Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, my Fanfiction alerts hadn't worked for a month and they finally started working again. It was a bit of a downer having to manually check for reviews and PMs, and receiving no favorites and follow alerts despite the increase in the number.
Here's Q&A time. No spoilers, no repeat answers.
If a Tailed Beast died to [True Death], will they still revive?
This is an incredibly tricky question, but [True Death] doesn't prevent resurrection altogether, rather it prevents resurrection by lower-Tier spells such as [Raise Dead]. When a Tailed Beast dies, it 'reforms' later, which could be considered enough of a technical difference to bypass [True Death]'s effect.
Slashing and Piercing Resistance?
Yes, Ainz has additional damage resistance to attacks dealing Slashing or Piercing damage. That's obvious, as is his Bludgeoning Vulnerability, which was mentioned in chapter 11.
Will Ainz eventually fight [Character Name] or [Insert Group Here]?
I cannot make any promises that Ainz will come in conflict with certain characters or groups, though some may occur due to obvious situations that Ainz had done.
Ainz is not in YGGDRASIL, Restrictions should no longer apply. Especially since this is the Naruto world instead. Ainz should be able to do X Y Z...
Sigh… Alright, I get this question a few times, so why Ainz is so 'restricted' in what he can do now? I don't believe I came across straight about what I mean when I said I "would follow LN rules". When I said this, I meant that for everything concerning Overlord in this story, it shall follow the same rules unless stated otherwise as they worked in the Overlord Light Novels.
This means that no, Ainz can't go past level 100. No; he can't enchant or create magical items without the Job Class. No; he can't ignore Class Restrictions unless he uses spells like [Perfect Warrior], which has its own drawbacks.
Etc, etc... These and more are rules in the Novels and Anime. Yet, in spite of that, Ainz does so much. How? Because he has Nazarick to fill in for his weaknesses, provide materials, subordinates with the necessary Job Classes, etc.
That's not to say there won't be things unseen in Overlord, but this story was mostly inspired by the Side Story, where Ainz is alone with Keno, there is no Nazarick.
But at the end of all this explanation, here's the deciding factor: Because I want to write the story this way.
And there's nothing people can say otherwise to change how I do it. It's just Fanfiction, after all.
Now, excuse my 400-word AN, I've been trying to avoid making the AN long but… Well, you can probably see. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
The Overlord of Nadeshiko
Chapter 13
Although Satoru Suzuki's original intentions were to locate and follow behind the genin team that he'd commanded earlier, he had a moment of inspiration following the battle with the Three-Tails. With the rogue faction being a common enemy for both Nadeshiko and Konohagakure, there would be no arguments or political backlash if the enemy ninja were killed. This meant a potential way for Ainz to gather information on how ninja fought, and further experiment with Tier Magic interacting with chakra.
That's not to say he didn't gain some interesting tidbits with his battle against the turtle creature. But there was a difference between fighting a boss monster and a player character. Even if the native denizens of this world weren't exactly YGGDRASIL Players, he wouldn't underestimate their capabilities. They had already shown many parallels to Tier Magic using chakra-powered jutsu, who's to say they didn't have jutsu matching high tier spells?
Or even beyond that?
With [Perfect Unknowable], Ainz was completely invisible to all but those specifically tailored to counter such methods. Although the [Ninja] Job Class would normally be one such tailored counter, the 'Chakra Ninja' had not displayed any such talent as of yet.
So he scouted the area unheeded by anyone, still buffed by the spell [Complete Vision], which will last probably a few more minutes. Still, the forest provided plentiful cover from prying eyes, [Complete Vision] did not provide so much an enhancement as to see through walls, which trees counted towards.
"[Widen Magic: Detect Life]," He tried a gamble, applying the metamagic to increase its range of effect, but while he did receive multiple responses, it was indistinguishable as to what caused the response. It could be the enemy ninja, or just a forest animal.
In using the spell, [Perfect Unknowable] dispelled, this was expected as this was true with any buff that hid its user. If the player used any sort of spell or skill, the invisibility would be null. But considering that he willingly sought out conflict to test himself against ninja, it wouldn't be necessary. Besides, its mana cost wasn't so cheap to use considering it was a high tier spell, even if he could substitute using [Complete Invisibility] instead.
A creature flew out from the corner of his vision.
"A bat?" He recognized the flying mammal, although the Earth in his time lacked many such forms of animal life to extinction, that didn't mean they weren't unknown. Still, as far as he knew, they shouldn't be active at this time of day. Sure, he wasn't an expert, leave that to Blue Planet for nature trivia, but…
What if it was a summon? Ninja summons do exist, Shizuka hinted at that fact back in Nadeshiko, and animal companions were used as proven by the Hidden Leaf ninja.
He'd lose sight of it if he stood around.
Ainz decided to follow it, which proved to be the correct decision, as it alongside with other bats came to conjugate around a certain area. It wasn't an open space, rather a hidden spot disguised behind large boulders and rocky terrain. He spotted a group of four individuals, all male humans, presumably ninja though that remained a bit questionable for some given the odd attire.
He particularly noted the man with a gas mask, whose choice to wear such an item reminded Suzuki Satoru of less than pleasant memories of his world's smog-filled atmosphere. Aside from him, there was a short-statured man with a tool attachment surrounding his arm, it appeared like a gun; perhaps he had a Job Class similar to those from the Valkyrie's Downfall content update in YGGDRASIL?
There was also a clown or mime-faced fellow in a full-body slime suit. It was not aesthetically pleasing for Ainz, but its properties might be interesting, given the liquid malleable state the man moved it with.
Lastly, some male ninja with a scarf in which the earlier bats flew down toward and perched on his arm.
"Death?" The scarf man questioned. "A figure closing in? We need to move," He said to the others.
"Death? Like, someone so powerful we don't stand a chance, Rinji?" The dwarf-like man questioned.
"I don't want to stand around and find out! Let's move then! We already had trouble with the waves from that monster!" The gas-masked man exclaimed.
Ainz reasoned that without [Fly], it would be more difficult to avoid the environmental damage like the waves displaced by the Three-Tails. Regardless, he wouldn't let these men escape so easily.
He broke through the treeline, revealing himself to the group, "I'm afraid that you cannot escape, all you can do is entertain me for a bit," He spoke ominously, falling back a bit to his old evil character roleplaying.
Their eyes met his mask and followed down to the symbolic Nadeshiko icon wrapped around his gauntlet. In spite of his imposing form, they strangely relaxed a bit when seeing this. A false sense of confidence, were they expecting the Konoha ninja instead?
"It's just some Nadeshiko pawn," The scarf man said.
"Heh, entertain you? Sorry, but I doubt you can even last much against all four of us," The distorted voice belonging to the gas mask man replied to Ainz's earlier statement.
"You lot must be quite skilled then," Ainz responded. "That is fortunate, I've been meaning to test my abilities against ninja so I appreciate your cooperation," He raised his hand towards the nearest target, he might as well make the first move. "[Acid Arrow]," A yellow magic circle formed in front, guiding the 2nd Tier spell as a bolt of highly acidic liquid conjured and shot out towards the white-hair dwarf individual.
He managed to avoid it by jumping out of the way, in response to the hostile action, the others began to make multiple counterattacks, a handful of kunai was thrown at Ainz who took such attacks without injury, the weapons uselessly pinged off his equipment. The white-haired ninja aimed his grenade-launcher arm attachment at the surrounding area which fired numerous smoke bombs and filled the space with a vision-impairing cloud.
Of course, since Ainz was still under the buffed of [Complete Vision] such a vision debuff would have no effect on him, he still had a full view of all the enemy ninja. He spotted the slime-suit-wearing individual conjure up numerous balls of watery mucus and launch them towards Ainz's position. In his curiosity, Ainz let the attack land on him, but whether it was due to the power disparity or [Protection Energy - Water] still in effect, the mucus slid off him without sticking.
He noticed the individual known as Rinji attempting to leave, he raised his gauntlet towards the man, "[Slow]," Ainz used the 3rd Tier spell, then followed it up with an attack, "[Lightning]."
The movements of the man slowed, but there seemed to be resistance, it did not slow down his movements to the degree he expected. Still, [Lightning] conjured out from the tip of his gauntlet's finger and pierced through the man- Only to have him vanished and replaced with a swarm of bats that scattered.
"Interesting, an evasive jutsu of some sort?" Ainz commented, noting Rinji's position had moved appeared in another spot, but not far from his previous location.
"Multiple Smoke Clone Jutsu," The voice of the gas-mask-wearing man called out and multiple copies of the man appeared throughout the smoke cloud. It reminded Ainz of the [Shadow Clone] ninjutsu skill that the [Ninja] job class had. "Disperse," The man continued and some of the copies twisted and malformed into thick black smoke, "Binding Smoke Prison Jutsu!"
The black smoke launched itself and tried to entangle around Ainz's limbs, but upon contact and wrapping around him for but the briefest second, it disentangled and vanished.
"How? Why is our restraining techniques not working!?" The slime-suit man shouted in confusion.
"My apologies, but I'm immune to movement impairing effects," Ainz explained.
"That's impossible, you can't just be immune to jutsu," The dwarf-like man said.
"There are assuredly plenty of ways to negate an opposing jutsu," Ainz continued. "[Control Cloud], by its technical term, a smoke cloud has the term cloud in it…" He cast the spell and found himself able to remove the smoke cloud in the area, something that he'd never done in YGGDRASIL before. "Intriguing."
"Bat Controlling: Ultrasonic Mind Waves," Rinji had a swarm of bats produce ultrasonic sound attacks at the undead, which normally would produce a mental attack.
Ainz found it annoying, although he wasn't affected by it, this Rinji individual didn't interest him all too much. His use of the bats initially interested Ainz, but didn't seem capable of acting independently from the ninja, marking them less as a tamed animal and more like a low-level summon.
He raised an open hand towards the man, the illusion of a beating red heart appeared in its grasp, Ainz cast his favorite 9th Tier Spell, "[Grasp Heart]." In that instant, he clenched down his fingers and the illusionary heart burst apart.
Rinji grasped his chest soon after, coughed up blood, and after a delay of a few seconds while his facial expression morphed into utter fear, he collapsed to the ground without a word.
"Rinji? Hey! What happened!"
"He died! Just like that? What kind of jutsu was that?"
"I don't want to die! This guy is too dangerous!"
"No immunities," Ainz commented to himself, ignoring the panicking ramble of the other ninja. "I didn't feel anything from that, have I truly lost my humanity? No, perhaps not yet, maybe only for my enemies," He reasoned, the lingering humanity of Suzuki Satoru holding on to whatever logic could explain the lack of emotion towards the death of another human, it had been fast the first time, almost unintentionally, but this time it was different.
He looked at the corpse, "[Create Middle Tier Undead: Death Knight]." A blackish-purple mud manifested above Rinji's corpse before enveloping it, covering and hiding the corpse before it malformed and changed its shape in a large broad humanoid figure, color coming in to reveal a full-plate armored skeletal entity with an ominous aura, a jagged blade, and tower shield.
Twin horns decorated its head, and one could see its rotted face inside a helm, a ghastly visage of hatred gazed towards its would-be opponents.
Though Ainz was more perturbed by the spell's special effect now overtaking a corpse.
"What the hell is that!" The slime-suit man exclaimed.
"I'm not going to die here! Smoke Dragon!" The dwarf-like man clasped his hands together then launched from his wrist device a stream of smoke that formed into a serpentine dragon.
Ainz observed the jutsu cautiously, dragons were some of the strongest entities in YGGDRASIL and although not an actual dragon its eastern mythological appearance was intimidating, this was likely a higher-ranked jutsu.
"Defend me, Death Knight," Ainz ordered his summon.
The undead knight reared his long jagged blade as the smoke dragon charged at the summon, it swung with a mighty heave but the attack passed through the technique without any effect.
"[Physical Attack Immunity]?" Ainz commented on the smoke dragon's ability, if it were a summon that may be the case, but as it was a jutsu its function might be similar to an Arcane-type spell.
"Water Shield Shot!" The slime suit man had two flat spheres come out of his suit, which he then threw at the [Death Knight].
Of course, such a level of attack wasn't effective on it, although Water Element Tier Magic had an assortment of bludgeoning type damaging spells, it also had slashing types. This 'Water Shield Shot' appeared to be the later damage type of ninjutsu, which wasn't the weakness for an undead like the [Death Knight].
However, it served as a distraction.
Although the smoke cloud from earlier had been dispelled, the multiple smoke clones had not. A series of sparks from each clone followed by a hand seal, the gas-masked man shouted. "Fire Style: Exploding Flame Shot!" He threw multiple balls of fire that although aimed at the [Death Knight]'s general location, were not the intended target.
The second the fire touched the smoke dragon, it lit aflame and turned into a scorching inferno of black and orange-red, it doubled in size and separated from the dwarf man's wrist launcher. The serpentine technique went ablaze in a full-on strike against the undead knight, engulfing the entire summon in a fiery explosion.
The dwarf-like man and mask-wearing man shouted, "Combination: Exploding Inferno Smoke Dragon Jutsu!"
"The two jutsu combined into a higher ranked one!?" Ainz exclaimed in surprise, taken aback by the sudden increase in combat ability. It was a fascinating and concerning ability, and also very informative if potentially worrying. While with Tier Magic you could combine certain spells in sequence to produce an enhanced effect or series of attacks, he'd never witnessed two players' spells combining to create an entirely new more powerful variant.
It was something Ainz took a careful mental note of, that chakra-users can combine techniques to produce a new result.
Because the [Death Knight] had been heavily damaged. As the black smoke cleared, it revealed the undead creature, its bones scorched and shield decimated by the explosion. But it had not died, and even if it did, the [Death Knight] summons had a skill which revived it back with 1 HP. Still, the fact that what could be considered low-level characters managed to damage a mid-level summon was a fact which increased Ainz's respect for the so-called 'Chakra Ninja' job class, even considering the undead's double damage weakness from the Fire Element.
However, Ainz took notice that the gas-mask man was exhausted. If he had to make an assumption, the earlier series of ninjutsu had expended the man's available chakra reserves.
Speaking of which…
"[Mana Essence]," Ainz said, allowing his vision to see the level of MP left. "Just like with [Life Essence], it seems that chakra can't be easily determined."
The 'chakra' levels of the three were hard to determine, although he could get a general assumption as to their remaining amount it appeared to be partially clouded in his view. On a side note, the [Death Knight] didn't have chakra or mana, ridding the potential chance for his undead creations to have chakra from a ninja corpse.
The dwarf man spoke, "You gotta be kidding me, it's still alive!?"
Without the feeling of pain, the undead knight charged forward towards the three ninjas, who all disengaged and retreated just a bit faster than the summon's movement could catch up to them. Although they couldn't damage the [Death Knight] without heavy chakra cost, the undead creature couldn't catch them either with their speed.
This wasn't unexpected, the [Death Knight] was a defensive summon, it wasn't quick even for a level 35 entity. Although it was enhanced due to Ainz's [Necromancer] class skills, the three ninjas were just narrowly more agile than it.
"[Haste]," Ainz cast a buff on the summoned mid-tier undead.
The [Death Knight]'s movement increased in speed, its sudden quickness surprised the evading ninja and the jagged blade of the monster pierced through the dwarf-like man's chest and into the trunk of a tree. A burst of blood and flesh spilled across the ground as the undead proceeded to pull and penetrate the blade repeatedly into the dying man's chest cavity.
"Ghaheeelp, ppease- heeep!" Was all the man sputtered out in vain as his body was reduced to an eviscerated corpse.
Two down, two more to go.
By this point, they had forgone any notion of fighting and tried to flee.
"We can't have that," Ainz said. "Chase down the gas-mask, I shall deal with the other," He ordered his summon which proceeded to charge after the retreating figure with great speed. Ainz could hear the scream of fear.
"No! No! No! Oh please- Aaaaaah!"
It seemed the unholy creation had caught up with the exhausted man quite quickly, ending with his pleading shout that went unanswered before all went silent.
Ainz, on the other hand, used [Teleport] to block the retreat of the slime-suit man.
"Ah! Please! Don't kill me!" The man panicked as he backed away.
"I'll end it quickly," Ainz replied. "It will be painless, [Death]."
This was an 8th Tier spell that caused instant death, he briefly wondered if the man could resist the instant death effect, but that was quickly brushed aside as the individual collapse lifeless. A mildly disappointing result, but in the end, he obtained the information he desired for this brief experiment. In spite that they were relatively low-level according to Ainz's assumptions, they had done remarkably better than he anticipated. His spells also worked to his expectations, if some functioning slightly differently.
A change caused from the difference in a game to a real-world, likely.
"Let's see that slime suit," He approached the corpse. "[Appraisal Magic Item]... Interesting."
It wasn't anything too special, an armor piece that allowed its user to more easily flow chakra through it to perform certain actions. An average ninja wouldn't be able to use it, as it was tailored to this man's specific set of abilities to change shape fluidly. But, its ability to help flow chakra might be useful for Nadeshiko Village, he'd keep it to store for them to study.
He discarded the body and stored the loot in his Inventory.
"What should I do with the [Death Knight]?" He ideally wondered about it as it returned to his side, having finished its order from before. "Well, it's already damaged and it'll draw too much trouble if it follows me. It'll vanish eventually so I'll just let it patrol the area," He spoke to himself and ordered the undead knight to patrol the region, with a classification not to attack unless struck first.
With that, Ainz was satisfied and decided to head back to the base camp.
When Ainz had returned to the established base camp, he noticed a few additions to the area. Notably, two new individuals were present, one of which was the boy capable of using that taming ability on the Tailed Beast, he was impressed that the genin team he sent to spy also managed to capture and return with the intriguing boy. That was an example of an employee achieving beyond their job description and applying their own judgment to a situation for the betterment of the company.
He'd have to reward them, let it be known that Suzuki Satoru will treat his employees fairly. He'll not have the working conditions and treatment like his old company did to him.
However, Ainz took a glance at the other individual, a leaf kunoichi in a red top shirt and black shorts underneath a short grey apron skirt, a weapon pouch on her right thigh. Her short hair sported a shade of bright pink, almost divided by her headband with spiky bangs.
Had Kluke failed to accomplish her given task? Or was there an additional variable that forced her hand? The lead kunoichi was a new individual, not present in Ainz's earlier spying. He wouldn't fault Kluke for prioritizing the life of her and her teammates if threatened with a hostile response, but failing an assignment should warrant a punishment without a good excuse. But Kluke was a Jonin, by definition of rank, that'll mean that she is a senior employee. She would have the experience to make critical decisions. Ainz was willing to hear her out.
They noticed his arrival, he wasn't trying to hide after all.
"Jonin Kluke, and genin team leader, step forth," He ordered, his voice oozed with authority as he tried to mimic his own superiors slightly.
Jonin Kluke expectedly stepped forward and kneeled in respect, what was a bit unexpected however was that Tanya, rather than Uraku, took the representative position as the genin team leader.
Ainz did recall that Tanya seemed a bit more party leader material, she was more outspoken than the others back at the lake. Well, if they trusted her with the position then he'll go with it.
"Lord Ainz," They both said.
"Tanya, recount you and your group's actions first," He said, wanting to know how they managed to collect the boy. "You can both stand, leave the formality for later."
While he understood that it was an expression of respect to their village co-leader, Ainz felt more comfortable with a more casual setting, even if this was a bit more serious-toned than usual.
"Yes sir," Tanya said and began to recount the events. She'd started with the separation from Ainz, the process of spying, the appearance of the [Wraith] and its destruction by a lead ninja, before finishing with combat against the crystal style user, Guran, and the arrival of reinforcements that led to her quick action in capturing the boy named Yukimaru.
Ainz was mildly impressed by Tanya's performance, for what amounted to a brand new player, she did remarkably well in an encounter that would otherwise be above her level. He'd expected newly graduated academy students to be akin to a level 1 Player, but perhaps the Academy served as a tutorial first?
He'd need to give it a closer look when he returned to Nadeshiko Village.
"Good work, you performed beyond what's expected of you and will be compensated on returning to Nadeshiko," He complimented the blonde girl.
"Thank you Lord Ainz, but I don't need a reward for my service to the village," She replied, looking up to him while kneeling.
"Regardless, I am generous to those who work dutifully," He said and turned his attention towards the jonin. "Now Kluke, please explain why there is still a leaf kunoichi here."
Kluke hesitated for a brief moment, but quickly recovered and answered, "On reaching the Konoha ninja, I addressed them and said your demands to leave the area. They counter-argue that they are to capture the rogue ninja in the area and discover a possible hidden location of the dangerous sannin known as Orochimaru," She paused, collecting her thoughts. "We had a brief exchange of information about the rogue ninja, which led to the discovery of the lake monster's true nature, a Tailed Beast. I contacted you afterward, but when our conversation ended another team of leaf ninja arrived, tensions heated soon after. They offered to seal the Tailed Beast and team up, we denied but made a temporary truce."
Ainz quickly pieced together what happened on Kluke's side. The diplomacy was a bust, Konoha refused to leave under the excuse of hunting rogue ninja and Nadeshiko didn't have the diplomatic weight or military pressure to force them. The arrival of an additional leaf ninja team put Kluke on the backfoot, forcing her to make a compromise to guarantee her team's safety against superior odds.
It reminds Ainz of times back in YGGDRASIL, when rival guilds met each other at inopportune times near a valuable resource, neither wanting to start a guild war but also not willing to back down, leading to tense and often escalating moments.
"And her?" He pointed towards the leaf kunoichi.
"I am Sakura, a medical kunoichi of Konohagakure," She introduced herself. "I'm here as a temporary diplomat."
They had sent a healer as a diplomat? That threw Ainz a bit off; he'd expected an escape artist or even a tank, not a healer class.
"I assume you want to discuss what to do with the Tailed Beast?" He questioned, examining her as he spoke, trying to discern her equipment. But he didn't find anything noteworthy about her apparel, not without the blatant use of [All Appraisal Magic Item].
"The Tailed Beast was an unforeseen circumstance," Sakura replied. "Our original goal is to capture any rogue ninja with ties to Orochimaru," She answered.
"I'm aware of your initial intentions," Ainz said. "However, that does not ignore the fact that Konoha seems insistent on dealing with the Three-Tails. As for your rogue ninja, I had killed three men after my battle against the monster, and although I may be low on chakra, I will not cave in to false offers to seal it away for your benefit," He put a strong foot forward, but also lied about his current reserves. This would make him appear that he'd struggled against the Three-Tails and the continued fight with rogue ninja afterward had left him exhausted.
"As a direct student to Lady Tsunade, our Hokage, I promise under her reputation that we have no ill-intentions in exploiting our offer," Sakura spoke with confidence, trying to convey the intentions of Konoha as benign. "The reason behind it is for its safety and yours from the Akatsuki, an organization trying to collect the Tailed Beast for malicious purposes. Lady Tsunade believes that sealing it away in a temporary dimension will be more beneficial than sealing the Three-Tails into someone as a Jinchuuriki."
Ainz held onto that provided information, that these Tailed Beasts, boss-like mobs, can be sealed into individuals. Did that mean they could access the boss's abilities and stats? While using other monsters to compliment a Player build was known, he didn't recall if there was a Job Class that stored mobs into their own characters and used their abilities.
Also, the Akatsuki… He did know about them from the Bingo Book, but the information about them was scarce. However, collecting nine raid bosses under their own organization sounded quite dangerous, he would not want to fight against that sort of military power, it would be equivalent to fighting against the Floor Guardian NPCs of Nazarick… By himself.
In that way, if someone had a Tailed Beast, they would be a target for the Akatsuki and any other organization desiring a Jinchuuriki. In that way; perhaps a Jinchuuriki served as a rare limited Job Class, where only nine individuals can have it.
Like Touch Me's [World Champion] Job Class. A limited Job Class given by the developers.
But… But what if Ainz obtained a Jinchuuriki for Nadeshiko?
It would paint Nadeshiko as a target, but what about the benefits? And what if he also hid the person with the Jinchuuriki Job Class? He would deny a raid boss to a potentially hostile organization, strengthen the village's military position, and also collect a rarity.
Ainz didn't deny that his collector's spirit spoke at the end there.
"I have to disagree, keeping the Three-Tails in a stationary location, even if sealed, would be a temporary stop-gap measure," Ainz responded. "Furthermore it is within the Land of Water's jurisdiction, whose primary ninja village is Kirigakure. I cannot have foreign ninja dealing with a manner that goes beyond chasing rogue ninja."
Sakura took a step forward, "With all due respect, Orochimaru and the Akatsuki are not to be underestimated! We have the experience and knowledge to deal with the situation-"
"Silence!" Ainz shouted and felt annoyed by the constant back-and-forth between Konoha and Nadeshiko. "Twice now we have warned you to return to the Land of Fire, and twice have you disregarded it. Do not believe yourselves so above other ninja villages to ignore their warnings!"
Those around him suddenly felt rooted in their spots, a feeling of dread oozed from Ainz Ooal Gown, his seemingly angered tone showed his displeasure in an aura of authority and despair. Sakura attempted to gather back up her courage but found it difficult in the face of his powerful figure.
Still, she did manage it, "We do not wish there to be conflict…" Sakura managed to speak in reply.
Ainz continued, "Neither do we and in light of that, I will offer you one final chance. The rogue ninja you chase, Kabuto, has left the region, the others save for the crystal and earth users, had been dealt with. The Three-Tails is subdued and ours to deal with. You do not have any other suitable reason to be here. Take your teams of leaf ninja and leave."
"Y-yes, Lord Ainz, very well, we will leave. I hope our disagreements do not sully the relationship between our two villages," Sakura stuttered a bit, but finally conceded.
He realized he had activated [Despair Aura - Level 1] at some point and hastily ended it. The surrounding kunoichi eased immediately, he took note that both the leaf kunoichi and Kluke hadn't been as affected as the genin, but were certainly uneased by the aura when it was on. This was likely because they had resisted level 1's effects, but were still greatly unnerved by his presence.
"I will not reject if Lady Hokage wishes to send a correspondence to Nadeshiko," He replied, calmed down a bit from his earlier annoyance.
Sakura nodded, "Thank you, we shall leave the area then,"
"Umu, see that you do."
With that, the leaf member hastily left the camp, leaving Ainz alone with the Nadeshiko kunoichi. He sighed, feeling mentally exhausted by the diplomatic talk, but also accomplished by his success in finally getting Konoha to leave without bloodshed between them.
"Lord Ainz, forgive my doubt," Jonin Kluke spoke. "But how do we deal with the Tailed Beast? Nadeshiko doesn't have any Seal Masters to my knowledge."
"That is accurate," Ainz admitted, he'd never heard of the village having anyone with that skill set either. "But I happened to have a… Unique method. While we can't seal it away traditionally, and the child… Yukimaru was it?"
The boy was hiding behind a tree but nodded immediately upon being called for, his eyes fearful of the masked leader.
Ainz continued, "Yes, he isn't strong enough to tame the beast from what I've seen," He recalled the attempt back at the lake. While the boy may have the ability, it seems he wasn't high enough level for it to be successful. "But I have the ability to seal it away into an object until a more permanent solution is found."
It was a bit of a gamble, while it was possible to seal high-level Tier Magic into a Sealing Crystal, it hadn't been done to seal away a creature. But some rules had changed, perhaps it was possible? If he managed to perhaps twist the use of certain magic just narrowly enough for a technicality, then it could work.
"Oh, as expected of Lord Ainz!" One of the genin praised him.
"Thank you," He responded. "But there is a catch, I will be vulnerable while using the jutsu, it has a long start-up period so I'll need all of you to defend me."
Ainz Ooal Gown approached the Three-Tails, the Tailed Beast was notably more healthy than before and had sunk deeper into the lake. It likely had regenerated more of its hit points, though the [Paralyze] still seemed to be in effect, that might not be for much longer even with the metamagic applied given its rate of recovery. His [Bone Vulture] summons still surrounded the creature, flying in the sky and encircling its position, the [Wall of Skeleton] had long since vanished when its spell duration expired.
The battle had ended near the edge of the lake, there was a small island outcrop nearby that formed a tiny hillside. Ainz and the other kunoichi stood on top of it while observing the stilled Tailed Beast.
"What are those? Those animals aren't natural," Uraku, the only experienced genin, commented.
"Looks like a type of buzzard, but I don't recognize its species, also it appears diseased," One of the two chunin explained.
Well, he wasn't surprised, given the incredible similarity to Japan or eastern nations that this world appeared as. The [Bone Vulture]'s base design was a western one, so its species origin might not even exist.
Ainz spoke, "They do not seem interested in us, but if they attack I'll let you all handle it."
"Yes, Lord Ainz!" The kunoichi of Nadeshiko agreed.
"Now then," He reached into his robe, hiding the use of his Inventory, and pulled out a brilliant crystallized object, displaying shining colors of white and blue. Ainz placed the empty [Sealing Crystal] on the ground in front of himself.
All players could seal Tier Magic into Sealing Crystals without the requirement of a specific Job Class. A [Sealing Crystal] could store any type of Tier Magic and include even metamagic enhancements, then be used by any individual no matter the requirements for that spell normally, that was also why they were so rare, even Ainz only had two empty ones in his Inventory. The only exception to this rule normally was...
He clapped his hands together in a needless action-
-And a pillar of light erupted from the Overlord. A shining beacon that dwarfed the energy of Yukimaru before, who stood in utter awe and disbelief nearby. A display of multiple runic circles surrounded Ainz Ooal Gown, particles of magical energy drifting in sequence, rising up to the sky above.
The kunoichi encircled around him could only look in stunned wonder. The back of their hairs tingled, a chill ran down their spines, and none needed to be a sensory type to understand one simple fact.
This. Was. Power.
That's when the Three-Tails began to shake uncontrollably, desperately attempting to resist and free itself of its paralysis. It hadn't needed to before, binding its time to recovery, but the very instance that Ainz began this godly ability it desired to flee with all its might. Although newly formed, the Tailed Beast had enough mental capacity returned to understand its endangerment.
But Ainz was not concerned about it.
Rather, he was having a small internal debate.
He knew that using this would be announcing his status as a Player to anyone spying on them now. Although powerful, the use of the highest form of Tier Magic had a long cast time, leaving the user open to attack from enemy players. A Cash Shop Item could remove this cast time in return for being unable to cast this tier again for a day, but Ainz didn't feel it necessary to waste such a precious item.
Honestly, he really didn't know what he was doing, didn't he?
The events of the past few days had passed by so quickly, events occurring one after the other without much time for him to take a breather and collect his thoughts.
Why was he here in this world? Were there other YGGDRASIL Players as well? What about items from YGGDRASIL? Mobs? Spells?
Did Nazarick exist out there somewhere?
Did his fellow guildmates arrive here as well?
Suzuki Satoru had been going with the flow, but now, perhaps, the use of this spell defined the moment he would take charge… If only just a bit.
After all, sometimes a leap of faith was required. A cautionary approach wasn't always the answer.
If he were to find the answers he sought, and fulfill the responsibilities he agreed to, then playing idly would not work. He must step forward and achieve his goals! Ainz Ooal Gown would not accept any less!
"Let this be the deciding moment, the beginning hour in which this world shall know the name Ainz Ooal Gown!" He announced.
He unclasped his hands and raised them to the sky, his aura boomed and expanded as more runic spell circles appeared and grew in size.
And it shall start with a change never before done in YGGDRASIL.
"[Super Tier Magic: Creation]!"
[Super Tier Magic: Creation]... The highest form of magic capable of changing the world's environment. It made spells like [Control Weather] look like child's play. In YGGDRASIL, this Super Tier Magic was used to alter environmental hazards to environments capable of providing benefits or outright nullifying the hazards completely. Unless protected by something on the scale of a World Item, it didn't matter how high level a zone, [Super Tier Magic: Creation] would alter it.
So why did Ainz attempt to use this spell to seal?
It was because this was the closest Super Tier Magic that Ainz had to compare with the World Item [Depiction of Nature and Society].
Since arriving, Ainz had started to know deviations of how spells worked in YGGDRASIL to a real world. They weren't too significant and rules still seemed to apply, but minor differences were still differences. And those were concerning low-tier spells, what if he used something on the scale of Super Tier?
This was his answer, the loophole he wished to accomplish was simple. What if instead of changing the local environment, he changed the 'environment' inside the [Sealing Crystal] to seal away the Three-Tails?
He'll use the combination of [Super Tier Magic: Creation] and an empty [Sealing Crystal] to imprison the Three-Tails.
The magic expanded outward and Ainz used the [Sealing Crystal] immediately. The item's normal coloration shifted and shined brightly in a diamond-esque hue, almost blindingly so it glowed like a beacon. Then, shards of magical energy appeared out of its light and shot off with great speed before shattering among the shell of the Tailed Beast who broke out of its paralysis but was helpless as the areas which the fragments burst formed spots of light that spread and encased the creature.
When the entire Three-Tails was naught but an effigy of light, it shrunk and condensed into a small ball and returned like a bullet to the [Sealing Crystal]'s position.
That was, however, when something went wrong.
A [Sealing Crystal] was supposed to seal away magical energy which formed a spell, not a mass of chakra which formed a creature. However, [Super Tier Magic: Creation] had changed its 'environment' to be able to seal something different.
However, the object's YGGDRASIL rules did not allow for a creature to be sealed into an item.
It could seal the creature, but it can't seal it into an item.
This was a contradiction.
But it has been used, it must fulfill its action.
When the small ball of light that made up the Tailed Beast's current state made contact with the [Sealing Crystal], the item shattered apart completely, the immense magical energy poured into it earlier changed direction and enveloped the ball before shifting course rapidly and sealing away its collected quarry into the nearest non-item entity.
Which at this time, by just the narrowest margin, was a petite blonde with blue eyes.
Tanya found herself the target and was too stunned by all that happened to react, not that she had the speed to move in time regardless.
The ball of light entered Tanya and the sigil of the guild Ainz Ooal Gown engraved into her skin, it glowed brilliantly through her clothing at her upper torso before dimming away.
As the light show ended, the magical energy dispersed, and the sounds still and silent, it took the kunoichi and their Lord a full minute to react to the now true fact that Tanya had been made a Jinchuuriki.
"Eeeeeeeh!?" It had suitably been everyone's response.
Post AN: I never do this, but I wanted to comment here to state that this ends the Three-Tails Arc. I know a select few of you will question about Guran and Yukimaru's character arc which had been interrupted due to changes done by Ainz and Nadeshiko. But that will be left up to the butterfly effect. I'll end the AN here. I'm excited to hear your responses to this long chapter!
