Pov: Kanata

  "Is that one always so... ominous?" Shinobu the man we are escorting to his brother asks our sensei as Kenzo walks ahead of all of us, alone and shushing us if we get too loud.

  ...

  "He has been like that since he saw you, have you met him before?" I ask the guy and stretch my arms as we walk the road.

  "Never even been to Konoha before... kind of jealous my brother got the chance to see it before me" He responds with a chuckle.

  "Maybe you remind him... of someone?" Katsuko asks.

  "Whatever it is at least he is on high alert, I will talk to him when we set up camp for the night- focus up and keep watch" Kurenai tells us and I sigh.

  Why is he so broody? Its not like he had to take a life recently.

  I frown and massage my wrists.

  ---

  Pov: Kenzo

  I can feel hundreds of eyes on me.

  The stares come from a jutsu... I found one of them, paint made into animal form, a simple cockroach tracks us... alongside hundreds of other ink animals.

  Danzo... he is the only one who knows how to counter my sight sensing itch, he knows that I cannot follow those stares and split my concentration so easily.

  Its taking all my energy just to remain focused on hearing- the itch is like any other sense, it can be overloaded and overwhelming.

  So its either Danzo, or some nut job who likes to waste chakra on hundreds of ink animals.

  I cant tell three of the people I travel with due to the secrecy of the root, an organization which would ensure there death if they found out... sensei I can warn however.

  Just got to figure out how... without tipping off the rest- should I just call out an enemy? No distinction necessary? Wrong- I cannot do that due to the nature of Danzo.

  The ink bugs have writing on them, the one I found exploded and spelt out information on root, nothing cssified... more of a threat to me- probably to try and separate me from the group.

  ...

  If I do I will have to fight whoever is behind these bugs... and from my understanding on how much chakra it takes to summon hundreds of these things, I do not want to get caught alone with this person.

  "Kenzo"

  Maybe I should try and slip sensei a note, but I need something to write on and to do it without being noticed... no cant do that.

  "KENZO"

  Maybe I just sprint into the forest and start fighting, Sensei would order the other two to protect and come right after me... but the animals may attack them while we are gone...

  "KENZO!" Kanata taps me on the shoulder and I turn around to see the other guys stopping to camp in a clearing next to the road.

  Damnit.

  Sleep, how am I going to handle this? I need sleep and I need to get back to Konoha as fast as possible... its another days trip away, or 7bhours to hire a carriage in the next town like we pnned.

  "Sorry... lost in thought" I respond and follow Kanata to our camp.

  ...

  "I need to go to the toilet, I will be back in twenty minutes" I tell them and immediately start heading into the forest.

  Twenty minutes is a long time... but maybe they will think I am constipated or something... they have been making comments on my weirdness this trip.

  I walk a bit out... and sit on a log.

  I should be far enough away from them, as I think to myself a bird nds in front of me.

  *Spt!*

  It explodes and spells out something.

  'Konoha or lies?" The message is telling me to chose whether or not I wish to remain in Konoha... or keep my secrets.

  What is really being said is whether I want to be Danzo's sve or die.

  I don't want either of these options, I ignore the message and loosen my blindfold a bit, I haven't used my eyes at full power in quite some time... its restricted power is great, but its unrestricted power is what makes it so strong.

  I wait for any twitch in the forest, any branch broken or any sound of confrontation.

  *Swish*

  I roll forward as a bde sshes behind me and I get up to look back- no one is there... an ink patch remains.

  Damnit- I have to fight this for how long? I take off my coat and chuck it out the way, I might need it ter to cover up wounds or tears on my clothing- I do have other pairs at the camp though.

  ...

  Why is he taking so long? I scan the forest and undo my blindfold... I have made enough distance to not catch the others in my gaze.

  And I cant just use my lightning abilities so openly, Danzo knows of them but nothing concrete at all and I would prefer to keep it that way.

  If I have the chance to kill the enemy then I will, but if not I will remain using my Kenzo kit of skills.

  *Ssh!* *Sm!*

  An ink tiger and boar rush me, I jump out of the way of the tiger and kick the boar on the snout as I descend, it tries to retaliate but I quickly throw a kunai at its skull and spt it into ink.

  I side step away from the tiger and parry its sshes down onto me, again another hidden use of my strength, but its not enough to actually fully block the attacks.

  *Slice!*

  I grab another kunai and ssh at the tigers throat and joints... *Spsh!* the ink covers my body. I need to find a river after this is over.

  ...

  I wait for a moment again, the root agent is probably testing me- seeing what works and what doesn't, I am sure my sight and hearing has made me more dangerous than reported, I usually only fight with one instead of both.

  Taking off my restrictions feel great.

  *Swish!* *Woosh!* *Rush!*

  Four kunai and seven different ink animals attack from multiple directions- the kunai restrict me from jumping up and away from the animals and the different species all restrict dodging one or the other.

  *Sm* *Ssh* *Stab!*

  A boar takes out my legs as I try and dodge away from two bears, a bear sshes across my chest and a snake bits my ankle and starts to fill my body with chakra- the genjutsu is immediately taken care of by my eyes and I smash the snake into ink with my foot before throwing my st three kunai at the boar and killing it too.

  *woosh*

  I roll away from the ink bear smming down at me and I jump up and on top of the same bear that rises up as I stand on its head.

  I take deep breaths and think as I dodge from atop the bear... multiple birds and the ground animals all attack.

  They obviously require some amount of concentration to manipute... cant coordinate so much when its actually just one person.

  ------

  Quest: Get back to Konoha safely!

  Reward: Blessing Scroll.

  ------

  Not now! I throw away the notification in my brain but unfortunately the distraction was enough- *STAB!* I barely nudge out the way and get stabbed in the shoulder by my enemy... a pale boy covered in root gear, can only see his arm and... stomach? A mask covers his face... but I will remember his stare.

  He pulls his bde from my shoulder and kicks me from the bear- *Crash* *Roll* I sm into the dirt and roll away from more attacks from the ink beasts.

  The hundreds of stares are gone and I can think straight again- the boy rides upon the bear as it rushes me.

  *Snap!~*

  A powerful B-rank genjutsu assails the mind of the young boy, I pull out a ninja wire and ssh it across at all the charging ink animals, I get up as the boy releases from the genjutsu and take heavy breaths as I use the wire and bandages to wrap my wounds as quickly as he recovers himself.

  I hear someone approaching... we have a minute before they arrive.

  We stare into each others eyes.

  ...

  *Flicker*

  The boy flickers away and I furrow my eyebrows- why would he leave now? Is he scared of who approaches? That must be it... hopefully.

  I grab my jacket and walk back to camp, I apply my blindfold and ensure that he has truly left before bumping into Katsuko.

  "Oh- hey Kat" I greet her.

  "Sensei told me to see if your okay...?" Katsuko says and starts walking with me back to camp.

  "Just fine" I reply.

  It was Katsuko? Why would he leave if it was just her? Surely that would be the best chance to take me out or pressure me right?

  Maybe he was testing me... trying to see my secrets- I made sure my genjutsu showed me throwing kunai at his ink creations and then rapidly bandaging myself while I used my wire, plus it cannot be sensed by Danzo or his guys as Lightning mana isn't chakra...

  Maybe he didn't know that at all... he is chipping away at my secrets one step at a time.

  He can afford to py the long game- why is he so honed in on my secrets? Is it because that snake showed interest in me? Or is it something he suspects I can do but cannot prove... if its that then what does he want me to reveal? Do I even have what he wants?

  ...

  I should focus on getting to Konoha safely and surely, I have a new scroll to test out.

  Speaking of, what is a blessing? Don't titles give affects simir to blessings? Or is the title an additional blessing?

  ------

  Information! Do not forget!

  A Blessing scroll is a mixture of both skill and statistic scrolls.

  Learn something Innate! Think of bloodline abilities like the Uchiha, Hyuga and others.

  Be warned! Blessing scrolls are rare.

  Be warned! Blessing scrolls upgrade from your effort! And not more scrolls!

  For more scrolls Interesting battles and stories will suffice!

  ------

  ...

  So its telling me to do stuff- I should probably start taking advantage of the challenge scrolls then, pying the long game might limit my growth if I get rewards for challenging things as well as winning those challenges.

  Probably why my scrolls have been slowing down, got stuck in Konoha rather than doing much else.

  I arrive back at camp.

  ---

  Pov: Sai

  Haaa- Haaa- Haaa-

  I hold my chest and take deep breaths as I try to calm down... I had him- I had him right where I wanted him and I got scared? Since when do I get scared? Those eyes... why do they terrify me so much? Lord Danzo warned me... he did warn me...

  I couldn't even sense what he did to my ink creations... that genjutsu is strong, no wonder he is able to be a ninja without using most ninja basics.

  He is a ninja who thrives on underestimating and unpredictability.

  Eyes that terrify.

  Ears that know.

  Genjutsu that's powerful and instant.

  A strong body.

  And whatever the hell he is hiding underneath all that, whatever he considers to be better than that combo.

  All I know is that he took out my ink animals within two seconds.

  I couldn't even look at the spray pattern because I focused so much on his eyes... they just captivated me and then tore any amount of sanity I had away from me.

  I ran.

  I had him... I could of completed the mission... or maybe, I couldn't- his eyes are an ability of his, I shouldn't underestimate him next time, I will factor in his gaze.

  Next time Kenzo.

  Next time.

  ---

  -Next day, evening-

  Pov: Kenzo

  "And with that document signed... congratutions team six on your first completed C-rank" the Hokage smiles at us as we finish our paperwork.

  "Thank you so much..." The brothers bow to us and it seems they are both very happy with this outcome.

  "Get home safe you two, may I recommend a team to escort you home?" The Hokage smiles warmly.

  "No... we should be fine, thanks again" They both head out of the room and Kurenai sensei turns to us three.

  "We will begin some training tomorrow, same time as always- we are going to start sparring with each other and getting our combat skills up to par" Kurenai-sensei tells us and we all nod.

  "Kenzo may I speak to you for a moment?" The Hokage asks and I nod my head.

  The other three leave and we are left alone, the Hokage snaps his fingers and an Anbu flickers in.

  "Don't think these old eyes wouldn't notice" Gramps smiles warmly and the Anbu pces a hand on my shoulder and starts to send healing chakra into all my wounds.

  "Excellently hidden, now where did you get such wounds that you had to hide from your teammates?" Gramps asks.

  "I... met a root agent, only one" I respond.

  Gramps stop smiling and holds his chin in thought.

  ...

  "I see... you may go, Naruto will be most excited to have you back- and don't move that shoulder much, perhaps tell your sensei you injured it training with Naruto" Gramps tells me and the Anbu flickers away.

  "Thanks gramps" I smile and walk out of the office.

  Hmm... they must have left to go home, I should do the same- got my money to repce the safe money Naruto most likely ate through anyway.

  I walk out of the building and towards my apartment, I barely slept st night so I would love to sleep as well.

  ...

  I will deal with the scroll in the shower, I also need to think on what I should do with it anyway, I cannot waste it on something useless.

  I also have to train with its benefits publicly, so I should either add it to the Kenzo kit or make it something I am able to train secretly.

  I would prefer another weapon to use in emergency against Danzo... but having another wall he has to bypass would be great too.

  He cannot send agents without them being prepped for my new blessing, and that will buy me at least a month of time for him to factor into his pns perfectly... and by then hopefully I would have grown with the scrolls.

  I open up my apartment door to hear Naruto eating some ramen, next to four other empty cups that roll around on the bench.

  ...

  "..." Naruto slowly slurps his final cup.

  ...

  "..." I close the door and clear my throat.

  ...

  "..." Naruto pces his hand on the empty cups to silence them.

  "I can hear them rolling around, how fast were you eating for them to be rolling on our nice clean bench? The apartment was cleaned while I was gone right?" I smell the room... better than I thought actually.

  "Sorry Kenzo... I got hungry" Naruto says with grand remorse.

  "Its fine" I wave my hand and he chuckles.

  "Welcome home" Naruto beams.

  "Gd to be back" I smile and stretch.

  "Want to train? Prank someone?" Naruto asks and starts cleaning up the pce with swiftness.

  "Nah- just came home sorry, going to have a long shower and then get to bed, very tired and have to get up early tomorrow" I yawn and wave to him as I enter the bathroom with a new set of pyjamas.

  ...

  I turn on the shower and immediately pull out the blessing scroll, I have limited time, I need to figure out this scroll within five minutes so I can spend thirty-ish minutes in the orange box... if its far too long than I am sure Naruto will come get me.

  Lets hope it doesn't lead to that however.

  Okay, something public or secret, lets go through the pros and cons of each.

  -- Secret.

  - New hidden weapon.

  - Will annoy Danzo.

  - Will provide additional protection.

  - Unable to train it well.

  - Limits my full strength.

  - Another secret piled onto a hill.

  -- Public

  - Will annoy Danzo.

  - Able to Train it very well.

  - Temporary reprieve from Root.

  - Faster promotion.

  - Better on important missions.

  - More suspicion cast onto me.

  - Maybe some experiments on me.

  - Makes me more valuable, which is bad.

  ...

  Out of the two- going public with this blessing sounds the best, now I need to figure out how to apply this Blessing into my Kenzo skill set.

  Firstly- I focus on regeneration.

  The scroll glows.

  Secondly- Swordsmanship.

  It doesn't glow.

  Thirdly- Pyrokinesis.

  It glows.

  I see... so it can lean on the 'statistic' side of the scroll... but not the 'skill' side of the scroll.

  Regeneration is definitely a statistic I can upgrade while the opposite is swordsmanship, and Pyrokinesis is a mix of both... I probably want to envision superpowers or kekkai genkai when choosing this scroll.

  What blessing would combine well with the Kenzo kit? I have a lot of support and Defence capabilities, maybe something to reinforce that or something to deal damage with.

  I could straight up say super strength or speed and get a better spread on my basics, or could get something more unique and fun... No... I cant have fun with this one.

  Has to be simple, decisive and useful.

  ...

  If my Lightning kit is to surprise my enemies with sudden speed and power... than my Kenzo kit is to have people underestimate me as I use my durability and support.

  A blessing that is durable may be easy to pick out... but a support one would be mighty more useful.

  Shape shifting might be useful actually, covers some basics and allows me to 'publicly' use my lightning kit in another form.

  Teleportation? That would be amazing considering what the fourth Hokage could do with it... but that was him.

  Elemental transformations would be great to have, like the bloodlines in the mist, I am sure I read a book on kekkai genkai and saw a water dude in it.

  I could summon magical gear, for example summoning a holy sword or demonic shield and such.

  Illusions would mesh well with my genjutsu... but I would basically get that with levelling up my genjutsu snap.

  Chakra monster? Just pile up a load more chakra and solve my issues with casting multiple genjutsu in a fight? Maybe not, the use would simmer down and affinity is taking away more chakra so possibly it means I would be going against the systems intentions.

  Funky eye powers? Don't want that much attention... Itachi might come back and settle the score if I had uchiha eyes and the Hyuga are less then useful to me, mythical Rinnegan from those stories? Don't even know what it does.

  Wood release that the first Hokage was famous for would go amazing but with my skill set its definitely something I would never have a chance to use.

  Chakra sensitivity? Or perhaps Chakra control? I already have insane control over my genjutsu and two enhanced senses...

  Super strength would make the most sense with how my body is 'evolving' and I wont be questioned as much, plus it allows me to have a greater edge in combat.

  Chance manipution? That would be amazing to have... would work almost everywhere and that is a power I can use without anyone knowing, but I would prefer to have a chance reted skill to exploit it fully ter on.

  Enrge/Reduce perhaps? No... don't want to get confused with the Akimichi cn in Konoha, although they would be very welcoming and give me lots of opportunity...

  Emotional manipution would combo very well with my gaze and leave my opponents to scared to face me.

  Force fields or projection of materials would allow me to use support, defensive and offensive manoeuvres if trained right.

  ...

  I need something that combines with my abilities best- Shapeshifting, super strength and chance manipution are my best ones so far.

  Hmm...

  Lets go with shapeshifting.

  It covers a lot of areas and allows me to hide my other kit better without anyone being able to question it.

  I focus on the scroll and watch it glow brightly.

  Thanks for reading and comment what blessing you would have gone with :)