"Holy crap!"
Nanfeng let out an excited shout, unable to contain his joy.
He was only a few years old, yet he could already cast a jutsu?
Who would believe that if word got out?
Nowadays, to graduate from the Ninja Academy, students only needed to master the Three Basic Jutsu and meet the standards for Taijutsu and close-combat skills. Take Naruto and the others, for example: aside from Sasuke, someone like Sakura was basically just coasting. She was no good at anything.
And him...
"Healing Technique and Poisoning Technique are both classified as C-rank, while the Holy Armor Technique is B-rank... I can cast a B-rank jutsu..." Nanfeng swallowed.
He still had 20 Attribute Points left to spend. If he put them all into chakra... then...
"Hahahahaha..."
He burst out laughing.
He'd originally planned to lie low in this world, grow stronger at his own pace, and coast through life.
But now... he'd suddenly gotten a cheat. Life really was full of surprises!
In this world, having a cheat was what determined whether you lived or died. There was precious little an ordinary person could do.
His parents were a perfect example.
As for hard work... heh. It could help you make the most of your cheat, so it was certainly important, but it could never be the deciding factor.
Hard work makes up for a lack of talent. In other worlds, that's the truth.
At least in the shinobi world, it didn't hold up.
It was just feel-good nonsense... listen if you want, but don't take it seriously.
No matter how hard you worked, could you outdo Might Guy?
His dad wasn't exactly ordinary either, you know?
Have you ever seen a Genin casually take down four members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?
The next day, in a wooded area inside Konoha.
Nanfeng broke from his usual routine and ruthlessly put his body through the wringer.
He put himself through such intense training that even adults would have gaped. Using a rope, he dragged a rock as he ran across the ground.
Sweat poured off him.
Before, he'd thought he had no cheat, so he'd planned to coast through life. Now that he had one, he couldn't keep taking it easy.
Otherwise, he'd be letting down the heavens for this gift—and disgracing all transmigrators.
After about the time it took to burn a stick of incense, Nanfeng collapsed with a thump, lying spread-eagled on the ground as he gasped for air.
"Healing Technique."
But in the next moment, he formed hand seals. Flecks of light rose around him, gathered above his head, then fell like a shower of healing rain.
His exhausted body, aching muscles and all, recovered its vigor in an instant.
His body was restored in the blink of an eye.
That was why he'd suddenly started working himself to the bone, putting his body through such punishing training.
After putting all twenty Attribute Points into chakra, his reserves were already better than those of an average Genin... And since the Healing Technique's chakra cost was reduced, he could cast it dozens of times in a row to restore his body.
All his other attributes were still low. If he spread those twenty points evenly across every stat, the difference wouldn't be much... To get the best results, the smartest thing was to increase his chakra reserves.
So Nanfeng hadn't hesitated for a moment.
Besides, even without any external injuries, the Healing Technique could restore his energy. That was an unexpected bonus he'd discovered.
With a kip-up, Nanfeng sprang to his feet, drenched in sweat, and resumed his brutal training.
"Hard work doesn't do much against talent, but for me right now, it still helps... I need it to show off the system's support even better." He clenched his fist and muttered to himself, tied the rope with the rock attached around his waist, then broke into a run with a sharp shout.
The grass around him had been scored with deep furrows by the heavy rock, dragged over and over as he ran.
Rescuing people could earn him Attribute Points.
After figuring out how the system worked, Nanfeng hadn't immediately set about treating people. In other people's eyes, he was still just a child... Even a Clone Technique or Substitution Technique would draw attention, never mind a C-rank jutsu.
Besides, the Healing Technique wasn't even a power from this world... If word got out, he'd be branded a "genius"!
He might even be called a "prodigy."
Inventing his own jutsu!
Not even Kakashi or Itachi could do something like that. How old was Nanfeng? Just five!
Konoha might seem peaceful, but under the surface, currents of intrigue ran deep.
It had always been that way.
Never mind the factional disputes among the village leadership; there were plenty of covert feuds among the various clans and their members, too.
Until he could defend himself with absolute certainty, Nanfeng didn't want to attract too much attention and have some ill-intentioned person set their sights on him.
He wouldn't be comfortable even if that old Third Hokage started keeping an eye on him.
As far as Nanfeng was concerned, Hiruzen Sarutobi was an old man with a "peeping fetish"... Whenever he had a spare moment, he liked using the Scrying Jutsu—that Crystal Ball—to spy on Naruto.
Nanfeng didn't want to become the next Naruto.
Soon, night fell.
Nanfeng used the Healing Technique once more to restore his energy and stamina, then opened his status panel with a wide grin.
Host: Akiya Nanfeng. Age: 5. Stamina: 11. Strength: 10. Defense: 9. Resistance: 8. Reaction: 10. Speed: 13. Spirit: 20. Charisma: 15. Chakra: 25. Skills: Healing Technique, Poisoning Technique, Holy Armor Technique. Evaluation: You are a rather special member of the Genin.
"I went from student to Genin, and now I'm even a Special Genin... Heh..." Nanfeng nodded with satisfaction.
It had been almost a month since the system activated.
He'd stayed inside, training on his own.
A month might not seem like much, but people only had so much energy. Thanks to a loophole in the Healing Technique's effects, though, his training intensity was practically equivalent to half a year, or even a full year, of someone else's.
And it didn't leave his body with any strain or hidden injuries.
Clearly, the brutal training was working... At the very least, all his basic attributes had improved. Only his Charisma had stayed the same.
For his young, undeveloped body, those stats were already more than satisfactory.
Next, he'd start learning the basic jutsu at home and expand his arsenal.
"Even Itachi probably wasn't at my level at this age..."
Nanfeng looked up at the faint stars shining through the gaps in the canopy. The corners of his mouth lifted as he chuckled softly.
"I'm treating myself to a big meal today."
With that, he shoved his hands into his pockets, whistled, and strolled away.
The "big meal" was Konoha's famous landmark: Ichiraku Ramen!
As an orphan like him, he could have gone to the village orphanage, where staff would have looked after him... But the neighbors had taken care of Nanfeng, and he still had a home, so he hadn't gone.
Still, the village gave him an allowance every month, which was enough to live on.
He usually ate at the neighbors' homes, saving himself quite a bit on living expenses.
So he'd managed to save up a fair amount of money.
Naruto hadn't gone to the orphanage because of his special circumstances. The Nine-Tails was sealed inside him... At least in the eyes of the village leadership, he was practically a ticking time bomb.
If you think this book is any good, add it to your bookshelf so you can find it again next time.
Before you continue