5 Moving in (1/2)
I managed to get back into my room in the orphanage without any issues. I sat in my room with the newest loot item I got ready to try it out;
You obtained a jutsus scroll! Would you like to learn it?
Y/N?
I pressed yes causing it to explode into light transferring knowledge into my head;
Ping!
You have obtained a new skill!
Great fireball jutsu, C rank
The user takes a deep gulp of air before spewing it out as a giant fireball.
CP cost- 50 CP (Additional CP can be added)
DMG: 200 (+4 DMG for every additon point of CP)
Hm, so while I could learn the jutsu without a problem, I can't use it because my chakra output is still only a maximum of 48CP, literally 2 points short. I dismissed the screen and opened my stats;
STR- 2
VIT- 9
DEX- 4
INT- 11 (+2)
CHA- 11
CC- 20
LUC- 2 (+5)
Points- 10
Since I had removed my rare cat fur pelt and forearm armour, my +5 STR bonus from the cat pelt is now gone. Anyway, back to the stats in hand. So far it seems I'm building myself up to be a genjutsu type, but if I give myself enough chakra to act with then I can also be a perfect ninjutsu user.
So now the question is, what can't I grind up on my own?
Obviously STR, VIT and DEX were out. I was perfectly happy with grinding them up through exercise. While INT is important, I can basically just improve it by reading, maybe after the academy is over I'll invest points into it, but for now, I'll stick to just reading and listening to class.
So now I had three categories. CHA, CC and LUC. Obviously CC was something I don't have to worry about just yet. If my chakra control exercises go as planned I can gain one stat point every time it levels up.
LUC is always important, if a ninja faces someone of equal talent they can only survive based on luck. And if I have the power to ensure I'm always the luckiest ninja around, then victory is mine. Plus I have the chance of receiving rare items from drops and so I can make more money!
And finally came CHA, chakra, pure and simple. I might as well focus on that as well, seeing as it is equally important for any ninja.
So I put five points into LUC and five points into CHA.
CHA- 16
LUC- 7 (+5)
I had a lot of skill scrolls I can now us, but I decided to wait on them, suppose I gain an impressive skill I can really get a lot out of? Then I'll use the scrolls, not after.
I had a lot of items to sell, like the fur and more importantly the gold coins from the Meowths. Tomorrow I could find a buyer, maybe a broker or someone, hm, I'll have to go under a henge to be safe.
I closed my inventory and took out a leaf and stuck it on my forehead, I began to channel chakra to hold it up and waited for my chakra to empty out so that I could wait for it to recharge while reading.
I waited...but it never came. I didn't understand, so I opened my menu and looked seeing not even a single point of my CP bar go down. I couldn't believe it!
I opened the leaf concentration skill and found the requirements, 15 CP per minute to keep active. It had reduced from 20 since I kept leveling it up. Now 15CP per minute came up to 0.25 CP per second.
My Charaka regeneration rate is 10% plus +2% for every 10 points I have in CC and CHA, that meant around 6% more leading up to a total of 16% regeneration per minute. My charaka pool was at 150CP, that's around 24CP per minute or 0.4 CP per second!
Meaning I can technically keep this leaf on my head indefinitely! Wahoo! No more waiting around for ten whole fucking minutes! Grinding heaven here I come!
I took out the books I had for kanji and read it a couple of times, thanks to the leaf concentration exercise I gained the concentration needed to actually focus on the book rather than dooze off. It's an amazing feeling! It's like reading a brand new adventure book with your favorite hero for the very first time!
Thanks to my new found concentration I managed to finish all the books by the time morning came around. And;
Ping!
Your skill has leveled up!
Leaf concentration exercise, Lv- 10 (24%)
By keeping a leaf stuck on your forehead thanks to chakara you now only help with your chakra control exercise but also improve your concentration.
Uses: 15 CP per minute
Leaves to hold up- 3
+1 INT while active
+1 CC permanent bonus per level
Ping!
You have gained +1 CC!
CC- 21
I closed the box with a smile and set out for my day's work, unfortunately that meant I had to stop the exercise, can't risk people knowing I can already do it indefinitely, that would alert people that I might be smarter than I let on...well, smarter.
I ate food, eavesdropped and of course washed the dishes. I quickly came to my class and sat down for the lectures of the day, but surprisingly, that day of all days, the Hokage came to visit.
Iruka had gathered us all and took us to the Hokage's building. He showed us the lobby and explained what this building was for, i.e., assigning mission and the Hokage's work place, he then took us to the roof.
I looked around, the Hokage monument was right over our heard, Naruto's father looking down at us with a shadow of a smile. I smiled and looked at Naruto, for the first time the kid had been silent for more than five minutes. He looked at the other Hokages and smiled, I swear that kid must have known somewhere deep down who his real father was.
”Gather around children,” Iruka called out making us sit facing the monument, ”now, does anyone know why we are here?”
I raised my hand, ”the Hokage is going to speak to us.”
Iruka smiled and nodded, ”very good Yami, but do you know why?”
”Because we're going to be kick ass ninjas!” Naruto cried out making everyone laugh.
”Naruto! Behave! This isn't the classroom where you can do whatever you wish!” Iruka yelled, his head seemingly growing many sizes bigger, huh, I have got to know how he does that!
”Oh it's fine Iruka-sensei, the children need to act their age after all,” came an old and gravely, but kind voice. We all looked around and there he was, standing right under his own stone face carved over him, the third hokage.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hokage
Lv- ?
REP- 5
The man smiled, ”hello, it is nice to see such fine young boys and girls sitting here before me. Tell me Iruka, have they given you any trouble?”
Iruka smiled, ”no lord Hokage, they are a very well behaved batch, well, expect Naruto.”
”Hey!” Naruto cried out, ”that's no way to speak to your future boss!”
The third smiled, ”ah, yes, but you know Naruto, you actually have to get this hat to become the Hokage yes? Until then, Iruka is still your teacher and you must obey him, understood?”
Naruto grumbled, ”yes jiji, sorry Iruka-sensei.”
The teacher looked like he just saw a ghost. He turned to the Third with a look of awe, ”how did you do that?”
The older man chuckled, ”I'm not called 'the Professor' for nothing.”
”Hey Yami, isn't that your nickname?” Naruto asked in his usual loud voice drawing everyone's attention to me. I wanted to hit him up the head, can't he learn to shut up?!
I sighed, ”no Naruto, Mizuki-sensei calls me the 'Little Professor', obviously it's supposed to be derived from the old man's nickname.”
”Yami! Don't called the Hokage old!” Iruka cried out.
I raised an eyebrow, ”why?”
”It's disrespectful!”
”What's so disrespectful about it?” I asked, ”he's old, that's a fact isn't it?”
”Yes, that is true,” the Third smiled, ”but you see, most people don't like it when you point out their shortcomings.”
I snorted, ”being old isn't a shortcoming, especially when you're old in an occupation where men die young. That just means you're the kind of person who shouldn't be taken lightly.”
The Hokage's smile faltered, the grandfatherly image he had slipped away. He lowered his headgear and took a drag from his cigar, ”tell me, what is your name?”
”Yami,” I told the man, ”orphan.”
The Hokage nodded, ”Yami, tell me, what does it mean to be a ninja?”
I closed my eyes and thought. I remembered the great ninjas of this story, Itachi, Minato, Kushina, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi, Zabuza, all of them fought for what they believe in. But what do I believe in?
I had my answer.
I looked at the old man, ”ninjas are killers and thieves,” my answer was blunt, the Hokage's face betrayed a look of disappointment, ”but,” I continued, ”that's not the kind of ninja I want to be. For me, a ninja is someone with power to change the world, be it with a murder or with an idea. A ninja can be a hero to one person and the devil to another.
”But the kind of ninja I want to be is someone who can make this world less horrible, the kind who can protect the people he cares about and make the world a peaceful place.”
”To be able to do that one would suffer a great deal of pain,” the old man countered.
”And? I'm an orphan, I sleep alone with no idea what I'm going to live for in the future. I may not have a future, but if my actions can save the life of another, then why shouldn't I at least try? Why shouldn't I try and make this world a better place to live in?”
”You can't make the world a peaceful place Yami,” the man spoke softly, ”it's a dangerous place that will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. Trying to create peace in such a world...it's impossible.”
I had but two words for the man, ”watch me.”
He raised a single eyebrow and met my gaze. We looked at each other for a moment before he smiled, ”tell me Yami, if you had to kill your best friend in order to ensure peace reigned forever, would you do it?”
”Peace gained through killing is not a peace that will last,” I told him.
”So that's a no?”
I nodded, ”yes, if I had to betray Naruto or put him into prison to ensure peace, then I would do it, no questions asked, but if the only way the world will be happy is if I killed my best friend...then the world isn't ready for peace.”
The man nodded, ”smart answer. Tell me, who gave you that nick name? The Little Professor?”
”Mizuki-sensei.”
”Well, it's certainly apt,” the man smiled turning to address the children, ”your classmate isn't wrong, in fact his beliefs closely mirrors that of the First Hokage himself, the founder of this village.”
People gasped as they looked at me in awe and respect. ”That's my best friend!” Naruto cheered joyfully.
The Hokage continued, ”this village was built in order to give peace a chance, in order to stop the needless killing and violence ninjas can cause. This village is one of unity and brotherhood, our greatest strength is our friends and allies. That is the will of fire, to protect the next generation, the young leaves that will blossom on the branches of the village, the next generation of ninjas. You children are the future, you are the inheritors of the will of fire. One day some of you will come to me as my ninjas and on that day, you will truly understand the words I speak to you.”
The man then gave a long speech about what it meant to be a ninja, I understood some of it, and frankly I felt kind of proud. I stood up for myself and earned his respect, judging from the fact that his REP score turned from 5 to 10.
Class let out early that day, Naruto unfortunately was busy, it seems his Jiji was taking him out for ramen today so he couldn't play, which was just fine with me.
I walked into the merchant district of the village and found a pawn shop pretty quickly. The man inside looked fat and loaded and I could see ninjas around his shop, probably for protection. Each ninja was at least chunin rank, meaning level 40 and above, so my henge would immediately be detected.
So I had no choice, I had to find someone else. I walked around the village for some time longer until I came upon the shady part of town, the part with hookers at the night time and murders at dawn.
I managed to find a pawn shop pretty quickly, though it looked worn down and very very cheap. But there weren't any ninja around so I can use this. I went around into an alley and for the first time used a henge, imagining an older version of Gara, the only one person I knew well enough who wasn't' from inside the village.
I put on my poker face and took out the gold coins from my inventory. I walked inside, the teller was behind bars with a small slot before him to deposit items which would then be transferred over to the other side. It resembled a jail, but I had no choice. I looked at the teller's name;
Toro Hamachi, Black market dealer
Lv- 21
REP- 0
”What do you want kid?” Toro asked not looking away from his newspaper.
Okay, blackmarket guy huh? Time to act like I'm from the black market then. ”I heard you buy things.”
The man lowered the newspaper, ”depends on who's asking.”
”Is my name really important?” I asked taking out one shining coin and displaying it between my thumb and index finger.
The man sat up straight and put the paper away. He lowered the slot, ”I'll need to make sure it's really.”
”Understandable,” I told him putting the coin inside the slot.
The man pulled it over to him, picked up the ruby and looked at it in the light using a magnifying glass. He hummed, ”where did you get this?”
”Again with the questions. What sort of black market dealer are you?” I sneered at him.
Toro looked at me, eyes narrowed before he went back to looking at the gold. He put the ruby in the slot and gave it to me, ”I can give you ten thousand ryo for it.”
And that ladies and gentlemen was what one would call a ripe off. A gold coin can easily go for at least a thousand dollars, or a hundred thousand yen, which is ryo in this world.
I took the coin and pocketed it, ”no deal. Bye,” I walked away.
”Wait!” he cried out the moment I touched the door handle. He sighed, ”50 thousand, that's my final offer.”
I turned around and glared at him, ”ninety thousand.”
”Pft! Please, what do you think I am? A fool?!”
”I know for a fact that this is worth at least a hundred grand easy, ninety five, or I go to one of the big fancy merchant shops and pay him off to not ask questions.”
”Instead of paying him off you can just take sixty and give it to me.”
”Eighty,” I shot back.
”I'll give you seventy.”
”Seventy five,” I glared.
The man gave a small smirk, ”deal,” he turned around and leaned down, I think there was a safe there.
”Oh, and one more thing.”
”What,” the man asked looking up.
I held up all five coins I was planning to sell, ”I have five of them.”
The man's smile was almost toxic. It was a quick transaction, he got the five coins and I got 375,000 Ryo, which was a lot of money, I know this for a fact. And I got this;
Speaking skills, Lv- 1 (0%)
Your verbal ability to convince people to follow your lead or agree to your demands.
Chances of being successful- 5%
+2% for every positive REP score you have with target
-2 % for every negative REP score you have with target
Yes! This is so cool! But, it's only effective with people who I know...hm, maybe I can improve my REP with Toro somehow, right now it's at 5, since I gave him a sweet deal, maybe with more trading it can increase.
I went to the a bookstore that day and picked up a few candles, a blank notebook and a ink set, nothing too expensive, but good quality. I decided, I might as well complete that author quest tonight, get a book out and have someone read it to get some easy EXP. Plus...I forgot to get new books from the library and I was sure it would be closing time by now.
I came to the orphanage and finished my normal chores. That night I placed a leaf on my head for concentration, used a matchstick which I stole from the kitchen light a candle and began to write my novel.
And the story I decided to rip off was the greatest superhero of all time. Batman. I knew of course I had to make changes to the story, since this was a ninja world.
So instead I made Bruce Wayne, yes I kept the name, a boy from a far away country in the West hailing from a land that had no ninjas or chakra, but instead focused on civilian science.
I made the story in such a way that Bruce was the first person from his land to discover the Elemental Nations and chose to be trained as a ninja by the great ninja master Ra's Al Ghul.
And the story was pretty much identical to Batman Begins. I had explained in detail about how this world behaved, what people's ideas were. How Gotham a city filled with crime and terror reached out for a hero. And how Bruce became that hero.
I focused on the idea that the hero had one strict moral code, never to kill. I knew here the concept of death is very common, but it's not supposed to be, and I made sure to highlight just how important life was in the eyes of Bruce Wayne.
It took me a week of writing to complete the story to my liking. I had to rewrite it three times in three different books, but in the end, I had it done. So the very next day early in the morning I headed out with the book in my hand, the title read, 'Batman Begins', and I took it to the library.
Misa noticed me straight away, ”ah Yami! It's been so long since I saw you last. I hope you didn't stay away from here for so long because I yelled at you.”
Oh, she was worried, isn't that sweet. I shook my head, ”no, I got over that. I didn't come because I found something interesting to do.”
”Oh? And what's that?” the kind older lady asked curiously.
I held out my book, ”I wrote a story. Can you plse read it and tell me what you think?”
Misa blinked, ”a book? You wrote a book?” she took the book and looked at it's cover, ”what's it about?”
I smiled, ”read it and find out.”
Misa chuckled, ”fine Yami, I promise to read it, okay?”
I nodded, ”thank you! I'll come back tomorrow! You better have read it by then okay!”
Misa chuckled, ”alright alright, I promise.”
I grinned. I quickly returned all the books I took last time and got myself a new set of them, two fantasy books and one book about Suna, the village hidden in the desert. I was just curious about it's history, hopefully I can learn something.
I read the book on Suna that night and found myself immediately interested in the chakra threads they used for their puppets. If they did in fact could move wood and metal with sting, then maybe it's something I should learn too.
I spent all night pushing chakra out of the tip of my finger and tried to mold it into the shape of a thread. I pushed as much chakra as I could out of it, and what did you know, a small string of blue chakra came pouring out.
Ping!
You have created a new skill!
Chakara thread, Lv- 1 (0%)
A concentrated thread of chakra that can be attached to manipulate certain objects.
CP cost- 5 CP per minute per 1 feet
Max length- 10 feet
I grinned, this was so exciting! I used the thread to come out and extend up to five feet. I watched my CP go down, but the tip of the thread managed to grab hold of my pen and carry it into the air.
I moved my finger around and the pen did the same, obeying to a small degree my orders. It was like having an extended hand that could grab things and move it around. I would need to be more skilled to do things like control a puppet, but again, I have plenty of time.
I dropped the pen and waited for my CP to recharge. Alright, 5CP per minute is 0.083CP per second. I use around 0.25 CP per second to keep my leaf on my forehead, so if I also use 1 feet of thread active I would use 0.3 per second while I produce 0.4 CP per second! That meant I could push the chakra thread to two feet and still not lose a single CP!
This was too good to be true, but I won't ever look a gift horse in the mouth. I stuck the leaf on my head, used a two feet long thread to lift my pen and began to write in my notebook with it. I practised writing kanji, it was very very difficult, but with the leaf exercise helping with my concentration, I pushed on.
By morning I had leveled up both skills;
Chakara thread, Lv- 5 (80%)
A concentrated thread of chakra that can be attached to manipulate certain objects.
CP cost- 5 CP per minute per 1 feet
Max length- 15 feet
Leaf concentration exercise, Lv- 11 (24%)
By keeping a leaf stuck on your forehead thanks to chakara you now only help with your chakra control exercise but also improve your concentration.
Uses: 15 CP per minute
Leaves to hold up- 3
+1 INT while active
+1 CC permanent bonus per level
Not bad for a night's work. And while I wouldn't be able to write any novels using my string, at least I would be able to write SOS if I'm in danger or something.
I went to the library that morning in hopes that Misa kept her promise and read my book. I walked in and just like normal I found her by the entrance reading the very last page of the book, her eyes glued to it as her eyebrows rose up in shock.