The seed felt alive in Kaito's palm, a tiny, dense knot of potential thrumming with a resonance that echoed deep within his own chakra. The faded Senju symbol on the scrap of paper felt like a key, unlocking a connection he couldn't fully articulate. Jiraiya's cryptic "Huh" and subsequent silence hung heavy, a clear message: Figure it out. Carefully.
Days passed. Jiraiya resumed the brutal training – taijutsu drills that left Kaito gasping, chakra sculpting under pebble bombardment, deciphering fragmented seals. But the seed was a constant presence, tucked safely away, its silent call a counterpoint to the physical exertion. During stolen moments of meditation, Kaito focused not on gathering nature chakra internally, but on perceiving it. He let his senses flow outward, Namikaze Perception merging with his innate Nature Chakra Sensitivity, painting the world in vibrant currents of energy. He focused those senses on the seed.
It wasn't inert. It pulsed faintly, like a sleeping heart, in tune with the mountain's own rhythm. An idea sparked, dangerous but irresistible. What if he didn't take the energy inside? What if he just... guided it?
Holding the seed carefully, Kaito extended his perception, not as a gatherer, but as a conductor. He visualized a single, hair-thin thread of pure nature chakra flowing from the vibrant environment, towards the seed, bypassing his own system entirely. It required intense focus, his << CC: 10 >> straining to maintain the delicate external channel without internalizing any of the volatile energy.
The thread touched the seed.
Instantly, the dark shell split with a soft crack. A vibrant green shoot, impossibly bright and vital, erupted forth. In seconds, it grew into a tiny, perfect sapling no taller than Kaito's thumb, nestled securely in his palm. Lush leaves unfurled, radiating pure, vibrant life-force. << Wood Release Affinity Interaction! >> << Nature Chakra Sensitivity Increased! >>
"Kuso!" Jiraiya breathed, appearing beside him in a blur. He stared, wide-eyed, at the miniature tree. "External manipulation... guiding the energy to it, not through you... Of course." A rare look of genuine astonishment mixed with dawning understanding crossed his face. "The lock... it binds internal Kekkei Genkai activation. This... this is something else. Like tending a bonsai with sunlight you don't swallow." He eyed Kaito sharply. "Don't get cocky. This is its power, not yours. You're just... the gardener."
Kaito embraced the role. His new focus became the sapling. He named it Saisei – Rebirth. During meditation and rest periods, he practiced channeling minute threads of ambient nature chakra into Saisei, feeling the little tree respond, its leaves glowing faintly. He learned to coax its growth, not wildly, but with precise intention. A thin vine snaked out, wrapping around a pebble. He willed it to thicken, to pull. The pebble shifted slightly. << New Skill: External Wood Manipulation (Rank F) >>
It was crude, limited. Range was mere inches from his hand or Saisei itself. Control was shaky – vines sometimes grew too fast, snapping, or too slow. Power was negligible; he couldn't hope to bind anything stronger than a large insect. But it was his, born from ingenuity and affinity, not stolen village secrets. The chakra cost was minimal, purely for guidance; the nature chakra fueled the wood itself.
He integrated it into Fuinjutsu practice. Using ink mixed with water and crushed charcoal, he painstakingly inscribed basic Chakra-Conducting Glyphs onto small, flat wooden tokens he grew directly from Saisei's bark. The living wood accepted the ink and chakra flow better than paper or dirt, stabilizing the crude seals. << Wooden Seal Tags Created! >> They were simple – maybe a flash of light, a puff of smoke, a weak adhesive pulse – but functional. Potential blossomed in his mind: traps, diversions, anchors.
The storm came not from the sky, but from the depths. A low, guttural bellow echoed through the mountain pass, vibrating the ground. Jiraiya's head snapped up, his expression hardening. "Trouble. Big."
A moment later, it emerged from a cave mouth further down the slope. Massive, easily fifteen feet long, covered in slick, pebbled grey hide. Its head was a nightmare of bony ridges and a wide maw lined with needle-sharp teeth. Crackling arcs of blue-white energy, Storm Release, sparked between bony protrusions along its spine. << Territorial Storm-Release Salamander (Level 15 Boss) >>
It fixed its obsidian eyes directly on Kaito – or more precisely, on Saisei, still emitting a faint pulse of nurtured nature chakra. An anomaly. A challenge.
"Jiraiya-sama!" Kaito yelled, scrambling back, Saisei clutched tightly.
"Handle it!" Jiraiya barked, leaping onto a high rock. "Survive! Show me what you've learned! I'll step in if you're about to be paste!" His stance was ready, but he made no move to intercept the charging behemoth. The test was immediate and terrifying.
Adrenaline burned through Kaito's fatigue. Namikaze Perception screamed warnings as the salamander lunged, surprisingly fast for its bulk, a clawed swipe capable of shearing rock. Kaito moved, not with grace, but with desperate efficiency honed by Jiraiya's drills. He rolled under the swipe, feeling the wind of its passage.
Zzzzt! A bolt of Storm Release lanced from its back, scorching the ground where he'd been a split-second before. Kaito frantically scanned his options. Taijutsu? Useless against its hide. Ninjutsu? None. His eyes darted to the hastily drawn Binding Seal glyphs he'd been practicing nearby in the dirt. Not prepped. Too slow.
The salamander inhaled, its throat pouch swelling with crackling energy. A wider blast. No time to dodge conventionally.
"Void Step!"
He vanished from the epicenter just as the blast erupted, reappearing five meters away, stumbling as the << Cooldown: 30s >> timer flared in his mind. The ground where he'd stood was a smoldering crater.
Think! Tactics! Jiraiya's voice echoed in his head. Kaito fumbled in his pouch, grabbing a handful of Wooden Seal Tags. He flung them not at the salamander, but at the ground between them. << Explosive Tag (Crude) >> – POP! POP! POP! Weak flashes and smoke erupted, momentarily obscuring vision. << Distraction Seal >> – a piercing whistle shrieked from another tag.
The salamander recoiled, momentarily disoriented. Kaito seized the chance. Focusing on Saisei, he poured his will into it. << External Wood Manipulation! >> Two thin vines shot out, aiming not to bind, but to trip. They wrapped around the creature's thick ankle as it stepped forward.
SNAP! The vines broke instantly under the weight and momentum, but it was enough. The salamander stumbled, its next Storm Release blast going wide, obliterating a boulder.
Kaito was already moving, scrambling for higher ground. He chained desperate dodges, using rocks for cover, Perception stretched to its limit to track the creature's movements and energy build-up. He used another Void Step to evade a lunging bite, the cooldown agonizingly slow. He threw more distraction tags, grew small wooden shields from Saisei that shattered like kindling under glancing blows, buying fractions of seconds. He was a gnat, buzzing frantically, using every trick – evasion, misdirection, environmental awareness, and his fragile bond with Saisei – to simply not die.
He landed hard after dodging another blast, breath ragged. The salamander loomed, preparing a point-blank discharge. Kaito had no Void Step ready. He raised a hand, Saisei glowing – a pathetic wooden barrier started to form. It wouldn't hold. He braced for the end.
A blur of white and red. Jiraiya landed like a thunderclap between them. A single, open-palmed strike, imbued with monstrous chakra, slammed into the salamander's snout. There was a sickening crunch, and the massive beast was hurled backwards, crashing through trees with a pained roar. It scrambled to its feet, hissing, but the fight had gone out of it. With a final glare, it retreated back into its cave.
Jiraiya turned, not looking at the retreating beast, but at Kaito, who was trembling on the ground, covered in dirt and soot, Saisei clutched like a lifeline. The Sannin's gaze was appraising, devoid of mockery.
"Not dead," Jiraiya stated flatly. Then, a ghost of a smirk touched his lips. "Annoyed a Level 15 Boss with smoke bombs, trip wires made of twigs, and sheer, stupid guts. Hmph. Maybe there's hope for you yet, Shade." He offered a calloused hand.
Kaito took it, hauled to his feet. Exhaustion warred with a fierce surge of triumph. He hadn't won. He hadn't even scratched it. But he'd survived. Using his path.
<< LEVEL UP! Shade is now Level 4! >>
<< VIT +1 >> << CC +1 >> << INT +1 >>
The notification was a warm pulse, mirroring the hard-won strength settling into his bones. He looked down at Saisei, the tiny sapling vibrant in his soot-stained hand. The path was unconventional, treacherous, but it was his. And he was just starting to walk it.