abcnovels
Chapter 10: Vigor (1)
Chapter 10: Vigor (1)
Chapter 10: Vigor (1)
"Trust me, Tsun! I'm not lying!" A blue-haired youth begged a blonde woman who walked in front of him with a furious scowl as everyone including the men in the green flack jackets and Uchiha symbol the men from Konoha Police. They could stop the duo and question them why such a ruckus was being raised near the residential area of the village... but they knew Tsunade Senju's temper and knew better than to stick their necks out only for her to break it in one slap!
Hearing the man's words, Tsunade stopped and turned on her heels, making the blue-haired youth flinch, "When grandma asked if I was a MISSION or not, you didn't reply! When she asked if you approached me with sleazy intentions or not, you didn't reply! Damn it, Dan! We're ninjas! I know how complicated it is and I wasn't born yesterday. I knew some things myself but I thought three years of knowing each other would have at least made you more honest about it! This was no clan secret or anything like that but you... you..."
Tsunade's amber eyes widened in anger before she exhaled forcefully and growled, "Forget it, we're done! Honestly... why do you think I waited for so long before bringing you to Grandma!"
The man stayed rooted with a bitter expression as he inwardly cursed his own luck and the woman who huffed away, 'Getting to know each other better? Who the hell are you kidding... we both have been on missions for two years straight for raising emergencies and when we're not... sigh, screw it. It was good when I was in Anbu... though, Hokage won't be pleased...' The man named Dan slumped his shoulders and walked away while four tiny heads stuck out from the side alley, their cheeks inflated with dangos as Tsume spoke up.
"Whab jusht hawppend?" she spoke with her mouth filled.
"Swabbow firsh and thenh shpeak!" Kai scowled. His cheeks filled.
"Yooub thoo!" Kushina ate like a squirrel, her usually round cheeks now even more filled.
"Sigh," Mikoto swallowed like a proper lady... and then spoke, "Wasn't that Tsunade Senju? Lover's spat?"
"More like a lover's destruction..." Kai mumbled as Mikoto glanced at him, "And how would you know, Kai-chan?"
"Dunno?"
"Say... Kai-chan? Do they bathe together like us?" Kushina inquired curiously and shocked by the bomb, Mikoto gasped and looked at the two, "You two bathe together?"
"Well, he has to wash my back," Kushina shrugged. And while Kai groaned. Heck, it was actually a daily quest but it was whatever. He wasn't even that uncomfortable with it. Like he would get a reaction out of a tomato on a cutting board...
"Oh, Mikoto-chan, what's so surprising?" Kai smiled as Mikoto scoffed.
"Yeah, my clansmen also bath with their dogs," Tsume smiled.
"Alright, shush!" Mikoto grumbled and looked towards where Tsunade left with an odd twinkle in her eyes.
"It must be amazing to know Tsunade, huh," she smiled as the duo shrugged.
"Not really, she rarely visits us. Why?"
"Why? She singlehandedly developed the iryo ninjutsu and is constantly contributing to the village. The skills to heal others have been revolutionized ever since THE Tsunade Senju entered the game... she is amazing..." Mikoto had a dreamy expression while the remaining trio looked at each other blankly and shrugged.
"Sigh, let's go back. Kushina, we have to... practice, too, right? I'm in a hurry so let's return," Mikoto smiled while Kushina nodded.
"What do you two even do?" Kai inquired idly as Kushina snapped at him with reddened cheeks, "None of your business dattebane!"
"See you guys later, I have to feed the ninken, too," Tsume grinned and left.
"She... didn't pay her half of dangos!" Mikoto scoffed and she glanced at Kai, "Like a certain boy."
"I am but a humble servant of the clan," Kai smiled, "Kushina-san pays for me~!"
Taking the backing of two giants was the best decision ever!
They soon returned to their respective stations while Mito once again took out the same chakra ink and paper... much to Kai's reluctance. How could he ever explain that he wouldn't need to practice the seals daily? But Mito was hellbent on making sure that, even when Kai had written all the seals she demanded of him with immaculate precision, his skills doesn't falter. And Kai was a little reluctant to spend on Uzumaki Skill Tree when Mito was quite the generous teacher.
So, with a heavy heart, Kai returned to his room after the daily chore which was washing Kushina's back, and slumped on his bed. He thought for a second and started to browse through his skill tree.
The ability to learn from a Senju felt lost at the moment so choosing from the Skill Tree: Senju's Basic Jutsu was the most preferable way to spend his SP on.
The only way to earn SP was through quests and mastering skills himself. But he only got a single SP at each level regardless of the level and quality of skill so the major source would be the quests and Kai easily assumed that he would have a large pool of quests once he graduates. But for now, he had to be frugal.
Like the Academy skill tree, Senju's Basic Jutsu skill tree was divided into four categories.
[Taijutsu] [Ninjutsu] [Genjutsu] [Weaponry]
[Taijutsu]
[Leaf Snapping Fist (15/15)]
[Whirlwind Crusher (15/15)]
[Wind Blowing Kata (15/15)]
[Basic Chakra Enhancement (10/10)]
[Ninjutsu]
[Chakra Focus Blast (25/25)]
[Earth Release Mud Wall (10/10)]
[Earth Release Groundmole (15/15)]
[Earth Release Spike Trail (10/10]
[Earth Release Earth Clone (10/10)]
[Water Release Water Shuriken (15/15)]
[Water Release Hazy Mist (15/15)]
[Water Release Freeze Wave (15/15)]
[Water Release Water Clone (10/10)]
[Wind Release Gust (10/10)]
[Wind Release Small Breakthrough (10/10)]
[Wind Release High Jump (10/10)]
[Fire Release Heat Wave (10/10)]
[Genjutsu]
[Snaring Demon (20/20)]
[Five Senses Destruction (25/25)]
[Mystic Wood Smack (10/10)]
[Weaponry]
[Flash Style Ken (30/30)]
[Weaving Water Sword (25/25)]
[Joint Shuriken (20/20)]
[Senju Kunai Technique (15/15)]
[Poisonous Senbon Technique (20/20)]
Kai looked at the skills. The Senju Clan is revered to be known as developing a thousand jutsus! And their most basic skill tree happened to be more expansive than Uzumaki and Ninja Academy combined. But Kai hadn't lost his mind to awe. He knew that just the basic seal technique had given him a lot of versatility since each seal had a different effect... alas, Mito was a bit too coddling for his taste as she wouldn't even let him form some exploding tags... The 4-year-old body that got him a free pass at peeking now stood in opposition to his rise of glory! Damn!
With a sigh, he looked at the skill he wanted the most right now for that Chakra Grind. Again, these skills by themselves depended on his own practice unless he spends SP but their most important benefit was the information his trait provided to him. It set him dozens of steps ahead of civilians and even some clan bitches. He didn't think of the raven-haired tease at all!
Spending 10 WHOLE SP, Kai bought the technique and felt the incomplete information waiting to be fulfilled with each level entering his head.
[Chakra Focus Blast (1/25): Focus the entirety of your chakra on the tenketsu present at the end of your limbs and exert a point-blank blast of chakra. Each level reduces chakra wastage by 0.6. Reduces Chakra Cost by 3 per level. Chakra Consumption: 1000~???.
Next Level: Perform the technique 8 times or 2 SP]
Kai sighed slightly... this would be a grind even more painful than the Basic Chakra Enhancement BUT he had skills like meditation which really made it easy for him to recover Chakra and continue. But first, he had to master the Transformation Jutsu and cover the lost SP! Beside... transformation was fun as heck!
So, the evening and night of the grind began.
---
Days began to pass idly. The excitement of the classroom was curbed quite a bit now that Ninjutsu became the focus and while it was easy to master Transformation Technique, Chakra Sensing and Chakra Focus Blast challenged his grind daily. Kushina... actually surprised the class when one of the revision tests revealed that she wasn't dead last but in the middle bracket of scorers and with how Mikoto clapped, on the verge of tears as if she was seeing her own child score at the top, it became painfully obvious what happened behind closed doors between Kushina and Mikoto... homework... ugh.
Tsume actually rivaled the top contenders for transformation technique, saying how her clan techniques heavily relied on a twist of this technique...
But...
As Kai said, he was having too much fun with the technique. His Sensei was entirely exasperated but... whatever!
[Transformation Technique (10/10): Use the chakra to transform into another person temporarily. Chakra consumed reduced by 5 with every level: Chakra Consumption: 10/min.]
'Transform!'
Kai grinned gleefully, something that didn't make the Sensei or Mikoto feel at ease since the latter was feeling at her wit's end with how Kai now attacked her... like this for all the time she teased. Oh, karma.
*Poof*
Smoke covered him and instantly a Mikoto in a rather
Before he could even come out in full display, multiple blunt kunai's struck Sensei's clipboard while his fist struck 'Mikoto' and dispelled the transformation... much to the disgruntlement of many boys in the classroom.
Kushina was a snickering mess alongside Tsume who was clutching her stomach, failing to whistle every time. Sensei's glare was all too clear as Kai rubbed the back of his head while taking one of the four buckets with his name on it and leaving the class. Mikoto followed with an annoyed huff and Kushina, and Tsume just winging it at this point.
"You have to do THAT every day?" Mikoto pouted and glared at the boy. Not even seeing why she thought the little devil was cute as Kai hummed thoughtfully and beamed, "Of course!"
Kai had a blast, like usual. He wanted his school experience since he couldn't get one before and even if only for a year, he wanted to have some memories of the curriculum aside from the grind. Yet, today was not supposed to be his day as he was prepared to tell Mito to go to hell and teach him something new... in a much more sensible manner but she... wasn't in the compound with the servants saying that she had left somewhere with Tsunade.
"Great, then you two won't mind accompanying me to my clan compound, right? Especially, you, Kai-chan... hehe, my father heard about your pranks and he is DYING to meet you!" Mikoto smiled sweetly as his brows twitched. The Uchiha Patriarch is the proverbial General of the Police... he must be out of his mind to go meet the man whose daughter he'd transformed into in questionable clothes...
"Ne, Kai-chan, come on," Mikoto firmly gripped his shoulder and smiled. The Devil!
---
Konohagakure is built on the alliance of multiple clans, the most notable of them being the Senju and the Uchiha. These two are the foundational clans of the village. At the end of every month, a general council meeting is set up where the clan heads of the village would either arrive by themselves or send a proxy. The body also included an advisory group known as the elders who would provide suggestions to the Hokage and they, too, can send proxy but out of four of them, the three are always present.
'Is that why I was called?' Yata Uchiha had a drop of sweat rolling down his forehead despite himself. The leader of Uchiha he was, with short black hair, slightly pale skin, and a full beard with the black tunic hiding the mesh shirt imprinted with his clan symbol, wanted to send a proxy, like usual but a notice came arrived that the Hokage insisted he is present. While Yata was a little disgruntled, he now knew this wasn't for the Hokage but to respect the rare addition to the meeting.
Yata observed everyone. The usually smoking Hokage sat straight and his pipe hidden. The stoic Aburame... revealed very little, like usual. Their clothes covered them quite a bit, too. The Akimichi had NOT opened a single package of snacks he brought. The smug slave-owning Hyuga had his body tense and greying hair turning whiter by the second. The Inuzuka wasn't boisterous as usual, too.
The Nara wasn't sleeping. And the Yamanaka Gigolo wasn't eyeing any of them. The three elders, who were only given the position due to the obvious bias of being the Hokage's team members had trouble breathing because SHE sat next to them, and while Yata knew that the Senju Princess, who also happened to be the interim leader of the clan, was behind this, she kept a straight expression because the new addition was... super mean. Yata still feared the woman to his very core.
Smiling gently, in a pure white dress and her dull rustic hair resting on her shoulders, Mito stated softly, "Now, now, when will this meeting start?"
Mito had long renounced the Senju name and was an Uzumaki. While this clan was an ally to Konoha, it wasn't situated here as such Mito was one of the original elders who still lived.
"Ehm, yes," Sarutobi glanced at Tsunade who turned to look at him and winked. Truly... his disciples can be unruly!
"Let us start with the most obvious issue that is long needed to be discussed but the lack of clan leaders and abundance of proxy has delayed this," Hiruzen may feel stifled but he was sly. A naive shinobi simply can't live for long and he learned to become adept in these things. Using Mito to indirectly berate the clan leaders, he added, "Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure have begun to slowly but gradually build and fortify a few key outposts that were once used to achieve high merit in the warring era. They have also outsourced a few assassination missions against many of the nobles necessary for the functioning of the civilian lands. Their activities are becoming more and more transparent and we must prepare... for the worst."
As he said so, a heavy silence hung in the room while the clan heads frowned.
The Nara drawled, "The worst would be a surprise invasion but this gives us a chance to prepare, Lord Third. But these preparations need to be built on viable sources of information. Is there anything else that we know about the situation on this front?"
Sarutobi hummed and gave one of the masked shinobis in cut-sleeved black tunic and pants alongside grey armors and a sword on their backs a look. One of them disappeared and reappeared next to him and Hiruzen whispered something.
"While the official documents are brought forward, I would also like to discuss another topic related to some preparations." A dark-haired man with the right side of his face bandaged and a cross-shaped scar on his chin spoke up, "I suggest that we bring the war protocol to the academy so that they are ready to some extent." While a few individuals shifted, they were willing to listen to one of the four elders of the council because of his experience, "The quicker we install these teachings, the quicker the talented ones are prepared. Innocence for Shinobi and Kunoichi is a sin, especially at times like these."
"Elder Shimura," Aburame spoke under the turtleneck jacket that went beyond his lips, "To what precise extent are you suggesting we apply these protocols."
"Victim Files, Gender Awareness, and Prisoner Execution Program." Danzo Shimura kept it concise. Children and teens would raise a ruckus. Yata was sure that the Senju would have... but everyone on this table aside from her had been through the war. If they didn't survive, they would have become a case study in those victim files.
"Hmm..." Hiruzen frowned as the shinobi returned with the scrolls and placed them in front of the council members and elders but the members were mulling over the previous issue.
"I agree," Aburame was the first to agree.
"I have no problems with that," Inuzuka showed a rare moment of weakness and sighed.
"I don't agree that the young students go through that!" Tsunade glowered but that was the extent of her resistance.
Yata thought of his daughter. The idea that she could be one of these victims if caught ill-prepared made him shudder. For once, the patchy creep was right. Innocence is a sin... and Yata would rather have his daughter learn from the mistakes of the previous generation than go through these things herself. Every member here was aware of the cruel fate that usually awaited most kunoichis and at times, Shinobis, too.
"I agree," words softly left his mouth. Aside from Senju, everyone but Mito agreed, and finally, everyone looked at her. At this point, with so many votes in favor, it wouldn't matter if Mito agreed or not but her reasoning would allow them to realize what 'side' she was on.
"My successor is in the academy and many talented kids surround her. Yet, any of them could be the next victim for some other Shinobi to study... I agree. Better to have her horizons broadened than any part of their bodies." Her words were brutal but effective as Danzo, the brooding creep as known to others, smiled. A flicker of pride flashed through his uncovered eye.
Yet, before they could open the scrolls, Mito added, "It is indeed correct that Innocence is a sin in our world. But might makes right, and preservation lays a thicker foundation. I believe that our village is on the right track in every aspect but the last one."
They waited and looked at her before setting down the scroll on the table once again. Nodding, Mito looked at Tsunade, "I found your idea intriguing... speak up, Clan Representative Tsunade Senju."