'My body needs some SUSTENENCE!'
I thought trudging through the streets on Konoha. Its been a couple weeks since the first training and now I was starting to get into the groove of things.
Most of the jutsu Hiruzen tried to show off and teach us like Shuriken Shadow clones weren't useful for future me. And because of that it was better for me to just practice my Taijutsu and chakra control.
Rubbing my eyes I take a look at my stat screen.
---
[Attributes]
Ninjutsu: Low Genin
Taijutsu: Genin > High Genin
Genjutsu: Academy Level
Shurikenjutsu: High Academy Level > Low Genin
---
[Body]
Strength: Genin
Speed/Agility: Low Genin > Genin
Stamina: High Genin
Chakra Reserves: High Genin
Chakra Control: Genin
---
[Techniques]
Ninjutsu: Transparent Escape Technique (C-rank), Body Replacement Technique (E-rank), Clone Technique (E-rank), Transformation (E-rank)
Taijutsu: Leaf Academy Taijutsu (D-rank), Muay Thai (C-rank)
-----
These past weeks were a little fruitful but slow. My Taijutsu increase a bit as my experience sparring with Orochimaru and sensei pushed me.
'Orochimaru fights exactly how you think his future self would.' I grumble. Being agile while a little week, hitting my weak spots.
My ninjutsu also improved due to my chakra control. With it being obvious that by improving one, vice versa the other one becomes easier. The last bit other than physical conditioning was agility training and shurikenjutsu.
The latter not that important to me while the former was crucial.
Currently, today was my day off.
Just a quiet morning.
Hiruzen said that he was going to be busy with Hokage duties which made sense. He couldn't be with us due to ya know, leading a village and all.
But sitting around doing nothing never sat right with me. Especially since there isn't really any entertainment for my monkey brain.
So the grind continues!
Breakfast was quick as a grilled fish set with rice costed 4$ which in my opinion wasn't too bad.
Nothing fancy, but it filled me up.
My clothes were still the same plain training gear I'd been using all week. It worked, but it didn't exactly feel… safe. I thought about the anbu armour and chain mail that shinobi like Anko or Naruto wore underneath their clothes.
When I first heard Hiruzen sensei say it wasn't just fishnet my mouth dropped.
'Well it makes sense considering that Anko's nips would have been showing.'
"Chain mail," I said under my breath. "Guess I should start saving."
Maybe Hiruzen could help a kid out...
With that thought, I slung my small pack over my shoulder and stepped out with my meal finished.
The streets were alive as usual. Some vendors called out for customers, and a handful of civilians were sweeping storefronts or setting up carts.
The library wasn't far. I'd passed it before but never gone in until now. Inside, the air was cooler, the light dim, and the smell of paper and ink filled every corner. Rows and rows of scrolls lined the shelves, most of them marked with familiar characters. Chakra theory, history, ninjutsu, genjutsu. I went straight to the front desk where an older woman sat sorting through scrolls.
"Good morning," I said, trying not to sound too awkward.
She looked up and nodded politely. "Good morning. Do you have your identification card?"
I handed it to her. She looked it over for a moment, then raised an eyebrow.
"You're one of Lord Third's students," she said. "In that case, you're allowed access and borrow scrolls ranging from E-D rank. Take the stairs up."
"Thank you. Also I have a question, do all genins have this type of access?" I ask a bit curious.
"No, only genin with Jounin sensei have the ability to do this. So make the most of it kid, you don't seem to be from a clan so this might be your lifeline." She politely answers with some encouragement at the end.
"What happens to other genin?"
"They go to the genin corps and do generalised training. But eventually they do become chunin like me." Hearing these words I nod.
Doing a quick bow, I was off.
The upstairs sections was better organized than the lower floors. Scrolls were arranged neatly by rank and type with E-rank, D-rank, chakra control, ninjutsu fundamentals. I grabbed a handful that looked useful.
---
[Three Basic Academy Techniques (E-rank)]
[Rope Escape Technique (E-rank)]
[Cloak of Invisibility Technique (E-rank)]
[Body Enhancement Technique (E-rank)]
[Cancel Technique (D-rank)]
[Chakra Shield (D-rank)]
[Body Flicker (D-rank)]
[Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique (D-rank)]
[Elemental Leaf Exercises (D-rank)]
---
The technique that interested me the most was the [Body Enhancement]. Reinforcing muscles and limbs with controlled chakra flow was always a pro.
A real difference-maker if used right.
Basically super strength.
It should be possible to improve but has a cap point. The only way to go higher is learning a better body enhancement technique.
One of my current go ninjutsu to practice currently.
Using the different elements seemed pretty useless as their kill count in the series were god awful.
Plus I'm not focusing on using any elemental jutsu right now.
Rather just use Rasengan or Taijutsu later on.
[Chakra Shield] was useless due to its limits, at a low level couldn't even block kunai fully. At a high level it blocked kunai but not elemental attacks.
The other interest was [Cancel] as its how you cancel Genjutsu placed on you.
Then came the [Body Flicker]. Fast movement through sudden chakra bursts. Simple to write, difficult to fully control. The kind of jutsu you could injure yourself with if you got overconfident.
But at some point if you have good enough chakra control.
Doing it without hand signs would be devastatingly strong.
'I mean Shisui made a name for himself with this after all. He wouldn't have a title like "Shisui of the body flicker" if anybody could do it.' I thought.
I studied each scroll for nearly an hour, memorizing hand seals and imagining how each technique would feel in practice.
By the time I stood up and stretched the only scrolls that I took back were [Cancel], [Body Flicker] and [Body Enhancement Technique]. Going down the stairs, the sight of a familiar teammate was there.
"Yo Orochimaru." I say to which he turned around. "It seems like the [Shadow Shuriken Technique] sensei gave you wasn't enough"
Seeing the stash of scrolls in his hands the side of my mouth twitched.
He simply nods. "I needed more. Are you going to the training grounds?"
"Yeah lets go together then."
Orochimaru who heard this agreed as it wasn't like we were going to intrude on each others training.
...
The training ground was quiet when we got there, just the wind brushing against the trees and the occasional chirp of birds.
Orochimaru didn't say a word. He walked to the shaded side of the clearing, unrolled one of his scrolls, and started reading.
'Damn he has like ten scrolls. Quantity over quality much?'
Meanwhile, I took to a flat area perched under a tree.
I set the three scrolls beside me and started with the Body Enhancement Technique. It sounded simple enough.
Flow chakra through my whole body or a part of it. Easy, right?
'Swirl it throughout my body.' I think to myself, as my chakra moved in a right swirl.
Its working!
It took a few minutes but eventually my chakra was circulating.
Moving around it felt like my whole body was operating just a little faster. My speed/agility also faced an increase. Lets test out strength though.
I exhaled slowly and started again.
Push it to my arms. Feel it hum in my fingers.
My arm felt a little invigorate and embracing the change, I punch the tree.
*Thwack*
"It works." I mutter with stars in my eyes. "Oww..."
The pain was still there but the tree actually had a dent in it. Right after this the technique stopped as my focus on channeling my chakra was gone.
A grin tugged at my lips. "Alright, now we're talking."
It wasn't anything flashy, but it was practical. With enough polish, this could mesh well with Muay Thai and blitzing opponents.
"Might even help me land a hit on that slippery Orochimaru next spar." I mutter.
It was progress.
I sat down, stretching out my legs before pulling out the next scroll. The Cancel Technique. is simple in theory. Just disrupt your own chakra flow to break a genjutsu.
'It's basically just moving the chakra in your chakra points. The more chakra you move, the higher level it is and the Genjutsu dispelled.'
"Cancel!" I shout while making one hand seal.
My chakra bursted.
'Just a few more.'
This exercise just took a few minutes.
A quick glance to my right. Orochimaru was weaving through hand signs as a blue hue surrounded him. It was probably the [Chakra Shield] that I ignored.
"Wow,"
It did look sort of cool...
I turned back to my own business and unrolled the last scroll. The most important one, the Body Flicker Technique. A sudden burst of chakra to move at high speeds. That's what the notes said. I could already tell this one was a disaster waiting to happen.
Still, I wasn't about to let a little warning stop me. I gathered chakra using some hand signs.
FWOOOOSH
*Thud*
Face met grass.
"Ow. Okay, that's… yeah, that's gonna need Sensei's help."
I dusted myself off, spat out a leaf. But the faintest noise of a chuckle could be heard as I whip my heard arond. Orochimaru actually chuckled.
"What are you looking at!" I shout which made him turn around, smile still plastered on his face.
I walked toward the nearest tree, wiping the sweat from my forehead.
Now it was time for some Tree Walking.
Currently Hiruzen was making me just use more leaves which was fine. But it was annoying at times. Constantly having to pick off and place a multitude of leaves around my face, arms and legs.
Tree walking though, I'd seen it in the series and was something even Sasuke took some time to do. Channeling chakra to your feet, making it cling to the surface. Was the exercise even easier for Sakrua because she was light and starved herself?
It seemed brutal the way Sasuke and Naruto fell.
'My back...'
I took a slow breath and placed my foot on the bark.Focus. Steady.Push the chakra down.Not too much. Not too little.
The first step held.The second didn't.
My body met the ground for the second time today
"Okay… maybe not that steady," I groaned, not in pain but feeling a little tired. Opening my eyes I see Orochimaru staring at me from above.
"Jiraiya, I'm heading home. Wanna go eat?" He simply asks, his tone so nuetral its as if he didn't care which answer I gave.
"Sure! Hey on the topic of food did Hiruzen give you any extra money?"
My question was genuine. If Hiruzen only gave me money that was amazing, if he gave other money it was expected. Why would he starve his students after all.
"He did, I assume you got some as well?"
"Yep." I say in glee giving a peace sign. "How do you think this big boy got so large!"
Showing off my still skinny bicep, Orochimaru has to squint at them before pausing. "They might of gotten bigger."
Huh the more you know.
"Alright lets go then." Putting my hand over his shoulder he just accepts his fate with a the faintest of smiles.
Orochimaru and I made our way down the familiar path toward the main street, the faint hum of the village filling the air. We stopped by a small shop tucked between two larger buildings. The smell of grilled meat and soy sauce hit me like a jutsu to the gut.
We ordered rice bowls and found a quiet corner.
"So," I started between bites, "I've been thinking."
Orochimaru looked up from his food, chopsticks pausing mid-air. "That's dangerous."
"Ha-ha," I deadpanned. "No, listen. You know how sensei's known for having that monkey summon? Enma, right?"
A faint flicker of curiosity sparked in his eyes. "Yes. What about it?"
"Well, don't you think it's… kind of fitting? I mean, if our sensei has a summon, shouldn't his team have some too? Might make us stronger. Or, y'know, help him in missions."
Orochimaru hummed, looking thoughtful. "Summons require contracts. They're not easily obtained."
"Sure, sure," I waved my chopsticks lazily. "But maybe if you asked him about it, he'd actually consider teaching us how to get some." I straight up lie.
The real thing I wanted was to know the hand signs to be able to make it to the toad lands anyways. So any way to get them were fine, even if I asked myself. Better yet Orochimaru does it so I can try to memorise the hand signs.
That earned me a sharp glance, but he didn't deny it. Instead, he gave a small nod, eyes glinting with interest.
"Perhaps," he said simply.
Inside, I smirked. Perfect.
If Orochimaru brought it up, then maybe I had a shot at the toad contract.
Especially since Jiraya while not originally having full sage mode, had Ma and Pa on his shoulders. This makes it so he doesn't need to channel nature energy himself at all, reducing the down time.
Better yet if I can become a perfect sage but still have Ma and Pa on my shoulders, it was a win, win scenario.
After finishing up our food, Orochimaru and I made our separate ways with scrolls in hand.
Before going home I checked my stat page again.
---
[Attributes]
Ninjutsu: Low Genin > Genin
Taijutsu: High Genin
Genjutsu: Academy Level > Genin[1]
Shurikenjutsu: Low Genin
---
'We are getting higher in the world baby!'
[1] The explanation for this is that, Genjutsu isn't inherently hard to break if you know you're in it. The problem comes if its too high of a level. So learning [Cancel] boosts him a lot here.