Second Draw

Bang!

The front door slammed shut.

Having forcefully kicked off her slippers, Yukie turned around and stood at the entryway with her hands on her hips, staring straight at the young man before her, her little face drawn tight.

"Sa! Ha! Ra! Mi! Zu—!"

Although he had been prepared for it, Mr. Sahara had never expected such an astonishing roar to come from Yukie's petite body.

"You clearly said you'd get off work at ten yesterday, yet you didn't come home all night!"

"The phone at your office was busy the whole time, and the food I made for you went cold! In the middle of the night, there was such a huge commotion at the Hokage Building. There was this enormous fire, Anbu were running all over the rooftops, the Uchiha Police Force was deployed, and even the beacon towers and Signal Flares on the village walls went off."

"Then the noise stopped, but you still didn't come back. I thought something had happened to you!"

The more Yukie spoke, the more aggrieved she sounded. The dark circles from staying up all night were rimmed with bright red.

Large, gleaming tears crowded her eyes, and she had to hold them back with all her strength to keep them from falling. Even her voice trembled when she spoke.

"But, but you were actually out on a date with that Cheating Cat again, and you didn't come back until it was nearly morning."

"And, and you were walking so slowly!"

"Like you were taking a stroll down the street. You didn't even know to hurry back and tell me."

As she spoke, the girl's face, red from holding it in, finally could no longer maintain its composure. She stepped forward, rammed into Sahara Mizu's arms like a charging kitten, and angrily rubbed her head against his chest.

As if she wanted to take a bite out of him.

A faint dampness soaked into the cloth over his chest. Her little hands clutched tightly at his sleeves, and even her sobs were muffled, tinged with a nasal sound.

"I was scared to death."

"Yes, yes."

Sahara Mizu gently held her, reaching up to stroke the girl's head, smoothing down her cascading long hair as if calming a frightened cat.

To Yukie, the older brother she had depended on while growing up was her only support in this world. Since childhood, she had always been the one protected behind him, while he was also the most important shelter in her life.

In daily life, those feelings manifested as an extremely severe case of brother complex. During wartime, though, they became the constant fear she felt whenever he went on long-term missions.

Things had actually been better during the time he worked at the Hokage Building. Right after Sahara Mizu graduated, when he followed his team on missions in various places, Yukie often could not sleep for entire nights, counting the days until he returned.

Even though this brother of hers was nothing more than a fake.

Sahara Mizu thought about it without the slightest ripple in his heart, while his voice instead grew gentler. "It was my fault today. I didn't come home early enough and made Yukie worry."

"Mm."

The girl answered with a heavy nasal tone, but she was still not satisfied.

"Next time, I'll definitely come back earlier," Mr. Sahara added.

"Mm."

Still not satisfied.

"What else?" Mr. Sahara hoped Yukie would give him a little hint.

"And you're not allowed to date that Cheating Cat!" Sahara Yukie declared tyrannically. "Especially at night!"

"Huh?"

Sahara Mizu's voice hesitated slightly.

"Mm?!"

Yukie immediately bristled.

"Yes, yes."

Sahara Mizu agreed in a rather troubled tone.

Still, getting Yukie to calm down as soon as possible was what mattered. Future matters could wait until the future.

Only then did the girl nod in satisfaction and turn toward the living room. "You didn't eat dinner, did you? I've kept it warm. Do you want to have a little first?"

"I really am about to starve to death."

As Sahara Mizu spoke, he took off his shoes and entered the entryway.

"Also."

Yukie spoke as she instinctively glanced at the changed set of clothes he wore, his bloodstained ninja sandals, and the faint scent of blood lingering around him.

Although he had concealed it somewhat, Sahara Yukie, also a ninja, still spotted the traces of battle on her brother—something Mizu had done deliberately.

"What exactly happened tonight?"

Sahara Mizu thought for a moment, then smiled. "It should count as a good thing."

After eating and drinking his fill, Sahara Mizu was sent off to the bathroom by his little housekeeper to take a bath.

The bloody smell that had soaked into his entire body really was unpleasant.

Only after he had submerged himself completely in the bath did he finally have a little leisure to think about what came next.

That performance before Sarutobi Hiruzen tonight should partially reduce Konoha's upper ranks' suspicion toward him, this suddenly emerged "genius," but the necessary vigilance would certainly not diminish.

At the same time, as someone with a "stain" on his record, it would be difficult for him to be included in the Hokage's master-disciple succession selection. That was a matter of principle.

Sahara Mizu could accept that degree of exclusion.

As long as Mist Village did not expose any major flaws going forward, his life as a ninja would become quite comfortable—at least compared to that initial period of prolonged undercover work.

Besides that, his greatest gain had been making an initial impression on Orochimaru.

As Sahara Mizu thought, he touched his left pectoral muscle, feeling his heart beat powerfully beneath it.

Brain, tongue, heart.

Those three designated sealing restrictions had been his highest priority from the very beginning.

Now that he had the system supporting him, Sahara Mizu's future life was bound to move further and further away from the image of a "Mist Village undercover agent."

Since that was the case, he could not allow himself to be constrained by others.

However, advanced Fuinjutsu and the methods for breaking it were the most secret of secrets in every ninja village. In order to seize Fuinjutsu, Mist Village and Cloud Village had even personally led the war that destroyed the Land of Whirlpools.

The entire Uzumaki Clan had become sacrifices to the Fuinjutsu they excelled at most.

Therefore, there was absolutely no way to obtain Fuinjutsu through ordinary means.

It was precisely because of these many difficulties that Sahara Mizu had thought of taking the path through Orochimaru.

—He was someone who dared to do anything and was exceptionally capable.

However, if he wanted Orochimaru to be willing to trade with him, Sahara Mizu had to demonstrate his own value.

The upcoming promotion selection was a good opportunity.

Besides that—

Sahara Mizu looked at the panel before him.

"Personal Information"

"Name: Sahara Mizu"

"Age: 15"

"Talents: Photographic Memory (B), Kekkei Genkai (A)"

"Abilities: Limitless Technique · Second Stage (S), Water Release (A), Lightning Release (A+), Fire Release (B), Taijutsu (B+), Genjutsu (A), Fuinjutsu (D+), Ninja Tool Proficiency (C+)"

"Overall rating: A+"

"Heart Points: 1"

"System Evaluation: Hey! What is there to fear from a mere Kage-level expert! These solid muscles and this powerful aura—weren't they made for times like this!? Gah! Kill! Rape! Guh—hee, can we make peace?"

Looking at the evaluation on the panel, Mr. Sahara's expression immediately darkened.

This damned evaluation reeked of weakness the moment it opened its mouth.

At his current level, even across the entire Ninja World, he was already a quasi-first-rate powerhouse beneath Kage-level experts and top elite Jonin, all right?

Still, considering that System Sister opened her mouth with "Guh, kill the Otsutsuki," it was not entirely incomprehensible.

That was not the important part.

Sahara Mizu swept his gaze over the abilities on the panel before finally looking at the Heart Points marked with a 1.

At present, he had not accumulated enough points to qualify for further enhancement. Every resource he obtained had to be spent as quickly as possible and converted into his own strength—after all, that conversion process also took time.

A second upgrade for the Limitless Technique required two points, and the increase was relatively limited.

Yet Sahara Mizu still had plenty of weaknesses.

He lowered his head and looked at the four categories on the draw panel: "Breakthrough," "Survival," "Perception," and "Special," quietly considering them.

Based on the options from the previous draw, "Breakthrough" and "Survival" represented offensive and defensive abilities respectively, neither of which he lacked for the moment.

As a squishy class, most ninjas could be killed with a single light slash.

Even puppeteers who could protect their main body, or Earth Release defenses, could be completely broken through with the Six Eyes and Limitless Technique.

The only ones capable of giving him a headache were people like the Third Raikage and Uchiha Obito, who could both endure hits and escape quickly.

However, unless he had incredibly bad luck, it was basically impossible for him to encounter either of them head-on.

There was even less need to mention "Perception." The Six Eyes were sufficient for now.

After ruling out all the options, Sahara Mizu's gaze finally fell on "Special."

Perhaps it was the spatial ability brought by the Limitless Technique that had let him truly experience its benefits, or perhaps Sahara Mizu subconsciously believed that he had at least a little "protagonist's luck."

Almost the instant he saw that option, he thought of time-based abilities, which were on the same level of sophistication as space.

Whether it was Kurumi Tokisaki's "Zafkiel," used to manipulate time, Hououin Kyouma's "Time Machine," which could send people back into the past, or Diavolo's "King Crimson," each would greatly supplement his current situation.

Although Sahara Mizu did not wish to admit it.

Ever since binding himself to this system, he had no choice but to form deeper bonds with the people around him.

Clearly, these were people he could not abandon.

That was precisely why he needed to prepare a "way out" for himself.

So that someday in the future, he would not encounter something that left him with unbearable regret.

"Targeted: Special"

"Cost: 1"

"Draw the fucking thing!"

Under System Sister's familiar torrent of profanity, the blank screen flashed once more.

Sahara Mizu first frowned in dissatisfaction, but when he clearly saw the words on the screen, his eyes suddenly widened.

"Ability Acquired"

"Kyoka Suigetsu (S)"

"Information localization complete"

"Complete Hypnosis: Controls the opponent's five senses, making them completely believe that a certain target's appearance, form, mass, texture, and even scent are whatever the host desires."

"Activation Conditions: 1. Select three Activation Factors (Hand Seals, characteristics, Word Soul). 2. Chakra exceeds the enemy's. 3. The target is within the host's chakra influence range. 4. Chakra is continuously consumed while the ability is active."

"Consume Heart Points to upgrade"

Although the ability that appeared on the screen was not what Sahara Mizu had imagined.

When he saw those lines of explanation, his heart still began to race uncontrollably, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face.

With this, he would have much more room to maneuver.