Chapter Six (Patreon)

“Sixteen people, no hostages,” Haruko reported, her eyes white and veins bulging. “No active chakra signatures. Poor equipment.”

Jing looked at her friend in amazement. She didn’t care if people thought the white eyes were freaky, they were incredible. Half a kilometer away (most of it forested) and Haruko could see everything. Truly, having a Hyuga on your team was cheating when it came to reconnaissance.

“Typical bandits then,” Hatake-sensei said. “Plan of action?”

Jing and Haruko turned to Fugaku. Haruko because she was younger, Jing because despite her mental age and memories she had never been good at strategy.

“How large is the encampment in diameter?”

“Eighty-two meters,” Haruko answered.

Fugaku nodded. “Haruko and I will infiltrate and aim to take captives for interrogation. Jing, make sure the entire encampment is within your sensing range and kill anyone attempting to leave with your Storm Call.”

“Hai,” Jing and Haruko answered.

“Ready?” Fugaku asked. “Now.”

The three Genin slipped from their hiding spot. Fugaku and Haruko moved nimbly across the forest canopy, staying above the eyesight of the bandit encampment. Jing slipped through the underbrush, well-honed skills ensuring her body was kept behind shrubs and trees. Within minutes they had arrived. Jing came to a stop. Just a few meters away, the forest broke into a large clearing. Tree stumps littered the ground. Towards the center, drunken huts leaned against each other for stability. A thin palisade was being made, but only a small portion had been finished.

Jing closed her eyes, and reached out with her sixth sense. She felt the life of the bandits as they mingled. Sloth turned to panic as Haruko revealed herself. Compared to the bandits Jing’s friend was a bonfire of piercing white light, her mere existence overshadowing their pathetic efforts. Fugaku emerged as well, chakra gleaming in his hands.

There. Three were making a break for it. Haruko and Fugaku were busy with the others. Jing looked to the sky and pulled. Three lightning bolts streamed down from the heavens. Each one hit a bandit. Only ash was left behind.

Hidden Quest Completed: Kill a Person

Rewa–

Jing dismissed the news, instead focusing on the bandits. After their comrades’ incineration, it seemed most were taking the option of surrender. Smart bandits, what an oddity.

“Good job.” The three Genin jumped, turning towards their sensei. “Now tell me what you did wrong.”

Jing stared, her mind whirring. Fugaku and Haruko, surrounded by the unconscious, seemed no better off.

“Nothing?” Hatake-sensei tsked. “First, you should have stayed scouting longer. At least a day, a week if possible. It is possible these bandits were being supported by foreign agents. If so, it is now impossible to capture them. Second, you should have used that additional time to set up traps along the escape routes, which would have allowed you to capture the three killed by Jing-kun. It also would have allowed Fugaku-kun to work the perimeter, using Jing-kin’s superior Taijutsu.”

“Overall, you did well for fresh Genin. But in war, that is not enough. We will take another mission as soon as we return to Konoha. I expect better from you this time.”

*

Hidden Quest Completed: Kill a Person

Reward: 1x Negligible Physical or Skill Blessing

Quest Completed: Kill 10 People

Reward: 1x Minor Physical or Skill Blessing

Quest Progress: Kill 100 People (26/100)

Negligible Physical Blessing

Digestive Expulsion Independence (not chosen)

You never pee or poop. Don't ask where all the waste in your body goes.

Charming Smile (chosen)

Your smile is really charming, helping people feel more at ease and comfortable with you. Or more attractive.

Minor Physical Blessing

Embrace (chosen)

Your embrace is soft as a mother's love, your embrace feels, calming, comforting and even therapeutic. Even an evil man might break down crying if you capture them with your loving arms.

Metabolism (not chosen)

You have an unnaturally high metabolism, or not. You are able to control your metabolism, allowing you to slow it down to a near stop or speed it up to unnaturally fast levels.

Jing looked over her latest blessings. They weren’t what she’d had in mind when she opted for a physical blessing. But that in no way decreased their usefulness. After all, a kunoichi was more than just a killer. A kunoichi was able to hide in plain sight. A kunoichi could wheedle secrets from the most silent of men and gain a blush from the most taciturn of village elders. It was a part of the job that Jing had been bad at. She still was, in all likelihood. But Charming Smile and Embrace went a long way in correcting those weaknesses.

Alas, neither of those blessings were likely to be useful in this mission. It was, despite the political implications, a simple search-and-destroy. The jito of Kome no Mura had been overthrown. It was a minor holding, even by the standards of lesser jito, but the Daimyo could not afford to let the matter go unresolved. Ordinarily, the Daimyo’s samurai would handle this. But according to Hatake-sensei the nobles in the capital were too frightened to send away their guards (though Hatake-sensei put it much more politely).

“How many?” Fugaku asked.

Haruko’s eyes shifted. They enlarged, the veins on her temples bulging as colors shifted to a pure white. “More than a hundred,” Haruko said. “Three chakra users.”

“Samurai or shinobi?” Hatake-sensei cut in, his voice suddenly serious.

“What’s the difference?” Jing asked.

“Samurai do not use ninjutsu,” Hatake-sensei answered. “A shinobi, even if they specialize in Taijutsu, will have a large portion of their chakra as a core. Chakra in the core can be dispersed, either in ninjutsu or to reinforce a particular area. A samurai does not have a core, but will have stronger pathways than a shinobi of equal training.”

Jing nodded. “Is it possible to do both?”

“Theoretically, yes. Most Taijutsu specialists will develop their pathways similar to a samurai, but still have a core. Of course, that means it takes longer to develop in either direction. Some Samurai also have a core, albeit a small one, that they use to reinforce or augment their blades.”

“Thank you sensei,” Jing bowed her head.

“It is my duty to instruct,” Hatake-sensei replied. “It is my pleasure to have curious students.”

Even Fugaku smiled at that.

“Three samurai,” Haruko revealed. “A fourth chakra user just arrived. Shinobi. They look like a new Chunin, but I think they’re using suppression techniques.”

“Then we will assume they are a Jonin,” Hatake-sensei replied grimly. “How strong are the Samurai?”

“Two have pathways similar to a Chunin, the last to a Jonin.”

Hatake-sensei clenched his teeth.

“For there to be four strong chakra users this close to the Land of Hot Water . . .” Fugaku trailed off. “It is no coincidence.”

“They could be deserters,” Jing pointed out.

Hatake-sensei shook his head. “Samurai deserters would not work with shinobi. They never do, unless they are being well-compensated.”

“A Kumo operation then?”

Hatake-sensei nodded. “I am taking over the mission.” Fugaku sighed in relief. Haruko visibly relaxed. Jing felt a weight pulled from her shoulders. “I will handle the Jonin and the stronger of the samurai, they are currently discussing matters. Fugaku-kun, Jing-kun. You will take the walls and the courtyards. Haruko-kun, you will infiltrate the castle and search for documentation. Do not take captives. There are too many of them to play around.”

“Hai sensei.”

“Now go.”

The four ninjas broke apart, each leaving behind the underbrush. But while Haruko and Hatake-sensei maintained their stealth, Fugaku and Jing revealed themselves to the world.

“You get close,” Fugaku ordered. “I’ll handle the range. Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!” He breathed out, still running. A enormous flame burst from his lips. It flew across the hill, crashing into the bandits atop the castle walls. The stone walls were scorched. The bandits were far less fortunate.

Jing leaped as she neared the walls, pulling ahead of Fugaku with a Shusin. She stepped on air once, twice, thrice before kicking off it. She cleared the walls, hands moving rapidly. “Raiton: Double Lightning Grenade!” Energy poured into her hands, swelling into a pair of bright white orbs that flickered beneath her gaze. Looking down, Jing saw the bandits scrambling to defend themselves. She smiled, and threw the grenades their way.

Lightning exploded among the bandits. It tore through their armor, seared their skin and scorched their veins. Jing came to a halt above the pile of corpses, her feet resting on air.

“Archers!” Jing looked to the man shouting. Though she lacked Haruko’s ability to see pathways, she could tell the man was strong. His chakra burned bright, swelling in his arms. He gripped a massive bow, two and a half feet tall. He placed on it an arrow, which began to glow.

“Storm Call!” Jing shouted. Lightning flashed from the heavens, striking the samurai. Yet he did not fall. Through gritted teeth he bore her divine wrath, and unleashed his own.

The arrow flew. Even to Jing’s senses it was a blur, one she knew was aimed at her throat. But Jing refused to die. It had taken a King, a man who stood against the heavens and nearly won, to kill her last time. She would not accept any lesser fate in this life.

Jing ceased the chakra output from her feet, and dropped like a stone. Two, five, ten, twenty meters she plummeted towards the earth. As she fell she gathered her chakra. It swelled in her arms, in her eyes, in her hands, and in her mouth.

“Raiton: Electromagnetic Murder!”

Lightning poured forth. Not just from her hands, as was traditional. Instead it came from each of her fingers, from her palms, from her eyes and mouth. It came from each of her toes, taking advantage of her open-toed sandals. Thirty-six tenketsu points flared.

The courtyard transformed. The barrels and training posts were gone. The stables were aflame. The earth itself was scorched as lightning rewrote reality.

Yet the samurai still stood. His armor was blackened, his eyebrows were seared off. Yet he stood on shaking legs and held firm his post. Were she a noblewoman, Jing would have found the endurance endearing. Were she a noble warrior, Jing would have acknowledged the man’s strength, perhaps even spared him. But Jing was a kunoichi. As the samurai tried to position his limbs Jing appeared behind him, a kunai sticking through his throat.

Notifications emerged in her mind. Jing ignored them. She turned towards the castle, waiting for someone else to emerge. She waited. She waited. Fugaku emerged atop the walls, fire gleaming in his hands. He too waited.

There was a noise, a scuffing of sandal on stone. The two ninjas turned sharply, murder in their eyes and death in their hands.

“Haruko!” Jing relaxed. Fugaku did not.

“What is your dog’s name?” Fugaku demanded.

Haruko blinked. “My family doesn’t have a dog,” she said. “We have a cat. His name is Muffin.”

Fugaku relaxed as well, though fire stayed near his hands. “Did you find anything?”

“Yugakure is involved,” Haruko answered. “They’ve been sending supplies and–”

BOOM

Lightning flared in the sky, only to be swept aside by a gust of wind.

“Sensei,” Haruko gasped. “Let’s go.” She blurred out of sight, the Shushin leaving nothing behind but displaced air.

“She could have waited for us to coordinate,” Fugaku grumbled, but ran as well, Jing right beside him.

“If the enemy shinobi is using wind, you’re the best counter,” Jing said.

Fugaku nodded. “That’s why I’ll hang back. If he uses another Wind Release, I’ll send a quick fireball. You need to catch up to Haruko-kun, make sure she doesn’t do anything foolish.”

“Hai,” Jing said, and blurred into motion. The Shushin worked on trajectory. One kick against the ground, and she was in the air. A single step of Wind Walking, and she was sprinting across the sky. Two seconds after leaving the southern courtyard Jing arrived at the northern gate.

Hatake-sensei was attacking. A gleaming white tanto was in his hand, wielded with exceptional ability. Opposite him was a younger shinobi wearing only trousers and holding a strange scythe. Despite the advantage of reach it was clear the Hot Water shinobi was losing. He swept out with his scythe, aiming for Hatake-sensei’s legs. Hatake-sensei did not avoid the blow. He lunged. One foot was placed on the scythe’s three blades. The next fell on its haft. The third step was a kick, as was the fourth. With Hatake-sensei’s feet reinforced with chakra, the younger shinobi had no choice but to pull away, abandoning his weapon.

Haruko dove in next. Her fists and feet were a blur. Had a single one hit, they would have disabled a limb. But fast as she was, the enemy shinobi was faster. He was older than them, a teenager at least, and used his greater physicality to his advantage. Haruko’s fists were deflected, her kicks nimbly avoided. Haruko struck out, fist launching towards his face. The enemy grabbed her wrist and pulled.

It was the opening Jing had been looking for. She worked without sound, a single thought on her mind. Lightning Release: Lariat. In a flash of light she appeared before the foreign shinobi, hand already in contact with his chest. Eyes wide, the shinobi flew backwards, slamming into the castle gates. They groaned as the lock fell apart.

Jing did not remain to continue the fight. If Haruko could not defeat his Taijutsu, neither would she. Her attack worked because it was neither seen nor heard, and advantage she would not have again. Instead she grabbed Haruko and sped back to their sensei.

“Surrender,” Hatake-sensei ordered.

“I–” the shinobi looked around, eyes wide. “I–”

“He’s–” The shinobi vanished in a flash, a powered-up Shushin taking him through the opened gates. “–charging something,” Haruko sighed. “I’m sorry sensei. It’s my fault he got away.”

“It is,” Hatake-sensei agreed. He took out a rag, and began to clean his tanto. “There are times when your presence will be more of a hindrance than a help. Learning to identify those times is how you stay alive.” He looked up, meeting Haruko’s Byakugan eyes. “I am glad that you learned this lesson now, when I could still protect you. Mistakes are acceptable–so long as they are made only once.”

“Hai sensei,” Haruko bowed.

“How did your part of the mission go?” Hatake-sensei asked.

“Well,” Fugaku answered, hopping down from the walls. “Jing-kun handled the opponents in the courtyard. I made sure no one snuck up on her.”

“The other samurai?” Jing asked.

“Ronin, technically,” Fugaku replied with a hint of a smirk. “He was aiming for you from the rooftop. Just outside your range, I think. A Blue Fire Blast took care of him.”

“Thank you, Fugaku-san.” Jing bowed, trying not to blush. Missing an archer on the roof was amateur hour, something that Hatake-sensei seemed to agree on.

“We will work on your situational awareness,” he informed her. “And your speed,” he told Fugaku. “After this, I doubt the Hokage will wait to send you into combat.”

“I thought–”

“We should still have another month,” Hatake-sensei agreed, a frown engraved on his face. “But you two just defeated fully-fledged samurai in open combat. Haruko-kun held her own against a Jonin, even if only for a while. The Hokage and his advisors will take this as a sign you are ready for the front.” Hatake-sensei met them with a fierce glare. Jing barely avoided a flinch. “Let me be clear: you are not ready. Do not be cocky. Do not hesitate. Either will kill you.”

“Hai, sensei,” the Genin said in unison.

“Sense, do you know where we will be sent?” Haruko asked.

“I have no been informed,” Hatake-sensei said, “but I have my suspicions.”

“The Land of Grass or the Land of Honey,” Fugaku said.

All of them turned. “What makes you say that?” Hatake-sensei asked, his voice more curious than cautious.

Fugaku swallowed. “You are Konoha’s strongest Lightning Release user,” Fugaku answered. “Jing-kun is a prodigy at the Lightning Release as well. It makes sense for us to be deployed against Iwagakure, since they are known for their use of Earth Release. Further, there are the current deployments. Lord Hokage’s former apprentices are in the Land of Rain and recently fought Hanzo the Salamander to a standstill. Sunagakure is being held off by the Uchiha Clan, Kumo has not launched a major offensive in some time, and Uzushiogakure defends our coasts from a major Kiri offensive.”

“Well-reasoned,” Hatake-sensei said. “However, there are other conclusions to draw. First, we could be used to lead an offensive against Kumogakure, especially since we now know Yugakure is assisting them. Second, we could be deployed against Amegakure. If the Sannin are capable of holding off Lord Hanzo, the Sannin and myself might be able to defeat him–especially if we receive aid from Lord Hokage.”

“Not against Suna?” Haruko asked.

Hatake-sensei shook his head. “It is unlikely. The majority of Suna’s forces specialize in the Wind Release, just as a majority of our own specialize in the Fire Release. Due to the elemental advantage and Sungakure’s limited numbers there is no need to send an S-ranked shinobi to that front at the current time.”

“Where do you think we will be sent sensei?” Haruko asked.

“Fugaku-kun is likely correct. I merely wished to highlight that, while fighting Iwagakure is the most likely option, it is not the only one. Even before considering the politics of my deployment.”

‘There are politics to your deployment?” Jing asked.

Hatake-sensei laughed, as did Haruko and Fugaku. “I forget you are not from a Clan,” Hatake-sensei said. “With your power, there is much I need to teach you. But for now, yes. There is politics in every deployment, especially those involving powerful shinobi.”

*

Hidden Quest Completed: Kill a Samurai

Reward: 1x Minor Skill or Physical Blessing

New Quest: Kill a Ninja

Reward: 1x Minor Skill or Spiritual Blessing

New Quest: Kill 10 Samurai

Reward: 1x Medium Skill or Physical Blessing

Quest Progress: Kill 100 People (88/100)

Jing hesitated. A physical blessing might make her stronger. It might also do nothing on the warfront, like Charming Smile. The same could easily be said for a skill though. But a skill won’t require time to master or incorporate into my style, Jing thought. A change in physicality would.

Minor Skill Blessing

Intermediate Leadership

You are a leader, you know how to motivate, take charge of and lead people with decent effectiveness, instilling confidence into them and making them do what you want them to do. You are an effective leader.

Intermediate Charisma

You have an aura of charisma around you, it is less of a skill and more of something that is just around you. People of note feel themselves more attracted to your presence, it's subtle things like people paying more attention to you, taking you more seriously etc.

Considering she was an eight year-old Genin, the choice was easy. No one sane would give her a leadership position anytime soon. But at least she might be heard.

Intermediate Charisma it is.