Chapter 6: Teaching can go both ways (Part I)
(07:00 pm)
~ Front of Naruko's Apartment building ~
As Naruko appeared she marveled at how her body had grown accustomed to the fast travel system. It was certainly extra useful after how her body felt right now. If she was willing to bet that if she were to look herself in a mirror all she would see was a collection of bruises, cuts, and dirt.
"Maybe taking up Gai-sensei's offer to be Bushy Brow's training partner was not such a good idea, dattebayo." the blonde girl told herself while limping towards her home.
"Well, look at the bright side! At least you now know hand to hand combat or taijutsu as the shinobi call it. Plus, Gai-sensei did give you a few scrolls and videotapes with proper basic forms for you to start learning basic stances. Not to mention he also gave you notes on how to keep a balanced diet and a good starting workout schedule." Benihime said trying to make her partner feel better. The small chuckle from girl told her it wasn't needed.
"That was a nice plus to becoming a training dummy. Hopefully, with those notes, I'll one day get to be an actual challenge for Bushy Brow. At least he's fun to fight and he did give me pointers on how to move when attacking or defending while we were sparing." Naruko commented while reminiscing about what happened today.
After Tenten had asked the blonde what the academy student was doing in the training area Naruko told them about how Goto had insulted her mother. She told them how each word out of Goto's mouth just kept adding more and more fuel to the fire until she finally exploded. The Uzumaki didn't know why she was covered in chakra during this but she explained that it made her feel far stronger than she had ever been before. At saying this the girl noticed the jonin seem to be in deep thought over the information.
When the kunoichi in training asked about what he was thinking the man looked at her seriously and asked her to explain what she was feeling in detail. Confuse but trusting the man Naruko explained that it was as if her body was on fire from the power running through it while her skin felt as tough as steel. Her sense seemed to been enhanced to the point she could hear her opponent's heartbeat. But the strangest part for her was how she could feel the rage wanting to eat her until only a beast was left.
Hearing about the anger the shinobi took on more serious looked that was not missed by his team or the kunoichi in training. They had expected for him to ask it but instead, the man questioned how the girl managed to control herself enough to decide to step away. Hearing the question Naruko had bitten her lips before saying she had started practicing meditation to clear her mind. Other people like the Hokage or Iruka would have never taken that answer seriously without seen proof first since they knew the girl but Gai only knew the Uzumaki by reputation. Therefore, while he could tell the academy student was hiding some of the truth, he still trusted her.
As a result, the jonin sensei decided to explain what he thought the girl had experienced. It was there the children learned that the girl had just manifested the technique known as Battle Aura. Bushy Brow had immediately asked if that meant the Naruko had started to unlocked something called the Eight Inner Gates while looking at the girl as if he just found a true rival. Gai had laughed heartily before saying that while that could layer be a possibility right now what she used was a safer version of the technique which people tended to use instinctively during high-stress situations. He also explained that it had a similar effect as resealing the Gate of Opening and the user could only maintain this powered-up state by consuming their chakra.
However, the technique three mayor limits that prolonged users of it found out. First was that the user must have a physically fit body to maintain a Battle Aura for more than 15 seconds. But even a taijutsu specialist like Gai himself had only ever managed to maintain this technique for 5 minutes before the exhaustion became too much. The second was that most power-up people have managed to gain from this was an x4 multiplier to their strength before they ran out of chakra to feed the technique. The third and final drawback of the Battle Aura was that the human body could not use this technique in conjunction with the opening of the inner gates without it being killing the user immediately.
After that explanation and warning, the jonin noticed it was time for lunch. He offered to invite them all to Yakiniku Q. The genins naturally accepted the free meal but Naruko had initially declined on account of being used to places not allowing her to enter or simply not serving here at all. Gai however, refused to take no for an answer. Sighing the young blonde begrudgingly accepted after getting her helmet and goggles. The whiskered girl had a small chuckle at Neji's expense when he glared at seeing the leather helmet disappeared when she up on the green goggles back on her head.
After that, they did a small race between the genin towards the village that with Lee winning, Neji in second place, Tenten in third and finally Naruko bringing up the rear by a large margin. They had to wait for her to get there which the panda girl asked about in worry. Naruko while trying to catch her breath lied saying it was probably the side effects of using the Battle Aura for the first time and her sister accepted it at face value because at the end of the day it didn't matter. Benihime for her part explained her slow speed was a consequence of her stats being reset when Gamer Soul had been installed.
It was here the team noticed how Naruko had put on the fox hood over her head and moved at a pace that would not disturb its position. Normally that alone was suspicions but when she only talked back in a soft and calm voice Tenten had to ask what was wrong. This time Naruko answered with sprinkles of truth by saying she just didn't want people to know she was technically playing hooky and didn't want the ANBU to bring her back to school today especially after the way she left. The female teenager giggled at that and left it alone for old-times sakes. Neji could be heard grumbling about "bad influences" but everyone ignored him.
Once they reach the restaurant the team entered, got themselves a table and waited for the waiter to take their order. Naruko, for her part, took off her hood and waited for the inedible as she stat besides her honorary sister. Sure enough, the moment a young man came to take their orders his eye landed on her. The fool gave the girl a small glare before turning back to the surprised team with a smile.
| Flashback ~ Start! |
"Hello, my name is Sato and I'll be your waiter for today. So, what will the four of you be ordering today?" the black-haired waiter asked with a smile.
"I believe you mean five, Sato-san." the mini-Gai corrected with a polite tone but you could see the anger over the disrespect in he had just seen before his eyes.
"Beg your pardon?" Sato replied with genuine confusion over why he had been corrected. It made Naruko roll her eyes at how obvious the guy was being. So, not wanting a confrontation and making a mental photo of the guys to make him her next target, the whiskered girl started getting up. She didn't even get a centimeter off the chair before her sister's hand brought her back down.
"I believe Lee-kun said there are five of us here or did you forget to count Knives here after you glared at her?" Tenten inquired with a stare as cold and sharp as one of her weapons at the soon to be dead-man. Even Neji, who still wanted to beat the Uzumaki senseless, was staring at the guy like he was an idiot. Then the waiter laughed and smirked towards the whiskered girl.
"Oh no, I didn't forget. We just don't serve her kind here."
| Flash Back ~ End! |
Had it not been for Gai-sensei materializing behind the fool and pulling him away the waiter would have lost what little evidence there was that he was a male. Reason being the sharp naginata the very angry weapon mistress had pulled out of nowhere and had trusted to where his family jewels had been. Yet the boy was not safe as the boisterous jonin laughed while no so gently dragging the young man to talk with him and the owner. After that, they only waited for a couple of minutes before a new employee came to withe the sensei in tow. This time it had been a young and cute waitress that didn't even dare look at Naruko without smiling.
Then as they cooked and ate the food the academy student learn that Team Gai was in the training ground because it was their mandatory week vacation from the C rank mission, they had just come back from. When the young girl asked why then, were they training instead of resting Gai and Lee laughed in unison as she had told the funniest joke ever. She also noticed how the weapon mistress also laughs but it was far deader and with haunted eyes. Almost fearing the answer, the young asked her sister if she was okay.
"Oh, don't worry Knives. It's just that Team Gai's motto is to always strive to be stronger than the day, hour, a minute or second you were before."
Even someone was dense the Naruko Uzumaki could recognize the haunted look her big sister was given her. The preteen wisely chose to forgo that line of questioning and proceeded to stuff her face with food. Thankfully, the rest of the meal was a rather normal affair with them talking about their lives, how things were in the academy and a few details about the Genin Exam that the Uzumaki didn't know about. Then there was the part were the sisters started getting reacquainted while the boys learn about their teammate's "criminal" past. After the food, Gai once more invited Naruko for another round of training once they properly rested. Tenten was quick to agree for her and the rest was history as the gamer was introduced to the Gai Might's Youthful Training for the Spring Time of Youth training program!
"At least now I know I can't fully heal practice injuries with my magic. I'm going to need some healing items to cure these scraps or that least a long sleep." Naruko commented as she finally got to the third floor. But soon the girl glared as she noticed her front door was open. "Benihime, would it be possible for you to check who is inside?"
The fairy nodded and proceeded to fly into the apartment. The door was open just enough for the little creature to enter without a problem. Benihime was quickly assaulted with a caravan of delicious smells coming from the kitchen. Wondering why that was the fairy slowly flew to the kitchen only to be surprised by the sight of one Iruka Umino cooking. Wondering if what she was seeing was an illusion the Navi used a small burst of chakra to destroy any genjutsu in the area but found none. Iruka, however, did notice the small fluctuation of chakra and turned towards the fairy.
The scarred chunin turned around to greet who he thought would be the infamous trickster queen. Benihime could see the confusion written on his face one nothing greeted him. Then she noticed him grab one of the kitchen knives, place the handle in his mouth and proceeded to do through some hand signs. That told the fairy she should not be there and bolted to the door. As she passed the door and looked behind it turned out that the jutsu had just been a sensor technique. Thankfully being close to the Uzumaki masked her small signature.
"Oh, Naruko-chan! It's me, Iruka-sensei. Come in, I need to talk about what happened today." the chunin could be heard from inside the small dwelling.
"Iruka-sensei? What's he doing here?" the gamer questioned with a raised eyebrow in confusion. The Navi for her part sat on the whiskered girl's shoulder.
"He was cooking food for you. But I guess he also wants to know what you did today after you disappeared." the redhead answered. With that, both females entered the Uzumaki's home to meet the warm welcome of the friendly chunin instructor. But once the man saw the girl's condition he gasped.
"Naruko-chan! What happened to you?" the scarred man gasped as he saw the Uzumaki's injured state. Then, much to the girl's humor, he started fussing over her like a mother hen.
"I'm okay sensei! I was just training with a jonin named Gai Might." the girl informed with a slight grin as she softly batted the man's hands.
"Is that where you've been the whole day?" the chunin asked with an incredulous look at the girl's battered body. To him, it looked more like the trouble maker had gotten into a street brawl and lost badly. He did notice how some of the smaller cuts were slowly healing even. Though the girl didn't notice it since the pace was very slow. Still, it was far too fast for either a civilian or shinobi. 'Is this part of her curse? Maybe there might be a plus to having that monster sealed in her.' he thought with a level of guilt for keeping that secret from his grinning student.
"Yeah, I went to a training ground to blow off some steam. Turns out the one I chose was occupied but Gai-sensei decided to help me when he saw me. Something about it being very youthful to help a fellow shinobi enjoy their springtime of youth." Naruko explained to her teacher while unaware of the teacher's inner turmoil. Then she sniffed around as the smell of food finally hit her. "By the way, what are you cooking? It smells delicious!"
"Don't get your hopes up too much. It's just some rice with fried chicken. I'm not much of a chef and you had very little in the way of ingredients so I had to go out and buy them." Iruka answered with a small chuckle as he stood up.
"Yeah, I've been meaning to buy supplies for a while but I've been busy." the small girl confessed while scratching the back of her head in embarrassment.
"I'll say…" the man started as he looked around the clean apartment. "Last time I came here the whole apartment looked like the whole village threw their garbage here. Now I think this place cleaner than it's ever been."
"It better be clean. I nearly died twice cleaning this place." Naruko muttered under her breath. The chunin heard it but just chucked it up to the girl exaggerating things like any child did when they had to do chores. Then again, having to clean the whole apartment building by herself must having exhausting even for someone with nearly limited energy like the blonde troublemaker.
"By the way, where are your first-aid kit? The food is nearly done so you could look for it while I serve our food."
"Sorry, sensei but I used the last of it ages ago and ever bother to buy more. I kind of always healed fast anyway." the girl answered before Benihime reminded her of the herbs. She nodded before quickly following the instructions and fake rummaging through her jacket while materializing the healing item. "I did pick up these herbs I saw on a training ground," she announced after producing said brown bag full of herbs and handed it to the instructor.
"Wow, those are some good quality herbs. May do you good to remember where you pick those up." Iruka commented in surprise at seeing the quality of the leaves inside the bag. Then there was the quantity of them as the small fist size bag as practically overflowing with the fresh greens. Seeing this as an opportunity to teach the student a valuable skill he started looking through the pockets of his chunin jacket. Then he pulled out a small storage scroll and summoned an item set that he handed to the kunoichi in training. "Here. Use the mortar and pestle to ground them into a paste. We'll use that on your wounds."
"That's going to sting isn't it," Naruko commented while grabbing the grey stone tools.
With that, they walked to the kitchen/dining room where Iruka continued to finish the food while Naruko sat at the dining table. After that, the teacher told the student to put the leaves on the mortar and with a decent amount of strength to smash and roll the leaves until they turn them into a paste. At first, the girl was just smashing the pestle like it was a hammer but the sensei quickly corrected her so she wouldn't break either of the items. After that, the girl did as she was instructed and lost herself in the rhythm of making the new healing item. During this, she did notice that Iruka had gone full teacher mode to give her a full lecture on the usage of healing herbs and their usage over history.
Like most times she promptly zoned out the lesson.
Benihime, on the other hand, seemed to be entered by the man's voice so maybe the teacher did reach someone that day.
[An Herb |Common| and an Empty Bottle |Common| have been consumed.]
[You have created Medical Cream (Good) |Common|]
[Through practice and following your teacher's instructions you've unlocked the Crafting Skill: Herbalism.]
[Crafting Skill: Herbalism [Lv1]
Description – herbalism is one of the branches of the crafting arts know as Alchemy. This skill helps the herbalist measure their mastery over the use of pants to create a variety of potions from healing medicines to deadly poisons. The higher the herbalist's level the stronger and complex will be the concoctions they can make.
Lv1 – lets the user craft low-level potions and poisons
Lv1 – Increases the quality of the concoction by one level]
"Well, what do you know? Following the teacher's instructions does help in the long run." Naruko proclaimed in slight awe at both the new skill and the small clear jar with green cream that materialized before her.
"If only you and every other student would have learned that earlier I would have so many headaches." Iruka Umino could be heard muttering while turning off the stove. Then he turned to look at what the girl had done and raised an eyebrow at the result. "You do know you didn't have to put it on a jar, right?"
"Sorry, I kind of got lost in the moment." the girl answered with partial truth while grabbing her new item and inspecting it. "It felt calming working on that so I just kept going until everything was finished."
"Can't argue with the results. So, what do you want to do right now? Eat now and take a bath later or take the bath first?"
"As much as I want to eat right now, I think I'll take a bath first. That way the cream won't wash off. But please, you eat first sensei."
Thus, the Uzumaki went to her bathroom while leaving the adult surprised at the way she was acting. See, what the girl hadn't noticed was that normally the person known as Naruko Uzumaki was very implosive and would have eaten first before anything. Thankfully Iruka had a soft spot for the little hell-raiser and instead of thinking like a ninja, which meant thinking something was happening with the girl, he thought the Uzumaki was just starting to mature. Though he did hope that didn't she discovered that boys exist. That mental image of the Uzumaki joining the fangirls sent a shiver down his spine.
Back with the gamer, she was already at the bathroom and disrobing when it finally clicked that she could see the screens again. When Naruko asked her Navi the creature said the lock had been undone after they left the Hyuga genin's sight. With that knowledge, the girl opened up the quest window as she waited for the hot water to fill the tub and the cold water for the bucket. What she saw made her frown but not surprised.
[Quest: Aim for the top! (FAILED)]
[Challenge: Low-level run (FAILED)
[̸̢̤͑͛̌̈́Ą̸̲̾̇̀̎͘f̷̼̗̥͎̿̃̕f̸̡̬̹̼͇̓̎̈́̅͛͑ͅi̵͔͛͂́̑̃͌ṅ̷͖̼ḭ̸̝̙͕͈̖͝ṯ̵͚̦͎̤̲͂̅̔̇̋y̶̢̨̥͕̑͆̋ͅ ̶͕͆͋̎̽͝Q̸̻͓̝̱̄ṳ̸̝̘́̅͋́̉͜ȇ̷̮̳͎͇͈͒s̵̢̖͇̼͔̽́͒̉͌͠t̷̗͍͚͈̑̓:̴̛̮̰͋̈́͝ ̷̰̝͍͍̏͑̉̎̽̑O̷̡̧̮̜̍͛͒̕ṛ̷̟̲̱̹̿͆͒̈p̷̛̞̤͇̥̱̮͗̂̉͝h̵̖̺̏̄̂͘á̷̘̫͐̚n̶̨͔̹̼͕͒̈̋̕'̷̛̠̯̪̳̯͋̔́̂͒s̵̟̠̠͉̮̱̔͂͑̕ ̷̨͉̪̽́͒͝Ŗ̸͕̃̾̔̑̄͌a̴̪̱̬͆̓ͅģ̶̰̗́̄̅͝ȇ̵͈̥̥̟̬̇̃̄ ̴̡͍̣͉̀̿̅̕(̷̤̲̜͚̼̘̊̇͛͐̕͝F̷͙̖̥͔̿̈́͘A̷̙̖͍̤̾̾I̸͉̗̪̎̀̽L̴͚̔̅͒͋͛̀E̸̗͈͂͛̚͝D̷͔̞̪͖̬̊̒̈̒͜)̸̨̝̤̺͇̋̿̚]̸͉̲͎̼̐͝]
[Quest: Beat that pervert into that ground! (FAILED)]
[Challenge: Race against Team Guy (FAILED)]
[Challenge: Land 3-hits on Rock Lee (FAILED)]
"Those are a lot of failed quest for a single day." the gamer muttered at see today's results. "Wait a minute, that's that weird red and black quest?"
Letting curiosity get the better of her the blonde clicked the broken quest to see if they could decipher what it was. The moment her fingers touched the red and black bar it felt like a bolt of electricity ran through her arms. Along with the white-hot pain from it came a return of all the rage she had felt against Goro. But this was only a fleeting moment as she quickly snapped her hand away from the screen. Still, the burning sensation stayed in her fingertips.
"Naruko-san, your hand!" Benihime gasped which prompted said girl to look at the appendage. Not a second later the girl yelled in panic as she saw the red and orange flames covering her arm. Thinking fast she plunged the hand into the water filling the tub. A second later the Uzumaki blinked as she managed to perfectly see the fire inside the water before said water started to violently bubble. Regretfully just as she was about to comment on it the water erupted like a volcano and scalded her face.
[You have been hit by boiling water! You have been afflicted with Burn status!]
The girl cursed in pain as she rolled around on the ground while holding her face. Hearing the screams Iruka ran towards the bathroom but being a gentleman stopped and knocked, if frantically, on the door to ask if she was alright. Thinking quickly the girl answered that she was alright just surprised because the water exploded after she put too much chakra in it when trying to heat it. At the same time, the gamer pulled out an Anti-burn and sprayed it on her face to stop the burning.
"Okay, Naruko. But be careful and try not to do that again. Nature chakra can be very dangerous and especially so for people that don't have good chakra control." Iruka's voice was heard through the door.
"It's okay, sensei. I just figured as much!" Naruko answered back and noticed that the fire around her hand had dissipated somewhat. Yet in its wake, the usually tanned skin had darkened a shade more while her nails were now an inch long. Not to mention they became so black they seemed to be eating the light around them and from the glint, the girls could tell the nails were sharped as any recently sharpened sword. Then the Uzumaki noticed her partner was looking at her in surprise and pointing at the mirror.
Already dreading what she would find the girl got up and walked to the mirror over the sink. Yet even that could not have prepared her for the feral image of herself staring back. Her eyes had become blood red with black slits for pupils. Then her whiskered marks had darkened to become more pronounced. Then the feral child's tongue could feel that now canines had slightly elongated to the point one could almost see the upper ones poking out of her lip. Thankfully she felt the Gamer Mind activate to calmer her down and not cause another scene.
This helped the red-eyed girl take a calming breath before looking at the new parts. To her surprise, the obsidian nails started dissipating like burning paper. Next was her skin getting back to its normal natural tanned shade. Looking back at the mirror the Uzumaki looked out in wonder as her whisker marks receded into thin lines while her eyes turned back to their regular cerulean.
"Okay… that was freaky." Naruko commented as her body returned to normal. "Any ideas?" she asked the fairy.
"There are a few possibilities but we would need a bottle of holy water and a drop of your blood first," Benihime answered while summoning a small crystal jar filled with holy water.
"Let me guess. If the blood burns I'm a demon." the whiskered girl snarked as she helped to open the jar by turning the holy cross on top of the cork.
"If you were a demon the blood will burst into flames before touching the water. Then if you're a half-demon the blood will boil when it lands on the water. However, if you are just a human nothing is will happen."
Once the jar was opened Naruko summoned her steel scythe and made little cut her finger with the blade. The weapon was quickly dismissed and the girl put the cut finger over the now opened jar. For the girl, time seemed to slow down to a crawl as the blood started to exist the wound. All of her concentration was invested on the one droplet of blood that escaped and fell towards the light-infused water. Up still today she had never believed when people called her a monster but after seeing that transformation she was spooked. Then when the blood harmlessly fell into the holy water without causing it to boil relief overcame her.
"Phew, that's a burden off my…" the non-demon started saying in happiness right before the jar cracked. Seconds later the crystal shattered and spilled the water all over the sink. "shoulders. Great, what does that mean?!"
"It means you're a human but with a lot of demonic powers." the small redhead answered and then inquired "Where you born near a demon's den or by an area covered in strong miasma?"
"I was born on the same day the Yondaime Hokage defeated the Kyubi no Yoko."
"Yep, that will do it. On the plus side, we now know what the other chakra you can use is. Its demonic chakra which is fueled by your anger or other negative emotions. Also, its that rage and violent emotions that taint the chakra and give it that red-orange coloring. Now more than ever we'll have to start practicing your meditation so you can learn to control it. But for now, let's clean up so we don't keep Iruka-san waiting."
At the fairy's suggestion, the adventurer quickly soaped, scrubbed and soaked her body clean of the day's grime. Then she took care of her hair and carefully removed that clumps of dirt stuck to it. When that was finished she entered the tub now full of hot water and let the Gamer Body do its magic. Soon enough the residual aches and pain all around the tried body started dissipating. Unconsciously she let out a small moan of satisfaction as she closed her eyes and took in the soothing sensation the warm water was giving her. Had the girl had her eyes open she would have noticed her body was glowing a soft blue light which was the effects of her chakra gently massaging her aching muscles. The glow, however, didn't last long as when Naruko opened her eyes there was not a trace of it over her skin. She still had some cuts and bruises but at least most of the pain was gone. After that Naruko got up and went to dry herself.
"Hey, Beni-chan…" Naruko started while wrapping a towel around herself after drying most of the water. "I'm been thinking of telling Iruka-sensei about the Gamer Soul."
"What? Why would you even do that? Revealing your powers to him could put him in grave danger!"
"You do realize you're telling me that I would be putting a trained killer who can bend the elements to his whim and can hide in the shadow with ease in trouble, right?"
"Okay, now that you put it like that maybe the "a superhero must keep their identity a secret" excuse doesn't work in a world where everyone can have superpowers doesn't work. Still, a good rule of thumb would be to keep most if not all of your abilities hidden from people you do not trust."
"Oh, don't worry about the list. Excluding you, the only people I can trust with this power are Iruka-sensei, Jiji and possibly Ten-nee since Ichiraku-san and Ayame-chan aren't ninjas so they don't need to know about it."
"Only three people? What about Hinata-san? Weren't you going to make her a party member?"
"AHA! I knew I had a party member function!"
"Yes and no. I'll explain when you make Iruka-sensei a party member." Benihime informed while taking note of how fast the girl was to dodge the question about trusted friends.
Wondering what the fairy meant the girl made a quick ran to her room to change into a pair of black sleep shorts and an adult size orange t-shirt. Benihime thought it was funny how the shirt reached well pass the Uzumaki's knees. Still, it would do its job of sleepwear without a problem. After which she walked to the kitchen and meet her teacher who was waiting for her with the dinner ready.
"Iruka-sensei I have something to tell you something. But right now, I have to ask you… I know the day a was born and I've heard that people born close to powerful miasma can gain certain demonic aspects. Now that I think about it I kind of explains my whisker marks and how my hair seems to turn into tails whenever I get angry." Naruko said before getting serious. "Anyway, what I wanted to ask you was… What do you think of me? Do you see me as a person or as a demon-like everyone else in this village? Please don't lie to me."
Iruka stared at the girl cautiously after the question. Today had been rather strange in association with the small Uzumaki. At first, he had thought the girl was just finally trying to apply herself. But after that line of questions, it made him analyze the girl's behavior more closely. For starters, the girl acted far calmer than usual, showed more prowess with her chakra control, took time to aim her weapons and even when she got mad the blonde thought it was better to go away and cool down instead of staying to fight while angered. It was as if the girl had rapidly mentally matured over the weekend and in the process, the troublemaker he had become accustomed to was gone.
Had this been a mission he would have thought this was an enemy shinobi trying and failing to impersonate the energetic blue-eyed girl. But three things proved to him that this was the Naruko Uzumaki he knew. The first reason being that as far as he knew no one outside those that lived through that tragic night knew the identity of the jinchuriki of the Kyubi. The second was that he had felt the very brief burst of demonic chakra from the bathroom which had been the real reason he had run towards the bathroom moments ago. Finally, the third reason was that he saw genuine fear and vulnerability in those blue eyes.
It had taken him time to heal from the death of his parents during the Kyubi attack. But now he was in a much better place and had grown a soft spot for the demon container. The first time he saw her as a babe his younger self had hated her, but now he knew much better about the lovely if troublesome child. Hence, Iruka did what he promised to do if the girl ever came to him with questions or doubts about her humanity.
"Naruko-chan, I want you to listen to me clearly because I want you to know I am speaking the truth." the scarred male started as he got up and kneed to see her eye to eye. "I think that you are one of the strongest, bravest and stubborn persons I know. It may have taken me years to learn between therapy, meeting and talking to you but I learned that you are not a monster. And I also want you to always remember this when someone tells you otherwise. "A scroll will never be the kunai sealed inside it." Always remember that because no matter what everyone says about you so long as you don't let evil rule over you, Naruko Uzumaki is not a monster."
Both Naruko and Benihime heard the conviction on his voice and saw in his eyes that without a doubt Iruka believe in what he was saying. For the whiskered girl, this was truly the first time anyone had so passionately said to her that she was not a monster. All of this time people threw an insult at her like it was a sport but not Iruka-sensei. Even when he called her things like idiot or knuckle-head during the time she got in trouble hate was never felt in his voice. That had always intrigued her and one of the reasons she liked getting the man's attention through mischief since that was the only way at the time she knew how at the time.
'Now I know why he doesn't hate me. He overcame his hate and looked for the real me.' Naruko thought with a small gracious smile forming as she felt tears start falling for her eyes. The whiskered gamer didn't give the teacher a chance to ask why she was crying before she threw her arms around him in a fierce hug. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei. Even Jiji has never said something like that." Upon hearing those words, the chunin blinked in surprise before he reciprocated the hug. How much time passed as the two hugged and the child cried they did not know. However, when they finally did separate the girl's eyes were red and puffy.
"Feeling better?"
"Yeah, it seems a good cry does help." Naruko proclaimed with a grin while drying her eyes. After that, she summoned one of her screens though to the teacher it looked like she was playing with the air. "Now as for what I wanted to talk about. Well, I think showing would be for the best."
[Naruko Uzumaki has asked to join her party.]
[Will you join?]
[YES/NO]
Iruka jumped back slightly when he saw the transparent glowing blue window appeared in front of his face. To his surprise, the screen followed him as he tried to move back and away from it. The little chase made the Uzumaki snort before the girl told him to just click the [YES] button. He threw a small glare at the academy student but did as he was told. To his surprise, he felt his finger pressing the surface of the window before it clicked and it was gone. Next thing the dolphin knew his eyes burned enough that he had to close them. But it only lasted for a second and after a few blinks, his vision returned to normal.
(P2) Iruka Umino [Lv48] ~Chunin Instructor~
XP: 15,784/19,996
HP: 4,850/4,850
MP: 2,690/2,690
(Leader) Naruko Uzumaki [Lv3] ~Trickster Queen~
HP: 101 / 101
MP: 1,444 / 1,444
"What is this?" the new party member asked upon seeing his and the girl's name alongside bars on the left side of his peripheral vision. Quickly turning to the girl in question he noticed that not only did she have those bars over her head but also the appearance of another person. The scarred man's eyes widen when he saw the small floating creature beside the girl. "Naruko-chan, what is all of this?"
"Why don't we discuss this while we eat? Benihime and I are starving!"
With that, the gamer and her fairy companion went to the dinner table to start eating. That made the chunin's eye twitch in frustration. At least that act was a confirmation that this girl still had some of the old Uzumaki he knew in her. With a sigh, he joined the two girls in their mission to fill their stomachs. Regretfully for him, no amount of training prepared him for the story the girls told him. Then as if to cement the weirdness the little redheaded fairy opened another window that shows video evidence of their first successful dungeon.
Iruka could only blink as he saw Naruko fighting and killing those monsters. Then he becomes terrified at the image of the Uzumaki bleeding to death only to be safe at the last moment. Next came the amazement over the fight against the giant cockroach wielding swords. His jaw dropped when the whiskered girl finally killed it.
'Incredible! She's still in the academy but already fought and killed a chakra mutation that large! A monster that size would normally take at least two full chunin teams to take down. Just how strong has this Gamer Soul made her?' he had thought in wonder. Then his chopsticks fell and were left abandoned when the humongous figure of the roach empress was shown. Panic was about to set in as he saw the monster but that rapidly turned into petty and confusion at seeing the thing killed with barely a fight. "How were you able to kill that monster so easily?"
"Firebombed it to death. I thought the video showed that pretty well." Naruko answered with confusion as to why the man-made the question. Then she felt a small poke on her cheek which made her look at her fairy.
"I think what he means is that normally chakra mutations that big are incredibly powerful and dangerous," Benihime explained and turned towards the teacher. "Am I correct in this assumption, Unimo-san?"
"Yes, Benihime-san. Chakra mutations are rare but they do happen when creatures are exposed to a great deal of natural chakra. Yet even the weakest ones are considered C-Rank missions bordering on B-Rank. Still, only seasoned chunins are allowed on those missions. Just how much stronger have you gotten in these last three days, Naruko-chan?"
"Not by much. Getting the Gamer Soul reset most of my stats to 1 and during this time I've only gotten two levels. I've seen first years that are already level 8 so they could probably kick my butt if I'm not careful."
"How is that possible? Naruko-chan, I know you and you're by far one of the strongest students in class in terms of physical strength."
"Not anymore. As I said before, part of the deal of getting my powers was to start from the beginning. But I'm going to start training for real tomorrow and hopefully be even stronger than the day before."
"I still don't get these levels you're talking about. I understand they represent your power but are they an absolute?"
"Not completely, Unimo-san." the fairy explained before summoning the screens with Naruko's stats and skills to show the chunin. "See, a player's level determines a general overall gauge of a person's power and the measure of the experience they've accumulated over their life and adventures. However, they are not absolute values as they don't take into account the attributes you gain from equipment, abilities, jobs, titles or specialties one may have or acquired. Hence, there could be a low-level player with high-level attributes. Though it should be noted that the level restrictions imposed by the Gamer Soul only affect Naruko-chan as she is now, in essence, a videogame character.
Although her knowing that she is one those open the possibility of abusing parts of the system. This being said Naruko-chan can't turn people into videogame characters as far as I know without them relinquishing all their free will to her. Therefore they remain normal humans and the only reason they possess levels alongside HP and MP bars its because Naruko-chan sees the world like that now. In other words, status bars and attribute points are the away our Uzumaki perceives and understands the world. Because of this when party members or humans in general level up they only get 100HP and 55MP."
"Why would that be? Shouldn't my party members gain attributes growth as well." the Uzumaki quested.
"As I said before, it's because they aren't PCs who can be fully controlled by you. You could call everyone else NPCs but ones that truly have a will of their own. Because of this, their traits grow just like it does for every other human. Through hard work, practice, exercise and training different aspects of themselves separately or in conjunction depending on the work-out. Thus, when people level up you could just consider it a mostly empty level since only their chakra and durability increases." the Navi informed.
"Okay, that makes me feel a little bit better with how people get more HP than me on a level up. But still, doesn't that mean my bloodline limit can forcibly decrease a person's chakra reserves when I see them for the first time or increase them when they level."
"I don't think that is correct Naruko-chan. Benihime-san, when it comes to the numbers of people you said they work as an arbitrary place holder. Would this mean that these numbers are there so that Naruko-chan can understand or at least visualize their power with easy to read numerical values?" the teacher inquired as he started understanding a little more about his student's new powers.
"Yes, that is mostly correct Iruka-san." the Navi agreed with a nod and added "As for the increase part, it can be considered forceful but it by a negligible margin. It's a fast growth for a single instance and could cause some slight pain but should not be considered dangerous. Think of it as if the person's body absorbed chakra from the world to expand their pathway or how mages are normally depicted as drinking in the mana of the world to increase their mana reserves."
"Okay so then that means the numbers are there to help you, Naruko-chan. That way you can determine if someone is in danger so you can heal them with your healing spells are you call them."
"Really? That sounds kind of weird." the whiskered blonde commented in confusion as she thought 'Why wouldn't my party members level up as well. Sure, I'm the only one with the Gamer Body but should the party function tell them to have some of my powers? I don't think bloodline limits can be shared like that but mine was… created by…' As the young gamer concluded reached a conclusion her eye started twitching. "Don't tell me. It was too much of a hassle for your creator to implement an accurate measuring system that monitors my party member's growth. So that part was forgotten or deleted altogether." She accused while looking at the pixel wing creature who chuckled in embarrassment. her suspicions confirmed Naruko could only sigh in exasperation. "I think I'm starting to hate that stupid lazy thing that made you."
Iruka pitied the young girl and lightly patted her head like one would expect a father to do. Still, with all the information, he had gotten from the girl his mind was thinking of how things have changed. This power was new and probably never before seen bloodline limit with nearly limitless potential. This literal gift from the gods had turned the Uzumaki into the proverbial golden goose. Something that was both great for the village but could be very dangerous for the girl should the less moral people learn of her potential. As such he knew what their next course of action should be.
"I think we should tell Hokage-sama about this. That way at least you could have some protection from less savory people that may want to use your power for their gain." the scarred chunin suggested/ordered while trying to show through his tone how serious things were now.
"How could they use it for their gain? Only I can level up effectively." the gamer asked in confusion. Benihime had already told them the points on everyone but her were just numbers for her to understand the world. Then the teacher started numbering what people could gain from her powers.
"From the top of my head I could say the dungeons could give people access to limitless money, weapons, jutsus, never before seen materials and higher quality supplies," he informed while counting with his finger for added effect. Then the fairy added her two coins over another the possible abuses of the Gamer Soul.
"It should also be mention that humans have an uncanny ability for capturing and taming wild animals. So, the possibility that they could enter a dungeon, capture a monster and then train them into weapons exists."
At explanation, they could see the young blonde's face slowly lose its color in horror. Then again just imagining an army comprised of monsters from games like Final Fantasy, Castlevania, DragonQuest or any other crazy RPG under the control of a power-hungry madman would do that to anyone. Plus, the girl did not like the image of her in chains and tattered rags being forced to open portals so the other could hunt while she stained in a cage for the rest of her life.
"Okay, yeah. That would be bad. I wouldn't be surprised if someone learns of that and tries to kidnap me to brainwash me into working for them. Plus, Jiji could teach me ways to detect these people and how to fight back against possible mental attacks." Naruko agreed while trying the shake away the cold shiver that ran down her spine at the images. Seeing this Iruka patted her head again in a reassuring manner.
"It's decided then. We have to meet the Hokage tonight. It may be late but if we move quickly, we may get to the Sandaime before he goes to leaves his office." the teacher announced with a confident smile.
"Actually sensei," Naruko said while very familiar grin forming on her lips. A grin that the teacher knew all too well as he had been on the receiving end of it far too many times. "I know a shortcut to the Hokage's office building."
"I know I'm going to regret this."
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~ Hokage office building ~
Hiruzen Sarutobi was cursing his age right now as his back and shoulders creaked in pain. It was days like this one, when paperwork seemed unending, that his old body decided to remind him of how much he had been through. Still at least the pain told him he was alive and had not actually died buried under all of that paper.
"If I somehow managed to make it long enough to give Naruko this hat I'll make sure bring her the first wagon of paperwork with a grin on my face." the grandfather of the leaf proclaimed which earned him also near-silent laughs from his hidden bodyguards. "Speaking of our blonde trouble maker. Where did she go after leaving Team Gai?" he asked seriously. At the question, an ANBU with a falcon mask materializes kneeling before the leader's desk. After the salute, Falcon stood up and gave their report.
"Just like jonin Gai Might explain Naruko Uzumaki left for her home. Patrolling units could not see her route but the one around her home confirmed her arrival in a gust of wind. It was also reported that one chunin Iruka Umino was waiting for her with a warm dinner."
"That Iruka-kun definitely sees the girl as his daughter," Hiruken commented with a warm chuckle. This was just one of the many times the leader had heard of the chunin either buying or making food for the whiskered orphan. 'And to think when he was younger, he had sworn to always hate the demon. Take that you stupid politicians and bureaucrats for thinking assigning more psychologists to threat my shinobi was just a waste of money!' he cheered mentally.
That had been one of the more fearsome battles he had fought in politics right after the Kyubi attack and subsequent loss of the Yondaime. That night had been a great tragedy for the village and as he was once more the role of Kage he knew something had to be done. Hence during the rescue and rebuild process, he had made a plan to help more people positively deal with the grief. Hence, he had asked for help from the Yamanaka clan to either produce more psychologists or at least teach people how to help others with mental disorders and/or mourning. Some of the clan thought it was a bad idea to share some of their secrets with none clan members.
Thankfully the gran mayoralty saw this as a way to not only promote their abilities but also a chance to further study mental disorders with willing subjects and hopefully find cures or successful treatment to make the sufferers' lives easier. Regretfully there was still the stigmata over receiving said mental help on the civilian side. Hence many civilians thought that only the shinobi truly need it giving that nature of their profession. Still in the Sarutobi's mind having made psych care and evaluations mandatory on a set schedule had been a good decision when he saw the suicide rate for active and retired veterans drop sharply. They still happened regretfully but it was nowhere near to how it was years prior. Plus, this decree also helped people like Iruka overcome some past traumas.
'Another example could be the young Sasuke-kun. The things that boy saw that night left him as nothing but an empty shell that was slowly being filled by hate. Thankfully with some work, we managed to tame some of it. The boy can't seem to make friends yet but at least he doesn't seem repulsed by the idea. Hopefully, by the time he becomes a genin or during it he'll at least learn to trust his team and work with them.' the kage thought as once more his mind returned to the horrible night. 'Dammit, Danzo. All of this could have been avoided if you just let me talk peacefully with the clan!'
"Sandaime-sama, Boar has just reported that Uzumaki-san has once more disappeared from her home but this time she was accompanied by her chunin instructor," Falcon informed after having received the report from the radio in their ear.
"Are you sure about?" another voice on the ceiling questioned.
"After all of these years, we've learned not to joke around when it comes to the orange manse's disappearing acts, Neko-san," Falco commented while looking up. In response, the purple-haired cat ANBU landed on the floor.
"I wasn't talking to you Falcon-san. I was talking to Chameleon who just informed me that that Naruko and a dizzy Umino-san appeared in front of the building in a gust of wind." Neko told while walked to the window behind the Kage and pointed to the small blonde. Sure, enough when both men looked down, they saw the girl there laughing at her teacher that seemed about to puke his soul out.
'Impossible! Even with the Body flicker jutsu the distance between here and Naruko's apartment is too large. Could the rumor that she recreated an elemental version of the technique is true. No, even elemental versions do not change the maximum distance of the technique.' the God of Shinobi though as he analyzed this new information. 'Unless… Could it be she recreated Minato's Hiraishin?! But the description said she appeared in a gust of wind not a flash of light. Could this mean that she somehow managed to change the element of the technique? But that still doesn't take into account the anchor needed to form a destination point and not once have I been informed of Naruko practicing seals nor learning about their formulas. Just what is happening to you Naruko-chan?'
However, the thoughts of the old shinobi were soon interrupted by his secretary who informed him that the girl in question was there to see him. On a whim, he told Falcon and Neko to stay visible by his side. Then he told Osaka-san to let the academy and teacher in. The woman agreed without a problem and soon he was seeing the small troublemaker in front of this desk. Thankfully this time it wasn't because she was in trouble as far as he knew.
"Hello, Jiji! I hope those papers aren't still getting the better of you." Naruko greeted with a grin.
"Just wait until you're on this side of the desk and let's see who makes jokes you little brat." the grandfather quickly muttered in annoyance. Thankfully only the ANBU at his side managed to hear him and their training helped them not burst out laughing. "Don't worry Naruko-chan, there is still fight in this old bone. Anyway, what brings you and your teacher here? Anything to do with the disappearing act to did this morning perhaps?"
"In a way yeah." the whiskered girl answered with an embarrassed chuckle as she scratched the back of her head. "You see I kind of develop some new abilities. That teleportation I did is part of it alongside the healing jutsu I used on Ming-Ming and a few more that you'll find very interesting."
"Now? Would some of these new abilities be the sensor jutsu I felt you use in the Mint Lily?" the old shinobi asked with an intrigued smile.
"You could feel me use Scan?" the Uzumaki asked in confusion. As soon as she finished that question said skill activated. "Whoa, I forgot that was also voice-activated." the girl added as she blinked at the sudden discomfort of the technique activating against her will.
"What could you feel out, Naruko-chan?" the aged soldier inquired while taking note of the way the small blonde described the activation of the technique. 'Strange that it would activate by sound. Then again new sensors type can't control when their ability activates. No matter, proper training will let her control it soon enough.'
"Well, for starters I can see the outline of the ANBU hidden in the bookshelf to your right." the blonde commented while pointing at said area. Not a second after she said that Falcon, Neko and another ANBU appeared stabbing the mouth, neck, and heart of the hidden person. After which bloodstains appear in midair before the cloaking jutsu was canceled. Then in one smooth move, the bodyguards pulled out their weapons from the dead body, clad in similar clothing to their uniform, and sealed the corpse into a large scroll. After which the third leaf shadow excused themselves to deliver the body to be investigated. The whole process didn't take more than a couple of seconds and even with Gamer Mind active it left the academy slight shaken "T-T-That was an enemy ninja, right?"
"Yes, they've been here since your exit from the academy. We hadn't done anything to them to fool them into thinking we hadn't noticed them. *chuckle* You have no idea how easy it is to feed false information to someone spying on you that don't know they've been made. But since a novice sensor-type like you could detect them all our covers were blown and we had to act fast or the enemy would escape." Hiruzen informed in a tune that didn't hide how common this situation had become for him.
"Wouldn't you have gotten more information out of them have you captured them?" Naruko inquired in a calmer voice. 'If it had not been for this bloodline I'm pretty sure I would have been in shock right now. Thank the Log their face was covered. I don't think I'm ready to see someone's light go off just yet.' she thought with a small shiver that was noticed by all the adults. Iruka once more patted her head reassuringly and told her they could talk about what she saw just now later.
"Probably not from that one." the leader replied with a small frown already knowing that Danzo more than likely had a contingency for such a situation. But he quickly changes the subject to help distract the girl from. the more than likely, first person ever killed in front of her. "Now you said that was the first thing you notice. What was the other?"
"Oh! It those magical sigils on your window and the chakra infused crystal ball on the shelf to your left." the academy student announced while pointing at both directions.
"You can feel the seals on the window?" the Sandaime asked in surprise. 'This is incredible! Not even the best of sensors can detect seals unless they're activated. Plus, Jiraya made those strengthening seals, especially so they couldn't be detected. Just how sensitive are Naruko-chan's sensory abilities?'
"What do you mean feel them?" Naruko asked after finally noticing the phasing of the question. At the same time, both Iruka and Benihime noticed this as well and quickly explained it to her. After making a small "Oh" sound the girl giggled and grinned at the leader. "No Jiji, I can't feel them. I see them," she announced while pointing at her eyes.
"Come again?" the Sarutobi asked flatly before putting chakra in his eyes to look closer at the Uzumaki's own. At first instance nothing seemed to be different then he had to blink to make sure he was seeing right. It was almost unnoticeable but if you looked directly into those blue eyes you could see very small light blue squares moving and breaking inside the pupils and irises. "Naruko-chan…" he gasped in surprise while leaning back in his chair. "Is this a jutsu you created or a dojutsu that suddenly manifested?"
"What's a dojutsu?" the academy question in confusion. The question earned her a fist landing on her head. She felt every bit of those lost 25HP.
"That's what happens when you don't pay attention in class." Iruka reprimanded before explaining "A dojutsu is bloodline limit that manifests in the user's eyes like the Uchiha's Sharingan or the Hyuga's Byakugan."
"Oh, you mean like that idiot Neji's perverted eyes that he used to look through my clothes." the whiskered girl commented while massaging the new bump on her head with one hand as her other arm covered her chest. It was only by pure practice and force of will that she didn't smirk when she saw both men had the desired reaction of anger plastered over their faces. Hey, she already knew that was a petty and dirty move but if she couldn't beat manners into him someone else had to! Thankfully Iruka was the first to recover from the sudden bout of parental anger.
"Let's file this information for later and turn back to what we came here for." the scared chunin announced while turning to the villager leader. "Sandaime-sama, while at first glance it may look as if academy student Naruko Uzumaki possess a dojutsu I can assure you that it is far more than that. If I were to classify it… I would say that the Gamer Soul is a reality manipulating bloodline."
The God of Shinobi and praised as one of the strongest and most knowledgeable people in this world could already feel the mother of all headaches forming at that description.
"You can never make things easy for me can Naruko-chan?" Hiruzen questioned in a defeated tone.
Naruko just grinned in response.