Chapter 8: Return and Bad News
Masahiko, his mind elsewhere, said a distracted goodbye to Senju Butsuma, Tobirama, and the new couple, Hashirama and Mito. He refused their offer to escort him and set off on the return journey alone.
"Participating in and witnessing the development of the Hiraishin... Does this mean I should stick close to Tobirama? The Shadow Clone Jutsu should be coming soon, and that's probably worth a lot of Witness Points, too. Most importantly, Edo Tensei! For that broken-level jutsu, it would be a rip-off if I didn't get at least 50 points."
What other jutsu were there? Thinking about it this way, he might not have to wait for Konoha's founding to start raking in the points...
The road back was peaceful. Since he was traveling alone and moving fast, it only took a little over two hours, and he was just a few miles from the Uzumaki compound.
But at this moment, Masahiko stopped. He had just remembered a very important problem.
On this round trip, he had become 12 years younger. The "Yin Seal" excuse would probably be laughed at by the Clan Head and the three Elders...
Was he supposed to say he ate some kind of mystical Youth-Restoring Fruit? Damn it, this isn't a xianxia novel.
Or maybe just say he was "an old man feeling a bit of youthful vigor"?
...
"Forget it. I'll just do this." Masahiko formed a few hand seals. "Transformation Jutsu!" He changed back to his previous, older appearance. The LV10 Academy Basic Three Jutsu came in handy once again.
"Right, now I can go back." Thinking this, he was back at the clan compound in no time.
The two guards at the gate saw him return, exchanged a glance, and then... both of them ran off to report to the Clan Head.
Masahiko was baffled. "I'm just coming home. One of you going to notify the Clan Head is fine, but why did both of you have to go...?"
Masahiko couldn't figure it out, so he didn't dwell on it, heading straight for his own house.
Before he even got home, he found someone blocking his path. Looking closely, it was the Clan Head himself, in person.
"Er... are you that eager to hear about your daughter? Let me tell you, Mito..." Masahiko was halfway through his sentence when he saw the Clan Head's dark expression.
"Kureto... is dead." The Clan Head forced the words out.
"What?" Masahiko didn't hear clearly. Or rather, he didn't believe what he'd heard.
"I said, Kureto is dead..." the Clan Head repeated.
This time, Masahiko heard him loud and clear. He immediately spun around and sprinted toward the main hall.
When he arrived, Kureto-kun's funeral was already in progress. The Second and Third Elders glanced at Masahiko, but neither was in the mood to deal with him.
"Where's the First Elder? Don't tell me he..." Masahiko asked.
The Second Elder glared at him. "Big Brother is fine! He just has some minor injuries and is resting. We rushed over as soon as we got the distress call, but we were still too late. Kureto-kun died from his wounds on the way back..."
Masahiko carefully examined Kureto-kun's body. The fatal wound was a clean puncture through the chest, which had probably pierced his lungs.
"This wound..." Masahiko muttered.
"That's right. It was one of those Kaguya clan madmen," the Third Elder said.
Masahiko looked again at Kureto-kun's all-too-young face, remembering how, before he left for the Senju, Kureto-kun had so confidently sworn to protect Mito. He let out a deep sigh. "This damned Warring States Period!" He turned and walked out of the hall.
The Clan Head was waiting for him at the door. Knowing he was full of questions, he began to explain. "Yesterday, unknown individuals were spotted in the eastern sector of the compound. Kureto-kun's team accepted the mission to investigate."
"When they reached a valley over there, they were discovered by the enemy. It was the Kaguya Clan Head, Kaguya Raisho."
"The moment he spotted Kureto-kun's team, he attacked. Kureto-kun covered his teammates' retreat and held off the Kaguya Clan Head..."
"You know the rest. The three Elders went to provide rescue. The First Elder was injured, but they successfully repelled the Kaguya Clan Head. Kureto-kun's wounds were too severe, and he died on the way back," the Clan Head slowly recounted the incident.
"I have two questions," Masahiko said. "First, why was the Kaguya Clan Head himself anywhere near our compound? Second, and I know this is a strange question for the Warring States Period, but... we have no quarrel with the Kaguya. Was this because of Mito?"
"No," the Clan Head replied. "It was the Frostbone Herb."
"Ah. I see," Masahiko said flatly.
"And now... we do have a quarrel," the Clan Head added. "Prepare for war."
"Right. Understood." Masahiko replied, turning and walking back to his house.
Frostbone Herb. It was an endangered, pale blue medicinal herb that could suppress the Kaguya clan's kekkei genkai disease. Masahiko knew that this herb was becoming rarer and rarer. Before long, it would probably disappear completely.
Otherwise, the proud Kaguya clan wouldn't have met their end by being wiped out by Kirigakure in the future. In the Warring States Period, the Kaguya were a clan second only to the Senju and Uchiha, even a step above the Hyuga.
If it weren't for their hereditary disease and the dwindling supply of Frostbone Herb, the Kaguya might have been known as one of the "Three Great Clans" of the era, alongside the Senju and Uchiha.
To have found a patch of Frostbone Herb near the Uzumaki compound—and it must have been a large one, for the Kaguya Clan Head to come personally—meant Kureto-kun's death had made a war unavoidable.
Masahiko returned home and collapsed onto his familiar bed.
"So tired. I was already exhausted from being away for half a month. Now I come back to this kind of news... I'm tired in both body and mind," Masahiko muttered.
Over the past two weeks, his strength had improved by leaps and bounds, and his training had grown lax. Thinking about it now, he was still just an Elite Jonin. Even if he had a few special tricks that let him fight above his level, he shouldn't have gotten so arrogant.
"As I am now, I'm still powerless against the Kaguya Clan Head... let alone helping the Senju fight the Uchiha in the future..." The thought immediately snapped him back to attention.
Finding a way to increase his own strength was the only true path!
He had gotten 5 Witness Points from the Hiraishin's development, plus the 1 point he had left over. How should he use these 6 points for the maximum boost?
"That's right! I haven't added any points to 'Jutsu' yet. I wonder what it does."
At that thought, he immediately added one point to "Jutsu."
Jutsu: 1004 (+1) (+)
"Huh? What did that do?" Masahiko didn't feel any difference, so he added one more point.
This time, he felt a distinct change. It was a change in his chakra condensation. It was a full 20% higher than before. This meant that for the same amount of chakra, using the same jutsu, his would be 20% stronger than anyone else's!
Elated by this discovery, Masahiko dumped all his remaining points into "Jutsu."
Jutsu: 1004 (+5.5)
"So after +5, each point only adds 0.5? That makes sense. Otherwise, I'd become unbeatable way too quickly," Masahiko thought as he looked at his status window.
He was very satisfied. His jutsu power was now 55% stronger. In the coming war, even if he ran into a Clan Head-level powerhouse, he could "skirmish" with them for a bit... Er, wait, a Peak Jonin can only "skirmish" with them, too.
"Well, it's decided!" Masahiko thought. "From now on, everyone can just call me Uzumaki 'Skirmish'."
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Yo guys!I just want to give a big thank you to DEvz29 and Noveltread for being the first ones to drop Power Stones on this fanfic.Your support really helps a lot at the start of a new book — seriously, thank you!