Author's Note: I'm over joyed that we've broken through the 1000 followers mark. Thank you everyone for reading and enjoy.
After a long interrogation from both of them about my 'date' I was released from the chair and I had a rather brutal workout with Saiko. I think she was embarrassed that she slipped up enough that I was able to detect her following Hina and I. Other than that the rest of the week went well enough as I spent most of my days with Orochimaru studying bloodlines. At the end of the week though our team officially met Kakashi for longer than a meet and greet.
"Yo." There was a lazy sounding drawl from our right as Kakashi slowly walked towards us, his posture hunched, as his only visible eye was half closed giving him a sleepy, uninterested look.
"You're thirty minutes late to our meeting." I said neutrally while Shisui and Hina stopped their spar to turn to him.
"Maa, maa" he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "I saw a black cat crossing my path so I had to turn around and then I got lost on the road of life." I just kind of stared blankly at him. That excuse was so bad it wasn't even funny, but ninja are a superstitious lot and one of the main roads in Konoha is called life so it could be true. The sad thing was I wasn't sure if he was just bullshitting me or telling the truth.
Letting out a grunt I decided it didn't matter. "Fine. Just don't make a habit of it or I'll set Kushina on you." I saw that penetrate his apathetic exterior as he gave an involuntary shudder.
"Kids these days are so uncute." His visible eye turned downwards making it seem like he was pouting. I wasn't quite sure how he did that but however he did that it must take some serious muscle control. I almost let out a snort at the thought of him standing in front of the mirror for hours trying to perfect his eye expressions. 'Pot calling the kettle black there.' A small voice in the back of my head called out as I remembered doing exactly the same for my puppy dog eyes. Drawn from my thoughts by a clap I focused back on Kakashi. "Right then. Let's get to know each other a little better."
What followed was largely uninformative as I had already heard Hina and Shisui's responses and the only thing Kakashi volunteered as information was his name. Kind of a dick move when you'll be leading people into battle but to each his own I suppose. After that we did some standard team exercises just to get used to working together and about a week after the team had formed we took our first mission together, an A rank. Some wealthy merchant had received a ransom note after their child was stolen and we were supposed to track down whoever sent the note and retrieve the kid. Seemed easy enough so we set out at dawn towards our client.
~Interlude~ Minato
I let out a sigh as I cracked my back after sending out Team Kakashi on a child hunt. Sitting in a chair all day was really annoying and I really needed to consider getting some kind of cushion. Ah well, things to remember to do later. For now I have a bimonthly progress report from Orochimaru to get to. Teleporting out of my office into the underground medical lab I saw that Danzo was already there along with Orochimaru.
As soon as he saw I was there he handed us each a stack of paper which I flipped through quickly as he started talking. "As you both know I brought Shiro into this project with the hope that his Angel's Breath jutsu would be the key to binding bloodlines into other people. This would ultimately fail but it did have a fortuitous side effect of creating living, breathing clones of the bloodline holders." I heard a sharp intake of breath from Danzo and my own eyes widened when several people wheeled in the first Hokage.
"As you can see he is perfectly healthy aside from the fact that all tests for brain activity have failed. He even has his bloodline still." My mind reeled as I thought of the implications and I refocused as I heard Danzo talking.
"If he is perfectly healthy could he be used to sire children?"
Orochimaru's face lit up at the idea. "Yes, yes we could extract the cloned body's sperm and artificially induce a pregnancy in a volunteer. I wouldn't risk it for the cloned females though. Too many risks for complications during pregnancy."
My face scrunched up in disgust at the thought of even ordering anyone to essentially rape a cloned female, but asking for volunteers to carry a pregnancy to term and even raise the child was an intriguing idea. We could have the start of new clans in Konoha with no outside baggage from kidnapping a child. "Was anyone else able to replicate the effects of Shiro's jutsu?" If the whole thing hinged on one person it could easily fall apart and I saw Orochimaru's face briefly flicker to an angry look at my question.
"No. Every other person that has tried to reproduce the effects… well let's just say that I've never seen two people fused together before. It must be some part of his bloodline that acts as a stabilizing effect for the jutsu. Speaking of his bloodline though." He walked over to a table and withdrew two folders which he handed to us. Inside there was report after report of experiments on Shiro's blood and I skimmed it for now as Orochimaru started talking again.
"His blood is simply fascinating to study. It behaves almost as viral as the mokuton except where the mokuton destroys the subject's body immediately Shiro's seems to adapt. I've put his blood together with every single bloodline we have and after a short period his blood fully integrates the bloodline."
I looked up sharply at that. "Everyone? Even the mokuton?"
He grimaced slightly. "The mokuton is the exception for now. When put together they almost begin to vie for dominance which usually ends in mutual destruction. It is also important to note that when changed by a bloodline and introduced to a new one his cells begin the process of adapting to them but then stop. I have no idea as to why that is." I sat back in my chair as he finished speaking while Danzo leaned forwards with interest.
"Have you tried introducing his cells into another person yet?" An ecstatic look crossed his face.
"I have. When subjects were introduced to his cells without any other bloodline I was able to see them adapt to their body so that their natural defenses wouldn't hurt them. After introducing more and more of them some sort of critical mass was reached and they began to rapidly convert the surrounding cells into his. Unfortunately, the process is proving rather lethal at the moment with all test subject dying within an hour of the process starting. This holds true for when his blood has been introduced to a different bloodline beforehand as well."
"Great, I have to tell Shiro his blood is a biological weapon." I ran a hand through my hair before a thought came to me. "If this is correct then can he even have children or will he kill people just by having sex with them." I heard a snort from Danzo while Orochimaru looked thoughtful.
"I don't believe so. Hashirama was able to have children even though his blood is proving deadly for others. I would have to test it though to be certain."
I bit back a sigh and nodded. "When he's older you'll have to test him before he has sex." 'God that felt weird to say.'
"Kuhuhuhu. Of course." He licked his lips and then focused on me. "I would like to know if I have permission to introduce a bloodline into Shiro? I'm almost one hundred percent sure that he could survive with no complications and the process would help in my other research."
I bit my lip and my hands clenched as waring emotions hit me. I mainly just wanted him to be safe but sacrifices had already been made with the Chunin Exams and letting the rumor spread that I had adopted him. That was a lot of attention on him even if it was necessary for Konoha at the moment. Gaining a bloodline would make him safer yet also put him in more danger than he already was when bloodline hunters came for him.
"I would have to talk with my wife and Shiro first before I can give you an answer. Shiro should be back within a couple of days so I'll have an answer for you by the end of the month." He looked disappointed but nodded.
"Everything I told you but in more detail is in the notes I gave you. If that's all I would like to get back to my work." Neither of us had any more questions and he left us as I started looking over the notes in more detail along with Danzo. Most of the medical terminology flew right over my head and I resolved to brush up on that later when I had time.
"You know," Danzo said jolting me out of my thoughts. "While not quite what we wanted this is a great boon for Konoha." I nodded.
"Yes, would you start the screening process for women who would be willing to carry and raise a child?"
He bowed his head. "Of course." Finishing reading through the report I burned it leaving nothing but ash. One less copy floating around should decrease the chance of it being stolen. With that done I teleported back to my office. After all a Hokage's work is never finished.
~Interlude End~
It was nearly dinner time when we returned to Konoha after successfully completing our mission. Kakashi had practically abandoned us as soon as we returned but the rest of us went out for dinner together. The dinner itself was pleasant enough and at the end of it I said my goodbyes then went straight to Kushina. I had a bed time story to tell and I didn't want to miss it.
As soon as I opened the door I heard Kushina's voice. "Shiro you're back and what is that thing on your head?" She was sending an amused look at the flowery wreathe upon my head and I reached up to touch it gently.
"Oh this? Nothing much, it's just when we rescued the client's daughter she wanted to give her heroes a present."
"Sounds like an exciting mission then." She pulled me into a hug which I returned as I shrugged.
"Not really. A nearby group of merchants had hired a rogue ninja to kidnap the girl but as soon as he caught sight of us he ran, leaving the girl behind. I expect Konoha will be getting a mission soon when our clients take revenge."
"Shiro." Mito slammed into my side. "That looks so pretty. Can I have it?" She was looking at the wreathe with stars in her eyes.
"Sure." I took the multi flowered crown off my head and placed it on hers as she squealed in delight. "Where's Karin? I have one for her as well." I took a second one out of my inventory because Kakashi hadn't wanted his and I took it thinking of giving them to the girls.
"In the kitchen." She ran off towards the kitchen and I followed along at a more sedate pace. In the kitchen I saw Karin drawing something while Mito pranced around Minato showing off her new accessory. Plopping down next to Karin I placed the wreathe on her head and smiled at her when she looked up.
"Shiro," she cried as she flung her arms around me, "what's on my head?" I took it off and showed it to her as she clapped her hands in delight. "It's so pretty, put it back on." I made a grand spectacle of it and she giggled at my display before getting up and running over to Mito where they compared their new headgear.
"Hello Shiro. How did your mission go?" Minato asked as he finished eating his meal.
"Well enough." I replied as I watched the girls run around. "There will probably be a follow up mission from the client since we found the identity of the kidnappers but they weren't on site or near enough to get rid of easily."
He nodded and I saw him make a shadow clone along with Kushina. Raising an eyebrow in question he motioned for me to do the same as Kushina's clone gathered up both Mito and Karin to take them out of the room. "Come on girls, your mother and father have something we need to talk with your brother about." I could hear their protests as our clones exited the room and Kushina slapped a seal down on the floor isolating the room.
Now I was curious and I looked at both of them expectantly. Minato cleared his throat before he began to speak. "You know how Orochimaru asked for blood samples from you?" 'Ah, so that's what this is.' I nodded and he continued. "Right, well first off I have to tell you that your blood is lethal to everyone that was injected with it."
I blinked at that. "Okay so no bleeding on anyone I like, got it." They let out a chuckle before Minato turned serious again.
"In light of this when you're older you'll-" he paused and started blushing. "Wow this is more difficult than I thought it would be. Um, you know what sex is right?" A horrible realization came over me at his words and I struggled not to react. 'Would I be giving people a very real lethal injection if I had sex with them? I swear if that's the case I'll go on a rampage.' Realizing that I still hadn't responded I gave him a shaky nod as I glanced at Kushina to judge her mood. She didn't seem angry at the moment so I was in the clear for now.
"Oh thank God, I didn't want to have the Talk with any of my kids this soon." I felt a brief bit of warmth spread through me at his statement before it was gone once more. Kushina reached across to him and patted his knee to which he gave her a grateful smile before turning back to me. "So you'll have to be tested before you can engage in any sexual activities when you're older, but you don't need to take the tests until later."
I nodded again and looked back and forth between them. For some reason I had a feeling we weren't done yet. "Now we can talk about an opportunity for you." I perked up at that while Kushina took over.
"From what I understand all tests show that you can adapt to at least one bloodline not your own. Orochimaru is confident that he can surgically graft a bloodline into you with little to no harm occurring to you." 'Well I didn't expect that. I think I need to know more.'
"Can you tell me the pros and cons of doing that?" Minato nodded.
"Sure. A pro is that people with bloodlines are simply more likely to survive out in the field." 'Surviving is good.' "A major con is that bloodline holders are hunted by enemy villages but as my son you will be hunted no matter what." He paused for a moment and then turned deadly serious.
"While knowledge of your jutsu hasn't spread, and Tsunade has agreed to take the heat if it ever comes out, I would recommend doing this to simply have more options available to you in a fight."
"Can I think about it for a minute?"
"Of course, take all the time you need. It's a big decision and you shouldn't rush into it." Taking a deep breath I let my thoughts drift. More power is always good in a fight but I have to think about the long term and the short term.
"I suppose Konoha bloodlines are off limits."
Minato nodded and then added, "Yes they are along with the mokuton, but that is because your blood and it destroy each other." 'Useful to know. Also mental note to self, avoid mokuton user's blood.' Being destroyed from the inside out sounds painful.
"Could I see a list of bloodlines available?" He pulled out a sheet of paper and I read it slowly. Dark release, dead bone pulse release, lava release, hold on what's this. My finger tapped on shoton, the crystal release, as I read more about it. Apparently the user's had the ability to make crystals out of thin air. That could be useful when traveling dimensions. Gems are always precious and the ability to produce a substantial amount of them given time could be invaluable along with the practical applications I could think of. "If I go through with this I would like this one."
He pulled the sheet back and looked at it. "Why this one?"
"I have a good feeling about it." That seemed to be good enough for him but I could see Kushina was getting a little worried at the thought I might go through with this.
"Are you sure you want this Shiro? There's a chance you could die?"
"There's a chance I could die every time I go on a mission." I said frankly. "While I could die doing this if it helps my odds of surviving in the field it's worth the risk, which Orochimaru said was minimal. I've seen his skill and I trust his judgement on something like this."
Minato nodded at that. "If you really do want to do this I'll bring Tsunade back for the operation as well. Having an extra medical genius should improve the odds even more in your favor." That cemented the decision in my mind.
"I want to do this." Kushina slowly nodded and stood, motioning me to do so as well. Once I did so she wrapped me in a tight hug and moments later I felt Minato join the hug.
"Okay." She said simply and hugged me tighter. "I'll support you in this and I want you to know that I love you." I couldn't say those words back without them being a lie. The most I could feel for them was mild affection so I simply hugged her closer. Perhaps one day I could say those words truthfully again but it would not be today.
The group hug lasted for a moment longer before Minato pulled away. "I'll see that Orochimaru begins preparations and I'll send out a recall for Tsunade. We should expect her to be back within two or three days."
I gave him a nod as Kushina pulled away and out of the corner of my eye I saw her smile at me. "Let's go tuck the girls in. They loved your last story about the little mermaid. Maybe you should write these stories down." She let out a laugh as she seemed to think of something. "Actually you should absolutely do that and when they sell more than that smut Jiraiya writes you can rub it in his face by saying the student has surpassed the master."
The thought drew a smile out of me as we walked towards the sound of excited yelling from the girls. When we entered the room I saw my clone making them fly around with chakra strings as the other two clones looked on smiling at the sight. My clone, seeing us enter, gently set them down and with a pop dispersed along with the other two clones as well. "Alright girls, it's time for a story from Shiro before bed."
There were twin cries of joy and they hurriedly got prepared for bed as I plopped myself down on the bed. Once they were ready Mito snuggled in on my left and Karin on my right and clearing my throat I began. "This is a tale of Beauty and the Beast…"
Almost as soon as I finished the story they both conked out and I hesitated for a moment before deciding to stay for the night. While I was confident in my chances it wouldn't hurt to enjoy myself for a bit. With that thought running through my head I created a clone and sent it off to Saiko as I settled down in the bed and closed my eyes, letting sleep take me away.
The next three days seemed to fly by and whenever I saw Orochimaru he seemed giddy. I also went to see Saiko the night after I had gone to sleep and whilst she seemed unhappy about my choice she still supported me. Although telling me I'd better not die otherwise she would kill me was a little odd. Ah well, tough love I guess.
Finally Tsunade arrived back in the village and the first time I saw her was in the operating room waiting for me. Since she was one of the two people tasked to keep me alive during the procedure I gave her a deep bow which she just grunted at. "You know something brat? I've made a vow not to return to Konoha and I've had to break that vow twice now because of you." Her hands curled and relaxed as she sent a glare my way. "Might as well have never made the damn thing since I've already broken it three times and I don't like going back on my word. I better not have to break it again because of you or I'll wring your neck."
I'm not quite sure what to say to that. Sorry for interrupting your drinking and gambling, perhaps? No probably not. I don't have a death wish. "I'm sorry for upsetting you."
There was a moment of silence as she stared at me before she let out a grunt. "I suppose you didn't force me to come back, you're just the cause. Just whatever you do next don't do it inside Konoha. I dislike the memories this place brings back up."
"I shall endeavor to have our next meeting be outside Konoha."
"Whatever. Strip down to your underwear and get on the table." I quickly stripped and set my clothes down in a neat pile before I laid down on the cool surface of the table. As I did so I saw Orochimaru wheel in a cart and I felt the jab of a needle as I was distracted by him. Looking back over at Tsunade I saw her withdraw the needle and then look at me curiously when nothing happened. Her hands glowed green and she ran them over me before grunting again. "Fine, we'll do this the old fashioned way then." The last thing I saw was her glowing hand above my forehead and then darkness.
Ding! Bloodline detected, integrate? Yes/No
Ding! Status unconscious selecting yes due to prior actions.
Ding! Bloodline Shoton, Crystal Release, integrated. New elemental affinity, Earth, gained. Gained +5 LCK.
Crystal Release (Active(Varies)) LVL 1 – 0%
Users of Crystal Release can convert any matter into crystal, from physical material to moisture in the air, allowing them to turn anything into a weapon. When used against living creatures, targets can be crystallized down to the cellular level. Crystal users can also manipulate preexisting crystals and crystalline structures.
Decreases cost for all crystal techniques by 0.25%
Increases control of crystals by 1%
Increases chakra capacity by 0.1%
Ding! Health and chakra restored to full. All status effects removed.
A queue of flashing pop ups was the first thing that I saw when I woke up. I quickly skimmed through them and felt a glimmer of satisfaction when I saw that the bloodline transfer had been successful. Trying to sit I found myself impeded by bands to hold me down but they were simply to restrain an unconscious person and I slipped out of them easily enough.
As I stood up I realized I didn't have anything on but my underwear but I saw my clothes in a pile near the bed so I got dress while wondering why no one had shown up yet. Apparently that was the cue she was waiting for because Tsunade strolled in as soon as I had finished putting on my clothes. Just one look at me and she let out a long suffering sigh. "Ninjas, the worst patients in the entire world. Get back in bed while I check you over."
"I can assure you I'm fine." I really just wanted to leave and test this new bloodline out but she just let out a growl, and hoisted me up with one hand, then threw me back on the bed. 'Wow, what a kind bedside manner.' I mockingly thought, but didn't dare say, as she started to check me over.
As her glowing green hands roamed over me I impatiently waited for her to finish and she gave me a flick on the forehead whenever I started to squirm too much for her liking. Finally after what must have been ages she leaned back and grudgingly said I looked fine. Freedom awaited me and I was halfway to the door before I felt myself lifted off the ground once more by the back of my shirt.
"I said you seem fine, not that you could leave brat."
"Ahhh." Time to use the forbidden jutsu, 'puppy dog eyes go.' I twisted around to face her and gave her the full blast. "Please?"
"What kind of genjutsu is this?" I felt her chakra flare and she stared at me for a moment before sighing and rubbing her eyes. "Fine. Just go and see Orochimaru. See if I care if you end up back in the hospital." The last part was muttered at me as she released her hold on my clothes letting me drop to the floor.
'Yes, critical success.' "Thanks for everything." I yelled back at her as I ran out of the room. I didn't want to stick around long enough for her to change her mind and I really did want to start playing around with my new bloodline. I ran along the corridors until I found a familiar section and from there made my way towards where I felt Orochimaru's chakra. The fact that I could actually feel his chakra made me think that he already knew I was up and was waiting for me to come to him.
Sure enough he was waiting for me. "Kuhuhuhu. I see that you're up and about after only a day." He sent an excited look my way. "Of course that's seemingly normal for you based on how fast you heal while asleep. We had trouble inserting the grafts because any of the incisions would heal so quickly." Shaking his head as though to clear it he motioned me to roll up my sleeve and I did so as he took a sample of blood before bringing it over to the microscope. After a little while he looked back up from it and sent a far too wide grin my way. "It would seem that the operation was a success. Can you feel anything different or form crystals?"
I concentrated for a moment and a crystal the size of my torso formed above my palm. 'Whoops, that was supposed to be a lot smaller than that. Got to work on control before I even think of using it in the field.' I also noted that the crystal itself was translucent with a light pink sheen to it. Hopefully I could change the color of it later but it wasn't that big a deal compared to the fact that I have a bloodline now!
"Excellent. Let's get on with the testing shall we." I nodded eagerly and I spent the next 6 hours running test after test to make sure I was in good physical health and that the bloodline graft hadn't negatively affected me in some way. After proving that I was 100% fine and dandy I was left to go on my merry way although I could vaguely feel two chakra signatures split off to follow. A few quick hand signs later and I found out they were to follow me around for about a week until everyone grew used to my new chakra signature. It wouldn't due to have the Hokage's son mistakenly attacked because of a misunderstanding.
With that out of the way I made my way back to Kushina. She had told me I was to return to her as soon as possible once the surgery was done and I didn't want to disappoint her. Almost as soon as I entered the room I was scooped up into a bone crushing hug. "Welcome back Shiro."
"It's good to be back." I said as I returned the hug. She held onto me for a long moment and then almost reluctantly set me down. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Karin and waved at her.
Her adorable little face scrunched up as she peered at me. "You feel different." I let out a chuckle as I made my way over to her. As I knelt down in front of her I saw that she was clutching the coin I had given her and smiled.
"I suppose I do, but I'm still your brother. Otherwise how would I know how ticklish you are?" My hands shot out and her laughter filled the air as I tickled her mercilessly. I let her go after a moment and she ran away giggling. Smiling as I watched her run away I spent the rest of the day working on my control for the crystal release with intermittent interruptions in the form of the girls playing around. After I had told them a bedtime story and they were fast asleep I slipped away and went to see Saiko.
While she hadn't hugged me like Kushina she had ruffled my hair and we had gone to a restaurant instead of working out. I suppose that's just her way of celebrating so I didn't question it. Almost immediately after we were done with the dinner or breakfast in her case she left on a mission leaving me alone for the rest of the night. As I set a clone to practice elemental manipulation I noticed that with the addition of my new earth element the earth techniques no longer cost three times as much chakra as they did before.
With that in mind I went to go find a leaf and with a bit of concentration.
Earth Manipulation (Passive) LVL 1 – 0%
Allows for easier transitions between neutral chakra and earth chakra as well as the manipulation of earth.
Decreases cost of all earth techniques by 0.25%
Increases control of earth by 1%
Increases total chakra capacity by 0.1%
*Earth Leaf exercise (Active 30(25.5)/min) LVL 1 – 0%
Decreases time spent changing from neutral to Earth chakra and back again by 5%.
'Great, yet another control exercise I have to work on. It never ends does it?' I asked rhetorically. No answer was forthcoming and I toiled the night away until it was time to go meet up with my teammates in the morning and I set off for training ground 3. As soon as I arrived Hina had taken one look at me with her dojutsu and settled into a combat stance with Shisui following her lead.
"Who are you and what happened to Shiro?" She demanded as the two ANBU following me revealed themselves and started flashing hand signs at the two of them. By the end of it they had both relaxed out of their stances but I could see the curiosity burning in both their eyes. "What happened to you?" She repeated and I gave a lazy shrug.
"Well, when a person begins to grow up strange changes happen. You may notice your-" I had to dodge a thrown kunai and I plucked it out of the air as it passed me.
"If you can't tell me just say that. Don't make weird excuses." I scratched the back of my head as I gently tossed the kunai back to her.
"Sorry." She didn't look very mollified and I resolved to make it up to her somehow. My thoughts were dragged away from that by the appearance of Kakashi.
"Yo." He said as the smoke from his arrival cleared enough for us to see him. "We'll be taking a break from missions for the next week or so." His eye drifted over to me as he lazily looked me over. "Well, Shiro will be taking a break from missions for the next week or so but we are still able to complete missions. Maybe a C rank or something easy." He mused and I raised an eyebrow at him.
The mission ban for a week didn't bother me it was the fact that he singled me out like that in front of the team. I kept my peace for now but started thinking of ways to get back at him. 'Hmm, maybe set Kushina on him for reading those little orange books while we were on our last mission.' I allowed a small evil smile to form on my face as I stared at him. 'Yes that sounds good.'
He seemed to regard my change in behavior warily but started us on our exercises all the same. 'Just you wait Kakashi. I'll set the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero on you soon enough.' Mentally chuckling I threw myself into the exercises.
Age: 6 years - 1 month
Title: Root Shinobi, Son of a Kage
LVL: 23 - 42% to next LVL
HP: 1,260/1,260
Chakra: 39,241/39,241
Elemental Affinity: Water, Earth
Bloodline: Crystal Release
STR: 134(160.8)
VIT: 126
END: 115
DEX: 144(158)
INT: 121(128)
WIS: 106(112)
LCK: 25
Points: 49
Money: 311,189
Skills increased
Mystic Palms Apprentice 6 - 8
Angel's Breath 3 - 4
Since some of you were interested so I've put Shiro's skill list online and you can go check it out if you so desire. Just put a . where there is a space except for after com/ and yes I had to put it in this way.
docs
com/
document/d/15ewkK4_V79KLn7eOI3EiFwCOAG_hwr_ZzpyNJLFQXEk/edit?usp=sharing