17 Discovery

Redheads, redheads everywhere. No matter where Takeru looked all he could see was redheads. It had been 5 days since Team 9 and their escort Shibuya started travelling to the Land of Whirlpools by boat. They reached their destination safely and without any hitch. The Land of Whirlpools was surrounded by dangerous whirlpools everywhere. Some of those whirlpools were natural but the rest of those were made artificially by the Uzumaki clan using fuinjutsu. Only selected members of the clan could disable some of these whirlpools and create a path to their land. Shibuya was one of those selected important peoples. Takeru could see why the Uzumaki clan was so sure of their safety. The whirlpools made any naval invasion towards their land a moot point. And with their knowledge of fuinjutsu they thought nobody could breach their security and the protective bubble provided by their island. Shibuya offered them a place to stay in the guesthouse of the Hidden Whirlpool Village. That had been in yesterday. After a night of good food and warm bed, the three genins slept soundly after journeying for so long. Shibuya and Shunsui went to see the Uzukage promptly just as they reached the village. Shunsui went to take the mission completion statement and Shibuya went to tell Lord Uzukage about the concerns Takeru and his teammates had. Takeru, Biwako and Shikatsu did not know about any of the happenings. They woke up today with fresh mind and bodies. Shunsui told them that he had already gotten the mission completion statement from the Uzukage who was apparently also the Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools. They would be starting their return journey towards the Hidden Leaf tomorrow. He told his students that they could go and see the village today freely. But he also warned that they should take caution as he did not want any troubles to happen.

After having breakfast the trio went to visit the village. They roamed around the village, seeing some of its important places, the Uzukage building, the Seal-master's Association, the great river and the various bridges. The village was composed of several high-rise buildings. The great river ran through the village and was gapped by large bridges. The surrounding countryside was dominated by steep hills, which could be seen from inside the village. Takeru was very interested in visiting the Seal-master's Association so he and his teammates went in the building. The whole building was covered in various seals and symbols. Takeru asked the receptionist about what the association offered. The receptionist replied that they provided basic fuinjutsu books and manuals for everybody. They also conducted a test every year to examine fuinjutsu practitioners to see if they were qualified to become a seal-master. Takeru asked for basic books and manuals of fuinjutsu and he also took a booklet containing detailed description of the association. The trio left the building and went to market. There were various stalls and shops in the market. Many of them sold fuinjutsu materials, Uzumaki style clothes, various gadgets and knick-knacks and most importantly ramen. Everyone in the Uzumaki clan had a fetish for ramen. You could find various types of ramen, different foods made of ramen, ramen stalls, ramen restaurants, ramen plaza, ramen house, ramen shop, they had a ramen for everything. The three genins tried and sampled different types of ramen. Takeru liked the miso-pork ramen better. Biwako liked the seaweed ramen better. Shikatsu on the other hand liked naruto ramen better.

After having their lunch, they all went on a spending spree. Biwako bought clothes, lots of clothes and apparels. Shikatsu did not have any interest in those. He bought some nifty gadgets and knick-knacks. Takeru on the hand searched for fuinjutsu knowledge. He bought various books like basic fuinjutsu guidelines, the things you should do and do not in fuinjutsu, he even found an old dictionary of fuinjutsu symbols in a thrift shop. Takeru also bought some good apparels for his parents. Takeru was satisfied with his purchases. It was near evening when the trio returned to the guesthouse. Takeru after returning immediately went to his own room and locked the door. Takeru, for a very long time wanted to study his sword. He found out that only he could see the fuinjutsu seals and symbols on his sword. His parents could not see them no matter what. He wanted to know what the seals were. After 3 hours of study and continuous usage 50 shadow clones, Takeru finally managed to figure out the seals and symbols on the sword. The only fuinjutsu seal on the sword was also a permanent one. It was a gigantically complex space-time seal. The seal was completely unmodifiable. Takeru found out that it could not be altered no matter how. The seal was permanently keyed to him and him only. The seal gave Takeru the ability to summon the sword to him and him only. A shadow clone tried to summon the sword from him but it failed. Takeru knew that it was a dead-end as nobody could change or alter the seal without destroying the sword Itself. So, he focused his attention to another thing instead. Takeru wanted to test the chakra absorption powers of the sword. He knew his sword had the ability but he never tested or used it. Takeru remembered the instructions given by old man Tenshi. He followed those instructions and sent a small pulse of chakra to the sword and wished to absorb chakra. Suddenly, 'woop' a silent shockwave came out of Takeru's room as the ambient chakra of the whole Land of Whirlpools and beyond converged onto his room and was immediately absorbed by the sword. The absorption power of the sword was so extreme that it instantly flooded Takeru's body with all of the pure raw chakra it absorbed. Takeru was horrified. He almost lost control of his chakra completely. He with his rapidly diminishing control somehow stopped the sword from absorbing chakra anymore. When the sword stopped its suction power, Takeru fell back on the floor writhing in pain. Takeru's whole body was screaming with agony. His chakra control went haywire. His chakra pathways and chakra coils were tearing itself apart from the sheer volume of pure raw chakra that it contained. Takeru with his almost non-existent chakra control transferred all the absorbed chakra into the yin seal on his forehead. Immediately the yin seal started storing all the absorbed chakra in his body. After 1 hour of agonizing pain and suffering Takeru succeeded in storing all the excess chakra into the yin seal from his system. Takeru did not even had the strength to get up. His whole body was severely damaged by onslaught of the sudden influx of chakra. He was falling unconscious. Just through sheer will he used his slowly returning control over his chakra to summon a few chakra strings and stored all the books, scrolls and his sword into his inventory before he fell unconscious.

The sunlight was coming through the crack of the windows of his room. It was late morning already. Shunsui, Biwako and even Shikatsu tried to wake him up by banging on the door. But Takeru was far too exhausted by the last night's ordeal to wake up. He woke up after sometime and immediately felt hungry. Takeru checked his whole body and saw that he was okay. In fact he was more than okay. His chakra reserves had increased tremendously. He now had at least 4 times the chakra he had last night. His chakra became far more pure and denser. His chakra pathways became stronger and more flexible. His chakra coils were far more faster and efficient in creating chakra. He checked that all the injuries he suffered were healed. Although he knew that he had a regenerative healing factor, it was mild at best. He under no normal circumstances could heal from such injuries overnight. Takeru stood up slowly and checked himself again. He found no abnormalities. He went to the washroom to brush up his teeth and freshen up. In the mirror Takeru noticed a faint outline of a black diamond shaped mark on his forehead. 'Impossible! The yin seal could not have matured so fast!' – Takeru shouted inwardly in pure amazement. Takeru checked his yin seal and found that the seal was at 50% capacity in normal chakra zone. He had just done freshening up when he noticed something. In the level 4 training mode Takeru's body was put in constant strain. All of his physical and chakra related abilities were dampened. But now Takeru could feel no strain at all. He checked his training seal three times to confirm that he was indeed in level 4 training mode. Takeru came to a conclusion. The chakra he absorbed last night through his sword had totally increased all of his bodily and chakra related capabilities. His chakra reserves, chakra quality, chakra circulation speed, chakra creation speed, chakra pathways improved tremendously. His physical capabilities improved to such a level that he felt zero strain in level 4 training mode. And all of this happened just because of his sword. Takeru realized the importance of his sword. This sword could increase his strength dramatically and he could theoretically increase his strength with no limits. His adaptive body would adapt to more and more strain and damage over time and increase his overall capabilities. Takeru was ecstatic at the possibilities. But he reigned himself and curbed his enthusiasm at once. Takeru thought to himself that just after absorbing chakra for a second or two he collapsed due to the massive strain. He did not even know the full capabilities of his sword. He decided that he would first study the sword and identify its abilities fully. Then and only then he would start training with his sword. Takeru upped the setting of the training seal to level 5 and the instant he did so, Takeru kneeled on the floor gasping for breath due to the massive amounts of gravity and restriction. He with enormous effort stood up and walked slowly towards the door. Takeru found that the stored pure chakra from the yin seal was slowly infusing to his body. After leaning against the door for some minutes, stabilizing himself, Takeru opened the door and walked slowly towards the hall of the guesthouse.

Shunsui was the first who saw Takeru come into the hall. His steps a little wobbly and his body rigid as if he was being pressured from all around. He asked, - "Are you alright, Takeru? You do not seem so well". Takeru slumped on a chair beside Shunsui and spoke, - "No, I am not feeling so good. I do not know if it is the food or the weather. Sensei, where is Biwako and Shikatsu? And when are we going to start our return journey?". Shunsui laid back and answered, - "They have gone out. They called you the whole morning but you were asleep. So, they went out without you. As for your second question I do no know. There was some sort of attack on the village last night. I do not know much about the details but Shibuya-san told me that the sensing and protection barrier surrounding the village collapsed suddenly. The whole village is under lockdown until the perpetrators are apprehended". Takeru panicked inwardly as he guessed the reason why the barriers collapsed. He asked calmly, - "So, we have to stay here until the investigation is over, eh? Have the perpetrators been found? Are there any clue about who they are?". "No, at least I do not know. All they found is that there was a sudden congregation of vast amounts of chakra in the village. They found nothing more than that. Frankly, I do not know how much time we have to stay here, but I do not think they will keep us here forcibly" - Shunsui answered. Takeru sighed inside. He did not know what he would have done if the Uzumaki clan came to him demanding answers. Takeru, after a bit of rest and satiating his hunger with some food, went back inside his room. He told Shunsui that he was feeling not so good and he would sleep the day over.

Takeru entered the room and sat down to meditate. He found that he could forcibly increase the amount of pure chakra that was being slowly infused into his body. So, he started doing just that. He slowly started to increase the rate of pure chakra infusion. His whole body, mind and chakra was slowly going through changes. His body got more and more stronger. His mind increasingly got sharper. His chakra system, be it quality, quantity, rare of chakra creation, his pathways, all of them improved more and more. Takeru fell into a trance while meditating. He woke up to the sound of the door knocking. He slowly stood up and opened the door. Shikatsu was standing outside. "Are you feeling alright now? Shunsui-sensei said you were not feeling well." - Shikatsu asked. "Yeah, I am feeling a lot better now" - Takeru replied. "Well, then you should come over. Dinner is getting served" - Shikatsu invited. "Yea… wait, did you just say dinner?" - Takeru asked confusedly. "Yeah, why? It is already past 9 in the night. Come over, dude". - Shikatsu looked at Takeru weirdly. "Yeah, yes, sure. I will come over in a minute." - Takeru replied hurriedly and went back inside the room. Takeru could not believe that he meditated for 10 hours straight. He checked himself and found that he was not feeling too much strain in the level 5 training mode like he did just in the morning. He also found that all of the pure chakra stored inside the yin seal was completely gone. The yin seal was completely empty. He checked inside his body and sensed that his physical capabilities increased once again and his chakra capacity increased twofold. He now had 8 times more chakra than yesterday. The quality and density of his chakra also increased by a huge amount. Takeru laughed with joy. Now he had a sure way to increase his chakra to monstrous levels. He quickly washed his face and went to the hall in the guest house.

After dinner Takeru asked Shunsui about if he should learn another chakra nature or not. Shunsui told him to focus on his two already learnt chakra nature before he started learning another. Takeru notified him that he had already mastered fire nature chakra transformation completely and his earth nature chakra transformation was already at its highest level. He could not, no matter how hard he tried, increase his efficiency in earth nature chakra anymore. Shunsui asked him for a demonstration. Takeru effortlessly produced a little fire in one hand and some rocks on his hand without any hand-seals in an instant. Shunsui, Biwako and Shikatsu were amazed at the display. It was further confirmed in their mind that Takeru was indeed an unparalleled genius in ninjutsu. Shunsui told Takeru that learning the wind nature chakra transformation next would be most beneficial for him. As Takeru had extremely high level fire nature affinity, learning wind nature would not only increase his jutsu repertoire but also support and increase the potency of his fire nature jutsus. Shikatsu offered Takeru to teach him wind nature chakra transformation. Takeru readily agreed. Thus began another training session with Shikatsu teaching Takeru about wind nature with Biwako listening to Shikatsu's teachings from the side. After sometime, Takeru had already learnt the basics of wind nature chakra. It was already late night, so they all went to their room and had a good sleep.

The next day Team 9 woke up early. They were having breakfast when Shibuya came in to tell them that they were in clear and they had permission to leave the village now. Shunsui asked him about whether they had caught the perpetrators or not. Shibuya replied that although they could not find anyone suspicious, they were still searching. They at first thought that it was an accident caused by a seal malfunctioning but discarded that idea quickly as only the seals that ran on ambient chakra were either damaged or broken down. They suspected that it was a nefarious plot by some to test their defences. Shunsui assured him that he and his team would help them in anyway they could. Shibuya waved the offer off and instead gave Shunsui a letter personally written by the Uzukage and told him to deliver it to Lord Hokage as soon as possible. Shibuya soon left after some pleasantries but not before he gave all of them some gifts from the Uzukage himself. Shibuya also gave a small booklet to Takeru personally. He told Takeru that it would help him learn fuinjutsu faster and would give him a nifty skill. Team 9 checked the gifts and found that they were given a letter of approval personally written by the Uzukage. It stated that as a sign of goodwill towards Team 9, they could come and go freely to and from the Hidden Whirlpool Village. They would just have to show this letter to any Uzumaki clan member and they would be given a safe passage to the village. The group of 4 were astonished to say the least. It was a huge and generous gesture from someone of such high status like the Uzukage. Shunsui told the three genins strictly that it was a huge honour to receive such a favor from the Uzukage himself. He ordered them to keep the letter with them safely and securely. As even if they did not use it in the future, their clan or their next generation could use it and they would benefit from it. The three nodded, understanding the seriousness of the matter. Shunsui told them to pack up as they would leaving in an hour. He told them that it was an urgent mission of utmost importance to take the personal letter of the Uzukage to the Hidden Leaf Village, to give it to Lord Hokage as soon as possible. Shunsui told them that there was a faster route towards the Land of Fire but it was also dangerous. They would have to be prepared for anything. The three genins all went to their room to pack things up. After an hour Team 9, with the permission of the Uzumaki clan shinobis, left the village. They went straight to the harbour to board a ship sailing towards the Degarashi Port in the Land of Tea. After that they would journey towards the Land of Fire by foot. Shunsui already warned that this journey could be dangerous as the Kanashii Ocean, they would be passing through, often had pirates and illegal traffickers roaming around. They soon came to the harbour and saw their ship was just a few minutes away from starting its journey. Team 9 boarded the ship and sailed to the mainland with hope that there would not be any mishaps on the way.