You know... Despite knowing Quelaag wasn't a threat to me at all due to how my continued survival was paramount for her own survival. There was no denying how fucking scary her monstrous form was when she transformed.
Her monstrous form was covered in spike-like hairs, with the customary eight legs sticking and stabbing into the surface of the walls allowing her to climb in the large underground cabin I made well below the cabin I left at the surface as a decoy.
I think the most... The disconcerting thing about Quelaag's form was the face that the front facial area of her large spider body below where her human upper body was stuck on the chest area of the spider. Was the fact that Quelaag's spider body had like two dozen or something fist-sized glowing eyes randomly placed across its 'facial' area.
But... There was a secret to getting past the mutated monstrous body of Quelaag. A secret technique all men had when staring at something and thinking. 'Fucking eww... How did I end up here.'
It was simple. We looked for the silver lining. Or in other words I just stared at Quelaag's big bountiful bouncing breasts as she hummed to herself and made herself a nest above my head.
As she wanted to be comfortable, whether it be in her spider form or human form. And Quelaag's spider form actually took after a funnel web spider so she was just making a nice sideways looking funnel tornado of a nest out of thick webbing while I just relaxed below her.
But as I was reading a book on local youkai lore that I brought with me to school today. I saw Quelaag's large body stiffen before she looked towards the small pipes leading outside of the cabin so we had plenty of fresh air coming in.
"Humans... And snakes are outside of your cabin?" Quelaag spoke as she gently came down to the bottom of the cabin with a long thread of webbing following behind her.
My lips twitched as I spoke. "Do you recognize any of the scents or have any other defining features?"
The spider woman turned her head to the side and spoke. "Two people... Both of them having their scent slightly upon you from previous contact, probably female due as their bodily musk being well covered in non-offending soaps and oils."
My mind whirled before my I mentally cursed as I put the woman, and snake part together and realized fucking Anko Mitarashi must have been here.
But then I smiled, with my troll heart growing two sizes before my ass clenched as our entire cabin violently shook!
"The hell are they!?" I yelled before I twitched in fury as I remembered the Cat Anbu who used Earth Jutsu to rip my wooden capsule out of the ground before.
I held my hands together to connect my chakra to the wooden walls around us and I made a pipe of wood leading to them and I yelled loudly towards the pipe. "Leave me alone dammit! I just want to be the mole underground!"
The rumbling paused before I heard Anko's voice reach me with tired exasperation. "Akari... Please come out, we need to talk with your friend."
"How many of you are out there?" I demanded.
There was a pause before Anko replied. "It's just me, come on Akari, just talk with me a little. It's rude to talk through a peephole or whatever."
But I instantly replied. "Nah you not having any friends is your own skill issue Anko, just because you mooched a meal off me and then was a pervert who watched me playing with myself that doesn't make us friends."
I heard a loud cough of laughter as Anko audibly choked before she snapped out. "Yugao just get the brat out of the damned ground."
"Wait wait!" I shouted hurriedly as the cabin started moving again before abruptly stopping.
"What Akari... Whatever you have to say, isn't going to save you from the ass kicking your way from me." Anko spoke in a sickly sweet manner.
I was silent for a moment as I contemplated whether it was worth saying it... Before I mentally shrugged and said. "Hey, Anko... This is my friend, why don't you just talk to your friend out there? And lying isn't a good step in our relationship you know!"
And with that, I went even further with being petty and I flared out my chakra and the rock-like bindings around the cabin shattered as forced large roots and branches to form around the cabin and form a deep thick armor of poisoned thorny branches and thick Mokuton wood plates.
But obviously, I still left some breathing holes and it was through those obvious breathing holes that Anko's voice snapped out. "Dammit Akari! You are literally locked in a fucking box with a giant spider Youkai that will want to eat you after breeding with you! Let us in!"
I gave Quelaag a look as things went quiet and I made sure they could hear us outside as I asked 'curiously'. "Are you going to eat me Quelaag? Not even going to ask the first part of that?"
To which Quelaag's eyes tightened on me and then she relaxed and said in a dull voice. "I am not a pedophile, so I wouldn't do anything with you as I am millennia older than you... And frankly, you hold my contract so I am thinking more of you as family."
There was silence outside before I heard the voice of the other woman out there. The same voice as the Cat Anbu as before in Yugao Uzuki speaks dryly. "Jake, you... You have Mokuton, we can't just... Did you sign a summoning contract with the first animal to speak with you or something!?"
I counted to ten in my mind before I spoke again. "The Lorax is done answering questions! Please let me do my training exercise in peace. I have like three books to read, and plenty of battery power to do so."
I could actually hear a facepalm outside of my cabin before a loud rumble rang out as I broke the final locks of stone around my cabin and I went back... And took back out my book to continue reading it.
But just as I was relaxing and getting back into the book about the Land of Fire youkai. I felt the Celestial Grimmoire shudder and reach forth to grab a star.
[You have a halo floating over your head, This halo increases your physical durability, with bullets only causing some stinging, rather than penetrating the body. Even taking a tank shot to the face will only knock you unconscious for a short period of time. You and the halo are not immune to harm though, as dedicated effort or powerful enough equipment can overcome the halo's durability. Every halo has a unique design, and they vanish whenever you are asleep or are otherwise unconscious.]
I looked above my head... And yup, I had a Blue Archive-style halo floating above my head. Glowing a gentle soft orange, it had little mini rings around the main ring like waves of flames.
'Whelp... I am fucked when it comes to subtlety. I don't think I can be a subtle ninja with a literal glowing halo following me wherever I go.' I thought with amazed horror as I just gave up at this point.
And it's not like it gave me access to whatever power system came from Blue Archive if there ever was one... I didn't know a damn thing about Blue Archive other than it being a Gatcha with all the many waifus being younger girls that were obsessed over the player character that was just named 'Sensei'.
"How do you plan to sleep with a glowing Halo acting as a nightlight." Quelaag quietly asked making my lips twitch at the thought before I replied.
"It goes away when I am asleep... Or knocked unconscious. Maybe I can just beat myself unconscious?" I mused more to myself than anything at the end.
"Anyway, just settle in. I don't plan to traipse around the haunted ass forest for no good reason. If I have my way, I will literally make a hot tub in another room as well."
To which Quelaag just shrugged and in her human form rolled herself up into her funnel web and I think began meditating or something. I don't know, and she was a dark soul character. Keeping her mind busy or in a stupor was a skill all of them inherited.
-
Across the forest, blood was being spilled upon the haunted grounds in ever greater amounts.
"Ugh... Mom never told me how the bandages on kunai would get so damned sticky after drying up." Naruko whined as she flexed her hands in disgust at feeling the sticky feeling of dried congealed blood breaking apart on her skin.
Shikamaru who was sitting across from the daughter of the Hokage along with Choji Achimichi and Ino Yamanaka, piped up dryly. "You slit the throat of a bandit the Village threw into here to feed the Youkai... It's no surprise he died as inconveniently as possible. How we even ran into him is a wonder honestly."
Naruko pouted as she wiped down her hands with a wet wipe and the blond Yamanaka spoke up with some amusement. "We had to deal with a bandit, while everyone else is probably having to deal with lesser youkai and whatever. So lets just be happy with that. Naruko, you ok after dealing with that?"
Ino asked with some concern clear in her voice. As she was well aware, although they were teenage super soldier ninjas. The Yamanaka were basically built-in pyschologists with how they invaded people's minds and memories and knew that the first kill definitely had weight to it.
But instead, Naruko shrugged and said frankly. "I don't like it... At all, but Mom had me blooded on a Kumo rogue nin that got caught here in the Land of Fire a year ago."
"Rogue Kumo ninja... Not too likely, more likely a scout who was disavowing himself." Shikamaru said blankly with Naruko shrugging in a 'what can you do' manner.
A gentle popping noise rang out as Choji turned the coals cooking the brace of fish that they had caught with some traps from the large river running through the Youkai Forest.
"So... Who is going to be able to sleep tonight?" Choji asked with grim humor in his voice as he pulled the fish they caught off the fire and began passing it out.
After taking a couple of bites Naruko spoke up with smug pride. "I will be able to sleep perfectly fine... Unless some ghosts scare me, but we all know why Youkai and other monsters won't dare to take a nibble off me."
Even as Naruko said that, she patted her stomach over the seal that held the Kyuubi within her soul and body. With everyone else giving Naruko a dirty look at being literally poison to youkai who dared to eat her.
But then after a couple minutes of eating Choji spoke with some concern. "Naruko aren't you trying to become friends or watch out for that Akari guy. Kamimu was looking... Rather mad he went on his own way without her."
Hearing that... Naruko's face stiffened before she nervously laughed and replied. "Hehe... Kamimu scares me honestly. I mean she is literally a demi-god of the god of all ghosts for Kami's sake! Plus she won't hurt Akari, though it is very weird how the ice queen even bothered to talk to Akari." Naruko finished with a creeped-out expression.
There was a pause before Ino spoke up again with a hint of something in her voice. "So... With Akari having Mokuton, is the Senju going to adopt him or something? I mean imagine if he becomes the Senju Clan Head haha."
Even as Naruko imagined her mother bringing Akari onto the council and learning about how Kushina Uzumaki was actually the Hokage. She blinked and stilled as she heard Shikamaru state bluntly.
"No way in hell would the old fogeys in the Senju Clan give up their elder status to have a clan head... So Ino, don't even think about honey-trapping the poor bastard as he is already an orphan."
Shikamaru gave Naruko an even look before saying bluntly. "The other clans will likely have similar thoughts when their kids get home and they tell everyone how buddy-buddy you have been. They are all likely going to think the Uzumaki are doing so."
There was a moment of silence before Naruko smiled and Shikamaru shuddered as Naruko's sickly sweet voice hit his ears. "Then they better believe I will be paying them a visit when they are sleeping Dattebayo!"
-
In another section of the Youkai Forest, a soft humming rang out, but even as the youkai, monsters, and the odd bandit who had been banished and sealed away in the forrest to feed its denizens heard the voice.
None dared approach. All heard the inhuman rhythm of the admittedly beautiful haunting voice and not a single soul, no matter how corrupted dared approach.
Kamimu Sagui walked with with the mists of the yomi following her footsteps and obscuring her lower half. Each seemingly stepping motion she took sending the demigoddess of Izanami the death goddess several meters at high speed.
The mists of yomi, the underworld released a taint in the world that made all entities that were spiritually aligned stay... Very clear of the demigoddess that could forcibly send them back to the Underworld they probably belonged in.
"Hmm, hmm, what is Akari Sadra?" Kamimu mused as the mists of Yomi faded leaving her kimono covered lowered half to be revealed. With her tilting her head to the side as she looked at the truly enigmatic soul in far distance.
Disregarding the odd spider-shaped soul next to Akari, the stronger mundane soul, the soul that was bound in chains of another soul that was human but taking the form of a snake. Kamimu's eyes were locked onto Akari Sadra's soul in the distance that she was watching.
The countless stars surrounding Akari's soul were simply beautiful to Kamimu's divinely blessed eyes that bore her mother's gaze. The stars are seemingly filled with infinite potential and constantly winking in and out of existence like a never-ending, all-changing tapestry of the heavens.
Then there was the most important part.
Akari Sadra was immortal. How could the daughter of a goddess of death not know when someone was untouched by death? His mere presence... Was like looking at the very Sun itself but worse because Kamimu could feel in her very own soul that Akari would outlive her world's very own Sun.
And her mother obviously knew of his presence and accepted him! Because he bore a symbol, a blessed tool somewhere on his body that was beaming out the concept of death, that was obviously gift from her mother Izanami!
"Now... I may have scared him a bit. But how could I not be so tantalized at the sight of a man who I didn't know the very moment his body would naturally fail him? Let alone him dying in battle." She mused to herself as she floated up into a tree and gently laid with its branches so her body was supported so she could go limp and just stare through the aether.
Staring directly at that tapestry that... Kamimu's eyes widened and she shuddered with abject glee as she watched one of the stars in Akari's soul glow ever brighter before bursting within Jake's soul and then she saw as an otherworldly power circulated around Akari's form before settling into hovering above his head in fiery looking ring.
"Did... Did Lady Amaterasu bless him?" Kamimu spoke astounded as she blinked several times as though looking to see if the halo that looked like a stylized sun would fade away.
But no matter how Kamimu blinked, pushed her divinity to her eyes, or even disturbed her own chakra network to see if it was an illusion. Nothing worked.
And then something struck Kamimu's mind. "Wait... Did Lady Amaterasu claim him just as she claimed Hashirama and Madara? Did she claim him just to spite my mother?!" Kamimu almost hissed at the end in affront.
Her goddess mother was almost entirely neutral in the world of the living... Would Amaterasu truly be so petty to claim someone who bore her mark on his person just because he was of talent and lived with the Land of Fire?
To that thought... Kamimu's form sagged in the tree as she let out an exasperated groan. 'Of course, the divine are so petty. I must pray for mother and Lady Amaterasu to not come to any blows over their claims.'
-
While way back in the Hidden Leaf Village. A mother with entirely too much power and not nearly enough patience was sitting within the Hokage's seat with the very Hokage's hat upon her head as she leaned over a glowing crystal ball.
"Thinking I was going to have my daughter seduce some random kid... If any old fogies dare say that, they will be going home with a broken jaw and no teeth Dattebane!" Kushina swore even as a couple of the hidden anbu in her office snickered at the Uzumaki verbal tick getting out.
The verbal tick that Kushina did her very best to hide at all times. But even as she used a modified henge to take the form of her previous husband to pretend to be the Hokage... Sometimes when she was super emotional, 'Alot of the time' It kinda just slipped out.
"Lady Hokage, a couple of Anbu are watching your daughter from a good distance. Maybe check Akari Sadra or the other clan heirs. Or you know Lord Hokage... Maybe you could just do your paperwork?" One of the Anbu piped up with amusement clear in their voice.
The viewing orb that was attached to the Hidden Leaf Villages system of seals an wards that kept it safe flared with Kushina's chakra as she made the view switch over to Akari Sadra who had the same tag all academy students had so they could be tracked.
And the room went utterly silent as they watched from an outside point as Akari was deep underground with Yugao and Anko watching over the site. While after zooming in through the earth they found Akari with a halo over his head while he was reading a book they couldn't see the bottom of to get its title.
"Is that ring over his head supposed to be a blessing from Amaterasu... Wait. Lady Hokage!" The female Anbu's voice became shrill as everyone noticed the very fucking large spider woman curled up in a large funnel-web just above Akari!
Kushina was dead fucking silent as she watched the spider moving and then she mentally cursed and decided that the youkai training exercise could go sit on a thumbtack-covered chair and spin.
She activated the Hirashin seal she had on her daughter Naruko and teleported to her.
"Mom what the hell!" Naruko screamed as an Adamantine chain shot out of her back to pierce the person who had slapped her shoulder out of nowhere.
"LoveYouBaby,GotSomethingToDoByeeee!" Kushina howled while running to get distance from Naruko as green chakra exploded from her form as she opened up the Sixth Gate.
The Gate of View enhancing her senses as she used a series of Shunshin to explode through the forest killing any Youkai with the weight of her chakra as exploded past trees.
-
"Did you know its illegal to bury prostitutes in major cities in the Land of Fire? Apparently, all prosititutes become major demons or youkai upon death for living such an unclean life. And people who sell women to become prostitutes are often cursed by the gods themselves even in life." I mused to myself with Quelaag snorting.
"Women who sell themselves... Either have been forced into that position, have zero self-respect, or just don't even care to live at that point." The spider demon spoke idly making me hum as I remembered that previous youkai we ran into the lake.
I wasn't even sure how powerful it was honestly, but there was no denying its ability to know my identity of Jake Bariss in my previous life was concerning to say nothing of its ability to ferry the souls of dead children.
'Hmm, whelp time to continue practicing my elemental manipulation.' I mused as I got my chakra in order and began playing around as I used my talent perks to their greatest effects in merging water and lightning chakra together.
'Laser style...' I mused as my hand filled with the Kumo bloodline/secret elemental release of laser release. But in reality, it was actually plasma instead.
Which. Awesome it could burn and cut through things better than lightning. But it didn't have the stunning effect lightning had and instead went for more control over the plasma itself and had a stronger blinding effect.
Just having a small finger of the stuff floating above my hand was burning my closed eyes like I was staring into a dozen assholes trying to weld on a single metal plate all at once and that wasn't an exaggeration honestly.
Even Quelaag muttered. "Cut that back, please... It's burning my many eyes."
My lips twitched at the reminder of Quelaag having a couple dozen eyes in her spider form and I cut back the laser release as something else came to mind.
I took a deep breath and I searched inside my body with my chakra as I recalled the locations of the eight gates. And already as I knew the first Gate was permanently open as was the result of me drinking the Hourai Elixer in the left side of my brain.
Likewise on the right side of my brain... Was the second gate. The Gate of Healing.
Which when opened would open the chemical production gates in the body allowing it to mass heal itself much faster, along with having adrenalin increase a person's strength and reaction speed.
Each Gate was... Different, it wasn't like a Gate was just opening an imaginary door within the body and chakra just pissing itself out. No, I blew open the Gate of Opening when I drank the elixer and in turn, it removed all my body's natural inhibitions.
So for the Gate of Healing which controlled the chemical balance in my body. I had to be a bit more oblique seeing as I didn't have Guy here telling me the secret codes to opening up the Gates without suffering a literal brain aneurysm.
'Fuck it... We ball.' I muttered mentally and I used my chakra to smack the area where my second gate was.
My vision dulled before going dark and I felt blood splurt out of my nose and leak out of my eyes as I gave myself an aneurysm with my hamfisted attempt to finding out how to control my Gate of Healing.
But... In but moments I was perfectly fine, with myself just elegantly wiping the tears of blood from my eyes and the boiled brain matter that leaked a bit messily from my nose.
'Whelp... Fucking killed myself with that. Good job Akari.' I thought with a mental groan as I got back to work.
But not even a couple of minutes later as I used what I did learned from fondling a part of my brain with my chakra to look for how to properly unlock the Gate of Healing. I blinked as I felt solid chakra-like chains surround my cabin.
"Eh? What nooooww!" I yelled as my entire fucking cabin was wrenched out of the ground violently with so much force that the thorny branches and wooden plates I had surrounded it with shattered.
And just to be a flower petal on the shit pile, at the speed I was yanked upwards when the cabin abruptly stopped seemingly in the air I fell down onto my bed at a bad angle making a cracking noise as the back of my head hit the headboard.
"I am fucking... Ugh!" I snarled as I took control over my wooden construct and then large tendrils smashed in all directions but broke themselves on the chains that surrounded my wooden construct.
'What the fuck are these chains?' I thought even as the terrible pain of a cracked skull went away as I took out my cursed Black Knife... I was ready to kill a bitch at this point.
"Quelaag. Let's go see who is here now." I spoke coldly as I held up a hand in the two fingers of my pointer finger and middle finger pointing upwards as I flared my chakra again to make a large opening for me to jump out with my Black Knife glowing with deadly black flames.
"Who the fuck is messing with me now? Can't I have a fucking moment of peace on this damned camping trip!?" I damn near screamed as I landed on the ground and began taking in my surroundings.
But then I froze and blinked as I saw Yugao in her civvies outside of her anbu outfit, along with Anko wearing her lewd trench coat and chain wire vest.
While standing there beside the two was Kushina Uzumaki holding her hands together in a ninja seal with a fuck load of the Uzumaki Adamantine chains having shot out of her body, into the ground and was what had dragged my house out of the ground.
There was a moment of silence before Kushina blinked and demanded. "Where the hell did you get a shinigami's... Knife or whatever that is?"
I froze as I realized she was still wearing the full Hokage's outfit... And unless she just got done doing some super kinky roleplay sex with Minato with Naruko getting sent off on a camping trip.
I had a thought that wouldn't leave me. 'What if Kushina was actually the Hokage?'
Sooo being immortal and having no self-control I pointed at Kushina and demanded in turn. "Were you doing super kinky role-play sex with the Hokage wearing his robes!"
I could actually see Yugao's eyes bulging at my words with Anko folding over as she held her knees and began choking on her laughter. Even as Kushina went through a full-body twitch as I seemingly saw through her illusion again.
Quelaag now in her human form landed behind me with her fiery mana that very clearly wasn't chakra seeping into the ground with Kushina visibly shoving down her previous reaction to my words as she looked at Quelaag behind me.
"Akari... Now who is your friend there?" She asked carefully.
I tilted my head to the side and said flatly. "My tailor... She is going to be making my kimono's and clothes from now on."
And I could see a vein popping on Kushina's head as her hair began to flow upwards as an evil malefic aura covered her form as she stomped towards me.
"Listen here you little shit... Yugao has alreadly told me you were being a problem but I will not be taking such sass from a brat my daughters own age!"
To which I stepped forward to meet Kushina's furious gaze and without a hint of fear I retorted. "What makes you more mad... Your authority being challenged? Or the fact of my age and how Naruko and I basically mean we are adults now... Does that make you old?"
The forest went silent.
I could hear Quelaag behind me facepalm and then Kushina's eye twitched and my vision went dark as she slapped me over the head making me wince and hold my head.
"Don't think you can change the subject young man! Where the hell did you get the knife and who is she?" She demanded.
I stood back up straight as the stinging of her dope slap faded away and I said honestly. "I found the knife under my pillow in my apartment a few days ago. And as for her... She found me and I wanted a friend."
I spoke with utter sincerity and with Kushina being a ninja well used to sussing out peoples secrets I knew the fact that I didn't lie at all was driving her further crazy.
But! Kushina took a deep breath and then looking between Quelaag and me she spoke slowly. "The knife... I will come back to it, you shouldn't have it but what is done is done. Her on the other hand. Why are you in the Land of Fire? The Greater Spider Clan is based literally across the ocean on the other continent in the Land of Demons!"
And I heard Quelaag speak frankly. "I am of the volcanos. I belong in this Land of Fire."
Just to prove her words I felt the air become hotter with the grass crackling as she walked past me and I saw as the ground was turning to lava under her feet.
There was a pause as Kushina looked at Quelaag before she frowned as I spoke. "I already signed a contract taking Quelaag as one of my own. I may not have a clan behind me, but I am not beholden to you Miss Uzumaki."
And there was the catch. I saw her hesitate and I realized my prior thought was true. Kushina Uzumaki was actually the Hokage, and if my thoughts were correct. She had likely been the Hokage since the Kyuubi attack some fifteen years ago!
Something she obviously didn't want to get out. And being the 'Hokage's Wife' didn't give her any real power besides her natural rank of a Jonin.
So there was a moment of her thinking before she heavily exhaled and said. "Fine, if she signed a summoning contract or similar I knew she won't betray or kill you... But Jake, please you have the Mokuton. You need to make sure people from other nations aren't trying to honey pot you."
And I nodded in understanding before saying rather bluntly. "I am an orphan Miss Uzumaki, I know when something is too good to be true. Me and Quelaag have an accord and her protection and services aren't free."
If anything me saying that actually seemed to put Kushina more at ease with her looking out into the distance and saying. "Very well. Then I will leave you be now. Also... Just some friendly advice, hiding underground when spirit youkai can fade through the earth is a bad idea unless you have seals and wards on the walls."
With that Kushina flickered in place before she seemingly vanished in a crimson blur.
I then looked over at Yugao and Anko... And I spoke in a tired drawl. "Can I be left in peace now? Or do I need to just fly off and make the floating castle I wanted?"
Anko snickered and then gave Yugao a stab to the side with her elbow making the anbu give her a glare. "Alright, alright Akari. We will get out of your hair. Just remember uhhhh Kushina's warning about spiritual youkai being able to phase through the earth."
And with that, both ladies used a shunshin to speed off into the distant forrest making me sag with annoyance. "Alright... I am not going to bother making an underground bunker or whatever." I muttered as I put my hands together into a seal to use my Mokuton to create another cabin that just rested on the ground.
A good ways away from the wreck of my previous cabin that had fallen to the ground after Kushina teleported away with her Adamantine chains fading away without her to supply them with chakra.
And so a simple wooden wall was created around my cabin to keep animals and more physical youkai out of my area. I went back to fucking about trying to learn how to properly activate the Second Gate of Healing.
Slowly teasing my chakra into the right lobe of my brain this time to, I worked to see how Guy and the other users of the Eight Gates technique managed to open it.
Then I mentally of a sort approached the tenketsu's which allowed the projection of Chakra... And I realized something. Where the First Gate was which had exploded itself permanently open due my immortality elixir. Was probably where another Tenketsu was.
So I stood up and then half squatted as I flared my chakra and then I felt it... Even as my brain hemorrhaged slightly. I felt the Second Gate, the Gate of Healing explode open with the force of my chakra thread that slammed into the tenketsu.
'The reason my Gates tenketsu's aren't healing shut from my immortailities healing. Is because it's an advantage with my chakra constantly flowing through it... Or another part is how a pierced ear will remain open for days if not weeks if a plug is in there.' I thought as I felt my flow of chakra increasing speed while my body became a good deal stronger.
And then as I moved my neck, I felt it pop with the speed I moved and then I felt it... I felt the blinding pain of opening another damned Gate but this time even worse than before with my first Gate.
'Well... This will give me something to deal with while I wait for this camping trip to end.' I thought with annoyance as I pulled out a sleeping hoodie I brought along to help me sleep if it got too cold.
And I just used it as a pillow for my face as I just... Stayed still and felt my body breaking from the small twitches of pain from using the Second Gate and I knew I needed to let my body adjust to this load for probably a few days at least before it could be my new norm.
"Your spiritual energy is staying spiked up above your capacity. Are you alright?" Quelaag asked with some concern.
I grunted and then said through gritted teeth. "I will be fine. I am just training a special chakra training method."
With that Quelaag left me alone knowing I wanted to focus on myself and I kept quiet besides the sounds of my footfalls as I did some light movements to encourage my body to keep up its healing and to put a light amount of pressure on the Gate I had opened.
-
Kaori Uchiha was sitting in front of the darkly glaring Uchiha Clanhead with her head bowed. "Do you think me a fool Kaori Uchiha?" Fugaku Uchiha spoke carefully.
Kaori didn't flinch, nor she did do something as weak as gulp or swallow at Fugaku Uchiha, the Evil Eye of the Uchiha Clan glared at her with his Mangekyou active. She knew this day was to come with what she had done.
"No, I do not sir." Kaori said bluntly.
There was silence before Fugaku spoke very slowly and clearly. "What were your plans Kaori? Only the librarian knows of your actions and she has been told to keep quiet for now. But why, why would you attempt to give Akari Sadra the information we had on the Mokuton."
Fugaku leaned in and said spoke coldly. "To say nothing of your actions being against the clan rules of trading information without equal payment given... You giving Akari all the notes we had collected on Hashirama could push him to the same mastery of Mokuton as Hashirama once had even if he may not have the First Hokage's powers."
The head of the Uchiha clan gazed down on Kaori with his literally lethal eyes and asked one last time. "Are you a traitor to the Uchiha clan... Or what other plan did you have?"
Kaori was silent for a long moment until she spoke calmly with her two Tomoe Sharingan spinning in her eyes as she met her clan head's gaze. "Akari Sadra is the perfect candidate for the fifth... Or sixth Hokage should Lady Uzumaki's secret be gotten rid of."
The room's lethal pressure stilled as Fugaku tilted his head to the side and then slowly nodded with Kaori taking that as a sign to continue.
"Itachi for all his talent... Is very sick, he could likely have a very good heir and Shisui has the potential to become an Elite Jonin or even take over a smaller village honestly. But he doesn't have the temperament to become Hokage or even a Clan Elder honestly."
Kaori took a deep breath and spoke blankly. "I planned to sleep with Akari. And like the Uzumaki of old binding themselves with the Senju, I was going to have my sister also fall into his hands to bind him to the Uchiha bloodline."
The room went silent before Fugaku snorted and said bluntly. "I can't tell if I should be more insulted by your lie about you planning to seduce him... Or the fact that you yourself actually wanted to sell your sister off to him as well."
At that... Kaori couldn't help but snark. "At least I will be able to choose who I am whoring myself and my sister out."
The room went silent. And Kaori's nose bled bloody streams as Fugaku's evil eye seemingly squeezed her very brain from within her skull before the blinding pain stopped.
And a cold smile crossed Fugaku's face before he said with amusement. "Fine. Do what you want. The consequences of your actions will follow of course. But you will not be giving away the notes you made in the clan records to Akari."
With that Fugaku leaned back in his chair before spinning around to have his spinning office chair's back facing Kaori's kneeling form in clear dismissal.
Slowly Kaori stood up with shaky legs as she idly noted she needed to head over to the hospital to make sure her internal craniual bleeding wasn't too bad.
But she still bowed slightly and said. "Then excuse me Clan Head." And she remained with her head bowed before Fugaku waved a hand in dismissal around the edge of his chair.
Kaori then limped out of the room with her holding a locket that bore a picture of herself and her sister Kiyomi Uchiha while thinking. 'I can only do so much Kiyomi ... The world is not kind to the weak. And we? We don't have the purest of bloodline and don't have the potential to unlock the Mangekyō.'
The Uchiha Clan, outside of the outsider's view... Was a cut-throat and oppressive group even worse than the Hyuga clan that proudly enslaved its own members with seals and curses.
Whereas the Uchiha Clan would at birth do divine tests to see the connections to the gods who had blessed their clan over the millennia to see how what abilities they would manifest should they unlock the Mangekyō with the child.
And for the 'Dirty Bloods' The Uchiha Clan members who had zero blessings appear during their tests... They were heavily looked down upon even if the vast majority of the Uchiha never even unlocked their Mangekyō in their entire lives anyway.
Kaori and her sister Kiyomi were those very Dirty Bloods. Uchiha's whose blood was so weak that no divine blessings appeared on their forms after birth and thus declared that they would never have Mangekyō abilities gifted by the divine like Amaterasu's flames. Or most importantly the divine embodiment of the thunder god Susanoo.
Hence why she and others, almost always the Dirty Bloods would be branded with seals to completely seal away their bloodlines and then be married out of the clan and especially out of the Hidden Leaf Village. All in order to get rid of the weakness their thin bloodline supposedly had, and prevent the gene pool from weakening in the future.
But Kaori hid a pained smile even as she made her way out of the clan compound to go to the hospital... Her clan head said she couldn't share the notes she made of Hashirama's manipulation of Wood release and how he became a sage and his methods of making wooden holy symbols that could ward off youkai and monsters.
But... Fugaku never said she couldn't verbally tell him what she had read and memorized with her Sharingan after all. And if she succeeded in her plans. Her new plans to honeypot Akari into taking her and her sister under his protection. No one could blame a wife or concubine for sharing information with her ninja lover to make him so much stronger.
It would be even worse than accusing Mito Uzumaki the first Hokage's wife of being a traitor to her clan for sharing some of the clan secrets with the Fuinjutsu genius that was the Second Hokage who was obviously the first brother.
And low and behold was her sister Kiyomi standing next to a power pole with her arms folded under her ample chest as she scowled at her older sister. "Kaori... You made the Clan Head mad didn't you."
But even as Kiyomi's words were harsh. Kiyomi's actions were nothing but soft as she turned around and stepped into Kaori's path so she could easily pick her older sister up in a piggyback ride.
"I did what I had to... I don't want to marry a fat ugly bastard the same as you. And if I have my way. Neither of us will have to." Kaori spoke softly into her sister's ear.
And as the older sibling kept quiet with Kaori only speaking at all due to Kiyomi's long dark hair covering up her mouth so no one could read her lips even with a Sharingan if they were watching.
"Akari has the Mokuton... I plan for us to pull a Mito Uzumaki with her Uzumaki retainers and just attach ourselves to him."
The sounds of the people running going about their lives in the condensed city of Konoha drowned out both ladies' voices. Especially Kiyomi's as she snarled out. "I will not be a whore Kaori... I love you but I refuse to sell myself!"
To which Kaori said softly. "This whole world is based off of selling oneself off. Even the Daimyo sell themselves off to the divinity their bloodlines serve. But I know... I will pay the cost I do not mind Kiyomi."
Kaori didn't make any noise as she felt her sister's hands around her thighs that held her in the piggyback position tighten up... And her lips quirked up as Kiyomi muttered darkly.
"Besides... Akari is likely going to have a whole detachment of the damned seduction corps after him to get pregnant with his seed to see if the Mokuton will breed true. Hashirama had his dick in a vice due to Mito who killed anyone who tried to make any more Senju's after his children showed no such signs of having it."
To that, Kaori spoke proudly. "And those ninja sluts who have been mentally conditioned and blasted with drugs aren't Uchiha. We are better and worth a hundred of them."
The Seduction Corps... Was a feared, hated, and beloved corps of Konoho no different in status and necessity compared to the Torture and Interrogation corps, or the Coding and Decoding corps that sent and received confidential information around the world.
But the Seduction Corps had one major responsibility outside of its natural purview of spying and assassination of key targets outside of the Land of Fire and thus being deniable assets.
They were the tool that regularly brought secret jutsu's, demi-divine treasures, and the seed of clans outside of Konoha that kept Konoha as the strongest Ninja Village in the world.
Though... Being the strongest ninja village didn't mean as much when the grand armies of a single nation could destroy all the Great Five Ninja Villages with their overwhelming numbers of Samurai and the very gods themselves taking over their champion monks' bodies.
Either way. It was only after the two sisters came close to the hospital that Kiyomi said with reluctance. "I trust you sister... I just refuse to have my bloodline sealed. I want to become an elite Jonin to prove those old bastards wrong."
"I promise I won't let you down Kiyomi." Kaori whispered as they went into the hospital and then the sisters were separated as several nurses took her sister away to get a quick scan via the Mystic Hand technique to make sure there weren't any blood clots forming in her brain.
-
'The seventh Gate... The Gate of Wonder, is located in the Prostate tenketsu. Does that mean I have to blow up my prostate to forcibly activate the Seventh Gate? No wonder Guy and Lee are so fucking crazy.' I mused with a wry smile as I continued to explore my body internally with my chakra.
Though... I obviously didn't touch any of my other gates with how, I was still dealing with the agony of the second one remaining open. And I very much doubted my pain woudn't end for the next several days most likely.
As my body would need to forcibly grew strong enough to deal with its constant strain on my body.
But hey... The perks of being literally incapable of dying had its perks and being able to train hard enough to kill anyone else was both a bonus and minus with how... You know painful it could be.
'I wonder if I could figure out Swift and Steel Release.' I mused to myself as I considered how useful it could be to have an instant speed increase along with having muscles and skin that had the density and strength to steel without losing any flexibility and range of motion.
But I mentally shrugged and continued doing some push ups into jumping jacks on some thick moss I created with my wood release to keep my movements silent so I didn't bug Quelaag.
All so the strain of constant exercise would help push my body more to make the Gate opening more managable as right now it was like a stabing migrain in my head with how the Gate was inside my brain.
A loud howl rang out making me stop my exercising and then a loud powerful thud rang out as something seemingly rammed into the wooden walls I had setup outside with a very loud snarl reaching inside.
"Well? It seems like a monster has come to say hello." I spoke as I took out my Black Knife while Quelaag elegantly fell from her funnel web in her human form.
"I see, do you want me to deal with it?" She asked curiously.
But I shook my head and said with a small sigh. "Nah... I need to test my Black Knife on something. And that poor bastard just volunteered itself."
Even as I said that, I was channeling my chakra with my spiritual energy being taken in by the Black Knife to make it come alight with the flames of Destined Death.
"Human! I will... Tear flesh from bone! Drink marrow from bones!" A voice snarled and I watched with a raised eyebrow as a humanoid large... Werewolf? Like creature work to climb over the large wall of wood I made around my cabin.
Wordlessly I held up two fingers and pulsed my chakra with the monster squealing as several spears of wood exploded out from its surface through its body and shot out of its back.
"No, you shall not feast upon me." I stated blandly as I controlled the wood spears to lift the monster into the air and then slam it into the ground in front of me with a loud crashing thud.
The monster whined before growling as it tried to get back on its knees allowing me to see how it was less bipedal then I thought compared to a western werewolf.
But regardless before it could properly deal with the three like holes in its body that it was clearly ignoring as it got ready to pounce at me. I just swung the Black Knife with its Destined Death flames beam slamming into the 'werewolves' body.
And then the monster screamed and squealed out an unholy thing of agony as Destined Death burnt at its fur. Its lifeforce was forcibly ripped away and its supernatural immortality was denied as conceptual death ripped into its soul.
I watched and pushed down any sense of disgust I felt as the monster being only a weaker youkai quickly died via Destined Death's attack with its corpse being desiccated and dried out as though it had been left out to the elements for months if not years.
"Hmm, that was rather effective," Quelaag stated calmly while I felt her mana flex outwards with glowing lava boiling up underneath the corpse and swallowing it up.
I nodded and said simply. "That it was... Hopefully, that will be the only issue we face."
And low and behold, I tempted fate. As not even half an hour later I heard the loud skittering of something that crawling over the wood wall and after looking through a small port hole I made in the house. I froze...
As crawling over the wooden walls I made were a swarm of a dozen or two dozen something horse sized fucking centipedes that had vile and ulgy old human faces where their front facial area's should have been.
"Quelaag... Can you make a moat of lava around our house?" I asked with a twitching eyebrow.
"I could... But the fumes wouldn't be good for you, to say nothing of the heat frying you." She stated bluntly.
To which I stated flatly. "I am immortal... And have other methods. Please Quelaag, make a moat of fucking lava a good ways around our cabin. I refuse to deal with dozens of horse-sized giant ass youkai creepy crawlies."
I then used my Mokuton to dig deeper into the ground and then I delved into my knowledge of chakra to combine water and wind nature to create Ice Release.
'Ok... Big thing to fucking note, not having an elemental bloodline means that just because I can create the element in question, doesn't mean I am immune to its effects.' I thought as I gagged and was currently dying very fucking painfully from creating subzero temperatures in my own lungs.
Weakly I created a freezing mist I expelled from my lungs that froze the surrounding basement I created and then I groaned with comfort as I channeled some more neutral fire chakra through my body to warn myself from within.
"Note to self... Don't fucking try to use Lava or Boiling Release." I coughed as I relaxed in the freezing basement while swaddled up in a hoodie and a blanket made out of woven spider thread Quelaag had made in the last few hours.
-
And what do you know... Creating a literal moat of fucking lava did exactly what it was supposed to do in keeping things out as I just slept and spent the next two days just studying the books on Chakra usage and doing light exercises to get my body used to having the Second Gate opened.
But although the Second Gate was still painful to keep open after two days... It was a manageable dull ache I knew would further fade after a few days maybe a couple of weeks at most.
"Alright, lets get going home!" I called out excitedly as Quelaag nodded with her voluptous form clad in a dark kimono she made from her webbing that she had dyed with the coal of the monsters that had tried and failed to get past her deceptively deep moat of lava that went around our cabin.
I picked up Quelaag in a princess carry and then I began powerwalking which activated my Mystic Agility perk allowing me to glide over the ground at high speed that was further enhanced by me shooting wind chakra out of the souls of my feet.
'Hmm... Carrying Quelaag makes the flying perk a lot more difficult due to her weight pulling me down.' I mused while definitely not saying that aloud.
But as I made my way towards the rendevous point at the edge of the forest I think I saw a couple of masked Anbu zipping away in a shunshin seeing me move to leave the forest.
And the rest of the gliding enhanced run back to the edge of the forest was utterly uneventful though I did give Quelaag a copy of my apartment key and told her where I lived and how to get there.
As I knew that certain youkai were allowed in Konoha... Under special circumstances like them not being man-eaters and having a contract with a Konoha ninja.
Anyway, Quelaag technically wasn't a youkai so she shouldn't be setting off natural youkai alarms.
So we split up knowing that she wasn't going to be able to stay with me during classes and whatnot.
As I came up to the meet-up point though, I gave a wry smile as I saw my class was filled with angry teens that had clearly not been able to clean up after themselves properly and clearly wanted to go home.
"Akari! You are alive haha, how are you doing?" I heard Naruko speaking excitedly from a side of the classes group and I walked over there past the others.
I came over and seeing her looks just a bit disheveled I just smiled and said. "So you, look like you didn't starve at least."
But Naruko didn't even get to respond as Choji's stomach comically! I mean loudly groaned like the roar of a fucking lion in response to the word starve.
Making everyone in a five-meter radius look directly at Choji's stomach like it was going to leap out of the poor teens chest and eat us all.
"Yes... Anyway, so anyone die in the forrest?" I asked with some dark humor as I took in the previous students I hadn't managed to get the names of.
Naruko slapped my stomach making me give a noise of discontent as she rolled her eyes and said. "Nah, I bet some did get hurt and need to be pulled out of the forest. But I highly doubt anyone honestly died."
I shrugged but then Ino Yamanaka spoke up with an edge to her voice.
"Wait... Akari, how come your clothes are like completely clean without any wrinkles?"
I blinked and with a calm expression, I answered honestly. "Oh? I washed my clothes and made sure to iron them with some a bamboo pole that was leaking some boiling steam."
Both Ino and Naruko's face twitched as Shikamaru stated blankly. "Troublesome... Why bother washing your clothes when you are only gone for three days."
I shrugged and said without any blame or inflection. "I am a bit of a neat freak... I don't like to smell like sweat and nastiness."
That... And fucking about with chakra internally was unsurprisingly a very messy activity leading to me killing myself with how I went for macro chakra manipulation to learn it quicker.
Oh and I didn't want to smell like used gym clothes left to marinate in a sports bag over the weekend so I washed my clothes as I had been working out rather constantly.
But my time for conversation ended as Naruko scowled as she looked behind me and then she lashed out with a hand that pulled me closer towards her and her friends. "What the hell do you want Satsuki?" Naruko snapped out.
I looked behind me and standing behind where I was was the obviously female 'Sasuke Uchiha' with her having blossomed into adulthood rather well. And... Looking at me with a dark scowl.
"It has nothing to do with you Naruko, Akari fight me. Here and now." Satsuki demanded with her eyes flashing to show a set of single tomoe Sharingan with a hint of pride filling her eyes at having done so.
'Did she just unlock her Sharingan in the forest or something?' I wondered before raising my eyebrow and retorting blankly. "I rather not? I get nothing from fighting you honestly."
Her scowl darkened before she jeered. "Are you afraid of fighting me then Akari Senju?"
The clearing went quiet and I tilted my head to the side and said calmly. "My last name is Sadra, not Senju... And no I am not afraid of fighting you, I just literally don't get anything from fighting you. If I win, I a user of the Mokuton merely just defeated a Uchiha with a single Tomoe Sharingan. If I lose, however, I would face a lot more ridicule."
I shrugged and with a shit-eating smile, I spoke. "I literally don't win from fighting you no matter the result... But if I don't fight you, no matter what I win."
There was a pause before Satsuki twitched and I realized the little shit was going for emotional blows as she said coldly. "It doesn't matter what civilian heritage you have, with the Mokuton in your hands everyone is going to think you are merely a bastard of the Senju... And if you are so craven as to refuse a simple sparring match, then you don't even deserve the bloodline you bear!"
Gasp's rang out and my eye twitched with anger actually rising within me. As although I didn't have much feelings for the past of Akari Sadra... I knew he was an orphan whose career genin/chunin parents did care for.
I gave Satsuki a dark look and just as I opened my mouth to say something and actually beat the shit out of this assmuncher I was cut off. "You bitch! That's enough!" And a flying Naruko sped past my side with a scream as she came in hot with a powerful kick that shattered the ground as Satsuki dodged the attack.
"There Naruko and Satsuki go... Just chill out Akari, Naruko is mentally boiling right now." Shikamaru's voice came out with myself taking a deep breath.
"Satsuki's a cold-hearted bitch at the best of times... But that was a bit much honestly." Ino spoke as she came over and patted me on the shoulder. "You alright Akari? Want me to cut her hair when I sit behind her in class?" Ino offered earnestly.
I couldn't help but laugh at the feminine offer of destroying an enemy and I said with some humor. "I appreciate it Ino... But I should have accepted the fight and done the same thing to her as I did to Dojus. Let's see how mouthy she is when I use my medical jutsu to pound her ovaries into mochi balls."
And I saw more than one woman including Ino and Kamimu looking at me in horror as they remembered how I somehow twisted Dojus the Oni's testicles into a knot inside his own sack.
"I am never fighting you. Such pain and torture is unnatural." Shikamaru stated bluntly.
But then Ino tilted her head to the side and spoke. "Actually... He may have a future working in the Torture and Interrogation department honestly."
Then I shrugged and looked between the site of Naruko and Satsuki attempting to beat the shit out of one another with Naruko having the advantage of speed and strength while Satsuki had her Sharingan to compensate and being able to react better.
And of course, looking into the glowing red eyes of Kamimu as she approached me directly. "So Akari, did you have fun outside in the forest?"
I blinked and I decided to be a bit of a shit as instead of answering I asked. "Do you think I could buy some land inside Konoha and use my Mokuton to build my own house? I spent a good bit of time working on the interior of the mansion I made and I much rather live in a more comfortable house."
And then Ino got to the pressing question. "Soooo Akari, what's with the ring around your head? Did... Lady Amaterasu bless you or something?"
But just as I went to reply I felt the Grimoire reach out and then grab a fucking large star of power that was dragged into my soul and I shivered feeling my soul filled with an actual physical object.
[Divine Dividing] [This Gear manifests as a pair of wings that enables the user to fly. It has an ability called Divide. It halves the power of anyone or anything the user targets, and adds it to their own. Excess energy is expelled through the wings, and thus can be discharged completely or in part to protect the user. However, constant use of power at the user's absolute limit can be damaging to their bodies. The Balance Breaker enables the user to form Scale Mail around their bodies.]
My face twitched and I wondered. 'What the hell do I do now? I got a fucking Longinus in my back pocket?' But then I realized that for 1, the Divine Dividing didn't have the soul of Albion which made it weaker conceptually.
But also it had the bonus of not having the soul of Albion in my own soul back seat gaming my every fucking move... Which I was honestly estatic for. I really didn't want a male voice in the back of my head judging me as I messed around with girls inevitably.
"Ahhh uhm, I have no idea." I muttered to myself as I shook my head clear of the perks of knowledge... Even as I mentally screamed on how people were going to react to it should I use it.
'Honestly, may be better to keep it as a trump card and hide it... As war is coming to the world again soon. Having such a trump card could be very useful.' I mused before I added on.
"If you have some way to tell. I would happily accept."
I saw Ino blink before speaking curiously. "Why not just go to the local Amaterasu shrine? If it's truly from the goddess, the miko's there will be able to tell. And if its not... Well, it will certainly be an interesting meeting haha." Ino finished as she realized how that in fact could go badly.
But to that, I just shrugged and went back to watching Naruko and Satsuki beating the shit out of one another until a loud rustling noise broke the sounds of the fight and people betting on said fight.
"Alright! Naruko, Satsuki enough. Everyone return back to the classroom to retrieve your belongings and then are free to head home or whatever to get food and a good shower!" Iruka our teacher called out before he snapped into another shunshin that had him blurring away.
Both Satsuki and Naruko shared a glare before Naruko snorted and turned her back at Satsuki with her long blond braide of hair whirling around and almost hitting Satsuki across the face.
"Alright! Shika, Choji, Ino, Akari, lets meet up for some Ramen after we go home and clean up. What do you say!?" Naruko offered up excitedly and I smiled wryly at how her eyes glowed with joy.
However... I shook my head as I said honestly. "Afraid I have to decline Naruko, I have stuff I need to take care of for probably the rest of the day. So you guys have fun. And... Thanks for giving Satsuki a good punch for me."
With that, I split from the classroom of 'elite' students who began making their way back home into Konoha proper with myself rushing back to my apartment with a sinking feeling as I felt Kamimu staring a hole in the back of my head.
-
Once I got back to my apartment... Thankfully Quelaag had gotten back to my apartment and had already made herself a small hammock to lay within with her own webbing and was deep asleep.
I quickly got a good shower in with some hot water. And as I was in the shower I just.... Truly relaxed in the shower for the first time in like three days. I probably spent a good half an hour straight in there honestly.
But all too soon, I had left the shower to put some good nicer clothes on so I could go back out into Konoha.
As I had a feeling that Kaori was going to be looking for me after getting myself bumped up into the so-called 'Genius' class of people that were expected to reach Jounin level without too much issue.
'Still a lot of people are around.' I mused as I stood at a crosswalk just taking in all the people walking, going about their lives. Before I shrugged and continued walking on, but instead I went to the official ninja library that was now open to me besides the dinky ninja library inside the academy.
"Academy students and Genin are only allowed on the first floor, don't try to enter the upper floor for Chunin or the basement for Jonin." The caretaker of the library told me, and I nodded in understanding as I went over to the geo-political section.
As I wanted to know who was to be my enemies in the future with the seemingly inevitable war coming.
[Land of Lightning - Land of Fire relations as of year XXXX] [The Land of Lightning is a highly mountainous expanse of territory held by the Lightning Daimyo, and its patron major god is Raijin which has major bad blood with Susanoo. The land of lightning is noted for having massive collections of mineral resources due to the large amounts of mountains yielding unusually potent amounts of mineral wealth.]
[There is a saying within the Land of Lightning. Molten gold runs faster down the slopes then blood. Due to the almost exceedingly potent mineral wealth within the nation, they hoard said resources actually driving up the prices in other nations as they invade other nations by the Daimyo's orders to take over neighboring mines or raid stores of mineral wealth.]
[But due to their highly mountainous terrain, their allotment of available crops is rather limited encouraging them to do large-scale foodstuff trading with the Land of Grass, Rain, and Fire.]
[The Land of Fire however while being raided for mineral wealth has gone on the offensive and through the use of specialized units. Has stolen several demi-divine instruments and treasures from Kumogakure, and the Land of Lightning's capital on one night in recompense. But the worst insult in the Land of Lightning's eyes was the act of a Konoha Seduction Specialist seducing Raijin's avatar's Miko mother and stealing her away to be converted into the worship of Amaterasu.]
My lips twitched as I had to re-read that last section. So the Land of Fire got raided... So in response, Konoha helps fuck over Kumo by having one of its slut ninja's seduce the Miko mother of the mortal avatar of the god Raijin. And then said Miko milf is literally NTR'd away from Kumo and brought here to Konoha.
Normally... I hated NTR, but you know what they say. 'Everything is fair in love and war?' Yeah well cucking the mother away of the enemy's local super demigod equivalent was fucking based honestly when it was my side doing the cucking.
So I did some more reading, as the Five Great Ninja Villages, coincided with the Five Great Nations basically and of the five... Basically only one of them was Konoha's actual ally in Suna or the Land of Wind which in this timeline at least, we had never fought with how the Land of Fire went out of its way to sell food and pump water to the Land of Wind at a cheap price.
The Land of Stone, Lightning, were without a fucking doubt going to be an enemy. While the Land of Water and Kiri was going to be a shithead who raided everyone for wealth and to work to expand their territory in the smaller coastal kingdoms like the Land of Waves.
"Alright... So Kumo has its breeding camps it likes to capture people for. So lets look over to Stone, and why they will be our other biggest enemy." I mused to myself quietly as I flipped back to the glossary, found the section on the Land of Earth.
[The Land of Earth - Land of Fire current relationship as year XXXX] [The Land of Earth is a very rough land. Considered typically as Badlands, or Savannah with large lakes and rivers dotting through the rather flat land besides the deep canyons that were previously long deep rivers and scars from glaciers countless years ago.]
[The Land of Earth is noted as having a large amount of Chakra-enhanced creatures making it exceedingly difficult if not impossible for farmers to defend large plots of land. To say nothing of how any farms will naturally become hotspots for the brutal ecosystem within the area.]
[Thus the Land of Earth does have a severe. Very severe food shortage that is typically uniform across the Land, besides the upper class. The nobility of the Land of Earth is the richest in the entire world due to their brutal use of slaves that they collect from outside their land due to their own people often being too malnourished to properly serve as slave labor.]
[The Land of Fire has a terrible history with the Land of Earth due to the Land of Earth making concentrated efforts to steal the population of the Land of Fire to fuel their coffers. Also, the fact that cannibalism is practiced across the nation due to the native chakra beasts being protected by Daiyoukai has further disgusted the world's perception of the Land of Earth.]
'Imagine being so weak and malnourished your overlords don't even bother enslaving you... I gotta wonder how much of this is propaganda though?' I mused as I went to go read the lighter sections about the Land of Wind and some of the non-hostile if not allied nations to the Land of Fire.
After a bit, I looked away from the book and saw that it was getting later in the day but as I was looking away from the book, I noticed a bit of movement. Like a flash of what looked like dark hair that went past one of the library shelves.
But as I went back to reading my book I blinked as I saw the very person I expected to come looking for me.
"Kaori, I was wondering when I would see you again." I spoke quietly as the Uchiha pulled the seat in front of me out so she could take it.
She sat down and then she folded her arms over the table as she stared at me making me raise an eyebrow as she was clearly deep in thought before she abruptly spoke.
"Are you ready for some taijutsu and ninjutsu practice?"
I tilted my head to the side at hearing that and after a moment I shrugged and said. "Sure. I am open to doing so."
Though I added on. "So what have you been up to? I was obviously busy with that training out in the youkai forest anyway."
Kaori gave a shrug and said plainly. "Dealing with clan dealings. Nothing to worry about."
And then as we hit the streets of Konoha I kept quiet for the next while as we went to one of the smaller training zones inside the secondary walled-in section of Konoha for light training... Similar to the training area that Anko found me within, while I was playing with my 'wood'
"So... How are we doing this? Treat a tree like any other training post?" I asked curiously.
But Kaori just shook her head and I raised an eyebrow as she put on a pair of padded MMA gloves with the padding on the knuckles.
"No, in the real ninja world. Sticking to ingrained stances and martial arts moves will just kill you. You simply need actual experience in taijutsu and when you need a break I will explain how you can improve." Kaori calmly explained.
'Wow... Training via simple ass kicking.' I thought with some amusement before I shrugged and said evenly. "Alright fair enough."
Though Kaori tilted her head to the side and said with some humor. "I imagined you would need more encouragement to accept getting beat on to hasten your improvement."
To that, I smiled and said with a grin. "You are going to be in for a rude awakening when I punch you, I promise you that."
I had two of the Eight Gates open... And although I had managed to keep my chakra from flaring from my body like a torch with the excess my body was producing. That didn't change the fact that I was physically a good deal stronger then I should be.
Kaori just shook her head and replied calmly as her Sharingan flared to life. "That requires you to land a punch on me. So let us start, if you are ready."
And without a word or movement from me to start things off, Kaori's hand snapped forward in a blur of speed and my head snapped back as her gloved fist popped me right in the nose.
'Bitch!' I thought as I pulled my head back only for Kaori to snap a powerful kick to my side and that made me gag as she struck me directly in the liver with the force of the blow sending me skidding across the ground as she had clearly used some chakra to enhance her blow.
"Not... Holding back much are you?" I spat out as I stood back up with a grimace as I felt the stinging of the liver kick quickly fading as Kaori looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Honestly, I am impressed you stood up from that. You weren't supposed to, it was to be a lesson in treating all conflict as lethally as you can." She remarked before I smiled as I remembered my Blue Archive Halo thingy was also making my body a good deal more durable.
So I weathered the next straight jab into my arms that transitioned into a sideways kick so I could take the kick to my stomach. But I didn't get kicked back by the kick like Kaori expected as I all but stepped into the blow.
I grabbed her shin with one hand and then with an open hand I palmed her face with her Sharingan flaring as an illusion washed off my genjutsu immune mind. Through my fingers even as I grinned while shoving her back and downwards.
And Kaori slammed into the ground with my two open Gates enhanced strength being far more than what she could muster up with her base chakra enhancing her strength and being caught off guard.
"That... Was annoying." Kaori stated darkly as she stared up at me from the ground.
I shrugged and said. "You may be able to see my every move with your special, pretty peepers you got there. But if I pin you down and can weather your blows, there isn't much you can do."
There was a pause before Kaori flexed her waist and then threw herself back onto her feet and then straightened herself up. "You should have punched me in the face instead of just palming my face to push me down." She stated calmly.
I raised an eyebrow and after a moment of thinking to say something like. 'Nah I like your pretty face.'
I was cut off as Kaori added. "As that is what I would have done to you... Though in a lethal engagement, I would stuck a kunai into your throat in that scenario."
Giving a wry smile I asked curiously. "Think you could show me some knife fighting actually?"
Kaori actually grimaced and said slowly. "I could... And although it would be for the best you learned at the academy from the teachers with their special dull kunai. I doubt you will be able to finish this school year at the academy."
I blinked at that wondering what she meant before she simply kicked hard at the back of my leg and I turned my leg so my shin met hers with a hiss escaping her as I ignored the slight ache of my apparently much more durable body to come with a straight jab that was aimed straight for her chest.
But she slapped the fist away with her spinning with the force of the punch and using the spin to slam an elbow into my shoulder as she danced around my body.
'Ignore the aches and hints of pain Akari... You are literally immortal, she can float like a butterfly and sting like a bee all she wants. But I only need to hit her like a truck once.' I thought as I kept my guard up to absorb several blows before I went for her.
"I am not stupid Akari!" Kaori snapped as she punched my arms aside from my face and kicked me in the thighs just missing my groin and then she punched me sideways directly in the ear stunning me for a moment before I came close enough to hit her this time.
A loud cough rang out from Kaori as I landed a strong punch on her chest with her skidding backward across the ground as she held her chest with an arm. "You... Hit like a damned horse dammit."
"I can take some little hits in return to put my opponent down into the ground," I stated calmly.
To which Kaori snapped back. "That is utterly stupid Akari, lose that thought here and now. People can use poison, they can use cursed weapons, they can capture you in seals and other things... You need to dance around your opponents and end them as swiftly as possible with no damage being done to you!"
'Well... To be fair she doesn't know I am literally immortal.' I mused before the bit about being sealed hit my mind and I grimaced at the thought of being sealed into a teapot or some nonsense and then buried away for millennia.
So I nodded and held up my hands to continue my ass beating.
A few minutes later as Kaori laid flat on the ground breathing heavily silenty while I stood there awkwardly. I asked slowly. "So... How can I improve?"
There was a pause before Kaori's whole body twitched before she said slowly. "I have seen Achimichi's in their expansion jutsu's take less of a beating and curl up in pain... I hit you in your pressure points several times, how are you still standing!?"
I tilted my head to the side, and with complete seriousness, I said honestly. "Hmm... Skill issue I imagine."
I heard a snickering cackle in the distance making me look towards the source of the giggle... But I couldn't find them. 'I need to figure out some kind of sensory technique.' I thought with a frown.
"Seems we have a voyeur," I stated flatly as Kaori groaned and sat up so she could lean up against a tree.
"It's just my sister being an annoyance, ignore her Akari... But we do need to talk about something more serious." Kaori spoke with her holding her stomach where I had managed to kick her during our half and hour-brutal sparring session.
She visibly took a deep breath before continuing. "Akari, this is something only clan-born and Jonin ninja's know so keep it to yourself. But the smaller nations like Wave, Rice, Rain, and Grass are already using their lesser Ninja villages to attack key infrastructure points between the major nations."
I shrugged and spoke evenly. "I mean... That's interesting but I am still in my first year of the Academy, its not like-"
But Kaori cut me off as she stated coldly. "You have the Mokuton Akari, the clans, the village elders, and everyone of note will push for you to be on the field so your Mokuton can suppress youkai to say nothing of what you being on the battlefield will mean for morale."
My lips twitched as I stated dryly. "I have no idea how to make my Mokuton into holy wood like Hashirama did. And I am literally a chump in a fight, I have little experience in fighting and I don't quite like the idea of a random chunin turning me into a pin cushion by throwing a dozen shuriken at me that I have no idea how to block."
There was silence before Kaori spoke softly. "Mokuton being poisonous to evil youkai was due to Amaterasu's blessing upon Hashirama, which the higher-ups know and will probably push for you to go beg for her blessing... If that halo above your head isn't already her blessing to begin with."
She sighed and then added on. "As for being made a pin cushion... As you said previously, that is merely a 'skill issue' on your part. Get better, Kakashi Hatake became an elite jonin in the times of war before he was even our age."
I gave Kaori a dark look at that and exhaled before saying bluntly. "How long... How long till the war is properly in force and I need to be on the field."
But Kaori didn't respond as from behind one of the tree's came her young sister I never got the name of when she asked me to throw fights and stuff when we were in the same class. "We are already at war Akari. It's why all the retired Jonin are giving speeches at the academy to help get people ready."
"I never actually got your name. And why are you telling me all this? If I am to play such an important... Never mind actually, in either case, I just need to keep training then." I spoke as I although I wanted to know why I didn't have personalized in-depth training from a jonin or something.
I realized all too quickly that I was at least being watched by at least one jonin in Anko Mitarashi, to say nothing of any anbu watching over me.
Kaori's younger sister gave a sniff before she gave a small smile and said while bowing her head slightly in greeting as she spoke. "My name is Kiyomi. Kiyomi Uchiha obviously."
I stared at the two dark-haired, black-eyed sisters waiting for an answer before Kaori sighed and after looking around she shrugged and said.
"Remember Akari, I am not doing this out of the kindness of my heart. I do want your help in making sure both my own, and my sister's bloodline doesn't get sealed away and us both sold to some old perverted bastard in the capital."
And that honesty did make me trust her a bit more. Having an honest motive for a hired killer to help you made a fuck load more sense than her helping me out of the kindness of her heart.
"You still haven't told me how I will do that... Am I supposed to just figure it out? Fight the Uchiha clan for your honor or something?" I groused to myself making Kaori snort and Kiyomi giggle heartily.
"Oh... I am sure you will figure something out. Unless you want us to point you in a direction we would prefer." Kiyomi spoke with Kaori's Sharingan flaring as she glared at her sister and said.
"Don't allude to anything too outrageous sister... We are on thin ice after all."
'Yup, I really need to make or learn some kind of sensory technique.' I thought before I shrugged and said. "Well... I will consider how I can help you both, though I honestly have little idea how I can frankly. But I am heading home now. You girls have fun." I spoke.
Then I leaped up into the large tree's above our heads and began running through the large branches back towards home.
'Tree running is a lot easier when I weigh damn nothing and am currently gliding.' I mused as I smiled at feeling a childhood dream of mine being completed at being able to all but fly through the massive tree's that surrounded Konoha.