Chapter 4: Chapter: 4
[Inventory:
- Talent Card(White): Tranquility.
- Talent Card(Light Blue): Snake's Bite
- Bloodline Card(Red): Uzumaki
- EXP Points: +91
- Physique Enhancement Cards(+5 & +10)
- Old Tanto(White)
- New Tanto(White)
- ANBU Tanto(Light Blue)
- 10,000 ryō]
'Maybe I should use some of these.'
Well, she would have to use them on Aiko, after all, the boosts were of little use to her.
'Use all physique enhancement cards on her.'
The four white cards vanished in a puff of smoke and the smoke got sucked into the deck option, undoubtedly being merged with the only card present there.
*DING!**DING!*
[Physique: 110(+15)]
Kaori watched through the interface as Aiko's form shimmered for a moment. Even Aiko herself paused her training to stare at her glowing hands, only for a second though, after that, she returned to swinging her sword.
'Now, let's give her a weapon upgrade... and some cash.'
Kaori selected the ANBU Tanto before stopping suddenly.
'This one would be a bit suspicious in an Academy student's hands.'
Instead, she clicked on the New Tanto and the 10,000 ryō from her inventory and directed it to the subordinate card. Like before, the cards disappeared in a puff of smoke and were absorbed by the 'Deck' option.
As for Aiko, well, to her credit she remained unfazed as a brand new Tanto and a pile of banknotes materialized on her bedside table.
'Alright, that should do it for now.'
Aiko stumbled and the training sword slipped out of her hands, splattering the floor with drops of blood,
'Or maybe not.'
"How do I use EXP points?"
[...]
[One-Time Explanation(4): Simply select the Subordinate card, click on the skill you want to upgrade, and decide how much EXP you want to use.]
'Let's boost her Kenjutsu skills a little.'
She selected the subordinate Card and focused on the Kenjutsu skill.
[Subordinate Card(Light Blue): Aiko]
[Skills:
- Elementary Kenjutsu(Lv.1/5): 5.9/100]
'Allocate 100 EXP points to Elementary Kenjutsu.'
A steady stream of stars flew out of the inventory and merged into the Subordinate card.
*DING!*
[Elementary Kenjutsu EXP: +100]
[Elementary Kenjutsu Level Up!]
[Elementary Kenjutsu(2/5): 5.9/250]
Aiko's form shimmered for an instant and a subtle change occurred in her stance. She was no longer making as many mistakes as before and her swings were smoother too. But her hands were still bleeding heavily.
'Man, talk about painful.'
But there was nothing more she could do for her. Kaori settled back onto her bed, removing the uniform she had worn over her hospital gown. She adjusted the pillow so that her side didn't hurt as much and drifted off into an uneasy dream.
*****
A week crawled by for Kaori. The gash on her stomach, reaching her ribs, healed bit by bit. Although it still throbbed with a dull ache, she could now manage some extreme physical exercises. The Iryō-nin who checked up on her regularly, an older generation Yamanaka Chunin, told her that her wounds were mostly superficial.
"Well, dear, you seem to be coming along nicely."
Muttered the Iryō-nin as she removed the bandages from Kaori's waist. She inspected it carefully, nodding as Kaori reacted to every poke and prod from her. Finally, after what felt like an hour of pokes and jabs, the woman nodded in satisfaction at the healing progress.
"Just make sure to take it easy for a while longer. We wouldn't want you to reopen those stitches."
Kaori nodded, grateful for her care over the week,
"Thank you, Ekari."
With a gentle smile, the Iryō-nin patted Kaori's shoulder,
"Good. Remember, healing takes time, so don't rush it."
Kaori promised to follow the advice and thanked the Chunin again before she left. Once she was alone in her room, Kaori took a moment to stretch, testing the limits of her healed wounds,
"Superficies? Yeah, right!"
The last thing she remembered was the feeling of her guts spilling out as she slowly lost consciousness because of blood loss. Still, she had recovered enough to be discharged from the hospital.
Kaori left the hospital, making her way past the Yamanaka Stores and the Uchiha PD, appearing on the main street of Konoha. As she walked down the bustling road, she couldn't shake off the feeling of being watched. She knew what it was, it was the cold stare of an ANBU ninja, filled with barely contained killing intent.
'Must be a newbie back from a mission.'
She was quite familiar with the symptoms and the methods used to combat them.
Anyone who completes their first ANBU mission usually suffers from a heightened danger sense, paranoia, and an unquenchable bloodthirst. It was common and dangerous enough to warrant a standard procedure for treating it. One such procedure was stationing the ANBU on 'Civilian Overwatch,' or as they jokingly call it, the 'Uchiha Overwatch.'
'Still, these guys feel a bit too bloodthirsty. '
She scanned the crowd with practiced eyes, looking for any signs of unusual behavior or suspicious individuals. However, the bustling street was filled with ordinary villagers going about their daily lives, merchants selling their wares, and ninjas of all ranks going about their daily duties. There was nothing out of the ordinary—at least, nothing that caught her attention immediately.
'Maybe they are on to something... or someone?'
Well, whatever it was, it had nothing to do with her, she was off duty after all. She shrugged off the feeling of being watched and continued on her way, keeping her senses sharp just in case.
Glancing around, she noticed a small tea shop nestled between two large buildings, a Nara Clan drug store, and an Akimichi clan Restaurant. Seriously, these two clans monopolized most of the medicinal and food supply of the village.
But what about the Yamanaka? What did they have? Wireless communications network? Gardening?
'Well, the Yamanaka clan does play an irreplaceable part in the Interrogation department. Not much money in it though.'
With a sigh, she made her way to the tea house, the sign above the entrance read 'Nadeshiko Tea House' in elegant calligraphy. A faint aroma of brewed tea wafted through the air, luring in customers with the promise of freshly brewed tea. It was the perfect place for an early morning snacks.
'Nice place, glad I noticed.'
Deciding to take a moment for herself, Kaori entered the tea house and was greeted with the sight of an empty shop. The interior was cozy enough, not to mention the warm sunlight filtering through the paper windows. A few patrons sat at tables, quietly sipping their tea or engaged in conversation that never rose above a whisper.
Finding an empty table near the most secluded corner of the room, Kaori settled in signaling to a waiter for a menu.
"Here you go, young lady."
Smiled the old lady as she handed Kaori a clipboard menu.
It was one of those contraptions where the customers tick in the item they want and the waiter writes down the final number of selected items consumed by the customers. What was it called again... whatever!
"I would have a cup of Genmaicha and two servings of mitarashi dango."
As Kaori waited for her order, she took a moment to relax, glancing around the tea house, taking in the serene atmosphere, feeling the tensions slowly melt away from her limbs. Despite the bustling village outside, the gentle ambiance of the tea house, coupled with the soothing aroma of freshly brewed tea, made this little sanctuary seem untouchable from the horrors of the outside world.
Lost in the comfort of tranquility, she didn't notice her tea arriving, the gentle clink of ceramic cups and the soft rustling of cloth broke her out of her reverie. She thanked the waiter, took a sip of the warm, fragrant tea, and savored every drop of the comforting taste of roasted nuts mixed with green tea.
While she sipped her tea, Kaori couldn't help but wonder about her future mission, it was true that she wasn't too keen on keeping an eye on the Nine-Tailed Fox's container, but it was also true that she couldn't deny the Hokage's commands.
But who the hell would be crazy enough to try and assassinate her?
An attempt at the village's jinchūriki was a blatant declaration of war, if so, then how come Hiruzen wasn't declaring war against Kumo? Well, it might have something to do with the fact that doing so would ignite the Third Shinobi World War.
Still... was the Third Raikage crazy enough to bet on Third's aversion to war?
'Man, talk about troublesome.'
There was more to it, definitely a lot more than that... something was holding the Hokage back or he would have at least made a ruckus out of the matter, painting Kumo as enemy number one before the villagers. But what could it be... what could possibly force the strongest ninja village to reconsider an opportunity to discredit their biggest competitor?
'OF COURSE!'
It was that old bastard! The Assassination was Danzo's doing!
Kaori's mind raced as she began connecting all the dots she had gathered from the Hokage's two-minute speech. Danzo, that old bat, skulking around the shadows of the village, always blabbering on and on about the village's greater good. He was a notorious old snake, using underhanded tactics and sacrificing people left and right for his own good.
'He must be pulling the strings behind the scenes,'
Kaori thought, her grip tightening on the ceramic cup in fright. She must never get into his radar of 'Threats to his*Cough**Cough* 'Threat to THE village!' Yes, the village!
'But why? What does he stand to gain from orchestrating an assassination attempt on the jinchūriki?'
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone