(TDS) Chapter 5 — Portals (Patreon)

Chapter 5 - Portals 

With the immediate human threat completely neutralized, we spent the remainder of the day systematically clearing the strange forest. It was a bizarre, fascinating ecosystem. We repeatedly encountered wild beasts—massive, wolf-like creatures covered in heavy, natural iron-plated armor—that required highly synchronized team tactics to safely bring down. Mai would draw their attention with a barrage of heavy projectiles, Ty Lee would use her agility to slide under their guard and use her blocking strikes to slow the beasts down, and I would close the distance for the lethal strike to their unarmored vital points, such as the neck and bellies.

Anko went absolutely wild over the alien flora we encountered. "Look at this magnificent beauty!" she laughed hysterically, carefully harvesting a glowing blue fungus from the base of a tree with pure excitement. "The sap in this specific specimen reacts with human blood to cause instantaneous, total respiratory paralysis! I'm taking multiple physical samples and seeds back to the village to sell directly to the Yamanaka clan. They specialize in cultivating exotic, high-grade poisons; they'll pay an absolute fortune for a completely new genetic strain like this!"

How she knew what the sap did without even testing it on someone ill never know.

After killing monsters and harvesting resources for nearly ten straight hours, a heavy, bone-deep physical exhaustion finally settled over the team. We set up a highly secured camp under the protective branches of a massive, glowing purple canopy.

Anko finally decided to tell us what's happening.

"These portals actually started appearing about eighteen years ago," Anko explained to us as she roasted a thick piece of harvested dungeon-beast meat over our small, controlled campfire.

"At the very beginning, it was incredibly rare—only about one portal a month across the entire continent. But lately, new ones are being discovered and heard about every single day. The Konoha higher-ups, the Fire Lord, and the high nobles have been actively deploying all of their highest-level combatants to clear them immediately because of the incredible economic and military value found inside. To be completely honest with you brats, this is my very first time stepping inside one myself."

I froze in place, a piece of monster meat stopping halfway to my mouth as I stared at her. "The Fire Lord and the high nobles are actively clearing them? If they are appearing all over the Fire land? My family territory... I haven't received a single formal report or letter about this. "

Mai looked up from her corner of the camp, her dark, cold eyes piercing straight through the flickering firelight to lock onto mine. "You're technically a Genin, Jun. You've been in Konoha for 12 years and have barely even visited the capital, and because you've been so utterly, single-mindedly obsessed with expanding your personal strength, sharpening your blades, and grinding your skills at the Academy for the last five years, you've been completely phoning in your actual political responsibilities. Your ancestral land is currently being managed entirely by Fire Lord Ozai’s appointed regents. Im sure if you paid more attention they would have informed you"

Tanking my first bite of the meat while I ponder over what mai said.

I guess Mai makes a point being the most politically savvy of us three. I had spent years treating mundane political reports and estate mail like complete junk, focusing 100% of my energy on physical lethality and survival. I seriously need to make a visit to my lands, I thought grimly, staring into the flames. Raw physical strength means absolutely nothing if my entire political and financial foundation is completely eroded away while I'm away playing ninja in the woods.

As I continue to ponder I feel a warmth spread from my stomach to the rest of my body. Looking at the rest of my companions I see the same panic in their eyes. I immediately panic, reaching for my scroll with my antidotes. Immediately  thinking it could be poison from the monster meat.

Rage immediately overtakes me as I hear laughing from my right. “Hahahahahah.” Seeing what im reaching for Anko doubles over clutching her stomach laughing. Before I can do something that I will regret, Anko starts waving her hands while still laughing.

“Speak.” I bark out.

“Sorry couldn't help myself, you aren't poisoned but I can see why you would think that. The first few times the reaction can be quite strong.” While wiping her eyes from the tears that leaked out from laughing so hard.

“What reaction?” I growl out. Moving in front of Ty and Mai, still suspicious.

“Monster meat releases an energy into the body that can increase your strength. Well Atleast the first few times. You see there are diminishing returns and you have to eat stronger and stronger monster meat to continue gaining benefits.” Anko explains calmly seeing that she might have damaged the trust she has built. “Look, I'm sorry. OK. It's become sort of a tradition. Even when I was given monster meat for the first time I freaked.”

“When were you given monster meat? I thought this was your first time in a dungeon?”  I say after we calmed down hearing the sincerity in her voice.

“Remember when I said it has diminishing returns, meaning you require stronger and stronger meat to continue the effects. Well to increase the number of strong shinobi that can enter the dungeons the higher ups began selling excess monster meat to Elite Chunin and up.” Anko answers my question. 

She left out Clans but I'm sure that they are hoarding the best meat for there clan members. Fuck the clan kids are probaly mosters comapred to civilians or even themselves from canon. Not to mention the extra 5 years of training and growth.

Also selling the meat? This could be bad for the capital. If these portals keep appearing more frequently there will be more meat to sell. Eventually making his shinobi much stronger and even the potential to sell to others. Not to mention the missions this will generate from the lower nobles who would rather deal with Konoha than seek protection from another noble. Is there a chance that horizon is thinking about using this to become independent from the capital and turning Konohahagakure into his own little fiefdom?

“What are all the benefits from the meat and are there other valuable things in the portals?” Mai asks.

“Im not really supposed to be telling you as it's usually kept to the Jonin and a few chosen Chunin.” Anko says.

Huh, Chosen Chunin. What a load of crap. It's just those that both show promise and are loyal to the elders and the Third. I don't voice my opinions as I'm sure no matter how friendly Anko becomes to us she will still be loyal to the old fart. Atleast for now.

“But since we are in a portal and the cats are out of the bag. Typically the edible monster meat can increase chakra and the physical body, but that has a limit. Where the monster meat really shines is when training. Usually an average shinobi can train their chakra for about 2 hours before reaching their limit but an added affect of typical monster meat, is that it can be eaten after training to quickly fill your reserves and get you back to training for longer, allowing you to master Jutsu much faster. Thats just the typical meat that we just ate. There are other meats that we can talk about when its more relevant." Anko says in one breath. Probably more valuable and thus can't talk about it unless the Third says otherwise.

“Fuck.” I say angrily. All the time I ran myself into the ground, there had been something that could have helped. And someone was actively keeping it from me.

“Every portal is different and has different things that could be valuable. Some are forest like the portal we are in now and can have valuable fauna like that sap and seeds I got earlier or caverns with energy so dense that it crystallizes and can be used to fuel Large scale Fuinjutsu. There's even been instances where the monsters are sapient and forge weapons that we simply can't match and the list goes on.” Anko continued ignoring my outburst, probably telling us as much as she is allowed to.

After that we simply sat down in silence contemplating what we just heard and continued our meal, not wanting to waste the valuable meat.

Eventually we settled for bed with a lot running through our minds.

My mind drifted to my lands and the Fire Lord. It seems that dear old uncle Ozai might have had other motives for sending me to Konoha.

"Wow..." Ty Lee breathed softly, snapping me out of my dark thoughts.

I looked up, following her gaze. Night had fully fallen over the dungeon dimension, and the forest had completely transformed. Every single leaf, blade of grass, and fungal bloom was now glowing in brilliant, vibrant shades of neon blue, hot pink, and deep purple. It looked exactly like the magnificent, bioluminescent jungles of Pandora from the old Avatar movie in my past life.

"Don't get distracted by the pretty lights, kids," Anko warned darkly, standing up and drawing her tan coat tighter around her frame. "I'll take the first watch. Get some real sleep. Tomorrow morning, we will finish this mission."

I crawled deeply into my sleeping bag and closed my eyes while thinking that tomorrow is another day that I can plan what I'll have to do with this new knowledge . As I drifted off to sleep, my mind automatically replayed the face of the bandit I had killed earlier. It had been my first real human kill, yet I felt completely at peace with it. It had been so phenomenally easy and that's what scared me in my last life. I couldn't kill a chicken let alone a human.