Fang's eyes widened, he shouted: "You bastard!!! You are one of us, are you not? Amegakure was said to have no player, but you are definitely one of us!"
Goto and Yumi titled their head, thinking the chunin definitely went crazy.
Ryugo revealed a cold smile. The index was next.
*SPLASH*
"AAARGH"
*SPLASH*
The middle finger was next.
"Are you going to continue screaming or will talk?", Ryugo spoke
Fang could not believe his eyes, but endured the pain, and broke. All it took was three fingers.
"There's five of us. We found each other fast. It is easy. We are all the same age, and we are more talented than others...", he spoke, "The old Tanikage is weak, the village is stagnant. We would be the new power. We'd use our knowledge, our growth rate. The dam plan… it was mine. From history class. Economic warfare. The others agreed. The Emi player managed to convince Hubei, the jonin you killed, to support the plan. He said he'd handle any military response. We just didn't expect…that level of response"
He looked at Ryugo with a mix of terror and awe. "You killed him. A chunin killing a jonin...He was not just a jonin. He was my sensei"
*SPLASH*
The ring finger was cut.
Ryugo ignored the comment. "Cut the nonsense. The others. Their identity, their strength"
"ARRGH!", he wanted to complain, but remembered the promise. Nonsensical words would get him to lose fingers. He continued: "Emi, Dotuki, Mizuchi, Ishi, Fukuhara. Each one of us chose a different clan. I am the strongest, because I managed to farm many C-rank missions after joining the Tanigakure Operative faction. The others were not selected. Their clans said they were too young. But they are all elite genins, soon-to-be chunins"
Ryugo processed it. Five players, taking over a minor village from within. Ambitious. Dangerous.
"Their levels?"
He frowned. It was really detailed information. If that escaped to other villages...But the threat of his katana was too high. The two genins were patrolling around, making sure there were no Tanigakure threat incoming.
Fang muttered: "Yuki Emi. The first heiress of the clan, and the niece of Hubei, who you just killed. You have already fought one, so you know their specialty: bladed chains. They have no bloodline release. She is level 18, and the weakest in terms of levels."
Ryugo nodded. That was decent, but indeed a far cry from Fang's level. It seemed like missions were the key for leveling up quickly, and that came with opportunities. Just like his growth rate exploded when he joined the Dark Hall Tower and completed the B-rank Jotaki Monk issue, or the Dam in the Mist A-rank missions, Fang likely exploited the same mechanic to grow faster.
He continued: "Next is Boro Rayuta. Standard kenjutsu specialist, level 24. The Rayuta clan gives a physical perk that allows their members to grow physically stronger naturally. Yuto Mizuchi. Level 22. He has the Mizuchi bloodline release, allowing him to turn into smoke, a tricky ability but weak to fuiton and katon jutsu. Lastly, there is Koharu Fukuhara. Level 23. I don't know much about his clan, except that they are ninjutsu specialists that can summon owls. One of my teammate came from that clan"
Ryugo nodded. Tetsu had mentioned the ability of the chunin he had killed. She was annoying, and stalled for quite a bit of time, but was weak to genjutsu
"Thank you for the intelligence," Ryugo said quietly.
Hope flickered in Fang's eye. "You'll take me prisoner? For interrogation? I can tell you more! I can-"
The blade moved. A single, precise thrust up through the jaw, into the brain. Instant. Silent. The light in the Dotuki player's eyes died.
Goto and Yumi stared, shocked. They hadn't heard the whispered conversation about 'players' or 'systems'. Interrogations were sensitive, and they did not belong to the Dark Hall Tower. Protocol wanted Ryugo to handle the information...alone, and so they did.
"Boss…did he tell you much?" Goto said, his voice tight
"Sensitive information. I will report to the Dark Hall Tower afterwards. Collect his mask, his weapons, and any scrolls. We need proof of his identity for Batto"
As he spoke, a cascade of notifications, brighter and more urgent than any before, flooded Ryugo's vision. He kept his face impassive.
[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: Player Killer]
[You are the first Player to eliminate another Player.]
[REWARD: 20,000 EXP]
[REWARD: "Blood Shinobi" Perk. Killing a player increases your level permanently by one]
[ADDITIONAL REWARD: Lands of Rain of minimap]
[ACTIVE PLAYERS: 236/237]
The number glowed a soft, ominous red. Two hundred and thirty-six others.
The reward was immense too.
This meant that there would be competition to reach milestones first.
Becoming a kage first. Reaching a certain rank first. Killing someone first...
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
The massive EXP surge rocketed him forward.
[Ryugo Kagutsu – Lv. 31 → Lv. 35]
[Attribute Points Gained: 40]
He allocated the attribute points in the chakra stat mainly, and allocated 7 points to make all of his physical C-rank, something that he was edging to reach for quite some time, but hadn't been able to because of the latest, unforeseen events.
Power, warm and electric, surged through his ravaged body, knitting muscle and bone at an accelerated rate.
The lingering pain faded to a manageable ache.
His chakra reserves refilled, swelling beyond their previous capacity.
He stood straighter, the weight of his injuries lessened.
Goto and Yumi were still staring at him, uneasy at his sudden, silent stillness. For a moment, they felt him become...more threatening.
"We found a C-rank katon jutsu called "Great Fireball", and a B-rank genjutsu called "Mist-Earth Binding Snare". We also found a few scrolls and high-quality shuriken"
"Let's go. You mentioned that you have fire elemental affinity, right? You can keep it, Goto. Keep the shuriken too and share the rest of the scrolls with Yumi. I will just keep the genjutsu for Tetsu" Ryugo said, his voice the same calm, commanding tone. "Let's go. The fort is still in chaos. Zenitsu is still loose; he should have apprehended by now"
For some reason, his first interaction reassured him more than it made him uneasy.
The other players were not miles ahead of him, quite the opposite. Even if it was just a subset of the whole player base, none of which belonged to a major hidden village, it was still reassuring. As long as he kept his growth rate and capitalized on the gains, he would be able to monopolize a few perks by making outstanding achievement.