Chapter 24: Returning Home
I blinked my eyes, staring at an unfamiliar wood ceiling. I sat up in the bed I was put in and reached up to rub my eyes, but nothing was there. I looked at the stump where my left hand used to be.
Huh. I kind of forgot that happened.
I reached up with my other hand to rub my eyes, when a shinobi walked in.
"Oh, you're awake," They said.
I wanted to say "No shit, Sherlock," but I somehow figured they wouldn't get the reference. I instead waved at them with my nonexistent hand.
"Ah," the ninja said, "I'll inform the others that you're awake."
He walked out the door. I only had to wait for a couple of minutes before Hagiwara and Fukushima entered. I grimaced when I took in their haggard appearances. They were probably still getting over their grief at their teammates' deaths.
"I'm sorry," I said, "I didn't make it in time."
Hagiwara just shook his head.
"You couldn't have known…"
An awkward silence followed for a couple of seconds before I spoke up again.
"How long was I out?"
"Three days."
Ok, that's not as bad as last time at least.
"Iwa's starting to back off. They're close to their limit on how many ninjas they can send before their military becomes too weak." Fukushima said.
Hagiwara nodded, "They'll probably give up in the next few weeks or so."
I sighed in relief. I was starting to miss Konoha.
We talked a bit more before they left to go patrol the towns. Once I was left alone, I looked back down at my missing hand. I should probably be more bothered by losing part of a limb, but I wasn't worried. It's feasible that I would be able to make a hand out of flames for fighting or ask Tsunade to transplant one.
I wonder how much Kakuzu was worth. I'm going to have to really dig through the bingo books since the guy is so old. He should be enough for me to get a new sword and hand, but I don't know for sure.
My thoughts wandered for the next couple of hours. After a while, resting got super boring, so I started trying to create a flame hand. It was weird channeling chakra to a stump instead of a hand, but I don't think it will be too difficult with my chakra control and fire affinity.
I practiced well into the night, forming more of a flame claw rather than a hand, but progress is progress.
Two days passed slowly before I was finally released from the hospital. By that time, I was able to form a functional hand. It didn't have much in the way of dexterity yet, but repetition would fix that.
I walked out and into the sun for the first time in a while. I headed towards the strategists and asked them for orders. Unsurprisingly, I was set to patrol randomly again, this time with a different town since the last one was obliterated. I set off shortly, knowing I was just going to rack up my genin/chunin kill count again. It was depressing how many I've had to kill during my stay in Kusa; probably a couple hundred by now.
Iwa was just trying to cause chaos at this point, hoping to disrupt Konoha even if it's just a little. Honestly, they probably would've succeeded if I wasn't here. I hope I get good pay for this, but I don't know if helping an ally at war is a paying mission or if it's just an obligation. I'm sure Konoha gets something out of it or otherwise I wouldn't have been sent.
I reached the town I was going to be guarding for the day, settling down in the abundant grass.
This is going to be boring.
////////
After one week of killing more fodder, I was getting desensitized to mass murder. That's what it took for Iwa to stop. I mean, there was some politics behind it, as Kusa offered a couple of extra routes for trade. I'm pretty sure this was a good chance for Iwa to save their reputation. Because they technically didn't send the full might of their military, which was a possibility if Kusa didn't concede.
It was kind of dumb. I mean, Kusa suffered heavy losses just so Iwa could get back at Konoha. Iwa's only real loss was the two elite jonin I killed. Other than that, they just got rid of some of their bulk of worthless shinobi. It makes a sickening amount of sense. They go to war for resources against a small hidden village and get rid of some extra mouths to feed. So they gain more resources while conserving more as well. And, in the perfect scenario, they would weaken the trade going towards one of their rivals.
Thankfully, it was time for us to go home. I gathered up with Fukushima and Hagiwara, who were carrying the sealing scrolls that held Imada and Aikwa's bodies. I was gifted the sealing scroll with Kakuzu's body, his face still somewhat recognizable.
No one from Kusa saw us out, considering that they basically ate shit while the major villages profited. We were fine with that as we set off immediately.
It was the most awkward week of travel I've ever experienced because Hagiwara and Fukushima were still grieving the loss of their friends. I cared about it, considering we were a team for a while, but it wasn't to the point that I would lose sleep over it. I didn't know them all that well in the first place.
Eventually, we arrived at Konoha's front gates. After the chunin guard let us through, we headed straight to the Hokage's office to report.
Hagiwara, as the team leader, got the fun job of doing all the talking, which I was glad for.
After talking for a couple of minutes, Tsunade nodded.
"You did a good job. You will all be paid for an A-rank mission, while the families of the deceased will be compensated for their loss. Tsurugi, stay behind. The rest of you are dismissed."
Hagiwara nodded, shooting a glance at me before leaving the office.
Tsunade turned to me, "I heard you pulled a dangerous bounty from the Akatsuki."
I nodded and elaborated, "I met two S-rank missing-nin, Kakuzu and Hidan, and defeated them both."
I reached into my pocket to pull out the scroll holding Kakuzu.
"This is the body of Kakuzu. His body contains some type of bloodline or kinjutsu," I explained vaguely. I couldn't exactly explain why I knew of the Earth Grudge Fear when it was a secret kinjutsu of Taki.
She raised her eyebrows at me, "You defeated them both?"
At this, I lifted my left arm, showing her the stump, "Not without paying the cost."
She grimaced slightly but otherwise held impressive composure.
"I see. Since you a valuable shinobi of Konoha, we will find you a new hand eventually. It might take some time, though. Will you still be able to take missions?"
I grinned and formed a hand made of flames, wiggling my fingers for emphasis.
"Yes, Lord Hokage," I said.
She smiled at that, "Good. For now, you are dismissed."
I bowed before exiting the office. When I was outside the Hokage tower, I looked around, before sighing.
I guess after all that happened, the rest of the team isn't going to be waiting for me.
It wasn't my fault that two died, but I knew Fukushima blamed me for it anyways. Kakuzu was only in the area for my bounty. Hagiwara was just conflicted, but he was pretty level-headed; he just need some time to grieve properly.
I took a deep breath. It was time to say hi to my mom and friends again. I didn't know how they would react to my injury, but at least it wasn't my fault this time.
I made my way home, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of Konoha on the way. I swung open the door to my house.
"Mom, I'm home!"
"Kaen? Oh, it's so good to see-" she paused abruptly as she took in my form, immediately noticing my missing hand.
Tears started welling up in her eyes.
"My baby boy, oh, what have they done…"
She walked over and gently lifted up my arm, almost scared that she would break it.
"Mom, it's fine; Tsunade said she would be able to get a transplant soon, so don't worry abou-"
That was as far as I got before she pulled me into an embrace. She cried as I comforted her, promising her that I was okay.
An hour later, I was out of the house after promising to take my mom out to dinner. I found out that Isamu was on a mission, but Ayame was in the Uchiha compound, so I went over to visit.
I entered the compound and headed toward their house. Ayame must have sensed me because she opened the door and greeted me.
"Welcome back…" She trailed off, also noticing my lack of a hand.
"Oh no, are you ok?" She asked worriedly.
I just smiled and brushed off her concern, "It'll be fine. I'll be getting a replacement soon. Now, let me in; I haven't seen those brats in a while."
She sighed and headed back into the house, where I was greeted by the enthusiastic young ones. I had to explain all over again that I was fine and would get a new hand soon before Haruki and Hana started crying. Yuko looked worried while Ren tried to act like he didn't care, but he kept shooted glances at me when he thought I wasn't looking.
I spent the rest of the afternoon playing with the kids and showing off my fire hand, which Haruki thought was the coolest thing ever.
As I was leaving, I beckoned for Ayame to follow me. She nodded and we walked until we were out of earshot from the other kids.
I glanced over at her, noticing that she now had a black eyepatch on.
"The one that hurt you is dead. I killed him."
She looked like she was about to say something stupid, like 'it wasn't worth losing a hand for' or berate me for being reckless, but I spoke up before she could.
"I didn't chase after him; he came looking to collect my bounty. I had no choice but to fight them." I said, not mentioning that I would've hunted them down eventually regardless.
That took the wind out of her sails, as she looked down towards the ground.
I was about to say something, thinking she was still mad at me, but she looked up with fierce determination in her eyes.
"I will get stronger," she said with conviction, "Strong enough to fight with you."
I smiled softly at that, "I know you will."
I turned around, not noticing a slight blush form on her face.
"I need to go for now. I promised my mom that I would take her to dinner."
I waved behind me before flashing away, not hearing her muttering.
"I'll be strong, I promise. Strong enough to stand by your side…"
/////
After a lovely dinner with my mom and a short round of training, I headed up to my room, laying down on my bed. I looked up and imagined my status appearing.
[Taijutsu
Skills: [Flash Step, lvl 30 (max)], [Academy Taijutsu, lvl 5 (max)] [Hakuda, lvl 30 (max)] [Ikkotsu, lvl 5 (max)] [Sokotsu, lvl 5 (max)].
Progress: 89%]
[Kenjutsu
Skills: [Tanto-wielding, lvl 15 (max)] [Katana-wielding, lvl 50 (max)] [Onibi, lvl 10 (max)] [Hitotsumi: Nadegiri, lvl 5 (max)]
Progress: 93%]
[Fire Release
Skills:
Sword: [Shikai, lvl 15 (max)] [Ennetsu Jigoku, lvl 10 (max)] [Jokaku Enjo, lvl 5 (max)] [Taimatsu, lvl 5 (max)]
Bankai: [Zanka no Tachi, Nishi: Zanjitsu Gokui, lvl 1 (max)] [Zanka no Tachi, Higashi: Kyokujitsujin, lvl 10 (max)] [Zanka no Tachi, Kita: Tenchi Kaijin, lvl 5 (max)]
Kido: [Itto Kaso, lvl 1 (max)] [Haien, lvl 15 (max)] [Soren Sokatsui, lvl 15 (max)] [Sokatsui, lvl 10 (max)] [Shakkaho, lvl 10 (max)] [Fushibi, lvl 10 (max)]
Progress: 91%]
[Chakra
Skills:
Control: [Leaf-sticking, lvl 5 (max)] [Tree-walking, lvl 10 (max)] [Water-walking, lvl 15 (max)] [Shape Manipulation, lvl 25 (max)]
Neutral Jutsu: [Shadow Clone Jutsu, lvl 5 (max)] [Clone jutsu, lvl 15 (max)] [Transformation jutsu, lvl 15 (max)] [Substitution jutsu, lvl 20 (max)]
Progress: 96%]
Almost everything was above ninety percent. I was proud of myself and my progress so far. I mentally sent a thank you to the system. It wasn't a gamer system, which literally breaks the multiverse, but I learned to start being grateful for it.
Maybe I would've become S-rank without it; who knows? But I doubt it. I was good for nothing in my last life and almost stayed that way in this one, even with a system. I probably would have died due to my inexperience and arrogance without it. But with it, I have risen to the pinnacle of strength in this world.
I won't stop, even when I complete the template. I'll keep training and fighting until the day I die. I'll keep getting stronger until I change this world. Whether it's changed for the better or not, I guess I'll have to find out by trying.
I leaned back and closed my eyes, letting sleep take me.
///// A/N /////
Hello everyone. Not much action in this chapter, so sorry if you wanted that. I won't time skip to Shippuden just yet; there's still some stuff I want to set up. On another note, Kaen finally has a reputation as one of the strongest, because Tsunade is not going to keep quiet that one of her shinobi took out two S-ranks at the same time.
On another note, I will explain my thought process behind why Kakuzu was a difficult fight. I replied to a review with my thoughts on this, but I will reiterate it for those of you who haven't read it.
Basically, I made Kakuzu's threads fire-resistant. If he attacked with just one thread, it would be incinerated into nothingness nearly instantaneously by bankai. But when you gather hundreds of them into a bunch, it incinerates them slower, as it has to work through more material. So no, Kakuzu is not fire-proof for plot convenience. He is more resistant to fire because of the super powerful kinjutsu that is EARTH-natured, which is already somewhat more resistant to fire than water would be in terms of bankai, since earth doesn't evaporate.
Also, while he might be fast and skilled, Kakuzu is a literal beast: he's lived longer than the third Hokage and fought Hashirama fucking Senju and survived. While Kaen is accumulating battle experience, Kakuzu has more experience in his pinky finger than Kaen does in his whole body, which allows him to predict Kaen's attacks and plan ahead.
Also, I'm not super smart irl, so I can't really write a super smart character, which is why Kaen is a brainlet sometimes. It's because I'm ALSO a brainlet.
Add all that together and you've got a very strong opponent for Kaen. I also might've made Kakuzu stronger since I'm not sure if he can split his body parts and control them remotely with threads. I just assumed because of the masked monsters he makes and the fact that he can basically do surgery with his threads.
That's the end of my rant, so leave a review, please.
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