With a thought, the traits on the panel flickered. Quickly, three brand-new upgrades emerged, glowing with potential!
[New Trait: Precision Tool Throwing (Green)]
Description: "Though I am young... my kunai are sharp!"
Effect: Any ninja tool thrown by you receives a 10% power boost. Accuracy is no longer affected by environmental factors (wind, rain, fog, etc.).
Evolution Requirement: 1,200 Achievement Points.
Not bad, Ayane thought. While the 10% boost was modest, the passive effect was gold. Ignoring environmental factors was incredibly broken in a place like the Land of Rain, where the weather was a chaotic mess of wind and downpours.
She looked further down.
[New Trait: Superior Taijutsu (Green)]
Description: "The girl next door has grown up... with the strength to uproot mountains." Effect: Taijutsu power increased by 10%; corresponding stamina consumption reduced by 10%.
Evolution Requirement: 1,200 Achievement Points.
Solid. It was a lean, efficient buff. Rubbing her hands together, she looked at the final entry—her first Blue-quality trait.
[Trait: Intermediate Ninjutsu Mastery (Blue)]
Description: With all five elements—Water, Fire, Wind, Earth, and Lightning—unlocked, your ninjutsu cultivation no longer has any blind spots.
Effect: Learning speed for new ninjutsu is significantly increased. The destructive power of all ninjutsu you cast is increased by 15%!
Specialized Advancement: 5,000 Achievement Points for any single element.
Ayane's eyes widened. I've become a five-element genius overnight?!
She hadn't expected the Blue trait to be so direct and powerful. Not only did it boost damage, but it also filled in all her missing chakra natures. Calculating her current stack of titles and traits, her total Ninjutsu power boost had already reached 40%.
She felt a sudden itch in her throat, a physical urge to spit out a water bullet or blow a gale just to see the sheer scale of the destruction she could cause now.
She actually knew quite a few jutsu: over a dozen E-ranks, four D-ranks, and one C-rank. While they were common techniques, in the "starting village" of the Academy, she was a walking arsenal.
Her D-ranks included Water Trumpet, Crushing Torrent, Great Breakthrough, and Grateful Wave. Her sole C-rank was Water Bullet.
Most were Water or Wind-based, inherited from her parents or bought secretly. They were perfect for the Rain's environment, but she currently had no excuse to fire them off. She couldn't exactly tell Woodpecker she had a "bad dream" and accidentally leveled a tree.
Suppressing her curiosity, she leaned back against the trunk and closed her eyes.
Whoosh— Whoosh—
The night wind moaned, bringing sporadic drops of rain. Anyone who lived in the Land of Rain knew this was the herald of a storm. Suddenly, a faint, metallic noise drifted from the distance.
Ayane snapped her eyes open. Simultaneously, Woodpecker hissed a warning. "Swan, heads up! Abnormalities at 4 o'clock!"
Ayane sprang up, her movements crisp and efficient. She peered toward the horizon. In the bleak wilderness, flashes of firelight flickered. The sounds of fighting, shouting, and clashing steel were being carried toward them by the wind.
"Shinobi in combat?" she whispered.
Woodpecker pulled out a map. "That's Maba Village."
"Should we investigate?" Ayane asked. "Rerouting would cost us significant time."
"Tsk, what a pain," Woodpecker grumbled.
The decisive battle with Konoha was imminent. Normally, the Anbu wouldn't waste an elite's time escorting a rookie, but Woodpecker had requested leave for personal reasons during the Owl Squad's downtime, so this task fell to him. This sudden complication clearly annoyed him.
"Swan, stay behind me." He tightened his mask, drew a kunai, and leapt from the tree. He clearly wasn't going to take the long way around. "Stay sharp, rookie. I might not have time to hold your hand."
Maba Village was a desolate sight. It seemed abandoned, most houses reduced to ruins. Among the debris, Ayane spotted discarded household items... and then her gaze sharpened.
Her vision was keen. She saw the bodies half-hidden in the mud. Old men, children, women—all sprawled in the muck, left to rot in the rain and serve as feed for scavengers.
Woodpecker's pace didn't falter. He was desensitized to such sights. Just because the main army was at the front didn't mean the interior was safe.
Shinobi were highly mobile; small squads often slipped through the cracks to raid the enemy's rear, targeting supplies, coin, and civilians alike.
It was a game both sides played—Rain Anbu were doing the exact same thing in the Lands of Wind and Fire.
"The combatants are just ahead," Woodpecker whispered.
Ayane had been molding chakra since they approached. "Woodpecker," she said softly, "I have no intention of dying in a place like this."
"I hope so," the man let out a low, dry chuckle.
They crept through the sludge, their silhouettes swallowed by the shadows as the moon ducked behind thick clouds. Woodpecker led the way, mentally grading his new colleague.
Her footsteps are nearly silent, even in this mud... Her stamina is great, and her Body Flicker is fast. If she can handle a direct confrontation, she should be able to survive under my wing. As expected of the top student; she wouldn't even drag down a Chunin squad.
CRACK-BOOM!
A bolt of lightning tore through the sky, illuminating the ruins in a blinding white glare.
In that split second, a cold shuriken whistled out from a pile of rubble. The lightning glinted off the steel as it spun toward Woodpecker's throat.
Woodpecker's nerves screamed. At the last possible millisecond, he parried with his kunai, knocking the projectile away.
The thunder followed seconds later. A shadow stepped out from the ruins, glancing at the deflected shuriken. "A pity," a chilling voice said. "Your luck is quite good, Rain ninja."