Chapter 8
The Land of Rivers was quieter than he expected.
Not peaceful. Just quiet. The kind of hush that lingered in the trees long after a storm, as if the land itself was holding its breath.
Ghost moved like a shadow across the countryside, traveling light but with purpose. His pack was stocked with rations, handmade traps, wires, caltrops, poisons, and smoke bombs—everything he could buy or scavenge that would help when the time came. The bounty from the rogue shinobi had gone far in outfitting him for the unknown. Now, with chakra in his veins and Nen and Cursed Energy at his call, he could finally take bigger risks.
He followed his memories from the movie—one of the few fragments from his past life that stuck. There had been a war in this land once, an underground village that tried to rival the great shinobi nations. The Hidden Sky Village. Long since destroyed. But the remnants still existed, buried in rubble, waiting.
And somewhere in that ruin, the Zero Tails.
Ghost wasn't sure what the creature was exactly—just that it was a chakra beast that fed on hatred and darkness. That sounded close enough to a Cursed Spirit for his instincts to believe it might be key to unlocking the rest of Nanami's template.
He found the first ruin two days after crossing into River Country—a collapsed stone corridor half-submerged in earth and moss. Another mile west, and he found the rest: massive husks of metal, shattered towers jutting from the hillside, and ventilation shafts leading into the dark.
The Hidden Sky Village.
He didn't go in. Not yet. Ghost made camp a safe distance away, hidden by forest and hill, and began to prepare.
---
Training began before dawn.
His first goal was simple: master Stockpile.
He activated it each morning, letting it draw on his reserves of each energy. Nen first—calm, disciplined, easy to control. Then cursed energy—harsh, emotional, violent. Chakra was newest to him, more nebulous but manageable now with practice.
Stockpile accepted them all. It didn't increase his output on its own, but it gave him volume, and Ghost learned to use that.
He created a pattern: train until empty, rest, stockpile. Again. Again. Again. By the end of the first week, his aura flared with pressure even when suppressed. He wasn't a sensor, but he could feel his own weight beginning to warp the air around him.
Then came the breakthrough.
One night, while testing the three energies, he attempted something new: layering them.
He focused chakra into his muscles first—standard enhancement. Then added Nen, reinforcing the chakra. Finally, cursed energy, raw and jagged, riding the current like lightning through a river.
The effect was immediate.
His skin buzzed. Vision sharpened. Every nerve lit up.
He punched a boulder.
It cracked.
He kicked a tree.
It shattered.
His strength didn't just rise—it multiplied.
> [Achievement Unlocked: Triple Energy Harmony] You have combined Nen, Cursed Energy, and Chakra in a single amplification system. Reward: 2x Epic Tokens, Trait Unlock – [Enhanced Physique I]
He didn't use the rolls yet. He could feel the air shifting. Something was watching. The ruins whispered.
Soon.
---
He began setting traps.
Ghost knew he couldn't face the Zero Tails in a head-on fight. Even if it was weak from slumber, it was still a chakra beast. So he used everything he'd learned:
He buried pressure plates laced with explosive tags.
He created dead-end tunnels filled with wire traps and caltrops.
He poisoned water sources in case the beast regenerated from them.
He set aura-based triggers—one connected to a cursed energy flare that would mimic a small mob of angry humans.
Every trap had a purpose: delay, confuse, injure, weaken.
He studied the terrain, mapped escape routes, and tested his gear. Each day, he trained harder. Each night, he Stockpiled more.
By the end of the second week, Ghost stood at the edge of the ruins, fully armed, senses sharp, muscles coiled like steel cable. Nen, chakra, and cursed energy surged within him like a storm held just beneath the skin.
And in the darkness beneath the ruins, something ancient stirred.
> [Preparation Complete: The Zero Tails Awakens Soon…]