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Ancient Manipulator - Chapter 23

Published at 18th of June 2019 11:41:13 PM


Chapter 23

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"Achoo!" Yasuo covered his mouth with his arm and sneezed. "I swear, someone or something out there is talking about me, and I don't like it." He muttered before lightly laughing it off and opening the fridge.

He was currently in the kitchen cooking, well, finished cooking. From the fridge, he took out a large plate of cups. Inside the multiple cups, were off-white colored, liquidy, and sweet cream. Yasuo then smiled. All the cups of butterfat looked perfect. Yasuo had previously prepared them for morning dessert, putting them into the rather expensive and efficient fridge for cooling.

Lightly humming, he brought the plate towards the living room where the family of now eight, usually ate food. Waiting patiently and quite excitedly, were everyone else living in the house. They all loved their master/brother/son's cooking to obsession - though Hinako, before Yu, ate food a lot more 'dignified' than the rest. Hinako was taught and raised with such customs.

As the family had all already eaten the 'main course' of breakfast, it was now for sweets. The part that everyone enjoyed, but at the same time, undoubtedly feared. The reason was that Yasuo has, let's say, quite inventive ideas swirling around his brain.

Every single one of them could remember that day. The day where Yasuo had this 'genius idea' of making all the food look delicious, but taste atrocious. The whole thing lasted for the entirety of the day! Breakfast, lunch, dinner, even snacks were not spared from those hands. Shisui couldn't enter the kitchen because of Yasuo's order. And, Shisui was the only one who could cook good food.

That situation led to the family having to eat out, bar Yasuo. The boy then was busy experimenting with food. The family eventually found a small restaurant by the name of Ichiraku Ramen and ate there. The food was delicious. They had gone back and forth, from the streets back to the ramen restaurant for the rest of the day. They had almost no choice in the matter. It was either to eat Yasuo's experimental food or noodles. They picked the latter of the two.

"Dessert's ready!" Yasuo softly called, getting smiles and grins from everyone. Placing the plate onto the table, he gave each person a cup. There were twenty-eight in total. Everyone would want seconds after finishing their first cupful, maybe even more - it was a guarantee.

"This is amazing, Yasuo-niichan!" Kyoko exclaimed with a smile and a satisfied expression. Everyone else nodded in agreement. The taste was positively delightful as usual. "What is this dessert called, Yasuo-chan?" Izuna asked, voice hinting suspicion. But even then, he took another spoonful of the addicting cream. His skepticism was not unfounded. Yasuo could make even rotten meat taste like pure bliss.

"Glue," Yasuo replied with an innocent smile and a slight tilt of his head. If he had said anything else, no one would suspect a thing just from his smile. But, unfortunately, that is just an if scenario.


"SPIT!" Everyone quickly spat out the contents save for Hinako and Shisui. Elysian had developed many things over the past years, and glue was one of them. It also quickly gained popularity as it was just helpful for everyone. Other than glue, tape and staples quickly grew in demand as well. As for Hinako and Shisui, they merely continued to eat the so-called 'glue.' They already knew that it wasn't adhering paste.

"O-Oniichan, you're joking right?" Vyra asked with an awkward laugh. "Hmm? Why would I be joking, Vyra-chan? Father asked for the name of it, and I gave it." Yasuo responded, a guiltless smile still adorned on his face. As everyone took a few seconds to process what he had said, their eyes soon started to twitch. Sure, Izuna had asked for the name, but that could be anything from the nickname, ingredient, to the actual name of the sweet.

"Then, what is it actually, Yasuo-oniisama?" Kumiko questioned, feeling slightly depressed. It was not just her, but everyone else except for Hinako and Shisui. The reason for their depression was simple. They had all - mostly all - just wasted a portion of their precious dessert.

"It's just some vanilla pudding I made not long before breakfast," Yasuo replied, taking a bite of the pudding. Hearing his words, they all wanted to cry. True, there was still 20-even cups of custard - and the cups were quite big too - but they valued each tiny bit of it. It's just too delicious to waste! But, they've already spat it out. They couldn't change the past. Even if they could per se, then they wouldn't do it for pudding. Everyone has mistakes that they want to redo.

Breakfast soon came to an end with everyone content. As customary, Izuna and Miyrae were relaxing on a couch while watching the television, Kumiko and Vyra had gone to their teams, while Kyoko went to Academy.

Speaking of the Academy, due to the new technological advances and overall peaceful times, many more students went to Academy. Academy also now taught more 'normal' studies. Students also graduated later as well - ordinarily at the age of eight instead of six.

Shisui, Hinako, and Yasuo were home as well. Shisui usually stayed home, and Hinako always stayed with Yasuo. As for Yasuo, he had nothing to do. The Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi had yet to contact him. Yasuo couldn't go to Academy again as he was too old, and as he technically never graduated, he wasn't a Genin either. He couldn't take the Chūnin exams either, so the only option was to have Hiruzen personally test him. Or some have random Anbu test him; who knows.

But again, the problem was: Hiruzen had yet to contact him. Granted, Yasuo could directly visit the fellow, but he was sure to be busy. He was always busy. Paperwork is literal purgatory personified and worse. Speaking from personal experience, Shisui could certainly relate.

"Shisui, we're going to your company's workshop." Yasuo abruptly announced. Shisui slightly raised an eyebrow but didn't question it, merely nodding. Originally, Yasuo had wanted to train, but he felt lazy. Today, was unmistakably not his day. But, an idea struck him, and that was to visit the workshop. In there, he could level up his [Learned Knowledge] WHILE lazing around! It was a win-win, and he was going to take advantage of it. Perhaps he could even copy some stuff into [Unlimited Treasury].

Shisui and Yasuo soon left with Hinako quietly following behind. Izuna and Miyrae didn't mind. They knew that having Shisui near their child would keep him safe. Not to mention Hinako who was stronger Shisui - though they didn't know that. Almost no one knew that.

The company of three soon reached the workshop. It was a relatively smooth journey. For one, the establishment was not particularly far. And for two, Yasuo had cast a [Mystery]. He honestly didn't like the usual stares the group got from others. It was both annoying and disgusting.

Though thankfully, some just had competition in their eyes. Yasuo could respect that. People should always improve themselves, and he was fine being a role-model. Nevertheless, Yasuo had still cast [Mystery] to avoid any unwanted trouble.

Now, in front of the group, was a massive factory-like building. However, most unlike factories, it did not have chimneys. Shisui made sure of keeping the environment safe.

From what he had seen in the [Dimensional], humanity had once thoroughly f*cked up by creating global warming. He didn't want that to happen again. So, he found a solution using suction seals. The seals would keep the harmful gases inside and destroys them with [Dust Release]. Which thankfully, [Dust Release] was not genetic. Even better was, the seals were also reusable.

Going towards the workshop, Yasuo opened the doors. Welcoming him, were lightly shocked faces and kind smiles. "Greetings, young master!" Everyone cheered. They were all happy. Some had not seen him five years while others had not seen him at all. But seeing him nonetheless made them smile. Though the real reason was [Kotoamatsukami] generating artificial experiences. Shisui used the ability to create absolute loyalty to Yasuo. He couldn't have traitors after all.

The false experiences might have been saving them from near-death events to merely helping them in desperate times. However, that was what made commitment form in the workers. Mostly all the workers were only clones. Shisui wouldn't use [Kotoamatsukami] on innocents. Those who weren't clones were genuine people in need and provided with it. Pay in the company was also good.

Even though most of the craftsmen were clones, they all still had personal lives. Some also had families and were even married. Though Shisui was not sure what to when the clones became old or dead, he would leave it alone for now.

Yasuo waved and smiled towards the employees and Shisui replied for him, "Yasuo-sama is just here to visit, please continue working." To this, everyone nodded to got back to work. Everyone was remarkably diligent, almost as if Yasuo was not there at all. Yasuo's smiled widened even further to this - he respected hard workers, a lot.

Yasuo and Hinako went all around the workshop. Shisui didn't go with them. Most likely with paperwork. Anyhow, while the two were walking about, they stopped occasionally to observe things that interested Yasuo.

Whenever his interest was piqued, the workers were kind enough to explain things to him. For example, how [Input Item Here] was made, how the machines work, and what [Input Item Here] does.

Having things explained to him, it made leveling up skills much smoother. As being taught something leveled skills more than merely seeing it, the skills leveled up exponentially. There were also some new skills that popped up.

[Crafting] had leveled to [Lvl. 17], while [Building] was at [Lvl. 22]. Although there was no one cooking in the factory, Yasuo's [Cooking] skill was at [Lvl. 37] due to cooking for the family almost daily. As for the new [Learned Knowledge], they were [Teaching] which was at [Lvl. 6], [Etymology], and [Music].

For the former, [Etymology] is the science and practice of the diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. The level of the skill was [Lvl. 10]. And as for the latter, many were crafting musical instruments and tuning them in one division of the workshop. Others in the music department were relaxing and playing random melodies, helping level the [Music] skill, which was now [Lvl. 13].

Yasuo soon grew bored wandering around and spectating, eventually deciding to sit down and rest on a nearby bench. Hinako sat next to Yasuo, and Shisui joined as well. He was back from whatever he was previously doing. "Young master, are you hungry?" Hinako asked. Yasuo smiled and nodded, looking towards the workers. Hinako took the hint, using her [Marble Phantasm] to create hundreds of bento boxes. (A/N: It doesn't say if Hinako Akuta has a [Marble Phantasm] or not. But, I'm just going to say that she does have one!)

[Marble Phantasms] is the ability to materialize one's vision used by [Elementals] and [True Ancestors]. Or to put simply, it is Imagination Realization. [Marble Phantasms] transfigures the world according to the user's will based on probability. However, what one could do is limited to the scopes of nature. But, as Gaia has yet to form sentience, Hinako is unrestricted with her uses of her [Marble Phantasm].

"It's time for lunch, everybody!" Shisui announced, "Come up and grab yourselves a box!" With that, everyone promptly strolled towards the bench, making an orderly queue. None of the machines needed careful observation or hands for them to perform. Of course, there were also some that chose not to leave their stations.

One by one, each person - who lined up - had gotten their bentos. The box itself was quite luxurious and large, but the inside of it was a whole new level of luxury. Rice, rich sashimi, steak, pristine sushi, fresh vegetables, all fitted into a box. It made everyone easily salivate - from just the aroma. Seeing this, those who didn't get, immediately lined up. Thankfully, there were plenty left, and Hinako could always make more.

"THANK YOU, YASUO-SAMA!" Everyone happily shouted. Yasuo waved his hands and shook his head. "No, no. You should thank Hinako-san for the food instead." Yasuo said, which everyone proceeded to do: "THANK YOU, HINAKO-SAMA!" They all yelled with the same cheerfulness and enthusiasm. They knew that their lives were far better than numerous others, and they were grateful for that; sincerely thankful.

Hinako let out a rare, but dazzling smile, earning blushes from much more than one individual. Shisui and Yasuo however, remained stoic. The former pondering about why Hinako had never had the idea of just creating food. The food even tastes good, and they wouldn't have had to go through so many inconveniences.

Shisui genuinely had no clue on just what was going through the woman's head. As for Yasuo, he frankly wasn't affected - he liked females, of course. It was just that his hormones were not kicking in yet, most likely. Probably. Hopefully.

"Let's do our daily routine, everyone!" Someone yelled out loud. They were all next to one another. Some were sitting while others were standing. But, all were relaxing. Lunch was their free time after all. "Yeah!" Everyone shouted, as the music division grabbed and began to play their instruments. Soon, everyone else started to sing along with the melody played upon an F-sharp minor scale:

(A/N: You can skip this if you want. It's only six lines of pure cringe.)

"Once~ was a farmer, field~ dry and gray~

Came~ down the rain, and blessed such away~

The farmer~ went yonder~, searching for peo-ple~

But in the end, he found-ed~ a kingdom~

The Will of Fire~ will build a le-gend~

And our associa-tion~ will aid~ its~ ascent."

(A/N: Itsy Bitsy Spider, but worse!)

Yasuo couldn't help but hum to the rhythm. The song was relatable, especially the first pair of lines. Yasuo smiled. He remembered the past when he was mindlessly swinging his sword, trying to find something to do in his worthless, meaningless life. But, he was fortunate enough to get a chance at reincarnation, and here he was now: trying to find something to do.

But! But! This time it's because he's bored!

Anyhow, everyone soon got back to work without much hassle, and Yasuo and his group were prepared to go back home. It was one heck of a day, and they were tired - Shisui especially so, from whatever he was doing.

On the way back home, Yasuo did a recap of the things he had gained throughout the trip: [Music] was now [Lvl. 19], [Unlimited Treasury] now had a lot more weapons, metals, clothes, instruments, and even machines that he considered of value. Got a bunch of [Learned Knowledge] skills, and learned that Hinako could make extraordinary food out of thin air.

However, what he was most interested in, was the bamboo flutes. It was a light-sort of wonder for him. Something that got his brain thinking and curiosity running. How a bamboo with holes in it, made noise, was his question. He was never much into crafting items. But, he knew he would eventually learn how, especially with the cheat that is [Knowledge and Mystery].

Speaking of [Knowledge and Mystery]... "Shisui-san." Yasuo suddenly said while walking towards home, casting another [Mystery] to conceal themselves. "Can you use the [Shadow Clone Jutsu]?" Shisui nodded his head. "Great! Then, can you use it right now?" Yasuo asked before scratching his cheek in slight embarrassment. "For some reason, I haven't had the chance to learn it." He vaguely explained.

(A/N: In the games, Shisui can use the [Shadow Clone Jutsu] even though he never showed it in the anime.)

Shisui simply nodded before making a clone hand-seal and pouring half his chakra into it. Meanwhile, Hinako was staring intently at Shisui, analyzing his chakra fluctuations, control of chakra, and his technique. She was also interested in this [Shadow Clone Jutsu]. She had read about it from a rare book that went into detail about the [Jutsu's] uses, but it never specified how to perform it.

Soon - about a second later - a doppelganger of Shisui appeared with a 'puff' of smoke. Hinako was further intrigued. It seems that the book was right: the user's chakra was divided evenly between the clone and the original. She couldn't help but think that the technique was astonishing. Not only would one's opponent not be able to differentiate between the clone and the user, but they would have to deal with two enemies at once; it was truly marvelous.

While Hinako was to her own devices, Yasuo had already acquired the skill:

[Shadow Clone Jutsu]: Active - Lvl. 1

[Creates a physically existing copy of one's own body]

(Replaces the skill, [Clone Jutsu])

Yasuo smiled happily. Although the [Shadow Clone Jutsu] overwrote all his progress on the [Clone Jutsu] skill, the former was practically an 'upgrade' of the latter. Hence, he was not so distraught with the loss of levels and time. Anyhow, he would focus on leveling the [Shadow Clone Jutsu] from now on. He imagined that the higher the level, the more clones he would be able to create and was quite excited at the thought.

Of course, Yasuo could have asked for more, maybe even asking Shisui to cast [Kotoamatsukami]. But, there were three reasons why he decided otherwise. One: he frankly didn't want to bother Shisui with it. Two: it would be a waste of [Kotoamatsukami] or whatever ability. And three: Yasuo didn't know if [Knowledge] would allow him to obtain the skill.

To elaborate on the third, it seems that [Knowledge] couldn't learn personal or innate skills. Yasuo had seen Shisui use [Kotoamatsukami] multiple times already. One account was when he used the ability to fake Hinako as their maid. Yasuo then had personally witnessed [Kotoamatsukami] in action, but ultimately didn't get the skill as a [Learned Knowledge].

"Alright! Let's go home!" Yasuo brightly smiled.

Shisui stared suspiciously at the boy. "Young master, you're not thinking of experiment again, are you?" Shisui asked. "You're unusually cheerful."

"N-no..."




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