calling the effect [Emotional Suppression], a byproduct of what he assumed was due to this racial status as an [Undead]. It only activated when his emotions reached a certain level, it wouldn't interrupt a chuckle, but it would stop his laughter after a brief moment. The same could be said for the other end, if he got angry, would it also take away the rage after a fleeting moment?
At least it didn't outright remove his emotions, just repress them into a manageable state. A mercy and something he was thankful for, the feelings he felt from his memories of Ainz Ooal Gown were precious to him. He didn't want those emotions to vanish.
It was handy in keeping his cool.
He surely needed it after last night's mistake.
Who knew that simple level 20 summons could cause a ruckus?
There was something that he was missing concerning ninja, he needed some sort of test to determine the strength of this chakra. It seemed the chunin couldn't defeat level 20 summons, but as Ainz theorized the night before, it could rather be a case-by-case basis. A ninja's militant rank such as genin, chunin, or jonin did not correlate to some sort of advanced job class, but just a position.
That's not to say it was wholly inaccurate, it wasn't incorrect to say that a jonin would likely beat a genin.
"I still have no idea how powerful anything is…" Ainz sighed, despite not being capable of breathing, that didn't stop his voice from mimicking it. "Maybe I should ask Shizuka for a rematch? Or have a training session with another kunoichi? Order them to showcase their jutsu? Would that be alright? Or an abuse of power?" He wondered to himself, pacing around his room.
And what about the management of Nadeshiko Village? It wasn't a company, though he treated its upper management similar to one. His experience as a salaryman can only help in so many ways on the economics side, while his experience as a guildmaster and PKer helped on the military side, but neither could help in managing the civilian populace.
Thankfully, it wasn't expected of him to manage everything, Shizuka held a lot of the responsibilities, and the Elder Council acted as advisors… But, they also acted like investors.
Investors as advisors did not generally end well, but they weren't strictly identical to those greed-ruled men of 2138, they did not hold the same life-controlling power that the megacorps held. These were elderly people, an age group that Satoru had never seen before in his old world, though maybe he encountered one or two in YGGDRASIL, it was hard to recall.
"Let's focus on more present situations," The Overlord in disguise said. "The geological survey hasn't returned yet, might be another day or two before that happens, it is a decently sized region after all. The marriage ceremony… I'll need to learn more about it from Shizuka first. I still need to find more information about chakra, the books in the library just don't have anything advanced on the topic."
That might be because Nadeshiko Village didn't have a majorly stocked library. Such information might be in the Great Five Ninja Villages, but not here. He could send a kunoichi team to the Village Hidden in the Mist to purchase the information, but such knowledge could also be restricted. It is a military asset to hide knowledge of deeper chakra understanding. There would have to be an exchange of equal goods.
Now that he thought about it, Nadeshiko Village's ties with the Village Hidden in the Mist had been… Loose.
If Ainz could form a deeper bond between the two companies- Er, villages, it might be worthwhile economically and politically.
On the other end, he could cut ties with the Mist Village and pursue the Leaf Village, as Nadeshiko Village bordered the Land of Fire. But that was a huge risk and would likely create hostilities with the Mist Village for cooperating with a rival.
"So many factors to take into account," Ainz said, taking a moment to look out the window and over half the village, his gaze lingering on the lowest hilltop.
It was just so undefended, and that made Ainz anxious.
The defense of the Great Tomb of Nazarick was an absolute marvel in YGGDRASIL, a fortified guild that managed to successfully defend itself from an alliance of players. There wasn't a single floor that didn't have its defenders, and although the 9th Floor of Nazarick could be considered not as defended, it was guarded by 8 Floors before it.
The lowest hilltop of Nadeshiko Village would be the entrance point for invaders, so it would be the equivalent of Nazarick's 1st to 3rd Floors in terms of importance.
And it was nearly utterly defenseless, save for patrolling kunoichi and residential fighters.
"I need to improve Nadeshiko's defenses, we can use the earth from the quarry to erect walls around the lowest hilltop," He'd also need to make it unscalable, as he witnessed in the past few days, chakra ninja can walk and run up surfaces. The walls were to dissuade armies of non-ninja combatants but could also serve as a front to block outside enemy jutsu. This way, any enemy ninja had to first scale the wall before they can use a jutsu to attack population centers, and that was after scaling the natural elevation of the hilltop.
That was the benefit of Nadeshiko Village's natural geography, it forced opponents to approach and scale the hills.
Of course, this was negligible for any ninja with a jutsu capable of flight, but recalling those rogue ninja, it was apparently a rarity that only a Kage of the Stone Village could do.
Ainz left his room and started making his way to the Main Hall, in particular, he wished to discuss with Shizuka about numerous topics. He wasn't making any headway by his own thoughts and what little he continued to gleam from the library. Sure, his nights were spent reading, but the available information didn't help when it concerned ninja, though management skills certainly did improve.
Even though he was a max level 100 character, that didn't mean he couldn't continue to grow, the depths of knowledge held no limit, he could still learn how to manage or even command people. Though, when it came to combat, he still wouldn't gain any more experience points past the 90% mark, he hadn't certainly gained any when killing those rogue ninja.
He passed by a few kunoichi, who were starting to become a little familiar with his presence in the village, though the civilians remained a bit wary of him. It didn't take long to enter the Main Hall and approach the leader's office, the proximity between it and Ainz's living quarters was short.
The Overlord knocked on the door then entered, he spotted Tokiwa first, the attendant doing her job in keeping the Village Leader's schedule on time, while Shizuka continued to flip through sheet after sheet of paperwork. He could visibly see the tired expression on her face, even when her focus remained constant on the work at hand. After a minute, she finally spent a few seconds looking up and noticing his presence.
"Ainz, did you need something?" It was a strictly professional question, not the more casual demeanor in the little free time they had spoken.
"Do you have a report on the geological survey mission?" He asked, wondering if the kunoichi team on the mission had sent anything back.
Shizuka opened the drawer on the right-hand side and started browsing through the numerous folders, before pulling one out and placing it forward on the desk.
Ainz approached and took it, opening the folder to reveal only two reports. It was a geological survey, so occasional reports were expected, and about two days had passed since they'd accepted the mission.
"Hm…" Ainz read through it, the area was quite larger than expected, it would take significantly longer to thoroughly examine the region's natural resources. The jonin leader, Kluke, had requested an additional team for a broader search, but the request hadn't been approved by Shizuka. "Why didn't you approve it?"
"I don't have any other teams capable of taking a B-Ranked mission, a matter of logistics," Shizuka replied.
Tokiwa further clarified, "We're stretched thin on jonin, and most chunin are already on missions."
"I see…" Ainz trailed off, his mind racing for a possible solution. His gaze settled on a folder that had the title of genin graduation list. Did that mean a new generation of kunoichi just graduated? So that meant they had extra forces to use. "How about genin?"
Shizuka raised an eyebrow, "I have a few experienced genin but-"
"Send them and fill in empty spots with graduates," Ainz said.
Tokiwa looked shocked, then angrily shouted, "They're graduates! Complete greenhorns! They're expected to finish D-Ranks, let alone a B-Rank mission! That's like a suicide mission for them!"
Yikes! He didn't expect such anger!
His emotional suppression kept him level-headed.
"Tokiwa!" Shizuka shouted with authority.
The woman calmed down immediately, "My apologies, Lady Shizuka."
"I understand your anger, but perhaps Ainz has some thoughts as to why he would suggest this," Shizuka said, then looking back at him "Tokiwa's point holds truth, Ainz, a vast majority of academy graduates only know E-Rank Jutsu, they would not survive an encounter with enemy ninja."
"The region I sent Kluke's team is closer to Nadeshiko than any other ninja villages," Ainz began to explain. "The only reason behind its high rank is due to the urgency in claiming natural resources to solve Nadeshiko's economic situation. The potential danger level is C-Rank at worst, D-Rank at best," He finished, hoping that they would see reason. "Furthermore, I gifted experimental jutsu scrolls that would grant them [Invisiblity] when used."
"I read about that, honestly such items are astonishing to even exist," Shizuka commented.
"They are not replenishable, but I needed success," He said. "Send a genin team to aid in the survey, I'll provide them with scrolls… And if you still feel uncomfortable, I can also send one of the wolves from last night to aid them, they act similar to summons while under my control."
Shizuka narrowed her eyes, staring directly at Ainz.
Honestly, it was a bit intimidating.
"Keep the wolf here," Shizuka answered. "I'll send a genin team lead by an experienced one."
"Lady Shizuka-!" Tokiwa wanted to interject.
"The decision is made under the authority of a Village Leader!" Shizuka spoke.
"Thank you, Shizuka. Do not worry, I promise under the name of Ainz Ooal Gown that if anything were to happen I will make post-haste to aid them personally," He firmly spoke, ideally thinking that perhaps he should send a stealth-type summon with the genin team, or a scroll with [Message]?
He couldn't summon a [Shadow Demon] without Nazarick, well, he could but it would first require summoning higher-level demons to summon it, such as using the 10th tier spell, [Armageddon-Evil]. However, he might be able to use a similar summon through his skill [Create Low-Tier Undead] to make a [Wraith]. But, like all summons, it would have a duration, and he can't apply metamagic to skills.
In the experiment with the [Moonlight Wolves], which had already far surpassed their original summoning duration, his summons would at the least last 12 hours, perhaps with [Extend] metamagic, he could delay their timer further. Of course, [Moonlight Wolves] were also summoned by [The Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] and not Ainz himself, the increased duration might be attributed to only items and not players.
Those wolves were still around, but for how much longer?
Wait, what about both? Why stick with either a summons or scroll when he could just do both?
"Assuring, at least I can send Kluke's new genin earlier than expected," Shizuka reasoned and began making a small mission scroll.
Ainz dug into his inventory and pulled forth a few [Message] and [Invisiblity]. Of all the scrolls he had, [Message] was a bit lacking in quantity. All Magic Casters had the 3rd tier spell, so having a scroll of it would be redundant for him, only useful for players without the spell, which is why he had a few of them for his friends without magic caster builds.
So why didn't Ainz give [Message] scrolls to Kluke's team earlier?
He forgot, simple as that, to be fair his mind was distracted by a lot of things.
"Hand these over to them," Ainz said. "Their usage is simple, toss it lightly into the air and speak the spell name, in this case, [Invisibility] and [Message]," He said, pointing to each group of scrolls. "[Message] is a communication jutsu I invented, but I can't seem to create a hand seal variant."
Tokiwa spoke up, "No hand seal variant…? Wait, does that mean you know advanced Sealing Techniques? These are created with seals?"
Sealing Techniques? That's a new one, was it a type of Crafting Job Class for chakra ninja?
"Of a sort," He answered, not denying anything.
Shizuka nodded, "That explains some things," She answered.
What did does that mean?
She turned to Tokiwa, "I have selected the candidates, Tokiwa, please assign collect them and assign them to the mission." The Village Leader handed both the magic scrolls and the mission scroll to Tokiwa, who although curious about Ainz, proceed to leave the office to complete the order given.
"Another thing, Shizuka," Ainz began once again. "It concerns the marriage ceremony."
"Right…" She trailed off with a more feeble voice now that Tokiwa left. "I should explain what you are expected to do."
"Please do."
