Chapter 67: Chapter 67
Boom*
I watched in amusement while a group of Suna-Shinobi paid the price for being alive and perished in a fiery explosion.
Had they not been so persistent in chasing me when I clearly didn't want to fight, the outcome could have been different.
Not much different, as cannon fodder was cannon fodder and they would've died eventually.
But still, it could have been different...
"I remember when I killed my first person with Fire Ninjutsu..." Aomi stared blankly as the surviving ninja fled.
"Hmmm?" I let out on inquisitive hum as I wasn't sure why a seal made her think of Ninjutsu.
"I cried the first time." Aomi frowned deeply.
"Haha... In ecstasy?" I said with a laugh.
"No, in terror." Aomi didn't miss a beat and my smile vanished at her words.
I nodded in slight understanding.
"Chakra can cause such devastation." I wasn't sure if that was what she was getting at.
Perhaps she had something more profound in mind when she cried.
"Alright let's head out, we don't need another ambush." I wasn't too interested in making more conversation at the moment.
We had crappy mystery scrolls to deliver...
...
"Our encounter with the Company of Suna-nin delayed our arrival by a few hours, but that was only a minor annoyance." I waved airily as if one-hundred and fifty Suna-nin weren't a big deal. "One of them had the summoning contract for the Weasels and those little buggers were annoying."
I wasn't going to fight them at first, but they brought it upon themselves. Having long-rat-things chewing on my ankles was beyond annoying.
"Anyways, a weasel with a sword gave me a surprise haircut and in a bout of righteous anger I killed everyone fast enough to keep up with us." Which was about fifty or so people.
"Sadly, I was still pursued and had to send fifty more to meet the Death-God." Tsunade and Aomi shared a look between each other. "Hopefully the Shinigami apricated my efforts."
I ended my report with a shrug as that was about all that happened.
"Sigh..." Tsunade sighed in exasperation while Aomi nodded sympathetically.
I rolled my eyes at the two drama queens.
"As fun as this is, I've got a minion to train." I tilted my head towards the door. "If you'll excuse me?"
Tsunade nodded and waved me away while Aomi trailed after me.
...
Isami was doing alright.
She wasn't impressive in terms of Taijutsu but made up for it with her Ninjutsu.
She was Mid-Chunin but had pretty substantial reserves.
I was hoping the Overwrite would shore up some of her weakness and give her a higher raw potential so she could work her way into the realm of S-Ranked Shinobi.
Sadly, that seemed like it was going to take a long time.
Or at least longer then I thought it would.
S-Rank was probably ten-years away for Isami...
Or so I guessed.
It came down to her own effort for the most part.
She could lose motivation or she could become more motivated.
It was up to her now.
I let my thoughts wander for a while longer before standing up and rolling my shoulders.
"Alright breaks over, back to Taijutsu..."
Groan*
Aomi stood with a groan and wobbled her way into the sparring ring we had marked with rocks.
"A little pain now will stop you from being armless later." With those motivational words, I stepped towards Isami, who had gotten into a sloppy stance.
"Alright, just dodge don't worry too much about hitting me." Isami nodded and I nodded back.
I kicked out toward her leg and she jumped into the air.
"Off the ground is not where you want to be..." I grabbed her by her shirt and flung her further into the air.
Flinging jumping opponents might become one of my favorite things.
Isami sailed across the makeshift arena and landed in a puff of sand.
"Keep your feet on the ground." Unless one could fly jumping was generally a bad idea.
I ignored Isami's groaning and pondered on the wonders of flight for a moment.
"Alright get up." Flight sounded interesting.
But I knew it could be done with the Tenseigan, so I probably shouldn't spend too much time on it.
"Alright, we'll do this again tomorrow." I said when it became clear that Isami wasn't getting up any time soon.
"Haha..." I got a thumbs up from Isami causing me to chuckle.
My minions adopting my mannerisms cracked me up...
...
"How's my chakra?" I stood arms and legs spread while mom stared at me with her Byakugan.
She shrugged.
"Really dense, with a bulging middle." She didn't look overly concerned so I accepted the answer and didn't question her further.
"Sigh..." I wanted a more detailed answer as I looked like a glowing stick man while my Byakugan was active.
"How's it feel?" I stared at her.
Mom shrugged again.
"Warm but chaotic." I rolled my eyes at the vague description.
I brought my chakra to my hand and it was covered by a white glow...
My chakra hadn't changed much in color, but apparently it was chaotic now...
Perhaps because of my new affinities...?
I let the idea roll around while mom continued studying me with her Byakugan.
"Anything?" I got an immediate head shake in response.
Good.
"Ok, thanks for your help." I blinked at her when she nodded with a happy smile.
"Anytime, I'm happy to help." I blinked at her again as she made her way out of the room and towards the exit.
She was weirdly happy there...
Whatever...
...
Jinchūriki DNA didn't want to mesh with normal DNA it seems...
It made Kushina's blood and the Jinchūriki's body near useless...
The fact that Kushina's blood didn't cause any problems while her DNA did was also annoying...
It was weird, but I chalked it up to Tailed-Beast shenanigans.
"Alrighty..." I eyed Uzumaki Tumor-ruto as I called my newest tumor-like mass of flesh.
The amount of physical energy it produced was pretty scary but that wasn't unexpected as the Uzumaki were known for their 'vitality' and chakra.
I'd Overwritten myself one final time and acquired both the Wind and Fire affinities.
I'd have done more but my body was starting to reject my chakra and I was worried I'd have to use an overwrite and go back to a 'previous save' if I did anymore.
Two new affinities were a large jump and my body was struggling to adapt.
"Tumor-ruto seems to be doing quite well?" It was doing better then the previous tumor did.
I turned to Aomi who shrugged.
"Alright, I'll be trying to use the power of Wind to annihilate some paper." I gestured to my desk which contained said paper. "Your free to do your own thing for the next few days..." I'd be hiding and trying to stay away from sensors for the next little while.
"Can I have your notes on Fuinjutsu?" Aomi smiled nervously.
I raised an eyebrow at her nervous smile.
"Are you interested in learning?" I questioned while studying her body language.
Hints of anxiety and fear were apparent...
Aomi nodded. "Yes, I want to get started so I can get right into DNA 'manipulation' when I have the required chakra control." She looked unsure, but I didn't know why.
I smiled as I was feeling amused.
"Notes won't be enough to learn Fuinjutsu, I'll start teaching you." My minion was interested in DNA shenanigans...
The thought warmed my heart.
"I'll start you on DNA once your Medical Ninjutsu is sufficient." Hopefully, that wasn't far off.
Aomi nodded. "Thank you."
I nodded in return.
"Alright, I've got to tend to Tumor-ruto for awhile." I waved her away as I was eager to start on wind Release.
Aomi nodded and started towards the door.
"Alright!" I turned to Tumor-ruto. "Wind and Water are what I need you to teach me!" I pointed dramatically.
"Sigh..." Aomi sighed quietly and shut the door behind her leaving me alone with Tumor-ruto.
I rolled my eyes and stuck my hand into the nutrition solution.
I was ready to rumble...
...
Learning Wind Nature Transformation was easy enough.
Using the tumor didn't make me any better at learning Ninjutsu but it did save me months of training.
Thus, I held the weekly briefing in my hand and watched with glee as it was reduced to shreds.
I'd had trouble with Water Nature transformation but I was able to use it to some extent.
I wouldn't use it in combat currently, but maybe in the future.
"Alright, could you write down some easy Water Jutsu?" Aomi nodded and wandered off to do just that.
Minions were great...
But making great minions was hard.
...
"Gai it's good to see your Youthful face!" Gai's face was sporting a wide Youthful smile as was mine.
Gai did his nice guy pose, a thumbs up, wink, and a winning smile.
"Shiro! My most Youthful friend! It's been so long!" Guy had tears streaming dramatically down his face.
I ignored his tears and gestured to Isami.
"Gai this is my friend Isami." I pointed to my minion. "Isami this is Gai." I pointed to my Youthful friend.
The two exchanged greetings while I watched with amusement as Gai weirded Isami out.
His weirdness shouldn't be surprising as she spent a lot of time around Duy.
"What brings you here?" I'd been bugging Chōza to bring Gai around and chat with me but he's done neither.
That Fat-Scum...
"I've been Youthfully leading a team, to gain experience in the youthful art of leadership!" Gai smiled widely and gestured animatedly as he started to regale me with tales of his 'youthful' missions.
I nodded idly while Gai spoke, Isami was fleeing, and Duy's eyes were streaming youthful tears.
'What a life I have...' I thought while Gai mimed beating up a Missing-Nin.
...
I took a sip of my green tea and let the bittersweet taste on my tongue distract me and quell my wrath slightly.
Weekly briefings were annoying if not anger-inducing.
Which was probably why we didn't do them in Frost, Orochimaru probably thought they were annoying as well.
"You look bored Shiro." Shikaku was trying to make conversation again.
As much as I disliked the scum trio, It was probably good to stay on speaking terms.
"That's because I am bored..." I trailed off as Aomi added more tea to my cup.
I pulled the cup towards myself and stared at the liquid within.
"The lack of action is disheartening and boring." It seemed like we had an advantage that we weren't pushing.
If we had hit Suna right after the death of their Jinchūriki we probably could have forced a surrender from Suna.
"I going to bail, Cya!" I gave the group a cheery wave and Shunshined away before anyone had time to react.
...
Fuinjutsu was proving to be difficult, which wasn't surprising.
If Fuinjutsu was easy everyone would be using it.
"Aomi, please offer Isami the chance to use Tumor-ruto." I said without looking away from my mess of English and Kanji.
Trying to use English as my own custom scrip was looking to be a bust.
"If she isn't interested, we might need to hold a funeral for Tumor-ruto." Aomi was visibly disgusted.
She gave me a dirty look and made her way out of the lab.
"Hahaha..." I cracked up as she sent me a second dirty look before she left.
The idea of holding a funeral for the tumor seemed to have upset her...
...
"Usually there's no shortage of enemies." I said while gazing apathetically at the wave of Suna-nin approaching the camp. "But these all look to be the worst Suna has to offer." I kept my focus on the approaching ninja while trying to figure out their plan.
I couldn't see anyone above Chunin-level which was slightly worrying as the strong ones were probably elsewhere causing problems.
"Shikaku?" He raised an eyebrow and I waved him closer.
I frowned. "There's no-one here above Chunin."
He nodded not looking perturbed. "Don't worry too much about it, the main-camp has sufficient forces should it be attacked." That wasn't my worry, but I didn't say anything.
Me worrying about them attacking the camp looked better then, me worrying about them sneaking past us to get water from The Land Of Rivers.
"Do you want me to head to the main-camp or stay?" I asked while watching a particularly skilled Inuzuka shred her opponents.
She was brutal, shredding Genin and Chunin with a smile on her face. I took a moment to memorize her face while Shikaku spoke.
"Stay, we need you here for when the S-Ranked Shinobi show up" I frowned as I didn't think that was likely.
They probably had no intention of fighting us, this was clearly a distraction.
"Alright." I just nodded and continued watching over the battlefield.
I wouldn't interfere as it was good for the army to get some practice in.
Fighting foes at the same level as them would hopefully do them some good.
...
The few surviving Suna-nin fled, they were of-course chased but I decided that they weren't my problem now that they were leaving.
"Sigh..." I sighed and deactivated my Byakugan when I noticed Isami heading towards me with a cheerful smile on her face.
She looked positively joyful even though she was soaked in blood and had a deep cut on her right shoulder.
"You look happy." I said as I turned her shoulder towards me so I could see it while I healed.
The cut itself wasn't bad but the blade that did it was poisoned, Poison Resistance was already proving it's worth.
"Yeah..." I raised an eyebrow but she didn't continue.
Whatever...
"Alright, you're all healed up." I patted her on the shoulder and shoed her away.
I had to stand around and look pretty for a little longer...
...
I was proven correct when it was revealed that Suna snuck past our camps and attacked Tanigakure while we were occupied.
Now Suna and Konoha were in 'peace talks' and if those succeeded, I'd probably get sent somewhere else once again.
Which was annoying, I now had to rush my projects so I could finish them before I got moved somewhere else.
Between possibly moving again and teaching my minion with my half-assed Fuinjutsu knowledge I was feeling pretty annoyed.
"Your writing is pretty good but it has to be perfect." I examined the lines in her Kanji. "Every stroke has to be in the correct order or you'll mess up the seal." When it sometimes took five strokes per Kanji it quickly became annoying when remembering the correct brush strokes.
"You could slow down a little as well, it doesn't matter how long it takes as you're not in a rush." I took a pen and circled all the Kanji that had been done incorrectly. "At this point, it's more important that you do it correctly rather than quickly." It was a lesson that took me a while to learn.
I wasn't using Fuinjutsu in combat, so I didn't need to be quick.
"But other than that you're doing well." I said with a pleased smile on my face.
Aomi nodded and ran her fingers across the circled Kanji.
"I did Calligraphy in my kunoichi classes, it hasn't been too hard to pick it up again." I nodded in understanding.
Prior learning was a boon even if you didn't use it until years later, learning was never a bad thing or a waste of time.
"Once you get good enough it'll become easier. Clones will significantly speed up your progress later on as well." Once everything became muscle memory the rest could be left up to clones.
After that, it was smooth sailing, so long as you weren't stupid and didn't injure yourself often.
"It's slow in the beginning, just keep working at it." Aomi nodded and switched her paper with a fresh sheet.
I turned my attention to the clones who were mutating DNA.
Although clones could be given blood or 'flesh' that produced physical energy they couldn't produce more spiritual energy.
They could regenerate chakra to some extent but it came out 'yang heavy' as they couldn't regenerate spiritual energy once it was used.
It was neat.
I wanted to look into making flesh and blood clones, but I was wary of leaving a copy of my body around if they ran out of spiritual energy.
A slight conundrum...
I rolled my eyes and turned my focus back to Aomi who was hard at work.
If only my younger and easier to manipulate minion was eager to learn what Aomi was learning...
"Sigh..." I sighed quietly to myself and wondered what I was going to do when the inevitably moved me to a different battlefield.
There were only three and a half months of war left according to my rough timeline.
It could be more or less, but it still meant that I wouldn't have a stable supply of test subjects soon.
I'd have to pursue other projects for a while, at least until I had a reliable way to secure test subjects for myself.
"Sigh..." I sighed again and continued pondering on my future.
Plans would have to be made and goals would have to be set.
I'd need to find other things to do so I didn't die of boredom when the war ends...
It was hard being mad... I thought with an amused smile...
...
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone