Second hideout empty
Dust clouds kicked up in the wake of Kekkai as he tore through the loose sand and dirt beneath his feet.
The map provided by Akito marked that The second hideout was nearly 15 miles away, closer to the border of the Kingdom of Sand.
He wanted to get there as soon as possible Kekkai sprinted all out to get there. Leaning downward, he pressed into a low-angle Ninja run while pumping his arms.
Their Coat flicked behind and looked like a shadow, his hair laid back as the wind pressed against his face.
Thanks to the buffs to his stamina, he could place more strain on his body to reach his location as soon as possible.
/Hey Niki?/ He asked in his head.
/Yes, host?/ Nikita replied
/Do you think I should go for guns this round? Or stick to hand-to-hand combat? Or should I try out some of my new Zenith Towers to experiment?/ He asked.
/Are you willing to Waste ammunition? Or are you going to summon a little friend to boost your weapons?/ She asked
/Summons. It'll take too long to charge up and reload if I don't./ He replied
/You're going to have to rely on your Zenith towers. You have a limited amount of food that can feed your little monsters. You don't want to run out if you come across somebody difficult./ Nikita suggested.
/I brought plenty, but you do have a point. I'll see if I can find any ingredients that I can refine later./ Acknowledged Kekkai
Kekkai hasn't left his clan for years. One of the only times he managed to explore the world was during his eleventh birthday party and when he left for the Land of Fire three years ago.
Both were disasters, his birthday, he ended up in a coma from extensive damage to his body and soul because of a trap left inside his soul.
The second was a revenge trip to find the culprit responsible for the death of his mother. Only to be stopped midtrip because they didn't want to offend the Fire Daimyo and the Temple of Fire.
So you could say that the only time he's seen the world. He felt depressed about his disaster-prone life, thinking that if he prepared enough means he could take the world by storm.
So he worked hard to prepare, be it self-defense or combat techniques that he learned here or in his last world Kekkai honed them to perfection over the years.
He spent Hundreds of hours inside a variety of homemade laboratories. Experimenting, exploring, and theorizing the knowledge and technology that he learned in the last world and the Cyberpunk world so he could incorporate it into his arsenal of weapons and resources.
And now, finally, he was armed to the teeth with an arsenal that could even make The Punisher jealous. And he hasn't even gone through a hundredth of what the Cyberpunk System can bring him.
Although Nikita said that there was a limit to what the system could provide, it was still more than enough in the eyes of Kekkai; Bloodline limits are one of the most respected and revered powers in this world.
And Kekkai already has several!
His naturally powerful body is one of the benefits the Mēkā clan relies on to retain their hegemony as the top clan here in the Land of Stone.
But because of his system, he can alter and create new Kekkai Genkais without limit as long as the CyberWare it's based on is beyond the Epic Rank.
Everyone knows that people have a limited talent pool and could create a Bloodline technique or Secret Skill after decades of research or have Demon-like intelligence and talent attain it.
This finding excited Kekkai to no end, as he began to plan out all kinds of combinations and abilities that he could unleash.
Theorizing, experimenting, and comparing with family is all he could do in the Mēkā clan. But this preparation time was over 18 years.
Kekkai spent Practically his entire life in the peaceful mountain, but he has no clue about what he's going to do with all of it.
He has no confirmed method of combat at all! He was building a machine inside his garage, but it was so complicated that he didn't know what he was making, not at all.
Kekkai didn't know whether it was a Car, Motorcycle, or a fucking time machine.
He had made a mistake a year ago and downloaded all of the combat techniques, martial arts, and parkour movement techniques to expand his means, but his style didn't improve. Instead, he wrecked his combat style by throwing a whole slew of Martial Arts that he didn't understand and conflicted with each other into his head.
To counteract the damage done every time he fights, Kekkai needs to Trigger his perks to help him sort through all of the techniques to fight.
When he found out about his punishment to clear the bandits throughout the Land of Stone, Takahiro was right about it not being a punishment to him but not in the way he thought.
This mission was the perfect time for him to experiment with using all his techniques with lethal force to fight!
He can go all out, with no hands tied when fighting family. Kekkai couldn't lie and say that he didn't enjoy fighting. He found enjoyment in the battle and the feeling of going all out to battle an opponent very much.
When Kekkai found out that he had this particular hobby, it surprised him but also stupefied him.
It turned out that he was a battle fanatic.
Imagining him wearing an Edgerunner jacket and an eyepatch over his eye as he ran headlong into a MAXTECH patrol with Mantis Blades out and guns blazing made his head sweat.
It turned out he wasn't going to Night city was a good thing, but the fact that he would fit right in with his disposition.
As he began to plan his action, he soon caught sight of his destination. It was a large encampment on the side of a small lake.
/According to Akiko's information, there should be close to 50 people in this camp./ thought Kekkai.
Taking a more cautionary method this time, he slowed down and let the dust clouds fade behind him.
Stalking, his form crouched as he slowly crept closer to the encampment, watching for lookouts and secret whistles.
But when he saw none by the entrance, he was confused for a moment. How could there be no sentry posted here in such an open camp?
Reaching into his coat for a moment, he took out three transparent crystal rods. Taking one and cocking his hand back, he threw it hard to one of the corners of the camp.
With a swishing sound, the crystal rod flew for a moment before landing on the roof of a house and sticking straight up.
Taking the other two crystals and doing the same, he threw them into different corners of the camp. Then he closed his eyes for a second before he opened them again.
//
Ding
Hoshokugan activated
-2pp/s
Creative Mode Activated
//
At this time, Kekkai's eyes had changed.
No longer a warm golden brown as the sclera of his eyes turned Black, and his pupil expanded until all that remained of his iris was a thin ring that shifted and rotated slowly.
[Pupil Technique: Merged sense] -4 points per second
[Sensory Technique: Ping] -1 R.A.M duration 20 seconds
As soon as he activated these two techniques, waves of information began to scatter from the three makeshift information towers within the Camp.
Slowly a 3-D schematic began to build itself in front of his eyes. A combination technique that he created to act as a recon tool.
His shared senses would connect with the Mental energy embedded inside the three towers and resonate to form a map that will inform him of the location of all the bandits, as well as act as a signal broadcaster.
Using these broadcast stations, he could use Illusions, Daemons, and quick hacks with those within their influence unaware.
But 5 seconds later, when the image finished building itself, Kekkai's strange eyes widened in confusion.
Where are the people?!
The camp was empty.
The entire camp was like a ghost town, with not a soul in sight. Empty chests, closets, and food as if they had cleared out in a hurry.
Turning off [Ping], Kekkai walked straight into the camp from the entrance, planning to investigate.
As he combed through the camp after retrieving the small receiver towers, he let his senses reveal any clues.
Slowly Kekkai's mind worked out to show that the bandit camp had been abandoned by the bandits for a while now.
It has been only five hours since the inhabitants left by carriage and horseback. Returning to the entrance, he soon found their trail.
Keeping his eyes pupils activated, Kekkai began to follow the trail closely as he tracked them down.
/What can make these guys abandon their hideout so quickly? Did they create a bounty, and the Daimyo sent samurai and ninjas to clean them up?/He asked in his head
/But these guys look like their small-time crooks, according to Akito's information. It doesn't make any sense, if they managed to piss off the Daimyo./Immediately after, Kekkai shook his head and denied it.
/I'll find out soon anyway,/ Kekkai thought as he picked up speed.
It took him over an hour to catch up, winding around the river and coming to a stop on a trade road.
Kekkai found that the bandits had already attacked a convoy traveling on the road. Currently, from where was from a distance, he had seen close to 63 people tied up in rope on the side of their hijacked
Taking out two of the receivers again, he tossed them hard at the front and back cart. Sliding backward, he reactivated [Ping] and [Sensory Merge] to get a clue about the situation.
.
.
.
.
As Kekkai retreated, one of the middle carriages, a change occurred.
"Hmmm?" A shadow in the darkness stirred.
The shadow looked left and right to its side for a moment, and when finding nothing, it called out to the raiders on the side of the cart.
"Toyotasu! Get over here!" It yelled gruffly
Soon a tall muscled man rode over from the side and approached the carriage. When he came to its side he lifted the curtain and bowed his head.
"You called sir?" His tone is respectful and cautious.
"Expand the Sentry perimeter and prepare to head off to the mine. After one more batch, we will pack up and head to camp." The shadow commanded.
"Yes, Sir." The bandit nodded before retreating.
"Hopefully. This will be the last time." The shadow spoke softly before sinking back into the darkness.