"You are ready for a mission", Mumei spoke as he left, "Be ready. You are dismissed until then"
"We won...", Tetsu spoke, his eyes tearing up, his bloodline release activating uncontrollably
Fighting the urge to laugh out erratically, Ameruyi shouted: "Stop it, Tetsu! I hate it when you do that"
Ryugo stayed silent, merely taking a few steps back.
He looked at his teammates.
[Ameruyi Takeda - Lv. 20 (↑4) Genin]
[Tetsu Waraiko - Lv. 13 (↑5) Genin]
In the past three weeks, Ryugo had trained his team to improve at a monstrous rate.
Ameruyi had mastered a secret technique of her clan, the C-rank Silent Rain Kenjutsu Needle Rain jutsu, which would have been lethal to Mumei if he had not been fast enough to dodge the blow. This alone would have made him think twice before proposing a joint team hunting exercise to test them. Besides this, her kenjutsu style had solidified, and she was stronger, faster.
Tetsu had completed a lot of post-training chakra control exercises. Rather than the leaf sticking method that was a Konohagakure's secret exercise, Ryugo adapted the version and created the droplet sticking method. In essence, it was the same thing. The goal was to make a droplet stand onto a surface by infusing chakra. Too much chakra, and the droplet would burst. Too little, and it would fall. In return, this expanded his chakra control by leaps and bounds, and allowed him to dive into deeper, more complex genjutsu. His latest mastery over the two-layered Rain Curtain (D) genjutsu was impressive.
Ryugo could handle three droplets at the same time, a huge leap from before.
More importantly, the both of them had been tamed. Ameyuri no longer considered him from a 'lower-standing' clan. He had imposed his strategy and tactics, and also proved that he was not weak.
Winning against Mumei proved two things.
Ryugo was the brain of the team.
They were strong.
Tetsu's low confidence had risen significantly after receiving praise from the stern Mumei. This would serve them well in missions.
'Well, I felt like I was wasting time, but having reliable companions is really important. Even a chunin like Mumei got done by genins like us. As long as you fight with numbers, anyone below kage rank can be brought down', Ryugo analysed, 'For now, this should be enough. It is not like Kage-level powerhouses roam freely in times of peace'
[Status: Ryugo Kagutsu | Lv. 18 (↑7) Genin (550 / 600)
Attributes (Scale 100):
Chakra Density: C (10) (↑70) | Chakra Control: C (30) (↑80)Mind: D (20) (↑10)
Agility: D (65) (↑55) | Strength: D (85) (↑75) | Stamina: D (55) (↑45)
Perk: Lightning Specialist (+10% Proficiency in Raiton), Team 11 Captain (+20% EXP to Team 11)
Skill Proficiencies(Scale 100):
Bloodline Release: Raikōgan I (C) (15) (↑15)
Ninjutsu(Raiton): White Lion Storm Bite (C) (72) (↑52), Lightning Clone (D) (60) (↑20), Lightning Arc (D) (64) (↑22), Lightning Snake Kunai (D) (45) (↑5), Thunder Clap (D) (45) (↑5),
Genjutsu: Genjutsu Reversal (D) (50) (↑10)
Kenjutsu: Rain Swordsmanship (D) (70) (↑30)
Taijutsu: Academy Rain Fist Style (E) (65) (↑5)
Miscellaneous: Stealth (C) (65) (↑5), Kunai Throwing (D) (57) (↑6), Strategy (D) (55) (↑15), Logistics (D) (10), Wilderness Survival (D) (10), Trading (D) (10), Eloquence (D) (33) (↑23), History (E) (50), Flute (E) (15)]
He, too, had grown a lot. Ninjutsu, mainly, as well as Kenjutsu.
Rather than learning any fancy jutsu, Ryugo focused on mastering his arsenal of skills. He did not want to become a jack of all trades, but rather, a ninjutsu specialist.
He fixed his close combat weaknesses by raising his physical attributes and kenjutsu.
However, more than the rest, he had grown tremendously in terms of chakra density and control, to the point that his White Lion Storm Bite, could obliterate trees on its passage. The only problem was the time it took to cast it, with 16 hand seals. However, if he could launch it, it could ravage everything on its passage.
'Is it enough?'
That's a question he asked himself on a daily basis.
He had done everything he could have, from asking pointers in kenjutsu from Ameruyi, a Takeda heir.
He had trained his genjutsu resistance by asking Tetsu's to use him as a guinea pig.
He had trained his leadership by seizing control and defeating Mumei.
However, he knew that it might not be sufficient. There were hundreds of other players, and though they were none from Amegakure, he knew that his growth rate was not the highest among all. Even though the system was stingy, raising proficiency of skills could be done by completing repeatable quests.
[Repeatable Quest - Kunai Throw (E)
Task: Accurately throw 1000 kunai on a 50-yards target (580 / 1000)
Reward: +3 Proficiency in Kunai Throwing, 15 EXP]
He had dozens of such quests.
If he had them, the others had them too. He did everything he could, but there was no telling how strong the others were.
'The gap will widen', Ryugo thought inwardly.
Training was one thing, but the true way to level up was on the battlefield. Completing missions, ranking up. From his hypothesis testing, Ryugo found a correlation between the scale and impact of actions and the rewards from the system. The more important a mission, the higher the rewards.
A simple, D-rank test mission had awarded him 200 EXP. What would a C-rank mission bring? Or a B-rank, or A-rank? Thousands, likely, as well as unique jutsu and perhaps perks as well.
As such, as more time passed, the bigger the gaps would be.
It was not just him. With the system, anyone could grow stronger.
Even if he just trained, at this rate, he could become a jonin by the time the Second Shinobi War began.
However, Amegakure's fate was not satisfactory.
If he wanted to secure survival in this world alongside hundreds of probably just as egoistical players as him, he needed to grow much more, infinitely more.
Konohagakure was already strong, but he could tell that the players would make waves in their ranks, make them bolder. He needed to prepare against them. They would have more jonins than they originally had. That was for sure. But they would also have more internal conflicts.
He never regretted his decision to choose Amegakure.
There, he could become a stable powerhouse.
Unlike Konohagakure, Sunagakure, Kirigakure, Kumogakure or Iwagakure.
He was, after all, the only Gamer of Amegakure.