Chance Encounter (Please Follow)

[ Ding! Senju Bloodline activation complete! ]

[ Points -100, remaining: 80 ]

Only after the system prompt sounded did Uchiha Chi open his eyes again.

[ Your defense has greatly increased: 38% → 50% ]

[ Your Chakra reserves have greatly increased: 700 (+1000) → 2500 (+1000) ]

[ Note: Jonin Chakra reserve standard: 3000 ]

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His Chakra reserves had directly reached the Jonin standard!

"Is this the power of the Senju Clan...?"

Feeling the abundant Chakra within him, Uchiha Chi felt as though his entire body was brimming with strength!

With a thought, he reached out and gripped the chair beside him, which was made from hard ship timber, then silently exerted force.

When he let go again, there was a palm-sized indentation in the wood!

Satisfied, he clapped his hands and got up to stand before the mirror. Looking at his completely renewed self, he felt as refreshed as if he had put on brand-new underwear for the New Year.

"I only have what I have today thanks to my own hard work and sweat..."

[ Detected guilt from Nohara Rin! ]

[ Obtained 10 points and increased defense by 2% ]

Uchiha Chi glanced awkwardly at the system, then looked sideways at the clock on the wall and found that the hour hand was pointing exactly at six.

Do all Ninja get up this early? Uchiha Chi thought with some admiration.

He turned to look out the window and found that dawn was just breaking, while clan members were already moving about on the streets.

So I pulled an all-nighter. Uchiha Chi scratched his head.

Although he had stayed up late in his previous life as well, he had never expected that he would accidentally pull an all-nighter after coming to this world without games or novels.

But unlike in his previous life, he was not tired at all. On the contrary, he was full of energy, his mind sharp, and every inch of his body seemed to contain endless strength.

Uchiha Chi stood there and thought for a moment before turning toward the entrance.

"Breakfast first..."

Ten minutes later.

He arrived at the center of the clan grounds.

Quite a few people had already gathered around the market stalls, choosing the ingredients they needed.

But Uchiha Chi was not there for that. He briskly weaved through the crowd and soon arrived before a flatbread stall.

"Good morning, Granny Jing." He boldly held up his entire hand toward the old lady seated in the chair. "Five beef flatbreads."

"Alright."

Uchiha Jing smiled and nodded. Rising from her old wooden chair, she slowly made her way to the stall. "You have quite an appetite today..."

Watching Uchiha Jing skillfully prepare the flatbreads, Uchiha Chi nodded with a smile.

Now that he was a Jonin, his appetite had naturally increased along with his strength, far beyond what it had been when he was a Genin or Chunin.

As he waited quietly.

A deep voice suddenly sounded beside Uchiha Chi's ear. "Uchiha Chi?"

Granny Jing paused her movements and narrowed her eyes at the newcomer before smiling. "Oh my, good morning, Clan Head."

"Mm, good morning," the deep voice replied flatly.

Turning his head, he found Uchiha Fugaku staring at him with a stern expression.

What bad luck, running into him this early in the morning.

"Clan Head." While silently grumbling, Uchiha Chi respectfully asked, "Are you heading to the Security Force?"

Uchiha Fugaku nodded slightly.

There had been a lot going on lately, so he had to rise early every day and head to the Security Force building, only returning home late at night.

Part of that workload was related to the fellow before him.

Ever since learning that someone from Konoha's upper ranks had been secretly watching them, he had privately sought out the Third Hokage to test his reaction.

He did not know whether the old man was truly confused or merely pretending, but the Third Hokage's expression at the time had looked entirely unaware.

But how could he possibly have been unaware?

Uchiha Fugaku felt somewhat chilled at heart, but he could not continue probing. He could only quietly increase the Security Force's patrols, hoping to find the spies Danzo had planted.

Yet every search came up empty.

Those Root agents seemed not to exist at all. Despite exhausting every effort, the Security Force had not found a single trace of them within the clan grounds...

At that thought, Uchiha Fugaku's gaze at Uchiha Chi became somewhat strange.

He really did not know how this guy had discovered that super old lady back then...

Noticing the subtle change in Uchiha Fugaku's expression.

Uchiha Chi asked, "Is something wrong, Clan Head?"

"No." Uchiha Fugaku shook his head and said to Uchiha Jing, "Granny, two portions of flatbread for me."

There was still much work ahead, and Uchiha Fugaku did not like to eat too much while working.

Granny Jing answered and quickened the pace at which she flipped the flatbreads.

Uchiha Fugaku nodded faintly, then looked at Uchiha Chi and casually asked, "Have you made any friends recently?"

To an outsider unaware of the situation, this sounded like concern. But to Uchiha Chi, it automatically translated into: Have you told anyone about the higher-ups planting spies?

Uchiha Chi's eyes shifted as he smiled and shook his head. "No. Everyone's been pretty busy lately."

"Don't worry. I haven't told anyone."

He felt no guilt whatsoever when he said that.

He truly had not told anyone. He had only told Afie.

After all, White Zetsu probably did not count as a person.

Then he had conveniently pinned the blame on Danzo.

Danzo did not mind anyway, right?

"Good."

Hearing Uchiha Chi's answer, Uchiha Fugaku relaxed slightly.

Although he felt somewhat disheartened by Konoha's upper ranks, he still had not decided what to do next.

The radicals were simply taking too great a risk.

Konoha was a behemoth with dozens of Ninja villages. The Uchiha did not even have a single pair of Mangekyo Sharingan now, and Uchiha Fugaku truly could not bring himself to rebel.

But if he became one of the conservatives...

Danzo had already sent spies into the clan grounds. If he, as Clan Head, compromised just like that, what would the clan records say about him in the future?

Just as he felt lost and uncertain.

"The flatbreads are ready!"

Uchiha Jing held a bag in each hand and called out to them, "This one has five, and this one has two."

Only then did Uchiha Fugaku come back to his senses. He accepted his portion of flatbreads, then forced out an encouraging smile at Uchiha Chi.

"Then keep working hard."

With that, he hurried away.

Uchiha Chi watched him silently.

Only after the Clan Head's figure completely vanished around the street corner did the corner of his lips curl upward.

"I will."

On the way back.

Uchiha Chi took big bites of the beef flatbread in his hand while silently considering his current situation.

Looking at the brand-new "Senju Bloodline" in the traits column, Uchiha Chi muttered to himself.

"Sure enough, once I trigger a new target, the Point Store updates with corresponding items..."

He checked the Point Store whenever he had nothing to do, so he could be sure that the Senju Bloodline and Wood Release Talent had only appeared last night.

After thinking it over, it was easy to tell that they had come from Tsunade and White Zetsu Afie respectively.

"In other words, if I want something in the future, I just need to make contact with whoever possesses it.

"If I'm lucky, it'll drop directly. If not, I can exchange for it in the store as a guarantee..."

Uchiha Chi rubbed his chin in thought. What else did he need?