Chapter 2: Let's play Dungeons and Ninja
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Hello people, for all who wonder: If I post this my main laptop won't have been repaired yet, I don't have access to any of the files of my fanfics so this is a rewrite of the original version of this chapter.
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Naruko was a interesting girl, she was pretty knowledgeable in RPG's apparently too.
Why? Well, she had, just in case she found a dungeon, worked on a sturdy new armor for herself, made of leather she got with Henge no Jutsu in a shop. It took the form of a padded, heavily padded, leather jacket with arm bracers, bracers for the lower legs and a headband akin to a forehead protector but made of leather.
The latter she only put on after they were at Training Ground 14 where they would be making the dungeon and go through it. "So, that dungeon, what is it's name?" Asked Hayate, thankful that his sickness wasn't- Then he coughed hopelessly.
"Um... It's named [King Slimesters Country], think it could be a open-air dungeon?" Answered Naruko, looking over to the Jonin that accompanied her and Hinata.
"Possible, also 'Slimester', perhaps it is a dungeon filled with slimes?" Responded Yugao, still slightly reeling from seeing from when she had been given that ability by Naruko. She thought initially that Naruko misunderstood something, but after she and Hayate read through the entire Tutorial it was clear that Naruko didn't. It was as she said.
"Then it will be easy right?" Asked Naruko hopefully, excitement making her jump most of the way, it was a bit strange to be honest.
"Well *Cough* the level is 1 to 5 in this dungeon, and the tutorial says that the mid-boss is only about two levels higher than the strongest, regular mob *Cough* And the boss is another two levels stronger. So you two should be fine." Explained Hayate, looking over the shoulder of Naruko. Or rather over her head, she was so short seriously.
"Alright people, let's be careful even so alright?" Stated Yugao as the two academy students nodded, though Hinata wasn't as pumped as Naruko was.
Arriving in the area, labeled [Training Ground 14] by the prompt they all got. "Does that happen each time you get into a named area?" Asked Yugao confused, looking at the textbox with a small information box underneath. It basically said that the area itself was like gear for training, enhancing the experience gain by 20% if it was true.
"Yup, but that is the first time that there was a bonus to a area." Explained Naruko and the two Jonin frowned a bit.
"Naruko, see if this bonus also holds true for experience points earned in dungeons." Instructed Yugao and, after a confused look send toward the older woman, Naruko opened the details window.
"Yup, it is." Confirmed Naruko and both Jonin had to hold a smirk, that was going to be easier than thought. "So, should I make it now?" Asked Naruko, looking to the two adults with those huge, blue eyes of hers. It was a bit chilling how she could make you want to please her with that stare.
"Alright, let's get this started." Stated Yugao, earning her a cheer from Naruko.
"Alright! Instant Dungeon Creation activate!" Shouted Naruko, a ball of energy flying from her hand before exploding high above them and forming a half-sphere around them. When the field had been established, which encompassed the entire area, a bright flash blinded them for a moment.
Finally, when they could see again they were on a large hill with rolling fields of grass all around them. Off in the distance was a large castle which was clearly the dungeons primary boss-area from what they could see. Then, before them appeared a message.
[King Slimesters Country]
Bonus: +20% Experience Points
Current Level: Fields of Slimester
Boss Requirements:
Kill [Small Blue Slime]: 0/10
Kill [Small Green Slime]: 0/10
Kill [Small Red Slime]: 0/10]
"I guess that means there are levels to this Dungeon." Commented Yugao with crossed arms, did that mean that the over all level would also raise once they cleared this? Well, it would certainly help. Well, it would certainly help with the training for the kids.
"*Cough* Let's be careful *Cough* we don't know what those slimes could have for *Cough* abilities." Noted Hayate while unsheathing his own sword.
They moved through the fields, not seeing any monsters yet until they come over another hill and they could see a small river that flowed by. At first there were no enemies until they come to roughly 20 meters in front of the river. On the surface of the water appeared a oozing, thick substance that quickly moved over the surface in their direction.
Once it left the water they could see what it was by name: [Small Blue Slime (Lvl 1)]. The monster was roughly half Naruko's height, the shortest out of the team, was a baby-blue color and a spherical form. It actually looked cute the way it wobbled toward them, but it was hostile which was shown by it's name being shown in red. The problem it had? It was roughly as fast as a snail.
"First mob and we could hold a training season here for hours before it comes at us... Naruko, stats." Ordered Yugao and Naruko nodded quickly.
"[Observe]!" Commanded Naruko and before her appeared a text-box for the small monster.
[Small Blue Slime]
Level: 1
Class: Liquid Lifeform
Special Ability: ?
Encounters: 1
HP: 200
CP: 10
STR: 12
VIT: 5
DEX: 2
INT: 0
WIS: 0
LUK: 3
DEF: 1
Description: A small Slime native to the country under King Slimester. [Blue Slimes] are native to water but you don't know more. Fight more of them to learn more.]
They all starred at this, then back at the slime which was probably the slowest thing they would ever encounter. "Do we have to kill it? I feel sorry for the little guy." Asked Naruko, not understanding how something like that should be a treat to them. She had seen freshman at the academy with higher levels and stats. Hell, even fangirls had higher stats!
"I know what you mean, I checked several civilians with that ability and the only ones with a comparable level and stats were babies." Explained Yugao, not feeling right to kill this little guy. But they had to, if they wanted to progress through this-
That was when the slime suddenly spit a torrent of water from it's body, shrinking slightly but hitting Naruko hard. Naruko fell to the ground, it was more surprise than it was the force of the water to be honest and looking to her own HP, 2 points did she lose just now.
"Okay, it is hostile but that was just sad." Stated Naruko with a frown before grabbing one of her Kunai. "This is gonna hurt, but you hurt me too!" She stated firmly before running forward. Now knowing that it was using water as a means of attack Naruko was able to use her high HP and defense to tank the attacks until she was before the slime and begun to cut into it. Surprisingly the Kunai did little to damage it.
A pop-up appeared before her and she found the why:
[Discovered Ability of [Slime] class mobs: [Liquid Body], this ability reduces damage through weapons by 90%]
Naruko pouted, she did damage but despite all the slime had 200 HP!
Then Hinata decided to go in herself. She decided to check if something else was more effective and hit it with her Jyuuken which made ripples appear in it before it's back exploded, reducing a lot of it's health.
*Ping* [You discovered a weakness! Slimes are weak against Chakra based attacks!]
They looked at this new message while the slime, now down to 69 HP, begun to move toward the water again. That was, until Naruko jumped in front of it and gave it a good kick, sending the slime flying to splatter against a tree. And then it just vanished into a flurry of blue shards like glass.
"Did you just kick the slime to death?" Asked Yugao bewildered, Naruko bypassed it's skills and, just killed it by kicking it into a tree. Naruko jogged meanwhile, ignoring the question, up to the spot where she found a small amount of money and a flask with a blue substance.
"Yugao-sensei! What is that?" Asked Naruko confused, holding up the substance and Yugao walked up to the girl to examine it. "[Observe]." She muttered and before her appeared a window with the information.
[Blue Slime Essence (Common Quality)]
Class: Ingredient
Description: A sample of the material that blue slimes are made of. Can be used for [Potion Crafting] or for the [Familiar Crafting Skill]. If consumed in pure form it restores 20 HP.]
They all looked at it with mixed feelings. First of all, this must be the worst healing item ever, especially since Naruko, at Level 10, had more than 130 times more HP than this would restore like this. But there was another thing. "There is a skill to make [Familiars] and [Potions]?" Asked Hinata what the others thought, there were such skills?
"Let's gather more and then experiment!" Cheered Naruko and run off the moment she realized this. Everyone else just sighed, energetic little girls that can tank you to death were really the last thing they needed.
They met many more of those small slimes, they appeared to all be around waters if they were blue though, from the grass come from time to time a green one. Hayate checked their progress.
[King Slimesters Country]
Bonus: +20% Experience Points
Current Level: Fields of Slimester
Boss Requirements:
Kill [Small Blue Slime]: 13/10
Kill [Small Green Slime]: 4/10
Kill [Small Red Slime]: 0/10]
"Alright *Cough* seems like the blue slimes were enough now." He concluded before watching Naruko kick one of them into a tree again, there goes number 14 he guessed.
"But we only got eight of those phial thingies!" Protested Naruko to this and he sighed in resignation. And some people wondered why he didn't take a Genin team why again?
"Naruko, this is essentially a mission of sorts, to get past this level we need to kill ten slimes of another two colors, only then will we most likely get to a area with more powerful slimes." Reprimanded Yugao the little girl who looked a bit dejected at it.
"You can do this later again Naruko, so just go with the actual goal." Tried Hinata to make her friend understand what she really ought to concentrate on but it was hard with Naruko being herself.
Finally the tomato gave in and they left for the grasslands where the green slimes probably would be. Slimes gave rather lackluster rewards, mainly few XP, a bit of money and once in a while the [Slime Essence] crafting item. In other words, they were just trash monsters that were put here apparently for the purpose of very low level users of the ability.
Well, that is unless you are Naruko who had a ? in terms of luck. She got 8 vials of this kind of item, six [Blue Slime Essence] and two [Green Slime Essence] phials as well. The only problem was if they managed to get their special abilities running. Blue slimes were medicals and could regenerate by contact with liquids as well as regenerate others by giving their own HP up.
Green Slimes on the other hand had a acidic property, causing light acid damage to what touched them. This was where Naruko had an advantage over Hinata. You see, while the [Sewing] Skill sets were normally just to make armor, but at a certain level (30) one could add specific properties to the items. With every ten levels from then on one could add a additional property to an item one made.
All her equipment had a [Acid] and [Fire] resistance, her Kunai were wrapped up with leather bands that had the same effect on them. Why? Because [Acid] was annoying and the most harmful to equipment, while Kibakufuda exploded and the fire destroyed the Kunai more than the actual explosion.
Therefore she could actually get her Kunai back if she used Kibakufuda. Therefore she was the best at kicking green asses. It was when they finally did take a break that Naruko begun to look through some more functions. First of all she found there was a bestiary, it among others listed several ninja under their distinct ranks and expertises but only if she had used [Observe] on them.
Funnily enough Haruno Sakura was the poster child of the [Fanatic Fangirl] class. Uchiha Sasuke on the other hand was named [Emo Genius] in the bestiary. Yugao and Hayate, as well as the Hokage, were named under the Boss list of characters with no data except what she herself knew. But that was when she found something strange. "Yugao-sensei, what is a Jinchuriki?" Asked Naruko confused, seeing herself under that class in the bestiary.
Yugao and Hayate simultaneously spit out the water they were drinking and starred at the confused looking Naruko. "Naruko, where did you hear that word?" Asked Yugao, not liking where this was going.
"The bestiary has that word, and a picture of me is on the example field." She told her team leader and, before Yugao could stop her, clicked on the page.
[Jinchuriki]
HP: ?/?
CP: ?/?
Classification: Boss
Description: Jinchuriki are the nine humans in whom the nine Bijuu are sealed in. Those give their jailors tremendous perks such as accelerated healing, enhanced strength and durability as well as a array of associated elements if existing.
At the present all but one of the Bijuu are sealed in humans. Currently known Jinchuriki include:
Uzumaki Naruko – Kyuubi Jinchuriki – Uzumaki Clan]
Naruko starred in disbelieve at this information. Her face played many different emotions. Shock, fear, anger, rage, and finally, she begun to cry as she realized that her, as the one who contained the Kyuubi, was the sole reason they hated her. But then she frowned. "Are sealed in" that indicated that she was more of a jail to the fox rather than the fox sealed into a human form so, why?
Yugao sighed while Hayate, with a stoic face, took a plank of wood and begun to hit himself with it. "Yugao-sensei, you knew? But why did no one tell me?" Asked Naruko distressed, it was not making sense to her, not at all! Seriously! Why her? Why the newborn, cute, little redhead who hadn't been a few minutes old before that giant fox begun to have a fit?!
Yugao winced at the desperation in the girl's voice. It wasn't surprising, getting this information in this manner must hurt. But, while she seemed desperate and confused, it seemed she didn't panic, it was more hurt to be honest. Yugao attributed this to her Gamer ability.
"Yes, I knew. Sorry Naruko-chan but the Hokage gave strict instructions to not tell anyone below Chunin rank. He wanted to prevent in that way that the other children would make rush assumptions but sadly the adults still managed to make them have a negative view of you even so. But you aren't the fox, you are his jail and there is no question about it, Yondaime-sama was a sealing master after all." She tried to consolidate the girl while Hinata looked on a bit stunned at hearing her friend was the prison of the Kyuubi itself.
"Wait, why does that make people hate Naruko-chan? If the seal is placed on her, doesn't that mean it needs her to keep the Kyuubi at bay?" Asked Hinata confused, being well versed enough in the art of Fuin Jutsu, or it's theory, to know that seals that were placed on living beings were relient on the will of their bearer. Either the sealed object, or being, would break out, or be lost.
Yugao sighed, slightly relieved that Hinata understood and Naruko glomped her instantly in a hug. Hinata found herself the victim of Naruko crying, her friend had nearly feared she would reject her based on this. "You are right Hinata-chan, but sadly humans rarely think straight and fear what they don't understand. Fuin Jutsu is a rare skill that only few would follow and the civilians don't know anything at all." Explained Yugao sadly to the two girls.
"There is another reason." Stated Hayate, coughing a bit harder than needed but mostly in a effort to prevent it from happening while he explained. "Many villages see Jinchuriki just as weapons. As long as they can be send to kill, they don't care about their mind. Sunagakure's Jinchuriki, who holds the Ichibi for example, was repeatedly targeted for assassination and subjected to reject to make him blood thirsty in exchange for his sanity." Explained Hayate sadly, knowing of the boys past.
"That is horrible! Why would they do that?" Asked Naruko horrified that people would do that to anyone.
"Many, Naruko-chan. While you become a Jinchuriki because Yondaime-sama only could seal it in you, the Kazekage sealed the Ichibi in his own son, before he even was born in fact. He was made a Jinchuriki to be a weapon and a sympathetic or empathic weapon wasn't going to work for his machinations." Explained Yugao sadly, revulsed by what some people were willing to do for power.
The Kazekage, Orochimaru, Uchiha Itachi, three names, three people who did the unthinkable for power. Naruko suppressed a growl in her throat, this was wrong! Why did people things like that? While her mind could think through those emotions, they weren't hysteria, not crippling fear, it was sadness, anger, confusion and so much more.
Did she know that there were worse people in the world? Sure did, that old man Danzo for example. Did she care? No, she didn't! It was wrong! And she silently vowed to change this! She would, if need be, grind her level up to level 999.999 if it was needed to beat that Kazekage guy but she would beat him beyond silly for this!
Yugao could almost see Naruko's determination but then blinked when Naruko received a quest window. Those things were awfully convenient at times.
[Quest Alert: Surpassing the Golden Sand]
Description: The Kazekage is a heartless monster, become stronger than him and show him who is boss!
Quest: Reach Level ?
Reqierements for Failure: Death before Reaching the Goal
Reward: 50.000 Exp, 2 [?], 2 [?], 500.000 Ryo
Accept?
[Yes] – [No]
Naruko was for a moment stunned since this was the most vague but at the same time most rewarding quest she ever got. Not even the level she was supossed to reach was yet known but perhaps that was because the target could change with the Kazekage getting stronger too. Even so, she pressed yes, determined to do it.
Yugao hung her head, Hayate banged it on that slab of wood gain and Hinata giggled at her friend accepting a quest like that. "Well, I guess now we have a new goal, make Naruko-chan, and Hinata-chan as a consequence, into Kage-level juggernauts even if just by level." Stated Yugao, laughing at the dumbfounded looks the two girls gave her.
"Well, before we tackle this, let's eat." Remarked Hayate before the small group continued the small break in their quest to vanquish the monsters.
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Two hours and 24 [Small Green Slime] mobs later the group had finally found 10 [Small Red Slime] mobs. Those were surrounding a small, rather broken looking blacksmith in which fire still burned.
"Alright, that is the only spawning point of those guys in the whole area." Stated Yugao in slight annoyance at how they had to traverse to the entire, other side of this whole area before reaching this place!
"Can't help it Yugao-sensei, they like heat perhaps?" Asked Naruko, looking at the small slimes that were no larger than the previous ones. The anomaly come from a single larger blob. [Medium Red Slime] was it's name, it was apparently the stronger stock monster of that kind. A mini boss of sorts, or just to make the whole thing a bit harder.
"So... Tutorial level?" Asked Hinata, looking to the others who nodded briefly. It was nearly like an insult to them but then again they were talking about a dungeon that was geared to, at least, level 4 players. Therefore this thing was just a tutorial under the assumption that they weren't all that strong. With that information, they attacked. The damage they did was relatively low in case of the girls, Yugao and Hayate not attacking themselves.
It was training for the two of them, so it was bad for Yugao and Hayate to use their over the top damage points to obliterate anything in the way. Hinata also found that the slimes reacted differently to her strikes than the blue or green ones once she used her Yuuken style. What they did? The blotts of slime shooting out backward exploded into fire upon impact.
Also another thing: They were volatile to fire, the moment they were hit they exploded and burst into flame, a chain reaction was the result with Hinata killing pretty much all of them in one go. A few seconds passed before Naruko run to where the larger slime had been. "Hey! There is a Jutsu scroll!" Shouted the Naruko and they all went there quickly.
[Katon: Kakyo no Jutsu Scroll]
Class: Skill-Book
Rarity: Common
Description: A scroll with instructions on performing the Ninjutsu [Katon: Kakyo no Jutsu]. This technique is seen by many as a intermediary step toward the stronger [Katon: Gokakyo no Jutsu] and the more numerous [Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu] of higher levels. When used this technique will fire a small ball of fire from the users mouth, with every 10 levels of mastery this will allow for an additional fireball. Once mastered [Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu] or [Katon: Gokakyo no Jutsu] can be learned.
Effect: Teaches [Katon: Kakyo no Jutsu], +10 WIS and INT]
They all looked to each other at that piece of information. "Alright, Hayate and I both know that Jutsu already. So, who of you wants to learn it?" Asked Yugao the two girls, it was a pretty good jutsu to start with learning Katon and, considering the ability, this would actually work out very well.
"Umm... Ano... I- I think Naruko-chan should take it." Confessed Hinata, surprising Naruko with that proposal. Seeing the look on her friends face Hinata quickly went to explain: "I already have a offensive technique, you don't right? And you have much more Chakra than me." Explained Hinata and Yugao nodded in agreement.
"Are you sure? Perhaps this is something like a "Anti-Boss Key Item" or something, you know? In some games they give you this item that can help you greatly fight them." Asked Naruko and the others turned to each other but nodded. With that Naruko picked up the scroll and pressed on accept when the prompt come whether she wanted to learn the Jutsu.
Information flooded Naruko's mind as the ninjutsu was taught to her by the scroll. She smirked but stopped when they all noticed a message appear.
[Save Zone conquered!]
Congratulations, by defeating all enemies in the area the [Smithing] Skill Tree is now available and you can use the [Blacksmith] option to craft your own items of ore's.
Benefits: [Metal Crafting] is available ; Access to [Slimester Furnace] has been enabled ; Skill Points are made useable to obtain new [Blood Type] skills]
They all starred at this new bit of information and Naruko quickly called up the Tutorial about those "Blood Type" skills that were mentioned.
[Blood Type Skills]
[Blood Type] Skills, also better known as Kekkei Genkai, are normally limited to certain bloodlines. But during a recent update [The Gamer] ability allows you now to harness their power too, given that you invest [Skill Points] into the respective ability.
List of available Kekkei Genkai at the present:
Uzumaki Naruko:
Byakugan (White Eye) (Dojutsu) (0/10
Hyoton (Ice Release) (Futon/Suiton Combination) (0/10)
Jiton (Magnet Release) (Futon/Doton Combination) (0/10)
Chakra Chains (Inherent Skill) (To be Awakened) (0/10)
Hinata:
Hyoton (Ice Release) (Futon/Suiton Combination) (0/10)
Futton (Boil Release) (Katon/Suiton Combination) (0/10)
Byakugan (White Eye) (Dojutsu) (4/10)
Ranton (Storm Release) (Raiton/Suiton Combination) (0/10)
Available Skill Points:
Naruko: 1
Hinata: 0
Availability is decided by elemental compatibility (whether or not one element is already possessed) or relationship with a clan. One must at least be on friendly terms with a clan head to have access to their Kekkei Genkai.]
They all starred at this bit of information. The impossible, once again, become possible huh? Stealing Kekkei Genkai without risking your life or pissing off the people by killing their clansman and taking their eyes. Well, depending on what kind of Kekkei Genkai at least.
"Cool! I can have a Kekkei Genkai?" Asked Naruko excitedly as she bounced up and down.
Yugao on the other hand tried to make some sense of the Kekkei Genkai. The Byakugan was available because Hisashi was actually a supporter of Naruko. He liked the young girl who actually managed to push his daughter out of her shell. The rest had only in common that they either had Katon or Futon in them, the former newly learned so, the latter had to be Naruko's actual affinity.
"Alright calm down Naruko." Ordered Yugao the young girl who looked up to her in a manner that made it look like a puppy asking why. "We will discuss this later Naruko-chan, for now leave that option alone." Ordered Yugao, inciting a pout from Naruko who didn't want to wait but still let herself be pursued to do so. "Alright, we met the conditions to fight the boss, so let's go." Stated Yugao and the others nodded.
Interestingly they got directed tooward a large wall that had separated them from the city directly around the castle by and arrow. That was probably the next dungeon in this set, or the next stage. Suddenly the ground begun to shake as a large being jumped down from the wall.
This being was actually a humanoid being, though decaying and zombie like looking. It wore a silver plate armor and wielded a rusty sword in one hand. On it's helmet it had a plume stand up and oozing out of it's right eye was a black liquid.
[Boss Appearance!]
[Necro Slime Knight: Sir Albaran] (6)
Everyone starred as the undead, controlled by the slime in it's head, begun to move toward them, wobbling slightly as it's sword was being dragged behind it.
"A zombie?" Asked Naruko bewildered, that didn't fit in this setting at all!
"Well, more like a slime controlling a corpse." Countered Yugao as they prepared for it. Then, it finally rushed forward with a gurgled scream, becoming much faster. "Scatter!" Shouted Yugao as she and Hayate dodged with Naruko and Hinata following soon after. Naruko had the bright idea that moment to use her newest Jutsu.
"Katon: Kakyo no Jutsu!" Shouted the diminutive [Gamer] as she shot a small ball of fire at the enemy who had, according to Yugao's check, 2000 HP. To their surprise, the attack, as weak as it was, took 232 points out of him and charred a part of the body who now fixed it's gaze on Naruko. She got the Aggro of the boss and so he now focused on her as the person who dealt the largest amount of damage to him so far.
Naruko didn't have time to fire another jutsu at the corpse who was attacking her tirelessly. Hinata tried to hit it with the Byakugan but the physical strikes were blocked by the armor of the corpse, only dealing 20 points of damage for each strike.
Yugao and Hayate watched, trying to find out whether Naruko would be able to get herself out of that predicament or not. To their surprise, yes she could! Just as she was struck a puff of smoke appeared and she was replaced by a nearby branch of a tree. Further away from the knight she reappeared and went through handsigns before firing yet another Katon: Kakyo no Jutsu at the boss.
The battle went on like that, Naruko having a pretty much lonely fight with the boss because Hinata couldn't perform Katon Ninjutsu yet while Hayate and Yugao didn't want to take away the victory of Naruko by being the boss-level fighters they were. It took half a dozen hits with the Jutsu and two Critical Hits before it was defeated finally with Naruko sighing in relief.
A victory message appeared, but only before Naruko and Hinata. Apparently it knew that neither of the adults did anything.
[Congratulations! You defeated [NecroSlime Knight: Sir Albaran]!]
Reward: 1000 EXP ; Access to [Boss Arena] Dungeons unlocked ; Access to [Slimesters Capitol Slimania] unlocked ; +1 Skill Point]
As if on cue the gates opened to the next area and Naruko went to pick up the loot from the boss.
It was a [Boss Treasure Key] which they found the chest for quickly. In the chest they found 10.000 Ryo, which Naruko was given because she pretty much solo'ed the underleveled boss. There was also a [Iron Chain Mail], a sort of shirt made of hundreds of interlocked rings. It was supossed to be equipped under the jacket or similar things so Naruko did just that.
The third Item was a [Training Staff], a two-handed staff weapon. It increased the experience gained when training a blunt-weapon related skill by 10% and the overall experience points through fighting by 5%. Since it also had 20 points of damage it would deal unlike Naruko's Kunai, she quickly equipped it as her primary weapon while the Kunai become secondary.
The last item was a [Black Slime Soul]. This picked their interest.
[Black Slime Soul]
Rarity: Legendary
Type: Consumable
Description: A unique orb containing the powers of a [Black Slime], also known as the [Necro Slime]. When used this item raises Chakra, INT and WIS increase by Level up by 40% and gives the Skill [Soul Taker] to it's user. Cannot be unequipped.]
Naruko looked a bit horrified at that name of the perk but on Yugao's insistence pressed on it to investigate.
[Perk: [Soul Taker]]
Prerequisite: [Black Slime Soul]
Effect: Passive: Learn Skills and Jutsu of defeated enemies. Active: Absorb HP or CP equal to 20% of dealt damage. When HP or CP on maximum this becomes a permanent raise in points.]
Naruko's eyes widened and the other gaped at that. Basically, Naruko now had the possibility to obtain a ability that would make Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Ninja, look harmless in the copycat division. "Should I use it? Or should I sell it?" Asked Naruko, knowing that "Legendary" would mean this item was worth a shitload of money. It was perhaps even unique but that would make it even more valuable to keep.
"I say use it, any skill of that sort would be perfect to use." Stated Hayate, just her ability to live the world like a game was ground breaking. This? This was basically cheating the system! … then again her ability was cheating the system known as Life so no big difference there.
Naruko nodded and tapped it with her finger, activating the window to use the item itself. Seconds after confirming it, the orb exploded into a shower of sparkles which then were promptly absorbed by Naruko who looked a bit startled by this. "Weirdest feeling in ever." Muttered Naruko, shaking her head to get rid of the discomfort of this strange item activating.
She didn't feel any different, perhaps because it was a perk, or perhaps because it was passive. Anyway, a check on her status window confirmed her fourth perk, it also informed her now that the first Perk was her status as Jinchuriki, while the second in the list was actually that she was the heir of the Uzumaki clan. Okay, she nearly forgot that the Bestiary mentioned her being of a ninja clan.
"Anyway, let's get back until tomorrow." Stated Hayate, coughing slightly at the end and the others nodded. With Naruko activating the [Instant Dungeon Escape] skill, which had no penalty due to not having entered the city yet but having defeated a boss, they found themselves back on the training ground.
"Alright, you two go home for now, Hayate-kun and I need to report to Hokage-sama. And don't go around spending those points except for you Hinata, if you can use them on your Byakugan." Ordered Yugao the two girls who both nodded, albeit in Naruko's case begrudgingly.
Then something occurred to her. "Wait, can't I go with Hinata-chan and ask Hisashi-sama if he would be okay with it?" Asked Naruko curiously and Yugao stopped for a moment at that proposal. She nearly forgot that Naruko was on very good terms with the Hyuuga head because she actually helped Hinata improve better than him. And Naruko rarely trained actively with her until now.
Yugao gave her permission to the little [Operation Byakugan] as Naruko called it in her head as the two children run off, Naruko dragging Hinata after herself a bit. "They are really cute like that, right Hayate-kun?" Asked the purple haired woman and her boyfriend/fiance nodded in agreement to that. No questions there. Though it was more of a puppies playing together cute to be honest than a romantic cute.
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Naruko and Hinata made it to the compound rather quickly, particularly because they took the "Ninja Highway" which basically were the rooftops.
Kids of ten and above were nothing special to run over them, no one would complain about two academy students in their second to third year taking that path anyway. Anyway, when the guard saw them he didn't hesitate to let the heiress and her best friend through, Naruko was such a common sight by now that the motto become: Better have her come through the front rather than endure another prank.
Literally. She taught the Hyuuga the fear before the prankster skills of a bored Naruko, nothing was more terrifying for a clan with X-Ray vision than being unable to stop a ten year old kid from entering their compound. Some suspected she had some kind of invisibility power that even the Byakugan couldn't see through. Truth was? There were tons of secret passageways and the Byakugan apparently didn't allow to look downward.
Or the Hyuuga just didn't look that way like most people. Strangely no one else was aware of this it seemed. She did tell them about how there are secret passages under the whole village but no one found them until now other than her it seemed. But she also didn't want to give them away to them so easily and kept her mouth shut.
Naruko smiled as several of the clan members greeted her. She was, despite all, on good terms with most of the clan. Enough that her [Reputation] with the clan at large was very friendly on average. Well, perhaps it was partially from respect to her infiltration skills, who knows? She did, after all, infiltrating the Anbuu HQ, the Hyuuga compound and had never been caught was a skill they could respect.
It also didn't hurt that she actually helped the sweet young heiress of the clan, Hyuuga Hinata, to overcome her shyness slowly and improve due to that.
It didn't take long for the two girls to arrive at the main residence, Hinata's home. The building was done in a traditional, Japanese style. It was gigantic, just as expected from the currently largest and wealthiest clan in Konoha. They also had a bad habit of floundering that fact a bit too much. At the door waited no one other than Hyuuga Neji, Hinata's very mean, very pessimistic and older cousin from the branch family.
Naruko at first hated the boy for his attitude, but after Hinata explained to her his reasons she had calmed down. She still pranked his ass every chance she got and considering that he was quite the bully? Well... he was afraid out of his mind of her. Most talented in the clan sure, but he still got a bit of a purple tint in his hair from last week.
"Ohayo Neji-kun, I see you got new clothes." Smirked Naruko at the young man who swallowed at seeing the goddess of pranks before him. There were few females that could terrify the entire Anbuu of Konoha, had the respect of the elders, were on Danzo's "Don't mess with" list and could make half the population of Konoha warry of the next stunt she would pull. She was the only one under 28, by the way.
So yeah, that he was afraid of her had a good reason. Seeing as people still didn't stop acting stupid showed just how stupid most people were. "Yes, I assume you escorted Hinata-sama home?" Asked Neji, warry of his cousins best friend who, despite lacking in many aspects, was the hardest opponent you could face below Chunin level if she wasn't forbidden from using trickery, traps and similar things.
Only half the village really was afraid of her because the rest were civilians. Yes, those idiots just didn't get the message that this girl was just too good for them to mess with. He shuddered at the idea of Naruko going berserk with pranks. She knew the village better than anyone else, she could kill anyone by planting bombs everywhere under the village.
And considering she never got caught until she was finished and wanted it probably to happen, he wasn't sure if Konoha was ready for something like a Naruko who hated everyone. He knew that many thought that Hinata was one of the few things in the village keeping her loyal and so no one batted a eye on their friendship. It was also a fact that those who could try to stop their friendship knew she would probably go overbord on her pranks against them. And overbord meant killing them accidentally.
So he just let them into the house and left as quickly as possible. They both found Hiashi sitting in the living room, Hinata's sister Hanabi not around so she was probably training with someone. Good. Naruko didn't have anything against Hanabi on a personal level, but the girl was arrogant. She was too much indoctrinated into that "Talent is all and hard work won't make you better than a genius" nonsense that the clan was so infamous for.
"Ohayo Hiashi-dono." Greeted Naruko the clan head who looked up from his paperwork when they entered the room.
"Ohayo Naruko-san, I see Hinata was with you." Stated Hiashi, keeping polite despite how Naruko was pretty close to being a family member from the amount of time she spent with them due to Hinata. Even though he showed a cold exterior, Hiashi still cared for his daughter and thus for her one best friend. Naruko's constant encouraging had given Hinata much needed strength to work on her own failings making her stronger.
"Yup, we were training! Jiji gave us two tutors to help us train, Yugao-sensei and Hayate-sensei." Explained Naruko happily and with a gesture of his, she had learned a lot in her time with them he had to admit because she didn't do it right away, she sat down along with Hinata.
"I see, so that was why you two took so long?" Asked Hiashi, looking at the two of them, approving of the idea of Naruko, the one who could drag Hinata out of her shell, helping his daughter train properly.
"Mhmm, but there is another thing." Answered Naruko and Hiashi raised a eyebrow at her statement. "Invite: Hyuuga Hiashi." Intoned Naruko loudly and the man nearly jumped out of his skin at seeing the box with the invitation appear before him.
"Naruko-san, what is that?" Asked Hiashi, not knowing what this was from looks alone.
Naruko smiled and answered: "It's a ability I gained a week ago. It makes my life a sort of RPG so I can see my own stats, skills and improve them all." She explained to Hiashi who tapped [Yes] on the small window and looked at the two girls.
[The Gamer] and [Sleeping Beauty of the Hyuuga] hung above Naruko and Hinata respectively. Naruko was a bit stronger than his own daughter was, at Level 10 while she was at Level 7. Looking above himself he found that he also had a title and name with level over his head.
[Prideful Head of the Hyuuga Clan]
[Hyuuga Hiashi Lvl 65]
He nodded in approval of himself as he looked at the two girls. "I take it you already added your two tutors to this party?" Asked Hiashi, trying to discern more information about this.
"Yup, I can share it with party members but I need to refresh it every 24 hours so they retain the abilities. We can go into Dungeons to fight, and after I beat a low-level boss in the first dungeon we went through a new option was given to my ability." Explained Naruko and he raised his eyebrow at the child. "I can exchange very special points, Skill Points they are called, for Kekkei Genkai if I am friendly with the clan or share a element that makes up the Kekkei Genkai." Explained Naruko to him and that stopped him.
"Alright, what does that have to do with me then? I would understand keeping this secret after all." Asked Hiashi, confused that the girl was giving away such valuable information to him.
Naruko shifted a bit nervously before opening her own menu, navigating to the Kekkei Genkai selection section. Hiashi didn't need to be told what it listed, seeing the different icons. On the top was a stylized Byakugan, then there was the "Magnet" kanji, followed by a "Ice" kanji and finally what looked like a human with chains coming out of him, or rather her from the shape of the figure.
"I- I wanted to ask if I could have your permission to use one of the points to get a Byakugan, then I could help Hinata better with her own." She asked, more timidly than was usual for the normally confident red-head.
Hiashi leaned back in his seat, contemplating his answer. On one hand Naruko was probably the single most trustworthy person he knew. She was fiercely loyal to Konoha, she loved Hinata like a sister and despite the pranks had also a love for Hinata's family. As the Kyuubi Jinchuriki though it would be impossible to put the caged bird seal on her, the Kyuubi rejected any form of Juin instantly and his chakra flowed through her.
All things considered he could see pro's and con's to this possibility. For one thing Naruko was not someone to betray your trust in her. She was a idealistic girl who retained enough realism to know right from wrong and knew the world wasn't perfect. Alone the fact that she hadn't yet went and run away with this ability was a clear sign. She was also stable, acting childish, pranking people, a sunshine in a dark world of ninja and murder.
Another reason he liked her: Naruko was always refreshing to have around, balsam to his strained nerves in other words. Then a idea come to his mind. "I can agree to that, but there is a condition that must be met." Stated Hiashi and Naruko cocked her head to the side cutely, confused by this.
"As you know the Byakugan is a highly valued Dojutsu, should someone gain one of your eyes they could steal it from the village as has happened before. Therefore you would have to sign a Blood Binding Contract." He explained and Naruko blinked confused which was only natural in his eyes, it was after all rather obscure. The last time it was used was by the Uchiha when Hatake Kakashi obtained his Sharingan.
"A Blood Binding Contract is a special sort of seal based contract. With it you will agree that, if your eyes are transplanted to anyone that isn't part of Konoha, that person will die. It will also cause your own death as a side effect should you betray the village of your own free will. This is to prevent enemies from getting their hands on your eyes." Explained Hiashi and Naruko frowned, her mind going over the possibilities of this option.
Finally she nodded. "Alright, I think it is just fair, right? But if that is a option, why are there those caged bird seal things?" Asked Naruko and Hiashi smiled at her answer, it was clear that she didn't like it as usual.
"The Hyuuga Elders are adamant that the seal is the only real way to preserve the clan. The contract was only recently developed, a bit over 16 years ago and that is, to them, too soon to give up their old traditions." Explained the clan head to the girl who frowned.
"I knew I should have pranked them harder, but now I at least have a target for Saturday." She muttered and Hiashi sweated a bit, Naruko had lay low in recent times. Hiashi felt a pang of sympathy with the elders but then the rest of his mind kicked Sympathy in the crown jewels and reminded him that Hizashi died because of their stupid traditions and Neji had the seal because of them too.
"Well, I have a copy of the contract luckily with me, I just need to do the modifications." He explained before picking a page of paper from inside his desk and then begun to make the modifications, using the special ink that was mixed with his blood to make the seals activate.
"Alright, one last thing before we proceed. Be aware that when you graduate, since I know you two would be teamed up, I want you Naruko to act as Hinata's bodyguard. Protect her. That is the condition for me to agree too." Explained Hiashi and Naruko nodded before following his instructions to use her own blood to write her signature at the bottom, right under Hiashi's own. Seconds later all the text glowed and Naruko winced.
She felt something on her left upper arm and when looking, she found the Hyuuga symbol as a light, pink scar there. "Alright, that is the sign that the contract was made official, now you can do add the Byakugan if you wish." Explained Hiashi and Naruko nodded, her observe skill showed that it wasn't a slave mark and had no purpose beyond anchoring the contract to her body.
With a single tap, the level of mastery went from 0/10 to 1/10 and instantly Naruko flinched, feeling her eyes burn suddenly. Hiashi observed how Naruko begun to rub her eyes frantically, as if in pain. He quickly activated his Byakugan and watched in fascination how her Chakra network begun to rearange itself around her eyes until it had the typical shape of someone with a Dojutsu.
When she opened her eyes again Hiashi was greeted with slightly altered eyes. Her Iris become much lighter in shade, still blue but now much lighter than previously. Her pupils were still there but now the blue encrouched into it, like a mixture of the typical Hyuuga eyes and her old.
Then, suddenly, a new window popped up before her.
[Congratulations! You have completed the Hidden Quest [Farsight, Farreach]!]
[Reward: 500 XP, +2 Levels of [Byakugan], +1 [Beginners Jyuuken] Skill Book]
They all looked at this message surprised, Naruko didn't even know about that quest! Checking her stats Naruko found that the Byakugan was at Level 12 now, considering the ten step improvement? Most likely all Kekkei Genkai would grow that way when she placed a point on it.
Looking at the book she found that it was simply a book that allowed her to learn instantly basic skills associated with a certain subject like, in this case, the Jyuuken style. Quickly activating the book a new message appeared.
[Congratulations! You have unlocked [Beginner Jyuuken User] as a Skill! +1% Damage while using Jyuuken based Taijutsu, +1% chance of parrying, +1% chance of hitting a Tenketsu point of the opponent, +1% chance of disabling]
[Congratulations! [Beginner Jyuuken User] has leveled up to 10! +10% Damage while using Jyuuken based Taijutsu, +10% Chance of parrying, +10% chance of hitting a Tenketsu point of the opponent, +10% chance of disabling]
Naruko blinked, her mind gaining the knowledge of the very basics quickly while her muscles ached from sudden gain of basic muscle memory as if she had just practiced for over four days without pause. Naruko groaned, aching all over her body while her muscles spasmed just slightly. Even stamina monster like her couldn't take that.
Hiashi laughed slightly at that display, mentally noting to talk to the Hokage later on. This could be the opportunity to break any further influence of the civilians over Naruko and do what he had actually wanted to do for years now and as he had promised her parents: Take her in, at least as a ward of the Hyuuga clan. Now that she actually had the Byakugan he could justify it better by claiming it had been dormant until now and thus she had to be turned over to his care.
He patted himself on the shoulder for his own genius, he surprised himself at times.
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So here ends chapter 2 for all to see! And I am afraid I will continue the fanfic here.
Regarding any typing errors: Stupid OpenOffice deleted the spell checker archives so it can happen. Sorry.