The Celestial Copy - Chapter 17

[Tsunade Senju]

The sunlight landing on her face felt like a kunai stabbing into her skull. She wanted to punch the damn sun for it. 

Groaning as she sat up, Tsunade peeled a sticky strand of hair from her cheek and brought a glowing green hand to her temple. The Mystical Palm Jutsu erased the physical consequences of another night spent drowning her past.

She waited. For the usual corrosive bitterness to curdle in her stomach. For the wave of grief to tighten around her throat. She waited, and nothing came. There was only a hollow space. 

And in that space, unwanted memories began to force their way forward.

Nawaki’s grin was the first thing that came to her. That brightness that made her heart ache even now.

“I give my word, big sis! I’ll follow our grandfather’s footsteps and be just like him. To be Hokage, that’s my dream!”

She’d handed him the necklace that day, the one that belonged to the First Hokage, because she believed in him. Believed that he would actually do it.

Then the memory shifted, the face blurring into another who used to smile at her. Dan Kato, the man who supported her when she proposed that a medical ninja should be assigned to every squad so that more lives could be saved.

“I love this village and the people in it with all my heart. I want to protect them. It’s been my dream ever since my sister died… It’s all that’s kept me going.”

The two of them were the same. They’d both lost siblings, yet still clung on to the belief that things could be better. That the village was worth it.

“That’s why I have to become Hokage. The person who protects everyone. To be Hokage, that’s my dream.”

And she, like the fool she was, had given him the necklace too.

Her hand clenched the cheap inn sheets, the rough fabric a poor substitute for the flak jacket Dan wore.

Then a new voice overlaid the ones from her past.

“Being Hokage is not my dream. But sooner or later, it will be necessary.”

The words were simple, but the way he had said it was anything but. His charisma made her believe it was her grandfather standing before her. Was that not why he founded the village? From everything she knew of him, she was confident he never dreamed of ruling, but it was necessary to stop the endless bloodshed of the warring states period.

Tsunade grabbed the glass of water from the nightstand and downed it in one gulp, trying to wash away the dangerous direction her thoughts were going.

“Shizune,” she called out. “What do you know about Sakumo’s boy? Kakashi Hatake.”

Shizune, who was already tidying the room, turned to her. “Not much, Lady Tsunade. I never shared a class with him in the Academy because I was a few years ahead. I remember he graduated extremely early; the instructors always called him a once-in-a-lifetime prodigy. He even made Chūnin at six.” She paused, her expression clouding over. “Oh, and there were… rumors. About him being called the ‘Friend-Killer.’ But I don’t know much about it. That all happened right around the time you took me on as your apprentice.”

Friend-Killer?

It was a name that didn’t align with the person she was thinking of. The boy she met last night spoke of sacrifice and duty with a conviction a traitor couldn’t possess.

What if he was the one? Not another bright-eyed dreamer destined for an early grave, but a realist, one strong enough to actually bear the curse of that hat. Maybe under a man like that, the village could be different. It might even be a place worth returning to...

Her hand went to the necklace she still wore, the crystal cool against her fingers.

No. It was still a sucker’s bet. One good man can’t change the whole rotten system. Her hope was a curse, and she wouldn’t doom another one. At least she hadn’t given the necklace to that kid. At least he still had a chance.

“Shizune. Pack our things. We’re moving on. This town’s luck has run dry.”

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

Six more days of travel had yielded precisely nothing. My pack found no trace of Gintoki’s scent, and my own enhanced senses detected no echo of a chaotic signature. 

At least my other objective was showing signs of working.

Just yesterday, a squad of Chūnin from the Hidden Grass Village had tried their luck. They were okay for their rank, but nothing special. They lasted maybe thirty seconds at best. Seeing as the only bounty hunters that went after me so far were amateurs, I assumed the more experienced ones were wary of taking on an S-rank, especially when the price wasn’t worth it.

Earlier today, I checked the black market listing out of curiosity. I was expecting the Hidden Cloud to have put a number on my head after the summit, a final act of pettiness from the Raikage.

But no, the measly thirty million ryō on me was from the Hidden Stone. Since it was so low, they probably didn’t know anything about my recent missions. It was more likely a political statement, a gesture of their anger against the Fourth Hokage, targeting his last student rather than a reflection of my threat level.

Still, for my target, any amount of money was worth considering.

I’d noticed him entering my sensory range about half an hour ago. He’d spent most of that time in the nearby city.

Oh? Is he finally approaching?

His chakra signature was a perversion of nature itself. It was a repulsive feeling, like five distinct chakra signatures forcibly merged into one malformed whole. 

At the rate he’s moving, it should take him another two or three minutes to get here. Enough time for me to set more favorable field conditions.

Moving behind a thick tree on the side of the road, I formed a cross-shaped hand sign, causing two perfect copies of myself to appear in puffs of smoke. One of them gave a nod to the other before casually walking back out to the road. Meanwhile, the second clone and I used the Headhunter Jutsu to sink into the earth.

The clone on the road would act as the bait. The one underground with me would begin the slow process of gathering nature energy. 

After all the training I did to hone Sage Mode taijutsu, I knew I needed an actual enemy to test it out against. I was confident that I could end this fight within five minutes. And even if my Sage Mode dropped, I was still capable of taking him down in my base form.

I felt Kakuzu arrive, settling into position in the trees just ahead of my clone’s path. 

My clone continued its nonchalant walk down the road, projecting the arrogance of a powerful shinobi traveling alone without a care in the world.

Another minute passed without anything happening.

Suddenly, my clone popped, its memories flooding my mind in an instant.

Kakuzu went around shirtless, openly displaying the stitches all over his torso and the four masks sewn onto his back. He let his long hair hang loose, held out of his face by a simple sweatband instead of the forehead protector of his former village. And a black mask covered the lower half of his face, exposing only his pupil-less green eyes with red sclerae.

His arm had darkened as he used his Iron Skin jutsu to punch my clone. 

Before the smoke from the clone’s dispersal cleared, I rose from the ground directly behind him. His back was wide open.

I struck with my palm, hitting the dark blue mask on the lower right side of his spine. The mask flattened on impact, the force of the blow sending him hurtling forward, crashing through a line of trees before tumbling to a halt in a cloud of dust.

That should be the water mask. Yellow is lightning, red is fire, and light blue is wind. His own natural element is earth. One down.

“That one was from the Hozuki clan’s head ten years ago,” Kakuzu growled as he pushed himself up. “You’ll pay for that.”

His body contorted unnaturally, the four masks writhing before erupting from his body in a flood of black threads. They solidified into four monstrous forms: two standing on humanoid legs, the third crouched on all fours like a beast, and the final one that I broke earlier collapsed onto the ground.

Kakuzu himself charged toward me, his body taking on a dark brown color. “You only caught me off guard earlier because I wasn’t reinforcing my entire body,” he snarled. “A mistake I will not make again.”

We met in a taijutsu exchange. He fought with brute force, each hit meant to shatter an opponent’s bone, while I smoothly swatted each attack to the side before counterattacking with my own.

He drew his fist back for a haymaker, which I ducked under and responded with a knife-hand strike aimed at his chest. He brought an arm up to block, and I immediately jumped, planting my feet on his forearm, then kicked off to deliver a spinning kick to the side of his head.

At that moment, I felt one of his masked beasts gathering chakra. 

Grabbing Kakuzu’s hair, I pulled him back toward me and used his shoulders to vault in the direction of the beast that attacked. 

While I was in the air, I saw a bolt of lightning streak past the space I’d just occupied. 

As I was falling, I brought my hand down in a claw-like swipe, the nature energy surrounding my fingers. The strike connected with the mask, shattering it before it could fire another False Darkness.

Kakuzu jumped back, regrouping with his two remaining beasts.

Threads of black tendrils shot out from his fingertips and wrapped tightly around my right arm. The wind mask released a blast of compressed air, while the fire mask followed up by spitting a small fireball.

I bunched the threads into a tight ball and pulled hard, dragging Kakuzu toward me. Reaching back with my left hand, I drew the White Light Chakra Saber and severed the threads. Before he could recover, I grabbed him by the arm and hurled him directly into the path of the fireball, which exploded into a massive firestorm as it made contact with him.

Sidestepping the wind blast, I charged forward to press the attack on the burning figure.

However, the wind and fire beasts started to merge, their threads weaving together to create a single creature with two masks. It opened both its mouths, combining their attacks to unleash a superheated stream of fire.

Forming a single seal, I copied his Iron Skin jutsu. The defensive technique stacked with my sage-enhanced durability, allowing me to charge through the inferno and land a punch that sent him flying once more.

And then the power vanished.

Five minutes already?

Well, it was rather arrogant of me to assume that I could kill an S-rank shinobi with just my taijutsu, especially one who had nearly a century of combat experience.

Kakuzu pushed himself back to his feet. The stitches holding his body together burst outward, sending out countless dark gray threads from his back, shoulder, and arms. The tangled mass of fibers spiked out in every direction, looking like a grotesque version of a spider’s web, with the wind and fire masks embedded within the tendrils just above his shoulders.

“Thirty million ryō…” he rasped. “An insulting price for this much trouble!” He paused, his strange green eyes locking onto me. “No, this is an investment. Your heart will make a fine replacement for one of the two I’ve already lost. The bingo book said your affinity is either Lightning, Water, or Earth. It better not be Earth!”

“My affinity is Lightning. I suppose that makes you a lucky man, Kakuzu,” I said, letting my eyes curve into a smile. “Actually, not really. I haven’t been trying my best so far. You’ve served as an excellent test to see how strong I am with just my taijutsu. Now, I’m going to finish this.”

I released the shadow clone hidden underground, causing a wave of nature energy to flood my system as I re-entered Sage Mode.

The two masks on his shoulders opened their mouths, unleashing another superheated stream of wind-boosted fire.

I ran through the hand seals for Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu, channeling nature energy into the technique as I built it. I took a deep breath and expelled a massive volume of water from my mouth. The torrent devoured the flames, turning them to steam before crashing down on Kakuzu.

While the steam still obscured his vision, I created another shadow clone. It appeared at my side as I formed a Rasengan in my palm. The clone pressed its hands to the sphere, feeding a dense stream of earth chakra into the rotation. The blue sphere turned a muddy brown, emitting the sound of the rotation grinding against itself. Then I focused, using advanced shape manipulation to elongate the sphere into a more conical, drill-like shape.

The steam cloud dissipated, revealing Kakuzu’s body swelling even more. The mass of threads around him grew larger, splitting into eight massive limbs that thrashed through the air.

The moment my Rasenquake was complete, I charged.

Kakuzu lashed out with his tentacles. I ducked under the first four, their hardened tips whistling inches above my head. The next two came sideways in a pincer, trying to crush me between them. My free hand snapped out, slapping the one on my right away, then pivoted, bringing my elbow back to shatter the one on the left. A seventh smashed down from above. I leaped high over it, letting it bury itself in the earth. 

“You can’t dodge in mid-air!” Kakuzu roared.

The eighth and final limb thrust upward from below, aiming to impale me.

I caught it.

With my enhanced strength, I yanked, hauling his massive form up toward me.

“Sage Art: Grand Ground Grinding Spiraling Catastrophe Rock Implosion Sphere!” I announced, the absurdly long name rolling off my tongue with perfect, deadpan delivery.

“What the—”

I threw the Rasenquake, smashing it into the center of his chest and driving him downward. Once he hit the ground, the jutsu continued drilling into his body. 

Seconds later, I landed in a crouch, then leaped to the branch of a nearby tree to get a clear view through my Sharingan, watching as his internal network was shredded, pulverized by the grinding rotational force. The ground shook as if struck by an earthquake. Trees toppled in every direction, including the one I was standing on. I jumped clear as it fell.

When the destruction finally ceased, a deep fissure was carved into the earth where Kakuzu had been.

I approached carefully, looking down into the crater. The effect was far more devastating than when I was testing the jutsu out in my team’s private training grounds. The addition of Senjutsu gave the technique a stable core that ensured it didn’t lose any power even after I wasn’t actively maintaining it.

[FEAT ACHIEVED: KILL KAKUZU]

[100 CP GRANTED - 450 TOTAL]

Finally, I had enough. This made the past few days worth it.

[YOU NOW HAVE SUFFICIENT CP TO OBTAIN CURRENT LOCKED PERK.]

[-400 CP, PURCHASED CALL ME MASTER. 50 CP REMAINING]

The path to elevating my team, and also guiding the next generation, was now clear. It was a responsibility I was eager to shoulder.

[WOULD YOU LIKE TO ROLL?]

[ERROR...]

[MISSING POINTS DETECTED]

Huh?

[100 CP GRANTED - 150 TOTAL]

Wait a minute, when did this happen?

[WHEN YOU ACHIEVED THE FEAT "CAPTURE THE CLOUD HEAD NINJA ALIVE" YOU WERE GRANTED 100 CP, HOWEVER THEY WERE NOT ACTUALLY ADDED TO YOUR TOTAL.]

[50 ADDITIONAL CP GRANTED AS COMPENSATION, 200 TOTAL]

[WE ENDEAVOR NOT TO MAKE SUCH A MISTAKE AGAIN.]

Still, I also failed to notice the mistake, so even with the promise that it wouldn’t happen again, I’ll be keeping a closer eye on my total from now on. Since this gave me a decent amount of points, I figured I might as well roll.

[ROLLING...]

Divided Attention - 100 CP

Source: Horus Heresy: The Primarchs, Chapter: Lore

You can split your concentration between as many different subjects as you wish, even focusing on hundreds of different subjects at once. To micromanage the entire mobilization of your whole Legion is an easy task for you. This inherently would make you a highly gifted bureaucrat, as with your ability to split your attention you could work on vast stacks of paperwork all at once.

Disguise Potions - 100 CP

Source: Elantris, Chapter: Transformation

Brewed by a Hrovell alchemist, these three vials contain a powerful Invested concoction that can alter the appearance of whoever should imbibe it. By default, these potions replicate the effects of the Shaod, causing the drinker to lose their hair and develop sickly black bruises over their now-gray skin. Given how those who undergo the Shaod are forsaken by society, this could be an effective way at eliminating a pesky rival. Just be warned that the change will wear off after five days. Alternatively, you may choose to receive three doses of a potion that causes another severe change in physical appearance. This change can’t alter one’s physiology, but so long as the desired appearance is humanoid, these potions offer a reliable way to produce drastic, temporary transformations.

Spirit of Vengeance - 300 CP

Source: Marvel Cinematic Universe - Volume 2, Chapter: Transformation

They say that the devil isn't real. That such superstitions are meant to scare the ignorant. Alas, the devil is real, and thanks to an incident which has left you empowered there will be Hell to pay. You have been imbued with a Spirit of Vengeance, and can transform into a hellish agent that punishes the wicked. You will possess great strength and durability, conjuration of powerful hellfire and the imbuing of that fire in objects to enhance them, and even the power to uncover someone's sins should you stare into a person's eyes. This incarnation of the Spirit does not possess the Penance Stare of its predecessor, but in exchange you will find you can affect and force intangible opponents to assume a corporeal form so that fire can cleanse the world of them. There is nowhere you can hide from Justice.

[CHOOSE ONE]

The choice this time was obvious.

I didn’t have enough for Spirit of Vengeance, and since I could afford the other two, that meant I wouldn’t have the option to lock it in. As for Disguise Potions, I had no need for it. Changing your appearance was one of the first skills a ninja learned.

That left Divided Attention. It wouldn’t improve my strength in any way, but I was confident it would pay off in the long run. 

Hiruzen wanted to make me the next Hokage, and I was willing to accept that role when it was time. This perk would make sure that when that time came, I would be able to effectively manage the village. I’ve seen the mountains of paperwork Hiruzen dealt with each day, leading to him always being busy. I would not fall victim to the same fate.

[-100 CP, PURCHASED DIVIDED ATTENTION. 100 CP REMAINING]

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

[Hiruzen Sarutobi]

Hiruzen ran out of tears to cry. If he were an Uchiha, it would certainly be blood coming out of his eyes.

The mountain of paper never shrank. For each one he signed and stamped, two more would appear in its place. The office that had once been a symbol of his authority and dedication now felt like a prison, and the paperwork was his endless burden.

He should not be here. His first grandson was born less than a week ago. He should be at home, holding the baby, feeling the fragile weight of a new life, helping his daughter-in-law. She’d even given him the honor of naming the boy. 

Konohamaru. A name that would honor the village.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

“Enter.”

He was pleasantly surprised to find the man who entered was the shinobi he placed all his hopes on. There was still another two days before his one-month vacation would end.

“Welcome back, Kakashi,” he said. “I trust your time away was productive. I hope you’re satisfied with the training you accomplished.”

“It was, Lord Third. I’ve learned how to use Sage Mode.”

Sage Mode? In such little time?

A lesser man would have shown a reaction.

Hiruzen was well aware of the difference that power made. Tobirama-sensei once said that it was what let the First Hokage defeat Madara Uchiha and the Nine-Tailed Fox at the same time. He had brought Jiraiya to the summit with the Cloud precisely because his Sage Mode would be their answer to the Eight-Tails.

To think that Kakashi grasped that same legendary power... and it had only taken him a month. The young man had so many years ahead of him, so much potential for further growth.

Soon, I can pass on the hat and finally retire.

“That is an incredible achievement, Kakashi,” he said at last. “Truly remarkable.”

“Thank you, Lord Third. I also had a run-in with a bounty hunter during my travels. An S-rank rogue from the Hidden Waterfall named Kakuzu. He was using one of his village’s kinjutsu. I brought his body back, in case the research division can learn anything from it, though it’s heavily damaged.”

Hiruzen’s eyes narrowed. “Kakuzu… I know that name. He was the man sent to assassinate the First Hokage, many decades ago. While Lord Hashirama defeated him and chose to let him go, it was still a slight against our village. You have done well, Kakashi.”

Kakashi nodded. “There’s one more thing, Lord Third. I was hoping you could pass a message to Lord Jiraiya for me.”

“Of course. What is it?”

“I’ve begun searching for a giant dog, one that’s been roaming the world for some time. With my duties as Captain of Team Ro, I can’t dedicate the time needed to track it across the continent. I was hoping Lord Jiraiya, with his extensive intelligence network, could keep an eye out for it during his travels.”

Hiruzen pulled out a fresh scroll. “An interesting request. Tell me, what are its key features?”

“It has reddish-brown fur, stands around fifty-five feet tall, and its most distinctive trait is having multiple heads.”

“Quite the monstrous figure,” Hiruzen commented as he continued writing.

“It was corrupted by improper use of Senjutsu hundreds of years ago,” Kakashi replied.

A giant dog corrupted by Senjutsu. The same type of animal that he summons. 

Hiruzen hummed, immediately connecting the dots. It was clearly connected to Kakashi’s recent training. He said nothing of it, only nodded and continued writing. But instead of framing the message as a request, he worded it as an order to locate the creature, marking it with the Hokage’s insignia when he was done.

He held the scroll out. “Give this to the toad on duty at the Distance Teleportation Portal.”

Kakashi took the scroll and bowed. “Thank you, Lord Third.” Then he exited the office, leaving Hiruzen alone once more.

Hiruzen turned his chair, looking out the window at the great stone faces carved into the mountain.

A few favors for his future successor wasn’t a big deal at all.

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

Author’s Note:

So, here’s a more in depth explanation of what happened with the 100 points referenced in this chapter:

Basically, way back in chapter 10, Kakashi earned points from capturing the Cloud Head Ninja. I think the reason I got the wrong points was because I added the 100 points he got from that to his total after he got twin sacred flasks (300) in Chapter 7. However, at the end of Chapter, Kakashi got 100 points for killing Gari, which brought his points up to 400. Didn’t help that the next 2 chapters had 0 interaction with the CG...

Anyway, it’s crazy that this one mistake had such a huge effect. Because, Kakashi would’ve been forced to buy either one of the perks he rejected in Chapter 12. So I guess he’d be going around with the fucking Ancestral Laserdragon. And that also means he misses out on Mephistopheles and Call Me Master. Then, not having Mephistopheles means that Kanazuji refuses to help him learn Sage Mode, and it would turn into a long term solo project I would have Kakashi accomplish over the course of a few years. (Or faster if he rolled something to help)

Butterfly effect, huh?