Today is a special day for two reasons. First, it's my 4th birthday, marking a milestone that will bring about a lot of changes. And second, I have finally completed my first quest! Well, technically, I finished it yesterday, but I saved the celebration for today.
Minor quest: Reach level 10 in Chakra Manipulation before turning 6 years old. Reward: New Trait (completed!)
Chakra Manipulation level 10: The art of chakra manipulation allows practitioners to mold and shape their chakra for various purposes, such as performing powerful jutsu techniques, enhancing physical abilities, and even healing injuries.
Rewards: Trait - Enhanced Chakra Circulation System: Due to a rigorous and challenging training during the formation of your chakra circulation system, it has become resistant to damage. This enhanced circulation system allows your chakra to flow throughout your body with ease, resulting in improved control and efficiency. +20% Chakra Manipulation. +2 CON. 10 XP - Level up!
Unspent Points: 2
Finally... in these past few years, I have tried various things to accumulate XP. I accepted strange requests, sparred with older kids, and even ventured into rat extermination, but nothing yielded results. It seems that the only way to level up is by completing quests and defeating enemies. Quests, it seems, are a far more valuable resource than I had initially anticipated. Thankfully, my attributes can still grow through dedicated training.
Level: 2 XP: 10 (30 to next level)
Attributes:
STR: 4 (+0.60) 4.6 (12.00%)
AGI: 3 (-0.6) 2.4 (08.00%)
CON: 4 (+2.60) 6.6 (20.00%)
INT: 14 (12.00%)
WIS: 10 (05.00%)
PER: 4 (20.00%)
LUC: 2 (70.80%)
Unspent Points: 2
Health: 10/10
Stamina: 27.2/27.2 (((STR+CON+AGI)*2))
Chakra: 12.6/12.6 ((STR+CON+INT)/2)
Chakra Nature: Yang (Bonus *2 to stamina. Cannot use elemental jutsu.)
Skills:
Gamer's Body: Max (custom) - Your body is treated as a character in a game. Allows for life regeneration while sleeping (3%), gaining buffs, and treating injuries and ailments as status effects - Cannot be removed.
Chakra manipulation lv 10: The art of chakra manipulation allows practitioners to mold and shape their chakra for various purposes, such as performing powerful jutsu techniques, enhancing physical abilities, and even healing injuries.
Traits
1- Akimichi Blood: +15% STR // +15% CON // -20% AGI // Taijutsu +15% // Access to Clan's Hidden Abilities // Chakra Nature: Yang - Cannot be removed.
The Akimichi clan possesses great physical strength and endurance. Their bodies are capable of causing significant damage through their special technique. Additionally, they are excellent users of Taijutsu.
2- Enhanced Chakra Circulation System: Due to a rigorous and challenging training during the formation of your chakra circulation system, it has become resistant to damage. This enhanced circulation system allows your chakra to flow throughout your body with ease, resulting in improved control and efficiency. +20% Chakra Manipulation. +2 CON
Quests
Major:
Minor:
Techniques
Taijutsu – 2
Ninjutsu – 0
Genjutsu – 0
Medical-Nin - 1
I decided not to use the points for now because as their value increased, it became more challenging to earn them conventionally. Eventually, there will be a limit where the only way to grow will be through level ups.
The Trait is excellent, no doubt about that. From what I understand, it will give me some resistance against techniques like those of the Hyuga clan. However, its true value lies in its potential synergy with the Eight Gates skill—my ultimate goal.
Say what you want about the protagonists, the truth is that the most overpowered guy on the good side was Might Guy. The man was a beast.
My abilities as a player have been restricted, but they still work cumulatively. One must be a genius to be able to open all eight inner gates as only one ninja in each generation has achieved that. But even for Guy, it was impossible to open the eighth gate and survive. But I am the Player, and if I can tilt the stakes sufficiently in my favor, I can do it! A man can dream...
It's worth mentioning that at the age of 4, children in our village begin their training with their respective clans. Although I am not among the privileged heirs who have enjoyed an earlier start, I count myself fortunate compared to civilians who must wait until they reach the age of 5 to enter the academy.
Initially, I entertained the idea of seeking out Guy within the village and asking him to become his student. However, it appears that the Hokage has imposed a ban on training children younger than 4. It makes sense; children need some opportunity to play and, well... be children. Even the limit of 4 years was imposed by the clans since the old man wanted an even higher limit.
My mother organized a small celebration at my favorite restaurant in the Akimichi commercial district. It was a lively place with music and specialized in an array of chicken dishes, treating us to an all-you-can-eat buffet. At the table with us were Nina, who currently lived with us full-time, my grandfather Akuji, a retired genin whose entire team died at the end of the last war, and Dr. Yana, who played a major role in completing my quest quickly.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
At first, I tried to stay out of the hospital but it was beyonde me.
One day, I could go for hours without any issues, while in the next, a slight slip or lapse in attention could result in grave injuries. To ease the burden on my mother, I started visiting the hospital accompanied solely by Nina, avoiding causing unnecessary worry. Dr. Yana took a keen interest in my well-being. She sensed the unusual state of my chakra and recognized that an ordinary child couldn't endure such levels of pain repeatedly or heal so swiftly.
Given that I wasn't confined to an underground facility or secretive laboratory, I deemed it safe to trust her.
"Dr. Yana, may I make a request?" I asked.
She nodded, granting me her attention. To the astonishment of my family and the displeasure of my grandfather, I asked her to become my teacher and teach me medical ninjutsu.
In truth, it was merely a facade for the sake of others. Several months ago, I had already asked her to teach me, and she had agreed. As it turned out, Yang Release was not only advantageous for taijutsu but also an excellent complement for medical ninjutsu. However, the complication lay in the fact that while it augmented the power and vitality of the techniques, it also tended to make the users more impulsive and energetic, often lacking the necessary patience and dedication to master the art.
4 months ago –
I was being attended to by Dr. Yana in her office once again. She had light brown hair that reached her shoulders, wore round-framed glasses, and was dressed in the typical white coat of doctors. At this point, I simply enjoyed visiting the hospital and the sensation of pushing my body to its limits. Plus, it was an excuse to get Nina out of the house for a while, as she desperately needed a hobby.
"This time it seems you've suffered minor injuries to your leg and right arm. I want to know how this happened," Dr. Yana asked.
"I saw a ninja jumping from the ground to a tree branch and thought I could do the same," I lied.
She simply nodded in response.
In reality, I was attempting to replicate the exercise of walking up a tree. For a while, I was able to do it, but my excitement disrupted my focus. I didn't really need to go to the hospital because of these injuries; my hit points were almost full.
But as I said, I enjoyed going to the hospital. The environment and the professionals reminded me somewhat of my old life. I had always admired my ex-wife for her ability to help so many people, especially children.
When Dr. Yana mentioned that she needed to go to the pediatric ward, I asked if I could accompany her.
She seemed pensive for a moment but eventually agreed.
I didn't know what to expect when I made the request, but it definitely wasn't what I saw. Nearly a dozen children between the ages of 9 and 14, seemingly all with mutilations. Most had one or both legs amputated and were in wheelchairs or sitting on beds, with vacant stares. Only a few recognized us when we entered the warm and simple room.
I felt like I knew that environment, but no matter how much I looked around, I couldn't remember.
I remained silent as Dr. Yana applied her technique and exchanged a few words with each of them. When she examined the last child, I noticed that she was holding a photo in her hands. It was a picture of the same girl, about 4 years younger, smiling alongside two boys, all wearing Konoha headbands.
That's when I realized the familiarity... Those children were war veterans...
We left the room in silence.
"Why? Why did the village send children to fight for them?" I asked. If she was surprised that I had arrived at this conclusion, she didn't comment.
We continued walking down the hospital corridor towards the cafeteria, where Nina was waiting for me.
"War doesn't distinguish between children and adults, hatred doesn't distinguish," Dr. Yana replied.
"Still, there must be a better alternative. If you need to send your children to fight, why fight in the first place? What were you trying to protect if not them?" I insisted.
Dr. Yana stopped and turned to me, responding seriously:
"A few years ago, during the last great war, a coalition formed and exterminated a village. That village was a friend of Konoha, and the only reason was the fear of the potential of its inhabitants. Fear breeds hatred, even if they weren't directly participating in the war," she paused and continued:
"Even if Konoha hadn't responded and sent its ninjas, they would have surrounded us and killed us right here, within our walls. We... have produced some exceptional individuals throughout our history. The fear that another person like that might arise in the future would be enough to make them destroy us," she explained.
"It's like a cycle of hatred and fear. If fear is greater than hatred, we have peace, but if hatred overpowers, we have war."
That conversation repeated in my mind many times, and for the first time, I began to consider if there was something I could do to change the world around me. I had tremendous potential, which inevitably would lead to fear, and that fear to hatred. I realized that perhaps Yana was warning me about what I would face in the future, about how the key to my survival would be to balance that scale in my favor.
The next time I went to the hospital, I asked her to train me. She agreed, on the condition that I wait until I turned 4 years old. However, she didn't object when I asked to accompany her in her hospital routine from time to time.
More than once, I wondered what Sandra would do in my place. Trying to change the world created a whole complexity that I didn't know if I would be capable of succeeding in. But I couldn't use the excuse of fighting for them to not try; she would never accept that. She has always been a better human being than me.
-Break-
My grandfather, who had been a genin during the last Great War, bore his displeasure openly. He had suffered the loss of most of his friends, including my grandmother, Akimichi Anita, because of it. Although he avoided discussing it with others, the old man liked his sake...
I knew his career hadn't advanced further due to the inadequate training he received in the academy. The village's urgent need to produce soldiers en masse, coupled with the horrors of the battlefield, left many traumatized and discouraged from pursuing further advancement. The death of my grandmother, a chunin, in a battle against Iwagakure, finally shattered his resolve. I used to think low of him for turning to alcohol, but one night when he drank a little too much, I couldn't stop from overhearing his cries as he mourned his inability to give her a proper burial. It shifted my perspective.
I understood why he harbored reservations about this. Unfortunately, neither of us had much say in the matter.
"Why?" he pressed for an explanation.
"Ayumi, do you agree with this?" he turned to my mother, seeking support.
"The boy is intelligent, capable of achieving anything he desires within the village. But if he becomes a ninja, even a medic, they will deploy him to the battlefield."
Though my mother clearly wasn't thrilled about the idea, she recognized that I was no ordinary child. My intellect surpassed that of my peers, my eloquence was uncanny, and I spent my time training while others played. I lacked the courage to share the wholly truth with her, but she understood that I aspired to be more than just a genin or a cook.
"My son, do you truly wish to become a ninja? Is that your dream?" she inquired, a peculiar question to pose to any other child, but a testament to her belief in my maturity.
Dream is a strong word here, so much that instead of answering, I paused.
I pondered all the experiences I had undergone thus far, the lives intertwined with mine. The numerous people with problems in the hospital, broken like my grandfather due to the war, the overcrowded orphanages with kids like Nina or Ana, and the tragedies I knew were yet to unfold. Above all, I contemplated the astounding potential this world possessed. Chakra was a wondrous force, granting us freedom and incredible abilities, yet humanity squandered it by devising more efficient means of killing and subjugating one another. I could understand the frustration of the Sage of the Six Paths.
I yearned for more than mere survival, I wanted to enjoy this world, to see it change and be … More.
But to do that, I would need to be more myself. And I would need help, Madara had all that power and he still failed, betrayed at the end.
Also, if you have to have a dream... better make it big. So, in what could be one of my happiest and most sincere moments yet, I replied:
"I desire strength!" I declared loudly.
I might have gotten carried away because not only our table but also the people around started laughing. It seems like I was on the right track after all.