IMPORTANT Author's Notes: Thanks for the continued support! I am writing the story for my enjoyment, sharing it with you all just adds to my happiness. But please refrain from forcing your opinion on an author just because you hate an aspect or character of their story. As a fellow author, I can tell you, it can be very emotionally insulting and disheartening. Most of us write to share our imagination, we have no obligation to change a story just to satisfy somebody. If you find yourself disliking the story, don't force yourself to read it, just leave and find something else you can enjoy. It's a problem on Fanfiction and other sites like it and has led to many authors never updating again due to such negative non-criticism reviews. Thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the chapter.
Now, many of you have been curious as to Tanya. I'll answer what little I can without spoiling much.
: Thank you for enjoying my story, I read both your reviews and while I appreciate the 'ideas' I already have a general scope to the story's plotline. There will be no more crossovers introduced into this story.
Alright, Q&A:
Is Tanya the same individual as Tanya von Degurechaff?
Yes and no, this is Tanya from the 'prologue' aka the 'origin'. She has not developed quirks from her show that appear post-reincarnation. So while some core personality traits remain, this Tanya will have some differences.
Will other characters from Isekai Quartet appear since Tanya is here?
No, this also goes for any other crossover characters.
Can Ainz utilize chakra from external sources for jutsu?
You guys are sure asking questions that can take away from the story's surprises or excitement. So I'll leave you with this answer: Ainz lacks chakra pathways to control chakra from any source normally. And the Shinobi Gauntlet hasn't been invented
Can Ainz invent new spells, like combining other spells?
He cannot combine spells, he can use them in sequence, or even conjunction when using [Time Stop] to produce a similar effect. As for learning spells, it remains undetermined. All I do know for certain is that he cannot learn '0th' Tier Spells, which exist in the New World of Overlord.
Why isn't Ainz named Satoru like in the Bonus Novel?
Although this story is inspired by the bonus novel, it is through personal preference that I made him change his name to Ainz. All well as the fact that many readers are anime-only fans, and are more familiar with this name. Also, it just sounds cooler.
I apologize for the lengthy AN than usual. Don't worry, I try to make sure the chapter's length is not affected by the length of the AN in terms of word count.
The Overlord of Nadeshiko
Chapter 8
It had been twelve years since a girl known as Tanya had been born into this world, but the circumstances behind Tanya had her mental lifespan surpass decades. Indeed, Tanya had not just been born but reincarnated into the body nearly complete opposite to her previous life as a Japanese Salaryman. Really, it was the height of emotionally-driven foolishness that would have led to his untimely demise, murdered by the man he'd fired earlier the day, but that incident wasn't responsible for his reincarnation. Rather, right before the moment of his death, a self-proclaimed deity stopped time and engaged in discussion with him, talking about humanity and their departure from belief in him and his miracles. But Tanya had seen it for what it was, a major complaint, incompetence, and unrealistic that this thing would be such a being known as 'God'.
So, he called that self-centered entity 'Being X'.
Being X began to complain about his failed model in the cycle of reincarnation, saying that the 'faithless' are not worth reincarnation.
Of course, as an experienced and professional salaryman, he began to constructive critique and explain to Being X why people were that way.
But, he perhaps had spoken a bit much there.
Being X decided to forcefully reincarnate into this world.
So the Japanese salaryman became the Nadeshiko villager girl.
When Tanya had first gained consciousness a few months after her birth, she'd started to gather information as to her whereabouts, current living standard, and noteworthy individuals. It had been difficult, the growing body of a toddler had little in control of bodily actions, and she fell asleep mid-thought more times than she could count. However, not two years into her new life, her father died of an illness and money became tight for the only parental guardian that could support her.
That had been a little hard, she'd been growing an attachment to her father.
It seems Being X had given her only a brief grace period before his influence began to make life difficult.
She'd been born into a first-generation family of Nadeshiko Village. Which meant little financial support for her family, Nadeshiko Village had a division between older and newer generations, visibly evident by the quality of residential structures between the lowest and tallest hilltops. There were many issues with Nadeshiko Village, both from an economic and cultural perspective. With her father's death, her mother struggled to support them, receiving meager income from her embroidery and barely paying for apartment rent. Tanya was restricted in where she could go, her mother was overly protective since her husband's death, which made it difficult to obtain more information outside of what she could visibly see or overheard while helping her mother with work
There were keywords that Tanya identified and pieced together with what information she could collect.
This was not the same Earth, not some past version of Japan, rather a different world altogether where ninja and kunoichi served as the main militant forces. Nadeshiko Village was a Kunoichi-based nation with its military deeply interconnected with its government. There were even magical-like powers known as chakra, which were performed to use jutsu.
She needed to learn more, Tanya refused to be stuck in a low-job position in a small shop or stuck with random commission works doing embroidery. Not that she faulted her mother, Tanya loved her as a child loved her parents, but she could see the flaws in the job's stability.
Fortunately, the government-funded Academy was mandatory for all children, it was specifically structured to fuse both civilian and military education. When Tanya became six years old, she became a student, an admittedly nostalgic occupation that Tanya relished in reexperiencing. As she had the benefit of her previous life's knowledge, most educational classwork was a breeze, grades were easy to achieve, which allowed her a lot of free time to focus on material unfamiliar to her.
Tanya originally did not want to become a kunoichi. Why would she want to? It would be like signing her death warrant, the chances of receiving a job in the rear, excluded from outside missions, was slim as such occupations were already filled and rarely required outside a bare minimum.
Then Tanya began reading up on world history and Nadeshiko laws.
Immediately, Tanya needed to become a kunoichi.
This world was insane, an unending conflict, world wars seem to happen every few decades and skirmishes happen frequently along borders. It was not unheard of for villages on the scale of Nadeshiko to be completely destroyed in these Ninja World Wars, its people scattered and killed off. Nadeshiko Village happened to be located on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water, and was as such a primary target for military occupation for its strategic location should war break out between the Leaf and Mist Villages.
Now, conflicts occurred back on earth all the time, and small wars happened frequently.
But that wasn't even taken into consideration that smaller village destruction could be accomplished by a single ninja alone, they could become that powerful, or even strong enough to destroy Nadeshiko singlehandedly. There were dedicated historical moments to figures capable of such deeds. It was outright insane how much damage a higher-ranked ninja could accomplish, and that wasn't even accounting for those on the level of a Kage from the Great Five.
And all that was only what Nadeshiko knew, which were second-handed from the Land of Water's primary Great Village, the Hidden Village in the Mist.
Which that itself had rumors of being in a civil war, at least, for most of the time Tanya was in the academy.
Damn Being X for reincarnating her into such a world! If she wanted the survive such a likelihood event of a war outbreak, or even some upstart rogue ninja attacking Nadeshiko, she needed to learn how to defend herself and use chakra.
That was only concerning world history.
Never mind the insanity that was Nadeshiko Village's cultural law to marry a man that defeats her in combat, like hell she would marry a man!
Tanya poured over everything chakra-related she could find in the library and exercised lessons taught by the Academy teachers, which's militant instructors were all chunin-ranked kunoichi. This caught their eyes, which prompted her to be assigned to a more kunoichi-focused education than the standard civilian one. Unfortunately, she couldn't exactly skip through grades, even with her accelerated learning, such fast-acting draft only applied in wartime scenarios.
Well, that was fine, Tanya would enjoy the peace of school for a longer period, honing her skills with ninja tools, mastering the academy-provided jutsu, and but above all else learning to increase her chakra control to decent levels.
That proved more difficult, by some unlikely circumstance, Tanya had large chakra levels for her age, despite her rather petite figure in comparison to other academy students of the same year. Tanya theorized this was in part due to her spiritual energy, possibly caused by her reincarnation and being older than she actually was. Chakra was, after all, a combination of physical and spiritual energies that ran through her body through a chakra network, a bodily pathway that served the same function for chakra as blood vessels did for delivering blood.
However, her physical body had a difficult time adjusting to such a large amount of chakra, which stunted her growth somewhat. Tanya hoped that with improved chakra control and physical exercise, she'd begin to gain some height again, but alas, her reserves of chakra made the lessons difficult.
She sought to help of an academy instructor, who admitted that her chakra reserves were higher than most chunin in the village. Still, the instructor tutored her in the tree-climbing exercise at an earlier age than her contemporaries, who would all learn it eventually in the latter years of the academy only if they'd chosen to become kunoichi.
But with that, she formed a bit of a relationship with the chunin instructor, who began teaching her additional material outside of the Academy.
Unfortunately, Tanya's mental maturity made it very difficult to find any accomplices in children of the Academy.
By the time Tanya began the graduation exam, she had several jutsu and techniques under her sleeve. She even managed to learn a C-Rank Wind Style Jutsu, a small point of pride for her. She, expectedly, succeeded in the exam and was officially granted the rank of genin in Nadeshiko Village's kunoichi forces.
It was going rather well, all that remained was to be assigned to a team, and proceed to climb up the ranks by doing missions, preferably to a rank where she can manually choose her missions and avoid dangerous ones.
So, imagine Tanya's surprise when the Village Leader of all people, the highest-ranking individual in the entire village, assigned her to an older team… That was already on-mission.
Then proceeded to give her, and a few others, a C-Rank… For their first mission.
A C-Rank to a graduate student, who was supposed to do dozen or so D-Ranks beforehand, both to train their skills further and receive currency for better equipment.
Curse you Being X.
She could not reject it, the mission had been assigned by Lady Shizuka, the Village Leader. That was equivalent to the CEO assigning you to a task.
You do not deny the CEO's request.
The day before Tanya left, she'd started to make preparations. She was given a few special scrolls, an entirely new experimental technology, and told how to use them.
Honestly, the 'Message Scroll' sounded like a glorified phone call, but Tanya won't complain about having an emergency contact measure. The 'Invisibility Scroll' sounded incredibly useful for both stealth and escape options.
These were provided by the upcoming husband to Lady Shizuka, a man by the name Ainz Ooal Gown.
She made a point to remember that name for future reference, as the position Ainz Ooal Gown took would be high on the totem pole. A fast-track promotion that Tanya felt a little envious of, but as long as he was competent, there wasn't much complaint. Besides, her position as a genin was too low to argue against it, and Lord Ainz must be quite powerful to have defeated Lady Shizuka in combat.
"I'm home," Tanya announced her arrival as she entered her apartment.
The voice of her mother responded, "In the dining room."
Tanya took off her shoes and placed them near the door, then walked into the dining room, spotting her mother casually knitting together some embroidery as a commission. Tanya eyed her mother's hands, worn and aging, with a few bandages from needlework. She'd make a mental note to look into medical ninjutsu, which required concise knowledge on the human body, which Tanya was intimately familiar with through long study.
"Hello, mother," Tanya greeted warmly, deciding to relax her logical-driven thoughts and let her emotions take control for a bit.
In her previous life, Tanya had never been close to her parents, they were workaholics that didn't care for her beyond essentials. But that wasn't the case in this life, although her father died too early for Tanya to grow attached much, her mother was a very caring individual and that kind of warmth was affectionate, and had grown on Tanya over twelve years.
Her home was the only place that Tanya felt genuinely relaxed, her mother was the only individual Tanya did not look at like a superior or inferior.
"How's my little graduate?" Her mother asked with a smile, looking to Tanya away from her own work.
She was the only one that Tanya never retorted in response at her height.
"I was assigned my first mission by Lady Shizuka," Tanya began as she pulled up a chair and sat. "And also assigned my team."
"Congratulations, fairy," Her mother called her affectionately with a nickname. "I hope you can finally make some friends."
"Well, I've been placed into an older team, but maybe I will," It was unlikely, but she wouldn't deny her mother's words. "Furthermore, I'll be leaving Nadeshiko for a few days for the mission." She would not state what rank the mission was, no need to cause worry.
"Ah, you'll miss the ceremony festivals then," Her mother looks a little disappointed, but quickly cheered back up. "I'll buy you a souvenir, Tanya!"
"No, it's fine, you don't have to, mother," Tanya tried to convince her otherwise, knowing that money was still tight. She shouldn't have to spend anything at an over-glorified wedding.
"That's like you," She replied. "Well, at the very least, I should give you a gift for graduating from the Academy," She placed aside her tools and walked towards a cabinet, opened it, and rummage through its contents before pulling out an envelope and handing it to Tanya.
Tanya took it and opened it, "This… Did you save up this Ryo for me?" This wasn't an easy task, this amount of money could purchase an entirely new set of ninja tools.
"You've worked so hard, wanted to reward you for all those late-night study sessions and training," Her mother's smile broadened.
"T-thanks," Tanya replied, feeling the urge to look away but refraining, this felt embarrassing. She resolved to pay back her mother in the future, maybe even purchase an entirely new living space, would be nice to not live in a tiny apartment. But, now with this cash, she could purchase better equipment, maybe even a few explosive tags.
"Try to stay as safe as you can, my little fairy," She said.
"Of course, I'll never throw my life away," Tanya answered reassuringly.
Later that day, she'd left Nadeshiko Village and arrived at the location of the geological survey nearly a day later, joining with Kluke's team. After a quick introduction, Tanya got to work in exploring the territory and recording its natural resources, though the lake will also need to be examined later...
The following morning of his marriage, Ainz Ooal Gown was already back on deskwork, taking Shizuka's place while she dealt with a major headache from alcoholic drinking the prior night. He had moved into Shizuka's home but decided to fake his sleep on the couch until Shizuka knocked out cold in the bedroom. With that, he decided to go to the area where he had cast [Create Fortress] and opened the door. It seems that there was friendly fire in this world, which made sense realistically, so Ainz had to openly invite people into the tower.
With that out of the way, he returned to the location where he planted the YGGDRASIL seed and resummoned the [Moonlight Wolves], gave them the same orders as before, and then returned.
He'd need to every two days to resummon them, as they were summoned with [The Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown], he couldn't apply the metamagic [Extend] on them.
In the meantime, concerning that seed, it had miraculously sprouted and a small leaf had appeared up from the ground. It would still take a long period before Ainz could identify it, but it was growing at a good rate.
Afterward, he spent the majority of the night reading on world history. He managed to get through the Warring States Period before the morning hours arrived, it had been enlightening as to this world's history and formation of the Five Great Ninja Nations, though he'd need to learn more modern history to make use of it. Still, having information about the past will give him the chance to make informed decisions.
As he expected, the ability and strength of ninja can vary greatly, the Bingo Book might be more accurate as to their danger levels than he thought, if the Warring States Period was any indication. Still, that was quite many years ago, and the history that Nadeshiko Village had on the period was lacking. All second-handed books from the Mist Village.
He really needed to send kunoichi to the Mist or Leaf Village for book shopping.
"Lord Ainz, more documents," Tokiwa arrived in the Leader's Office and dropped off another stack of papers.
"How is there so much all the time?" Ainz groaned as he pulled up another document and began reading through it.
"It will die down over the coming days, the addition in leadership has shifted the chain of command," Tokiwa explained. "Furthermore, many men-run shops and restaurants are pushing for benefits from you."
"I can see that," He placed down the document, far too elaborate to ask for a simple money grant. "Nadeshiko Village lacks the financial pool to support much, barely kept afloat enough to keep public services and government-runned programs running," Ainz said.
Tokiwa didn't refute Ainz's statement, "You did look over the village's economic data, outside of the geological survey, do you have any other plans?" She seemed a bit more accepting of his survey plan now.
"I have a few ideas," There were a few references he could use from his world and apply to Nadeshiko without the influence of megacorps. Unfortunately, he didn't have any experience in government management, but the Elder Council might be willing to offer advice. Communication was key, and a group worked better than an individual.
Tokiwa nodded, already proceeding to do her work, assisting Ainz in navigating through documents and filing through numerous scrolls. "Lord Ainz, this is important." She said, placing a scroll on the desk.
Ainz switched from whatever he was currently reading and opened it, "Is Shizuka feeling better?'
"Uh…" Tokiwa paused for a moment. "Last I saw her, she was collapsed on a couch back at her home."
"So the same spot I saw her last," Ainz commented, knowing that while she did wake up, it wasn't for long.
The scroll was indeed important, a message from the Village of the Hidden Mist, another diplomatic discussion between Nadeshiko and the Mist concerning their relationship. The Mizukage was sending out a formal invitation to all ninja villages in the Land of Water, Shizuka could attend or reject this…
Or… Maybe… He could attend in her place?
This was basically a meeting with another company, it was within his experience range. The invitation was for a week from now. It would also serve as a potential means to discover how strong a Kage was, while also gathering more up-to-date information in the Mist Village, where it will take place.
Maybe even reduce the sanctions on Nadeshiko; allow it to take high-paying missions, get some money flowing in.
His hand grabbed a writing brush and wrote a brief response that he will attend. It was located at the Village Hidden in the Mist, but they were not enemies and not exactly allies, Nadeshiko was similar to a tributary state to the Mist. From other documents he'd seen so far, it seemed that Shizuka's predecessors, and Shizuka herself, had slowly been etching away from the Hidden Mist Village to independence.
If Shizuka wanted Nadeshiko to become independent from the Mist Village entirely, and Ainz wanted it to become part of the Great Ninja Villages, then they needed to separate themselves from the Mist without causing a small-scale war. As powerful as he could be, the odds of Nadeshiko surviving a conflict with the Mist were small, even if they claimed victory, the damages would be too severe at this moment of time.
Just another reason to strengthen the village.
He wrapped the scroll up and handed it to Tokiwa, "Have this delivered by hawk."
"Yes, Lord Ainz," She took the scroll and left the office.
He nodded and continued to work on other documents-
-A familiar noise echoed in his hearing, he reached with fingers to the side of his head and answered.
"Who is this?"
["Lord Ainz, this is Jonin Kluke, sending an emergency message!"] The jonin's voice sounded like barely contained professionalism.
An emergency?
Ainz shifted in his seat, checking his connection with the [Wraith], it was still alive. He responded to Kluke, "What's the situation?"
She began explaining, ["A large entity lives in the lake, its mist produces a powerful genjutsu effect. We didn't notice it until we started surveying the lake. We retreated after breaking through the genjutsu on two genin, but are now in confrontation with an unknown enemy ninja and kunoichi."]
An enemy group of ninja as well? Attacking those who he promised under his name?
He did not like this, he did not.
How dare they take action against those under Ainz Ooal Gown's name!
He felt his anger regress back to a manageable level.
"Understood, take defensive measures, try not to engage the enemy but find out information, I will arrive shortly, use the [Invisibility] scrolls if necessary." He replied with a calm demeanor.
["Yes Lord Ainz,"] The spell decidedly ended right there.
Tokiwa arrived back at that moment, she noticed how he was standing, "Lord Ainz?"
"A circumstance as occurred which will require me to briefly leave the village, I will return in less than a day after I fulfill my promise," He answered, then shouted, "[Greater Teleportation]!" And vanished right before her eyes, shocking the girl as its sudden disappearance before she started to bolt out the office to inform Shizuka.
Ainz appeared in front of the [Moonlight Wolves], this was as far as [Greater Teleportation] could take him. Without means to visibly see far-reaching areas, as such objects were left behind in Nazarick, he had to resort to discovering regions the old fashion way. The place with the planted seed had been very close by where he first appeared in this world, so it was a location he could use teleportation.
The area he sent the kunoichi teams was not.
He wished the shitty devs had never patched out the [Undeath Slave Sight] on [Wraith]. He could've used it to scout the area and be able to teleport there otherwise.
"[Fly]," He floated into the sky then quickly gained speed to the direction he was aware of, it would take him only an hour or two at the rate he traveled, unable to speed up without the risk of announcing his location by the noise that such speed would case.
His enemy was still unknown, after all, and that was only concerning the opposing ninja, never mind the large turtle-like entity mentioned.
"Although it has made me a little upset, I am eagerly looking forward to fighting against these ninjas," He spoke to himself.
Yes, this upcoming battle shall serve to be an interesting one.
