When I arrived back at the cosmic warehouse and the portal to Ranma ½ shut down, Washu appeared with Ember, Konatsu, and Ukyo. The latter two stepped forward.
"So, that's it?" Ukyo asked. "We can't go home again unless you specifically travel there?" She and Konatsu both looked apprehensive. When I nodded Konatsu smiled and Ukyo looked resigned. It was tough leaving friends behind, but I was glad she'd decided to come with me. Hugs were passed around (even Washu got a few), then we got to the business at hand.
"Well, I have something special for you this Jump. You're going somewhere you don't like very much to help out a bit and get some practice using your powers, so I'll be fairly generous. Depending on how you feel after the first one I may send you in again to clean up a fragmented timeline I'd have otherwise just erased." Washu said. My eye twitched. I knew she could set arbitrary Jumps and basically control the whole damn thing, but it was still irritating. I approached the hard-light console she waved into existence and groaned.
"Really? Naruto? You know I've never actually seen anything but fanon for it, right? And that I don't much care for most of that? Also: why are all these perks locked and free?" I asked.
"Well, if you look at the descriptions you'll see that you actually have the equivalent of each of them already. This way you get any side benefits you didn't already have and fiat-backing in case there's ever a problem with them in the future. Now make your selections!" A resigned look crossed my face and I turned back to the console. Naruto was the only visible jump available, but the scroll bar wasn't locked. I looked around and found a few supplements, then grinned with delight when I saw Generic Builder was available.
Builders as a concept were introduced to me via Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanfiction, in which Jesse, Willow, and/or Xander started talking about how there were tons of fantasy and science fiction settings with random structures in the middle of nowhere that served no purpose other than to be a dungeon. In addition, they were often far from settlements, resources, and other things one would typically find near large-scale construction projects. The theorized solution was a mythical race called Builders, who were basically shapeshifters that went around constructing stuff and creating soulless minions to populate dungeons for no reason other than that it was fun. They were also tremendously powerful tech and magic gurus in Jump-Chains, only got better with age, got a free extra life ability, and becoming one then dropping into another Jump with all the benefits of both was free.
I selected it and started chuckling under my breath. Builders were point hogs too, but I had a lovely fresh bank of 5000 points waiting to be spent in addition to what I got from Builder and Naruto. I rubbed my hands together and my chuckle escalated into loud maniacal laughter. Washu whacked me on the back of the head, saw what I'd selected, and laughed.
"You're still going to Naruto. I hadn't meant for you to take that until you got somewhere more advanced, but I can't blame you for taking it early given you really need time to get better at it. It also sort of qualifies for an alternate form if you squint and tilt your head a bit."
I nodded and kept scrolling and clicking. My bank was going to take a serious hit from this. I got a bunch of freebies for being a Builder, but some of them could be upgraded. I made sure to take the optional "you never get bored anymore" option for Fun is Fun and Building is Fun, then added the teleportation option to reformation. As a drop-in I got Magical Makeover for free and discounts on HUD and Magical Assembly. Mana Substitution was marked free as per Washu since I had conjuration, which was actually more efficient. Claiming was going to be necessary, and Theme could be helpful. That left me eating into my banked points.
Dimensional Addition and Subtraction was also marked free since I could already do that with Harry Potter magic, but Builder Creation and the Smith, Artisan, Craftsman, Tree Singing, Minion Affinity (Research and Development), Tinker, Soft Physics, and Portal Creation knacks all cost a boatload of points together. A note from Washu notified me that my Builder Inventory would be infinite because of the way it interfaced with my Gamer inventory and I drooled a little. Home Blueprint was free and I got a small budget to spend on equipment and additional blueprints before I started back into my banked points.
I purchased the Wireless Printer, Lab Blueprint, Monster Spawn Blueprint, Shop Blueprint, Minion Factory Blueprint, Factory Blueprint, and a Mana Collector before hitting the mandatory Crossover drawback to put me in the world of Naruto. Altogether it cost me 2,650 points from my bank, leaving me 2,350 to work with. Moving on to the Naruto build required me to have a conversation with Washu, so I beckoned her over.
"What do you need?"
"Unless I take a scenario there's no specified starting time, which I'd like to call Rules as Written on. If I arrive just in time to make friends with Minato and Kushina as kids I might make it onto Jiraiya's team and get free tutoring from all three." Washu blinked at me, then offered an alternative.
"You're right that there's no specified limit to how long you can spend in this universe. I thought you'd want to be in and out as quickly as possible, but I'd really prefer you spend time to get used to your abilities and stay above water sanity-wise. How about you take the Enduring Whirlpool scenario [1]? It'll get you access to top-notch tutors, a nice comfortable lifestyle, and the end reward is a ton of fiat-backed knowledge on the Naruto-verse version of runic magic: sealing. I'll throw in the Uzumaki bloodline and Fuinjutsu prodigy for free since you basically have them already. The only benefits you'll really get will be some minor stat bumps, accelerated learning for seals, and a new skill you could have developed on your own. As a special bonus: consider yourself both clan-born and orphaned for free. It'll work out when we establish your background. You'll still want additional goals for quest experience though," she trailed off.
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad? It was almost going to be a creative mode build with how many points and freebies I had available. Everyone got basic training and gear for free, but Washu had given me both types of Chakra Enhancement Specialization, Fine Control, all versions of Elemental Chakra Affinity, Sensor Ninja Training, Medical Ninjutsu Training, Jutsu Mastery, Fuinjutsu Prodigy, the Mokuton/Wood Release bloodline ability, the Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki bloodlines, and an import for the Shovel of Light to be a chakra weapon too because I more-or-less had them already! If I worded it right in the coming discussion I could actually start out the ruler of Whirlpool given how my mixed backgrounds interacted.
A quick perusal of the document granted me You Have Reserves, Bukijutsu Specialization, Therapy No Jutsu, Talk No Jutsu, Plot Armor, and Genius of Hard Work. I was already dipping into my bank again, but had plenty more to spend. I was about to select the Hyuuga bloodline when I stopped to consider something. If Washu was fiat-backing things I could already do for free, why not improve what I could do? A combination of [Scry] and [Mystical Energy (Sense)] yielded the new skill [Panoramic Survey]. Washu took one look at the notification, rolled her eyes, and waved her hand to make the Lost Hyuuga perk free. I was a little busy being dizzy from the increased sensory input to notice this, but it passed quickly and it was helpfully highlighted so I moved on to the section about companions.
I called a quick conference with the family (and Konatsu) to discuss details, then selected clan-born Senju and Uzumaki with You Have Reserves, Fine Control, and different elemental affinities for each of them. Konatsu and Ukyo both spoke up in favor of a little stability before they moved on again, since the description of the scenario didn't seem like it would keep us here all that long given my power and I promised to keep that in mind when setting my goals. Washu was all for it too, of course.
"Alright, ready to go?" She asked. I looked thoughtfully at my purchases before addressing her.
"We need to take some of my banked training time first. Can I finalize these purchases and still use it before we leave?"
"Sure! That's what it's there for, after all! Time you spend out in the main area of the warehouse won't count against your banked training time unless you're actually training."
"That's great, Washu! Thanks. We'll take a little family time before we start then. Do I just call for you when we're ready to go?" She smiled at me, then waved to a previously unused section of wall that now held a high-tech looking door.
"I'll be in my lab with monitors set on your progress. Knock if you need me, since you won't be able to get in. I'm not giving up my designs to your new builder powers, after all!" I nodded, finalized my purchases, thanked her, then led my companions to the gardens to catch up and discuss training. We'd start work after we'd eaten and rested.
-
With dedication, judicious use of the party system, [Impart Knowledge / Tutor], and my ability to conjure skill books my companions were all proficient in the Druidic anti-aging technique, aura masking, basic chakra healing, the Breaking Point technique, [Dodge], [Holy], [Mokuton/Plant Manipulation], [Multi-Focus], [Mystical Energy (Mastery, Basic)], [Mystical Energy (Sense)], [Physical Endurance], Potterverse spellcasting, shape-shifting, [Telepathy], [Telekinesis], [Weapon Mastery], and teleportation in only a few months. Gaining experience both fighting together and to master those skills took a lot longer and some inventive uses of the training room.
We worked on killing zombies first to get everyone used to life-fire violence, then graduated to human opponents like the ones I'd seen in the Ranma ½ universe. Konatsu and Ukyo were both physically ill and needed time to recover after our first session there. Even knowing their opponents weren't real people (I could tell they didn't have souls, and Washu assured them the same) didn't allow them to completely come to terms with killing things that looked like humans, but they eventually got better at handling it. Ember honestly didn't seem to be bothered by it at all, but that might have been a result of her being a predatory pokémon before she was ever human. It still bothered me a bit when I faced real opponents, but these weren't.
From the basic martial artists we moved onto ogres and a few other things I'd seen in The Gamer. Demons turned out to be especially easy for all of us, given our access to both [Holy] and [Mokuton/Plant Manipulation]. All the while our teamwork got better and better. Telepathy allowed us to work without even looking at each other since we were able to both sense each other and communicate instantly. When ogres and demons were no longer sufficient I built Konatsu and Ukyo a set of equipment to match mine and Ember's, then took the time to train them in their use.
My physical stats had finally pushed past 500 each, and the rewards were pretty great. I could now fit anything in my inventory I could conceivably lift, which included use of my various powers. Between my base strength, buffs, telekinesis, spells for weightlessness and shrinking, and a whole host of other things I could probably shove a mountain in my inventory if I tried hard enough. I now had a completely non-magical haste-like effect and massively improved maximum health and health regeneration, too!
Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara as I'd seen them in The Gamer were faced repeatedly, both as individuals and as a team. I had to do a lot of healing and some extra blocking to keep everyone going until we were familiar enough with our opponents and fast enough that nobody was near-death by the end of each fight. We would have kept going, but my companions didn't have perks that kept them from getting bored and made them enjoy training like I did. Relaxing and down time outside of training helped, but my companions needed more social time with other people. Almost exactly a year of time-compression after we started training we voted to stop for the moment in order to avoid going insane. I knocked on Washu's door.
"Well, well! What a team! We'll have to discuss your background, now. Given that you've all practiced together a lot I was thinking I'd start you as genin about to be field-promoted to chunin. Konatsu here is the team leader if you don't recall. I'm looking at you, Wren. You've been directing most of the operations telepathically, but you need to be careful and visibly defer to Konatsu for the moment." I nodded, looking a little sheepish and getting smiles from my teammates, then setting some goals for the Jump based on what I already knew.
"As for exactly what's going on: I'm dropping you in the deep end, as it were. When you received your Jump memories you all got the basics of your roles in life and your peers, but none of you got family except each-other. That's because in-Jump you're going to be related, and when you arrive the current head of the Uzumaki family will have just been assassinated. A group of Mist ninja will be trying to capture or kill Wren and Ember in particular as the next in line to lead the Uzumaki clan since using you as hostages or informants could make the attack they're planning much less costly. Konatsu and Ukyo will be cousins from different branches of the family that happened to interbreed with the Senju at some point."
"Ah," I interrupted. "If we're going in the deep end right away we should probably all be Builders so we get a chance to re-spawn instead of dying. That is, if everyone's alright with that?" Heads nodded all around, and a short ritual followed by some claiming of individual rooms and apartments had my team sorted out. I'd already claimed the entirety of the warehouse dimension and its two parallels, but adding exceptions was fairly easy. Washu picked up where she left off when we were all gathered again.
"I've given you all the perks and elemental affinities appropriate to your new skills and made sure your histories reflect both your personalities and your mental abilities. Wren's history includes him being a super-prodigy and prolific craftsman. Does anyone have any issues with the backstory?" Washu asked. We discussed details for a while and the others had their new Jump memories refreshed since for them it'd been a year since they received them. "Alright folks, this is it! Any questions?"
Before I could even shake my head I was walking across the waves with my teammates, just off the coast of Fire Country heading back toward Whirlpool. [Mystical Energy (Sense)] immediately kicked in, and I realized Washu wasn't kidding about being thrown in the deep end. A sweep with my new [Panoramic Survey] saw a whole school of massive chakra-trained sharks moving to encircle us from below and about a dozen Mist ninja of varying power spread around, some of them even on the beach behind us. There wasn't any room to escape for a normal team, but we were far from normal. The telepathic alert went out and we all broke into a sprint across the water while I conjured a powerful explosive note, primed it, and shot it into the water below us right into the middle of the sharks.
[Quest alert: Enduring Whirlpool!]
[Quest alert: Bastion!]
[Quest alert: Hippie agenda!][2]
[Quest alert: Enduring Peace!]
The muffled explosion and surge of water only helped us accelerate away from the apparent ambush, and the ninja behind us gave chase even as the ones under water died or struggled toward the surface after my impromptu depth charge. Most of the sharks were dead or had vanished, leaving me wondering if they'd all been summons or not. My background knowledge didn't actually include an encyclopedic knowledge of the way every summoning contract worked after all. I was the next in line to lead the clan because of an unfortunate series of accidents befalling those between me and the current head over the last several months, and was an orphan with only Ember as my sister for immediate relations.
Pretty much everyone was suspicious of what was happening at this point, but with tensions rising in the rest of the world and our limited numbers we hadn't wanted to start a war with the immediate suspects. That was actually why everyone was being recalled and we were on our way home. Our orders were to get back and convene with the family head to develop a plan of action, but from what Washu told us the family head would be dead before we got there. We needed more information.
'I think we need to take a couple of our attackers captive,' I sent to the team. 'If we make sure to kill the rest we can teleport back to Whirlpool without revealing that particular power. Just in case, we'll leave a flash of light in imitation of the second Hokage's version of the Flying Thunder God teleportation technique. Sound good?' Ember's approval was near-instant, but Konatsu and Ukyo took a little longer. They were both aware these were real people, but the memories they'd gained from their backgrounds and our training would see them through. I dove below the surface and used a combination of actual swimming, flight, and [Elemental Bending] to approach the remaining foes at speed with the Shovel of Light in hand.
I heard either gunshots or a whole lot of explosive tags from above me, and got a brief image of Ember unloading on the approaching enemies with her pistols. They didn't last long enough to turn back in fear, and I grimaced. I really hadn't meant to reveal those yet either, but as long as there were no witnesses we should be fine. Even now Konatsu was sighting with his sniper rifle and Ukyo was watching for threats around and below them while I advanced through the opponents left alive underwater. As from the sharks there was only one kunoichi and one shinobi left alive down here, both wearing rebreathers. I hit them with powerful sleep spells and killed the sharks by crushing them with telekinesis.
My captives went in my inventory and I took another look around with both [Mystical Energy (Sense)] and [Panoramic Survey]. Both were active at all times now, but even after a year of using the latter it was still taking time to get used to. There! The ambush had two scouts posted pretty far away to watch what happened, and only one of them was still in a position for Konatsu to reach him with his rifle. I pointed him out telepathically then teleported directly behind the other with an effect that made it look like I was dropping an invisibility technique. He never saw The Shovel coming, and went down like a sack of bricks. A surreptitious sleep spell and a bit of [Holy] to make sure he lived later, I heaved the unconscious man over my shoulder and applied an actual invisibility spell to the both of us before checking around again.
[You've gained a level!]
Nothing. The only living things in my extended sight looked natural or were members of my team. I raced back out onto the water while Ember collected the bodies of the slain and whatever loot had been dropped. When everyone was together I teleported us to a secluded location just outside the village gates, pulled out our other two captives, and we proceeded from there carrying them normally. The gate guard was triple what it would have normally been, and their eyes lit up when they saw both us and our captives. Konatsu called for someone to pick them up while we got checked in, and we were directed to head for the administrative building for debriefing. I only barely remembered to tweak the sleep spells on our captives to read as genjutsu before they were taken for interrogation.