Slash Fist Step Ghost

Slash Fist Step Ghost

"By the way, I'm curious. How did you use a kunai to stab out one of his eyes? That guy may not have been anything special, but he was a genuine Chunin. No matter how careless he was, he shouldn't have been injured this badly by a child."

Mikawa suddenly looked at Aoba and asked.

Aoba's heart skipped a beat. Then, pretending to struggle to remember, he said, "I'm not really sure either. I just curled up on the ground and kept taking hits, but because of my body's special nature, my vital points were protected. Then, when he bent down, I launched a counterattack..."

"I remember that he dodged my first counterattack right away, but he seemed not to notice the kunai in my left hand. That was how I stabbed out one of his eyes."

The [Kunai—Desert Eagle] had long since been stored away in his system space. On top of that, there were no witnesses left to contradict him, so Aoba had fabricated this mostly-true, partly-false explanation. There was no way anyone could expose him.

After hearing the answer, Mikawa felt that something seemed off, yet it also sounded perfectly reasonable.

After all, when someone was arrogant and overconfident, it was possible for them to react too slowly. Besides, this kid had plenty of tricks and knew how to endure before suddenly bursting out and injuring his opponent...

He really was a fine seedling for becoming a shinobi!

As for where the kunai in his hand had come from...

Mikawa had seen several kunai stuck in the ground when he arrived in time. Judging from the force behind them, they had undoubtedly been thrown by Uchiha Han. It was entirely possible that Aoba had picked one up amid the chaos and hidden it.

Mikawa instinctively filled in the loophole in Aoba's explanation. Arrogance wasn't frightening; imagining things on one's own was!

"This time, you were lucky that I happened to be nearby. Otherwise, your ashes could already have been scattered in the river. You had only been quiet for a few days, and now you've caused such a huge mess. You even picked a fight with the troublesome Uchiha Clan. Could it be that you're possessed by a jinx?"

Mikawa spoke irritably.

"How was I supposed to know that guy would be so arrogant and overbearing, and even launch a sneak attack from behind? Besides, I didn't do anything! This was completely an unjustified disaster!" Aoba protested gloomily.

He truly hadn't expected his opponent to dare to strike with lethal intent. Of course, his insistence on courting death and provoking the other party had played a part, but he would definitely never admit that.

Mikawa also knew that Aoba really wasn't to blame for this incident, but what else could he say?

"Whether it was an unjustified disaster or not, stay as far away from the Uchiha Clan as possible from now on. During this period before school starts, behave yourself. Endure whatever you can, understand?"

After saying that, Mikawa felt utterly exhausted.

He was clearly only Aoba's nominal guardian, so why did he have to worry so much?

Aoba also knew that Jonin Mikawa genuinely had his best interests at heart. He had even been willing to offend the Uchiha Clan for him. Aoba had already engraved this kindness in his heart, and sooner or later, he would have a chance to repay it.

Besides, to be cared for by someone felt pretty good, to be honest.

So, for once, Aoba didn't talk back. He nodded to show that he understood and wouldn't go out causing trouble again... probably.

Who could blame him when a damn system that wanted him to court death every day was living inside his body?

"I'm leaving. Lord Hokage is still waiting for my mission report. I'll keep the compensation money from the Uchiha for now and give it to you when you've recovered and are discharged."

Although Mikawa still spoke coldly, his face stern, Aoba could hear the concern in his voice.

And it was a full hundred thousand ryō!

With this money, he wouldn't have to worry about food and clothing for the time being. He could also use part of it to buy medicinal herbs and build a solid foundation.

In short, this latest act of courting death had won him another victory!

After Mikawa left, Aoba was alone in the hospital room.

He immediately sank his consciousness into the system. He had nearly lost his life completing the mission this time, and he hadn't had the chance to claim his rewards yet!

As soon as he opened the damn system, he saw a string of notifications.

[Task Completion: Medium]

[Rewards appropriately increased...]

[Task rewards issued: Bronze Chest x1, Beginner Skill Card x3]

"Blinding a Chunin in one eye and nearly crippling one of his hands only counts as medium completion? This damn system's requirements are way too high!"

Aoba couldn't help complaining, but his body honestly clicked open the Bronze Chest.

[Bronze Chest opened. Acquired taijutsu training technique 'White Strike']

In an instant, a huge amount of knowledge about combat techniques flowed into his mind. Another line of text also appeared on his 'tombstone,' displaying [White Strike] LV0.

Once Aoba had absorbed the knowledge, he immediately realized that this [White Strike] was none other than the 'Fist' from the Soul Reaper world's 'Slash Fist Step Ghost.'

"'Slash' means swordsmanship, 'Fist' means White Strike, 'Step' means Flash Step, and 'Ghost' means ghost techniques."

Although [White Strike] from the Soul Reaper world wasn't as famous as the other three paths, it would undergo a qualitative leap once cultivated to a profound level. For example, there was the combat technique that fused it with 'ghost techniques'—Flash Assault!

Aoba didn't know any ghost techniques, but with the existence of the damn system, anything was possible for his growth.

And even setting Flash Assault aside, [White Strike] was still a rare and valuable combat technique.

For him, who currently lacked effective means of fighting enemies, this was no different from timely aid. He could temper his body while learning taijutsu.

However, he couldn't cultivate [White Strike] so openly. Otherwise, he really wouldn't be able to explain it.

Next was the Beginner Skill Card he had received thanks to the upgraded reward.

This Beginner Skill Card could only raise an ability to LV3 at most, so he had to think carefully about which ability to use it on.

If he wanted to improve his ability to stay alive, then raising [Hardening] to level three first was undoubtedly the most worthwhile choice. However, with his current physical abilities, even if [Hardening] reached LV3, he still wouldn't be able to unleash its full power.

As for [Thorn Halo], honestly, it was far too useless for him at the moment. There was no need to upgrade it at all. It was clearly a late-game ability that could only show its full potential after his health and defense had been stacked up.

That left only [Inferior Self-Healing Body] and his newly acquired [White Strike] for him to choose between.

After thinking it over carefully, Aoba opened one of the abilities...

PS: Thanks to Tan Shen6 for the generous thousand-coin reward.

Good grief, several big names in succession ed me, knocking me down to twelfth place on the homepage. And the new-book ranking for my category is full of books with one or two hundred thousand words and all kinds of recommendations. I'm running naked here—I can't compete, sob~

Everyone, please save this child~