A Bountiful Harvest

The frenzy on Shinichi's face receded like a tide, settling back into calm as he turned his gaze to his Personal Panel.

[Name: Higashino Shinichi] [Occupation: Ninja Academy Student / Swordsmanship Apprentice] [Traits: Genius (Blue), Natural Strength (Green), Diligence Compensates for Weakness (Green), Quick Wit (Green), Swordsmanship Proficiency (Green), Perception (White)...]

Compared to a week ago, the changes in the panel were striking.

[Genius (Blue)] went without saying—this was the core fruit of his scheme, a mark of qualitative transformation.

As for Trait upgrades: [Intelligent (White)] had upgraded to [Quick Wit (Green)], and [Sword Basics (White)] had upgraded to [Swordsmanship Proficiency (Green)].

[Quick Wit (Green): Your thoughts flow like lightning, inspiration strikes frequently, and you can quickly grasp key points while generating new ideas and solutions.]

This change was only natural. In the eyes of outsiders, defeating a genius like Kakashi head-on proved that Shinichi himself was a genius, and geniuses were often linked to intelligence.

[Swordsmanship Proficiency (Green): You have surpassed the basics and stepped into the hall of swordsmanship. Not only do you learn and master sword techniques faster, but you can also more effectively create and seize decisive openings in combat.]

This, too, was a direct reward from defeating Kakashi. The reputation of the White Fang of Konoha and his mastery of the blade was so overwhelming that Shinichi, under everyone's watch, breaking a sword technique with his own blade and winning cleanly left a massive impact on the onlookers' minds.

To overcome the White Fang Sword Style—even if only wielded by his son—meant his own swordsmanship had to have reached an extremely high level.

By contrast, [Taijutsu Basics] had failed to upgrade, perhaps because, to some extent, this swordsmanship upgrade had cleverly used the White Fang's golden reputation as a stepping stone.

Then came the new Trait: [Perception (White): Your five senses are sharper than an ordinary person's, allowing you to notice distant sounds, subtler scents, faster movement trajectories, and other easily overlooked information in your environment.]

This was proof that his carefully laid groundwork for a perceptive talent persona had succeeded. The generation of the [Perception] Trait meant the outside world had begun to acknowledge his specialness in this area.

Though it was only white for now, enhancing his sensory sharpness—like farther sounds, finer smells, quicker vision—it was still a considerable help, and it had laid the foundation for him to truly gain Chakra perception abilities in the future.

One victory, multiple gains.

The newly generated blue core Trait established supreme potential and growth efficiency; the newly upgraded green Traits strengthened practical combat and intellectual advantages in key areas; the newly appeared white Trait opened a new auxiliary path.

All changes revolved tightly around the ripple effects of the "defeating Kakashi" event—a single fat harvest.

Shinichi's gaze refocused on the brand-new blue Trait [Genius]. The moment he acquired it, he felt as though his mind had been invisibly upgraded.

Knowledge points that once required repeated pondering now only needed a brief review to grasp their essence; habitual roughness in his training now clearly revealed better paths; even recalling fragments of his fight with Kakashi brought forth many clever solutions he hadn't thought of at the time.

Beyond mental improvement, Shinichi also found his overall physical condition and Chakra had been further enhanced.

Only now did he truly understand what the "all domains" description in the [Genius] Trait meant.

In his past life's terms, this Trait didn't just strengthen his comprehension—it also elevated his innate talent and constitution.

"Still, a blue-grade Trait has harsher generation conditions than I expected..."

The White Fang of Konoha, Hatake Sakumo, was a recognized hero of the village, his strength and prestige even surpassing the Three Sannin.

His son, the already famous genius Kakashi, had long been under some kind of spotlight.

Shinichi had even quietly bestowed the shining halo of "Hokage Potential" on him, making him known to nearly everyone in Konoha.

Defeating such a target would undoubtedly cause a sensation. Yet even so, from the event's occurrence to the Trait's generation, it still took a full week of fermentation.

What did that mean?

It meant that for a blue Trait to be born, not only did the event need to ripple across the entire Konoha village, sparking widespread discussion—it also required depth and intensity, creating a sufficiently shocking effect.

And it likely needed a certain degree of recognition or attention from powerful, high-status, influential key figures—like the Hokage, advisors, the Three Sannin, the White Fang, the Jonin Squad Leader, clan heads, and so on.

Mere awareness wasn't enough; they had to be convinced and deeply impressed.

If a blue Trait was already like this, what about the ones above it?

Rippling across the entire Land of Fire? Or even shaking the consensus of the entire shinobi world?

He didn't dwell on it further. Those were still too far from his current self. The appearance of the blue Trait [Genius] had already cleared the biggest growth obstacle for him at this stage, paving a high-speed path.

Shinichi closed the panel, feeling the larger and more active Chakra within him, along with the clearer, more agile thoughts in his mind.

He walked to the window and looked out at the vibrant morning scenery of Konoha.

Summer vacation had begun. An ideal training period, backed by the perseverance of [Diligence Compensates for Weakness] and the efficiency boost of [Genius] and [Quick Wit], had arrived.

He needed to plan well, to turn this newfound talent into solid, undeniable power.

First up: Swordsmanship Apprentice!

Shinichi would use this month-plus vacation to formally graduate from Yamashita's Sword Dojo, cross that threshold, and become a recognized, formal swordsman.

Not only that, he also needed to quietly spread the news that "Higashino Shinichi has graduated and become a formal swordsman," thereby upgrading his occupation from Swordsmanship Apprentice to Swordsman.

[Swordsmanship Apprentice: You are an entry-level apprentice who has mastered the stances and power techniques of wielding a sword. Your control over the blade surpasses that of ordinary people, and your speed in learning swordsmanship and overall physical fitness are slightly enhanced.]

The Swordsmanship Apprentice occupation Trait itself already boosted some of his physical qualities and sword comprehension. Upgrading to a formal swordsman would naturally amplify these benefits, all of which would become a solid foundation for his strength.

Finally, both [Swordsmanship Apprentice] and [Ninja Academy Student] had come with a chance to directly draw a white-grade Trait without relying on external factors.

So, a clear occupational upgrade from "Apprentice" to "Formal Swordsman" would almost certainly trigger the panel's feedback, granting him a new draw opportunity.

And this time, the grade of that opportunity would likely no longer be white... but green.

A brand-new green Trait, obtainable without lengthy cultivation, would be enough to bring considerable reinforcement or a breakthrough in some direction.

His thoughts converged like streams, clearly reflecting the path ahead.

Shinichi's gaze settled, focused and sharp.