13 CHP 13: The Search...

~ Jacob's Pov... ~

*Swish!*

*Tap...*

'Finally!'

I could saw another one of my Hideki's teammates up ahead. I quickly sun-shinned towards their body... And there were small craters here too. Still, it looks like their target picked them off one by one if they scattered. But, this doesn't make any sense.

According to my memories at least, he used a technique that allowed him to escape which allowed him to lose the anbu, but... It still would be impossible; this corpse, it seems as old as Hideki's own.

Not only that, the corpses are too far apart to be done b the same person within such a short amount of time, and if my memory serves, the target wasn't that powerful that he could take on all four of us at once...

'It seemed as if he had some sort of, back-up, maybe people on his level?... Either way...' I didn't care that much, but it goes to show how quickly one perished in this world, and how lethal decently experienced ninjas would be.

I stooped down, examining his body for a bit...

'Looks like he got sliced from behind...' Seeing the corpse and realizing what this was, I didn't waste anytime on anything more. I quickly set aside his belongings, finding more kunai's, and a sword in even better condition than the one I had now.

He had some sealing scrolls and around 20k ryo on him...

With that finished, I shot out my tendrils, covering the body, absorbing it slowly...

"Urgh..."

I could still feel pain. But, it's much more bearable than before. The memories, my nerves and muscles were twitching wildly again...

"It's, over..." I messaged my head a little bit to get used to the memories that I needed to organize... Feeling a bit stiff in my body, I stretched a little-

*Crackle-*

'My bones sure are creaky...' Still, I feel much stronger than before...

'Status.'

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Name: Jacob Mercer

Age: 18 Years old

Life-span: 1002--> 1134 Years old

Height: 6'4

Weight: 134kg

Chakra Points/CP: 3453--> 10,551/3453--> 10,551CP

Chakra Affinity: Water, Lighting, Wind, Earth and Fire

Talent Value: B+

Str: 54. 4-->65.21 Tons/4000--> 5500 Tons

Spd: Mach 36--> 46.34/Mach 57

Mov-Spd: 475.3--> 574.6mph/Mach 1.3

End: 297--> 435/345--> 567

Sta: ∞

Cha: 9/9 [LIMIT REACHED]

Int: 11.7--> 13.2/14-->15

---------------------

'Interesting... My strength, endurance and intelligence went up a good margin...' I gained a lot more Justus from him than I thought too, and multiple of my other Jutsu proficiencies have increased.

'No wonder he had to nerf me...' Consumption is more powerful than I thought it was. I can gain everything a person had in just a second of absorbing them.

With that little out of the way, I took a look at my CP next. I could definitely feel my chakra being much higher than it as before...

What the? 'Huh? That's quite the jump... I have a little over 10 thousand points of chakra now, this should be mid-chuunin level, at least.' Still, I'm quite surprised though...

According to my new set of memories, I have more chakra than I should have. Actually, my overall chakra amount are a sum of all those I absorbed, combined...

Now that I think about it... Could it be that the absorption doesn't affect my CP gain? Though. it technically shouldn't, since chakra isn't a physical in any aspect... Still, is the virus somehow just allowing the physiques I've consumed to somehow, condense into each other?

Well, that... seems, plausible for now... But, not satisfying enough. I can see my new chakra pathways, and they weren't exactly the same as before... Is the virus just recognizing how they operate?

I sighed a bit, 'Again, I'm not complaining...'

Now, I just need to find the last two. and the closest one next should be south of where I am now. Taking a look around, I realized it was quickly approaching nighttime.

'I've been here for a while... Then again, I need to keep looking, the cover of night should lessen the chances of anyone coming.'

With that thought settled, I'm going to continue using my body-flicker...

*Swish!*

~ A few days later, third person Pov... ~

"Hmm, Do you have any more reports?" Hiruzen asked his eyes glued to the documents on his paper.

A relatively tall man with silvery-white hair with a blindfold over his left eye, nodded his head in agreement...

"Yes... I just have been wondering, why did you place them all on the same team? For once, I just can't understand your decision." He asked calmly, it was clear he was puzzled about his current disposition.

"Hmm," Hiruzen murmured, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the desk. His gaze remained fixed on the paperwork, but he could sense the tension in the air. The tall man with silvery-white hair maintained a stoic expression...

Hiruzen finally looked up, meeting the man's gaze. "Kakashi... It was a decision made with careful consideration, Danzo. Team 7's dynamics are unique, and I believe they possess the potential to complement each other's strengths and overcome their weaknesses. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura may be an unconventional trio, but sometimes, it's the unlikeliest combinations that yield the greatest results..." He responded wisely with a smile.

The man, know known as Kakashi, sighed under his mask for just the briefest of moments...

Hiruzen with his sharp senses, observed Kakashi's subtle sigh, a gesture that betrayed a hidden emotion beneath the mask. The Hokage raised an eyebrow, his gaze shifting from the paperwork to the silver-haired ninja.

"Kakashi, you seem troubled. Is there something on your mind?" Hiruzen inquired, his tone carrying a hint of concern.

Kakashi adjusted the hitai-ate on his forehead, his visible eye narrowing slightly. "It's just... putting Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura together. It's a risky move, sensei. I understand your reasoning, but these are untested waters. To be honest, other than their comradery, their team aspect on the other hand, is lacking, severely..."

He stopped for a moment before continuing, "The kunoichi of the team seems to be in love with the Uchiha, or, that love might be borderline on obsession, and the Uchiha shows some amount of potential but is very arrogant which is typical, and both her and the Uchiha don't respect Naruto much it seems..." He finished. Knowing this would take time to iron out...

Hiruzen nodded, acknowledging Kakashi's reservations. "I... trust your judgment, Kakashi. You're an experienced, and skilled enough ninja. Keep an eye on them, guide them when necessary, and let their strengths complement each other. Sometimes, the path of a teacher is not without uncertainties, or its difficulties."

Kakashi nodded, "Alright sensei... I'll give them a week off, for now. Since they passed the bell test. Over that time, I'll be watching over them as the week goes by, if anything note-worthy comes up, I'll contact you again..."

Kakashi then disappeared from the office, leaving a swirl of leaves...

~ Jacob's Pov ~

It's been a little over three days now since I've been in this world. I haven't done much, just searching and doing the training I learned from my memories. A little over two days I absorbed the third member of the squad.

I gained a decent amount of stats, with only my Intelligence's limit increasing, a gain in my new chakra control talent, and my maximum chakra over all. I even gained more jutsus, that are more lightning oriented in nature, which, was good find since I didn't have much lightning techniques...

Furthermore, over the course of these few days, I've practically dedicated myself to any rigorous training I knew of that could push me to my limits; Gradually increasing my maximum chakra through a combination of meditation and physical taijutsu exercises.

The training had also helped me to refine my control over my energy as well...

'Huh?...' I saw a body up ahead, dressed in the same uniforms as all the others.

'This seems to be the last one...' I swiftly executed the body flicker technique that brought me next to him almost instantly, the hand signs for it etched into my muscle memory so much that it's practically instant to me...

As my eyes fell upon the group's leader, given my new set of experiences, I could tell that this was a hard faught battle. Now I knew for 100 percent certainty that the person we hunted has allies...

Still, being the youngest of the anbu group, being 19 years old; This guy, at least in some sense could be considered a genius, just not on any levels of Shisui, Itachi, and Minato and others, but he was up there, and he definitely had the skills to show it.

'And those skills would be mine...' If my memory serves me right, this guy was definitely jonin level, comfortably, and had more chakra than anyone of our group combined.

It's somewhat amazing how different people's potentials in Naruto work, and their limits in strength. And how massive the gap in ranks for shinobi really were...

Either way. I quickly did my little routine, removing any necessary equipment he had, and put them aside for now...

'Time for my last meal...'

END

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