Kiba sped up, each second closer to home. He was so close, but things never go as planned. Just as he opened the door and was about to head to his room, a hand on his shoulder stopped him dead.
"Kiba, seems like you were forgetting something important, doesn't it?" Tsume Inuzuka stared fixedly at her son, her eyebrow twitching as she wondered how she could have raised such a disrespectful pup.
"Old woman, I'm busy, I don't have time for nonsense. This clan needs me, and you're in my way to the top." Kiba was about to keep running to his room, but he couldn't move. His mother's hand was tightly gripping him, and with each second it tightened further; she was close to breaking his damn bone.
"You stinky brat, first you'll eat your damn food, then you'll thank me like any good kid should, and after that, I'll show you some personalized Taijutsu lessons." Tsume suppressed all the rage boiling in her body at being called "old woman," as she remembered why she shouldn't beat her son into a disaster, and for a single second, she hesitated... only until she heard him speak again.
Kiba looked at his mother, his left eyebrow twitching, and it was getting redder and redder, and he had no other thought than to tell her: "Old woman, the clan depends on me, and you're holding me back right now. Don't you have any compassion for the people in the clan who need me? You're a hag..."
Crack! CRASH! Glass destroyed.
Kiba couldn't finish speaking when he was thrown towards the training yard, as he saw his mother running towards him with unleashed fury, quickly hitting his liver with a punch of a force Kiba didn't expect.
30 minutes later
Kiba was sitting in his chair, eating in silence, while stealing glances at his mother who was staring back at him.
"You're resisting a little more than before." Tsume was genuinely impressed with her son. Others might not notice, but he was rapidly growing stronger. The boy had the strength and chakra reserves of a Genin with a few years in the field; he just lacked the instincts. It was rare for someone to grow so fast without the necessary resources, and that unsettled her.
"Yeah, well, when you're trained like me, with beatings every day, it's pretty normal to gain some strength." Kiba looked at his mother with a frown; he knew he was exaggerating her blows, but if that made her lower the intensity and let him go to his room, he'd do anything.
"You know, Kiba, I always hear you complaining about your classmates, about Hinata, how you don't like her holding back in sparring, and how your teammate Shino limits himself, or how Shikaku's son always gives up in the middle of matches. But... You don't show your true strength either. It's kind of hypocritical. Why don't you go for the top spot at the academy? With your strength, you'd surely defeat the Uchiha." Tsume looked at her son, expecting a sincere answer.
"You're wrong about something, Mother. I don't have anything against Shikamaru or Shino; I have some respect for them."
"But Hinata, on the other hand, is everything he'll never be, and because of that, I despise her. She doesn't deserve my respect, my friendship, not even a little of my compassion. And it's not because she's weak; it's simply because she doesn't defend herself, she doesn't counterattack knowing she can beat most of those bastards, she's capable of showing compassion even for them."
"Someone like that is not only unfit to be a shinobi, but would be a burden on any team they're on. Poor devil who ends up with a teammate who holds back in a life-or-death fight." Kiba looked into his mother's eyes; nothing he said before was a lie, he would never lie to his mother.
Tsume looked at her son for a few more seconds, thinking. If her son truly wanted to, he could easily get the top spot at the academy. She didn't think the Uchiha kid would beat him, but it wasn't her problem.
"Besides, the Uchiha doesn't go all out either. I'm not sure who would win between the two, and Shino's techniques are very annoying; I have few ways to counter them." Kiba kept eating as he thought about his classmates.
Kiba, finishing his meal, got up from his seat. Before heading to his room, he turned to his mother.
"By the way, your food is delicious, thanks, Mom."
Kiba went to his room while he kept thinking about what happened today with the system.
Tsume remained still for a few seconds before smiling and going to feed the clan pups.
----------
He couldn't believe it. Kiba was prepared for a great disappointment; he didn't have high hopes for his system. Sure, he confirmed it wasn't a normal Genjutsu, but he didn't rule out other possibilities.
In his hand, he found one of the Kusanagi Swords.
Kusanagi Sword: Raging Storm: A legendary sword with great chakra transmission capabilities, with a strong affinity for the wind element and lightning element, possessing the ability to absorb, control, and expel wind and lightning element chakra in an absolutely controlled manner.
Truthfully, Kiba was overly excited. A Kusanagi Sword wasn't something you just found lying on the street. And being given one, just for accepting a damn screen that calls itself a system, was even stranger.
Now, if Kiba were a foolish kid, he would simply enjoy the system's rewards. But knowing that this shit could communicate, then it was most likely that it had its own agenda.
"System, what do you want from me? Why did you choose me out of everyone? Are you the only one of your kind?" Kiba was truly curious about the system. What did it expect to gain by giving him all these things?
Host, in response to your first question, the system only seeks the host's strengthening through the randomness of the gacha. I did not choose you in particular; landing in this world was totally random, and choosing you as a host was not a decision I made. I have no will of my own; I only serve as a guide for the functions the system possesses, and currently, the system does not have the capacity to find other system users.
So, worlds, huh? This is getting more and more complex. I'd like to assume we're the only inhabitants of this earth, and that not just any alien can come and settle here. But the mere fact that the system said it landed in this world randomly confirms to me that anyone with enough power can move between worlds.
How many worlds are out there? How many beings are similar to us? Can they use chakra, or is it exclusive to humans here? So many questions. Would the system know?
"System, are there people like us in other worlds? And by the way, what are the functions you're talking about?
Host, the Multiverse is teeming with beings, and humans are just one of several beings that exist in various worlds. Sometimes they mutate to handle different types of energy, which leads them to evolve in different ways.
In this moment, I have the functions: Status, Gacha, Inventory, Radar.
Status: Shows your physical and spiritual/mental parameters divided into letter categories. These categories refer to the force capable of destroying/creating, starting from lowest to highest: F: Human Level; D: Superhuman Level; B: Urban Level; C: City Level; A: Country Level; S: Island Level; SS: Planet Level; SSS: Universe Level.
Each level is divided into three sub-levels: low, intermediate, and high. The parameters currently available are:
Strength: Capacity of force exerted by the muscles. It impacts the ability to lift weight, break objects, throw them, etc.
Agility: The speed of muscle movement and the brain's reaction capacity to external/internal stimuli. This parameter impacts speed, agility, manual arts, and reflexes.
Luck: The capacity that allows changing/altering destiny in favor of the host, a mysterious capacity. The host does not have the ability to actively activate or use this parameter.
Stamina: The capacity to endure blows and fatigue, physical traumas, or states affecting the body like injuries or poisons.
Chakra: The capacity to store a certain amount of chakra in the body; it affects the quality of the chakra produced.
Chakra Resistance: The host's resistance to chakra. This resistance impacts the capacity to remain unharmed from the direct effects of chakra on the body.
Charisma: Affects the host's physical appearance, bringing it closer to their ideal of beauty, and enhances the presence the host wishes to impose upon themselves before others.
Spirit: The willpower and the capacity to mentally resist blows/to the spirit. It holds great importance in the quality of mental/yin energy.
Impressive! Kiba was very excited about this system. The ability to see your own progress tangibly was too tempting. And what was that? Planet and Universe levels! Truly impressive.
This also cleared up the doubts he had about the Multiverse.
Gacha: Spins of luck with the ability to obtain any object from the multiverse with creation/destruction capabilities. Obtained through missions.
Objects are divided into:
Gray: Normal
White: Uncommon
Cyan: Good
Blue: Rare
Green: Special
Violet: Epic
Gold: Legendary
Black: EX???????
[Note: Missions will be given based on the difficulty the system considers appropriate for the host. The system will impose no consequences other than those arising from not completing the mission in the physical world]
Well, he already knew most of the Gacha functions, but... The missions part seemed more complex than it looked; he'd have to investigate more about that.
Inventory: A space-time dimension that allows retrieving and storing objects from the Gacha. Unlimited.
[Note: Only objects extracted by Gacha are allowed to be stored.]
Radar: This function allows locating objects obtained by the system even if they are on the other side of the world.
Well... it's interesting. If the time came when he lost his Kusanagi, he could easily locate it. And the inventory thing was a shame; if he could store everything he wanted, he could have obtained an infinite sealing scroll that couldn't be stolen.
But now, the most important thing is: What were these Multiverse cards?
The Kusanagi sword he got might have been the best of the spins, but...
Blue [Kusanagi: Raging Storm]
White[Chakra Metal Kunai]
Cyan [Ninjutsu: Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique]
Violet [Character Card: Watchdog Man: One Punch Man]
The inventory showed him that the Kusanagi wasn't the most important thing, and if not even a Kusanagi Sword was considered epic, what kind of thing deserved that violet color?
The shuriken and kunai were normal gray, and the explosive tags were uncommon white.
"System, what exactly is the character card?" Kiba asked with a smile, as he tightly gripped the hilt of his sword.
Host, with just a glance at the object within the inventory, the item's information will be detailed.
Kiba stared intently at the character card until he noticed the object enlarging in his vision and its description was textually displayed.
Character Card: Watchdog Man: One Punch Man
A character card of a hero from another world, with physical capabilities beyond the norm, and an incredible and strange combat technique.
Watchdog Man is a hero with a dog costume that grants him incredible strength, agility, and a unique martial technique; he fights like a beast using all four limbs, a hero who should not be underestimated.
Objects: N/A
Abilities: N/A
Watchdog Man Status:
Specializes in close-quarters combat.
Strength: C
Agility: C+
Luck: D+
Stamina: C+
Chakra: N/A [Note: due to his strangely strong body, it is considered that using the character card will gradually grant Elite Jonin level chakra after absorbing it.]
Chakra Resistance: N/A
Charisma: B-
Spirit: B+
Well... This is much, much more than I expected. Sure, he won't be invincible, and it seems his strength will unlock gradually, but it's assured power. Kiba was happy, and there was nothing bothering him at that moment.