[Basic Hummingbird fist lvl 15:
Taijutsu style that revolves around speed and kicks. Skill increases with level]
I knew I wouldn't avoid it today. I had fought multiple people over the last few days. Mostly clan heirs. Beating them wasn't tough at this point. There were only three people here that could beat me in a spar now. Naruto, Sasuke, and Kiba. Naruto had already had a spar with Chouji today so that left two people that would likely face me today.
Sasuke or Kiba. I had never sparred with them before. I always had been fighting those who should be stronger but were lazy or were just stronger in the case of Naruto. But it was skill most people missed. A few people in the academy were skilled enough to beat me but not strong enough. Only Naruto could beat me with just strength and not skill which was one of the two.
But Sasuke and begrudgingly Kiba had a degree of skill along with strength that would make challenging the latter difficult and the former impossible. Or near impossible. I was nearly as fast as Sasuke and I couldn't say how skilled he was in Taijutsu personally.
All I knew was that he was dangerous. More so than Kiba and not the Opponent I'd prefer to fight for sure. But knowing my luck with spars I was going to fight him. Sasuke had speed and likely skill over me. Probably power as well.
It would not end well for me at all.
"Kiba Inuzuka vs Kukui Tanku." Iruka announced the next fight and I felt my heart soar. I had a chance of victory. I was faster. Even without Running I would be faster than him. That was spectacular.
I saw Kiba's grin was almost as big as mine felt, "Well well well. Looks like I get to show the loser who's better at last!" He ran up to the ring as I slowly walked up to it, "After this I'm gonna retake you in the track, Kukui and then the Uchiha and the dead-last and prove who's the real number one here."
"Kick his ass Kukui!" Naruto helpfully provided after that last comment.
I looked at Kiba as he settled into the Inuzuka taijutsu style and settled into mine, "You don't know how long I've been dreading this fight." Kiba was about to say something before I decided to continue, "But that stopped a while ago. Ever since the day I realized I was faster than you I knew I could beat you." For the old Kukui Tanku I would, "Now I intend to do so. If only to prove to myself I'm strong."
"Wow, incredible speech. Those words are all bark and no bite. Can we begin sensei?" Iruka nodded and simply jumped back. "Good. Now I'm gonna kick your ass!" Kiba began running and I felt my legs move as well. This was going to be a short fight hopefully.
Kiba began his assault with a swipe of his hand which I promptly dodged which led to a kick being grabbed as well. I dodged another punch and let the boy go as he quickly attempted to land a punch. I quickly ducked under the punch and landed a kick to the legs. Knocking him down to the ground.
Grabbing his jacket I punched him in the gut which led him to scratch my arm, drawing blood. Quickly I jumped back and inspected the wound. Kiba quickly lunged toward me reflexively I kicked his shoulder which made him wince and fall to the ground once more. I looked back to the wound. 'Nothing major. Damn long fingernails.' I rushed toward the boy as he got up.
Kiba quickly blocked the kick I sent his way as I contorted my body to go for another kick which he grabbed. He dug his fingernails into my ankle and then tried to punch me in the liver which I quickly blocked and used my free leg to kick his other shoulder as I placed my hands on the ground. I then used chakra to reinforce my head and spun, kicking him repeatedly.
Kiba punched my thigh which interrupted the spin, "That move sucked loser. Your going down now that I've seen all you can do." I blocked a swipe and a kick before Kiba landed a punch to the gut. "Got you!"
I kicked Kiba in the shin and grabbed his before slamming my free hand into his arms which blocked where I was previously gonna strike. I clicked my teeth, "Your really annoying, aren't you?" I grabbed a punch from the boy and slammed another one into his chest.
Kiba winced and then growled, "I'm not the one who's always talking with the deadlast about some project in class," I flipped him off to which he tried to grab the hand in question but he earned a punch to the face for his troubles, "You'll pay for that!" He went with a punch to the gut which I dodged before kicking him in the side.
I ran after Kiba, activating running for a second and getting infront of him as he got up. In quick succession, I landed a kick into the air then a punch at the left lung and ribs along with one by his liver before throwing him to the side and hopefully out of the ring. Kiba flipped Mid air and landed just barely inside the ring, "Your like a cockroach. Admirable but you've been holding onto this for too long. I've trained for this more than you could believe." I activated running for another second and ran toward Kiba.
Kiba barely dodged a punch to the face, "Your the one who's a cockroach. Just give up before you get your ass kicked. I've only been going easy on you loser," Kiba sent a punch at my stomach before canceling and punching me in the side. The Kidneys were not a nice place to be punched at.
I recoiled back and jumped, "That hurt. But... I've been going easy on you as well." I activated running and Kicked Kiba in the ribs before grabbing him and throwing him into the dirt. Kiba flipped out of the way of a punch. He growled, "Now look who's all bark and no bite," Again I was in the body of a child... I'd allow myself to act like one.
Kiba spat out some blood as he stood in front of me. "That was a lucky shot bastard. You won't get another one in," Kiba began running at me once more and my grin shifted to what I thought was more of a cocky one. "Stop grinning you loser!" Kiba sloppily threw a punch at me. Making him pissed off had him make more mistakes. More mistakes meant less pain for me.
My grin grew. 'We're close to the edge. I need to grab him and then I can win this...' A feint would work nicely. I aimed a punch for Kiba's face. Quickly Kiba smirked and grabbed the fist. 'Gottem!' I grabbed his jacket with my other arm.
"This is the end Kiba!" I forced him to let go of my other arm and grabbed him. He quickly tried to get free but my grip was too strong. I threw him over the side of the ring. "Suck it bitch." I looked at my arm which was still bleeding. 'I'm a mature near adult.'
Bleeding never felt more like victory. Kiba sat there. Stunned like a fish... Akamaru was trying to get him to move it seemed.
"Winner, Kukui Tanku," Iruka smiled as he walked over, "Would you like to go to the nurse for that scratch?" I shook my head, "Alright then. Kukui you can go now,"
I saluted Iruka, "Thanks." I walked over to where Naruto was.
He had a proud smile on his face.
After all the damn work I put in for that he better be damn proud. I had now beaten Kiba in everything soundly. The supposed third place of the year wasn't third anymore. Now I just needed to beat Naruto.
[Quest complete; Reach third place in the academy
Rewards:
+2 taijutsu lvls +1 to all stats]
Victory had never been sweeter.
It was beautiful.
I looked at all of my stats with absolute pride. It had taken a while of training non stop physically. With and without my friends. But I had done it. All of my stats were level twenty or higher. Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution were all at least level 20 and I couldn't be more proud.
[Name: Kukui Tanku
Title: Gamer of Konoha
Chakra: 400/400
Energy points: 400/400
Dexterity: 21
Strength: 20
Constitution: 20
Chakra: 20
Chakra control D+]
My chakra reserves were no longer so bad that I'd be out after a single jutsu. I could fight for so much longer in a real battle now. I just needed to learn a real jutsu. I'd hopefully get a good one once I finished the leaf exercise. Fire manipulation was now taking a long time to grind and I hadn't leveled up in a while. But I had a feeling I'd finish it soon. Besides it wouldn't be very needed once I finished my little project.
Speaking of I just needed to get the Stabilizer seal down. I had a feeling this new ratio of chakra I was gonna try once I got home was gonna work. The stabilizer seal was proving tricky but some good news was about to arrive. I hoped at least.
I took a deep breath as I looked at the log I had just finished abusing. It was barely able to be considered a log at this point and I'm half sure that it'd collapse by tomorrow. It'd be used for a fire then. I was too cheap to go get another log so this one was never retired.
"Holy shit that log looks terrible." I yelped as I heard someone behind me. Barely. But I heard them. I mentally prepared running and used sensing to pin point where they were. Behind a tree a few feet northeast.
"I know your there. I heard you," Nobody responded but I felt the chakra move around. Trying to sneak up behind me. "You can't sneak up behind me," I turned around, "I can sense your chakra and your not hiding it at all. Come out please," I didn't want to fight. I felt like shit. So even with all the extra stats I had from the last big fight I got in with Kiba I'd still likely lose.
"Aww man sensors are no fun," A girl who looked like a dollar store version of Mikasa Ackerman stepped out from behind a tree. She wore a black jacket with a red shirt with some cargo pants she also had a scarf on. Definitely a rip off Mikasa. "Saw the log yesterday and wondered who left it in such a shitty state. Never thought a fifth year would do something like that... I almost thought Lee went crazy."
Yeah not gonna ask. I looked at the log proudly, "Eight months of hard work went into that log." I then looked back at the girl. She kinda looked like she was a fem Sai as well as a rip off Mikasa. but she also looked like she had Naruto's grin... It was almost unsettling. "So who are you?" Maybe she was an Uchiha who survived the massacre. I hadn't heard anything about it and this was an AU. From Sasuke's general personality you could see it happened. But maybe not everyone died.
"I'll tell you if you tell me why you've been beating the shit out of the same log for months. Most people just get a new one and I'm curious as to why you didn't." The girl looked genuinely confused. That in turn was confusing to me. Why would anyone be curious about this?
I shrugged and looked at the log. "A mix of me being cheap and liking a measure of my progress." It was nice to see how much stronger I got with every punch and kick. It was a measure of progress that was a small comfort, "I got this log when I made a promise to myself," The day was still clear to me. I had promised myself I would become strong. Strong enough to survive back then. But it had changed... I wanted to be the strongest now.
The girl's grin stretched, "So your training for a purpose? What is it if you don't mind me asking?" Why should I tell her? She could be a root sp- Oh who am I kidding? I'm not nearly important enough for Danzo to spend a valuable resource to spy on me. Naruto and Sasuke maybe but me? The chances are laughable.
"To become the strongest in the world," I took a deep breath, "I've been a slacker for the majority of my life. I wanted to change that eight months ago." When my body was still Ten. Man I was already 11? "The log is a token of my resolve to become the strongest there is." Well that one came from the heart.
"So you decided to become the strongest to make up for a lifetime of slacking?" The girl asked and I nodded. Well it was a bit of a lie but oh well. "Thats neat but kicking and punching a log aren't gonna get you to be the strongest,"
I nodded, "It won't. But I've got some people to help me. The log is just for show at this point pretty much. " I kicked the log and it cracked, "Its almost done for anyways. This is the end of a chapter I suppose."
The girl nodded, "It is it seems." She then put out a hand. "So the names Mika Uchiha. I like your resolve fifth year. So whats your name?" Mika Uchiha. The Irony was not lost on me...Well fuck some of the Uchiha were alive. That meant Orochimaru had more targets. That was another thing I had to worry about. Oh joy.
Okay not that big of an issue. Maybe Pain vs Orochimaru would be something I could see. I shook her hand. "Well I'm Kukui Tanku. A pleasure to meet you," I wonder how many Uchiha are alive. There was two so far. Both were young... There might be more. I don't see a reason why some random girl would be left alive by Itachi. I then looked into the sky, "Its getting dark."
Mika looked up as well, "Oh yeah it is!" The Uchiha then looked to me, "So are you gonna be back here tomorrow? Its been a while since I've sparred a fifth year and you seem strong enough," Oh hey someone else to fight!
I grinned, "Sure! I'll be here with a few friends tomorrow though but I'm sure Naruto at least will be willing to spar you as well," Mika's grin grew wider. Okay a fighting maniac. Definitely an Uchiha... Wonder if she's related to Madara.
"Ooh! More people to spar! Okay, Okay! Yeah that's fine! Okay then see you tomorrow!" With a flicker of chakra she was gone... Shunshin... This had to be the weirdest interaction I've had in my entire life. Oh well.
More people to spar meant more levels in Taijutsu.
Now I needed to go home.
It was time. Tonight was the night I was going to perfect elemental seal. I looked at the seal and the ink I had used. Thirty chakra points embued with fire per seven MLs. So around the amount for a seal. This was the amount I think would work. If this worked I had a seal array set up for the prototype of my magnum opus. I also had a pair of gloves I bought last weekend.
It would be a one time use without a stabilizer seal to keep the chakra from destroying the seals. But it'd be a great start and a good trick for a spar... Mika was a sixth year I think. At least from what I can infer... I was going to spar against an unknown tomorrow. Anything to defend myself would be great.
I grinned as I looked at the seal I had drawn beforehand as a reference to see if anything was wrong. I looked at the seal paper and dipped my brush in ink. This had to work. Months of testing and failed tries went into this. I only had so long before I had to attempt early grad with Naruto. I needed at least this to work so I could defend myself. If this worked I was going to pour all of my efforts into my other three skills I needed to learn/grind.
I began to draw the seal I had commited to memory. A stroke of a brush here and there. The Kanji for Element was being formed for what seemed to be the thousandth time on the seal paper. I could feel the fire chakra burning into the ink and melding. Binding.
The ink glowed a firey red for a moment and then stopped as the ink continued to work its magic.
Eventually, it was done.
[Elemental Seal(Fire) lvl 1:
Allows user to store chakra of a certain element to be used for later
Capacity: 400 Chakra points(Fire)
Fire stored inside: None
Cost: 30 chakra points]
It could hold 400 chakra points and real fire... That honestly tracked. I had 400 chakra points So its how many chakra points I have at the moment... If I had two of these then I'd be able to have up to 1,200 chakra points at one time. Completely Mitigating my problems of low chakra forever. If I ever fought Itachi then this seal would be a great counter to Amaterasu.
I filled it with around 10 points of fire chakra. 'Lets see how this works.' I also had a connector seal with me I connected it with the other seal. I had a bucket of water on standby so I should be able to stop things if they got out of hand.
I felt a tugging feeling in my mind and pulled on it. Suddenly a small flame shot into the air as soon as I did. It dissipated as soon as it formed and I looked at the seal. It was gone... Holy shit... 'It works...' I felt excitement bubble up in my mind.
IT WORKED!
I immediately grabbed more ink and prepped it. I also had the gloves with the connector seals drawn onto them already. I'd draw an elemental seal in the middle. This'd create a new seal. I called it the ember seal since it wasn't going to be at its maximum potential... But it still had some life in it.
I began drawing a smaller version of the seal on the glove. I moved very slowly. The most minute details could not be missed. Each stroke of the brush was like a dance with my hands. I couldn't get a single detail wrong or the dance would be broken.
Soon enough I finished the project and I felt my eyes grow heavy. But I finished it. It looked beautiful on the back of the glove. It was both to serve as a way to use the seal and to honor the most based of FMAB characters besides Louis Armstrong. Roy Mustang. I called this seal the ember seal bcause it just didn't deserve the title of flame seal like my completed one did.
[New skill unlocked: Ember Seal lvl 1]
[Ember seal lvl 1:
Seal that stores fire chakra to be used in a one time use powerful and precise attack
Cost: 85 chakra points
Capacity: 0/400 chakra points.
Creator bonus: lvl's up 20% faster ]
One costly thing to make... Also... Creator bonus? Wait no... Did that mean?
I heard another ping from my system and looked at it. Suddenly a smile creeped upon my tired face. It was already starting upon seeing the skill but this had to be the cherry on top. It was a quest complete... Beautiful.
[Quest complete: Create a seal out of existing seals
Rewards: Title: Seal combiner: Increases users dexterity by 10%]
The game really seemed to love fueling my desire to make my own seal... Maybe I could try my hand at one with barriers? Oh well.
I looked at the clock. Three AM... I was lucky It was Sunday...
Bed sounded really nice right now.
"Look at what you unleashed to this forest Kukui." Tenten gestured to the forest that Mika and Naruto were sparring in. It was a battle of speed versus Stamina and Durability. Mika had eleceted to spar Naruto before me since I said I had something big to reveal. "Mika is a battle maniac that can even rival Neji. Your going to fight her."
Currently pieces of wood and fauna were flying with every hit from Naruto and Mika missing the other. The punches that landed were definitely hurting. Mika was using chakra to make her punches stronger. Naruto was not. But Mika was far faster than Naruto. "I know." I grinned. I may not have speed but I had sensing and the Ember seal. "But I have a trick that'll allow me to win."
Tenten sighed, "Kukui I don't care what you have up your sleeve. Unless its the Yondaime's flying thunder god jutsu you are not gonna win." That reminded me... I needed to get my hand on the formula and dabble in jutsu Shiki. "She's too fast."
I was confident in my ability to not get hit too much with my level 21 dexterity with a 10% boost along with running. "I'm not nearly as fast as her. I'm fast enough though. And with my trick I can win." Mika was going to be the perfect Taijutsu partner for sure. But I wanted to cement my skill here.
Naruto was sent flying toward us and like a cartoon he was sent into the dirt, "Ow... She's good..." That last kick must have really hurt. A lot.
Mika jumped toward us and grinned, "That was a fun warm up! Now lets fight!" She grabbed me and Tenten gave me a pitying look. One that said your fucked and not being bought dinner. Yeah I was gonna prove her wrong and show I was the first to get the Elemental seal done.
Tenten then jumped back and I grabbed my tanto, "Go on. Lets dance," She fought like she had Madara's spirit guiding her to fight. Might as well be the one to act like him. Mika grinned widely. This was going to be a bloodbath. One that would be great for leveling up my skills.
"Your right! Lets have fun!" Mika began darting around me and my sensory skills were pinpointing where she was. She was trying to confuse me it seemed. 'There... no there... no there!' Mika began coming straight for me from my side. 'Now!' I side stepped Mika.
Faster opponents were a pain in the ass to dodge. Even with immaculate timing. Mika was also likely using the Shunshin to suplement her speed which was why she was so fast. But it was also how i could track her. I grinned and unsealed two special gloves I had in my tanto and sheathed it.
"What are those?" Mika eyes the gloves skeptically as I put them on. I looked at Tenten and it appeared she recognised them and her jaw dropped. Suck it. Mika was directly in front of me. Waiting for me to put them on.
I grinned as I did indeed put them one. "Remember that seal I mentioned before you sparred Naruto?" Mika's eyes lit up in excitement, "These are the prototypes of them. Admittedly not as good but still incredibly revolutionary." I had poured around 200 chakra points into each glove. I was going to win this.
Mika's eyes lit up even more, "If they're as good as you say they are... Then I can't wait for the finished result!" Mika then shunshined. It was time for the first attack. I couldn't do fine and complex attacks without the stabilizer seal but...
"Fire style; Great Fire Annihilation!" I snapped my fingers and felt my seal burn away as I released a massive wave of fire chakra. 'I can use bigger ones.' I grinned as Mika was hit by the jutsu. Soon after she came out of the massive inferno looking slightly burned.
She had a crazed look on her face, "You just did a B-rank jutsu... Without Handseals..." I had only burned her slightly as the chakra wasn't as hot as a normal jutsu. I also had one glove left, "This was so worth it already!" Mika then shunshined toward me once more and I felt a kick impact my chest.
I spat out some blood as I barely dodged another kick and then a punch. Her fight with Naruto looked bullshit but I was quite literally dodging iike I was against Hinata all those months ago. I grinned. 'This is going to be a wonderful way to level up... everything.' I blocked another strike with my tanto. "Ooh this is gonna be good!" I was weak now. But with this training? I'd be strong!
I blocked a punch and winced. That hurt. I kicked Mika in the kidney. She barely winced. "Huh that was weak. If we want this to be truly fun I'm gonna need to toughen you up!" I was going to get my ass kicked wasn't I?
I jumped back. I'd need to get some distance. I snapped my fingers on my right hand and an inferno appeared and was promptly sent flying at Mika. I then gripped my Tanto and channeled chakra into my legs. 'I should be fast enough...' Mika came blazing out of the inferno with a grin bigger than Naruto's when Ramen is mentioned.
I jumped into the sky and prepared to swing my Tanto. Suddenly a hand grabbed mine and one grabbed Mika's, "Now what are two academy students doing having such a dangerous spar?" I looked up and saw the man. Kakashi... "Using such dangerous jutsu is not a good idea in such a small training ground. Now who was the one who did the jutsu?"
Everyone pointed at me, "Uh..." Jerks threw me under the, "In my defense it isn't perfected yet and it isn't a ninjutsu," It technically wasn't. "Also it was a friendly spar. Not a dangerous one. "The man simply glanced up from the book he somehow had in his hand and pointed toward the fire I caused. Fair enough.
The man did raise an eyebrow I couldn't exactly see but the way his face contorted was telling, "Not a ninjutsu? Interesting. What did you use to cause that?" Again he looked to the fire I caused.
I held up a finger and sat down. "Give me a minute or two." I unsealed ink with fire chakra inside of it and grabbed a prepped connector seal from my pocket. A way to remake it quickly if need be. Soon after I was done with the seal.
[Ember seal has Leveled up]
'Beautiful.' I then held the seal up to Kakashi. "I made this last night and decided to test it." I saw him analyse the seal for a second. "Its a connector seal connected to an elemental seal. Its missing a stabilizer seal which is what gives it shape." I glanced at Mika, Tenten, and Naruto who were just watching. The two Latter of the three's jaws were agape. Suck it. I'm the Fuinjutsu prodigy here!
Kakashi hummed and took another look at it, "Impressive for a kid who looks like he hasn't punched a single thing in his life." I decided to not retaliate. "Your at a relatively high level of Fuinjutsu huh kid?" I nodded, "Okay then. Just don't go messing with dangerous stuff in the woods anymore," He was gone after that.
"YOU FINISHED IT?" Tenten shook me as hard as she could. "HOW DID YOU DO IT BEFORE ME I'VE BEEN STUDYING THAT THING DAY AND NIGHT!?" She didn't seem mad at me. Just surprised.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Mika not so subtly asked Naruto who stood next to her.
Naruto nodded with a grin, "He's gonna be fine. But that inferno was awesome!"
It was indeed Naruto
Alright this chapter is... 4832 words long excluding this AN. So let me just explain this chapter a bit here because I have the stinking feeling I might be flamed for some reason. That or asked a lot of questions I want to preemptively answer.
1: Kiba and Kukui's fight. Kukui did beat Kiba and would have without running. I know someone might ask about if his short bursts of running gave him the edge but I'm here to inform you that no. It didn't. Kukui would have won. But running made it faster.
2: Mika and the Uchiha clan. I'll only talk about Mika as the Uchiha clan is something I'll go over later but anyways Mika in this fic inherited her love for fights from someone very special. I'm sure you know who. She's gonna help make Kukui a lot stronger in a very short amount of time.
3: The Fuinjutsu. Now we have the Elemental seal which can store real fire and fire chakra. That feature isn't there in the Ember seal. Speaking of the Ember seal I hope at least one of you guessed what I was illuding to. I admit I could have done way more to show what it would be but hey I tried.
4: Kakashi. His part is very important to Kukui's future. He may not be involved Directly... much... But he will have an important role in Kukui's future. In... somewhere close to 60 chapters?
Anyways this was my favorite chapter so far. Hopefully you enjoyed it too. I was really excited to unveil the Ember seal and I'm really excited to get to its true form. The Flame Seal. I also liked the fight between Kukui and Kiba. The first actually decent length fight in the fic.
Now, Imma go get schoolwork done for the week so I can continue to write. See y'all later
- Tobi
