100 ryo is about 1 dollar so 2000 would be 20 and 25000 would be 250.
I sat outside on the roof of my house as I looked out over the forest. It was the afternoon of the day I enlisted into the skull empire. I had already retrieved my bed from Shinko and met with the organization to tell them about my living arrangement. When I told Naruto about using him he surprisingly wasn't all that angry, accepting the apology almost immediately as long as I promised to treat him to some ramen. With my daily task out of the way I decided I'd take a break and found myself here. Though with the system nagging me about training, it was about time I started.
I leapt down and sat by the stream, allowing the flowing water to help my concentration as I felt the chakra flow through my body. I hadn't had time to test my steel release and though I've gotten the knowledge of how to activate it, putting it into practice was a lot more work. First I had to mold my chakra and compact it, making the ball of chakra smaller as I siphoned off a bit of its energy. I then filtered the energy to my hands, sharpened it and made it tougher before allowing it to exit my arms as I imagined it. Immediately in my hands, a steel kunai was created.
'Steel release has risen to rank E.'
'You have gained steel release: piercing kunai.'
[Steel release: Piercing Kunai
C rank weapon. Due to being made from steel, it is stronger than the normal kunai and harder to break. It has a natural affinity to chakra making it less costly to increase its power.
Chakra required: D]
After reading over the message I suddenly had a question. "Hey System, is chakra based on the amount of chakra needed to make one of these?"
Notice: The chakra stat includes both chakra volume and control. It requires a decent level of chakra control to make items so for this specific jutsu it's less about how much chakra and more so about how you control it.
I thanked the system before testing out my new technique. Filling it with chakra, I threw it at a nearby tree and watched it pierce through with ease before embedding itself into a rock behind it.
I smiled. 'Pretty decent power for a simple kunai, It doesn't cost much chakra to empower it. I wonder if I can sell these. I'd sell it to the system but I wouldn't get what I could in the village.' I began making more eventually stopping at ten as my chakra depleted. 'I can make ten in one go, since I need to be careful about missions, I could make ten in the morning and rest until night.' I jumped to my feet, turning into a bird as I flew into town to try and sell my first product.
I scouted the area looking for a ninja tool shop, eventually finding one with a huge shuriken symbol embedded in the door. Flying down into the shop, the owner looked at me with anger on his face. "Shoo! Why do you stupid birds keep flying in here?"
I began to laugh as I transformed back and greeted him. "My name's Jay, I came here for an appraisal. I wanted to know how much this is worth." I told him holding up my kunai, it was black unlike the normal gray of the iron kunai.
The man saw the mask on my waist and returned his greeting. "A member of the skull empire? They're a quiet group aren't they? Let me see the item."
I tossed him the item as he put his glasses on and examined it. "It has a sharp edge and a nice black color. It's firm and tough." He stated, as he tapped it a couple times with a hammer. "Is this made from steel? That would double its value and with how well it's crafted I'd say just one of these could be placed at 500 ryo, though we'd have to test its power and how it reacts to chakra." He took out a seal and placed it on the kunai as a blue tint enveloped the blade. "It reacts well to chakra." He paused, throwing the kunai at a board in the corner of the room expecting it to just stop but did a double take when it went through and stopped at the iron plate behind it. "This is a wonderful item, it's easy to use and gives even the weakest of ninja a boost in power. The only problem is the production of such an item." He told me. "It could sell for about 2000 ryo, twenty times the price of a normal kunai. But based on how well it's crafted and the material it probably cost 1000 ryo just to make. You'd be getting only half the return unlike normal kunai that sell for five times the cost of production."
"Could I sell them through you?" I asked. "The production cost is far lower than you'd imagine, but I have no way of selling them. I could give you half off and sell these to you at 1000 a piece. You could then sell them for double the price and make a good profit."
He thought about it for a second before responding. "I'd have to know how you make it first, you don't have to tell me step by step if you're worried I will steal it, but how is it that you make these?"
I smiled. "It's fairly easy for me." I told him as I cycled the chakra to my palms and a kunai formed. "I have a steel release chakra nature, I can make about ten a day right now. But with more training the amount will go up."
"No wonder it has such a natural reaction to chakra." He said in awe. "A steel release kekkei genkai, I never even heard about such a thing. You could revolutionize infrastructure and weaponry, making our village the strongest in the world."
"Woah, no I can't do that much." I chuckled. "The most I do is coat things in steel, the inside is still the same as normal. Outside of small simple items I can't actually craft stuff out of it."
"That's too bad. We could've started an empire together." The older man fantasized. "Alright kid, you have yourself a deal. If you have any more, I'll buy them off of you right now, if you'd like."
I nodded as I handed him the rest of the kunai from my inventory making sure to make it look like I got it out of a shinobi pouch. He smiled, handing me the money as we shook hands. "Feel free to shop here whenever, I'll give you a discount. Here I'll throw in an extra 5000 ryo for the sake of a good relationship."
"Thanks, I'll make sure to keep that in mind. Have a nice day." I told him as I began walking out seeing a girl in Chinese style buns walk in.
"Hey boss, got any new interesting weapons in stock?" The young girl asked.
I smirked as I jumped off heading back towards my home to continue training.
Upon reaching my house I opened up my store and bought my first D rank jutsu, but I was severely disappointed with what I got.
[Ninja art of beast mimicry: All-fours jutsu
D rank technique that floods the body with chakra in order to fight and move on all fours like a dog. Increases the user's speed and accuracy while the technique is active.
Chakra required: D]
I figured I could somehow make it work in certain situations but I wasn't an inuzuka so it was impossible to match the flexibility required for this jutsu. I mean, I couldn't even touch my toes. I get one inch past my knee caps before realizing it ain't happening.
I sighed as I swiped the screen away. I moved over to my bed and sat in silence for a couple hours, training my chakra. A couple hours later as night fell, a knock on the door could be heard.
I walked down stairs and opened it to see a letter with a kunai embedded into the wall. Upon opening the letter, a message popped up.
[A quest has been created!
The orphaned girl.
Kuroi has grown an interest in a young teen girl surviving in the outskirts of the village. She lives off in a small shack on her own, hunting animals to stay alive. Find her and get her to join the empire.
Mission rank: D
Reward: Final teammate will be decided. 5000 ryo. Random D rank jutsu]
"What's it mean, final teammate?" I whispered. "I thought the skull empire worked based on solo missions, do they have squads too? Also what final teammate I don't even have one."
Deciding to focus on the mission I got dressed and jumped off into the forest. It'd probably take me a while to locate the girl in a village as large as this. That was probably the main part of this mission, it was a test to see my tracking skills. It was obvious since Kuroi knows about her and could've gone over at any time.
I kept to the trees as I jumped along, looking for houses and stopping every so often when I found one. A day passed, I had to sleep in a random area since I had only made it halfway around the massive village. As the sun went down on a new day I threw the kunai I created into my inventory before setting off again. It wasn't until I realized that I was getting closer to my own house did I see another shack less than a kilometer away from where I lived.
'There's no way, right?' I jumped down from the trees as I noticed the same stream that would've led to my house. Nearby was a campfire and on the other side of the clearing was a board for kunai practice. 'Yeah, this is probably the place.' I realized, hating that I might've wasted my time by going the complete opposite direction.
I went to go knock on the door but no one answered, which made me realize this was worse. I must've passed by the house without knowing and now I gotta take another day to continue my search. Tired from all the jumping around I went over to the stream and washed my face as I saw ripples in the water.
"Water style: Hiding in water jutsu!" A voice yelled as a teen girl rose from the water casting hand signs. "Water release: Water Kunai!"
As the kunai shot towards my arm, a hand exploded from my body blocking it as it suddenly disappeared.
"What was that for?" I asked as I created another shadow clone and used my kekkei genkai to fuse with it. "You don't just throw kunai at people you just met."
[Erika, Civilian, Lv. Genin]
Age: 15
[Stats]
Str: E
Agi: D
Def: D
End: D
Chakra: A
[Skills]
Water style -D(Water release chakra nature with d level skills.)
Sea Healer(Through the use of an unknown kekkei genkai, she is able to heal with water style techniques.)
[Title]
Orphan(The villagers pity you and some are nicer because they can sympathize.)
"Who are you?" The girl asked. "Sorry if I'm not more welcoming to a stranger who shows up on my doorstep!"
"I'm not a stranger." I held up my mask. "I'm a shinobi for an organization of the leaf, the skull empire. We're ninjas that work at night to take on tasks that are shunned upon."
"So? What's that got to do with me? Someone sent you to kill me?" The girl asked as she created another water kunai.
"No, we need you in our organization. Our boss has a special interest in your abilities." I told her.
"I'm not doing it, I'm training to protect myself. I don't want to join some weird group that everyone hates. All I want to do is make sure that I can survive." She explained.
'With a kekkei genkai like hers you'd think she would've been more important in the actual story. I guess she never joined the empire and since the empire is a low level group it was never of importance.' I sighed inwardly. 'What happens if I fail this mission?' I asked the system.
Notice: It's not part of the main quest, you'll just be given a random partner in the empire. You are allowed to fail side quests without fear of death but you'll miss out on certain opportunities.
'Well at least I won't die if I can't convince her.' I thought before continuing my conversation with the girl. "Don't you get bored sitting out here in the wilderness hunting animals? Don't you want to see the world and experience new things? You won't even have to fight if you sit back and heal."
"I don't care about stuff like that, I just want to be on my own and stay safe. My life may be boring but it's consistent, I won't have to worry about finding a place to sleep at night." She answered.
"So what are you going to do when a powerful shinobi or group attacks the village? They'll find someone like you and kill you easily or take you in if they find out about your kekkei genkai."
The girl's body went tense. "How do you know about that? I never even used it except when I'm inside. I've read about a man that experiments on people like me."
I was surprised. It seemed that Kuroi wasn't interested in her for her kekkei genkai but probably because she was a decently strong orphan. He probably didn't even know she had one. I decided bluffing was my best move. "See now you have to join, I was bluffing when I mentioned it but to think you actually had one."
"I already said I'm not joining!" The girl yelled.
"Oh no, I guess I'll have to inform the boss on what kind of person he missed out on. A young teen girl with a powerful ability, he would probably go to any lengths to make sure you join him." He probably wouldn't but a little lie never hurt anyone.
The girl clicked her tongue. "Fine! I'll join but only to make sure no one knows about abilities. I'd rather go willingly if you promise not to tell your boss."
I shrugged. "Alright, he only wanted you for your skill in water style and the fact you had no family." I told her. "Though you'll have to tell me exactly what your kekkei genkai does, if you do, I'll tell you about mine so we're even."
The girl just hummed her acceptance, at least now she could get some better training. She had to admit, he was right about what would happen if the village got attacked. She remembered hearing about the nine tails attack 13 years ago when she was still a toddler. It made her wonder if her parents died the same day.
"Let's go report to the empire." I called out as I jumped off. Erika followed after me, still a bit hesitant about the whole thing.
Erika and I made our way into the slums following a set path as we came to a building much taller than the others. It was well maintained and fortified with earth release.
As we entered the building we saw the normal training grounds of the first floor, immediately lightning struck the ground as Kuroi appeared. "Follow me, your final teammate is waiting."
[Mission complete!
You have gained five thousand ryo and the D rank skill Paralysis jutsu.]
We followed the man as he led us to some stairs, upon reaching the second floor of the building we were greeted by a few members of the organization. Most of which were chunin or genin level combatants, some were still at an academy level but it was clear that Kuroi was the only jonin in the organization.
A voice filled with irritation spoke up. "I knew it'd be you."
"Akira." Kuroi said.
"Alright I'm sorry." The man apologized as he stepped up to us. "So I'm supposed to work with this wannabe cloud ninja and a young brat?"
"Huh?!" Erika roared back. "This brat is just as strong as you are, you fat piece of shit! Don't you think you're a bit too old to be so weak?"
"First of all, brat, I'm not fat! I'm pleasantly plump! Second, I'm not old, I'm 24!" Akira shouted.
"Oh please Akira." A man spoke up from the back of the room. "Everyone knows you're the oldest one here outside of the boss." Everyone in the room laughed as Akira turned to them.
"Yea I'm also the first to join the organization so that makes me all of your seniors! Show some respect!"
"I only show respect to the strong!" Another man yelled followed by laughter.
"Silence! All of you!" Kuroi announced as the room fell silent. "Akira, you know how our organization works. The strongest leads, go find out who's the team leader between you three then report back here tomorrow night, you'll be receiving your first outside mission."
Akira smiled menacingly. "I've been looking forward to punching you again."
"You two know each other?" Erika asked as Akira led us to the training area.
"Yeah, we fought twice now. I won the first match and he got the second one." I told her.
"That first match doesn't count." He declared. "You used cheap tactics!"
"Well whatever the case, this is the tiebreaker to determine captain. Did you want to participate to be leader Erika?" I asked her.
"No, that's far too much effort. I'll just support as we agreed upon." She answered.
Akira and I faced off, a grin on his face as he began stretching to get himself into top shape.
[Akira, Skull Apprentice, Lv. Academy student]
Age: 25
[Stats]
Str: C
Agi: E
Def: D
End: D
Chakra: B
[Skills]
Fire style - D(Fire release chakra nature with D level skills)
[Title]
Rival of the gamer(Training speed greatly increased)
"Come at me whenever you want!" Akira roared.
My inner body created the item as a kunai appeared in my hand. "Steel release: piercing kunai!"
Akira looked at the kunai and laughed. "Is that all?" He asked as fire enveloped his fist. "Kunai are nothing to me! Fire style: Flaming fist!" He announced as he attempted to knock the kunai away. He was immediately surprised though when the steel cut through his chakra flames and pierced through his hand.
"You shouldn't underestimate me." I told him as I threw a few more kunai, mixing some normal and some steel as I dashed in.
Akira dodged a few of them just for his body to be pierced by a few others, I equipped my iron knuckles and punched him in the gut as he staggered back a bit.
"You've gotten stronger." He said. "But I won't lose here!" He began casting hand signs as his entire body began burning up. "Burning s-"
I interrupted him immediately, using paralysis jutsu before he could complete the last sign. "Yea I'm not letting you do that." I kicked him a couple times letting my second body get in a few hits as he put up his arms to block.
"What the hell is this?" He asked, dropping his guard as my second clone split from my body and began attacking. He swung wildly connecting with the clone as it disappeared and filled me with its experience.
I immediately created a second clone as I dodged another swing, the clone merging into my body as I went on the offensive with steel kunai.
Akira took the attacks and countered with a powerful flaming fist that set my clothes aflame. I immediately jumped back purposely rolling across the ground to get rid of the flames before hopping to my feet. Carefully I disconnected from my clone as I transformed into a bird and it dashed in.
Keeping to the top of the building I flew behind Akira as he struggled to hit my clone. "Still nothing but a rat!" He shouted as he pumped chakra to his legs, fire enveloping it as he stomped down. "Fire release; Leg Eruption!" Flames rose up from the ground covering the clone as it disappeared. Akira looked around in confusion. "Where'd you run off to now?'
I transformed back, dropping down from above as I landed on his head with a powerful kick knocking him to the floor. I then threw out a few kunai that left him locked down. Instantly I created another kunai, holding it to his neck. "This is my win."
Akira roared in frustration. Across his body were multiple burn scars that he seemingly ignored, he took the kunais from his clothes as he stood up. "What kind of special kunai are these?" He asked.
"I made them, it's from my chakra nature." I told him as Erika listened in. "Steel release. I also have a second kekkei genkai by the name of cellular overhaul. It lets me merge with others who have the same technique. I use it to merge with a shadow clone." I explained.
"My kekkei genkai allows me to heal through the use of water style, though that remains a secret between our team. Got it?!" She glared at Akira.
"Why would I go blabbing about that, it isn't anything special." Akira countered. "You two can have your fancy powers, I'll work my way up with fire alone. Show these dumbasses what the will of fire is all about!"
"When did this happen?" I asked him, caught off guard by his determination. "You were a good for nothing thug two weeks ago. Now you care about the will of fire?"
"I mean come on, the feeling of my flesh burning in the middle of battle as I pound people into the dirt is so liberating. No pain, no gain right?" Akira laughed. "I can't believe I used to be content with normal street brawls."
"Speaking of burning flesh." Erika sighed. "It stinks." She said as a wave of water washed over him healing his wounds. "If you're just gonna keep injuring yourself, I'll have to use you for my training."
"Oh fighting is gonna be so much easier with you around." He smiled darkly at her before turning to me with a halfway crooked smile. "You win for now, but I'll be the leader before long."
"Yea sure you will." I scoffed as we all went our separate ways for the night.
I woke up in the middle of the afternoon, after training through the night I ended up sleeping in. Quickly making my ten kunai for the day, I headed off towards the ninja tool shop. Upon entering I was met with a familiar face.
"Those kunai from before, do you have any more?" The young girl asked. "They're so useful, I even surprised Neji with it when it pierced his palm rotation, though he stopped it with a little more effort."
"Sorry, but I haven't yet received a new supply." The older man apologized.
"I got your supply right here, the kunai from both today and yesterday as well as a few extra from my mission yesterday." I told him as I handed him all the kunai I had on hand. He began to count as Tenten spoke up.
"Are you the one that makes these?" She asked. "They're a lot cheaper than a demon wind shuriken but they're just as powerful. Too bad they get lost easily, I tend to throw out everything I have in battle and it's a hassle to collect them all in the middle of a mission." She explained.
"I'll be able to make more if I can increase my chakra so I hope you'll continue to buy them." I smiled. "My name is Jay, I'm a shinobi inside the empire."
"Nice to meet you." She chirped. "I'm Tenten, I'm a genin from Team Guy. I'll make sure to come buy a few whenever I have leftover money after a mission."
"That'd be greatly appreciated, I'll make sure to remember you when I'm rich one day. I'll fly a flag outside my mansion saying 'thank you Tenten my number one supporter!'" I joked.
The young girl giggled. "You better, then I can brag about it to Lee and Neji."
"Alright, here we are." The man interrupted. "I counted 25 kunai, this should cover it."
I took the 25,000 and put it into my pouch before allowing it to disappear into my inventory. "Thanks, I'll come by again after I return from my mission." I told him as I waved goodbye to Tenten and jumped off.
Not long after, I eventually came to a stop on top of a building as I checked my chart. I had 30,000 ryo and was in desperate need of body flicker. Due to it being a rank D technique I'd have to keep relying on my luck in order to get it. I was not paying five times the price just to get it specifically. As I bought two jutsu I saw two cards land in my hand as I turned them over. Warning: I bullshit you not, this is what I got and this random pull is rigged.
[Passing fang
A D rank technique that charges at an enemy with a high speed body slam, because this technique moves in a semi straight line the user is required to anticipate their enemies movement.
Chakra required: None]
[Beast clone
A D rank technique that turns a ninken into their inuzuka partner. The clone can give it away by its awkward movements in human form.
Chakra required: D]
My mind went blank. "Is this system trying to push a narrative? What's next, my summoning animal is going to be a dog?"
Notice: Summoning animals is decided by the user and what suits them most. To find yours out you must first buy a summoning scroll from the market.
"Swear, it better not be dogs." I opened up my market and scrolled, eventually making it to the C rank equipment where standard scrolls were held. Being one of the cheapest C rank items the scroll cost 15,000 ryo which was the bare minimum for its rank. "I'll buy it the next time I have enough money." I decided.
With that out the way, I officially headed back towards my house so I could train a little more with my steel release.
The main thing I needed was a defensive jutsu, the only problem was that within the three known techniques within steel release there was only one. However the description didn't give me any clues as to how to use the technique. All it said was that it was a steel wall that rose from the ground in any shape I wanted and that it was a C rank jutsu.
There was one other one I could try that could count as defensive, though the problem with this one was that it was a B rank. However the description for it at least told me where to start.
I began flowing chakra to my hands trying to condense it in the same way that I did the kunai but this time I needed to let it coat my hands. It took a couple hours but eventually I could see my hand take on a black sheen as a message came up.
'You have gained, Steel release: Steel Fist.'
[Steel release: Steel fist
D rank technique that coats the users fist in a thin steel increasing their damage.
Chakra required: D]
I stood up as I walked over to a nearby tree, punching it as my fist flew through it. "Fuck!" I shouted in pain as I withdrew my hand, my arm bleeding from following my hand through and getting caught on the sharp pieces of wood. "Alright, new rule." I told myself. "This is to be defensive only, until I have the chakra to coat my entire arm."
I continued by practice, summoning my clone as I faced off against him. "Alright, go all out I'll make sure to not hit you too hard so that you don't disappear."
The summon clicked his tongue. "Don't give me orders. I know, we share most of our thoughts." He charged forward immediately. "Steel release: Piercing kunai!"
I grabbed the kunai out of the air with a sweep of my hands and threw it back as he dodged and transformed into a bird.
"Strange, isn't that a bit risky without a distraction?" I asked as I created a kunai of my own. "Piercing kunai!"
The clone flew above the kunai spinning rapidly as he flew straight at me and transformed back mid flight. "Passing fang!"
I threw up my hand, coating it in steel as I stopped the attack with all of my strength, the clone jumped back as it created multiple illusions of itself and ran forward. I kept my eyes focused on the ground looking for the one that was actually interacting with the environment. As he closed in with a steel fist I ducked and swept its legs but it was a fake as I got knocked into a tree, my jaw basically shattered as the clone stood above me. "You're not thinking hard enough." The clone told me as it held up a kunai.
I grabbed it from his hand using it to dispatch him and gain its experience. "So this is how Naruto was able to progress so fast, I guess two brains really are better than one." I created another clone as I fused into it. I tenderly held my jaw breathing out heavily. "It didn't need to punch me that hard!"
I looked up into the sky seeing the moon peek out from behind the clouds. "It's about time to go receive my mission." I realized as I transformed into a bird and flew off towards Erika's house.
Current stats and skills
[Jay, Skull Soldier, Lv. Genin]
Money owned: 0 ryo
Age: 18
[Stats]
Str: D
Agi: C
Def: F
End: D
Chakra: D
[Skills]
Cellular overhaul(The kekkei genkai of Sakon and Ukon, allowing them to split up their cells and reform them, enabling them to share bodies.)
Sharpie transformation(A D rank jutsu that uses transformation technique to take the form of a sharp shinned hawk. Allows flight while in the form.)
E rank mastery(Mastery of all E rank jutsu)
Steel release -D(Allows one to coat solid things in a steel as well as create small simple objects.)
Ninja art of beast mimicry: All fours jutsu(D rank technique that floods the body with chakra in order to fight and move on all fours like a beast. Increases the user's speed and accuracy while the technique is active.)
Paralysis jutsu(D rank technique that causes a target or targets to be physically immobilised, as though they've been tied down with invisible steel ropes. The stronger the user the stronger the paralysis.)
[Equipment]
Boruto outfit, color 4(Light and soft but tougher than normal clothes)
Iron knuckles(No added effects.)
[Title]
E rank ninja(Makes it easier to retain knowledge.)
Responding to comments
JJafan: Yea only Jay will be able to do it due to his kekkei genkai. If Sakon and Ukon managed to gain real clones they could do it too but that's not gonna happen.
drkprince: Yep, pretty much how that happened. Out of convenience. Originally I was gonna stay with her to get closer and eventually date her but that was stopped when I found out she was older than I was instead of the same age. For now we ain't doing no romance, we might later, maybe shippuden.
Final thoughts
The mission starts next chapter, I took a bit of a risk adding in a new kekkei genkai. Let me know how y'all feel about it cause I could always go back and change it with this free week I have in between writing.
If you got questions, feel free to comment.