A Light at the End of the Tunnel

Masahiko thought for a long time, but in the end, he found no solution. He could only let nature take its course.

Only then did he notice that this Chinese prompt was somewhat different from the previous ones. The Witness Points he received at the end had a *2 indicator. When he opened the Attribute Panel, sure enough, his Witness Points had increased by 20 instead of the usual amount.

"So changing the plot gives me more attribute points?" Masahiko muttered. "In that case, could I..."

"No, I still need to change the plot selectively. Otherwise, if the plot becomes unrecognizable, there'll be too few things left to witness later on..."

"And this was a minor change. There should probably be distinctions like major changes as well. Speaking of which, if it's only a minor change, does that mean Hashirama learning Sage Mode ahead of time won't have much impact on the later plot?"

"That makes sense. If Madara's strength surpassed Hashirama's, the Uchiha would probably unify the Warring States Period. Given Hashirama's personality, he was destined not to take the path of conquest through force."

A string of thoughts flashed through Masahiko's mind, but in the end, he chose to let nature take its course.

I should focus on learning Sage Mode... Masahiko muttered inwardly.

After a day of studying, Hashirama realized that Sage Mode was not easy to learn. So he created a Wood Clone and had it return to report that they were safe, while also asking Senju Tenyu to inform Tobirama that he would have to remain in the clan for the next few months to handle all its affairs.

Masahiko secretly relished Tobirama's misfortune. The frustration of not taking part in the development of the Multiple Shadow Clone had finally faded. Having an older brother like this, Tobirama was quite pitiful too...

For the next month, Masahiko and Hashirama both trained in Sage Mode.

Hashirama had basically mastered Sage Mode, but Masahiko was stuck on the second step: drawing Natural Energy into his body.

Another two months passed. Hashirama had already perfectly mastered the use of Sage Mode, yet Masahiko was still stuck on the second step.

By then, Masahiko understood. He probably had yet to obtain Yang Release Chakra, and the system was restricting his Sage Mode training.

After realizing that he could not learn Sage Mode no matter what he did, he had no choice but to give up on it and focus instead on his Attribute Panel.

Hashirama's Sage Mode training was about to end, and Masahiko still wanted to follow him into the war against the Uchiha afterward. He needed to find a way to earn some Witness Points.

However, with his current strength, forget Hashirama, who had learned Sage Mode and initially grasped power beyond that of a Clan Head—even if he encountered Uchiha Madara, who had already mastered the second stage of Susanoo, he would likely be defeated in an instant.

Since improving his strength through Sage Mode was no longer possible, Masahiko could only look for a solution through allocating points.

He had 34 Witness Points left from before, and this time he gained another 24 alongside Hashirama's group. That made 58 points available to use—an unprecedented amount.

Masahiko thought it over and decided to start adding points to "Technique." He had previously added 5.5 points to "Technique," making his ninjutsu fifty percent stronger than others'. This time, he wanted to raise "Technique" to 10.

Based on the pattern that each addition after 5 could only add 0.5, Masahiko put 9 points into "Technique," only to find that it had become +9.2.

"Damn it, after +9, does each point only add 0.1?" Masahiko muttered. Still, he decisively added another 8 points to "Technique," but then—

Technique: 1582 (+9.75) (+)

What was going on? After +9.5, did each point only add +0.05?

"Don't tell me this thing can never reach 10?" Masahiko had already spent 17 points on "Technique." Seeing this, he simply added another 5 points to see whether it could be maxed out after all.

However, at that moment, his Attribute Panel underwent an unexpected change.

Technique: 1582 (+10) (Convertible)

Convertible? The plus sign at the end was gone, replaced by the words "Convertible."

"So +10 is the maximum? Looks like I won't get the chance to use a single Great Fireball to break Susanoo..." Masahiko thought. "Doubling my ninjutsu power is enough, but what does Convertible mean?"

Masahiko tried tapping "Convertible" in his mind. An unusual sense of power enveloped his entire body, and it was only after a minute that he came back to his senses.

He immediately looked at his Attribute Panel and discovered that it had changed considerably.

Name: Uzumaki Masahiko

Age: 31 (-)

Ninjutsu: 245 (*2) (+)

Body: 118 (*2) (+)

Sage: 1521 (+10) (Convertible)

(In Sage Mode Chakra state, 1 point of Chakra is lost per second)

Three Body Jutsu:

LV10 (100000) (Max Level)

Shuriken Throwing Technique: LV10 (100000) (Max Level)

Earth Release: LV3 (30458/100000) (+)

Wind Release: LV4 (116764/200000) (+)

Fire Release: LV3 (29985/100000) (+)

Water Release:

LV2 (10000/20000) (+)

Lightning Release:

LV2 (10000/20000) (+)

Yang Release:

LV1 (0/10000) (+)

Sealing Jutsu: LV5 (200000/400000) (+)

Special Talent: Perception Ability

Comprehensive Evaluation: S-

Witness Points: 36

"Sage Mode? I never expected to find a light at the end of the tunnel. I thought learning Sage Mode was hopeless, but I can obtain it this way." Feeling the Chakra in his body draining away, Masahiko immediately switched back. "After activating Sage Mode, I naturally gained Yang Release within my body. That really is an unexpected surprise. And in Sage Mode, both my ninjutsu and taijutsu abilities are doubled. My evaluation has become S-. So S- should refer to Clan Head level and then Kage-level, right? Why does it feel like the S-rank Rogue Ninja classification from the future?"

Masahiko smiled in satisfaction. This increase was enormous, and he still had 36 Witness Points left unused. After thinking it over, he decided to try investing them in Yang Release.

After investing one point, Yang Release became LV2, and Masahiko found that both "Body" and "Technique" had increased.

"Sure enough, Yang Release can increase my physical energy and gradually allow me to obtain a Sage Body?"

Masahiko considered it and felt that his other ninjutsu were sufficient for now. For defense, he had flexible and varied Earth Release techniques, while for offense, he had Naruto's set of Rasengan techniques.

"So what I'm lacking now is still the foundation?"

In the end, Masahiko chose to invest his Witness Points into the newly acquired Yang Release. He invested a full 19 points, raising Yang Release to LV5. Of the remaining 16 Witness Points, he put 7 into Earth Release and 9 into Wind Release, raising both by exactly one level.

Feeling his body rapidly grow stronger and his power swiftly increase, Masahiko was overjoyed. But after looking at his new attributes, he immediately became excited.

Name: Uzumaki Masahiko

Age: 31 (-)

Ninjutsu: 296 (+) Body: 321 (+) Technique: 3458 (+10) (Convertible)

Three Body Jutsu:

LV10 (100000) (Max Level)

Shuriken Throwing Technique: LV10 (100000) (Max Level)

Earth Release: LV4 (100458/200000) (+)

Wind Release: LV5 (206764/400000) (+)

Fire Release: LV3 (29985/100000) (+)

Water Release:

LV2 (10000/20000) (+)

Lightning Release:

LV2 (10000/20000) (+)

Yang Release:

LV5 (200000/400000)

Sealing Jutsu: LV5 (200000/400000) (+)

Special Talent: Perception Ability

Comprehensive Evaluation: S-

As a member of the Uzumaki Clan, Masahiko already possessed far more Chakra than an ordinary ninja. After obtaining Yang Release, his physique rapidly improved, and his Chakra reserves more than doubled. Moreover, even without switching into Sage Mode, he now had an S- evaluation.

"Now, even if I run into Madara as he is now, I can barely contend with him. At last, I haven't disgraced the name Uzumaki Xuan Xuan!"

That was what Masahiko thought.