Chapter 10
The Land of Rivers was behind him. The sands ahead were vast, wild, and ancient.
Ghost moved through it all like a shadow carried by wind, driven not by fear or hunger—but purpose. He had survived one of the darkest creatures in existence, bound it, and made its power his own. Now, he was chasing something bigger.
The Stone of Gelel. The Dragon Vein. Mythical, yes. But if the Zero Tails existed, if curses and Nen and systems could blend with chakra, then anything might be real.
His first priority was to put distance between himself and the Hidden Sky ruins. The ANBU had arrived just days after he left. He hadn't waited around to be questioned. Chakra flares like what the Zero Tails had emitted drew predators.
He moved west, keeping to shadowy paths and high cliffs, scavenging food, bartering with caravans, and raiding the occasional bandit den for supplies.
---
He'd accumulated tasks along the way:
> [Daily Task Completed – Avoid Detection x10]
[Daily Task Completed – Travel 30km x8]
[Daily Task Completed – Physical Conditioning x7]
[Achievement Completed – Survive Hostile Shinobi Pursuit (C-Rank Equivalent)]
[Mission Completed – Ambush Bandit Camp Successfully (C-Rank)]
[Mission Completed – Eliminate Rogue Chakra Beast (C-Rank)]
He paused one night under the flickering light of a lantern in a rocky canyon to convert tokens.
> [Common Tokens Gained: 38]
[Uncommon Tokens Gained: 13]
[Rare Tokens Gained: 3]
[Epic Tokens: 1]
He started with the conversion.
> 10 Common → 1 Uncommon (x3) → Remaining: 8 Common Uncommon total: 16 → 10 Uncommon → 1 Rare → Remaining: 6 Uncommon Rare total: 4 → 5 Rare = 1 Epic (Insufficient)
> Inventory:
Common: 8
Uncommon: 6
Rare: 4
Epic: 1
Legendary: 1 (unspent)
He took a breath. Time to use it.
> [Legendary Roll – 1 Token Available] Rolling...
> [Result: Weapon Acquired – Incursio (Legendary Teigu)] A living armor-type weapon capable of synchronizing with its user to grant overwhelming physical power, speed, defense, and stealth capabilities. Incursio evolves through battle experience. Initial activation transforms the user and enhances all physical attributes exponentially.
The Teigu appeared in his inventory as a strange organic core encased in metallic bone. When he touched it, the system prompted synchronization.
> [Incursio Bond Initiated] Compatibility: High Activation Phrase: "Incursio."
He whispered it.
"Incursio."
A shiver went down his spine as armor enveloped him, sleek and silvery with streaks of faintly glowing crimson. His senses sharpened. Strength flooded his limbs. He could feel his heart hammering, not from panic, but sheer power.
When the armor retracted, he stood panting in the moonlight.
He grinned.
"Now this... this is wargear."
---
His mind was elsewhere.
---
The road to the desert temple took weeks.
He trained as he traveled. Every night, beneath the stars, he practiced.
He used Stockpile obsessively, charging one energy each day. One for cursed energy, one for chakra, one for Nen. The Zero Tails acted as a reserve battery—when Ghost needed chakra, he could pour in cursed energy and receive amplified chakra back.
But more importantly, he learned how to layer.
Nen enhanced awareness and instinct.
Cursed Energy added weight and destructive force.
Chakra granted flexibility and sustain.
At first, he could only hold the mixture for seconds.
Then a minute.
Then five.
He trained striking with it. Running with it. Throwing kunai. Dodging. Flipping. Countering.
One night, after a skirmish with chakra-sensitive wolves, Ghost lifted a boulder three times his weight and hurled it across a river.
His physical strength now danced at the edge of jōnin-level, even though he had no traditional jutsu. His body was the jutsu.
He refined his trap making with new supplies:
Wire nets soaked in curse tags
Smoke bombs laced with powdered herbs
Retractable spike tiles hidden in canteens
He used his bounty from the chakra beast to purchase rare components: spring-loaded flasks, alchemical glues, even a miniature sealing scroll belt with blank tags. No chakra? No problem. With cursed energy and creativity, he made them work.
---
A week before reaching his destination, he sought out a traveling merchant he'd heard whispered about—one who used to deal with missing-nin, the kind of person who might understand bounties.
The man, bald and wiry, eyed the storage scroll Ghost offered warily.
"You saying you've got a rogue shinobi in that?"
Ghost nodded.
"From which village?"
"Don't know. Didn't stop to ask."
The man grunted. "There's a bounty office two towns west—like the one that Konoha's bounty-nin use. You want your head posted, go there."
Ghost nodded again. He would. For now, he needed to keep moving.
He stashed the body in a hidden cache near a rock formation, marked with three scars. When the time was right, he'd cash in.
---
The closer he came to the ruins marked on his ancient map, the more the land changed.
The air crackled.
Not with chakra. With something older.
The Gelel Stone's energy was unstable, according to the half-baked legends—yet overflowing with potential. Rumor claimed it healed the sick, strengthened the weak, and granted powers that rivaled bloodlines.
Ghost reached the temple's outer wall just before dusk.
It wasn't a ruin—it was a tomb. Half-sunken into the sand, covered with layers of shattered stone and vines. The ancient sigils glowed faintly beneath dust.
He circled the area and found signs of old battles—burn marks, rusted blades, chakra residue long faded.
He stopped beneath a collapsed arch and opened the system interface.
> [Status Update – Major Power Event Incoming]
[Advisory: Use all rolls before proceeding.]
He nodded.
He opened the Epic Roll.
> [Rolling Epic Token...]
> [Result: Trait Gained – Adaptive Kinesthesia] You instinctively learn to mimic advanced movements you observe. Grants limited compatibility with new weapon forms and martial arts styles.
His body tingled—an understanding of flow, footwork, balance. Like his muscles had read a manual they didn't know existed.
He smiled.
He'd need every edge.
Below the sand and temple stones, something pulsed.
Not alive. Not dead.
Just... waiting.
Ghost exhaled.
"Let's see if you're real."
He began clearing rubble.
The hunt for the Gelel Stone had begun.