Chapter 33: Armor Up

The eighteen months after our first C-rank passed quickly. We were kept fairly busy, and after our field promotion to chunin a couple months into running missions Jiraiya was recalled for other tasks. We didn't just run missions, of course; we furthered our training too. Sachiko, Yasu and I cross-trained each other in our specialties; their combat potential improved significantly with their increased skill in elemental jutsu due to my training. Yasu and I learned more about poisons and infiltration, while Sachiko and I went camping for a combined several months and would basically play advanced hide-and-seek with Yasu to improve our stealth and tracking skills.

We always lost. It kind of sucked.

Probably the biggest boost to our combat potential was through my sealing studies. After I finished the seal-sword creation seals a couple months into our deployment at Okutari, I turned my focus to Body-Seals. Body seals were one of the highest expressions of the art, and extensive body-seal sets were a hallmark of the elite retinues that surrounded Uzushiogakure's Master Sealers. While my youth and other focuses had prevented me from exploring those avenues before, I decided that with our increased combat tempo and the potential of meeting stronger foes in the future that we needed some edges.

I had a lot of political capital within the Sealing Department. My Cyclone and Pelican designs had saved Uzushiogakure, and catapulted Whirlpool into the ranks of the greatest nations of the day. I was in favor with the Priests, in part due to my actions concerning Kyubi (who was still, very annoyingly, in a coma). Hikaru jii-san had advanced to become the third highest ranking member of the department. Kaa-san had been instrumental in applying some of my ideas as to how to use variable shields to create a kind of jet engine; I received a lot of the credit, and the brand new Sea-Hawks under development at the time were slated to be the first aircraft to break the sound barrier in over a millenium (when they were eventually released as a production model, at least). The Peregrine and Osprey were both listed under my projects, though they were still on the drawing board, and I had designed a number of specialized munitions that were in reasonably heavy use. And not least, I was hailed as perhaps the greatest sealing genius, ever. So, when I finally decided to flex my political muscle there, it was relatively easy to get advanced Body-Seal arrays and armor designs.

I identified five major focuses for the armor. First, protection. This was accomplished by a variable-setting defense system that operated on passive and active levels. Passively, the seals could detect when the body's integrity was damaged, for example by being cut or burned, and apply a localized protection to reduce the severity of the damage. A knife might cut the skin, but wouldn't penetrate deeper unless there was tremendous force. That level of protection was always “on” unless specifically suppressed (for example, for medical procedures), and any suppression was on a timer to reset. Chakra conversion and sealing seals would even drain hostile chakra fields while applying the counter to the enemy's chakra. This was also fairly effective against genjutsu, especially when combined with the defenses reverse engineered from those against genjutsu and the sharingan given to the Sanbi and Kyubi. There was a store of medical chakra to accelerate healing in combat, and an automatically activated stasis seal and reverse summon directly to a hospital in case of near-fatal injury.

At higher levels, the armor had three possible settings. Setting one, minimal protection, focused on constant active armoring of essential areas, sort of like a mystical equivalent to Kevlar body armor. Setting two was an active defense system that added detecting and stopping incoming objects that were at high speed, as well as a more general protection. It had the option to release seals to absorb and contain incoming enemy jutsu as well, though stocks of anti-juts seals were limited. Setting three, designed to go toe to toe against the greatest threats for as long as the energy stores held out, was heavier armor, almost like a miniature Susanoo, combined with seals to automatically absorb incoming enemy jutsu, a localized chakra draining field and randomly pulsed area-genjutsu disruptor.

The second focus was on enhancing combat potential. There was an eye-aimed DEWS seal on the head, and each arm had the newest, high rate of fire version of the DEWS as well as a Cyclone Bullet Seal and a Cyclone Cannon Seal. The Cyclone Cannon Seal used a variable stack magazine that allowed the user to select which type of seal it fired, and was supplied with everything from flash-bangs and concussion rounds to Star-bursts and Gravity-Shear seals.

The armor in setting two or three gave a strength enhancement, and elemental chakra flow was also an option. There were storage spaces for kunai, senbon, poisons, a built in poison mister (again with variable magazine), attuned seal-swords and seal-knives, reservoirs of water for jutsu and spaces for the Pelicans and any future devices too. One of the other things that the armor allowed was for the user to drain stores of their own chakra back into themselves to keep fighting for longer. While it would eventually cause chakra coil strain and even damage, and they'd likely pay for it later, it could prove useful in the middle of a fight.

The third focus was on sensors and stealth. This included a full set of HUD enhancements for the eyes, communicator seals, and a tie in to the command and control channels for the Pelicans and any Cyclone Turrets in the area. The eye enhancements included UV, IR and chakra detection, and could adapt depending on lighting conditions, as well as limitation filter to prevent flash blindness. There were also analyzers for scents and liquids that could detect similarities to a known database of scents and poisons, as well as allowing the user to define new scents for tracking. There were volume enhancers and limitations to avoid deafening.

Stealth-wise, the user could activate a “stealth” mode that would suppress their chakra signature. Passively, it could restrict them down to any chakra output, though that would limit the armor and their own abilities. Actively, it used a variation of the void-shield to prevent chakra leaks, but that drained the energy stores pretty rapidly so it was only really useful when approaching a sentry to assassinate. There were also camouflage generators, and stores of vegetation from different climates to effectively unseal appropriate plant cover.

The fourth focus was on mobility. There was the option to eye or chakra designate a target for the kawarimi or body replacement jutsu, as well as a line-of-sight shunshin seal that the user could activate without having to use hand-signs. There were limited air-mobility seals that allowed the user to jump from any height, as well as simulate a jet-pack or do some mid-air movement. The energy drain was relatively high, and the speed insufficient for proper long range flight, but it did provide mobility options for things like assaulting or infiltrating fortresses. I had left places to install the Hiraishin variant I was working on, but that was a more complex project which I wasn't expecting to have finished any time soon.

The last focus was on the energy stores and deploying the armor itself. Conventionally, the seals that a regular set of Body-Seals used wouldn't be able to fit all of the functionality I wanted. The problem wasn't space on the body for seals, since they could be collapsed. The problem was that the chakra flow went through the user's chakra channels, and too high an output could fry them. So, the basic functionality and the command and control seals were part of the body, but a lot of seals, especially the higher level armor settings and the high energy DEWS were on pieces of metal that I had designed using techniques similar to those from my seal-swords.

It was a major breakthrough in Body-Sealing, and I gained a fair bit more renown and respect from the Sealing Department when I sent them my notes on how it could be used. As a result high ranking sealer retinues became much more dangerous.

For sealing the chakra itself, I used a seal array that would detect when the user's chakra hadn't increased for over an hour (ie, that they had full chakra), then it would drain a percent of the total reserves every ten minutes until the user was down to ninety percent of their previous chakra level. The chakra would be stored in a seal the Priests allowed me based on those designed to contain Bijuu; it didn't have a lot of the mental protections or the measures to prevent the chakra beasts from escaping the prison, but could store a phenomenal amount of chakra and was segregated to allow different types of chakra to be kept separate. There was a seal that could accept either chakra batteries or direct input from someone else, specifically so I could help them charge it by draining the Kyubi a bit faster than usual. There were also a number of conversion seals to convert and store the input chakra into the elemental forms needed for defensive or offensive purposes, as well as the medical chakra for healing.

The armor was mostly kept a secret from Konohagakure. The Hokage knew that my team-mates had Body-Seals, but not the extent to which it improved our combat abilities. I was, unfortunately, still developing too much physically to get my own Body Seals, but Hikaru jii-san had agreed to apply them when I was ready. But, I was much more suited to direct combat than my team-mates, and so I was very comforted by their improved protection and ability to lay on the damage even without a commensurate upgrade to myself.

Right around the time I finished designing and applying the armor system, the Sea-Hawk and Peregrines were released. The Sea-Hawk was basically an upgraded Pelican. It went about Mach 1.4, and had slightly superior stock sensors, a faster maneuvering system, and a couple extra slots for custom weapons like seeker-missiles or heavier munitions. The Sea-Hawk's main issue was that it consumed more chakra than the Pelican, and so was mainly suited for use by Chunin or above.

The Peregrine, on the other hand, was the smaller, stealthier cousin to the Pelican. With similar chakra requirements and higher speed but a smaller frame, shorter range, and fewer weapons, the Peregrine had finer sensors, could hover, and could attach itself to trees or other objects and fold in its wings for camouflage. It also had a genjutsu cloaking ability. The Peregrine had a somewhat higher mark-up due to the difficulty of the small, precision seals that were needed to fit everything onto the frame, but was highly suited to stealth and reconnaissance missions.

I even heard a story about a genin using it for a remote assassination of a rebel Jonin in Water-Country. He tracked the Jonin to a safe-house, folded the wings and used hover-mode to fly the Peregrine in through a window, down a hidden tunnel and up to the door of the Jonin's room. Then he used the sensors to find the heat signature of the sleeping Jonin, and shot him through the wall.

The Osprey, which was soon to be released, was the first two-driver craft. It had space for a pilot and a gunner/spotter, and was designed to loiter high above an area using sensors and communications to control the battlefield. It had several weapons that the gunner could use, including one that typically started off at “heavy ordinance”, and filled the “heavy gunship” role pretty well. The sensors drained a fair bit of chakra though, and so it was mostly a Jonin or above device. I acquired three each of the Sea-Hawks and Peregrines, expanding our aerial options. I also built up my stockpile of Project Thor seals; I had enough to take out any five cities when we left Okutari, though I had never deployed any of them.

During that year and a half we were deployed in Okutari, the political situation largely stabilized itself. In the West, after Earth and Iwa gave up on their influence in Fang and Claw, their war against Wind and River country died down. Wind and River decided to go after Rain, thinking it would be relatively easy pickings without Earth Country ninja to help defend it; they were dead wrong, emphasis on the “dead”. Hanzo showed why he was considered by many to be the strongest living shinobi, and slaughtered hundreds of enemy ninja himself before they managed to break contact.

Savaged, Suna and Hidden Valley went for a cease-fire, and Rain became even more isolationist than usual. Everyone was left licking their wounds and without the troops or will to continue fighting, though there were a number of resentments and pressure-points that would continue to simmer beneath the surface.

Along the borders of Fire Country, peace spread along with Fire's influence. Grass, Waterfall and Rice all signed significant trade and mutual-defense treaties with Fire Country, while Hotsprings came under Whirlpool's influence, as did the Land of Noodles. Frost maintained their neutrality, but instituted a Free-Trade program that proved very profitable. Altogether, the Fire Country - Whirlpool pact nations matched everyone else's forces combined (assuming Iron maintained its traditional neutrality).

Lightning wasn't terribly pleased by this, especially the events in Frost, and had stepped up the harassment and border skirmishes. Kumo's leader was an old bastard in love with combat, and Lightning's Daimyo was a young prick who was annoyed at how much influence Whirlpool had. It was a bad situation, but the return of the Konohagakure troops and retaliations that resulted in a number of “mysteriously missing” Lightning trade convoys quietened the situation down a bit. Lightning couldn’t afford a real war, not with so much coastline and no way to counter Whirlpool’s ships or aerial assets.

Within Water-Country, the Konohagakure troops had been drawn down and recalled, as had most of the Fire-Country Army. There was still one legion assigned to Whirlpool in return for a wing of Pelicans assigned to patrol Fire's borders and coast. The heavy recruitment of samurai and ninja had proved sufficient to deal with any lingering malcontents. Water-Country's new-found prosperity under lower taxes and greater freedoms went a long way to keeping the population happy and transfer their loyalties. Uzushiogakure had instituted an air-mail system at my behest, and was making a fortune on high-priced deliveries using sealing and Pelicans. It was good practice for the pilots, paid well, and improved internal trade too.

About six months into our stay in Okutari, Minato came to visit after taking a nearby mission, and brought along his new apprentice, Hatake Kakashi. Without his father's dishonor and death, Kakashi was far less obnoxious than I had expected. He still had a kind of “bratty but cute kid” vibe that would transform into “obnoxious brat” later on, due to his belief in his superiority for graduating so young and being so renowned as a “genius”.

Oh, he was; don't get me wrong. He was a genius. But so was I, and so was Minato, and Sachiko and Yasu weren't slouches either. That kind of attitude in a ninja was pure foolishness, and Kakashi hadn't yet internalized that while “being ridiculously strong for a five year old” was impressive, and that he may be stronger than others were when they were five, none of that mattered. All that mattered was how strong he was compared to any other ninja, regardless of the circumstances, and he was still a genin level threat. Jiraiya would come check in on us every now and then too, which was nice. He was always amusing to banter with.

The reason our deployment to Okutari was coming to an end was that we were offered the option to take the Jonin's test. Konohagakure at the time also had a chunin's exam, which we had skipped due to our field promotions. There wasn't an international exam though, seeing as I’d prevented Uzushio’s destruction and thus butterflied away the Shinobi World War whose peace would have caused it.

The jonin test actually had some overlap with the chunin exam; there was a week of somewhat extensive simulated missions, war-games, personal combat, skills and knowledge tests. Jonin candidates would play commanders, while chunin candidates would fill other roles. Finally you went in front of a board to be approved, made special jonin, or rejected. We had the skills, even if we were a bit light on experience, and my political status didn't hurt. I was expecting at least special jonin for all of us.

The coolest thing about the jonin exam was that it was in three months, time which we could take off for preparations. I'd previously requested a long leave to visit Hawk's Haven and my people whom I'd never seen. So Sachiko, Yasu and I were going on a vacation.

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I've been posting another of my stories, Far Strider, onto RRL. Here's the synopsis:

A college student finds himself transported into a strange land with burgeoning magical powers, and is taken in by Ned Stark. Will he sink or swim in this medieval society, and will he ever get home?

OC-insert without knowledge of Game of Thrones, new planeswalker. Slow power ramp.

Second crossover: Star Wars (around chapter 39).

Currently releases daily.