Author's Note: OK, so I was going to finish this up and post this earlier on, like last Monday, but my computer was in the shop and my internet was down. Stupid Trojans…I've also upped the rating of this fic from 'T' to 'M' as a result of complaints and some of the events of this chapter.
A lot of people have asked why Naruto hasn't seemed all that mature, considering he was 100 years old or so when he died. Answer: He's revelling in having no responsibilities for a while. Face it, being a Hokage is a difficult job and chances for stress relief is few and far between.
I doubt this needs to be said, but the world Naruto is from is an AU where the events of Boruto did not take place. Assume any happening from that manga/anime are moot. Oh, Boruto and Himawari were born, but anything else, including the Boruto Movie, are presumed not to have happened in the world Naruto comes from.
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"I'm a Goblin…" - Regular Speech.
'…So what?' - Thoughts.
{Is the Title} - Voice of Heaven Announcement.
Chapter 6: An Old Enemy Appears
It was worth hauling the corpses of the humans back to the cave, just to see the gobsmacked expression on everyone's faces. Gobujiji's expression was particularly hilarious.
"Y-youngster…how…why...how…?!" he stammered, eyes bulging, jaw hanging somewhere near his knees and snot dribbling out from his nose.
"They weren't expecting a goblin who knew how to sneak in the forest." Gobuto said casually as he dumped the last carcass on the ground, "We'd better strip them of their stuff so that we can put it to use."
"Oh-ho! I like the way you think!" the old goblin cackled, "Get to it then, young un!"
[Quest Alert!]
Strip 'em Down: Gobujiji has given you permission to strip the dead bandits of their clothes and equipment before allowing them to be eaten. Do so and you get first dibs!
Quest Reward: 200 EXP, +1 Human body part to eat per stripped human, +10 SP
Do you accept?
Y | N
Hitting the 'Y' button, Gobuto set off to do exactly that. It was more difficult than he first thought it would be, mostly because apparently this world hadn't invented the zipper yet. They had buttons…lots and lots of buttons, as well as leather ties and buckles.
Still, there was a reason that the quest had had no failure possibility mentioned in it; only a complete moron could fail this quest. As a bonus, he had upped his DEX by two by the end of the whole thing, thanks to all the wrangling with the stupid knots and buckles.
[Quest Complete!]
Strip 'em Down: You have stripped the human bandits down to their underthings. You aren't especially eager to see their unmentionables, which is understandable.
Quest Reward: +200 EXP, +8 human body parts to eat, +10 SP.
Grinning, Gobuto helped himself to an arm apiece and headed off to his corner to devour them. The skills he got from eating them were…wide and varied.
{As a result of devouring a human, the skill [Crossbow Mastery] was learned!}
[Crossbow Mastery] (Passive) [LV1, 00.00]
The crossbow is a heavier version of the bow that has a fair range to it. A crossbow quarrel can pierce the full plate armour of a knight if shot with enough accuracy. Crossbows are also easier to learn how to use and master than regular bows.
- Grants +5 to all damage done by crossbow-type weapons.
- Increases accuracy with crossbow-type weapons by 1.
- Decreases reload time for all crossbow-type weapons by 10 seconds.
{As a result of devouring a human, the skill [Deception] was learned!}
[Deception] (Passive) [LV1, 00.00]
The ability to deceive one's enemies is one thing, but the ability to deceive ones allies in quite another. This skill increases the effectiveness of all skills that involve deception to any degree. But be careful. Make sure all your lies connect to one another, or bad things will happen.
- Increases the likelihood of a successful deception based action by 5.
{As a result of devouring a human, the skill [Brawling] was learned!}
[Brawling] (Passive/Active) [LV1, 00.00]
Lacking any sort of refinement or finesse, brawling is the 'style' used by those who have not been formally taught martial arts or self-defence. Relying solely on brute strength and quick reflexes to subdue the enemy, it can be surprisingly effective when used by a strong enough fighter and includes the skill to make use of improvised close combat weapons. It crumbles slightly in the face of a well-trained martial artist of any decent level, however.
- Passively raises STR by 5 in close unarmed combat.
- Passively raises TOU by 5 in close unarmed combat.
- Passively raises DEX by 5 in close unarmed combat.
- Passively raises DAMAGE by 5 if equipped with an [Improvised] close combat weapon.
{As a result of devouring a human, the skill [Throw] was learned!}
[Throw] (Active) [LV1, 00.00]
Basically exactly what it says in the title. You pick something up and chuck it at something. Probably the first thing thrown was a stone. This isn't necessarily a combat skill, but it can be used to augment skills such as [Knife Throwing]. It can also be used to improve your chances of throwing a grapple hook and succeeding, for example.
- Can be improvised into a combat technique, in which case the chance of a hit is DEX +1, with damage being dealt at a value depending on the material of the item being thrown. Only usable with [Small] or [Moderate] sized items.
- Improves the chances of all skills involving throwing by +5.
{As a result of devouring a human, the skill [Instinctual Tracking] was learned!}
[Instinctual Tracking] (Passive) [LV1, 00.00]
Tracking is a skill that allows one to read the environment and follow someone or something that has left traces in the surrounding. This is not that skill. Instinctual Tracking offers you subconscious hints that may point you in the direction of such disturbances in the surroundings that could lead to people or beasts or constructs that have passed through the area.
- +5% Chance of noticing environmental disturbances created by animals.
- +10% Chance of noticing environmental disturbances created by humans.
- +20% Chance of noticing environmental disturbances created by constructs.
{As a result of devouring a human, the skill [Lockpick Mastery] was learned!}
[Lockpick Mastery] (Passive) [LV1, 00.00]
A lockpick is one of the tools of the trade for a thief or some other rogue, such as a bandit. They can be used to unlock treasure chests, doors, windows, padlocks and other items standing between someone and his ill-gotten gains.
- Reduces chance of a lockpick breaking by 10%.
- Increases chance of a successful lock picking action by 10.
- Reduces chance of lock jam by 5%.
{As a result of devouring a human, the skill [Blow] was learned!}
[Blow] (Active) [LV1, 00.00]
A very basic unarmed combat technique that enhances the power behind a single punch by a certain degree. Basic, perhaps, but one who masters it can break bones and shatter rock without harm to themselves.
- Uses 40 MP to be used.
- Increases damage dealt by a single punch by 15.
- Adds magical armour for the duration of the punch that prevents backlash damage from striking metal or stone or any other hard substance. Armour Durability: 30. Lasts as long as the punch.
{As a result of devouring a human, the skill [Eavesdrop] was learned!}
[Eavesdrop] (Active) [LV1, 00.00]
When one is in stealth or concealment and wants to listen in on any conversations going on nearby, this skill comes in very handy.
- Increases hearing acuity by 10% when activated.
- Increases hearing range by one foot when active.
- Costs 10 MP/Minute to maintain.
A very varied and unusual set of skills he had gotten from the bandits. Gobuto was currently bemoaning the two that had fled. Who knows what skills he might have gotten from the pair of them? It would have been interesting to have found out.
"Hey, Gobujiji!" he said to the old goblin who had wandered past, chewing on a human ear, "How often do these humans come up to kill us?"
"Mmmff? Oh, not often." He replied, swallowing his food as he did so, "It varies between three and six moons."
Gobuto took this to mean roughly three to six months between bandits using the goblins as a way to grind. Further questions confirmed that it hadn't been these bandits in particular that had killed goblins before. The last lot had all been women, for example, and had arrived a spare few days after the previous generation had departed on their trip.
Lucky for them.
"Hey, what other monsters are in the forest?" Gobuto asked, "I mean, demi-humans like us."
"Not many." Gobujiji sighed, "There are a couple of tribes of Kobolds in the east, some Redcaps to the north, some wood elves to the west and a nest of imps down south. Oh, and a clan of harpies further up the mountain."
"Elves? Don't they have their own country?" Gobuto frowned.
"Hah! There're more than one type of elves, youngster." The old goblin chortled, "See, the type you're thinkin' of is the High Elf, otherwise known as the Light Elf. What we have here is the Wood Elf, the forest dwelling elf. They live in small tribes in deep forests all over the world. They don't care much for other races, not even their fellow elves. Sooner shoot ya full of arrows than say hello. That bein' said, they do occasionally talk with us when we're strong, informin' us of threats to the forest and everyone in it."
With that, the old goblin shuffled off to get some sleep.
For listening to Gobujiji's lecture, you gain +1 WIS and +1 INT!
Deciding that Gobujiji had the right idea, Gobuto headed to his own area to get some sleep.
Dreamscape
"OK, now where am I?" Gobuto complained, before he looked down and saw that he was Naruto again, Aged 15.
{Greetings once again, Uzumaki Naruto.} A familiar…voice wasn't the right word, but it would do…voice said as the white nebulous blob that was an angel appeared in front of him.
"You again." Naruto nodded, "What do I call you? I mean, aside from 'angel', whatever that is.
{You may address me as Angela.} The angel said with what Naruto translated as a mirthful and amused shake of its insubstantial body, {But I did not bring you here for conversation, as titillating as it might be.}
"OK then, why am I here?" the former Hokage asked somewhat impatiently.
{You have shown a very good start to your trial, Uzumaki Naruto, and you have earned a privilege; you can narrow down which species you will eventually evolve into.} Angela informed him.
"So, wait…I have a choice?" the blond boy (currently) asked in surprise.
{Most monsters do not.} The angel replied, {Those who we sentence to life in this world are a different case. If you eliminate those you don't want now, you can make a better selection later on, when you do evolve.}
"Sounds good." Naruto nodded cautiously, "So, what are my choices?"
Several pillars of light appeared to his left, each showing a humanoid figure inside of it.
{The first choice is that of a standard Hobgoblin. Slightly stronger and smarter than a goblin, but not too much of a step up.} Angela said, {Next to it is a Hobgoblin Variant. Again, it is stronger and smarter than both the goblin and regular Hobgoblin, but not to any special degree.}
Most of the rest were specific Variants of Hobgoblin; Speed, Brute and Nilbogboh, which turned out to be a very evil variety of Hobgoblin. The last four were different. One was an Orc, one was a slightly taller-looking goblin wielding a pike and with a red cap that he was informed was a Redcap, one was a Kobold and one was a different kettle of fish altogether.
"What's that?" Naruto pointed at the last figure. It was red and stood slightly taller than the hobgoblin, but was shorted than the bulky and slow-looking Brute Hobgoblin. Two small horns poked out of its yellow hair and while it had an impressive musculature, it wasn't top-heavy like the Brute was.
{Ah, now that is a Lesser Oni, a very rare species of monster.} Angela sounded delighted to talk about it, {Their Oni cousins are a subspecies of Ogre, just as Lesser-Oni are supposedly a subspecies of Hobgoblin.}
"How does that work out?" Naruto asked in confusion.
{The mysteries of monster interspecies mating at work. I believe it was a mating between an Oni and a Hobgoblin that produced the first one about seven thousand years ago.}
"That's a long time ago…so how many are there in the world?" Naruto prodded.
{Including you if you evolve into one? Just you.}
"Eh?"
{The regular Oni consider Lesser Oni to be something scraped off their boots, even although Lesser Oni can evolve into Oni.} Angela 'sighed' in irritation, {Before the Oni were driven far, far to the east of where you currently are, they systematically slaughtered all of the Lesser Oni in the kingdoms. The last one fell almost three-hundred years ago, although the Oni had left a century before that.}
"That sucks. So if I choose this one, I'd have a horde of Oni breathing down my neck?"
{No, there hasn't been a full-blooded Oni in your area in fifty years.} Angela said in amusement, {Oni may not like Lesser Oni, but most humans and monsters also dislike genocidal maniacs who would wipe out a species simply out of snobbery and arrogance.}
"Huh…" Naruto stood in thought after that before asking, "So how many can I eliminate?"
{Four, but you must choose to remove one of the non-Hobgoblins first.}
"OK then." The former-Hokage cracked his metaphorical knuckles, "Get rid of the Redcap. Looking at it tells me that it has a fondness for polearm weapons and I was never really any good at them."
The little being flashed out of existence.
Naruto chose to remove the standard Hobgoblin, the Brute Hobgoblin and the Nilbogboh as well. No way did he want to be an ordinary hobgoblin or a bruiser or a masochistic pain returner as the reverse-named hobgoblin had been advertised. It was apparently an evolution of a Nilbog, a goblin-equivalent named for their odd magic that healed them as they got hurt and hurt them if they got healed by other methods. A Nilbogboh, stupid name aside, did all that and inflicted wounds on the enemy when wounded. All at the cost of being Very Evil.
No way, as he had said before, was he going that route.
{Excellent. Well, I shall see you again when you reach Level 10 to evolve you.} Angela said with a flash of light across her body, {You have done well for your first few days in this world, but I will tell you that it will not be as easy as it has been going forward. Evolve in a hurry, or you may not survive what is to come.}
With that, Naruto's vision whited out.
The Next Morning
{For surviving another day, you earn 10 EXP!}
{Congratulations! You have levelled up!}
Level 6-Level 7!
You have five attribute points to spend!
Grinning, Gobuto opened his status screen and dumped all of them into his STR. He would put more into his mental stats once he evolved into whatever he selected on the night he hit Level 10. Until then, developing the physical side was important.
Y'know, being a weedy damn goblin and all.
The first thing he did after that was to drag the clothing to the treasure cave. It took a couple of tries to realise that the room counted each set of clothing (trouser, shirt and lightly armoured jacket) as a single item. The two halves of the broken sword of 'Smiling' Booker had levelled up his [Lesser-Improved Slashing Power] by two when he ate it, which meant it had to have been a pretty good sword. The other weapons were somewhere between 'meh' and average.
The crossbow was, at the moment, too big for Gobuto to use without throwing himself on his ass, so he had it placed in the treasure cave as well, along with the quiver of quarrels. That left the regular swords and daggers, some of which were so blunt it was a coin toss as to whether they'd cut something or just concuss the target. Those ones Gobuto ate as well, which raised his [Lesser-Improved Piercing Power] by a level.
The remaining swords were a bit large for a goblin to wield, so they were placed in the cave as well. This left the daggers, which were very useful. Certainly much better than the wooden sticks that most of the goblins had been using. He gave one each to Goburyū and Goburimi and kept one for himself before handing the others out to the highest level goblins other than his team. For this, he earned four new minions.
Goburi LV4
Gobuseri LV3
Gobuzi LV4
Gobuki LV3
The four of them started following Goburyū's lead and calling him 'Big Bro', which was again weird to hear from anyone not in the Konohamaru Corps. He missed those three.
Each of the daggers looked something like this.
[Average Steel Dagger]
A standard double-edged dagger of the common design used across the human kingdoms. It isn't uncommon for them to be used for both combat and for eating meals. While technically a weapon, in a straight up fight a dagger is at a severe disadvantage against longer weapons.
Slashing Damage: S
Piercing Damage: S+5
Bludgeoning Damage: S
All in all, it was a thoroughly average weapon. Still better than a damn stick though.
Accepting the daily quest of hunting, Gobuto led Goburyū and Goburimi out into the forest to grab some Horned Rabbits. Due to his higher level, he barely got a single piece of EXP for bringing the weak monsters down. Eating them did add a nice chunk to the EXP of the skills that he had taken from them. Both [Escape] and [Lesser Agility Boost] were both Level 4 now.
"And that should do it." Gobuto sighed as the eighth horned rabbit not devoured by him, Goburyū or Goburimi was flung into the medium-sized sack that had been one of Gobuto's choices to remove from the treasure cave. It was similar to the [Bag of Holding] that Gobuto had slung over his back, except less powerful. It only held double the amount of space that it normally should and only halved the weight of what was inside it, so they couldn't carry very much in it. Still, it was enough to carry back the Horned Rabbits in.
"Gobuto, I can hear something…" Goburimi said with a frown. Her sandy hair fluttered in the breeze as she cocked her head to one side. "Something sounds odd…"
Gobuto wasn't used to all of the female goblin's eccentricities, but she certainly sounded sincere, although Gobuto couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary. He activated his [Presence Perception] skill, but couldn't sense anything. It did have a five metre range limit though, so he didn't put much stock in it.
"Right, let's head back to the cave." He whispered to the other two, "Goburimi, take the bag. Goburyū, you take point. I'll bring up the rear. If either of you see anything, tell the rest of us."
Nodding, the other two obeyed him without question. Gobuto made a note to grab the small mace he'd seen inside the treasury cave the next day. Goburyū needed a better weapon than a basic wooden club if more humans or orcs showed up.
Goburimi had several spears that Gobuto had made in a quiver that had been used for a longbow. As the spears were fairly fragile, having more than one of them on hand was a good idea, and he was glad the shy goblin girl had offered her opinion on what she wanted from the treasure cave. He would have preferred to have given her a ranged weapon of some kind, but all of the bows were too big and heavy for her to lift and he had no clue how to make a sling. So a large quiver full of spears it was.
After a minute or so of walking, the sound of large wings flapping could be heard clearly. Drawing his dirk, Gobuto kept a weather eye out with both his eyes and his detection skill. Birds, in his experience, like to dive at their prey from behind. It had been like that with both natural birds and bird summons in his original world, and he had seen enough of the non-monster wildlife to confirm that it was similar for the birds here.
"Is that...people shouting?" Goburyū asked after a moment. Indeed, there was the sound of people, females, screaming and shouting at one another at the top of their voices in a language that Gobuto didn't recognise. It wasn't Grobbri or the Trade Language of the humans. And were those wingbeats getting closer?
Suddenly a body hurtled down through the leafy canopy of the trees and barely avoided slamming straight into the ground. Instead, it ploughed a furrow across the ground in front of the three startled goblins before skidding to a halt in front of a tree.
Gobuto blinked as he beheld the being that had literally dropped in on them. It was a female and she was at least two heads taller than Goburyū, who was the tallest of all the goblins in the cave. She had long pinkish-red hair and had scaly talons starting at her ankles, as well as at her wrists. She wore what looked like animal skin shorts and a breast band that covered her modest chest.
What really made her stand out were the pinkish-red wings that sprouted from her back. They each had to be longer than she was tall and were pretty broad as well. The other notable thing about her was that she sounded as if she were cursing up a storm. Gobuto could tell that even although he couldn't understand the language she was speaking. Then he caught sight of the name that hovered over her head.
Tayuya LV10
[Demoness of Sound]
He remembered her…this was one of Orochimaru's elites! One of the Sound Ninja Four, Tayuya of the North Gate! Why the hell was she here? Tayuya had been killed by Sabaku no Temari during the first Sasuke Retrieval mission over eighty years ago, with her being resurrected via the Edo Tensei during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
If she had been sent here shortly after the end of the FGNW, then she should be a higher level than level ten, surely? And where were her fellow elites?
{As a result of repeated actions, you have acquired the [Halmas Harpy Tribe Language] Skill!}
[Halmas Harpy Tribe Language] (Passive) [LV1, 00.00]
The specific dialect used by the Halmas Tribe of Harpies. Each tribe of the winged women has its own language that it uses to talk among their tribe. There is a specific universal harpy language, but this isn't it.
- Allows one to converse with those who also possess the Halmas Harpy Language skill.
- Grants +10 to [Charm], [Persuade] and [Intimidate] actions with other speakers of this language.
So he could acquire language skills just by listening to people speak them? Why the hell hadn't anyone told him about this?!
Moving on, he now paid attention to what the girl was saying.
"-ing bastardised bitches think they can gang up on me and do me in?" Tayuya was saying, "Fuck them! I'll fucking murder them! And what the fuck are you gobs lookin' at?!"
The sudden attention of the angry harpy made Goburyū and Goburimi flinch back, but Gobuto stood firm.
"Still as foul-mouthed as ever, Tayuya of the North Gate." He said in her language, making her eyes widen at a goblin not only speaking the specific language known to her tribe, but also knowing about her past life.
She scowled at looked at him, probably scanning the name above his head.
"Who the fuck were you?" she snarled as she raised a talon in warning.
"The last time you saw me, I had blond hair and wore orange." Gobuto answered, "You might remember me breaking into the little trap you had for Shikamaru, Kiba, Chōji and Neji when you were summoned via the Edo Tensei a few years later."
The look of disbelief on her face was a picture. "You? That fucking loudmouth blond brat? Fucking hell. So what the hell did you do to get sentenced to this shithole of a world, and as a weak-ass goblin of all things?"
"Sealed away the original bearer of chakra, Kaguya the Rabbit Goddess." Gobuto shrugged, "What're you doing in this forest?"
"None of your fucking business, brat." Tayuya sneered, "You're a lowly goblin and only level seven. How long have you been here?"
"Four or five days, give or take a few hours."
"No fuckin' way!" she narrowed her dark-brown eyes at him, looking over his equipment, which was more than decent for someone a few levels higher than he was. "With that gear? Fuck, should have been a goblin. I've been here for six months and I'm only level ten!"
Six months and she was only level ten?!
"How the hell are you not a higher level?" he asked in confusion, "If it was me, I'd have evolved in half that time!"
"Do not start with me, pissant!" Tayuya snarled, "I dunno what it's like down here with all the plentiful game and everything for you weaklings, but up on the mountain, you have to earn the right to more than what you need to live on. Competition for a place on the hunting parties is fierce and I only got on a couple of times. Otherwise, we're not allowed to leave the village. With only those two trips and the ten EXP we get for surviving a day, I'm lucky to have gotten to level ten at all. And now those bitches…"
She glared up at the treetops. "A group of the other harpies of my generation have chased me out of the village and are trying to kill me. They want less competition for food and places on the hunting parties. Most of them have only gone once, so the fact I've been twice is a big threat to them. Tch. One or two of them I could handle, but five? No way in hell."
"Gobuto…" Goburyū muttered uneasily.
"Head back to the cave. Keep under cover of the bushes." He warned them in Grobbri, "There're five other harpies in the area and they're not likely to be good enough to look the other way. I'll be running distractions to lure them away from the tribe."
"O-OK." Goburyū nodded uncertainly, "Be safe, Gobuto."
As Goburimi and Goburyū ran off, Tayuya frowned. "What the fuck are you planning?"
"How likely are these other harpies to kill any goblin they come across?" Gobuto asked as he reactivated his detection skill.
"Pretty fuckin' likely." The former kunoichi snorted, "Killing gobs is like pest control. You breed so damn fast that makin' sure your kind never gets above a hundred per tribe is almost a religion to the people in this world."
'They seem to be working; even with the new generation and the old generation, there's only fifty to seventy goblins in my tribe.' Gobuto thought with a scowl. Now he knew what the angel Angela had meant. Just thirty more goblins once the old generation got back and the locals would try and cull them.
Making a note to start training the other gobs in combat at some point, Gobuto sighed. "Right then. I'll help you out."
A mistrustful expression came over the Harpy's face. "What's in it for you?"
"Stopping the murder of my tribe for one." Gobuto replied, "Stopping the murder of someone who hasn't done anything to deserve it for another. If you want a selfish reason, I want your knowledge of this world. I help you against these attackers, you help me get to know what's going on in the wider world. Deal?"
Staring at him suspiciously, Tayuya nevertheless nodded. "Try to backstab me and I'll gut you." She warned him.
"Same to you." Gobuto shot back, then grinned at her surprise, "Surprised? I was the Nanadaime Hokage for over seventy years before I finally died. Something that you pick up along the way is a bit of ruthlessness and a sense of retribution."
"Well fuck." Tayuya smirked, "Not such a pussy after all, are you? OK then, 'Hokage-sama'…what's the plan?"
Later
With the Five Harpies
Jadia snarled as she streaked across the treetops in search of that bitch Tayuya. She had slipped away when they hadn't been looking after one of Sapphira's wind spells had blinded them with leaves.
"Any sign of the little bitch?!" Emrelda shouted.
"No sign! Not even a goblin!" Ambra called back, "If nothing else, the fledgling's good at hiding!"
"All of you, shut up!" Dia roared. She was of descent of the current leader of the tribe and was thus the de-facto leader of the five harpy girls. She had shimmering crystal wings that had earned her name. The others were stunning colours of green, blue and yellow, but hers were better than some harpies several years older than them.
Unlike with goblins, it took harpies a month to age into grown bodies, and during that time, a social pecking order was usually established. Those of superior bloodlines were at the top, the rest were at the bottom…usually. Tayuya was powerful, able to use some sort of skill, an inborn skill, to control sound to some degree. She had caught the notice of their elders while still remaining aloof of the hierarchy that the rest aspired to.
Dia still ground her teeth when she recalled the first time she had faced the foul-mouthed girl in a sparring match. The soundwave that she had been hit with had driven her to her knees before Tayuya, humiliating her in front of her peers and superiors! Dia just knew that it was that first match that had taken her off the favoured list and put Tayuya on it.
For all of that, the pink-haired harpy had to die. Dia wasn't stupid, however. Tayuya was strong and no harpy in their generation could beat her one-on-one or even two-on-one. Five-on-one was a different game altogether.
"Hey, bitches!" the hated bellow of their prey made the harpies snap their heads around immediately. Tayuya hovered smugly above the trees to one side, looking slightly roughed up but otherwise unharmed.
"Tayuya!" Dia snarled.
"That's the name, skank. Don't wear it out!" the reincarnated kunoichi sneered, "Howsabout we go another round, Dia? Just you'n me? Oh wait…I'd cream ya like I have the last dozen times you've fought me!"
"Bitch!" the crystalline-winged harpy howled.
"You are so easy to rile up it isn't true, princess!" Tayuya sneered, "And the rest of your-cunt-licking pussy-whipped slaves are along for the ride too, I see."
Jadia, Sapphira, Emrelda and Ambra flushed scarlet at that. Yes, they had experimented with Dia in bed and yes, that was something that was frowned upon, if only because Dia hadn't actually earned four lovers. In the harpy society, one earned their keep. The greater their contribution to the tribe, the greater their status and rewards for their service. This included men and women captured in raids as slaves, as well as lesser members of the tribe. Members chosen by one of higher status were greatly honoured by being selected and served their new mistresses with great devotion.
Dia was a powerful harpy and would undoubtedly earn those rights and honours in the fullness of time, but all harpies, regardless of bloodlines and lineage, were expected to obey the rules set down for the first year of their life before they were assigned a task for the greater good of the tribe. This included limiting themselves to one lover at a time.
"Shut up, you moulting skank!" Dia shrieked, "I am supposed to stand at the top of our clutch, not you! Vanish and die!"
With a violent gesture from their leader, the other harpies lunged into the attack; talons extended and ready to cut Tayuya into pieces. The reincarnated harpy just smiled, however.
"[Sonic Arrow]!" she snarled and unleashed the unique magic that she had been reincarnated with, [Sound Magic]. The weaker spells had been easy to spam for her, until she achieved some level of experience with them. Then she had levelled up and earned some better spells, such as the [Sonic Arrow] spell.
A ripple in the air was the only sign that something had been cast and then Sapphira shrieked in pain as something slammed into her, sending her falling into the trees below, which broke her fall, although she was knocked out.
"Not so fuckin' easy when you're not sneaking up on me and muting me with wind magic, is it?!" Tayuya crowed as she dodged out of the way of the other three attacks, "Come and get me, bitches!"
With that, she dived through the canopy below her and vanished from sight.
Now any harpy of sufficient experience will know to never venture into a forest in pursuit of a foe. The trees of forest density limit their manoeuvrability, the defining strength of a harpy, and force them to hop along branches if they cannot fully spread their wings. It is one reason that mountains that border grasslands are favoured territories of harpies.
Dia was not only inexperienced in combat, she was also arrogant, pig-headed and so blinded by anger that any co0mmon sense flew out the window.
"Well? Are you waiting for an invitation or something?" she demanded, "AFTER HER!"
Gulping, the other harpies nodded and dived into the canopy after Tayuya, the leader a feather's length behind them.
'Prepare to die, bitch!' Dia snarled in her mind.
With Gobuto
He had to admit it; Tayuya was a master of taunting her enemies into a frenzy. The idiots were diving after her with almost no hesitation. He was perched in a tree, using [Stealth] to remain hidden as Tayuya lead the four remaining harpies towards him. Even from this distance, he could see their names and levels.
Ambra LV7
[-]
Jadia LV7
[-]
Emrelda LV7
[-]
Dia LV8
[Heiress to Halmas Tribe Chief]
All of them were stronger than him, even if it was by a small margin. In the quick rundown that Tayuya had given him, the missing one, Sapphira, had a minor blessing of the Demigod of the Wind, granting her access to wind magic. That would have been troublesome, so she had planned on knocking her out ASAP. Evidently she had succeeded.
What made this operation problematic was that if any of them died, Tayuya would be blamed thanks to Dia's relatively high rank and lineage in the harpy village. So the delinquent harpies would have to be brought down non-lethally. Thus the quest that that the both of them had received.
[Quest Alert!]
Pluck Feathers: The Harpy Tayuya, a fellow Reincarnator, is being pursued by rivals from her village. Defeat them without killing them to help her.
Quest Reward: +1500 EXP, +50 SP, [Neutral] Relationship with Tayuya.
Quest Failure: [Dislike] Relationship with Tayuya, Possible Death.
This Quest Cannot be Refused.
That's just lovely.
Despite the pink-haired former kunoichi's actions in their past lives, Gobuto didn't especially dislike her. Yes, she had worked for Orochimaru, which was probably why she was here, and yes, she had helped the Snake Sannin get his hands on Sasuke, but that was during her last life. This life was a clean slate, so long as they weren't like Madara.
He silently drew his dirk and reversed it as Tayuya sped beneath him. As the other harpies flew underneath him, he dropped on top of the light green-feathered one, Jadia, and slammed the hilt of his dirk onto the back of her head.
"Wha-!?" she cried and tried to throw him off, but he struck the back of her head three more times with the iron hilt of his dirk, finally making her eyes roll up as she lost the battle for consciousness.
You have disabled Jadia the Harpy! You gain 150 EXP!
{Congratulations! As a result of repeated actions, you have learned the skill [Cold-Cocking]!}
[Cold-Cocking] (Active) [LV1, 00.00]
Requires a blunt weapon to be used. Alternatively, the hilt of a sword of haft of a spear, just as a couple of examples, could be used instead, which would make them count as [Improvised Weapons] for the duration of the skill.
Cold-Cocking is a surprise attack with a blunt instrument intended to knock someone out. The target is usually either the jaw or the back of the head of the enemy and is surprisingly effective, although less so if not used as an ambush.
- Costs 30 MP per use.
- If targeted at the jaw or back of the head of the target, grants a 50% chance at inflicting [Stun] upon the target. If done via ambush or while the target is unaware of the user's location, that percentage increases to 70%.
- If targeted at the jaw or back of the head of the target, grants a 30% chance at inflicting [Unconsciousness] on the enemy. If used during an ambush or when the target is otherwise unaware of your presence, that percentage is raised to 50%.
While useful, it wasn't what Gobuto was concerned about at the moment. The moment the harpy girl had lost consciousness, she and Gobuto had started to plummet to the ground. Hastily sheathing his weapon, the reincarnated ninja grabbed a branch while keeping a hold on Jadia's arm, swinging to land in the pile of leaves he had set up just for this situation.
"What happened to Jadia?!"
"Something ambushed her from above!"
"Stop talking nonsense! We are the only flying tribe in this area, and the only other harpy aside from our group in the entire forest is the one in front of us!"
Hurriedly pulling a coil of rope from his pack, Gobuto bound the unconscious harpy by her arms, legs and wings before stuffing her inside a tree. Then he headed out and climbed a tree again, hopping from branch to branch as quietly as possible. This had the bonus effect of raising his [Stealth], [Silent Movement] and [Silent Forest Movement] skills by a level.
"Kyaaa!" the other green-feathered one shrieked as another [Sonic Arrow] slammed into her head courtesy of Tayuya. "Dia, we're getting picked off one by one here!"
The crystalline-winged Dia looked absolutely incensed. "Tayuya! Who the hell do you have helping you?!"
"Wouldn't you like to know, ya whore!" the former kunoichi sneered, "What you should be worried about is what the Elders'll do to you when I drag all five of you in front of them for trying to kill me!"
From what Gobuto could see of the remaining three enemies' faces, they didn't like that scenario whatsoever. The leader, Dia, seemed to go all pale and pasty at the very thought of it. The Elders were similar to advisors in his old world, made up of several of the oldest and wisest harpies. They advised the Chief and could persuade her with arguments about various issues…including punishments issued to harpicidal harpies.
Serves her right. She made a piss-poor plan and thought with her pride and arrogance, rather than with cool, calm and in-control thoughts. Back in his and Tayuya's old world, that kind of planning would have gotten her killed.
"Now then!" Tayuya shouted, "Let's get this fucking fight over with!"
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Next Chapter: Orc Invasion
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