Hey everyone, I didn't write anything yesterday because today was my thesis defense and I was studying. The good news is I passed, and now I can get or apply for my degree; the bad news is I'm short on credits to apply, but that's just a minor detail.
Because of this, this chapter will be a bit longer. I won't drag this out, since it's not very important, so let's continue with the fic.
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Right now, the three of us were standing in front of the Hokage. He looked quite nervous, especially since the amount of smoke in the room was higher than usual.
I think it was because of our faces; Minato had a look of guilt and resignation; Kosuke had the typical Uchiha stoicism. It's worth mentioning that I was able to reattach his ear, but I used flesh from his body to connect the missing parts. Finally, I was glaring at the old man with a face of Spartan fury.
Before the old monkey could speak, I interrupted him.
"Who was the idiot who carried out this mission, deserving of an award for ultimate stupidity?" I asked, but judging by the old monkey's expression, I can tell it was his idea.
"I know the mission didn't go as well as expected, but that's no excuse," I said, cutting him off.
"Excuse me, but we were so close to reaching the memorial wall, so I think my fury is completely justified, especially knowing the information was compromised," I retorted.
Now you're probably wondering what I'm talking about. Well, this is part of the intelligence I obtained, tool number 5.
Using his clan's techniques, he discovered that when the message of support for the Takigakure border was sent, the border had already been destroyed days earlier. This was thanks to the team having a spy, which allowed Iwa to infiltrate and destroy the place in seconds.
From there, the same spy would send a message of support, preparing an ambush for the backup team and extracting as much current information as possible about the village's forces.
This could have been avoided using counter-information or a more sophisticated method to detect when information has been altered, which the village technically possesses, but this time the verification process was overlooked due to the gravity of the situation. This also explains why the backup group was so small; as soon as the situation became known, they acted immediately to address it.
The old monkey simply sighed.
"I can only apologize for all of this and thank you for returning safely with this information; it would have been detrimental to send more platoons to their deaths in a place that is no longer safe," he said, taking a drag on his pipe. "You'll each receive the pay from an A-rank mission as compensation for your trouble. Minato, I need a written report on what happened so I can discuss this situation with the council in more detail."
"Yes, Mr. Hokage," Minato said.
It's worth noting that Minato and Kosuke didn't mention my Wood Release or the Root Anbu at my request; after all, it was thanks to them that we were able to return alive. They owed me, and I emphasized this several times to make them feel guilty and keep quiet, especially Minato, which worked.
So the three of us left and remained silent.
"What now?" Kosuke asked.
"I'm going to take a bath now. I smell like a dead dog, and you two aren't any better, so you should do the same, you stinky lot. See you tomorrow on the battlefield." With that, I left, leaving my two companions speechless.
...
I stared intently at my opponent, gripped Etto firmly, and, channeling chakra into my weapon, sliced the training dummy in half. Kushina's applause could be heard in the distance as she watched me execute that attack in a split second.
"Impressive, Miyu. You've improved quite a bit these past few months, and you were able to use this technique... um, what was it called again?" she began, trying to recall the jutsu I had just used.
"It's the Chakra Flow Jutsu," I replied, addressing what Kushina was searching for.
The Chakra Flow Jutsu is the technique Asuma Sarutobi used in Naruto Shippuden. I already had knowledge and practice of this technique, but only on my own body, or more specifically, on my fists. I had never used it with my sword.
Several months have passed since the near-annihilation of our three-person squad; during this time, I've dedicated myself more to training in bukijutsu, blending it with other jutsu techniques.
Something I'd like to mention is that I've managed to complete my fuinjutsu technique, which I call the Explosive Seal Jutsu.
This jutsu involves touching an object, whether animate or inanimate, and leaving an explosive talisman mark on it that I can detonate at will. This was inspired by the fact that Minato was able to place the mark of the Flying Thunder God on certain objects; hence, the question arose: can one place another type of seal simply by placing one hand on something?
The answer is both yes and no. Since I wasn't able to do it without a catalyst, or reinforcement, I have to use a seal before placing another. Basically, what I do is transcribe the explosive seal that's on my hand. To use this jutsu, I need bandages, which have the seal I want to copy and apply to the chosen object.
But the important thing is that it works. Now, with these bandages with seals, I just have to touch something with the palm of my hand and use chakra on the seal, and it will stay. It will create an explosive seal wherever it touches, and depending on the amount of chakra I use, the explosion will be more or less powerful.
This seal can't be removed; I just have to perform the Ram Seal, which I can do with just one hand, to detonate it from a good distance.
"I think it's time to finish up," I said, slipping off the ceremonial yukata. I was currently wearing only ninja shorts, without a shirt, bra, or anything like that. I was only covered with bandages on my torso; my breasts hadn't grown yet, since I was only nine years old.
But I imagine that in puberty I'll develop melons very similar to Tsunade's, which I'll continue to wrap with bandages, since it's more comfortable for fighting and they don't get in the way as much as loose melons or something that doesn't hold them up properly.
Something to add is that I was recently promoted to the rank of Chunin along with Kosekue, so our squad of three is now just high-level Chunin. Currently, all three of us are categorized as elite Chunin and are one step away from becoming Jonin, but progress is slow, and I don't think that will happen.
Because of this, I was also given the position of clan leader, which means I have more freedom and, by extension, more responsibilities that I delegate to the few remaining clan members.
I put on some ninja sandals and went to Kushina, still carrying Etto at my hips, ready to be used at any moment. This may be the village where I was born, but that doesn't mean there aren't enemies hiding in its corners.
"Boo, why can't I go with you? I'm bored," Kushina pouted.
"Why don't you go see Minato then? I don't think he'd mind you bothering him," I countered.
"Well, I was going to help the ninja academy with some junior students today, so I can't go see him right now," she said, blushing slightly.
"That's a shame. And what's that?" I asked, pointing to the corner of the room.
The moment she looked, I used a Shunshin and vanished before she could follow me.
I wouldn't have minded dragging Kushina into any other nonsense I'd done, but this was something she shouldn't be involved in.
I quickly made my way to the lawless part of the village and entered an abandoned warehouse. There, my six tools were waiting for me.
"I see my lovely tools are very punctual," I said teasingly to the six.
"Yes, my lady," they all replied, kneeling before me.
I stared at them for a while; it's worth mentioning that they had all reached a fairly high jōnin level thanks to the hellish training I put them through.
I stared at 0 for quite some time; he shuddered at my gaze, and with good reason, since it was through this guy that Danzo knew I possessed the Wood Release before anyone else.
Currently, he hasn't yet demonstrated this power, as there hasn't been a need to show it.
Once I knew this, the thought crossed my mind to kill him and make it look like an accident, but then Danzo would just replace him with someone just as bad or worse; therefore, I decided to use the excuse of training to torture him in a medieval way never before seen, which is why he's never done anything behind my back again; whenever he had something to do with Danzo, he'd warn me beforehand.
The good news is that I managed to talk to Danzo and reach an agreement: he would keep my Wood Release a secret until I revealed it myself, in exchange for my help in replicating the power in other ninjas.
I accepted this without hesitation, since I had planned to join the project even before this. That way, if there's any trouble, I can tell the old monkey that Danzo was blackmailing and manipulating me into doing all this, if things go wrong. But knowing the canon, there were no repercussions until they started using children as experiments, something I had no intention of participating in.
"Take them," I ordered.
"Yes, sir," they said, and two of them disappeared, returning with two children not much older than me, each with a bag over their head. They were both tied up and, from what I could hear, gagged.
I placed a hand seal on them, and at that, the two removed the bags and the gags.
"Why the hell? Wasn't she supposed to give us power? How is all this supposed to be part of that plan?" the one on the left started complaining. The one on the right remained silent, staring at me with a mixture of bewilderment and doubt.
The one on the left, the moment he realized I was standing in front of him, spoke.
"What is this, a little girl? What's a brat like you doing in this place? Go back to your mommy, since—" I couldn't finish, because the one next to him punched him in the face, sending him crashing into the wall.
"Show some respect to Miss Miyu, trash," the other one said.
At that, I slowly walked over to where the boy was, approached him, and touched his face to begin treating his wound.
"What a shame that a weakling like you thinks he has the power to force others to do anything; a weak person like you should only grovel at the feet of the powerful," I told him.
And the moment I finished treating his face, I punched him in the stomach, sending him sprawling back to where he was.
He tried to stand so he could cough up blood. He won't die, but he'll be badly injured for the next few days.
I returned to my position, where someone had brought me a chair to sit on; as soon as I sat down, I began examining the two of them.
The one on the left, the injured one, was Daiki, a 12-year-old boy who had been living in a brothel since he was born; he'd been fighting drunks, idiots, and ninjas, defending the women who believed in him for so long. He had brown hair and black eyes, and his body was covered in wounds from countless fights. He also demonstrated his impressive defense and resilience by withstanding my blow.
The one on the right was Makoto, a boy who lost his parents and now raises his younger sister alone. He's spent his life stealing and scamming and has even killed someone to protect his little sister. He had green eyes and white hair. Like the other boy, he had several scars, and he's known to use a broken wooden katana to fight in the streets.
"Well, you civilian trash, you seek power to defend and protect your loved ones; you want a better life for them, and why not for yourselves? But in a ninja world, full of chakra and strange powers, you'll never be able to rise to the top, and that's where I come in," I began.
"I offer you power, strength, training, tools, and influence to achieve your goals; in return, I ask only one thing: work for me, give me your loyalty, and with just that, you'll have the power to fulfill your dreams in the palm of your hand." I finished my story and looked at them.
Silence reigned.
"Liars," Makoto began. "Ninjas are liars, they deceive, and they don't even keep their word; how are we supposed to trust you, ninja girl?"
Stopped off. I stood up and walked behind him.
"You're right, ninjas are all like that, but you don't have to trust me. You just have to obey my orders, and it's better that way, because if you say otherwise, I'll just have to replace you and find someone better than you," I said, touching both of their necks and attaching the explosive tags to them.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Miyu Senju, current leader of the Senju clan, and do you accept your new leader?" I said, bowing. They both stared at me in shock at who I was. "I have power, I have tools, influence, and the ability to make you strong, even stronger than some of the ninjas in this village."
"Furthermore," I added, clapping my hands. At that moment, Number Four brought in an adult man, also bound and gagged. The man's identity was quickly revealed. Makoto and Daiki were furious, as this was the man who had been extorting them for years in their village.
"I have power, I have tools, influence, and the ability to make you strong, even stronger than some of the ninjas in this village."
"Furthermore," I said, clapping my hands. "I see you know him; we captured this man three days ago, and we've tortured him both physically and mentally; right now he has the same seal on his neck. " At my words, they both noticed the seal on his neck. "This seal has the power to explode whenever I decide, like this," I said, forming the seal.
At that moment, the seal on the adult's neck activated and exploded, creating a powerful plume of smoke and wind.
Both children moved as if the explosion were about to engulf them. When the smoke cleared, the man's charred body was visible, half the ground destroyed; his head, still attached to his body, lay to one side, falling to the ground.
They both stared at this in horror.
"Come, you're now trapped in my clutches. I only need your loyalty, nothing more. In return, your friends and families will be safe, and you'll have the power to pursue your own goals. What do you say?"
After a few seconds, I saw Makoto kneel.
"I swear loyalty to you," he said, bowing.
Daiki mimicked his colleague beside him, making the same movement.
"I also swear loyalty to you, Miyu."
I just smiled at this.
"Good. From now on, when you speak of me, you will refer to me as M, not Miyu. Understand?" I asked them.
"Yes," they both said.
"Good, let's begin the hellish training then," I said malevolently.
(Note: I forgot to add that Makoto is 11 years old).