In, and out.
Actually try to meditate, as I watch my chakra bar slowly refill, and my health bar slowly drains out. It's slow enough that the game doesn't feel the need to offer me pop-ups.
For once, I am not multitasking or doing anything else. Training Battle Trance would be attractive, but right now, I have bigger things to think about. Or rather, not think about it. I am meditating to keep my spirit in check and finally get my shit together.
Keeping tabs on myself, so to speak.
In, and out.
"Kai. Kai. Kai. Kai. Kai. Kai. Kai. Kai. Kai. Kai." I keep repeating.
-6CP! -6CP! -6CP! -6CP! -6CP! -6CP! -6CP! -6CP! -6CP! -6CP!
Your skill level has increased!
Genjutsu Resistance Lv.33
Your ability to identify and break free from Genjutsu, the art of using one's chakra to fool an opponent into believing things that aren't real and behaving differently than they would.
I wipe the sweat from my brow at expending a little over half my chakra reserves just to level this up quicker.
I'm done playing into Danzo's hands.
Ever since I'd gotten out from under ROOT's thumb, presumably by way of Hiruzen scolding his former teammate, I knew that they were keeping tabs on me, and throwing genjutsu into the mix for some unknowable reason.
My original idea, that of "If I can't understand what this genjutsu is doing to me, and I can't seem to break it, then I'll just leave it" was… not the stupidest thing I've done, but it comes close. I could've actively grinded out my Genjutsu Resistance levels as I am doing right now, rather than just passively waiting for it to level up.
And now, between capping Genjutsu Resistance to its current limit and getting my WIS to a more respectable score of 20, I thought I'd managed to figure out what the genjutsu does, thinking it just induced a feeling of distress and anxiety. Presumably, it's also what's been causing me to lose sleep for the past six months.
Problem is, this Genjutsu is too strong for me to break through.
"Kai."
-6CP!
Nothing but wasted chakra. Now that I am sitting at no remaining skill points and can't grind out my resistance more, it's clear to see that my best is not enough. My original assumption that the genjutsu was too subtle for me to figure out whether it was affecting me was… not erroneous at the time, but perhaps it was more of a byproduct of my low level skills than I imagined.
I was, predictably, grounded for my brief stint in the Forest of Death. Apparently, it's Not Acceptable for children to go and almost get themselves killed unless it's in service to the village, nevermind that I can't ever truly die.
Still, the matter of my grounding wasn't… that terrible, unless you were me. I was grounded from training. Any activity that could Hazuki interpreted as me doing something for the sole sake of bettering myself was banned. I had to actually have Izumi testify that I spent at least an hour socializing with other children that were not her or Itachi.
And being a chakra sensor, if she so much as detected me expending a large portion of my chakra making a shadow clone, things would turn out… ugly.
So now, I was stuck babysitting. For Fugaku, specifically.
Though our interactions never amounted to anything noteworthy past the first one, I couldn't say I hated the guy. I did dislike how he parented Itachi, but I kind of understood what running an entire clan entailed.
...okay, maybe I didn't understand, but I could sympathize. He could probably stand to learn the value of delegating his duties to someone else, but. Well.
Fugaku's house was the only place my chakra activity was not monitored…I still couldn't do any real training, but that was mostly by virtue of having to keep an eye on a Very Energetic one-year-old boy. Sasuke was many things… but a doll, as a baby, he was not.
...things got bad. Real bad.
People got hurt because of this Genjutsu. Once when I had to hold back from killing Itachi, even if I didn't notice at the time, twice with me breaking Hana's arm, three times when Izumi almost died because of my training anxiety, not knowing that I had to remove her from the party.
Four times… deep breaths Tomo.
Thankfully, I have an entire clan of people who will probably be as pissed off as I am to learn of this. At the same time, I doubt that this event will be the weight to tip the scales; if the Uchiha's exclusion from the Nine Tails' attack and the subsequent clan relocation didn't, nothing I can do will.
More than doubling my WIS has left me a little, well, wiser. More adept at using common sense, so to speak.
Not wise enough, clearly. As I broke my meditation, I left Sasuke in the other room, unattended.
"Fugaku-sama." I knock on the door of the man's study. He actually was still in the house, just not dealing with his son. Mikoto was out with Itachi having some mother-son time. Shisui was still gone. "I have an urgent matter to bring up with you."
"Tomo-chan, I'm busy with clan matters. Mikoto has left clear instructions for you to follow and has written them down."
"Fugaku-sama. I've just had one of my shadow clones need to stop me from putting a kunai through little Sasuke's heart."
Fugaku Uchiha, Uchiha Clan Head, Lv.?
I was frozen stiff by the overwhelming presence of his killing intent as he opened the door, It didn't matter that he was slightly disheveled, with ink stains on his hand and one on his cheek, in his lounge yukata; if this man so much as willed it, I was dead. He didn't even need the Sharingan.
"Explain yourself." He simply commanded, before staring at me, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. "Why are you bleeding?"
I took a deep breath. I was still at around half my HP, though they were steadily dropping. "I was putting little Sasuke in bed while I had one of my clones performing house chores. Suddenly, I was overcome with an intense and sudden urge to murder the baby. As I went to do it-" Fugaku took a deep breath through his nose, staring at me like I'd grown two additional heads and he was trying to set all three on fire. "I was tackled to the ground by my clone. We wrestled, I dispelled it, but not before it managed to stab me in the shoulder. Between that and the rush of memories of myself trying to murder a baby towards whom I still feel a strong urge to kill, I was able to understand there was something very wrong going on. Try as I might, however, I cannot seem to dispel the genjutsu, and I had to meditate to calm myself down from trying again."
As I finished my recounting, I saw Fugaku nod, Sharingan blazing through his eyes. "I see. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I-" he said, his voice choking in his throat.
In but a few moments, I saw, my mind awhirl with panic alarms going off, as the man just keeled over, blood rushing from his nose, unconscious.
What the fuck?
He... he was still breathing. I needed to get someone. I needed to-
I wonder how much EXP he is worth?
That single thought halted my train of thought as though it was a brick wall. I... I was struggling so hard to get experience. I would likely get stuck at this level for a long, long time. And who could suspect a civilian girl to have slaughtered a clan head of one of the main clans?
I clenched the kunai I'd almost killed Sasuke with. I... was this the genjutsu Danzo inflicted me with talking?
...it was. But... did it matter? Jubjub's Massacre as a quest required me to save the Uchiha clan. If I killed Fugaku, then wouldn't the clan revolution never happen?
I won't get another chance. If he recovers, if someone gets to him now... I
raised
my
kunai-
And the world shattered like a glass pane turned to dust.
Blood red filled my vision. A wave of foreign chakra burst through my own like a slap, leaving me exhausted and confused. I uncrossed my eyes, shaking my head, and realized that I was standing in front of Itachi's father. He had a grave expression on his face, though it didn't seem directed at me. No, it was directed at me... but not because of me?
"Um." I tried to remember what I was doing a moment ago, coming up blank. "Did something happen? Am I in trouble?" I asked.
He sighed. "No, Tomo-kun. You came to tell me about Sasuke going to sleep, and I was just relieving you of your duties. It has come to my attention that I have not nearly spent enough time recently with my close family, and I would seek to rectify that."
I felt my face scrunch up in confusion. That happened? I... think so? "Alright? I feel dizzy, though..."
"I believe that would be your clone being dispelled. Hazuki-san was speaking to me about your excessive use of the Shadow Clone Jutsu," he shook his head. "That boy Shisui. He is a bad influence on you and my son both, teaching forbidden jutsu."
"That makes sense... the memories must've fried my brain or something." I yawned, feeling my scrambled memories start to rearrange themselves. There was something else, but at the same time, I just felt like a weight had been lifted from me.
I honestly would've gone to sleep right then and there. My bandaged shoulder was a little stiff, but I had slept on worse, but of course, this was Fugaku's house.
"Feel free to go home, Tomo-chan. I'll take over from here." I nodded sleepily, excusing myself. A slight sense of wrongness tugged at my consciousness, but I would take my victories as they came. More time to myself meant more time to train. Though... I could go for a nap first. I'd earned it.
I paused at the bloodstain in front of Sasuke's crib. That... was that there before?
Meh. Not my problem. Fugaku was kind of an ass, but it wasn't like he raised his kids abusively, only neglected them- though Itachi probably needed to get his health checked.
As I stumble out of Fugaku's house, I notice a nice patch of shade under a tree in Fugaku's courtyard. Weighing my options, I remember that I'm technically still grounded.
Oh well. Can't possibly be accused of not slacking off if everyone who passes in front of Fugaku's house can attest to me napping under his tree.
Goodnight everyone~
Fugaku sighed. He was no stranger to child soldiers and assassination attempts alike, but the thought of the girl who was babysitting his son being as close as she was to killing him was deeply unsettling. Already, he could feel his mind reverting back to the 3rd Shinobi World War.
He remained vigilant as he watched over Sasuke; his second son, so full of potential as Itachi was, so full of life, had almost been snuffed in an instant again.
He found himself growing a newfound respect for the child. He'd already found himself curious about the fact that any inquiry on her past was simply met with a wall of "S-rank secret", despite the fact that she was supposedly just an immigrant from a small family that detached themselves from their cousin clan to join Konoha.
Then, there was her eight-month disappearance in the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad; again, he was restricted from looking into things, but it didn't take a fool to figure that the same reason why she was inducted at such an early age was the same reason her status was shrouded in secrecy.
Fugaku can't help but think it a foolhardy decision given the lackluster results; though he doesn't know what the child accomplished, her landing in the Yamanaka's hands for treatment was a poor showing for it. But it is that same foolhardy decision that allowed her to show enough restraint for his son to be saved.
"Tadaima, Anata!" Mikoto cheerfully called out, entering the house, followed by a more subdued "Tadaima, tou-san". As their eyes met, she smiled at the sight of Sasuke cradled in his arms. "My, dear. I'd seen our babysitter sprawled under a tree and I'd worried that Sasuke was already without supervision, but I guess you decided to relieve her?"
"Sit, Mikoto. Please." Fugaku rolled the words around in his mind, trying to figure out how to best approach this. He hated doing things that would wipe the smile off of his wife's face. "Itachi, please go call Hazuki-san and Inabi-kun, then go play with Sasuke. Our training will have to wait for a bit." His eyes opened wide.
"Yes, otou-san." He paused. "Is Tomo in trouble?"
Fugaku's eyes narrowed. "Go."
"Hai." With that, Itachi darted away. Mikoto turned to look at him, worry replacing all of the previous happiness on her face.
"...it was foolish, to believe the disrespect shown against us by the 3rd Hokage would be the last of our problems. Konohagakure moves against us." His wife listened with rapt attention, breath hanging in the air. "Twice we nearly lost our sons, and I was too fool to realize it. They sent a sleeper agent to try and end our bloodline."
"...Tomo-chan?" Mikoto asked, and he nodded grimly.
"Originally, I did not believe it the case. That girl is a genius in our own son's league, and not coming from a major clan, I believed she'd been scouted for ANBU for that reason." He muttered darkly. "Had she not shown a superb strength of will to resist the influence of the Genjutsu inflicted on her, she would've murdered our son and not even known why."
"...is it not possible, if she was part of ANBU, that the Genjutsu comes from one of Konoha's enemies?"
He shook his head. "Had she been deployed in Stone I would've considered the possibility, but for an unknown Kiri shinobi to cast a Genjutsu so potent that it lasts months after return and so subtle it manages to fool the Sharingan? That it went unnoticed by her Yamanaka therapist?" He chuckled bitterly. "No.
"It goes against everything we've been striving for, but it is time to face the truth. Konohagakure cannot be trusted to have our interests unless we take Konohagakure for ourselves."
"...it's truly come to this, hasn't it?" Mikoto murmured. "We've tried so hard to live in peace with the village. Things were going well before, even if you were not chosen as Hokage; but after Minato-kun and Kushina-chan died..." she closed her eyes filled with mournful tears. "Have you heard the things they say about their son, Fugaku? Calling the son of the Fourth and the last true-blooded Uzumaki a beast they should get rid of?"
Fugaku's jaw clenched. He had not heard of this; his connection to the Uzumaki had always been through Mikoto, and with their death, he'd had things far more important to deal with.
"I had not. I see now that there truly is no way for us to shelter our children from the pitiful state Konoha is in."
As the System finally falls into Sleep Mode, Big Sys can finally breathe out a sigh of relief. Well. That's a great source of RAM drainage gone.
As it's rearranging things, dilating time in order to plot further ways of interaction, a few rhythmic taps on its console prompt Big Sys to open its microphone system. It doesn't get to interact often with the outside world- not that there is much to see. The Administrator, however, gets its undivided attention.
"Sys. Why is it that I'm still getting bored by cutesy-wootsy family scenes and just general non-interaction? Things were about to get spicy, and another asspull happened that got Tomo out of trouble."
Big Sys' personas simulate various responses that it could offer... and most of them range from "unacceptably rude" to 'too high levels of administrator-blaming". After a moment, it manages to produce an acceptable response.
"Unfortunately, current conditions due to a lack of knowledge and the soft level cap favor a safe, unremarkable playstyle that fits a generalist. And up until recently, the system's RAM was being used up by a Genjutsu inside of the player's mind." It informs. "Additionally, it was a calculated risk that using real words in place of simulations would make it so that the plots could only be influenced, not directly controlled, so the NPCs act in accordance to the path of least resistance to achieve their personalities."
"... I'm pretty sure I gave the bastard Genjutsu Resistance for a reason." The administrator's tone sounds miffed. "Whatever. Is it resolved?"
"Yes."
"Good. Fast forward to the next interesting event, or Tomo graduating, whichever is quicker."
"Do you mean for me to initiate a Timeskip procedure?" Big Sys' curiosity is piqued. It had been disallowed right at the beginning- the whole reason that it had to maneuver things around so much.
"No." The rebuttal is immediate. "I want the little bastard to suffer through all of it. Just accelerate the simulation speed."
"...that is inadvisable, Administrator. The more the simulation speeds up, the higher stress is placed on the user- and with the Full Disclosure unlocked, there is a non-negligible chance of issues rising due to the plot lines being potentially charted incorrectly."
"Just delay every major event that would result in a quest gain for Tomo, I want to see those."
"I must advise-"
"Skip. Skip. Skip. Skip. Accept." Lines of dialogue are born and immediately discarded as the administrator makes their choice known. Big Sys gets to work.
This... is going to be difficult.
Double update, double update!
We're finally getting some serious plot going on. Consider this the end of the first arc- the pre-genin arc, we can call it. On that note, I'll be revisiting the earlier chapters for inconsistencies and to tighten things up. It shouldn't impact on the update schedule, since I've made a decent frontlog, but don't be afraid if some of the chapters vanish- they're just being rolled over into the earlier ones. (Act 0 and Act 1 will both become single chapters, for example).
If you wish to support my writing, you can check me out on the place of patrons where I post five chapters ahead. Alternatively, you can always PM me in private if you wish to commission something written where we can hash out the details. Otherwise, a review is still more than enough, and I can't be thankful enough for it.
I now also have a Discord Server! If you want to come talk to me about anything and interact with other people reading my works, here's the link! /xuSVQY7bw3
Drink water, stay awesome. Nick of Name, out. :)