Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.
Betad by Priapus, Mike God of Lore, Malcolm Tent, Marethyu, Beans
Guild of Gamers: The Challenger
Chapter 02: Chi
— Quest Section —
How should Kyo go forward?
Tell the Hokage, this is a ninja village and he's going to find out either way. (58%)Reveal his abilities, but pass it off as part of his training. He has Water Release anyway, it's close enough, right? (11%)Fuck drawing attention. Play dumb, don't show them in public or on missions. As far as the world knows, he's still entirely boring, average Kyo. (31%)
What should Kyo do next?
Challenge another person from Avatar. It worked once, and why change what isn't broken? (36%) - Ty Lee won the second round.Challenge another person from Avatar, but focus on the Legend of Korra this time. (11%)Try to work out how to unlock a new world. The more the merrier, right? (10%)Challenge someone from Konoha, see how it works with people from his world. (14%)What the fuck is a Gimmick Challenge? (17%)What the fuck is an Event Challenge? (12%)
– Kyo Senju –
"You think you can escape me?" I shout, adrenaline flooding my body as I rush through the streets. "You have no idea how outmatched you are."
My quarry continues their desperate flight, but far too slowly. Its desperate scurrying can't help them escape from me, not here, not in a fight like this. This is my area of expertise, this is where all my training pays off.
It slides under a cabbage cart, but I'm already halfway through a jutsu before it even tries, the earth under the stand reacting and sending it flying as two pillars of stone rise from the street beneath it. With a dive, I grab my prey by the tail with a smug smile.
"Do you know how long I've been a genin? How many times I had to catch that fucking cat? No animal can escape me for long," I boast, holding the winged lemur by the tail. Momo squawks angrily, but victory is mine.
Gimmick Challenge Succeeded!
Rewards: Momo Summon.
Hell yeah. I've chased Tora, the Fire Daimyo's wife's cat, far too many times not to be able to catch Momo. Ignoring the cry about cabbages behind me, I reappear in my living room with a grin.
Gimmick challenges are interesting. They work under the same rules as normal challenges, but the goal doesn't seem to be based on fighting the target.
Focusing, I watch as Momo, the small, cream coloured lemur, appears on my coffee table.
"So, can you actually do anything?" I ask, watching Momo stare back at me with large eyes, not a single thought behind them. "...is that a no?"
Momo just shrugs, showing that he's at least smart enough to understand human speech. Well, that's fine. He can always act as my recon. Lots of ninjas use animal summons, after all. The Hokage has the Monkey King, the three Sannin have their own summons, the Inuzuka clan have their dogs, and Hanzo has his Salamanders. It's why he's known as Hanzo the Salamander, after all.
I shall be… Kyo the Lemur. Kyo the Winged Lemur. Kyomur.
No, it just doesn't have the same oomph.
"...can you bend?" I ask, watching as Momo scratches his head. Damn it. "Well, you look cool anyway. You have hands, so we can just give you some senbon to throw at people or something. It'll work out."
Sure, he's not particularly strong but I'd rather have him than not. Even if he only increases my chance of victory by 0.01%, it's still an increase. Petting his soft fur, I frown for a moment as I consider how to go forward.
I can't hide this. Sure, people don't watch me as much anymore, but I've been progressing at a slow but steady pace for years. Trying to feign that I'm the same as I was before is just asking for trouble. This is, after all, a ninja village. The Hokage might be a kind old man most of the time, but he's still a military dictator with an army of spies and assassins under his control.
I'm not delusional enough to think I can hide things from him or the ANBU. With clans like the Nara and Yamanaka around, any attempt at subterfuge against my village is just asking for trouble.
I could just show off a little on my next mission, and try to pass off waterbending as just the product of my training, but… who the fuck is going to buy that? I've got years of proof that I am not a genius. Average genin don't produce an entirely new form of water jutsu that requires no seals and can heal. The moment I show it off, people are going to ask questions, and while I don't have to answer most, the moment the Hokage asks me anything, I'll be stuck between confessing and lying, and I do not have any faith in my ability to lie to the fucking Hokage.
That is treason. I might not be what the village wanted of me, but I am still a ninja of Konoha. I'm still a Senju. My family, my grandfather, built this village. That means something. I refuse to become a missing-nin. I won't risk it all by trying something so stupid as lying to the Hokage's face. I doubt he'd exile or imprison me over it, don't get me wrong, but I just don't see trying to hide this from him going well for me. At best, I prove myself untrustworthy and end up with babysitters watching my every move.
"Hey, Momo," I finally say, getting his attention. "I've got a job for you."
I have him, I might as well put him to use, right?
Writing my message, I seal it with the Senju clan seal. It's not like Tsunade took it with her when she ran off, and I am the heir of the clan, so I'm allowed to use it. It's also not as if they're expecting Tsunade to have a child, given her true age. Our parents might have been siblings, but there was a significant age gap between them. She might look like she's in her twenties, but she's somewhere in her fifties. I suppose it's possible she could have a kid, given that my grandparents were older when they had my father and my own parents had me late, but she's also not one for responsibilities, clearly. I pity any child born to the drunken runaway.
Well, Aunt Shizune is with her so I suppose it wouldn't be that bad. It just means Shizune has to babysit two children instead of one.
Issues aside, I'm not above abusing the Senju name for emergencies and this counts, right?
It takes a little handiwork, but it isn't hard to make a little backpack for Momo, and soon he's on his way to deliver his message. In truth, this is a little test of my summons and how it works. I can sense my connection to Momo as he moves through the village toward the Hokage tower. I've been there enough to give Momo directions on who to deliver the message to.
The reason I stamped it with the Senju seal is that if I had sent a regular message, it could have taken forever for it to reach Hiruzen's desk. As I said, I'm not above abusing my family name when I have to. Momo should deliver the message to one of his assistants at the front desk if he follows my orders correctly. I can't see or hear what Momo sees, but I can sense his general location and distance from me, so I know he's heading the right way.
The message itself is vague enough that even if it's intercepted, it won't cause any harm.
Still, if I'm going to go about things this way… I need more to show for my words. Don't get me wrong, Waterbending and its related healing is good, and I can dismiss and resummon Momo to show that he's not just some weird animal I found, but I'd rather have more evidence.
Confident that Momo understood his job, I focus again. I could try to unlock another 'world' to challenge, or try out 'The Legend of Korra' which seems to be set in the future of the Last Airbender, but I know the Last Airbender is doable. I could also try this local challenge thing, but if there's one thing ninjas don't love, it's people stealing their techniques. There's a reason the Uchiha were so infamous. I'd have to be very careful over who I challenged because I don't have the pull to get away with going 'whoops, stole your bloodline'.
But, at the same time, so many of these people could beat my ass. Azula ended me in an instant, and she's not close to the most dangerous person I can challenge. Huh, why is this dude just called 'Combustion Man'? Well, I don't love the idea of being combusted, and he seems out of my league at the moment.
In the end, I narrowed it down to four people.
'The Boulder' for Earthbending. I almost challenged the tiny girl before I realised that her difficulty is classified as 'extreme' despite being blind and a child. Mai for her skill with throwing weapons. June and Nyla, so I can get a more combat-focused summon than Momo and finally Ty Lee for her taijutsu and Chi-Blocking.
It sounds an awful lot like the Hyuuga's bullshit, but it's unique enough that they can't throw a bitchfit over it. Well, they could and probably will, but they won't be listened to. It's not like I'm showing up rocking a Byakugan. The system assures me that Chi-Blocking would have an effect on Chakra, so having the ability to disrupt other people's Chakra would be a good start.
Mai would be a valuable addition to my current skill set. We both favour throwing weapons, after all. The issue is that she's not particularly flashy, and I want something to show off. Nyla would definitely count, but… well, I'm not entirely sure I could take her down, even without taking June into account. That tongue would paralyse me with a touch, and then I'm just shirshu food.
The Boulder seemed great until I saw that it's a gimmick fight where I can only use Earth Jutsu and taijutsu. No weapons allowed. Sure, I'm decent with them but if he's half as good with earth as Katara is with water, I'm shit out of luck. I need to get better with Earth Jutsu before I am willing to go into a fight where it's my only real weapon. I shouldn't count on getting close to someone who can freely manipulate the earth, after all.
So, hello Ty Lee.
Ty Lee Challenged!
Challenge: Ty Lee
Tier One: Ty Lee
Objective: Defeat Ty Lee in a death match.
Conditions: Arena (combatants cannot leave the marked area)
Difficulty: Moderate.
Rewards: Chi-Blocking, Ty Lee's Agility and Acrobatics, Ty Lee's Outfit (Male Variant).
Appearing in a… circus ring I look around, locking eyes with my target as she gives me a friendly wave. Man, am I going to have to keep killing cute girls? This doesn't feel great.
Ty Lee is beyond cute, in truth. She's one of the hottest women I've seen that isn't Kurenai-sensei. Her pink outfit which leaves her midriff on display, only adds to her appeal as she twirls her braid playfully.
"Hi!" Ty Lee greets with a wave.
"Hey," I return, looking around curiously for a moment. Unlike Katara, she isn't swearing vengeance for my imaginary crimes and doesn't seem in a rush to fight me.
"Sorry about this!" Ty Lee continues, rushing forward with an impressive amount of speed. She's at least as fast as I am, closing the distance almost immediately.
Never mind.
"Same," I admit, tossing a handful of senbon at her, watching her twirl out of the way of them as I make some distance. First problem with Waterbending, I need water to do anything, and I don't exactly have any around here beyond my flask of spirit water, which I don't want to waste.
Flying through some hand seals, I make my move as I sink into the ground. Hiding Like A Mole might be a stupid name, but she's not a bender, and she doesn't really have a counter for me just fucking off underground.
I can sense where she is, as long as she is touching the ground that I'm infusing with my chakra, sensing her stop her charge. I imagine she's a little frustrated, but I'm not letting someone who can fuck with my chakra within arm's reach of me. Fight fair? What am I, a Samurai?
Fuck that. I'm a ninja. It's only cheating if you lose.
Moving through the earth to where I sense her, I try to pop up just long enough to slice at her heel with a kunai, but she's fast. My hand has barely begun to leave the ground before she's flipping away, landing on the small wall surrounding the 'arena' to avoid me. That's fine, I can work with this.
I have a cunning plan.
Going through my shit, I pull out one of my tags and attach it to the kunai before I pop up again and toss it. Ty Lee's eyes widen in surprise, then confusion, as I throw the kunai in the exact opposite direction. Her confusion doesn't last long as I run underground again, just in time to watch the kunai stab into the wooden partition.
I don't have Fire Release, but tags are pay-to-win. I took an interest in sealing since it's an Uzumaki art, and while I'm not great, I can make some simple elemental tags. Enough to set a wooden wall and circus tent on fire. See, we're in a very limited arena… and while I can't leave, neither can she.
She can't stand on the wall when the wall is burning down.
Once I accepted that I was not a genius, I came to the conclusion that if I can't win in a fair fight, I should fight unfairly. I don't want to give her a chance to beat me up, because that'd just be embarrassing, so why not just leave her to burn?
As I said, there's no water here. Soon, there won't be much oxygen either, but I've got a nice pocket of fresh air down here. Enough to last me while I wait her out, at any rate. I'm pretty good at covering my tracks with this technique, and the smoke can't get through the ground once it hardened again.
Meanwhile, she's trapped in a burning circus.
…why are we at the circus?
I can sense her running around the arena, but the rules that bind me are just as ruthless to her. I can also sense support beams falling to the ground as the tent burns and collapses. It must be nightmarish up there, the exit is right there and she just can't use it.
Peeking my head up again, I swiftly run through some handseals again, listening to her surprised cry as the wood at her feet rises up into a tree, its branches trying to wrap around her. She's very agile, but she can't really escape with the circus tent on top of her. Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death, Kurenai's favourite.
I put a lot of effort into learning it because… well, it was as close to Wood Release as I was going to get. It's probably my most advanced technique, and it took me ages to learn, even under the top Genjutsu mistress of Konoha. This jutsu goes back to the war before the villages were even founded, designed to make people panic as they are tricked into believing that they are fighting Hashirama himself.
Sorry, no Hashirama Senju here.
Just Kyo the Winged Lemur.
Or would it be Kyo the Mole?
Moving through the ground, I pop up beneath where she's struggling with the entangling branches and shamelessly slap an explosive tag on her leg and slip back beneath the earth. Sorry, I don't want to watch such a cute girl getting blown up.
Challenge Succeeded!
Rewards: Chi-Blocking, Ty Lee's Agility and Acrobatics, Ty Lee's Outfit (Male Variant).
I don't think my grandfather would be overly proud of this, but my granduncle Tobirama might have been. He practically invented war crimes.
Challenge Tier Two: Kyoshi Warrior Ty Lee?
Rewards: Kyoshi Training (War Fans and Katana), Ty Lee Summon, Kyoshi Warrior Gear.
Huh, this is only hard. Sozin's Comet Katara was marked as way harder, so… yeah, why not? Hard isn't impossible, after all.
Appearing in a clearing, I pause as two dozen women in green armour and facepaint turn to me.
Ah.
I think I see the problem here.
"This is gonna hurt, huh?" I ask, stretching slightly to buy myself time as I lay eyes on Ty Lee. I'd recognise those curves- that braid anywhere.
"No more than burning alive and then being blown up did!" Ty Lee responds cheerfully.
"Yeah, that's fair," I shrug. "No hard feelings?"
"Well, I was going to beat you to death, so nope, we're good!" Ty Lee agrees with a grin as she pulls out a war fan.
"I don't suppose we could go back to fighting one-on-one? Or someone could lend me a sword? This feels a little unfair," I say, holding my hands up.
"Sure, I don't really use mine," Ty Lee agrees as her warrior friends begin to surround me. To my confusion, she actually draws the katana at her waist and throws it to me. Catching it, I give her a quick thanks, no reason to be rude. "We're still going to jump you, though."
"Once again, fair," I admit, starting my hand seals. But, they learn from what happened in previous tiers… and clearly, she isn't eager for me to run away underground again as a dozen women descend upon me. I used to dream of moments like these, but the women were wearing less and not wielding blades and battle fans.
My jutsu is interrupted as I have to dodge an attempt to slit my throat, which seems a little uncalled for. Still, Ty Lee is damn good as I do a cartwheel away, kicking my attacker in the chin on my escape. Of course, my escape just takes me to another woman who wants to beat my ass, and there's a limit to how much I can dodge as I block her attack with my borrowed katana, only for a second blade to slice into my side. Ty Lee isn't idle either, dashing in close as her fingers stab out at me. My new understanding of pressure points helpfully tells me what she's doing as her hands dance across my body, each strike sending a shudder of pain through me as she begins to block my chi and chakra.
To add insult to injury, as she pulls back, she steals my fucking spirit water flask as well. That's just rude.
Remember how I said it'd be embarrassing to be beaten up by a girl? Well, it's slightly less embarrassing to be beaten up by two dozen girls as they beat me into the ground, stabbing and slashing at me. I put up a fight, don't get me wrong, but…
"Sorry!" Ty Lee says, and the worst part as I cough up blood, is that I think she actually means it. Lying face down on the ground, the group finally stops their unified ass whooping as I struggle to rise. I'm pretty sure I have a katana where my lung is supposed to be. That's not meant to go there.
Ty Lee gives me a genuinely sad expression as she approaches me, ready to finish the job. I'm sure I'm a pitiful sight, bloodied and beaten. I am really sick of being pitied, which is why…
As she rolls me over, her eyes widen at the sight of what I was doing while I was face down, panic setting in as she spots the tags currently covering my chest. Heh, if I'm gonna die either way, might as well roll the dice one last time.
Her shout to the others is probably what stops her from getting away fast enough, worried for her Kyoshi sisters more than herself as I grab her ankle, just enough to slow her down as the tags go off, engulfing us both in the blast.
Challenge Succeeded!
System Tip: Suicide attacks are entirely valid, and if your objective is complete within a second of your demise, it will count as a successful challenge.
Rewards: Kyoshi Training (War Fans and Katana), Ty Lee Summon, Kyoshi Warrior Gear.
Reappearing in my living room, I let out a pained shout at the feeling of my broken body being blown to pieces, touching my limbs to remind my brain that we're still alive.
"Man, that was mean," Ty Lee adds, sitting opposite me. "Has anyone told you that you're kinda an asshole?"
"Better to be a victorious asshole than an honourable loser," I reply. "So, how does this work?"
"How should I know? It's your power," Ty Lee counters with a shrug. "If you're worried I'm going to attack you, don't be. I don't think I physically can, master."
"This is gonna take some getting used to," I admit. "Err, I should probably test this. Do a backflip?"
Ty Lee just giggles as she rises, jumping on the spot and easily performing a standing backflip.
"So, what happens now?" Ty Lee asks, looking around curiously.
"If all goes well, I get through a talk with an old man who could kill us both with a sneeze without getting into a mountain of shit," I admit. Time didn't move on during the challenges, and Momo is still on his way to the Hokage tower. "Wanna spar? I need to get used to your fighting style."
"Sure!"
[Ty Lee's Agility and Acrobatics]
Ty Lee is famous for her acrobatics and reflexes, allowing her to fight benders on even grounds and handle regular soldiers with ease. Now, you can move like her.
[Ty Lee's Outfit (Male Variant)]
Congratulations, you're officially a part of the circus in this stylish pink revealing outfit.
[Chi-Blocking]
Chi-blocking is an ancient technique that can be used to block someone's chi, rendering the victim's muscles useless and temporarily disabling a bender's abilities. Practised in secret for centuries, it is mainly used by nonbenders as a means of self-defence.
[Kyoshi Warrior Gear]
The signature green armoured kimono and white facepaint of the Kyoshi Warriors, along with a round retractable shield, a set of two War Fans and a Katana.
[Kyoshi Training (War Fans and Katana)]
The Kyoshi warriors are famous for their talent with their signature War Fans, following the example of the Avatar Kyoshi. With this, you have the skills of an upper-class Kyoshi warrior when it comes to War Fans, Katanas and their other techniques.
Definitely worth a little exploding.
– Later –
I expected to have a little more time, in truth. Is the Senju seal just that effective? I've only used it once before and that was to requisition some restricted jutsu scrolls.
"It has been a while, Kyo," Hiruzen says, giving Ty Lee a curious smile as he strokes his beard. "Your message came as quite the surprise."
"It has been, Lord Hokage," I say with a respectful bow. "And I am simply following protocol for the discovery of new bloodline abilities. I have no jounin sensei anymore, so I thought it would be best to report to you directly."
His eyes narrow at that, and his fingers tap against the desk in a pattern as the door is closed. He takes a puff of his pipe, as I'm sure the security seals are being placed around the office.
"You were right to do so, Kyo. Now, tell me everything," Hiruzen requests.
Despite the weirdness of my story, he remains quiet as I explain things. It sounds insane, just coming from my mouth, given the multi-dimensional nonsense involved, but if he doubts my word, he doesn't show it.
Ty Lee backs me up, admitting that she remembers both her entire life in her world and our fights. She's not the 'real' Ty Lee, something she seems well aware of, but she certainly seems real enough. Momo… tries to back me up, as best he can.
After I finish, ready to have to argue to avoid being thrown into a mental hospital, he simply hums to himself and makes his next 'request'.
'Show me.'
It's amazing how fast a secluded training area can be arranged when the Hokage wants it. A willing test subject gets subjected to both my and Ty Lee's chi-blocking, an injured ninja is healed by Waterbending and I show off my ability to control water without any hand seals. Some of the few observers gasp and stare during the presentation, but not the Hokage, who simply watches with thoughtful eyes.
After the exhibition, Ty Lee and I are left in a comfy lounge in the Hokage's private residence, seemingly left to our own devices as Hiruzen explains that he'll be back momentarily. I have no doubt that there are at least three ANBU watching us as we wait patiently.
As he finally returns, ending our small talk, he takes a seat and stares at me with an expression I'm all too familiar with. I've not seen it in ages, but I recognise that look all too well.
Hello again, expectations. I can't say I've missed you.