Kidō and Fullbring

The carriage wheels rolled over the last stretch of gravel road, and the gates of Kikyo Castle appeared in the distance. Tsunade woke from her less-than-restful sleep and stretched, her joints giving a series of faint pops.

She looked much better than when she had first climbed into the carriage, and much of the fatigue had faded from her face.

"So, you're not planning to hide your strength anymore?"

"Yeah."

Baiye withdrew the hand he had placed on her wrist. The fluctuations in her Hemophobia had subsided to a minimal level.

During the incident with Hatake Sakumo, Tsunade had already guessed that Baiye was quite capable in a fight. His easy subjugation of the Root ninja later had further supported that.

Of course, that also had to do with Baiye making no particular effort to hide it from her.

Tsunade rolled her neck and studied him with a searching gaze. "I'm just a little curious. What kind of battle could make the entire unit, including Hizashi Hyuga, respect you so completely? We still have a little time, so why don't you tell me about it?"

Baiye simply closed his eyes.

"What's the rush? Once we get to Kikyo Castle, Jonin Hizashi will give you a report."

"Boring."

Tsunade curled her lip. "With a personality like yours, how are you ever going to get girls to like you?"

"You don't need to worry about that."

The carriage gradually slowed, then finally came to a stop.

Baiye pushed open the carriage door and jumped down, then turned to look at Tsunade. She was still sitting inside, staring at him with a raised eyebrow, as though waiting for something.

Baiye sighed and held out a hand to her. Only then did Tsunade nod in satisfaction, but she ignored his hand and jumped down on her own.

A medical-nin who had come out from Kikyo Castle to greet them had long been waiting by the carriage, holding several freshly compiled medical lists. Seeing Tsunade get out, the medical-nin hurried over to her.

They had arrived at Kikyo Castle.

The gates stood wide open, and ninja stood on duty in the watchtowers on either side. When they spotted Tsunade, they raised their hands in salute from afar. Baiye followed Tsunade through the gates, his gaze sweeping over the streets within.

The small tourist town, once famous for its hot springs and mountain scenery, showed no trace of its former prosperity. The shops lining the streets had their doors and windows shut tight, and their signs hung crooked. Several wooden boards had been blown loose and lay untended by the roadside.

A thick layer of fallen leaves covered the stone-paved road, rustling underfoot. Clearly, no one had swept it in a long time. Now and then, a few residents who had stayed behind peered out from around corners, their eyes sunken and their clothes ragged. Only after confirming that the newcomers were not Sand Ninja did they retreat into the shadows.

At a small shrine on a street corner, two stone lanterns had fallen over, and the offering box had been split in half, probably to be used as firewood by someone. Only a ginkgo tree stood beside it, its golden leaves rustling in the autumn wind, as if it were the last vestige of the town's splendor still holding on.

Most ordinary residents had evacuated before the Sand Ninja attacked. For various reasons, some of those who remained had missed their chance to leave. By the time they realized it, the front line had already advanced to the outskirts of Kikyo Castle, and leaving would only have been more dangerous, so they stayed.

After Tsunade arrived at Kikyo Castle, she incorporated them into the logistics unit under centralized management. It was a makeshift solution in the absence of any better option.

Tsunade did not linger and headed straight for the hospital. After a few steps, she stopped and turned to Hizashi Hyuga. "The reinforcement unit will rest and recover today. That goes for the medical-nin too. Report to the hospital tomorrow."

"Yes."

She then looked at Baiye.

"You too. You helped treat so many wounded on the way here, and you used up a fair amount of Chakra yourself. Take a day off."

Baiye nodded slightly. Only then did Tsunade turn away, satisfied, and quickly disappear at the end of the street.

The reinforcement unit was housed in the estate of a Land of Fire nobleman in the eastern part of town. The estate occupied a sizable plot, and its courtyard's dry landscape garden had long gone untended, its white sand covered with ginkgo leaves. Several trees of unknown variety were still thriving, their gnarled branches twisted and motionless in the autumn wind. Everyone's room was spacious enough, and after putting down their luggage, many went to explore the courtyard in groups of three or five. The fatigue of days of marching and fighting finally eased for a moment, and the grounds became lively for a change.

Baiye declined an invitation to join them and carried his luggage into his room. It was on the second floor, and its window faced the old ginkgo tree, its golden leaves dazzling in the afternoon sunlight. He placed his Tachi at the head of the bed, quickly put away his luggage, then sat down on the edge of the bed and opened the system panel.

[Current Fate Points: 247]

[Lottery Tickets: 1]

He had received that Lottery Ticket after repelling Sanada's unit, but he had not used it immediately. After graduating from Shin'ō Academy, the fog on the system panel had cleared, revealing new functions.

[Advanced Kidō Exchange Ticket]

[Fullbring Exchange Ticket]

One Lottery Ticket could be exchanged for one exchange ticket.

But unlike the random drawing for Zanpakuto abilities, the exchange for advanced Kidō and Fullbring allowed him to choose a specific ability.

Different abilities required different numbers of exchange tickets.

For example, Bakudō #81: Dankū could completely defend against Hadō below number eighty-nine, and he estimated it would be quite effective against many Ninjutsu as well. It required two Kidō exchange tickets.

Hadō #90: Black Coffin, Aizen's signature Kidō, required three exchange tickets.

During his time auditing classes at Shin'ō Academy, he had never had the opportunity to encounter advanced Kidō above number eighty, something he had always regretted. He had not expected that regret to present itself before him in this form now.

Unfortunately, it was no longer free.

With his current A-rank proficiency in Kidō, even using it just once would be enough for him to grasp how to use it.

On the other hand, there were also abilities among the Fullbring that he coveted.

Orihime Inoue's Shun Shun Rikka included Sōten Kisshun, whose restorative ability was almost equivalent to turning back time. It required two Fullbring exchange tickets. Of course, there were also some relatively inexpensive abilities—for example, the Giant's Right Arm and the Devil's Left Arm. One exchange ticket could be traded for three uses. But Baiye glanced at them and looked away. No matter how cheap they were, they were of no use to him.

A hundred Fate Points did not seem like much, but because they had to be obtained all at once, Lottery Tickets were actually quite difficult to acquire.

Repelling the Sand Ninja interception force this time had earned him only slightly more than 100 Fate Points, and even that had only been possible because he had killed Sanada, a Sunagakure Jonin.

Although Sanada was not as strong as Pakura, he had commanded far more ninja than her squad. Yet the two battles had brought him roughly the same number of Fate Points.

The system determined the number of Fate Points based on the weight of a person's fate and the extent to which it had changed, regardless of strength or numbers. Of the two, the weight of fate mattered more than the extent of the change.

To put it plainly, the more important a character was in the original story, the greater the weight of their fate. Even Pakura, who did not count as a supporting character, had considerably more weight to her fate than a nobody like Sanada.

Baiye closed the panel and leaned against the head of the bed. After A-rank, the experience needed to level up was far too great. Although daily training could still improve his abilities, it would take far too long.

The Third Shinobi World War was a turning point he had to seize, and the allocation of every resource was crucial. He closed his eyes and began sorting through his plans for what came next. Outside the window, the old ginkgo tree's leaves rustled in the autumn wind. Sunlight filtered through gaps in its branches and leaves, falling on his shoulders.