New Mall Items

Shinji left the reception room, passed through the corridor, and entered the courtyard.

Uchiha Mikoto was hanging laundry. She wore a simple dark-purple short jacket paired with a crimson plum-colored long skirt, looking gentle and elegant.

Beside her, a small figure obediently handed her clothes.

"Thank you, Itachi." Mikoto gently rubbed Uchiha Itachi's head. "Itachi, you'll definitely grow into an outstanding man someday."

Uchiha Itachi's lips curled up slightly. He was clearly delighted, though his expression remained so subdued that it barely changed.

Hearing that, Shinji silently grumbled to himself.

Uchiha Itachi would indeed become quite "outstanding" in the future.

"Hm?"

Uchiha Itachi was the first to notice Shinji and quickly bowed respectfully. "Senior Shinji. Have you finished speaking with Father?"

As the son of the Uchiha clan head, he naturally recognized Uchiha Shinji, someone highly valued by the clan.

"Yeah, I just finished talking with the clan head." Shinji replied with a smile, then gave Mikoto a slight nod. "Then I'll be taking my leave, Lady Mikoto."

Uchiha Mikoto paused her work and said warmly, "All right. Come by and visit whenever you have time."

"I hope you can spend more time with Itachi and give him some guidance while you're at it."

Uchiha Mikoto naturally remembered this young man, but now that she saw him again, he was already nothing like before.

For such an outstanding young member of the clan, she was naturally willing to let her son spend more time with him.

Just like Shisui and Itachi, who had always been close.

Itachi blinked. The distinctive tear troughs on his face gave him a steadiness far beyond his young age.

Shinji's expression stiffened slightly, and his smile became somewhat forced. "No problem. Itachi will definitely be stronger than me in the future. If I get the chance now, I'd be happy to teach him a few things."

A hint of surprise immediately lit up Itachi's eyes. "Senior Shinji, I'll come visit you!"

Shinji narrowed his eyes and put on a kind, approachable smile, but he had already made his plans in his heart:

Once you really come, I'll fill your head with all kinds of ideas and fool you completely.

Come to think of it, it was a new week again. The Item Mall should have refreshed.

After leaving Fugaku's residence, Shinji returned straight home. He sat down on the sofa, suddenly remembered something, and with a thought switched interfaces and opened the mall page.

"There wasn't anything worthwhile in the mall for the last two weeks."

"Hopefully, this time there'll be something genuinely useful."

Sure enough.

As soon as the interface opened, seven brand-new items were neatly displayed on the panel:

[Ninjutsu/Taijutsu/Genjutsu Training Acceleration Card (7 Days): 600 Points]

[Character Detector (Daily Purchase Limit: 1): 500 Points]

[Orochimaru's Secret Medicine Formula: 30,000 Points]

[Chiyo's Medical Notes (Volume One): 32,000 Points]

[Solar Flare (Consumable): 20,000 Points]

[Ichiraku Ramen Voucher (Consumable): 300 Points]

"It actually refreshed Orochimaru's Secret Medicine formula again!"

Shinji rubbed his chin and pondered for a moment without hesitating for long.

The last time he had seen this item was on the battlefield. Back then, he did not have enough Points and could only watch helplessly as he missed it.

He glanced at his Personal Panel.

[Points: 151,400]

He had more than enough to buy the formula.

Shinji stopped thinking about it and used his thoughts to tap the purchase confirmation. Thirty thousand Points were deducted in an instant.

The next second, Orochimaru's Secret Medicine formula was quietly lying in his inventory.

He chose to claim it, and a yellowed sheet of paper appeared out of thin air on the table.

Shinji picked up the formula and examined it closely.

"Dragon Gum Grass, White-Scaled Snake Shed Skin, Dampshade Fungal Core, Thunderbug Powder... refining procedures..."

The more he read, the more his head hurt.

The medicinal ingredients and procedures recorded on it were obscure and complicated. With his meager foundation in medical ninjutsu, he could not make heads or tails of it.

"I should ask Rin to help me take a look later."

He carefully put away the formula and continued browsing the items in the mall.

The Training Acceleration Card and Character Detector were must-buy items. Beyond those, his gaze settled on something else.

Shinji opened the item description for Chiyo's Medical Notes.

[Chiyo's Medical Notes (Volume One)]

[Type: Book]

[Description: An old parchment scroll in the style of Sunagakure. From basic hemostasis and low-consumption healing techniques to identifying and countering all manner of deadly poisons in the shinobi world, it was filled with practical insights from the battlefield.]

[Note: If there is a Volume One, then naturally there are also Volumes Two and Three! To find out what happens next, stay tuned for the next installment!]

Granny Chiyo of Sunagakure was not only a master of puppet techniques, but also one of the shinobi world's foremost physicians and poison experts. In terms of medical expertise, she was likely second only to Tsunade.

There was no need to even consider the value of notes written by her.

"This will definitely be a huge help in learning medical ninjutsu."

Shinji's eyes brightened slightly as he spent another 12,000 Points to purchase the scroll of notes.

He opened the system again and checked the Personal Panel on the left.

[Name: Uchiha Shinji]

[Chakra: Approximately 2.3 cards]

[Charm: 43]

[Talents: Sharingan (Three-Tomoe), Medical Affinity, Transparent Release]

[Skills: Three Body Technique Lvmax, Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique Lvmax, Lightning Style: Earth Run Lv3, Uchiha Style Swordsmanship Lv2, Illusion Technique: Demonic Binding Prison Lv2, Phantom Body Flicker Technique Lv2]

[Bound Targets: Nohara Rin (First Stage), Kakashi (First Stage), Kurenai Yuhi (First Stage), Obito (First Stage), Minato (None), Asuma (First Stage)]

[Points: 89400]

[Inventory: Ninjutsu/Taijutsu/Genjutsu Training Acceleration Card (7 Days), Invisibility Cloak (Consumable), Orochimaru's Secret Medicine Formula, B-Rank Gift Box, Chiyo's Medical Notes (Volume One), A-Rank Skill Upgrade Voucher ×2]

Looking at the personal data before him, Shinji felt exceptionally pleased.

He had grown stronger!

The awakening of his Three-Tomoe Sharingan had also steadily increased his total Chakra reserves.

More importantly, unlike Kakashi, he did not need to keep his Sharingan active at all times, so the Chakra consumption was practically negligible.

With his continued training these past few days, his proficiency in ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu had all been steadily rising.

The only thing troubling Shinji was one particular bound target.

"Unfortunately, Minato's First Stage still hasn't unlocked. I haven't seen him in days."

"No wonder the difficulty of winning him over is marked as extremely high."

"How am I supposed to win him over?!"

Shinji muttered under his breath, raising a hand to rub his brow in helplessness.

His Points were in an awkward spot right now—far from enough to unlock the Mangekyō Sharingan, yet using them casually to raise his skill proficiency felt far too wasteful.

With his current strength, he could already deal with ordinary Chunin and even some Jonin without any trouble.

Skill levels could always be raised through gradual training. There was no need to force them up with Points right now.

If he saved his Points, they would sooner or later be useful somewhere more crucial.

"Looks like I can only stick to the plan and gather intelligence on Naka Shrine first."

Having made up his mind, Shinji immediately got to work.

He rose and entered the second-floor bedroom, opened the wardrobe, and took out a blue-gray stealth suit that fit close to the body and made no sound.

Moving in this outfit produced almost no rustling at all, making it ideal for covert reconnaissance.

After changing, he was about to leave.

The moment his hand touched the front door handle, Shinji suddenly paused.

"Right, I nearly forgot about this."

He chuckled inwardly and swiftly formed hand seals with both hands.

A faint glow instantly enveloped his entire body. His figure faded, turned transparent, and completely vanished into the air.

The front door handle slowly turned. The door silently opened a crack, then gently closed again.

The entire process was silent, as though no one had ever entered or left.

Shinji had concealed himself with Transparent Release.

This Kekkei Genkai might have lacked any direct offensive power, but for stealth and concealment, its effect was practically perfect.

Three days later.

Shinji lay carefully concealed thirty meters away from Naka Shrine, never once noticed by anyone.

Luck was on his side as well. He had not encountered a single clansman using their Sharingan to sweep the surroundings.

After three days of covert observation, he had gathered all the intelligence he needed.

Now, it was time to act.