Things were going well, my birthday passed and I spent time with Gai and his new team.
The only major event being Iwa's invasion of Rain Country.
Which escalated tensions.
I guess Iwa wasn't happy fighting us and Kusa and elected to piss-off Hanzo as well.
Other then that nothing much happened, Team Irregular had only been on four more missions together and things went unexpectedly well.
No major upsets.
I and/or my clones spent a lot of time with Orochimaru being his henchman and practicing DNA Isolation on my rabbit farm.
Progress was slow but it was much better than paving my own path.
That would have been almost hopeless.
...
I stood and watched Team Chōza complete another lap around the training field.
Gai, Genma, and Ebisu.
Or Gai plus two nobodies.
Gai's teammates didn't go the extra mile, often giving up when they got tired and not continuing when I healed them.
It was upsetting and a waste of time training them, but it made Gai happy so I endured.
I could vaguely remember Ebisu so I knew that he wasn't total cannon fodder.
But Genma I didn't have any hope for.
He was the first to quit and spent too much time training his throwing skills.
A total waste.
But at least he gave me some of his blood, so I didn't mind him too much.
"Alright I'll heal you once more but then I've got to go."
Gai fist pumped and started running faster, while his two teammates groaned.
Healing Duy and Gai was a drain on my time, but it was worth it both were showing great improvement.
Though that could be because Gai was going through puberty...
Sigh...
"Genma stop dragging your feet!"
Genma ignored me and continued being a useless waste.
I made a single hand-sign and an arrow of lightning appeared over my shoulder.
"Run faster!"
Genma didn't head my warning...
With a thought, the lightning arrow sped off in his direction.
"Faster!"
The arrow narrowly missed his ass and Genma started running.
"Are you trying to kill me!?"
I readied another arrow and ignored him.
"Move it!"
Genma matched his pace with Ebisu.
"You too Ebisu!"
I launched the lightning arrow.
It zipped between Genma and Ebisu.
I looked at Gai for a moment to see if he needed some 'motivation'.
He didn't...
But Genma had slowed when I stopped looking at him.
"I said faster!"
I readied another arrow
...
I was watching as Orochimaru gathered samples from the Kaguya's body.
After a little thought I handed it over to him, I had already learned everything I could from it, so it didn't matter if I handed it over for some brownie points.
Orochimaru certainly apricated it and I got to learn some new things.
A win in my books.
"Anything interesting?"
Orochimaru shook his head.
"If he was alive I might have found something, but because he's dead, I won't know until I look at the DNA."
Alrighty...
"I'll bring the next one in alive."
Orochimaru inclined his head but didn't look away from what he was doing.
"What did you hope to achieve from collecting this specimen?"
Honesty seemed to be my best bet, if I lied, he would probably know.
"I want to awaken the Kaguya's bloodline in myself."
Orochimaru shook his head at me.
"And how would a corpse help you with that."
I don't think that was a question.
"Understood Sensei."
Orochimaru side-eyed me for a moment before looking away seemingly satisfied.
"You also destroyed the chakra network."
I nodded.
"I was practicing with chakra network expansion."
Orochimaru nodded.
"I can see that he exploded from the inside out. "
I blew a breath from my nose.
"Going from low-Jonin level reserves to Kage-level was too much for him."
Orochimaru hummed but didn't speak.
He finished what he was doing and removed his gloves.
"Any problems with it other than that?"
I rolled my eyes.
"Other than losing a good bit of chakra control it seems fine as long as you have a good healing factor."
Orochimaru started labeling his newly acquired organ jars.
"We'll test it out and see what can be improved."
Might as well go for the home-run.
"Can we try to improve my Nerve Enhancement as well?"
Orochimaru shook his head.
"I've already done something similar myself, I'll give you my notes for you to pursue in your own time."
Awesome, hopefully, he made more progress then I did.
"Thank you, Sensei."
Orochimaru said nothing but nodded and sealed all his now labeled jars away.
Shiro?"
I turned and looked at mom.
"Yes?"
I looked and saw that she had Emergency Rations by the scruff of his neck.
"Why is this running around the house?"
An excellent question.
"Let's go find out."
I walked past her, taking Emergency Rations as I passed.
I made my way to the lab and saw that the door was open, which wasn't too unusual.
I walked inside and saw that Emergency Rations had chewed through the metal bars of his cage.
"It seems we have another escapee in the house."
Emergency Ration's wife was on the lose as well...
"Clean up your mess."
Mom walked away leaving me alone to search for my missing rabbit.
"Perhaps this is a sign that you were meant to be free."
I looked at Emergency Rations.
And his little rabbit eyes met mine.
"But not today."
I put him in one of the glass aquariums with a few other female rabbits.
Maybe more wives would keep him occupied.
...
"Iwa has declared war on Konoha."
Weren't they fighting Rain?
"Why are they in such a rush to die?"
Mom sent me a reproachful look.
"Don't joke around, this is serious."
As was I.
"Are we getting deployed?"
Mom shook her head.
"Not yet, we won't be deployed until later unless we choose to go."
Should I stay or should I go...
"Let's see what happens, I might follow Orochimaru if he goes out."
I imagine he would be eager to capture some bloodline users.
"Alright thanks for the update, I've got things to prepare."
It seems we wouldn't be getting a new house yet...
Sigh...
...
"So, Sensei."
Orochimaru just stared at me, he wanted me to stop beating around the bush.
"War has officially been declared, what are your plans?"
Orochimaru continued his staring but spoke.
"I'm heading to the front to gain merits."
I snorted, merits likely meant experimental subjects.
"Can I join you?"
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at me.
"We'll see."
Alrighty...
"So, what's the plan for today Sensei?"
Orochimaru turned and made his way to a carboard where he withdrew a stack of loose paper.
"You will be making Indexing and Analysis Seals and I will analyze the Kaguya DNA you brought me."
Alrighty...
"Sure thing."
I grabbed the paper and ignored the offered brush, I unsealed my own from my Kunai pouch and took a seat.
...
"Come take a look."
I was startled and messed up the seal I was working on.
I looked over to see Orochimaru waving me over to a large script covered scroll.
I walked over and placed my hand on the center-left of the seal.
The seal activated and I was put under a light Genjutsu allowing me to see the DNA the scroll had analyzed.
"What am I looking at?"
I knew it had something to do with the bones but it wasn't drastically different from normal DNA.
"Part of the Shikotsumyaku."
What?
"How did you identify it so quickly?"
Orochimaru placed his hand beside mine and gestured towards a few of the 'rungs' of the DNA.
"These nucleotides here are for bone growth, and this is completely foreign to normal humans."
Orochimaru pointed Vaguely towards another part of the DNA.
Ninety-nine percent of human DNA was the same, with a few differences often corresponding to physical traits.
I guess that made it easy to single out a bloodline.
"It's also a recessive gene with its dominate counterpart being here."
The Genjutsu shifted and we were looking at a different section of DNA.
"It has something to do with Yang chakra and physical energy."
I blew a breath out of my nose.
"Anything else?"
Orochimaru nodded.
"There is a part here that determines the body's natural regeneration, that's foreign as well."
He gestured towards a few different parts of the DNA.
"This, this, and this all have something to do with personality traits, but I won't be able to tell what it is without testing."
He ended his sentence as he removed his hand from the seal.
"Would I be able to isolate these?"
Orochimaru nodded but raised an eyebrow.
"Yes? But your better off using DNA Overwrite..."
That was fine, better than fine.
"...It will be your project, so you won't receive any help from me."
Isolating was so much easier than splicing, it wasn't too much of a stretch to say that I could do so on my own.
I removed my hand from the seal and rubbed my eyes.
"That's fine it's a good opportunity to put what I learned to the test."
Not that I was anywhere near ready...
"Thanks, Sensei."
Orochimaru nodded.
I thought for a moment, sat down, and started removing my sandal.
I took it off revealing a seal on my ankle.
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow at me.
I pressed my finger against it and withdrew a vial and a notebook with a puff of smoke.
"Here Sensei."
He took it and eyed the vial of blood for a moment before he set it aside and started flipping through the notebook.
"I got that in Grass Country, I caught a spy that had an interesting Bloodline."
Orochimaru snorted.
"Bloodlines don't literally come from the blood."
I snorted as well.
"I wrote that when I was much younger."
It just said 'inject blood?'.
It was just a random thought...
"The bloodline grants a good healing ability different from what I've seen before, I had planned to combine it with the Uzumaki bloodline to become immortal."
Orochimaru furrowed his brows.
"The two bloodlines combined will make you close to immortal, the only limitation being aging or chakra exhaustion."
I believed that the healing factor plus my own would make me unkillable, but I'd changed my thought's on it after a bit of study.
The bloodline healed you but sometimes improperly, long-term use of the bloodline would cause a build-up of mistakes that unless corrected would eventually impede your bodily functions.
My bloodline had a similar fault if my stem cells were used up and divided too quickly they aged and became prone to cancer and other malformities.
Thankfully I was on top of things and eliminated any cells that were too old.
Stem cell bone weapons weren't an option anymore though...
But I guess it was a worthwhile endeavor if I learned my healing's weakness.
"Alright Sensei I've got to go, enjoy your research." I sent Orochimaru a backward wave as I left.
I've laid a trap, if Orochimaru jumped the gun and spliced the bloodline into himself it'd weaken him.
If he took his time and studied it and found the flaws in the bloodline, I'd claim innocence.
Win-win.
...
Emergency Ration's new wives had done as intended and kept him busy, but now I had a surplus of rabbits.
Though I guess I've got a lot of test subjects now...
I went to a different cage and grabbed two normal male rabbits.
A quick tap to the neck and one was dead and a tap to the forehead and the other was unconscious.
Now it was time to make some cancer.
...
"How was the mission?"
Judging from Gai's still enthusiastic, but less enthusiastic then normal look it wasn't good.
"We babysat for a couple so they could have a date-night!"
I snorted but wiped the smile off my face at the look Gai gave me.
"What was so bad about it?"
Gai went on to explain that Genma had left the stove on and almost burnt down the house when they left to visit the park.
I fought to keep the smile off my face.
I wish I had a few of these stories...
...
I found it!
The reason for cancers supposed immortality, it was a weird enzyme that 'copied' the telomere and added bits of DNA to its tips making it longer.
It seemed present but dormant in all the cells but was most prevalent in sperm cells and some immune cells.
It was activated when cells mutated and somehow activated the enzyme.
Sadly, the mutation caused cancer as the cell never died and duplicated indefinitely.
So, I didn't want the mutation but I still needed a way to temporarily activate the enzyme.
It was active in the sperm cells constantly adding to the telomere length maintaining it and keeping it young.
I guess it was so the egg isn't fertilized by some old mangled DNA.
I imagine the egg had something similar going on...
I sighed and put it out of my head.
I needed a way to activate the enzyme, I'd observe the process more and see if there was a way to do so with seals.
It was likely that I would need to step up my Fuinjutsu practice.
A lot of the hard work was done by someone else, I just needed to change DNA Overwrite's Seals and I would be good to go on cell immortality...
Though if I was doing that I might as well change the seals and make DNA Isolate work with them.
Overwrite was much different then Isolate...
Overwriting my DNA just to change one passive trait seemed like overkill.
Even if
There was a lot of potential for mistakes.
I wasn't willing to risk any mistakes...
Perhaps I'll start with isolate while I think about activating the as of yet unnamed enzyme.
...
Looking at DNA Overwrite's seal-work was headache-inducing.
I got the gist of what was happening but I had no clue how to change it without having it fall apart on me.
All I needed to do was suppress the dominant non-active Shikotsumyaku DNA.
But how do I get the seal to do that...
The DNA dismantling part can go...
As can the part where it puts it all together...
The copy part that copies the intended change and applies the work can stay...
As can the other two-hundred parts...
The part that makes the change temporary can go...
Now the seal is unbalanced...
Further unbalancing won't matter if its already fucked...
Now I needed to add the part that suppresses the dominant gene from DNA isolating.
I looked down at the seal.
It was a mess...
Goddammit...
Maybe Overwrite is the way to go...
I just need to make the two genes both recessive...
Which involved a little DNA Splicing...
Get rid of the dominant Gene and then splice in a second recessive gene...
Sigh...
What a headache...
I also didn't need to Overwrite my own body...
I could just Overwrite someone else's DNA and absorb them...
Most of my hesitance about DNA Overwrite was because I didn't want to use it on myself...
Alright!
That's the plan!
Overwrite someone and then absorb them.
I was pretty much done with Stem Cell Vampire anyways...
Now I just needed to splice that DNA together...
Hopefully, the Infertility was only because some idiot was splicing animal DNA.
But I guess I'd see...
It was an acceptable sacrifice even if that wasn't the case...
...
Orochimaru had helped me get a hold on the seals so all I needed to do was splice the two genes together though sadly I wasn't capable of that yet...
Though I would be soon.
Hopefully...
Now the question was, do I use another one of my recessive genes or do I use the pure Kaguya's recessive gene?
I'd say I should use my own but I had no idea what the right way to go was...
I'll use mine and if it goes badly, I'll use the Kaguya's gene.
Sigh...
I also needed to identify and index my own DNA.
Lots of stuff to be done...
DNA Overwrite was originally used to make compatible organs for transplants...'
Neat but useless...
For now...
I sighed and put down the book, I was still having trouble with DNA Splicing...
So, I turned to the archives hoping for an answer to magically appear.
But so far, no dice...
Orochimaru had left to the land of frost so he could engage in hostilities with Kumo who had also declared war against us, leaving me to bumble around by myself.
Though I did get permission to use one of his labs...
Which was a plus...
Now that I had been science-ing without smelling a room of forty rabbits I couldn't go back...
Which led to the release of most of the rabbits.
Now there was a bunch of rabbits with Genin-level reserves messing with the sensors and causing havoc...
I heard they were sending the Uchiha after them.
I smothered my smile with a hand.
Imagining those assholes catching rabbits brought me joy.
Though I guess having the alarms raised every time one of the sensors senses a foreign chakra signature was annoying...
...
We were officially four months into the war and as of yet, the clans have not contributed to the war effort.
Which had earned the ire of most of the other ninja.
Even I who was only eleven got cursed as I walked the streets, though it was only when I was wearing obvious clan clothing.
Things were coming to a head, soon the clans would have to send out some of their men.
I thought I might as well get ahead of the curve.
Though I wasn't interested in bringing my mother and Duy along...
So, I wouldn't...
...
I left a note and set off towards frost, I was going to be stationed there as Orochimaru's assistant.
Meaning I was supposed to follow him like a little duckling and do as I was told.
Whatever that may be...
The trip would take a day and a half even at full speed so I elected to draw it out and arrive in around two days, hopefully with mostly full reserves.
Though I guess I'd see, I might run into trouble after all...
...
I ran into no trouble on my way and found myself disappointed.
I passed through The Land Of Hot Springs and into Frost.
Hot Springs was currently neutral and thus was holed up in their villages, Frost on the other hand had allied with Kumo and told us to fuck off with a nice stab to the back during an alliance meeting.
So Konoha and Kumo were having a blast fighting all over Frost, destroying many of their villages and burning what little crops they could produce themselves.
Recently the battlefield commander was assassinated, so Konoha sent a Nara in, who was also subsequently assassinated.
Now Orochimaru insisted he should go take care of things of frost, the Third didn't want to escalate by sending an S-Rank ninja to the field but didn't want any more casualties so he sent him anyways.
Or at least that was the situation as I understood it.
I could be wrong...
...
Frost was aptly named, as most Naruto countries were.
Everything seemed to have a layer of frost that melted around mid-day.
It was an interesting climate.
Lightning country to the north-east was more mountainous but had no daily frost as far as I knew.
And to the south, there was Hot Springs who also had no daily frost.
Quite unusual.
But maybe this was normal in the Naruto-verse...
I wasn't an expert in Naruto-verse climate after all.
...
I approached the camp and nearly had a heart attack when Orochimaru Shunshined next to me.
"Hello, Sensei."
Orochimaru didn't acknowledge my greeting.
"You took your time getting here."
I just nodded.
"I wanted my reserves to be full."
Orochimaru stared at me with half-closed eyes, but eventually turned and started making his way into the camp.
"What's your combat potential?"
What? I blinked at him.
"What's... your... combat... potential...?"
He repeated himself but this time slower like he was talking to a child.
"I'm somewhere between Jonin and Elite-Jonin."
I'd put myself above Elite-Jonin level with my Seal active, but a little under Elite-Jonin without the Seal.
"Here."
Orochimaru pressed a scroll into my hand.
I raised an eyebrow and he gave me an unimpressed stare.
I unfurled it and started reading.
"So... An escort mission?"
He just nodded.
"I need someone competent to protect our supplies, I've already lost a shipment and some of my ninja."
Meaning he had a spy problem and he needed to root them out, he probably wouldn't be talking about it out in the open otherwise.
As much as being called competent warmed my heart I wasn't too interested in being bait.
"Alright."
An order was an order though.
"Any requests?"
I sent Orochimaru a wink.
"Send a message."
Make it messy and leave one survivor.
"Alrighty..."
Make them hesitate to raid future supply caravans.
...
Rice Country was just half a day from Frost, it was nestled between Hot Springs and the Land Of Iron and shared its southern border with the Land Of Fire.
It was aptly named and covered in rice patties with a few villages dotted throughout the country.
It was also a shithole.
The only village that wasn't made from mud and wood was the capital and even then, it wasn't much.
The population was uneducated and mainly consisted of farmers.
They also had little contact with ninja, they likely wouldn't see more than a few ninjas during their lifetime.
This led to them crowding me and asking annoying questions.
"Where's the shipment?"
I ignored the children crowding me and looked at the slightly better dressed old man standing a distance away.
He waved me over and started walking towards a building.
He went around back and opened a door to a cellar.
The cellar was packed with bags of rice and was surprisingly well put together.
I bet someone used Earth Release to put it together.
"How much can I take?"
The old man handed me a scroll.
I unfurled it and gave it a quick scan.
Orochimaru had already purchased all of his rice from Rice's Dinamo.
These people probably wouldn't see any money from the rice...
I blew a breath out of my nose and handed the man the scroll I had gotten from Orochimaru.
Even If I gave them any money it would likely get then killed or heavily taxed...
"Thank you."
The old man sent me a smile.
"Anytime young one."
I flickered my Byakugan when the old man turned to leave.
Good thing I had a ton of paper and ink.
...
I had sealed the rice up and my kunai pouch was bulging with scrolls.
Now I just needed to be wary of an attack on the way to Frost.
I made my way out of the cellar and disappeared with a Shunshin after sending the old man a wave.
...
I arrived at the border of Hot Springs and Frost with my Byakugan active.
And there was not a ninja in sight.
Did I travel too fast?
I briefly considered doubling back and making the trip again but dismissed it after a moment.
I'd just continue as I was...
...
I arrived at the camp and was directed to the commander's tent.
Where I was met with Orochimaru's usual stare the moment I stepped past the flap of the tent.
"I see your back."
I shrugged.
"Yea there was a lack of trouble during my trip."
I was feeling a tad disappointed about it.
"We took care of the trouble on our side before it could become a problem."
Meaning he rooted out the spy/traitor.
I walked over to a semi-clear table and started unloading my scrolls.
"Alright, I'm going to claim a tent."
Orochimaru stopped looking at me and turned his focus onto a map of Frost's surroundings.
"Do so."
I sent him a backward wave as I left.
...
This morning I had wandered into Orochimaru's tent wondering what he was up to.
It seemed he was going to stare at the map some more.
I took over a desk in the corner of the tent and started unsealing my Fuinjutsu equipment.
I wasn't going to take on a job when I could use my free time to study.
...
I watched as Orochimaru ordered different people around all day.
A scout had found a Kumo occupied camp to the north-east of us and Orochimaru wanted to hit it tomorrow night.
Orochimaru wanted to send some grunts to harass Frost's ninja village with a few Jutsu bombardments while he and the Jonin swept up the camp.
Judging from the look I got, I was also a member of the grunt team.
Which sucked...
I wasn't interested in attacking a village full of civilians nor was I interested in fighting people who were desperately defending their families.
Sigh...
...
Orochimaru stood solemnly in front of the map.
"Shiro, you're in charge of this mission. Your job is to hit Shimogakure's west wall with your biggest Jutsu and then flee into Hot Springs, from there you will cross over the border near Haran Bay and make your way back to camp."
He interspersed his order with a few vague gestures at the map.
"Any Questions?"
I nodded.
"Does it matter if anyone from my team survives?"
Orochimaru cracked a smile.
"Not in the slightest, their only job is to defend you while you prepare your Jutsu."
Alrighty...
"How many people am I working with?"
Orochimaru shrugged.
"How many do you want?"
How many meat-shields do I need?
I guess it depends on what jutsu I use...
Do I want to hit the walls with Heavens Palm or a Giant Lightning Construct?
Or something else...
Either way, I would need to use my seal to do any real damage.
Though I guess their walls might not be as strong as Konoha's.
"Can I get twenty-four?"
That's two squads or half a platoon, which was an extremely small amount for our current number.
"Have a whole platoon."
Orochimaru grabbed a sheet of paper and wrote something down.
"Wait by the gate tomorrow morning for your troops..."
Alrighty...
"...And strike as soon as it's dark."
I got up and started making my way out of the tent, I had no idea how this would work out...
I was elven after all...
I doubted anyone would be enthused to listen to me...
...
I briefly eyed the squads.
Twelve to a squad with each squad having three Jonin while the rest of the space was occupied with Chunin.
Twelve Jonin and thirty-six Chunin...
That was a lot of meat-shields...
Perhaps Orochimaru didn't trust my ability to escape?
Or maybe there was some old monster lurking in Frost's hidden village.
I handed the closest ninja a scroll.
"Read this."
He looked befuddled but did as he was told after unfurling the scroll.
"Attack Shimogakure's west-most wall an hour after dark and immediately retreat towards the..."
...
I eyed the Squads again this time closer.
They were unremarkable, each wore the standard uniform and there was a distinct lack of clan markings among them.
"I hope all of you can hide your chakra."
I saw a lot of nods, but also a few head shakes.
"Those of you who can't, will be setting traps at the border to cover our escape."
I again saw some nods.
"Those of you who can, will set traps closer to Shimogakure."
I saw a few more nods.
"We will then leave the Chunin behind and the Jonin will advance as much as we can before launching an attack at the west wall. Any questions?"
I saw two hands fly up and I pointed at the closest one.
"Who's launching the attack?"
Me obviously...
"Me. Next question."
I pointed to the next guy.
"Will we get reimbursed for any ninja tools used?"
Sure?
I don't think 'soldiers' have to pay for their weapons?
"Yep, as long as you live through the mission."
A few chuckled, though I hadn't meant for it to be a joke.
"Alright let's set off, we're going to take a roundabout route, so there's no time to waste."
The sooner we arrived the sooner we could set up some traps.
...
We traveled the Hot Springs and Frost border, or at least what was roughly considered the border.
We arrived at where our exit was supposed to be and I ordered them to start setting traps.
"Alright, you, and you, are staying." I pointed to two Jonin.
Shimogakure wasn't far from the border so just had a little trip to make and we would be there.
"Ok, let's go."
Hopefully, this wasn't a total shitshow.
...
"Alright, gather-round."
I pulled two stacks of explosive notes from my Kunai Pouch.
After a moment of thought, I just handed one of the Chunin the whole pouch, it only had explosive notes in it anyway.
I had a second one on my other leg full of most of my other tools.
"Explosive tags...?" I stared dully at the Chunin who spoke.
Yes... Thanks, genius...
"Yep, though these have Five times the blast radius and are a little more 'firey' than the normal ones."
They were more of a napalm bomb and less of an explosive tag.
"I want to see these blow up anyone who approaches." I singled out the one who spoke and looked at him specifically.
I activated my Byakugan and took a thorough look around.
"You and You, stay here." I again pointed at two different Jonin.
Nothing was amiss so I deactivated my Byakugan.
"Everyone else who is not a Jonin stays, and makes traps before retreating to the border."
I broke off from the group and sped up, I had shed most of the dead weight in the previous two stops so I didn't need to take it too slow anymore.
...
Orochimaru wanted me to bash the walls and distract Shimogakure while he took care of a Kumo camp.
I'd do him one better though...
I'd destroy that wall...
"Alright, lets approach." I activated my Byakugan after I spoke.
I saw the remaining eight Jonin nod, so I looked away and focused my attention on Shimogakure and started my approach.
I was slightly annoyed at Shimogakure's positioning.
It was nicely nestled between two mountains with only the west and north-east being easily assessable.
It was better naturally defended then Konoha.
Sigh...
"Alright, let's get closer..."
...
We weren't far from the wall and I was thinking about just entering the village and causing some Havoc.
But that was probably a dumb idea.
I shouldn't be launching any attacks in what was bound to be a mostly civilian village.
So, it was just the wall I was targeting...
Heavens Palm would just singe the wall...
It was more of an anti-personal attack.
Oh, I know...
"Alright, get ready to protect me, as soon as I start charging my attack they're going to sense us."
I sent a tendril of chakra to the seal on my forehead and gave it a twist.
My body was flooded with chakra and a manic grin split my face.
I held both my hands above my head and a Rasengan started to spin into existence.
It got bigger and bigger...
And bigger...
"Alright, run as soon as it hits!
I finished my sentence by anchoring my feet so the ground and smashing the Rasengan at the wall.
Boom*
...
A shockwave scattered the Jonin sending them flying.
I took part of the wall down but it wasn't too impressive...
Though I guess the dust cloud was neat.
I launched the Rasengan away from me and into the village, I aimed it at a vaguely important looking building.
"Alright start running!"
A quick hand-seal later and I was surrounded by more than twenty clones.
That was a little sloppy...
They ran off to different parts of the walls.
Each clone raised their arms above their heads and started creating Giant Rasengans.
Once they were created, one by one they started smashing their Rasengans into the remaining sections of the walls.
Boom* Boom* Boom* Boom* Boom* Boom* Boom* Boom* Boom*Boom*
The wall crumbled and I activated my Byakugan.
The civilians were evacuating, and some ninja were gathering at the base of the wall and digging through the rubble looking for people trapped underneath.
While others cautiously made their way through the dust cloud.
Surprisingly no one was coming after me, I had believed I would be swarmed but it hasn't happened yet.
I decided it was time I take off.
"Alright kill as many as you can, and take out some buildings"
I waved my clones into the village and started running.
There were a few remaining Jonin, I made sure to remember their faces.
The one's who fled so soon were either cowards or good at following orders.
"Let's go!"
I liked the ones who stayed better...
"Yes sir!"
I sent another tendril of chakra to my forehead and closed the seal.
"Leave a trail, don't cover your tracks."
I scanned the area around me and was slightly annoyed at the lack of pursuers, I had expected to be chased by a hoard of angry ninjas.
Whatever...
...
We made it to the first checkpoint safe and sound, we had a few Anbu following us but those were easily dealt with.
Clones for the win...
"Alright Keep going!"
One of the Jonin had stayed behind and waited for us, I took note of his face and mentally labeled him as one of the good ones.
I think we weren't chased because the civilians took priority, now that they were evacuated, they were likely organized and chasing us.
"No more tracks! Cover them to the best of your abilities!"
I faintly heard explosions behind us, though we made it successfully to the border with no trouble.
"Pack up, we're leaving."
This is where bringing along 36 Chunin became a hindrance.
They hadn't been useful meat-shields but they were useful anchors.
"Move it!"
I yelled at one Chunin who was taking his time.
I was stopped from further berating the man by a rush of memories.
The clones were doing a good job and one had even managed to invade their version of a Kage Tower.
He had taken a look around for anything potentially useful but found nothing.
He instead decided to blow himself up and take out the tower.
I sighed...
The Self Detonation Technique...
I haven't made much use of it...
"Alright let's go! Leave those who aren't ready!"
These idiots knew what was happening, we weren't going camping...
Morons...
...
We made our way into Hot Springs and took a long winding path back to base.
I was bombarded with memories a little after leaving the border, the clones had taken inspiration from the one who blew up and started suicide bombing anyone who gave them trouble.
Though they assassinated as many important-looking people as they could.
It likely led to a good loss in Shimogakure's military might.
"Are we missing anyone?"
I hoped not, but it was possible as we were scrambling at the border.
"No Sir!"
I looked at the one who yelled, she was one of the Jonin who had followed me to Shimogakure.
"Good, let's keep up the pace."
Not that the pace was great, having a bunch of Chunin slowed us down.
...
"Shiro, I just wanted a distraction."
I shrugged and stayed quiet, I wasn't sure what Orochimaru was so angry about.
"Why did you invade Shimogakure?"
I didn't know twenty Clones was considered an invasion...
"It was only twenty Clones, no one even set foot in Shimogakure."
Orochimaru didn't look satisfied.
"You destroyed their west wall, demolished their tower, and killed a huge amount of their Jonin and one of their few S-Ranked ninjas."
I only killed a hundred people at most...
And the guy who launched giant icicles wasn't that strong...
"Shimogakure's Jonin need to learn sensing, and icicle guy died in a clone suicide bombing..." They were just too easy to assassinate and icicle guy only took out two of the clones before succumbing to a suicide bombing...
Orochimaru just stared at me.
"The traps you left in your wake demolished a good part of their forces."
I nodded.
"I made my seals rather well."
Orochimaru took a deep breath and rubbed his temple.
"You've overshadowed my battle."
Oops...
"That wasn't my intention."
Orochimaru sent me a tired look.
"I can tell."
I sent him my best sympathetic smile.
"Why don't you claim credit, call it your idea."
He snorted.
"The Jonin have already spread tales of your mission around the camp."
Hmmm... I decided to change the topic.
"How were things on your end?"
Orochimaru's face suddenly twisted with rage and he was practically a waterfall of chakra, even I who couldn't sense worth shit could feel the chakra leaking from him.
"The camp was much bigger than we thought, we had to retreat after an encounter with two of Kumo's S-Ranked ninja."
Shame...
"They sending out the S-Ranks already?"
Orochimaru nodded.
"They've got enough to throw them around."
Annoying...
"So, what's the plan?"
Orochimaru was back to his usual bored look, any trace of anger had vanished from his face.
"We've stirred the pot, now Kumo and Shimogakure should be hesitant to attack us."
I wasn't getting it.
"So?"
Orochimaru rolled his eyes.
"So, the hard part is done, now they're going to be afraid to commit to any large battle's for a while."
Orochimaru cackled.
"Kekeke, meaning we have some time to gather test subjects."
I ignored his weird cackling.
"Cool."
He snorted.
"Yes 'cool'."
I struggled not to roll my eyes.
Orochimaru was such an old man sometimes...
...
Over the next many Kumo-nin were captured and brought into the camp, Orochimaru spent his time using Earth Release to build himself an underground lab and I spent some time sealing the chakra of any prisoners we obtained.
It was awfully boring, which was why I delegated the task to my clones after a few hours of doing it myself.
I was now happily indexing my DNA and trying to identify any interesting genes for future study.
It was slow going, it was an endeavor that would likely take months.
But I was hoping to speed that up with liberal use of Shadow Clones.
Shiro, go get me another test subject."
Orochimaru was going through people faster then we could capture them.
"There's no more."
He was doing some messy DNA manipulation most of which went horribly.
"Well get more!"
Orochimaru was trying to give his test subjects some sort of bloodline, but so far it hadn't worked a single time.
"Alright..."
Following Orochimaru around was becoming annoying, but I was learning more then I could learn myself.
So, it was well worth it.
"Quit dawdling and go!"
That's one I haven't heard yet...
"Yes sensei!"
I put down my brush and sealed the ink up, I was going through paper a bit too fast.
But I needed a lot of Fuinjutsu to analyze my DNA.
Sigh...
...
"Shiro."
I blew a breath out of my mouth.
"What?"
I turned and looked at a mildly afraid looking Chunin.
"Your mom's here."
Great...
"Send her in."
I sighed and started gathering my supplies, DNA analysis was going well, I had identified a few different genes that weren't present in normal people but that was it.
I still had no clue what they did...
I was broken from my thoughts by a pair of arms circling my torso and a chin on my shoulder.
"Hello, mom."
She was silent for a moment and I started sealing my stuff away again.
"You disappeared on me."
I left a note...
"I left a note, and you were on some sort of mission."
I felt her shake her head.
"You should have waited."
I blew a breath from my nose.
"I will next time."
She released me and I turned around to see her, she didn't look any different but it felt like ages since I've seen her.
"Did you bring Duy?"
She nodded.
"Yes, he was quite eager to display his youthful improvements."
I chuckled a little.
Though I didn't think Duy knew what he was getting into.
"A few weeks here will probably kill that enthusiasm."
I had seen hundreds of people die since I got here.
And it had only been two months...
"Bring Might Duy in!"
I directed my yell vaguely at the tent flap.
I now had a few minions to do things for me, it was one of my new favorite things.
I don't think I could go without minions again.
"Shiro congratulations on becoming an S-Ranked ninja."
Mom's words almost caused me to drop the arm full of scrolls I was holding.
"Since when?"
I hadn't known I was considered an S-Ranked ninja.
"Shimo and Kumo put out bounty's labeling you an S-Ranked ninja."
What?
"Do you have the bounty book on you?"
I wanted to see it.
Mom shook her head, with a small smile on her face.
"Bring me the bounty book!"
I sent another yell at the tent flap.
Looking at the tent flap annoyed me... I want a building of some kind...
Duy jumped into the tent with a youthful flourish and opened his mouth wide preparing for some youthful shouting.
"So, how's Gai? He got my letters?"
I stopped Duy from preforming whatever youthful shout he was going to do with my question.
His mouth snapped shut with a click, and he spun on his heel before giving me a nice guy pose.
"Gai told me to offer my most sincere thanks for the letters you sent him!"
I nodded at him.
"So Gai's doing well?"
I heard my mom snort from behind me.
"Gai is participating in the Chunin-exams and has been training most Youthfully!"
I shook my head.
"Neat."
It seems puberty was doing Gai well if he's already participating in the Chunin exams.
A Chunin entered the tent in a near run.
"Here's a bingo book sir!"
I took it from him and waved him off.
"Thanks."
Always thank your minions...
I flipped through the book for a moment before finding the Konoha section.
I flipped through the book some more noting that the book was in alphabetical order.
I went through the O's looking for Orochimaru's entry out of curiosity.
I took a glance at it and continued.
I reached the S's and after a few flips, I found my name.
There were three pictures of me from different angles.
And a few small entries at the bottom containing my bounty and estimated strength.
It mentioned my frequent use of a lightning sword and Shunshin but lacked anything about the Rasengan...
It noted me as a Hyuga but stated that they didn't know what branch I was from.
"Neat... but where did they get these pictures?"
The book had my elemental affinity as well...
No idea."
I sent a slight frown at my mom.
"These are from when I went shopping."
Meaning someone took them in Konoha and got them either to Kumo or Shimo.
Spies sucked...
"Whatever..."
My bounty paled in comparison to Orochimaru's...
Though I guess that's not too surprising...
I snapped the book shut and turned my gaze to Duy.
"I heard you've improved?"
Duy nodded and fist-pumped.
"Yes, I have been youthfully training my Taijutsu and Sumiko has called it passable!"
I looked at mom and she nodded at me.
I sent Duy a thumbs up.
"So, what brought you two here?"
Hopefully, the clans were sending people out to the fronts, we were getting demolished in Grass as far as I knew...
"They needed some sensors here so I was sent."
I raised an eyebrow at mom, that was news to me.
"You're a sensor?"
Mom crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at me.
"Haven't I told you?"
No, you haven't...
"Nope." I popped the "P" and stared her semi accusatorily.
Mom shrugged and looked unaffected by my stare.
I sighed...
"Go get your tents set up."
Hopefully, we could get some buildings setup, I might need to order some people to do so with Earth Release.
Mom departed with a wave and Duy trailed after her.
I threw my head back and stared at the roof of the tent.
Now I needed to watch over my mother...
The thought of her being out here made me anxious...
Though I suppose it was ideal that she was around, at least then I had a chance to make sure she was alright.
Thankfully she wasn't in Grass, as far as I knew Iwa had been stomping all over us there.
Sigh...
I better go see Orochimaru, he usually wants something to eat around now...
Feeding Orochimaru was my least favorite part of being his assistant...
...
"I heard your mother arrived."
I wasn't sure I wanted Orochimaru to talk about my mom while he was standing over a corpse.
"Yes, she arrived this morning with a batch of sensors."
Orochimaru hummed.
"It took them long enough to get here, I requested them weeks ago..."
He trailed off and started making an incision on the corpse's chest.
"It can't be helped, Iwa is destroying us and they need all the people they can get over there."
Grass was a meat grinder, ninja were constantly sent in and it made little difference, we were constantly losing ground.
Grass was half occupied by Iwa as far as I knew...
"Those incompetents..."
Orochimaru shook his head, he was wrist deep into the corpse and it was weirding me out.
I decided it was time to bail, I wasn't interested in chatting while Orochimaru was doing a dissection.
"Sigh... I'm leaving your food on your desk, I'm going to order someone to build some buildings, I've grown sick of the tents."
Orochimaru shoed me away with a blood-stained hand.
"Do so."
Alrighty.
"Yes, Sensei."
I turned and started towards the stairs.
Things had been slow lately, after my 'attack' on Shimogakure there hadn't been more than the occasional skirmish.
Things had been boring, though I guess boring was ok.
I had made a lot of progress in the analysis of my DNA after all...
...
Boom*
I was woken by the sound of a nearby explosion.
My eyes snapped open and I came face to face with a masked ninja.
We made eye contact and I only realized he had a kunai to my throat after he slit it.
I hit him with a sloppy strike to the chest and my other hand flew up to my throat to cover it.
My strike had done as intended and damaged some of his organs.
I heard him release a painful gasp, he backed away and started hacking.
It seems I hit a lung...
Boom*
I heard another explosion but paid it no mind.
My hand glowed green and I started using the Mystical Palm hoping to heal my throat a little faster.
I got off my cot and stumbled towards the man.
He was bent over and still hacking so he didn't offer much resistance when I tapped him on the top of his head ending his life.
I gave my throat a scan and saw it was good enough.
I took a deep breath.
I instantly felt better, though my heart was still beating out of my chest.
I wiped my bloody palm on my underwear and made my way towards the opening of the tent.
I breached the opening and saw some smoke coming from the direction of Orochimaru's lab, it was likely where the explosions came from.
Only now did the shouting and the smell of blood start to register in my mind.
A single hand-sign and three clones appeared in a burst of smoke.
One set off to make sure my mom was alright, the other tow set off to clear the camp and I went back into my tent to get dressed.
What a shitshow...
...
I was fully dressed and making my way towards Orochimaru's lab.
My chest was sticky with partially dried blood and I was in a foul mood.
The shouting had died down for the most part, things seemed to have calmed down some.
Meaning we weren't being invaded or raided.
Just some assassins then...
I yawned.
I probably should have my Byakugan active...
I activated my Byakugan and quickly scanned the camp, things seemed alright for the most part.
Orochimaru's lab had collapsed but there was no sign of him inside, it seems he was alright.
Mom was wandering around with her own Byakugan active, I waved in her direction and she sent one back.
She was alright...
Duy was youthfully pitching a tent while regaling those who were helping him with tales of youth.
So, Duy was good...
The clones were doing well.
One was hefting a body and slowly making its way towards Orochimaru, while the other two were nowhere to be seen.
They might be chasing some runaways...
Sigh...
I changed my direction and started towards Orochimaru.
...
I arrived near Orochimaru and deactivated my Byakugan, Orochimaru was a sorry sight, he was covered in a layer of dust and his robes were stained in blood.
And he looked to be barely holding himself back from snarling.
"Beautiful night we're having."
Orochimaru snorted and his face seemed less twisted then it was a moment ago.
"The Fuinjutsu protecting my lab was sabotaged."
I hummed, my protections were sabotaged as well.
"What I had protecting my tent didn't trigger as well..."
I had a large seal covering the floor of the tent, it almost looked like I was preparing some sort of ritual.
It should've screeched the moment foreign chakra entered the seal's area, but that didn't happen...
"Spies?"
Orochimaru nodded with clenched teeth.
"Spies..." He hissed the word, I saw a passing Jonin shiver when he said it.
My clone arrived with his cargo breaking the atmosphere, the ninja was heavily concealed and had no obvious markings that connected him to any of the villages.
"Want this brought to the interrogation guys?" My clone shrugged and moved the body for emphasis.
Orochimaru shook his head before I had even finished the sentence.
"I'll take care of this one... personally..."
Orochimaru hissed again and the clone raised an eyebrow at me.
I shrugged at it, this was new to me too...
Orochimaru had the ninja over his shoulder and turned to leave.
"I'll get your lab set-up."
Orochimaru nodded but didn't stop walking and soon left in a Shunshin.
That was a cool exit...
"Go, find some Earth Release users."
My clone nodded and Shunshined away.
Delegation for the win...
Sigh...
I flickered my Byakugan but saw no sign of my other clones.
Hmm...
I wonder what they were up to...
...