A/N: We've reached our goal, so you guys will get a double release next Monday. We've also smash the target of 150 powerstones. New target is to get the story to 200 powerstones by Sunday. This story will only continue if it gets enough support e.g. Powerstones. New goal 200 powerstones!
Early the next morning, Teams 10 and 7, along with Tazuna, stood outside the village gates, ready to begin their mission.
Naruto buzzed with excitement, unable to contain himself. Even Shikamaru, who usually found everything to be a chore, had a slight smile on his face. Both teams were in a good mood overall.
"What's got you smiling like that?" Goro asked Shikamaru, curious.
"This feels more like a vacation than anything. I'm going to take it easy," Shikamaru replied, nudging Goro.
'I sort of feel bad for him now… I guess it's karma for slacking off during every mission we did.'
"Vacation!" Choji yelled, stuffing his face with potato chips.
"A vacation with Sasuke?" Ino mused, sneaking glances at Sasuke. Noticing Ino's attention on Sasuke, Sakura stepped into her line of sight, crossing her arms and giving Ino a death stare.
"I won't lose!" Sakura mimed.
Clapping his hands together, Kakashi stood in front of both teams and reminded them that their journey to the Land of Waves wasn't a vacation, but a serious mission assigned by the Third Hokage.
Unhappy with the lack of maturity shown by the young Shinobi, Tazuna also decided to speak up. "Your mission is to escort me to the Land of Waves so that I can build a bridge allowing us to trade with the Land of Fire. I don't need brats who are here to mess around, especially that blond idiot!"
"Blond…?! Who're you calling an idiot, old geezer?! I'll really kill you this time!" Naruto roared, attempting to attack the bridge builder but was once again held back by Kakashi.
"Naruto, calm down. And Tazuna, stop riling the boy up. We're already behind schedule; let's get moving."
The group started to move, leaving the village gates behind. While everyone was leisurely chatting, Goro's mind was preoccupied with the imminent attack.
'I need to steal the skills of at least one of the Chunin. But how do I do it? In the show, they attacked Kakashi first, but he used a substitution jutsu. If I strike and take down one of the Chunin immediately after Kakashi is attacked, I can probably get away with it and copy the skills after killing him. I don't know how long it'll take, though. From what I've seen, they're around Lower Chunin level, so it shouldn't take too long to copy. An Upper Genin only took a minute. It shouldn't be that much different, right?'
[Incorrect. There is a significant jump. Copying skills from a Lower Chunin can take up to 10 minutes.]
'10 minutes?! That's far too long. Things are going to get extremely tricky when I want to copy skills from Haku and Zabuza.'
What snapped Goro back to reality was a puddle sitting in the middle of the path.
'That's it.'
Goro sped up, walking past Kakashi, who was now at the back of the group. The scene played out exactly as he expected. The two Mist brothers emerged from the puddle, lunging toward Kakashi.
Hearing the sudden splash, both teams turned around, only to see their mission leader cut into large pieces.
"What the—What's going—What the hell is going on?!" Naruto stammered, slowly retreating.
"Naruto, look out!" Shikamaru shouted.
The two Chunin had flickered behind Naruto and were about to attack him.
'Sorry, Sasuke, but I'll have to steal your big moment.'
Goro flickered in front of Naruto, pulled out a kunai, and used all his strength to slash the chain, severing it. Confident the chain had been cut, Goro plunged his kunai into the spiky-haired Chunin and disappeared with him.
'Ten minutes to copy his skills. I need to get far enough away that even Kakashi can't catch up to me in ten minutes. My physical stat is only at Upper Chunin level, so I don't know how long it'll take for Kakashi to catch up. Then again, he can't necessarily leave his Genin behind. His only option would be to use a clone or his ninja dog summons…'
Stopping on a branch large and sturdy enough to hold them both, Goro put the Chunin down, delivering another strike to hasten his death.
[10 minutes left…]
Goro let out a deep sigh as he sat next to the corpse, keeping his hand on it. Blood from the wound dripped down the branch.
'I have no clue how I'll steal the skills of Haku and Zabuza. This process is seriously annoying… System, how much time is left?'
[8 minutes left.]
Goro glanced at the corpse for a moment. He felt no sympathy, guilt, or remorse. It was his first kill in the Shinobi world, yet he was already numb.
'System, did you make me this way?'
[No.]
'So I was always like this? Haha, you make me sound like a monster. You could've lied.'
[Sorry, I am incapable of lying.]
'Forget it, I was just joking anyway… How much time is left?'
[3 minutes.]
The sound of barks echoed through the forest, growing louder and closer with each passing second.
'They're here! I can't go too far while carrying a corpse, so I'll just wait it out. I really need to improve my physical abilities… Whatever, I'll be copying Zabuza's skills soon, and he's known for his strength. Haku is also someone not to forget; he's quick, which will enhance my physical stats even more. It's a good thing that all physical attributes are combined into one stat, so everything about my physique improves, not just certain parts.'
The dogs had now reached the base of the tree Goro was in.
"His scent stops here," Pakkun said, looking around.
"I smell blood, boss!" Bisuke said, edging toward the tree Goro was in.
"Yeah, I noticed," Pakkun replied, eyeing the tree Bisuke stood next to.
'System, how much time left?!'
[2 minutes left.]
'Crap!'
Goro thought hard, trying to find a solution to his problem when a bright idea struck him.
'System, if I cut a piece of the corpse off and keep my hand on it, will it still count?'
[Yes, but as a penalty, the time it takes to copy skills doubles. For example, if you have 4 minutes left, it doubles to 8. The piece also has to be at least 3 cm in width and height.]
Cutting the ear off the corpse, Goro threw it to the ground. He then proceeded to stab himself in the arm with his kunai and rip cloth from the end of his shirt to stop the bleeding.
'Argh! Watching the show, I thought wounds in this world were less painful… Why did that one idiot run straight toward Madara then?'
Tightening his grip around the ear, Goro jumped down from the tree, revealing himself.
"Dogs?" he asked, feigning ignorance of the fact that Kakashi could summon them.
Pakkun didn't respond, letting Goro's words hang in the air. "What're you doing this far out? And as a Genin, how could you have traveled so far while carrying a body? Who are you?" Pakkun interrogated.
Goro clutched his injury, looking at the dogs with a pained expression. "I—I had to protect my friends," Goro said, conviction in his eyes.
The other dogs began to take on a more aggressive stance, looking ready to pounce. "I'm not buying the act. Who are you? This is your last chance to answer," Pakkun warned.
[Copy Complete! New Stats:
Taijutsu: Upper Chunin (90%)
Physical: Lower Jounin (10%)
Ninjutsu: Lower Jounin (25%)
Chakra Capacity: Lower Jounin (30%)
Chakra Control: Lower Jounin (69%)
Shurikenjutsu: Upper Chunin (38%)
Chakra Affinity: Water(x3) + Fire(x2) + Lightning
Skills: Clone Technique, Substitution Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu, Body Flicker Jutsu, Firestyle:Great Fireball Jutsu, Firestyle:Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu, Firestyle:Dragon Fire Jutsu, Waterstyle:Wild Water Wave, Waterstyle:Hiding In Water Jutsu, Waterstyle:Water Clone Jutsu, Hidden Mist Jutsu]
'What's up with this? System, why didn't I improve much?'
[You only copied the skills of a Lower Chunin, so it naturally wouldn't result in significant gains. You need to copy the skills of those with a higher rank than you, or a large number of Shinobi with a lower rank.]
"Hey! Boss is talking to you!" Urushi barked.
Focusing his attention back on the dogs, Goro sighed. "Just take me back to the group, and Kakashi Sensei can be the judge," he replied.
Pakkun remained still, analyzing the boy in silence. Despite being under scrutiny, Goro remained calm and collected. "Hmm… Don't worry about it, kid. Let's rejoin the group. I'll lead the way," Pakkun instructed, breaking the silence.
'I learned the hard way never to snitch on yourself. The last time I did that, I ended up in jail for murder… Thinking about it still makes me mad.'
Goro followed the dogs' lead, and within minutes, they were back with the group. Seeing that they had returned safely, Kakashi dispelled his summoning.
"Goro, what happened to your arm?" Ino asked, a tinge of worry in her tone. Goro's three teammates rushed over, intent on making sure he was alright.
Kakashi cleared his throat and looked at Goro with a serious expression. "I appreciate that you're all happy to see your teammate, but what he did today was unacceptable. Goro, I understand you might have believed you could take on those ninja one-on-one, but we're a team. Taking actions like that could jeopardize the rest of the group," Kakashi explained, his tone stern.
Goro bowed deeply, apologizing to his teammates and Kakashi.
Kakashi sighed, scanning the students. 'It's too risky to babysit seven kids,' he thought.
Clearing his throat, Kakashi continued, "We should turn back while we're still close to the village. Naruto has been poisoned by one of the Mist ninja, so it would be wise to return now. Tazuna, this mission is above the pay grade of these kids. You should have hired an elite ninja."
"I didn't sign up for something like this," Shikamaru agreed. Choji, Ino, and Sakura all nodded.
'Circumstances have changed from the canon, but I still believe Naruto's determination can convince Kakashi to continue.'
Just as Kakashi was about to turn back, Naruto suddenly stabbed his own wound, startling everyone around him.
'That must hurt…'
With a determined expression, Naruto vowed, "With this kunai, I promise you, I… will protect the old man. Reporting fit for duty, Sensei!" Naruto yelled.
Naruto's actions momentarily inspired everyone, but the moment was short-lived.
"Naruto, you, uh… How do I put this?" Shikamaru began.
"You'll bleed out if you don't let me treat that wound," Kakashi interrupted.
'Great, looks like the mission is still on.'
Reminder: We've reached our goal, so you guys will get a double release next Monday. We've also smash the target of 150 powerstones. New target is to get the story to 200 powerstones by Sunday. This story will only continue if it gets enough support e.g. Powerstones. New goal 200 powerstones!