27. Travel.

Another 2 months passes by during this time I learned why it takes years to reach B rank. There is a large threshold between C and B rank, a single B rank could easily handle multiple C ranks as proven when we still get slapped around by Rook in sparring like little children even in a team.

It's not just an energy rating, its skill based as well, Rook had combat training against multiple B rank and higher opponents, literal years of combat training. A few months of sparring and training doesn't close the gap that much. Sure we weren't eating absolute shit like before but we could still barely damage her and always walked away battered and bruised.

It was like we evolved from a toddler fighting an adult to a child fighting an adult. It was a change, but it didn't mean the child would win.

I mean the child could bite and try to fight back, but then the adult is just going to get tired of it and superman punch the little bastard in the face.

I figured there would be a kind of limit to how fast i could grow. Still I thought I was doing pretty well.

Had mastered my E and D rank moves, was working on C rank now. Grand Fireball only needed 2 hand signs which I could rapidly do before blasting out a massive fucking ball of flames like we are talking house sized fireballs.

The most terrifying though were the new ghost moves at C Rank, Drain allows me to draw energy from a distance and increased how much energy I could absorb by an extra 15% we had to be careful or we ended up draining the life from the rabbits and killing them instantly.

Hellish illusion was even nastier than Nightmare, you don't even realise that your trapped in an illusion as it tortures you. It was incredibly realistic. It's like a mental torture chamber that you don't know your in and it's incredibly hard to break free if you even realise your being tortured by it.

Immobilize is the next move up for the shadow binding, it completely wraps up a person in shadows like a mummy, you can't even move a finger, shout for help, see or breathe.

And finally the upgrade of Soul Rattle. Soul Shake, it instantly knocked me down as it felt like a sledge hammer had smashed my very soul, I couldn't move, my body didnt want to listen and just flopped over while I seized up and threw up all over the ground. It was fucking terrifying and debilitating. There was no notice beforehand you were going to be hit by anything either, no bright flashes or noises. Just instant suffering.

Still gives me shivers thinking about it.

"Alright then, I think it's about time we discuss some things." I told the girls while sitting at the table. "We are going to be traveling to another world to do some recruiting and snatch a couple of things."

The girls looked confused.

"Another world?"

"Yep one of my special abilities, anyway I've found out that the bond balls will work in the other world. We could also gain a few bonuses such as deaging. Which I'm pretty interested in." I tell them as they all look shocked. "However that probably comes with quite a few downsides such as making you weaker than you are physically. But on the plus side you'll gain back years of your life."

I had questioned the matrix which surprisingly gave me quite a few answers, I could bring my bonded ones with me, the world could be adjusted to handle bond balls so I could get people their as my fighters, i could choose when and where i wanted to start and even how old i wanted us to be.

"So what kind of world do you want us to go to?" Rook asks.

I had planned this for the past couple of months. The Naruto world had quite a few good bloodlines and abilities that I couldn't get in this world. There were also quite a few people I wanted to join me.

So I explained what I knew about the world and when we would be going. However there were a couple of things that were discussed beforehand.

It appears that only I would be the one de-aging. Rook wanted to be at full strength to protect me. Stella didn't want to be a ghost child as her body doesn't age and she didn't want to be trapped in that form. Amber wanted to continue her training as is and thought it was a waste to turn young right then and there.

All reasonable requests.

However my plans would be better done as a child, for the most part.

"Alright, I'll leave you three in here while I initiate the transfer. Remember we are heading right into hostile territory during wartime. Everyone is our enemy, unless I say otherwise so never drop your guard. I'll also be moving in my ghost body." I bring up the transfer and click on the first empty slot. Various screens pop up and I start making adjustments, when and where I want to go, how old I want to be, i can only change a couple of minor things nothing big.

There is a flash of golden light as my body rapidly shrinks and i find myself in a completely new area.

Now I'm about 6 or so years old, currently I'm in my ghost form as rain falls right through my body as I cautiously look around.

I'm in a dark alley with a couple of trash cans and garbage littered everywhere.

The first person I wanted to recruit should be around here.

Looking a bit more closely I find a dirty little girl covered in mud with what amounts to rags on her body. Her butterscotch eyes are lifeless and you can barely tell what color her hair or skin is underneath all the mud. She's sitting under a trash can lid to block out some of the rain and shivering.

I swap back to my fire body and cautiously approach. Her head moves towards my direction as water splashes under my boots but she doesn't move, just stares at me.

I squat down in front of her as her dull gaze just sticks to my body. Reaching into my pouch I pull out a large Sitrus Berry and hold it out to her. "Are you hungry?"

Her eyes move to the food in my hand but she doesnt move before looking back towards me.

I give her a friendly smile and heat up the air around us a bit and she shivers from the warmth.