A/N: Please signify if you noticed any errors so I can fix it. Thank you and yes I forgot to introduce attributes in the previous status screen, that is my fault, also I'm thinking of switching from first person to third person cause I keep making pronoun errors when writing in first person.
[ JINICHI WATARU ]
" Okay now I'm just more confused than I was before..."
The translucent, glowing violet window hovering before my eyes pulsed gently, awaiting his command. Beneath the primary status panel, two bright gold notification icons flashed rhythmically.
[ *DING* ] [ *DING* ]
'System, open notifications,'
A quiet chime rang inside his head as the interface refreshed, displaying two distinct quest completion logs.
[ QUEST COMPLETED: QUEST FOR UNDERSTANDING ]
Objective:
[Player] must open their eyes to what matters most.
Rewards:
[ Element ticket ] x1
Ninja uniform ( Master of Earth )
[ QUEST COMPLETED: BIZARRE LINEAGE ]
Objective:
[Player] must awaken dormant bloodline under extreme life-or-death physical stress.
Rewards:
Unlock [ ATTRIBUTES TAB ]
[Element ticket ] x1
10,000 credits
Bloodline Assimilation
I stared at the rewards, his eyes lingering on the Element ticket. He pushed those aside for the moment; he needed to understand what had actually happened to his body while he was unconscious. He focused his intent on the newly unlocked tab.
'Open Attributes.'
The violet interface shifted smoothly, replacing the quest logs with a deep, crimson-bordered panel that detailed four distinct, inherent traits imprinted upon his soul and biology.
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[ATTRIBUTES ]
[Dormant Cruelty ]
[ Oni Legacy: 10% ]
Effect:
Grants absolute immunity to foreign chakra corruption (such as Curse Marks), sensory Genjutsu, and poisons. Under 25% health, Cold Rage activates, blocking pain and boosting Taijutsu strike damage by 30%.The Oni blood demands malice.
While Cold Rage is active, your empathy drops to zero. You become hyper-fixated on brutally destroying your target, making you completely blind to teammates in danger or tactical retreats.
[ Elemental Resonance ]
Effect:
You can control unlocked elements freely through raw will by [ Telekinetic Freedom ] or through enhancing in universe jutsu via[ Jutsu Imbuement ]. Both methods use your Chakra.
Your elemental attacks always follow this strict rule of power:
[ Imbued Jutsu >> Telekinetic Freedom = Standard Jutsu ]
While Telekinetic Freedom allows for instant, no-seal element casting, it lacks in range in comparison to standard ninjutsu. When using raw telekinesis, the element's effective range drops, and its potency has a slight drop compared to an imbued Jutsu. It is perfect for fast; close-quarters combat.
[ Focus of the Spin ]
Effect:
Grants Kinetic Genius , allowing you to master physical movements and Taijutsu like Spinjitzu at a fast pace.
This hyper-focus only works when your mind is perfectly calm and balanced. If you experience intense emotion—such as panic, arrogance, or grief—the attribute deactivates.
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I read through the text twice, a cold pit slowly forming in my stomach.
'Oni Legacy... Dormant Cruelty...'
As I processed the words, a dull, phantom itch began to burn against my chest. I reached down with a trembling hand, grasping the collar of my hospital gown, and pulled the thin fabric aside.
Directly over my sternum, painted in pitch-black, jagged Fuinjutsu ink, was an intricate, circular seal. Four primary ring lines spiraled inward toward my heart, tethered by sharp, stylized kanji characters for Restraint, Purity, and Bind.
My breath hitched. I touched the ink with my fingertips; the skin beneath was hot to the touch, sensitive and angry.
'What... what is this?' I thought wildly, panic spiking through my chest.
'A seal? Who put a seal on me?! What happened after I blacked out?!'
I had no memory of it. None at all. My last clear recollection was the suffocating pressure inside the cave, the appearance of the masked assassin holding me by the neck, and then darkness. Everything after that was a void.
Click.
The room door swung open, and three figures walked into the room.
Leading the way was Shohei- Sensei, his high-collared Jonin vest slightly worn at the edges, his dark eyes carrying a heavy, tired look. Right behind him was Aoi, holding a brown paper bag containing steaming takeaway containers, and Kisuke, who moved with his usual quiet pace.
The moment Aoi's eyes landed on me sitting upright in bed, her jaw dropped. The paper bag in her hand nearly slipped from her grip before she caught it, her face instantly flushing a violent, embarrassed red.
"You—you idiot!" Aoi yelled, stomping her foot so hard the floorboards creaked. She marched straight up to the side of my bed, crossing her arms defensively while glaring down at me with fiery green eyes.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you caused us?! Sleeping like a dead corpse for four straight days! We were stuck in this boring land waiting for you to stop taking a nap! I ought to punch you right back into a coma!"
'She's annoying as usual….I don't have energy to argue.'
Despite her explosive, hostile tone, I could see the trembling in her shoulders and the faint bags beneath her eyes. She hadn't slept properly either.
"It is good to see you, Jinichi," Kisuke said softly, stepping up beside Aoi.
"Guys... I..." I began raspy, but Shohei stepped forward, placing a hand on Aoi's shoulder.
"Aoi. Kisuke," Shohei said, his voice dropping into a stern tone.
"Leave the room for a few minutes. I need to speak with Jinichi alone."
Aoi snapped her head toward her teacher, her brows furrowed in immediate outrage.
"What?? Why do we have to leave?! We've been sitting in this stupid room for days waiting for him to wake up!"
'Oof harsh..'
"Aoi," Shohei repeated, his gaze unwavering.
"Outside. Now."
Aoi huffed loudly, turning her head away with a sharp 'Tch!' before marching out into the hallway, her sandals slapping loudly against the floorboards. Kisuke lingered for a brief second, his calm eyes shifting from Sensei to the faint black ink peeking through my open collar, before he gave a polite, measured bow.
"We will be right outside," Kisuke said quietly, closing the door softly behind him.
The room fell into a tense silence.
Shohei pulled the wooden chair away from the wall, dragged it to the side of the bed, and sat down. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, staring intently at me.
"Sensei..." I swallowed hard, my voice barely a whisper. I pointed a trembling finger at my own sternum.
"What... what is this on my chest? What happened in the cavern? I don't remember anything after I collapsed."
Shohei took a slow, deep breath, running a hand over his face before looking me dead in the eyes.
"You don't remember any of it?" Shohei asked quietly.
"No! I remember the ambush by the assassins, and then... nothing. I woke up here tired, and branded with a seal on me!"
Shohei was quiet for a long moment before he began to speak, his voice grave.
"When you collapsed, Jinichi... you didn't stay down. You began to change.."
My heart began to hammer against my ribs like a trapped bird.
"What... what do you mean?"
"Your physical form changed, " Shohei continued calmly, though his eyes bore a trace of deep concern.
"Dark, jagged veins appeared on your body. Your strength quadrupled in a fraction of a second. The mercenaries that attacked you guys... the ones trying to kill you... were slaughtered with no mercy. By you."
I went completely still.
"I... what?"
"It was a massacre," Shohei said bluntly.
"You cut them down with terrifying brutality. You tore through their defenses with your bare hands.
You showed zero mercy, zero restraint, and zero awareness of where you were. When I tried to step in to stop you... you looked at me like I was nothing more than prey."
Every word hit me like a physical blow. The image Sensei painted—a bloodthirsty monster ripping through human beings with mindless glee—felt so completely foreign to everything I knew about myself, yet deep in my mind, I remembered the dark, suffocating text of my new attribute:
'Oni Physiology: Dormant Cruelty. Empathy drops to zero. Hyper-fixated on brutally destroying your target.'
It wasn't a bad dream. It was my real biology.
A sudden, violent wave of nausea surged up from my stomach. The air in my lungs felt filthy, contaminated by the realization of what I had done. I choked out a ragged gasp, violently leaning over the side of the hospital bed.
I grabbed the metal basin on the nightstand and dry-heaved viciously, my stomach churning violently as bile burned the back of my throat. I retched into the basin, my body trembling uncontrollably, cold sweat pouring down my forehead.
"I... I killed them?" I wheezed out, my voice shaking with pure horror as I wiped my mouth with the back of my trembling hand.
"I... I don't... I didn't mean to... I couldn't control it..."
I looked down at my palms. They were clean, scrubbed white by the hospital staff, but in my mind, I could practically feel the warm, copper stickiness of blood clinging to my skin. A deep, chilling fear took root in my chest—not a fear of enemy ninja, or assassins, or failure, but a terrifying, paralyzing fear of myself.
What was I? Was I a human, or was I just a violent monster wearing a teenager's skin, waiting for the next chance to butcher anyone near me?
Shohei reached out, placing a firm, heavy hand on my trembling shoulder. The anchor of my sensei's grip pulled me slightly out of my panic.
"Listen to me, Jinichi," Shohei said firmly.
"I placed that Five-Element purification Seal on your chest to knock you unconscious. It isolates that volatile chakra pool and keeps it locked down deep within your coils. As long as that seal remains intact, that power cannot surface to overwrite your mind."
I looked up, my eyes wide.
"Can... can it happen again, Sensei?"
"Not if we are careful," Shohei replied solemnly.
"You are not a monster, Jinichi. But there is something dangerous inside you that even I am not sure of.
all You need to do is respect it, fear it enough to stay disciplined, and rely on your comrades to keep you grounded. Do you understand me?"
I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth, slowly nodding my head.
"Yes, Sensei... I understand."
......................
Three days later, I was officially discharged from the medical facility. My physical body had completely recovered, though a lingering sense of quiet anxiety hung over me like a dark cloud.
Upon my discharge the team met up with Taro, and began our journey back to Konoha.
we left the Land of iron and reached a small town to rest after which we gathered at the northern gate of the town, to continue our journey back home.
"Alright squad, fall into escort formation," Shohei instructed.
"Taro-san stays in the center. Kisuke in front, Aoi on left flank, Jinichi on right, and I will be on rear watch. We maintain a standard double-time pace back to the Fire Country border."
"Right!" Aoi barked, though her gaze darted toward me for a split second, checking my posture before she quickly looked away.
'What the hell was that about..?'
The journey back to the Leaf Village took two full days of continuous travel along the dirt highways and forest trails. I remained unusually quiet throughout the trek, my eyes constantly scanning the tree lines, my hand resting nervously near my weapon pouch.
On the evening of the second day, we set up camp in a dense glade of oak trees, Kisuke stepped away from the fire where Aoi was loudly arguing with Taro over how to properly roast wild mushrooms.
….
…..
Later that night, while the rest of the camp slept, I opened my System interface to review my remaining quest rewards. Navigating to my inventory I selected a particular item and began to read the description of the item.
A sleek notification window flashed before my eyes.
[ ITEM ACQUIRED: EARTH NINJA GI (DX SUIT) ]
'Hmm....'
I closed the screen and continued to watch over the camp.
By noon the following day, Team Shohei and Taro successfully passed through the massive wooden gates of Konohagakure.
Taro said his goodbyes to the team and went on his merry way back to his shop, Shohei led the three Genin directly up the stone steps toward the red-roofed Hokage Mansion.
They stood inside the spacious, carpeted office of the Third Hokage. Sunlight streamed through the large semicircular windows, illuminating thin trails of smoke curling upward from Hiruzen Sarutobi's tobacco pipe.
Hiruzen sat behind his massive wooden desk, dressed in his traditional white and red Hokage robes. He listened quietly as Sensei delivered the formal mission report, detailing the successful protection of the blacksmith, the routing of the initial mercenary ambush, and the final return trip.
Once the official logistics were concluded, Hiruzen dismissed Aoi and Kisuke to wait outside the corridor for a brief moment, allowing Shohei to deliver a quiet, highly classified summary of Jinichi's physical anomaly and the placement of the Five-Element purification Seal.
Lord third took a long, deep drag from his pipe, exhaling a cloud of gray smoke as his wise, aging eyes locked onto me.
Hiruzen set his pipe down on the brass tray with a soft clink.
"Jinichi," Hiruzen spoke, his voice deep, gravelly, and commanding.
"Yes, Lord Third?" I replied, standing at sharp attention.
" The purification seal placed by Shohei-kun will be reinforced for further protective measures by my ANBU. Understood? "
" Yes, Lord Third."
third took a drag from his pipe, the smoke clouding his face.
"Due to the unique, volatile nature of the chakra signature displayed during your encounter in the grotto, I am placing an immediate, temporary restriction on your use of your kekkei genkai."
..
…..
....
"Eh?"