Capítulo 32: Chapter 32: The Insects Fear!
(T/N: There is now a p.atreon for this work, and any new work I add will be dropped there first. check it out for an early release of up to 30 chapters edited smoothly. https://www.p.atreon.com/INeedRest)
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Yakiniku Q was a famous barbecue restaurant in Konohagakure.
Its renown stemmed from its premium pricing.
This was a high-end yakiniku establishment using only the finest top-quality meats.
Rumor had it even shinobi were hired to raise the livestock.
Such extravagance gave most ninjas pause before splurging on a meal here.
But for Colt, cost was no object.
Unlike Chōji, he wouldn't bankrupt a jonin with just two orders.
The salaries at Konoha Hospital were quite generous. After years of saving, his personal treasury was more than ample.
...
"A table for one, please."
"Certainly, right this way."
After a brief exchange, the host led Colt inside.
Suddenly, a voice called out to him.
"Yo Colt! Over here!"
Following the call, he spotted Kiba Inuzuka seated with Shino Aburame beside a woman with distinct fang markings on her cheeks.
"Go on ahead." Waving off the host, Colt approached the group.
"Didn't expect to run into you here."
"Hey there, Akamaru."
The puppy perched atop Kiba's head barked twice in greeting.
"You came alone? Where are the others?" Kiba asked as Colt took a seat.
"Oh, let me introduce you. This is my older sister, Hana Inuzuka."
"No need, I know Kamiyo Colt already," Hana smiled warmly.
"Thank you for your help with my uncle before."
Colt pondered a moment. "You mean Rin Inuzuka, right?"
He once treated a shinobi from the Inuzuka Clan, that must be the uncle she referred to.
"Correct."
Shino remained quiet while Kiba looked a bit confused.
"Sis, what are you talking about? When did Colt ever help Uncle Rin?"
Hana explained the situation to her younger brother.
Kiba's eyes widened. "I didn't realize your medical ninjutsu was so powerful!"
Colt just shrugged it off noncommittally.
He shared a good rapport with Kiba, no need to be too formal.
As the group chatted and ate, the atmosphere grew livelier.
On a whim, Hana ordered a couple of bottles of shōchū, eliciting a pang of envy from Colt.
After all these years, he still hadn't tasted alcohol since vendors refused to sell to minors.
Now, watching someone indulge right before him, he couldn't help feeling a tad wistful.
Eyeing Akamaru sprawled over Kiba's head, Colt finally voiced a long-held curiosity.
"Say Kiba, Akamaru is four years old this year, right?"
"Yeah, he was born during my year at the Academy. Why d'you ask?"
Kiba seemed puzzled, while Akamaru's crimson eyes blinked curiously at Colt.
"Well, why hasn't Akamaru's body changed much over the years then?"
Kiba grinned. "Ah, so that's what you wanted to know."
"It's a secret Inuzuka technique. For the first few years, every ninken is fed special compounds to fortify their physiques, retarding any major growth spurts."
"This regimen continues until their bodies can no longer endure it. My Akamaru here is the finest ninken of this generation!"
"According to the Elders' projections, it may still be several years before Akamaru's adult form fully manifests."
Speaking with evident pride, Kiba affectionately ruffled Akamaru's fur, the pup responding enthusiastically.
'So that explained it.'
Colt suddenly recalled harboring this same curiosity in his past life over Akamaru's dramatic size increase during Shippūden.
He too wished to have a faithful animal companion someday.
"Do you have any spare ninken pups in your clan? I don't need one for combat, just an obedient, cute pet."
"Well..." Kiba glanced at his sister. As the future Clan Head, he technically held authority, but was still quite young after all.
No need to overstep his bounds just yet.
"That would be fine," Hana assured, tapping her chest. "I'll definitely pick out a suitable ninken for you, Colt."
She felt indebted to Colt for treating her beloved uncle so well after his career-ending injury. Hana had grieved deeply over Rin's retirement back then.
Providing Colt with a companion was the least she could do to express her gratitude.
"Thank you kindly, Hana-san."
Colt smiled appreciatively. His home did feel rather empty at times - a ninken would make a wonderful housemate.
After finishing their meal, Colt moved to pay the bill, only for Hana to wave him off dismissively.
In her eyes, they were all still children - how could she let them pay?
With their respective clans' residences lying in opposite directions, the group soon parted ways amicably.
The Aburame and Inuzuka compounds neighbored each other closely.
Along the path home, Kiba voiced a lingering doubt to his customarily reticent teammate.
"Say Shino, you hardly ever talk to Colt whenever we hang out with him. What's your take on the guy?"
While being the class heart-throb, Colt's reputation among their generation was nonetheless good.
Yet Shino never contributed more than brief pleasantries during their interactions.
It was a puzzling behavior that made Kiba quite curious.
Shino adjusted the shades he insisted on wearing, even at night, before shaking his head.
"No, I have an extremely positive impression of Colt. He is a friend worth cultivating."
Kiba grew even more perplexed. "Then why are you so distant with him?"
Shino sighed helplessly.
"My clan's insect techniques are quite...intuitive regarding potential threats."
Kiba nodded in understanding. The symbiotic relationship between the Aburame and their kikaichū broods was well known.
Shino continued his explanation. "Every time I'm around Colt, the kikai in my body prevents me from approaching too closely out of self-preservation."
"If I attempted to get within proximity by force, it's highly likely they would attack him instinctively."
"The aura he exudes is far more potent than even our Academy instructors after all."
"So, unless the kikkai can definitively identify Colt as an ally rather than a threat, I have no choice but to maintain my distance."
Kiba and Hana were both startled at this revelation. They never expected such unassuming reasoning behind Shino's standoffish conduct.
His gaze turned pensive as he glanced back the way Colt had departed.
If that terrifying pressure unnerved even Shino's insects, then the Aburame heir could scarcely bring himself closer to its source.
Not even his esteemed father, the current Clan Head, could project such an overwhelming aura of menace.
An uneasy silence fell over the trio for a long while after.
Capítulo 33: Chapter 33: God-Tier Talent – [Ninja's Nature]
(T/N: There is now a p.atreon for this work, and any new work I add will be dropped there first. check it out for an early release of up to 30 chapters edited smoothly. https://www.p.atreon.com/INeedRest)
Ps: Leave reviews and comments, thank you.
****************
Early the next morning, Hana Inuzuka arrived at Colt's residence with a tiny puppy cradled in her arms.
"You lucked out - this ninken was just delivered from our clan's breeding grounds, and it has an excellent pedigree. Should make for a great partner."
Colt peered at the bundle she carried.
This was an exceptionally cute pup with soft black and white fur marked by a distinctive white blaze on its forehead.
Two wide, obsidian eyes stared unblinkingly back at him.
As if already recognizing its future master.
"Arf-arf!"
Colt startled slightly. Was that how puppies barked?
"What breed is this little one?"
Taking the pup from Hana, Colt cradled it gently while asking in curiosity.
He knew little about canine varieties - to his untrained eye, all these milk-pup types looked identical.
Hana too seemed momentarily taken aback before responding.
"The ninken lineage is quite impressive, reported to have some wolf ancestry as well."
Colt nodded, his query merely incidental curiosity.
He had no intentions of training it for combat - simple companionship would suffice so long as it remained cute and well-behaved.
After imparting some guidance on puppy-rearing and leaving ample provisions, Hana took her leave.
Back in the courtyard, Colt settled onto a simple wooden bench he used for meditation training.
The pup obediently parked itself at his feet, dark eyes blinking placidly up at its new master.
Though Colt couldn't pinpoint why, he got the distinct impression this ninken was...a tad odd.
It was nearly midday before Colt could break from his practice regimen.
"Time to give you a name, I suppose," he mused, gently petting the pup's soft head.
After some contemplation, he finally settled on the perfect moniker.
"I'll call you Ichibi."
Besides the legendary Kyuubi, there were several other fearsome bijuu in the shinobi realm, the mightiest of whom was the Juubi itself.
He hoped that one day, he too could indulge in such arrogant pettings as the Sage of Six Paths did towards those chakra beasts.
"Arf-arf!" The ninken pup barked softly, seemingly in agreement.
...
Half a month later, Colt reclined casually in a rocking chair, eyes closed in deep contemplation.
He had hit an impasse in his training progress.
This bottleneck did not stem from his attribute growth rate - the steady influx of points from Konoha Hospital allowed for consistent stat increases.
His advancement in Sage Mode techniques flowed smoothly as well, fueled by the chakra reserves visibly swelling within his coils daily.
No, his true impediment lay in mastering advanced ninjutsu.
It had been two full weeks since learning the Chidori, yet he struggled to conceptualize the derived Chidori Stream variant he envisioned.
Progress with the Rasengan also was grinded at an agonizingly slow crawl.
This stagnation sowed seeds of self-doubt in Colt's mind. Was he simply...not talented enough?
In truth, his unprecedented earlier success had simply raised his expectations unrealistically.
For others, his current pace would be considered prodigious beyond reason.
After all, it took the legendary Minato Namikaze three full years to develop the Rasengan initially (rumor had it, two and a half just to come up with the name).
Sasuke himself did not begin mastering the advanced Chidori Current until three years after learning the base technique.
To expect completion of either in a mere two weeks, through just sporadic after-class practice sessions, would be sheer insanity.
...
After pondering further, Colt opened his System attribute panel to examine his point reserves.
Points: 28,386
Having recently crossed 15,000 points, Colt intended to directly purchase the Nine-Tailed Beast's chakra seed.
However, a prompt from the System gave him pause:
[Hint: Any acquired Tailed Beast Chakra Seed will begin developing naturally after exchanging for it.
Should the Host wish to fuse other Tailed Beast Seeds, exchange all nine simultaneously to avoid chakra imbalances that could prove otherwise catastrophic.]
The gist - by purchasing the nine-tail's chakra, Colt would essentially become its Jinchūriki host.
Adding further Tailed Beast chakra seeds risked death for him by spiritual dissonance unless he acquired all nine at once.
To manifest the primordial Juubi itself, either exchange all nine seeds together during the initial purchase...
'Or I can just acquire the singular Juubi Seed directly.'
The fusion process would then birth the Tailed Beast in an immature, gestating state.
Colt reviewed the costs - Gyūki's chakra at 7000 points, the Kyūbi's seed being the priciest at 15,000, while each other Tailed Beast cost 5000 points apiece.
A grand total of 57,000 points to forge the Juubi from individual components.
After nearly six years of frugal saving, Colt only had around 30,000 points.
Estimating future earnings rates from routine Konoha missions, he would need to wait for a major conflict like Orochimaru's invasion before accruing enough.
Those chaotic battles provided bountiful harvests indeed.
"Ah, screw waiting. Might as well spend what I have," Colt resolved at last.
There was one other item in the System store that always caught his eye, though he never felt prepared to make the splurge.
[Ninja's Nature: Talent Skill - Upon acquisition, the Host's Ninjutsu potency increases by 30%, while Chakra Recovery accelerates by 30%.
Hidden Effect: Ability to develop ninja techniques and strategies to the utmost pinnacle attainable in this world.]
An incredibly potent passive skill - ignoring the Ninjutsu and Chakra boosts alone, that hidden talent effect made Colt salivate enviously.
What did "pinnacle attainable" even entail in this world?
At a minimum, it implied reaching the level of the Sage of Six Paths himself.
But such divine prowess came with a befitting price tag.
A whopping 8000 points - almost as costly as acquiring half a Tailed Beast's chakra!
Still, Colt rationalized that hoarding points pointlessly only turned one into a glorified hamster.
Better to spend judiciously and treat himself for once.
After all, dealing hefty doses of protagonist-grade thrashings to Orochimaru's forces in the future would replenish his treasury considerably every time.
Not to mention, Naruto would struggle hard in those early days before attaining Shadow Clones and the abundant Uzumaki vitality.
As the boy's closest friend, aiding his growth was practically an obligation.
"System, exchange for [Ninja's Nature.]"
As the words left his mouth, the specified item icon dimmed with a redeemed marker.
? ? ?
"Is...is that it?"
Colt blinked owlishly in sheer bafflement.
...
After a night's contemplation, Colt arrived at the training grounds bright and early the next morning, intent on testing this new Talent's effects.
And just an hour later...
...he experienced first-hand the true terror that was [Ninja's Nature].
As for why?
Well…
Chidori Current - fully conceptualized and rendered.
The Rasengan - mastered effortlessly.
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