My current genetic limit for chakra was about High-Kage level, which wasn't bad.
It was better then what a majority of people in the Naruto-verse were working with.
That combined with my ridiculous chakra density put me in the upper Kage range in terms of chakra...
Though there was a chance that could somehow change and get better...
With the addition of the Shikotsumyaku my physical energy and chakra had changed so there could be some further positive changes.
I put it out of my mind, crossed my arms, and drummed my fingers on my opposite arms.
Orochimaru being slightly unhinged seemed to be working in my favor, he was getting fast and loose with his research notes but didn't seem to want to teach me anymore...
He wouldn't let me watch or participate in any of his experiments or research.
But if I wanted something I just had to ask and he would give it to me, before shooing me away.
So here I was sitting in front of a table full of scrolls
Which contained information about Spiritual energy and its interaction with chakra.
I was trying to get his research on the soul without explicitly asking for it...
So far it hasn't worked out, but maybe in the future, I'll get my hands on it...
I sighed...
Muscle stuff, then chakra expansion stuff, and then sensor DNA stuff...
I had things to occupy myself with for the next few months...
I'd also need to train my control up again...
If I went slow hopefully that wouldn't be much of a problem...
...
I watched our test subject as he fought an imaginary enemy with speed and strength that he didn't possess a week ago.
It wasn't as much of an improvement as I thought it would be, but it was an improvement...
I sighed and looked at Aomi, she had been the one driving this research.
I figured she wanted to enhance her reflexes and was making sure it was safe...
'Super Duy' was a bust...
But maybe 'Super Aomi' was possible...
"Aomi are you interested in undergoing the muscle enhancement?" I said while eyeing her.
She jumped slightly and turned to look at me with wide eyes.
"I'm going to be expanding my reserves and will lose some chakra control temporarily, so if you want to do it decide within the next week or you'll lose the opportunity temporarily."
Aomi was still wide-eyed and nodded slowly.
I hummed and started circling her, eyeing her as I did so.
A sword and Fire Ninjutsu were her main weapons, though she was also skilled in throwing weapons...
So...
Perhaps a boost to her speed and reflexes would do her good...
I watched Aomi tense as I exited her field of view while I circled.
I continued circling and came into her view, she relaxed ever so slightly but was still tense.
I stopped my circling and stood in front of her.
"You should learn Chakra Flow, it would up your damage a lot..."
I stared into her eyes and purple met brown.
"..." I tilted my head and stared at her...
Perhaps changing her hair and eye color could remove the curse of being cannon fodder.
But what coloring would make Aomi less killable looking...
I narrowed my eyes and Aomi flinched...
I sighed and started making my way towards my almost forgotten test subject.
He was now useless, so back to the prison, he went...
He might be used later...
...
I raised an eyebrow when I heard an explosion in the distance but ignored it and went back to my reading.
Bang*
My peaceful reading was interrupted by a panicked Aburame who now stood in the doorway after slamming my poor door...
"Shiro-sama, we're being attacked." His face was stoic but he was literary buzzing with nervousness.
I hummed and put a pen in the book to mark where I left off.
"Kumo?" I fought back a yawn.
The Aburame remained silent but nodded.
"Anyone notable?"
The Aburame again nodded but remained silent.
I sighed and activated my Byakugan increasing my range to it's maximum.
The camp was in turmoil, we were indeed being attacked...
Fights were happening all through the area that my Byakugan covered and I'd say there were very few who weren't fighting...
We might even be outnumbered...
To the north-east I saw Orochimaru launch some Wind Blades and try to stab A the future Raikage with his sword, Killer B was watching from a distance away, not interfering.
I sighed and started forming my Dermal Armor while I slowed my perception opting to forgo the increase in range.
I Shunshined around the Aburame and out the door, ready to raise some hell...
...
Battles were happening throughout the area, though they were concentrated around the north and north-west of the camp...
Without turning I aimed my palm behind me and impaled a ninja who thought he was being sneaky.
"Sigh..." I stared at three approaching ninjas who had forgone their opponents in favor of running to their death.
I wonder if I sigh too much...
I dogged a sword to the face and aimed my palm at the fastest ninja and impaled him with a Bone Spear, I then aimed my palms at the two remaining ninjas and impaled them with Bone Spears as well.
I waved some Konoha-nin who wanted to help away and took a second to look over the area.
I saw three more ninjas notice me and break off from their fights and head towards me.
I raised an eyebrow at this squatted slightly and grabbed a handle that had burst from my knee and pulled.
My flesh sealed up and I was left holding a long thin Bone Sword.
I sighed and coated it in lightning while giving it a taunting wave at my approaching enemies.
One of the ninjas wasn't amused and tossed a handful of Lightning Coated Shuriken at me.
I side-stepped them and held a hand out allowing one to hit my palm.
Clack*
The shuriken cut my skin but bounced off my armor with a satisfying clack.
I gave a pleased nod and Shunshined to the ninja who had thrown them.
I swung my sword and my opponent raised a Kunai to block it.
My sword cut through the Kunai and then through the surprised ninja who had a look of disbelief on his face even as his torso and head separated never to meet again.
I tilted my head and avoided a Kunai that had been thrown at my face by someone a little ways away.
Ah... I forgot my bone mask...
A smooth featureless mask formed over my face and I nodded.
Good to go...
I Shunshined and cut one of my other pursuers in half and Shunshined again and cut the third in half as well.
I stopped ran a hand over my clothes while waiting for another attack.
My clothes were whole and undamaged and no-one seemed to want to run at me and die.
Maybe I won't have to buy more clothes after this battle...
I smiled under my mask and Shunshined into a group of ninja.
I held my sword out and spun killing two and wounding three others while missing one entirely.
I ignored the survivor and Shunshined towards some more ninja who were too occupied with their fight to notice me.
I cut him in half and Shunshined towards another ninja...
I cut him in half as well and continued with another Shunshin.
This was working surprisingly well...
I was startled as A become coated in lightning chakra and his chakra rose to monstrous levels causing me to focus on him.
Someone took advantage of my surprise and I was washed a little ways away by an enormous water dragon that slammed into my back.
I pushed myself up and stared at the one who launched the dragon.
Someone had run him through with a sword and he was staring at the sword exiting his stomach.
I nodded at my fellow Konoha-nin who peeked over the shoulder of the man he stabbed.
He sent me a nod back.
I used some Chakra Strings to grab my sword and stood up.
I think it's time I make my way to Orochimaru.
A thin Bone spike burst from my heel and killed a ninja who was approaching me from underground.
Annoying...
...
I made my way towards Orochimaru while chopping Kumo-nin in half and shooting anyone who tried to launch Ninjutsu at me with senbon.
I smacked a Kunai out of the air and pointed my sword at the one who threw it.
A thin branch of bone burst from the sword and impaled the ninja.
I gave the sword a little shake and the bone growing from it broke and fell off.
I pointed a finger at a ninja who was about to kill an Inuzuka and pelted him with a few senbon.
I hummed as I approached the no man's land that had been created around Orochimaru and A.
I stood a ways away and watched the battle for a moment, Killer B was still politely watching A's battle and had not interfered.
I decided I'd be polite as well so I Shunshined a distance away from Orochimaru and gave a bow in B's direction.
B stared at me for a moment before looking back to the fight.
I raised an eyebrow under my mask, I thought we would get down to it...
"Bone-o, this is between A and O, so you and B, are a no-go!" B rhymed without looking away from the fight.
My mask receded and I deactivated my Byakugan and watched B nod to himself and pull out a little green notebook and start scribbling something down...
I shook my head and focused back on Orochimaru's battle.
Judging by the charred dead snakes scattered around the area, snakes were a no-go and that's why Orochimaru was relentlessly slashing at A with a wind covered sword.
I saw a few shallow cuts on A so it was seemingly working out...
Though Orochimaru didn't seem to be winning he was doing alright...
My train of thought was interrupted when a stray Wind Blade struck the ground near me.
There was a slight lull in the fight and I met Orochimaru's eyes.
He looked at me and then at B before returning his eyes to me.
I got the message...
'Negative' I made a single hand sign.
Orochimaru looked angry but before he could respond A darted towards him with his fist cocked back.
Orochimaru dodged and sent me an annoyed look before jumping back into the fight.
I sighed and created a clone with a hand-sigh.
I couldn't leave as I had to stall B if he decided to interfere, but I could send a clone out to do some killing...
Though the clone would lack the Shikotsumyaku hopefully it would do alright...
The clone waved at me and pointed to my sword.
"Gimme!"
I snorted and handed it over.
The clone grasped the sword and looked at it for a moment.
The sword was slowly absorbed by the clone and I was left wearing a surprised expression under my mask.
"Ummm..." I stared at the clone wondering how the hell he had thought to do that.
He just shrugged at me and I saw bone start to emerge from its skin.
I stared at the clone as it was slowly engulfed in bone.
Eventually, the clone was completely covered in a spikey Bone Armor and he gave me a cheeky wave before he left in a slow Shunshin that kicked up a trail of dust.
I watched him leave for a moment before I dragged my eyes back to the fight.
If the clone had stayed a little longer, I would have made him stay here...
Perhaps that's why he left so quickly...?
The sound of A roaring while he sped towards Orochimaru pulled me from my idle thoughts.
I stared blankly while A caught Orochimaru in the chest with a Lariat crushing Orochimaru's ribs in the process.
Wasn't Macho Man Randy Savage the one who made the Lariat popular...?
I'd seen a couple of pro wrestling moves thrown around so far...
Perhaps A's fighting style was based on pro wrestling...
Macho Man A...
Snort*
I haven't seen any other Kumo-nin use wrestling moves...
Perhaps the Raikage fights like this as well...
Both my eyebrows rose when Orochimaru stood and was seemingly unaffected by his collapsed ribcage.
Orochimaru jumped away from A and looked to be rather annoyed by his crushed ribs.
Orochimaru made a hand-seal and mud started to flow from the ground before becoming person-shaped and eventually taking on the appearance of Orochimaru.
The clone ran at A and was unsurprisingly defeated with a chop to the neck.
It turned into mud, reformed, and then launched Wind Blades at A.
Orochimaru had used this time to heal his chest and was now back in fighting shape.
I was slightly surprised he didn't just shed his skin but I figured he had some sort of plan.
Orochimaru ran through a string of hand-seals and traped A in a Twister of invisible Wind Blades.
A was dodging most of the Wind Blades but was still getting hit by some occasionally.
Orochimaru started running through another string of hand-seals and inhaled before spewing a huge wave of fire onto the Twister.
The Twister caught fire, A burst through it a moment later, and landed beside B looking slightly singed and covered in small cuts.
Orochimaru jumped back and landed beside me his clothing was torn and his reserves were about half what they were but he was otherwise looking unaffected.
A had numerous small cuts covering his body and his reserves were about half of what they were, though he still had more chakra then Orochimaru had at the moment.
Overall it seemed Orochimaru came out ahead but A might be able to outlast him if they continued.
Orochimaru and A stared at each other for a long moment before jumping back into the fight, A still covered in lightning chakra and Orochimaru with his sword covered in Wind Chakra.
"There ya go! A go beat O and save the day yo! Fool Ya Fool!"
"Sigh..." I saw B do a little dance when A jumped into battle.
What a weird duo...
Macho Man A and Killer B the rapper.
...
Orochimaru had stopped using big moves a while ago to conserve chakra and was now just slashing at A with his wind coated sword.
A was slowly but surely accumulating cuts and losing chakra while using his Lightning Cloak.
A had battered and nearly killed Orochimaru a few times but Orochimaru had Shed his skin and popped out of his mouth regenerating the damage both to himself and his clothes.
Orochimaru's new but slimy clothes had thrown me off but not as much as the dancing Killer B was doing every time A scored a hit.
I ran a hand through my hair, activated my Byakugan, and covered my face with the bone mask.
I might need to interfere depending on what happens...
A sped behind Orochimaru and chopped him on the back of the neck.
"Lateral Bolt Of Pain!" I cracked a smile.
Orochimaru's clone dispersed and the real Orochimaru popped out of the ground behind A and tried to behead him but was unsuccessful as A shrugged off the blow after and sped away.
A touched the back of his neck and stared at Orochimaru who stared back.
A spoke to Orochimaru but I couldn't hear what was being said from where I was.
A suddenly slammed his hand into the ground and through the earth to grasp something.
He pulled Orochimaru up through the ground by his hair and threw him into the air.
A appeared above Orochimaru with a Shunshin and with a yelled "Guillotine Drop!" he kicked him into the ground.
Orochimaru impacted the ground forming a crater in the earth and kicking up a strong wind from the impact.
A landed and was attacked by Orochimaru's clone who disappeared in a burst of smoke with a single chop from A.
Orochimaru stood up shakily from the crater eyes wide in what I'd assume was disbelief as A grabbed him from behind and lifted him over his head.
"Liger Bomb!"
Orochimaru was promptly throttled into the ground making the crater deeper and kicking up another mini wind storm.
I was left staring in both shock and excitement as A dropped Orochimaru and jumped away from the crater.
Orochimaru shed his skin again and jumped over to where I was standing for what would likely be the last time as his chakra was low.
"So, what's the plan?" I gave Orochimaru a nod and acted as if I didn't just see him get thrashed.
Orochimaru stood still and stared out into the dust at where the Raikage was standing.
"I've poisoned him so now we just need to wait until he retreats..."
I hummed, I wondered if killing him was the better option.
"Not going to kill him?"
Orochimaru laughed humorlessly.
"Ha! And anger the Raikage and Jinjuriki of the Eight Trails, I think not!"
The dust cleared and we were now visible to the duo standing across from us.
A was talking to B but I couldn't hear what was being said from where I was standing.
A didn't look to be affected by the poison he was still cloaked in lightning and he was standing proud beside B.
"They should be about to retreat, the poison should now be affecting him..." Orochimaru spoke with a hissed whisper.
B took something from his pouch and pointed it at the sky.
A pop was heard and the Duo turned and started running back the way the came.
I deactivated my Byakugan, withdrew my mask, and looked at Orochimaru.
He looked bored like he hadn't just fought someone who had Tailed Beast levels of chakra.
Suddenly he smiled. "Kekeke... I got some of his blood, so this fight wasn't a total waste..."
I blinked at him and smiled.
"Nice!" I gave him a thumbs up.
Orochimaru nodded.
"Nice indeed..." He sadly didn't give me a thumbs up.
He stood there basking in his small victory for a moment longer before he turned and started towards the camp.
I followed behind him while wondering what my clone had gotten up to...
...
...
Interlude.
I deflected a sword and used the momentum from the strike to spin and decapitate someone approaching from behind.
'Stay calm, stay calm.'
I ended my spin with a slash towards an approaching nin.
'Stay calm, stay calm.'
Sadly, I had overextended and someone nearly severed my leg from my body.
I pelted him with shuriken and jumped away with my good leg.
'Stay calm, stay calm.'
I was one of the few standing between the hospital and a squad of enemy shinobi.
'I might not make it.'
I heard a warcry and spun just in time to stop a large sword from bisecting me.
'That's fine, I'm fine.'
A fellow Konoha-nin ran the man through with a sword giving me time to engage with someone who was trying to return the favor and run him through.
'It's fine, I'm fine.'
Then as fast as the battle started it ended.
A monstrosity covered in spikes rammed into the ninja I was fighting and disappeared as if it wasn't even there.
I heard screaming and turned to see the monstrosity had collected five more bodies in its brief travels, one of which was alive and screaming.
A spike exploded from the screamer's head ending his painful existence.
I watched numbly as the spikes crumbled like dry dirt and the bodies fell off the monstrosity.
"Yo!" With a wave and a muffled greeting/goodbye, the monster regrew its spikes and disappeared into thin air.
Me and the man whom I had been fighting with seconds ago stared at each other in disbelief.
'What just happened?'
"What just happened?"
Had I been able to speak I would have mirrored his words.
What just happened?
Orochimaru and I made our way back towards the camp killing any wounded enemy ninja we came across.
"Why did Kumo attack us this time...?"
Orochimaru rolled a body over with his foot and stared at the unconscious Kumo-nin before answering.
"It doesn't matter." Meaning he didn't know.
I nodded and pointed my foot at the unconscious Ninja and launched a Bone Spike through his skull.
...
I found my bone clone covered in blood and looking scary as hell.
Spikey armor and blood mix well together.
"How goes it, friend?"
My clone sent me a wave but didn't move from where he stood.
I got closer and looked at him, he had horn-shaped protrusions coming from his head and had a tail that was swaying behind him.
"Could you look any more demonic?"
My clone shrugged and the bone started to recede into its body.
"Probably not." My clone looked a tad bored.
We stared at each other for a moment before my clone broke the silence.
"I can't dispel..."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Eject some bone and let me grab it."
I held my hand out and a bone spike thwacked against my palm a moment later.
I started absorbing the bone wondering what would happen.
The clone made a horrified face and turned into a visible yellow blob of chakra which was also absorbed by me.
The memories hit me as soon as I finished and I had to blink my eyes a couple of times.
Clones are so weird...
I should probably stop using them...
I took a deep breath and started towards the camp while reviewing the memories.
The clone just Shunshined into enemies like a spikey bulldozer.
He made his way around the battlefield bulldozing as he went and eventually ran into Aomi who was defending the Field Hospitals.
He heroically bulldozed through his enemies with a few Shunshins and then made his way around the battlefield helping Konoha-nin and bulldozing those who stood against him.
It might have been heroic-looking had the clone not been a devilish spikey blood-covered monstrosity...
I sighed and interlaced my fingers behind my head...
Mom hasn't come looking for me so I was starting to get worried, neither I nor my clone ran into her when we were running around the battlefield.
I tried not to think about it and instead focused on another topic.
Kumo getting past all our scouts was a piss-off.
Bastards...
...
Kumo had destroyed one of the barracks at the edge of our camp, though that's where it had stopped, I figured that it was a crime of opportunity and not a specific target.
Other than that things were mostly undamaged and a majority of the camp dwellers survived.
Mom was alive and well but holed up in the hospital as someone had stabbed her in the back.
She had gotten overwhelmed but survived as Duy opened the first four Gates and opened a can of whoop-ass on mom's attackers.
A bunch of Uchiha reinforcements arrived late for the fun and were now wandering around the camp and fighting with the other clansmen.
So, we did alright all-round.
...
After making sure mom was ok, pulling an all-nighter in the hospitals, and then sleeping for fourteen hours I was ready to start on my muscles.
First, I'd change their composition and then I'd edit my DNA and make an Overwrite Seal...
Then I'd enlarge my reserves to their maximum...
Then I'd apply DNA overwrite to my body using my new chakra reserves...
And then I'd have to wait three to six months for the changes to slowly take effect...
While that was happening, I could train my control back to what it was and explore DNA a little more...
Though when I edit that DNA, I should be using the youngest possible DNA...
I guess I get to use that enzyme and de-age the DNA some...
Fun stuff...
...
I waved a Bone Sword around swiping at imaginary opponents, trying to get some practice in with my new muscle composition.
I went for a speed build and so far, it seemed to be working well.
My stamina was stupid before so I hadn't noticed much of a change but I'd had a moderate increase in speed.
Now I just needed to finish up the Overwrite seal and I'd be golden...
"So Aomi, yes or no to the muscle enhancement?" I said while absorbing the bone sword back into my palm.
Aomi looked unsure but nodded and handed me an envelope.
I read it and stared at Aomi, she squirmed under my gaze.
"If I die, bring this to my family..." I stared at her with a raised eyebrow.
No-one has died yet...
"I don't think I've killed anyone with this at all..."
This time Aomi stared at me with a raised eyebrow.
I raised my eyebrow back and Aomi let out a silent sigh.
She ran and got some paper and a pencil and started scribbling something down.
She handed me the paper and stared expectantly.
'What about subjects one through five...' I raised an eyebrow.
What about them...?
"Those underwent extremely invasive DNA manipulation and died because I exhausted their lifeforce."
I was being stingy with my chakra and just edited a few cells and made them divide a bunch until they aged and eventually died a few days later.
Though it was still chakra expensive either way...
"Whatever... let's get to it." I said with some cheer.
I couldn't wait until I could fully expand my reserves...
Sadly Playing with Aomi's DNA would delay my chakra expansion by a few days...
It wouldn't be too much of a problem...
I'd just have to expand my reserves a little quicker to make up for lost time...
...
"Kumo is making it hard not to dislike them..." Orochimaru said while he browsed this week's reports.
Kumo had attacked one of the Uchiha's compounds outside of Konoha and tried to capture some of them.
The keyword being 'tried'.
"What happened to Iwa sending their best?" it'd been a while and nothing happened.
Perhaps the Raikage destroyed a regiment of their best or something...?
"Kumo and Iwa are fighting along the borders of the Land Of Snow." Orochimaru flipped through the pages of his report as he spoke.
I hummed...
"Should we give killing the Raikage a shot?"
Orochimaru shook his head near instantly.
"Had Iwa not volunteered so kindly I'd 'give killing the Raikage a shot' Kekeke..." Orochimaru chuckled softly "But as it is, we should let Iwa throw themselves at the Raikage."
Orochimaru finished reading the reports and stacked them neatly before putting them in the top corner of his desk.
"Come, let us see what mystery's A's blood may hold..." Orochimaru smiled and started laughing. "Kekeke..."
I sighed and trailed after him, hoping he'd let me have a little of that blood.
The Raikage had Tailed Beast level reserves, hopefully, I could add that gene to myself.
Unless it was some sort of bloodline...
But hopefully, that isn't the case...
...
My reserves were expanded as much as I could and the Overwrite seals were finished.
Both my DNA and Aomi's were 'de-aged' and I was ready to go...
I just needed fuel the changes and all would be well...
"Aomi, come empty your chakra into the seal." Aomi ducked her head and made her way to the center of the room where the large scroll containing DNA Overwrite laid.
She started sending her chakra into the seal and the seal responded in kind, it started sending Chakra into her as well enacting the changes as it was 'programmed' to.
"Empty your chakra faster then what you are doing, the less chakra you have in you the faster the process will be."
The less chakra the seal had to fight against the better...
Aomi nodded and started pouring her chakra into the seal with renewed vigor.
"Keep your hands there, I'm going to start fueling it with my chakra."
I placed my hands on the edge of the seal and started adding my chakra, though I let Aomi do most of the heavy lifting for the moment.
I'd be up to me to fuel it when she ran out of chakra...
Aomi's final dregs of chakra sputtered into the seal and she looked at me with teary eyes.
"Don't worry, there's going to be... Minimal death today."
Aomi's eyes teared up a little more before she fell unconscious while the seal continued its work.
Now I just had to wait...
Hopefully, I wouldn't have to tap into my seal for this one...
...
Sadly I did indeed have to tap into the seal...
"Hurts..." Aomi woke up with a groan.
I stared at her for a moment before speaking.
"If it hurts it's working, rest for a while I'll take care of everything..." I spoke as soothingly as possible while I ran the Diagnostic Jutsu on her.
Nothing had changed, but as months went by, the change would become apparent...
"Sleep..." With a tap to her forehead, I sent her into dreamland.
I stood and rolled my slightly stiff shoulders.
I needed to wait for my chakra to regenerate and then I'd be able to use Overwrite on myself...
...
Some bloodlines were both physical and spiritual...
One could have the DNA corresponding to a bloodline and not be able to use it without a specific kind of Spiritual Energy usually produced by the bloodline holders.
The reverse was also possible, someone could have the right Spiritual Energy and lack the corresponding DNA so the bloodline couldn't express itself.
The latter is likely why I was able to awaken the Shikotsumyaku...
I had the spiritual energy but I lacked the DNA for the bloodline to be expressed...
Though I wondered why my spiritual energy let me use both the Shikotsumyaku and the Byakugan if I was a reincarnation...
It didn't make sense to me...
I drummed my fingers on the book I had sitting in my lap and drifted into more idle thought.
The Byakugan likely had the DNA that could enable a transformation into the Tenseigan...
But the Hyuga lacked the correct chakra...
Mr. Moon Ōtsutsuki had the right spiritual or physical energy and that allowed for the activation of the eyes...
But how would I get said spiritual energy...?
Physical energy was easy...
spiritual energy was not...
I could probably keep the Ōtsutsuki alive but limbless and use him as a battery...
But that sounded less than ideal though...
I stopped drumming my fingers and sighed.
There was also the fact that most bloodlines either leaned one way or the other in terms of how they express themselves...
Some bloodlines affected only the physical body and had little to do with spiritual energy...
And some bloodlines had everything to do with spiritual energy...
The Sharingan was mainly the latter with a little bit of DNA stuff on the other end.
The Byakugan leaned more towards physical as far as I could tell...
I sighed...
It's best not to agonize over it...
Moon shenanigans were looking to be way off...
...
I stood in the center of the Overwrite seal pondering my next DNA shenanigans.
Sensor DNA was delayed for the foreseeable future
Or perhaps I could see what else Orochimaru had hidden away...
Decisions... Decisions...
My clone gave me the 'Ok' symbol and motioned me to lay down.
I obeyed and laid down after giving the seal one final look over.
I gave the seal on my forehead a twist and my body was flooded with chakra.
After a moment my surroundings lit up and the seal started sucking chakra from me at an astonishing pace.
I looked at the clone for a moment looking for any trace of panic or worry.
I found none and took a deep breath before the seal knocked me unconscious.
...
I woke to find my clone alive and well.
"How much of the chakra in the seal did we use?"
The clone looked half asleep as he spoke.
"A good part of it..."
I sighed and smacked him on the head as I passed, dispelling him.
Now I needed to spend time on chakra control and Taijutsu...
Then I'd go over all my jutsu and make sure everything was in working order...
Starting with Lightning Release and ending with Medical-Ninjutsu...
So, there was lots to do...
I could probably use this time to train with Mom and Duy...
They were my official team...
Even though we haven't done any missions together for almost a year...
Something to rectify perhaps...
I don't want the team disbanded after all...
...
I gave my weird spikey sword a swing whilst mom stared at me.
"Were you trying to make it creepy?" Mom sent me a bland look.
I shook my head and started absorbing the sword.
"If I don't have a tight grasp on my chakra it becomes spiky by itself." My tone was as bland as the look mom was sending me.
Mom hummed.
"Don't go out of your way to make it creepy, it's already creepy enough when you pull bones out of yourself."
I smiled at the idea that I had.
"You mean like this?" A handle exited from my back and I ripped it out with a squelch.
I waved my spine at her teasingly.
"Shiro!"
Her disapproval only fueled my desire for shenanigans...
"Fine then, how about some Gentle Fist tag?" I planted my spine sword into the ground and crossed my arms.
After a moment mom nodded.
"Alright, you need to use your Gravity Seal though."
I nodded.
"Already done, now your it!"
I took off with a Shunshin leaving mom behind and disappearing off into the land of Hot Springs.
I wouldn't want her tracking skills to get rusty...
...
My minion had joined me for some Youthful exercise with Duy and now looked to be regretting it.
She was drenched in sweat and running through some sort of Kata with her sword.
"That's it! That's the power of Youth! Never let that Youth fade!"
Duy kept shouting Youthful encouragements almost non-stop and poor Aomi couldn't seem to stop herself as long as someone encouraged her.
"Yosh! Now it's time for our most Youthful spar!" Duy looked like he hadn't just spent hours exercising.
Aomi on the other looked exactly like she had spent hours exercising.
"Perhaps Aomi should sit this out." I said in consideration of her fatigue.
Duy looked genuinely disappointed as did Aomi.
'Negative' A hand sign from Aomi made Duy change his tune.
"Yes! That's the spirit! Aomi please do me the pleasure of a Youthful spar!"
"Sigh..." I saw Aomi nod...
I started making my way away from the two.
I think Duy might have a new training buddy...
...
My birthday came and went.
Nothing of note had happened.
I spend plenty of time going through my repertoire and honing my control.
I saw little improvement in anything other then my speed and reserves.
Going through my moves did help me remember different techniques that had seen little use from myself over the last few years.
All in all, things were well.
For now.
...
...
Interlude.
I was quietly making my way towards the baths eager to remove the rusty smell of blood from my hair.
Woosh*
I heard the telltale sound of a sword cutting through the air.
I quickly raised a kunai, successfully blocking the surprise attack.
I turned and met Shiro's eyes, an approving look was clearly visible in them.
"Well done, as expected of my minion." Shiro tilted his head and stared at me.
I huffed at the word minion and ignored the fact I was just attacked.
As I didn't have my notebook with me, I couldn't refute his use of the word.
I should have brought it with me, but I hadn't expected to need it on the way to the baths.
"Well, I've got a small mission for you." The sword in Shiro's grasp slowly flowed into his hand.
I sighed silently and nodded.
It looks like my 'me time' would be delayed, I couldn't say no to the boy who was essentially my boss.
"An Inuzuka is causing me grief." Shiro paused and tapped his chin. "I can't go around beating women, so now it's your job."
I blinked.
Why was I supposed to beat up the woman?
More importantly, did I want to make an enemy?
Snap* Snap* Snap*
Shiro snapped in my face successfully gaining my attention.
"Don't worry about the who, what, where, or why." Shiro stared, his eyes half-lidded.
"Just go and savagely beat her, like her father would have wanted you to."
Shiro quietly chuckled to himself, I however was horrified.
"Oh. Don't forget the dog." Shiro mimed kicking something, further horrifying me.
Shiro ignored my horrified look and pushed a folder that appeared from out of thin air into my hands.
"So, beat the woman, beat the dog, and tell her to stop fighting with everyone." Shiro gave me a bright smile. "Sound good?"
I shook my head.
It did not sound good.
I pushed the folder back into his hand trying to deny the task.
"Ah-Ah-Ah." Shiro waggled a finger "That's yours." Shiro pushed it back into my hands and stepped away.
"Well, have fun." He sent me a cheery wave and a smile before disappearing in a Shunshin.
I stood and stared at the spot he previously occupied.
What was I supposed to do?
I didn't want the task, but I didn't think I could refuse.
It was probably some sort of test.
I swallowed, feeling a slight lump in my throat.
I wasn't sure how I would go about this.
I took a deep breath in preparation and opened the folder.
Everything was blank.
I quickly flipped through some pages, and after a while, I skipped to the end, and on the final page were two words.
'BEHIND YOU!'
I stared in confusion.
Woosh*
I felt the hair on my neck rise so I ducked and jumped away successfully avoiding whoever it was that tried to strike me.
I landed in a crouch and spun towards my attacker kunai in hand.
My gaze landed on Shiro who had a goofy smile on his face.
"Well done Minion!" Shiro gave me a thumbs up with his free hand.
I stayed crouched and kept my kunai out, thinking there would be another surprise attack.
After awhile Shiro's smile disappeared and a serious look replaced it.
"Good job, but remember minion." Shiro paused and pointed at me dramatically. "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"
Shiro again disappeared in a Shunshin a moment later.
As I doubted he left, I stayed crouched for a minute longer, he might attack again when I let my guard down.
I sucked a deep breath in and stood.
Would he attack again?
I shook my head and started towards the barracks.
I didn't want to be attacked while I was bathing.
After a tense walk to the barracks, I arrived in one piece.
I gave my surroundings one final look before I grasped the door handle.
I felt someone tap my shoulder but when I turned no-one was there.
Being in the barracks likely wouldn't stop a surprise attack from Shiro.
But hopefully, the thought of being beaten by everyone in the woman's barracks was enough to stop him.
Though I doubted it would, I wanted the illusion of safety the barracks would provide.
The illusion of safety was a comfortable one after-all.
With that in mind, I opened the door and stepped into the barracks.