Chidori

At last, he heard the voice he had been dreaming of.

He opened the system menu. There were 82 Points inside, and, in addition, a new option had appeared: "Shop."

"Just as I thought. You have to kill people to earn Points."

If he'd had the time, Sosuke would definitely have sat down to study it properly.

Taking advantage of his identity as a child, he'd successfully killed an enemy by surprise. By the time he pulled out his Kunai and hot blood sprayed through the air, the rest of the squad finally realized something was wrong.

He tossed out several small, colorful pellets. With a bang, smoke filled the teahouse, sealing it off completely.

There were seven enemies in total, including a Captain-level expert. No matter how you looked at it, his side couldn't face them head-on.

They had to find a way to take out a few of them first and narrow the gap between the two sides.

"No choice."

Taking a deep breath, Sosuke's left hand suddenly crackled with electricity, producing a shrill sound like birdsong.

"Damn it, stay steady." Veins bulged on Sosuke's forehead as he struggled to control the current.

Every time he used Chidori, intense pain shot through his arm, as if the current's shrill cry were tearing his muscles apart.

Every ninjutsu came with its own risks. Chidori was powerful, but it could just as easily injure its user.

At that moment, dazzling lightning surrounded Sosuke. His Sharingan pierced the haze and locked onto the nearest enemy.

The powerful Lightning Style stimulated his body, greatly increasing the activity of his cells. The instant he moved, he dashed in front of his opponent.

"Die!!!"

At the last moment, the enemy tried to raise his arms in defense, but it was all in vain.

Sosuke's hand, wreathed in lightning, pierced the enemy's heart with pinpoint precision.

[ Ding! You successfully killed Maruta and earned 77 Points. ]

"The number of Points changed." Sosuke's eyes flickered as he tried to understand the rules behind the Points system.

The two amounts he'd earned were different, which meant the value would likely change again the next time he used it.

If it wasn't the rather unreliable possibility of a "random" amount, then the difference was probably because the enemies he'd killed were of different strengths.

The number of Points earned might be tied to an enemy's strength.

The stronger the enemy, the more Points you'd earn for killing them.

Looking down at his slightly trembling hand, Sosuke formed the Hand Seals again. He wanted to test his theory.

When the familiar shrill cry rang out, he picked out a broad-faced man in the crowd.

From what he'd heard, the man was quite strong—at least much stronger than the two ninjas he'd just killed in an instant.

He was perfect for testing the rules governing Points.

Meanwhile, the remaining five ninjas had all retreated out of the smoke.

Hearing the shrill cry, Senju Katsuhito grimaced. He hadn't expected to lose another subordinate in such a short time.

"Watch out for the enemy's ninjutsu!"

But before his warning could reach the others, a surging Sea of Fire swept over them.

Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!

"Fire Style?!" Senju Katsuhito's eyes narrowed as he seemed to recognize the attacker.

Many ninjas could use Fire Style, but few could wield it with such power. It had to be those damned Uchiha.

He kicked one of his subordinates into the path of the surging flames to use him as a shield. Then Senju Katsuhito turned his gaze and quickly spotted the hedgehog-haired boy holding a long sword in the distance.

"Heh, so it's just a brat." His eyes gradually lit up with excitement.

An ordinary brat couldn't possibly be this strong. That meant the boy had to be someone important. If he could kill him, the credit would be enough to last him a lifetime.

Unstrapping his weapon from his back, Senju Katsuhito sneered to himself. He didn't believe he could lose to a brat.

"You go deal with the other one. I'll take him."

With that, he rushed forward and engaged the hedgehog-haired boy in combat.

His long blade flashed back and forth as he tried to finish off his opponent as quickly as possible.

But he was bound to be disappointed.

Against Senju Katsuhito's relentless attacks, Uchiha Madara remained calm, deflecting each strike one after another. In every respect, he was holding his own.

In truth, Sosuke hadn't been able to gauge Uchiha Madara's full strength. During their usual sparring sessions, Madara had always held back.

Madara had been Captain-level from the very beginning. That was the main reason he'd dared to pursue them.

Seeing that the Uchiha Young Clan Head was holding his own, Hagoromo Kaoru emerged from her hiding place, impressed, and single-handedly intercepted two of the enemies.

Sosuke's Chidori had taken out two men, and Madara's Fire Style had killed one. Madara was keeping the strongest opponent occupied alone, leaving only two targets for Hagoromo Kaoru.

As for Takigawa Hiroshi, whose strength had been described as formidable in the intelligence reports, he was currently running all over the place with Sosuke chasing after him.

Seeing that the other man refused to leave him alone, Takigawa Hiroshi angrily formed Hand Seals and turned the surrounding ground into impassable swampland.

Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!

"Hmph, let's see you charge now."

Sosuke stopped his mad dash, surprised that the man could be such a coward.

The whole area had turned into a swamp, so Sosuke couldn't get through. But the key was, neither could Takigawa Hiroshi.

Looking at the Chidori still crackling in his hand, Sosuke turned without hesitation and charged toward the two enemies Hagoromo Kaoru was fighting.

His lightning-fast sneak attack pierced one of their hearts. Unfortunately, he couldn't claim the other man's head.

[ System Notice: You successfully killed Takeda and earned 54 Points. ]

"The difference in Points is huge." He glanced at the girl's serious expression, then decided not to make an issue of her stealing his kill.

Lifting his scarred arm, Sosuke knew that even though he still had some chakra left, he probably couldn't use Chidori again.

He watched Senju Katsuhito fighting fiercely with Madara and sighed with regret, knowing that killing that man would earn him a great many Points.

But now, he didn't even have the strength to join the fight.

Compared to the formidable Senju Katsuhito, the man hiding in the swamp was much easier to deal with.

"You go first."

"Okay."

Hagoromo Kaoru strode ahead and sent a roaring Water Dragon straight at the enemy.

Drawing the short blade at his waist, Uchiha Sosuke stood ready. He still hadn't given up on earning more Points.

His companion was quite strong and had impressive skill with ninjutsu. The man named Takigawa Hiroshi might not be able to beat her.

By Sosuke's estimation, the enemy was around Chunin level. If he could kill him, he'd surely earn far more Points than before.

"Come on. Hurry up and get out here."

After twenty seconds of clashing ninjutsu, the enemy was finally forced to leave the swamp he'd created.

Seeing his chance, Sosuke, who'd been waiting for a long time, rushed forward. The instant he met the enemy's gaze, he activated his bloodline power.

"You—you actually—"

Genjutsu: Sharingan!

Not giving him a chance to finish, Sosuke brought his blade down and sliced off the enemy's head.