~~ The Next Day ~~
I covered my mouth with my right hand as I yawned, the first rays of sunlight dyeing the dark blue sky with an orange hue. My family had me storing various items inside my Inventory the night before, though most of them were storage scrolls. Kaa-san said that the scrolls contained a portion of the family's wealth.
'Were those storage scrolls filled with suitcases of money?'
Tou-san had ordered the chef and his two kitchen assistants as well as the dozen servants to leave on horseback the night before, they were to take an indirect route to the Capital. He had given each of them quite a bit of money to purchase new wardrobes for themselves.
"Genji-kun, did you sleep well?" Kaa-san asked from somewhere behind me.
Turning around, I nodded at my mother. "Yes, Kaa-san."
Kaa-san smiled at my response before she climbed up into the back of the second wagon with Tou-san's assistance. We were currently standing on the dirt road by the horseshoe-shaped building, my sisters were wearing their samurai armor while stretching and my three grandparents were currently in the covered back of the second horse-drawn wagon.
"I'm so excited!" Kiyoko exclaimed while bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.
"I'm also looking forward to leaving the family estate for the first time," Rumi said as she stretched both hands above her head before bending over to touch her toes.
"We're first going to have to get through a hundred-and-twenty-eight-thousand rabbits including a Rabbit King," I said, dampening their enthusiasm.
"Don't worry Genji-kun, it's just rabbits," Kiyoko said with a grin, her enthusiasm unfazed as she strapped on her Black Wolf Vambraces (+8 Strength).
"Yeah Genji-kun, not like its wolves," Rumi said as she cracked her knuckles, having completed her stretching routine. Kiyoko and I then helped her wear her kendo armor.
"I guess you're right Rumi-chan and Kiyoko-chan, I'm just a little nervous because I've not fought a Boss Rabbit in a while," I replied as I checked the straps on Rumi's kendo armor. It would be quite embarrassing if her kendo armor fell-off midway through battle.
For this journey to the Capital, I had elected not to wear my blood-stained White Rabbit Set because knowing that it was covered in human blood was rather off-putting, not to mention unhygienic. Yesterday evening my sisters and I had tried to remove as much blood as we could but unfortunately most of the blood had dried, deeply staining the fabric.
Tou-san was currently loading up the third wagon with the large storage scrolls that contained Ojii-san's favorite rattan chairs which were too big to fit into my Inventory. Deciding that I should probably assign my 17 points while waiting, I mentally pulled up the Status screen before my eyes.
Name: Amano Genji
Level: 20
Title: Best Brother Ever (1)
HP: 756
CP: 1,053
STR: 27 (+1)
AGI: 17
VIT: 27
INT: 39
WIS: 38
Points: 17
Experience: 39.86% to next level
'Let's put 12 into Vitality, three into Agility, one into Wisdom and one into Strength.'
Name: Amano Genji
Level: 20
Title: Best Brother Ever (1)
HP: 1,131
CP: 1,521
STR: 28 (+1)
AGI: 20
VIT: 39
INT: 39
WIS: 39
Points: 0
Experience: 39.86% to next level
'I now have almost 50% more CP, awesome!'
"Leaving so soon? But the party hasn't even begun," a man's voice said with a mocking tone.
Quickly turning around, I spotted a tall and lanky man standing on the roof of the horseshoe-shaped building. He had long, shaggy blonde hair and was wearing a grey coat which reached his knees, a dark grey bandanna covering his face below the eyes.
|[ You have received a Quest. ]|
'I've got a bad feeling about this. Gamer System, what's the quest?'
|[ Quest: Survive The Bandit Attack. ]|
'Again? Hmph, I have a lot more chakra today compared to yesterday. I'll just activate ACS to deal with them this time.'
"Genji-kun, regroup with your sisters behind me," Tou-san said as he placed himself in between us and the bandit on the roof, getting into an iaido stance as he spoke.
'This time I'm prepared, you assholes!' I thought to myself as I pulled out Kaa-san's wakizashi from its sheath behind my back with my right hand, my left hand drawing out my tanto from my lower back.
"To think that the Amano family were actually a family of samurai! It's no wonder my men lost yesterday. And where is this little red demon that I've been told about?" the bandit asked before he jumped down onto the ground, somersaulting once before sticking the landing.
'Red demon? What red demon? Wait, is he referring to me?'
"To attack us once, I would think that it's a stroke of bad luck on our part. But twice? That's no coincidence. Who hired you to attack us?" Tou-san asked as he wrapped the fingers on his right hand around the handle of his sheathed katana.
"If you summon your demon to fight me, I'll tell you who hired me," the bandit smirked in response.
"Demon? What are you talking about?" Tou-san asked as he affixed his samurai mask.
"Tou-san, I think he's talking about Genji-kun," Misaki whispered from beside me.
"So you even named him Genji? I'm feeling rather generous today, so I'll make you an offer: tell me about the demon summoning ritual and in exchange I'll let you and your family leave," the bandit said with a laugh.
'He heard Misaki's whisper from way over there? But how, he's like thirty feet away! This guy isn't an ordinary bandit, that's for sure.'
"There's no such thing as demons," Tou-san said with a firm tone.
"Come now, there's no need to lie. I even asked nicely because I'm a nice guy. Do reconsider my generous offer," the bandit said as I pictured him smirking wickedly behind his bandanna.
A hundred or so people then exited the forest in the distance while carrying an assortment of weapons, everything from axes to large clubs. They slowly surrounded the dirt road leading out of the estate, my family trapped in between them and the lone bandit in front of me.
|[ You have commenced the Quest: Survive The Bandit Attack. ]|
"Genji-kun, take us in," Tou-san whispered.
"Oh ho, talking to your demon eh? Let me guess, he's invisible and standing beside you?" the bandit asked.
'He definitely can hear what we're whispering from way over there. This guy is dangerous! Gamer System, enter Battle Dunge-'.
As I was issuing the command, the bandit suddenly bit his thumb and brought his hands together. I instinctively activated ACS and watched him start doing hand seals in slow motion.
|[ Assisted Combat System activated. ACS utilizes 5 CP per second. ]|
|[ Do you wish to enter Battle Dungeon: Frenzied Rabbits with the following people: Amano Morimasa, Hamasaki Kaori, Kanemoto Masago, Amano Takeji, Kanemoto Sayuri, Amano Naoko, Amano Misaki, Amano Tsuki, Amano Sakamae, Amano Rumi and Amano Kiyoko? ]|
'Shit, he's not a bandit, he's a ninja! The only jutsu I know of that requires blood is the summoning jutsu. Argh, he's probably going to summon some giant monster and it's going to destroy my house. Not on my watch!'
I rushed forward just as he completed his hand seals and moved to place his right palm on the ground. Rapidly closing the distance, I channeled chakra into the wakizashi in my right hand.
|[ Chakra Blade activated. Chakra Blade utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|
"Summo-," the bandit started to say.
Just as his palm hit the ground with a circle consisting of squiggly lines appearing on the ground beneath his hand, the chakra blade from my wakizashi pierced his palm.
'Oh no, that didn't stop the summoning. Gamer System, get us into the Battle Dungeon now!'
|[ Warning: Space-time abnormality detected. ]|
|[ You have entered an unknown location. ]|
"-ning Jutsu!" the bandit finished saying.
Trees suddenly appeared all around us as our surroundings were immediately transformed into a forest, the Amano estate nowhere in sight. A big cloud of smoke then exploded outwards from beneath the bandit's hand as I suddenly found myself high up in the air.
Glancing left and right, I saw that the bandit and I were currently above the treetops of the surrounding forest. Looking down, I realized that I was standing on a hard surface that was black and blue in color. Turning around, I saw two giant pincers in the distance.
'OH SHIT, I'M ON A GIANT CRAB!'
"Arrrrggghhh!" the bandit shouted in slow motion, his mind finally registering my chakra blade in his palm.
Not wanting to give the bandit any time to react, I thrust my tanto towards his face with my left hand as I withdrew the wakizashi in my right hand. To my surprise, he managed to move his head out of the way right as the blade moved past his face.
'What? Oh, I probably need more reach. Chakra blade!'
|[ Chakra Blade activated. Chakra Blade utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|
As a two-foot-long chakra blade extended outward from my tanto, I swung the tanto slightly downwards to the left with the intention of decapitating him at the neck. Once more to my surprise, he brought up a kunai with his left hand to parry my tanto.
'What's going on? Isn't ACS activated? How can this guy react so quickly?'
The ninja then back-flipped backwards and away from me. Landing about twenty feet away, he withdrew a rapier-like sword with an extra-long handle from behind him.
"Oh, you're fast. I wasn't expecting that but unfortunately for you, I'm on a whole different level compared to my genin followers," the ninja said with a laugh.
'What the hell is going on? I'm currently moving 20 times faster than everyone else, so how is he moving and speaking like we're in real-time? Wait, did he say genin? So those three ninjas that I killed yesterday were his genin followers. Oh shit, does three genin followers means that he's their jonin?'
"Are you their jonin sensei?" I asked as I got into a stance using the Soft Palm Style: Dance of the Tiger Lily, turning my body so that it was facing the ninja sideways with my tanto held in a reverse grip in front of me, my wakizashi pointed towards the ground behind me.
"Yes, those were my three genin that you killed yesterday. I am Kuriarare Yoshimaru, former jonin of Kirigakure," the ninja replied as he pulled away the bandanna on his face, revealing a wide grin formed with two rows of pointy piranha-like teeth.
"Who?" I asked.
'Crap, isn't that where that bridge guy with the giant sword is from?'
"You don't know who I am? I'm sure that I made it into your village's bingo book. Which shinobi village are you from anyway? I've never heard of shinobi midgets before," Yoshimaru asked with a curious look on his face.
'He's a jonin, I can't afford to hold back or I'll die!'
"I'm not a shinobi," I said as I pointed my wakizashi at him.
"I'm a samurai!" I declared as I mentally swapped my outfit for the White Rabbit Set because wearing an unhygienic blood-stained outfit was better than getting killed.
|[ You are now wearing Outfit: White Rabbit Set. The additional effects of The White Rabbit Set has been activated. +3 to all stats, +10% movement speed, +10% evasion ]|
'He's better trained, has more experience and can somehow match my speed while in ACS. The longer this fight goes on, the higher the chances of me getting killed. I have to end this as soon as possible. Gamer System, activate CEM!'
|[ Chakra-Enhanced Muscles activated. CEM utilizes 20 CP per second. ]|
"Wait, you're the demon that my men were so afraid of? Pffft, to think that they fell for a simple Transformation Jutsu, I guess that's all the jutsu that you samurai are capable of," the ninja mocked.
Ignoring his taunt, I sprinted forward with the +30% movement speed buff, my Agility stats doubling to 43 from 20 due to the addition of the White Rabbit Set and CEM (+20 Strength, +20 Agility, +20% movement speed).
Crossing the twenty feet between us in a heartbeat, I executed a cross slash by swinging my wakizashi to the left and tanto to the right. Yoshimaru lowered his rapier diagonally in front of him and blocked both my chakra blades.
'Man, this guy is so tall, even his knees are above my head!'
Noticing that his rapier lacked a guard, I quickly swung my wakizashi upwards along the rapier while I retracted my tanto. Realizing that I was attempting to cut off his fingers, the jonin hurriedly spun his rapier in a circular motion to redirect the momentum of my blade away from his hand.
Aiming to create an opening, I feigned a thrust with the tanto in my left hand toward his left foot as I withdrew my wakizashi. As Yoshimaru positioned his rapier to block my tanto, I abruptly reversed my thrust and instead swung my wakizashi at his rapier with an extended right hand.
Knowing that his rapier was already in place to block my blow, he took the opportunity to aim a kick at me with his right leg. As my wakizashi neared his rapier, I deactivated my chakra blade.
|[ Chakra Blade deactivated. ]|
As my wakizashi was too short to make contact with his rapier, it simply passed through the empty space between his rapier and my blade. When my wakizashi aimed past his rapier, I reactivated my chakra blade.
|[ Chakra Blade activated. Chakra Blade utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|
The chakra blade sprung forth, giving my short sword an extra two feet in length. As his right leg made contact with my torso, the chakra blade from my wakizashi sliced through the calf on his left leg as my 52 Strength stats did its job.
"Oof!" I involuntarily said as his kick knocked all the air out of my lungs and I was launched away from Yoshimaru, skidding painfully along the coarse surface of the crab shell. Plunging my tanto downwards, my chakra blade cut a four-foot-long gash in the crab shell as I halted my momentum.
"Arghhh my leg! I'm going to kill you slowly, you midget bastard. I'll hang you up by your entrails while you watch me kill your clients," the jonin yelled as he waved his rapier at me while struggling to get up. Eventually, he stood up on his right leg while balancing his body weight with his rapier.
"Clients? What do you mean?" I asked as I got up and abruptly ran at him before he could form a reply.
'Pfft, only an idiot would converse during a fight to the death.'
Deciding to double down on my latest trick, I alternatively swung my wakizashi and thrust my tanto at him one after the other, continuously deactivating and reactivating my chakra blades on both weapons as I did so. My combo attack forced him to hop backwards on one foot as he attempted to retreat from my flurry of blades.
|[ Chakra Blade deactivated. ]|
|[ Chakra Blade activated. Chakra Blade utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|
|[ Chakra Blade deactivated. ]|
|[ Chakra Blade activated. Chakra Blade utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|
|[ Chakra Blade deactivated. ]|
|[ Chakra Blade activated. Chakra Blade utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|
|[ Chakra Blade deactivated. ]|
|[ Chakra Blade activated. Chakra Blade utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|
|[ Chakra Blade deactivated. ]|
|[ Chakra Blade activated. Chakra Blade utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|
|[ Chakra Blade deactivated. ]|
|[ Chakra Blade activated. Chakra Blade utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|
It was hard defending against both sword swings and thrusts. Doing so successfully was further complicated when against an opponent who was barely as tall as your knees. I imagined that the frustration Yoshimaru currently felt was similar to what the Sith underwent as they fought someone like Yoda.
Unfortunately for the lanky jonin before me, successfully parrying and dodging my attacks while hopping around on one leg proved futile as the chakra blade from my tanto pierced into his right knee.
Not giving him a chance to counterattack, I withdrew my tanto as I sidestepped to the right and ran behind him as he fell down on his side. As he spun his head around to look at me, I thrust the chakra blade from my wakizashi in between his eyes and a popup appeared.
|[ You have killed a shinobi [Grade: C]. ]|
'Phew, I did it!'
|[ Chakra Blade deactivated (x2). ]|
|[ Assisted Combat System deactivated. ]|
|[ Chakra-Enhanced Muscles deactivated. ]|
"Oi brat!" a loud voice boomed out.
Quickly glancing around, I failed to spot anyone.
"What are you looking around for? I'm right here!" the loud voice said in an annoyed tone.
Looking around once more, I noticed two pillars moving left and right. Turning my gaze upwards, I was greeted by the sight of two large crab eyes looking down at me.
'That's not a pillar, it's his eye-stalk!'
"How did you manage to summon me when the crabs don't have a summoner?" the giant crab asked in a curious tone.
"Uhhh, I didn't. He did," I said as I kicked the body in front of me, causing some blood to squirt out of the hole in the dead ninja's forehead.
"Strange, I don't recognize him at all. Oh well, no point dwelling on something that's already occurred. Hmmm, you fought well against an opponent four times your size, just like a crab. What's your name, brat?" the crab said as its eyes approached me from my left and right.
"Erm, I'm Genji. Amano Genji," I replied as I nervously swallowed some saliva.
"And what shinobi clan are you a descendant of, Genji-gaki?" the crab asked.
'Did he seriously just call me Genji-brat?'
"I'm not a shinobi, I'm a samurai," I explained for the second time today.
"Oh? A samurai? You seem to have quite a bit of chakra for a samurai. Are you familiar with the summoning jutsu that the shinobi use?" the crab asked.
"I do know what that jutsu is but I've never attempted it before. Erm, before we continue our conversation, may I please ask what your name is, crab-san?" I asked.
"I am Mitsukani, the Chief Crab! You may call me Mitsukani-sama, Genji-gaki," the crab replied with a pleased tone, as if saying his own name out loud brought him joy. Or maybe he simply enjoys calling me brat, ugh.
"Please to meet you Mitsukani err, sama. Could you please return me to the ground before you go back to Crab Country, I don't think I'll survive a fall from this height," I nervously requested.
"It's the Land of Crabs not Crab Country, Genji-gaki. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, it has been quite a while since us crabs have had a summoner. The last one was over a hundred years ago, when I was a mere larva," Mitsukani mused to himself.
"Alright, I've decided. Genji-gaki you fight like a crab, defeating opponents much larger than yourself. I like that. Sign the crab summoning contract," the Chief Crab said as another crab suddenly appeared before me in a puff of smoke.
'Uhh, what?'
This new crab had a dark grey and brown shell and while much smaller than the Chief Crab, was still a solid eight feet tall and thirty-five feet wide.
"Yes, Chief? Why did you summon me?" the new crab asked as he turned his eye-stalks to face the larger eye-stalks beside him.
"Hand over our summoning contract to the gaki in front of you. He is our new summoner," Mitsukani said.
'Don't I get a say in this? Do I even want a crab summons? Actually, it would be rather nice to have a giant crab on my side when fighting against the Rabbit King.'
"What? This runt? Isn't he just a baby?" the smaller crab asked in an offended tone.
"That baby gaki just killed a shinobi four times his size. He fights like a true crab! Give him the summoning contract to sign, Harukani-kun," the Chief Crab ordered.
'Argh, he just demoted me to baby brat!'
"Yes, Chief. Here you go Baby-gaki, you should be honored. You'll be the Fourth Crab Summoner or Yondaime if you'd prefer," Harukani said as he opened his mouth wide and extracted a large scroll from somewhere inside with his claw. Miraculously, the scroll was not dripping in crab saliva or stomach juices.
Placing the scroll that was larger than I was on the ground, Harukani then unrolled the scroll revealing three names with a set of fingerprints underneath each name.
"Uhhh, before I sign this summoning contract, may I ask if crabs are good at combat? No disrespect intended, I just don't need a healing summons or anything like that," I nervously asked.
The Chief Crab's boisterous laughter was like the sound of thunder, the vibrations shaking me so violently that the blood on my wakizashi simply flew off as if it were a dog shaking itself dry after a bath.
"You're hilarious, Genji-gaki! I have not laughed so hard in a long time. Of all things, he thinks that we're healers. Did you hear his joke Harukani-san? Healing crabs!" Mitsukani laughed and continued laughing for another two minutes.
"We are a combat-focused summons, Baby-gaki. We even fight each other when we're bored. While we don't fight each other with the intent to kill, accidents do occur from time to time. I suppose you could say that crabs are battle maniacs," Harukani explained with a smirk.
"My name is Genji, Amano Genji. Not Baby-gaki," I huffed as I moved towards the summoning contract. "Erm, I don't have a pen on me at the moment. Could I please borrow a pen, Harukani-san?"
Once again, the thunderous roar of the Mitsukani's laughter filled the air.
"A pen! Oh, you're too funny Genji-gaki," the Chief Crab said while trying to catch his breath so he could resume his laughter.
"You sign the summoning contract with your blood, Baby-gaki," Harukani explained, the smirk still present on his face.
"Oh, I didn't know that," I replied sheepishly.
Sheathing my wakizashi over my right shoulder, I then transferred my tanto to my right hand and pricked my left ring finger. Couldn't risk an injury on my thumb, index or middle finger as those were the most important when wielding a blade, Kaa-san had taught us.
Kneeling down, I placed the tanto on the ground. Writing my name on the scroll with my left ring finger, I then rubbed some blood on the fingertips of my right hand before imprinting five blood-stained fingerprints on the summoning contract.
|[ You have acquired the Crab Summoning Contract. You may now summon crabs with the Summoning Jutsu. ]|
"Congratulations Baby-gaki, you are now the Yondaime Summoner of the Crabs!" Harukani announced.
"My name is Genji, Amano Genji!" I exasperatedly said.
"Of course it is. See you around, Baby-gaki!" Harukani laughed as he disappeared in a puff of white smoke.
"Wait! How do I even do the summoning jutsu?" I hurriedly asked.
"Oh, that's simple. The sequence is boar, dog, bird, monkey and ram," the Chief Crab said as he leaned forward, causing me to slide towards the crab cliff before me.
"AHHHHH!" I shouted as my tanto flew past me. Reaching out to grab it with my right hand at the last moment, my eyes widened as I ran out of crab shell and proceeded to fall to my doom.
A giant crab claw suddenly appeared below me, dropping to match my speed before it halted my fall and I was gently lowered onto the ground. As I looked around with wide eyes, I saw the body of the jonin fall past me, his rapier following soon after. When looking at it from this distance, his rapier sort of looked like a really big needle.
"GENJI-KUN!" Kiyoko's voice screamed out as my feet touched the ground.
Turning around, I saw Kiyoko running up to me. Behind her stood my sisters and Tou-san while Kaa-san and my three grandparents were presumably still inside the wagons. I was then bombarded with popups, as if I had just clicked on a dodgy website without an ad blocker.
|[ You have discovered Chakra Blade Flicker. ]|
|[ You have learnt something new. Your intelligence increases by 1. ]|
|[ You have completed the Quest: Survive The Bandit Attack. +10 Points ]|
|[ You have fulfilled a hidden objective of the Quest: Survive The Bandit Attack. +11 Points ]|
|[ Title: Best Brother Ever has been upgraded to The Favorite Amano. +1 to all stats when in close proximity to any of your family members. ]|
Swapping my outfit for my kendo armor so Kiyoko didn't hug dried blood, I removed my helmet and was soon wrapped up in a tight hug, the metal grill on her kendo helmet feeling cold against my face. After Kiyoko released me, I returned my tanto to its sheath on my lower back.
|[ You are now wearing Outfit: Kendo Armor. ]|
"Who's your friend, Genji-kun," Tou-san asked as I realized that the Chief Crab was peering at us curiously.
"Ah, that's right. Mitsukani-sama, this is my family. Everyone, this is the Chief Crab from the Land of Crabs, Mitsukani-sama. He asked me to sign the Crab Summoning Contract, so I did," I explained.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Misukani-san. I am Genji-kun's father, Amano Takeshi," Tou-san greeted.
"Hello Takeshi-san, it is nice to meet the gaki's family. I see you have a large family for a human, that's nice. I too come from a large family, though my two hundred thousand family members are currently back in the Land of Crabs so I can't introduce them," Mitsukani replied.
'Two hundred thousand!? Just how big is the Land of Crabs? What do they even eat? Where does all the shit go?'
"If you ever need the Crabs for a fight, don't hesitate to summon us Genji-gaki. The size of the summons depends on how much chakra you use. Goodbye Yondaime," the Chief Crab mentioned before he too disappeared in a giant puff of white smoke.
"Wait, what do the hand seals… look like," I asked as the smoke started to dissipate.
"I don't see any rabbits around, Genji-kun," Tou-san said.
'Battle Dungeon Status!'
|[ You are not currently within a Battle Dungeon. Do you wish to enter Battle Dungeon: Frenzied Rabbits? ]|
'What? Then where are we?'
"Err, apparently we're not in a Battle Dungeon right now, Tou-san," I said as I mentally dismissed the request.
"We're not? Do you have a teleportation ability Genji-kun?" Tou-san asked.
'Do I?'
|[ Teleportation is not currently listed in your list of skills. ]|
'Currently? Ooh, so there is a teleportation ability! Nice, can't wait to learn that one.'
"No Tou-san, no teleportation abilities yet," I replied.
"In that case I have no idea where we currently are, Genji-kun," Tou-san said as he turned around and walked towards the body that was lying on the forest floor, the needle-like rapier sticking out of the ground nearby.
The rest of my siblings also moved towards the body to inspect it so I followed along while being flanked by Rumi and Kiyoko on my left and right.
"Was he a shinobi, Genji-kun? I saw him doing hand seals," Rumi asked.
"Yes, he mentioned that he was from Kirigakure," I replied.
"What's a Land of Water shinobi doing in the Land of Fire? We should ask Tou-san to inform Konoha, they wouldn't appreciate such things," Rumi said.
"Was he strong, Genji-kun?" Kiyoko asked.
"Yes, he moved very fast and could match my speed. The only reason I won was because he underestimated me and it's quite hard to fight someone as small as me when he's that tall. Also, I never gave him the chance to attack, he was constantly forced to defend," I replied with my post-fight analysis.
'This fight has shown me that I need to be faster. I probably have to go with a more generalist approach to my stats from now on. Alright, let's assign those stats now. Status!'
Name: Amano Genji
Level: 20
Title: The Favorite Amano (1)
HP: 980 / 1,160
CP: 38 / 1,640
STR: 28 (+1)
AGI: 20 (+1)
VIT: 39 (+1)
INT: 40 (+1)
WIS: 39 (+1)
Points: 21
Experience: 39.86% to next level
'Whoa, that stupid kick took out nearly 200 HP? And I almost ran out of CP again! Sigh. Alright, let's place 13 into Agility, 5 into Strength, 2 into Vitality and the last one into Wisdom.'
Name: Amano Genji
Level: 20
Title: The Favorite Amano (1)
HP: 980 / 1,428
CP: 39 / 1,722
STR: 33 (+1)
AGI: 33 (+1)
VIT: 41 (+1)
INT: 40 (+1)
WIS: 40 (+1)
Points: 0
Experience: 39.86% to next level
'Although I seem to get lots of Points from completing Quests, I do need to keep leveling up as my CEM skill gets stronger the higher my level.'
"Did he mention what his name was, Genji-kun?" Tou-san asked as he looked at me while standing beside the body.
"He said that his name was Kuriarare Yoshimaru, a former jonin of Kirigakure," I replied.
Tou-san's jaw dropped open as his eyes went wide.
"Err, is everything alright Tou-san?" I asked.
"He's the younger brother of Kuriarare Kushimaru, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist," Tou-san replied after he managed to compose himself, crouching to search the body.
"Oh, I've read about them. They are the greatest blade-wielding shinobi of their generation in the Hidden Mist Village, said to be the strongest shinobi there other than the Mizukage," Naoko recounted.
"Each of them also wield swords with special abilities," Misaki added as she turned around to look the rapier sticking out of the ground, "and that must be the sword named Nuibari. But why does the younger brother of one of the Seven Swordsmen have it?"
"According to one of the shinobi-san from Konoha, a shinobi of theirs by the name of Maito Dai singlehandedly killed four of the Seven Swordsmen a few years ago. This Yoshimaru probably stole Nuibari before he left his village, becoming a missing-nin," Tou-san said.
"That Konoha shinobi must have been really strong to be able to kill more than half of the Seven Swordsmen by himself, I would like to meet him Tou-san," Rumi said, her voice filled with admiration.
"Unfortunately Rumi-chan, Maito Dai was also killed in the process," Tou-san said.
"Oh," Rumi replied sadly.
"How do you know so much, Naoko-neechan and Misaki-neechan?" Kiyoko asked curiously.
"Because they read a lot and Misaki-chan specifically likes reading about swords," Tsuki replied.
"So this sword called Nuibari, what is its special ability Misaki-neechan?" I asked.
"While its not a fact, the author of one of the books I read speculated that it has an unrivaled piercing ability. Combined with a special spool of thread, the user can literally stitch the bodies of its victims together, which is why it resembles a giant needle," Misaki replied.
"What a disturbing ability. Is that why it doesn't have a guard? Needles require full penetration and a guard would impede that ability. But I don't see any thread though," I said.
"There's a spool of wire here," Tou-san said as he lifted up an item that looked like it belonged on a fishing rod.
"Could I have it?" Misaki asked with a hopeful tone.
"What are you going to do with the 'special thread' Misaki-chan?" Tou-san asked as he handed her the item that was wrapped in silvery wire.
"I meant Nuibari, Tou-san," Misaki said with a giggle.
"Oh, you should ask Genji-kun as he was the one who killed this shinobi," Tou-san replied as he looked at me.
"Sure, Misaki-neechan. I can't effectively use a five feet long sword anyway," I said.
"THANKS, GENJI-KUN!" Misaki shouted happily as she pulled Nuibari out of the ground and started swinging it around a few times before stabbing a tree. The needle sword effortlessly pierced through the tree trunk which led to gleeful laughter from Misaki as she excitedly did tippy taps with her feet.
"I would like to have the next special sword, Genji-kun," Sakamae requested as she watched Misaki use Nuibari to stab holes in the trees around us.
"Oh, sure Sakamae-neechan," I replied.
"I think I know where Kiyoko-chan gets her excitedness from," Rumi said.
"I don't think so, Misaki-chan only gets excited about swords and things that she considers cute whereas Kiyoko-chan seems to be excited about everything," Tsuki replied with a thoughtful look.
"Hey, I don't get excited about everything," Kiyoko protested.
"You're the only other than Ojii-san who gets excited about miso soup," Naoko replied with a giggle.
"That's not true, Genji-kun loves miso soup too. Right, Genji-kun?" Kiyoko replied as she looked at me with her big puppy eyes through the grill of her kendo helmet.
"While I like miso soup, I do think that you seem to get excited about everything, Kiyoko-chan," I said as Kiyoko's hopeful face fell, "but there's nothing wrong with that. Everyone gets excited about the things that they like, you just happen to like everything."
"Not everything, but thanks anyway Genji-kun," Kiyoko replied as she gave me another hug which I returned.
"Misaki-chan is right, you two are really cute," Naoko said with another giggle.
"Other than a few kunai and shuriken, there's nothing else on this body," Tou-san replied as he detached the weapons pouch and kunai holster before handing them to me for storage.
'Oh cool, kunai and shurikens. Now that I have all the basic equipment of a ninja, I simply need to learn what hand seals are so that I can do the Summoning Jutsu.'
"Alright, let's leave this forest and find out where we are. I smell the ocean in that direction, so let's head that way," Tou-san said as he pointed to his left, "if we follow the coast, I'm certain that we will find a small town or village where we can ask for directions."
Pulling out a storage scroll, Tou-san then sealed the ninja's body into it before pocketing the scroll. Looking around to see if he had missed anything, Tou-san then said, "Alright, get to your assigned wagons. We're leaving!"
"Ok, Tou-san," we replied.
Making our way back towards the three horse-drawn wagons, I realized that I had read something interesting in one of the popup boxes that had appeared.
'Gamer System, what's Chakra Blade Flicker?'
|[ Chakra Blade Flicker: Your chakra blade alternates between activation and deactivation twice per second. Chakra Blade Flicker utilizes 10 CP per second. ]|
'Oh wow, I invented a new skill.'
"Genji-kun, are you injured?" Kaa-san asked worriedly as I climbed into the back of the wagon.
"No, Kaa-san," I replied.
"Oh thank Kami, I was so worried when that giant crab appeared out of nowhere," Kaa-san said as she hugged me.
"Our son just killed a missing-nin from Kirigakure, a jonin too," Tou-san replied as he lifted Kiyoko up into our wagon, Rumi patiently waiting her turn beside him.
"Oh, I'm so proud of you Genji-kun, not many samurai are capable of killing a jonin ranked shinobi," Kaa-san said as she released me from the hug before giving me a kiss on the cheek.
"He underestimated me Kaa-san. I guess no one really expects a one-year-old to move as fast as I do," I replied as I wiped my cheek against my shoulder before swapping my kendo armor for a t-shirt and shorts.
|[ You are now wearing Outfit: Casual Attire (T-Shirt). ]|
"I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing that Genji-kun," Kaa-san said.
"It's just another aspect of my storage space ability, Kaa-san," I replied as I laid down on a pillow from the playroom. I had stored all the pillows in the house inside my Inventory, from the ones in the playroom to the ones in the bedrooms.
My family also had me store away their entire wardrobes, their jewelry, their books and other miscellaneous items. Everything that was too large to be stored in my Inventory had been sealed away into storage scrolls, which then went into my Inventory or if the storage scrolls were too big to fit, they were placed into the third wagon. Our house was pretty much empty at the moment, Kaa-san even had me store away all the cooking pots and pans.
As I was currently facing the back of my wagon, I lifted my head and saw that Misaki held the reins of the wagon behind ours, my three grandparents seated behind her while Naoko held the reins of the last wagon, the twins seated beside large storage scrolls.
After ensuring that everyone was ready, Tou-san led our entourage towards the direction of the ocean. Navigating through the forest was a slow and bumpy affair, the wheels of the wagon constantly having to go over tree roots.
'I hope Ojii-san isn't suffering too much with all this bouncing.'
Closing my eyes, I tried to sleep through the constant up and down movements. I needed to sleep for an hour in order to fully restore my HP and CP, just in case we needed to fight more bandits or ninjas.
Over fifteen miles away in a small village set on a hill, a group of people were gathered inside a small house with a thatched roof.
"What do we do?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know? You're the Village Elder, knowing what to do is literally your job!"
"Calm down Tadahiko-san, the Village Elder is only a human being just like everyone else. You can't expect him to know everything."
Silence descended upon the room, the buzzing noise that the cicadas made could be clearly heard through the open window.
"All I know is that we have to do something as this situation can't continue for much longer. I just don't know what exactly it is that we have to do. Does anyone have any suggestions?" the Village Elder asked with a somber tone and a stoic expression on his face.
"We could move away," a middle-aged man said.
"To where? Everyone in this room was born right here in this village. This is our ancestral home, we can't just abandon it!" Tadahiko angrily replied.
"Enough, Tadahiko-san. If you cannot keep your temper in check then you are no longer welcome at this meeting," the Village Elder sternly said.
"HOW CAN ALL OF YOU BE SO CALM WHEN WE ARE ABOUT TO DIE! DO YOU PEOPLE EVEN REALIZE WHAT'S ABOUT TO HAPPEN?" Tadahiko shouted.
"Raigorou-san and Dainosuke-san, escort Tadahiko-san out of this meeting," the Village Eder ordered.
"I'll leave by myself. You old farts are going to get us all killed!" Tadahiko angrily muttered as he stomped out the door.
"Ahh Elder-sama, please forgive my son. He is youthful and passionate but he does not mean any offense," an elderly man said.
"His reaction is understandable considering the circumstances, Fujimori-san. No offense taken," the Village Elder said after a long sigh.
"Maybe we could hire shinobi?" another middle-aged man suggested.
"And what exactly are we going to hire them with, Aoharu-san? We barely have any gold left as we have not sold our crops in several years," an elderly woman rebutted.
"How about samurai? They are righteous and noble warriors, surely they will assist us once they have heard of our plight?" Aoharu asked with a hopeful tone.
"That is a myth Aoharu-san. Samurai are people just like everyone else, they will not do things for free," the Village Elder said.
"Perhaps Aoharu-san has the right idea. While samurai do not do things for free, they are more open-minded than shinobi when it comes to payment. Perhaps some samurai might assist us if we pay them in something other than gold," a middle-aged woman suggested.
"What are you suggesting, Hisane-san?" the Village Elder enquired.
"While we are lacking in gold, we do not lack rice. Perhaps we can find a few hungry samurai to assist us," Hisane suggested.
"It is highly unlikely that we will find a hungry samurai who serves the Fire Shogun, which means that we'll have to look for wandering samurai or ronin. That is the equivalent of searching for a tiny white pebble in a sack of rice," Fujimori noted.
"Well, what else do you suggest Fujimori-san?" Aoharu huffed.
"I did not disagree with Hisane-san's idea, Aoharu-san. I was merely pointing out the potential difficulties involved. Ronin can be rather unpredictable too, seeing as they are homeless samurai without a master," Fujimori replied.
"Which means that they are more likely to be hungry," Hisane said with a smile.
"And therefore, they might be more agreeable to assisting us," Aoharu added, a smile also forming on his face.
"While this suggestion sounds plausible, who is going to go searching for ronin? We only have slightly more than a month left until the harvest. Those bandit scum said that they would take our women and kill everyone else if we didn't give them enough rice this time," the Village Elder said, a weary look on his face.
"We should send a strong young man like my son," Fujimori suggested.
"Tadahiko-san? Knowing his short temper, the ronin might end up killing him because he insulted them. No, we need someone with a polite demeanor, someone that the ronin would be more likely to help," Aoharu said.
"What about your granddaughter, Village Elder? She has a polite demeanor and is quite pretty. I'm sure the ronin would agree to help us if she was the one who was making the request," Hisane suggested.
"Izumi-chan? Absolutely not! She is my only living family member, I will not put her in harm's way," the Village Elder obstinately said.
"If we fail to locate ronin that are willing to help us, she's as good as dead anyway. No woman wants to be taken alive by these bandits, I've heard that they cut out your tongue and cauterize it with a hot iron to prevent you from committing suicide. Then they rape you non-stop till the day that you die," Hisane said with a shudder.
"That is unfortunately quite accurate. Some of the younger women in the village have already decided that they would rather commit suicide than be taken by these bandits. To them, death is preferable to being a sex slave," the Village Elder said with a sad tone while thinking of his granddaughter.
"What if we send Tadahiko-san and Izumi-san together? That way he can carry the sacks of rice while she talks to the ronin," Fujimori suggested as he once again volunteered his son.
"That sounds like a good idea, Fujimori-san," Hisane said with a nod.
"What does everyone here think?" the Village Elder finally relented after a long pause.
After agreements from the rest of the people that were gathered, and further deliberations on the amount of rice to offer the ronin in exchange for their assistance against the bandits, the Village Elder finally concluded the meeting.
"Alright, Tadahiko-san and Izumi-chan will take eight sacks of rice on a cart and search for ronin that are willing to help us. They are to return before the harvest begins. If they fail, then we will most likely die of starvation this coming winter," the Village Elder summarized.
Everyone present nodded in agreement and proceeded to exit the Village Elder's house.
'If I'm being honest with myself, the ronin are just as likely as the bandits to rape Izumi-chan. After all, she is as pretty as my daughter-in-law once was,' the Village Elder sadly thought to himself.
"Izumi-chan!" the Village Elder called out loudly as he stood in his doorway.
"Yes, Ojii-san?" Izumi replied as she walked over from the village well while carrying a full bucket of water with both hands.
"Come inside, Izumi-chan. There's something that we need to discuss," the Village Elder said with a neutral tone of voice.
"Ok, Ojii-san. Did I do something wrong?" Izumi asked as she carried the heavy wooden bucket inside, intending to use the water to cook a vegetable broth.
"No, you have done nothing wrong, Izumi-chan," the Village Elder replied as he closed the door after she had entered the house, a resigned look on his face
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