Kirigakure Gamer : Rise of the mist-Chapter 38: Operation Hydra (1)

[Island of Steel, Kirigakure Settlement]

In the commander tent, the elder Otuka betrayed a worried expression on his face. Despite being retired, he had never once forgotten the horrors of war, further enhancing the stress and fatigue on his body.

Looking at the reports, he revealed a rare smile.

Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.

His disciple, Takeshi Ryu, a seed he had almost taught out of spite for the Sandaime Mizukage, was displaying growth, strength and character surpassing all expectations. Not to mention successfully killing a kumogakure jonin, he had already built a balanced team and earned enough merits to become a chunin.

Not even two weeks had passed, and he had taken and successfully completed 6 C-rank missions, each allowing him to gain more experience and more recognition accross the settlement. One of them was especially dangerous, as he had been the one to discover the kumogakure's settlement. Not experienced teams of chunins, or the jonin scouts he had sent out.

War was like a game.

When he began the game, Otuka was given 10 jonins, 40 chunins and 50 genins. One month later, only 6 jonins remained, 25 chunins and 30 genins. If you didn't count the injured, then this number would further plummet. Such was the reality of the battlefield.

Yet, the enemies kept coming. No matter how many they cut down, Kumogakure scums would spawn like devils from the pits of hell.

Now, however, they held the key to destroy them.

Kumogakure followed a military structure. Although this made them extremely strong and robust, it also made them predictable. The number of jonins, genins and chunins most likely did not exceed that of Kirigakure. With the numerous skirmishes, their numbers might even be lower.

Had it been two decades ago, Otuka would have charged forward without a plan, using his formidable strength and weapon to cut them down.

Now, however, time had changed. He no longer was confident in killing the enemy's commander. And unfortunately, an elite jonin running rampant on a battlefield could have dreadful consequences on the [Steel Platoon], and, by extension, on his disciple.

Sighing, Otuka had formed a plan.

[Operation Hydra]

Basically, a net of the stealthiest, most lethal shinobi supported by chakra sensors in the North Coast, hidden in strategic positions. It was a complex operation aiming at cutting down the Kumogakure's numbers.

The enemies needed to scout the unfamiliar area, if only to discover them. However, Otuka had purposefully sent the strongest teams in the North Coast, making the skirmishes in Kirigakure's favour. With this net, he basically doubled down on this strategy, this time, aiming at killing them all.

The net could not fail - not even once, otherwise the enemy commander would hear about it and change his formation accordingly, or worse still, call for reinforcements from its hidden village.

This is why Otuka chose the most lethal assets under his hands.

Unsurprisingly, a team had made its way to the top of this list.

[Takeshi Ryu: Long-range ninjutsu specialist and formidable kenjutsu user, well-rounded for small skirmishes. From the reports, high battle IQ and ruthlessness. Loyalty: High. Estimated power level: Low Jonin]

[Naya Tori: Kenjutsu specialist with remarkable speed. From reports, consistent good performance on the battlefield, but lacks defensive means against long-range ninjutsu specialist. Recent team composition change with Takeshi Ryu has allowed her more freedom on the battlefield, and higher achievements. Loyalty: High. Estimated power level: High Chunin]

[Yukiko Anata: Medical Kunoichi with remarkable chakra control, Yukiko is also a decent chakra sensor and knows 2 C-rank Futon no jutsu. Although her battle performance are low, she has above-average chakra reserves. Loyalty: Medium. Estimated power level: Low Chunin (current rank: genin)]

Each mission had been completed with extreme success, showing excellent coordination, and more importantly, decisiveness which was rare to see on the battlefield. Every time they encountered enemies, this resulted in Kumogakure's teams being wiped out.

Takeshi's power had been estimated as 'Low Jonin'.

Otuka knew Takeshi better than anyone. The first time he had seen him, he was no better than a mid-genin. In two months, he had reached the standards of chunin, and now, he had reached the level of 'Jonin'. Such growth rate was preposterous, even for a genius. He had underestimated his disciple once already. After mastering the B-rank kenjutsu [Water Flow], he had acknowledged him not just as a disciple, but a true student of the Haze Dojo Style.

Now, however, Otuka could not help but feel a mixture of emotions. Takeshi was made for the battlefield. Born in it, he would most likely never leave it.

'Now I am beginning to believe you can become Mizukage one day', Otuka thought

====

Back in his tent, Takeshi was finishing a cycle of training and suddenly coughed.

'Is someone talking about me?', he thought

[Name - Takeshi Ryu | Level 38 Kirigakure Chunin [1000 / 13 500 EXP]

Attributes:

Strength - 52 → 65 [C] | Agility - 45 → 58 [D → C] | Vitality - 65 → 80 [C] | Chakra - 102 → 116 [B]

Perk - Swordsmanship Talent (High) [+], Water Elemental Talent (High) [+], Chakra Mastery (Medium) [+], Funato Martial Body (Low), Kirigakure Shinobi (Low) [+], Perceptive (Low) [+], Leader Aura (Low) [New]

Taijutsu - Water Palm Strike [D] (35 → 42), Kirigakure Academy Taijutsu [E] (40 → 50)

Kenjutsu - Water Flow [B] (60 → 70), Hidden Mist Kenjutsu [C] (171 → 185), Haze Kenjutsu Art [B] (Incomplete)

Ninjutsu - Needles of Falling Rain [B] (25) [New], Azure Stream [C] (81 → 115), Water Eagle [C] (75 → 80), Water Clone [D] (90 → 92), Water Shield [D] (65), Water Arrow [D] (25 → 32), Aquatic Hand [D] (25) [New], Water Wall [D] (20 → 25), Body Flicker Technique [E] (45 → 60)

Shurikenjutsu - Water Shuriken [C] (130 → 132), Shadow Shuriken [D] (25 → 48), Shurikenjutsu Mastery [E] (50 → 75)

Items - Haze Dojo Katana [B], Oto Royal Ring [A] [New]]

Mid-chunin physical attributes on average, low-jonin chakra reserves and density, jonin-level proficiency in three C-rank ninjutsu and one B-rank large-scale ninjutsu, master-level kenjutsu...The battlefield was a gold mine of EXP for Takeshi, and he certainly took advantage of it. Each mission rewarding him ever more EXP, fueling more achievements, themselves allowing him to gather more EXP. It was a virtuous cycle that made him an anomaly in this world, a genius which should have never appeared in Kirigakure.

For now, Takeshi's presence was not known to the world, but it was only a matter of time.

Whether he would be able to survive the attention, or be consumed by it, only time would tell.