Want to read ahead? Join my Patreon for just $7 to get early access to all upcoming chapters!
> > Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations <<
----------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 114: Faction Selection
Lines of new information surfaced.
[Please select your faction]
[Hidden Leaf Village (Konohagakure): Inheritors of the Will of Fire. Hiruzen Sarutobi is in his prime, Sakumo Hatake awes the ninja world, and the "Sannin" are beginning to show their brilliance. However, the village is deeply mired in a war with the Land of Wind, Land of Earth, and Land of Rain.]
[Hidden Cloud Village (Kumogakure): Values military strength above all, with a fierce populace. Possesses the powerful Eight-Tails Jinchūriki. Under the leadership of the Third Raikage, they are actively expanding their forces and eyeing the Land of Fire covetously.]
[Hidden Stone Village (Iwagakure): Known for their unyielding style and xenophobic unity. Under the leadership of the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, they possess terrifying execution capabilities to achieve their goals at any cost. They are Konoha's most formidable enemy on the frontal battlefield.]
[Hidden Sand Village (Sunagakure): Located in a remote, resource-poor area. Under the leadership of the strongest "Third Kazekage" in history, they have erupted into fierce battle with Konoha over resources. The Puppet Brigade led by the village advisor Chiyo is their most deadly trump card on the battlefield.]
[Hidden Mist Village (Kirigakure): Isolated from the world with cruel methods. The village follows the principle of "survival of the fittest." Internal factions are rife. They maintain a wait-and-see attitude toward the wars on the continent, but no one dares to underestimate their potential threat.]
On the screen, five villages representing the strongest military forces in the ninja world were like five behemoths poised for action, each emitting a unique and dangerous aura.
But beneath the Five Great Villages, there were a few lines of smaller text representing the small countries struggling to survive in the cracks.
[Hidden Rain Village (Amegakure): Perennially shrouded in rain and sandwiched between three great nations, it is the cruelest frontline of the war. Hanzo the Salamander is the undisputed ruler here, while war orphans are seeking a glimmer of change amidst despair.]
[Hidden Grass Village (Kusagakure): Skilled in diplomacy and disguise, maneuvering between powerful nations. A model of fence-sitting.]
[Hidden Waterfall Village (Takigakure): Possesses the "Hero Water" and the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki. They remain reclusive but harbor unknown ambitions.]
...
"BWAHAHAHA!"
Garp's explosive laughter interrupted Shiki's fantasies. He punched his own palm, producing a dull boom.
"Starting line? Now that's interesting!"
His gaze swept over the options. When he saw the words "Hidden Cloud Village," his eyes lit up.
"Oh? This village..."
He remembered that dark-skinned muscle man wrapped in lightning with whom he had fought a satisfying battle.
"This is the one!" Garp pointed at the Hidden Cloud Village without hesitation. "This old man is going to see my old friend."
His choice was direct, domineering, and filled with pure desire for battle.
[Player "Garp" has selected faction: Hidden Cloud Village.]
On the screen, Garp's name instantly fell under the banner of the Hidden Cloud Village.
"Jihahahaha! A brute is a brute!" Golden Lion Shiki let out a mocking laugh.
He extended a withered finger, pointing to the option described as the most powerful on the screen.
"I'm not like you idiots!"
"Hidden Leaf Village, with its abundant strength and overflowing talent... Since we're playing, of course I'm joining the strongest side!" He grinned, his smile manic and ambitious. "Just you wait. Once I become the leader of that village, the first thing I'll do is wipe you all out!"
[Player "Golden Lion Shiki" has selected faction: Hidden Leaf Village.]
"Oh my, oh my, what terrifying ambition." Kizaru wiped nonexistent cold sweat from his forehead, his gaze picking and choosing among the remaining options.
Hidden Cloud was too barbaric, Hidden Leaf had that madman Shiki, Hidden Sand sounded poor just by listening to the name, and Hidden Mist's "Village of the Bloody Mist" sounded scalp-numbing.
His gaze finally landed on "Hidden Stone Village."
[Hidden Stone Village: Unyielding style, united as one, possessing an absolute leader...]
"Hmm." Kizaru stroked his chin, revealing a wretched smile. "An absolute leader means I don't have to use my own brain, just follow orders. That sounds quite nice."
"This is the one, Hidden Stone Village." He raised his hand lazily. "This old man loves a united collective the most~."
[Player "Kizaru" has selected faction: Hidden Stone Village.]
In the blink of an eye, only the Revolutionary Army Leader, Dragon, remained without a choice.
Everyone's gaze focused on this man who had been silent as a mountain from beginning to end.
What would he choose?
To follow Garp, or choose a neutral small village?
Dragon's gaze swept calmly across the screen, skipping the powerful Konoha, the warlike Cloud, and the united Stone.
His line of sight finally rested on the village marked with "pain and despair."
[Hidden Rain Village]
There, cold rain fell perennially, like a weeping sky.
There, the people struggled in the quagmire of war, unable to see a shred of hope.
There was the truest victim under the order of the old era.
In Dragon's eyes, a trace of imperceptible emotion flashed.
He didn't speak, simply extending his hand silently to point at the weakest option that had been ignored by everyone.
[Player "Dragon" has selected faction: Hidden Rain Village.]
Hidden Rain Village.
The place described as full of pain and despair.
A tragic nation sandwiched between three great powers, reduced to a meat grinder of war.
Weak, barren, and hopeless.
"Jihahahahahaha!"
The dead silence was broken by an even more ear-piercing, manic laugh.
Golden Lion Shiki laughed until he clutched his stomach, as if he had heard the funniest joke of his life.
"Idiot! You are a complete and utter idiot!"
He pointed a finger at the silent mountain of a man from afar, his face full of undisguised contempt and mockery.
"You don't understand at all! Power! Only absolute power is everything!"
"The weak only deserve to be dominated by the strong, to be trampled underfoot! This is the immutable truth since ancient times!"
"Go! Go stay with that trash! Once I unite Konoha, I will personally wipe you, along with that filthy land, off the map!"
Kizaru adjusted his sunglasses and spoke lazily, breaking the awkward atmosphere.
"Truly a terrifying speech, Lord Shiki."
He shook his head exaggeratedly, then turned his gaze to Dragon, his tone carrying a hint of inscrutability.
"But having said that, Dragon... your choice really isn't surprising at all."
"Is this your so-called spark of revolution?"
Garp hadn't spoken from beginning to end.
He didn't understand revolution, nor did he understand ideals.
But he understood Dragon.
This son who had gone against him since childhood, yet inherited that stubbornness in his bones.
He was always like this.
Always choosing the hardest, most misunderstood path.
This son, known as the World's Worst Criminal, possessed the purest heart of compassion in the world.
[Faction selected. Identity generating...]
[Dungeon opening soon. Wishing you all... prosperous martial fortune.]
As the cold mechanical voice fell, four brilliant pillars of light shot into the sky, completely swallowing the figures of Garp, Dragon, Kizaru, and Golden Lion Shiki.
The next second, the light dispersed, and the void returned to deathly silence.
...
Unrai Gorge (Cloud Ravine).
Biting cold wind mixed with snow foam whistled through the steep mountain walls, sounding like ghostly wails and wolf howls.
Inside a room hewn from massive rock, a dark-skinned boy of about ten abruptly sat up in bed.
"Hmm?"
Garp rubbed his eyes, looking down at his palms which were obviously a size smaller but still full of strength.
Immediately after, he touched his smooth chin and pinched the firm yet tender muscles on his body.
"BWAHAHAHA!"
Loud laughter echoed in the stone room, shaking icicles from the ceiling.
"I really turned into a brat! This dungeon is interesting!"
He could feel that the vast, ocean-like power within his body was firmly locked by an invisible shackle; he could only mobilize a negligible trace of strength.
But the foundation of this new body was surprisingly good.
Just then.
Bang!
The heavy stone door was violently pushed open by a thick, strong hand. A dark-skinned brute, several times taller and burlier than Garp, walked in.
He was bare-chested, his bronze muscles covered in hideous scars. On his shoulder, he carried a freshly hunted giant boar, its size comparable to a bison.
"What's with the noise! Screaming early in the morning, do you want me to hang you up and beat you?!"
The brute's voice was like rolling thunder. He threw the boar heavily onto the ground, shaking the entire stone room.
He walked to Garp's bed, pressed his palm-leaf-sized hand directly onto Garp's head, and rubbed it roughly.
"Raito, didn't you get hit in the head by that Lightning Fang Beast yesterday? How come you're even more energetic today?"
Garp grinned, allowing the large hand to wreak havoc on his head. He looked up, staring directly at his "father" with clear, battle-hungry eyes.
"BWAHAHAHA!"
"Pops! Let's fight!"
The brute's movements paused. He looked down at his audacious son, stunned for three seconds, before erupting into an equally heroic, wild laugh.
"Oh? Did you damage your brain? You actually dare to challenge me!"
He let go, cracking his knuckles with sounds like popping beans as he clenched his fist the size of a clay pot.
"Good! Since you have the guts, before you go to the battlefield, I'll let you know what the Hidden Cloud Village's Iron Fist of Love is!"
- - - - -
Support this fanfict by leaving Positive Review, Comments, and Power Stones.
For Advance Chapters:
Visit > Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations