"Phew, phew."
At around three in the afternoon, Uchiha Sou plopped down on the ground, ending his grueling training.
Just then, a notification appeared in his field of vision.
[Ninjutsu: Substitution Technique EXP +1] [Ninjutsu: Substitution Technique (B): Level 10 (MAX) (Upgradeable)]
"Finally."
Looking at the notification, Uchiha Sou couldn't help feeling a little emotional. He'd finally maxed out the experience for his Substitution Technique, which had already reached B-rank!
Grinding the Substitution Technique from E-rank to B-rank was already an incredible feat, but the technique really was useful.
Especially when facing his dog of a father, who taught him through physical means, and when dealing with Kirigakure Ninja as he hammered home the pros and cons. This technique was truly no worse than the Body Flicker Technique!
"Besides, I'm probably the first person to grind an E-rank ninjutsu to this level, right?"
Uchiha Sou was exhausted. Constantly using the Substitution Technique to train had taken a lot out of him, especially at thirteen.
Sometimes, he wondered if he was bringing shame upon the transmigrator profession.
As far as he could remember, he'd read about plenty of transmigrators who graduated at five, reached Kage Level by eight, and could beat up Uchiha Madara at thirteen.
Some had even been about to conquer the universe and storm the Otsutsuki's homeworld at that age.
Compared to those transmigrators, Uchiha Sou's current level was so embarrassing that the word "shameful" didn't even begin to describe it.
Perhaps his only advantage was that, with the help of this system, he could keep growing without any limits.
"At least when it comes to low-level skills, I seem to be able to break through their limits and keep improving."
Uchiha Sou had no idea how far the Sharingan could develop. After all, its starting rank was C.
After grinding it all the way to A-rank, his eyes had evolved into the Three Tomoe state.
If his understanding was right, the rank after A should be S, which would correspond to the Mangekyo. SSS would probably correspond to the Rinnegan, right?
"What comes after SSS? Don't tell me it's SSR?"
As Uchiha Sou pondered, he opened his status panel and selected the Substitution Technique for an upgrade.
[Skill Proficiency System activated] [Chakra Refining Technique (B): Level 10 (998/1000)] [Dojutsu: Sharingan (A): Level 3 (200/300)] [Taijutsu: Uchiha Style (C): Level 9 (100/900)] [Ninjutsu: Body Flicker Technique (A): Level 3 (50/300)] [Ninjutsu: Substitution Technique (A): Level 1 (1/100)] [Omitted.]
Looking at the Substitution Technique, now at A-rank, he couldn't help feeling a surge of excitement.
Breaking through and improving a low-level technique like this could bring about incredible effects. The Substitution Technique, for instance, had become absurdly powerful.
Normally, the Substitution Technique had a slight delay when used, and unless you were highly skilled, you also needed to form Hand Seals.
Most importantly, the things you could substitute with were generally limited by distance and mass.
But that was no longer a problem for Uchiha Sou. Even at B-rank, he'd already broken through those limitations to a remarkable degree.
Now that it had reached A-rank, its effects would surely be even better!
However, he had no chance to test it right now. They were in too much of a hurry. Fortunately, when his skills improved, a portion of the experience of using them entered his mind.
He knew how to use it and had a rough idea of the result, but he'd only see its effects firsthand in actual combat.
After tidying up, he quickly ran to the camp entrance. He hadn't forgotten that he had a mission to head out on today.
When he reached the meeting point, Might Guy and Shiranui Genma were already waiting.
Shiranui Genma sat there with a Senbon between his teeth, lost in thought, while Might Guy was doing one-handed handstand push-ups on the spot. As soon as he saw Uchiha Sou arrive, he sprang to his feet.
"Sou, you're here." Might Guy was as energetic as ever. "We're all ready, so we can leave whenever you are!"
"Hey, hey, hey. He's our captain now. I think you should change how you address him."
Might Guy's shouting had naturally caught Shiranui Genma's attention. He shook his head helplessly and spoke up.
"Even if we're classmates, missions have their own rules. We should be calling him Captain now."
"It doesn't really matter. It's just a title."
Uchiha Sou smiled and shook his head, then his expression turned serious.
"But before we set out, I still have to ask: are you both ready? This mission is extremely dangerous."
"Don't worry, Captain Sou!" As soon as Uchiha Sou finished speaking, Might Guy clenched his fist. "I've been ready for ages!"
"I'd like to say otherwise, but I'm ready too." Shiranui Genma sounded a little helpless.
Anyone would feel helpless in a situation like this. One wrong move could lead to disaster. Perhaps only the carefree Might Guy could be this excited.
But as a Konoha Ninja, Shiranui Genma had a duty to fulfill. After all, Konoha was their home.
"In that case, let's go."
Uchiha Sou nodded, then turned and set off. Might Guy and Shiranui Genma followed without hesitation.
The Konoha camp wasn't especially far from Kirigakure's controlled territory. And since the Land of Whirlpools was so vast, Kirigakure couldn't possibly guard the entire country, even if they committed all their forces to it.
That left Uchiha Sou and the others plenty of opportunities to evade patrols and enter the territory under Kirigakure's control.
The three of them were cautious along the way. If Konoha could send people into Kirigakure-controlled territory, Kirigakure could just as easily send people into Konoha-controlled territory.
If they ran into the enemy and could take them, everything would be fine. But if they couldn't, they'd be "dying before their lord's cause was half finished, only to fall beside the horses in the stable."
They were in luck and didn't encounter any enemies along the way.
By evening, they found a cave and prepared to get some rest. Unless something unexpected happened, they would officially enter Kirigakure-controlled territory the next day.
"Captain, how do you plan to handle this mission?"
Sitting in the pitch-black cave, Shiranui Genma leaned against the stone wall, a Senbon dangling from his mouth as he asked curiously.
They were already close to the area controlled by Kirigakure. They didn't dare light a fire, but fortunately, they were all shinobi, and the weather wasn't that cold, so none of them minded.
"I haven't figured out the details yet, but this mission really won't be easy." Uchiha Sou glanced at Might Guy, who was standing guard outside, before answering.
"Yeah. The most troublesome part is that, according to the mission briefing, the targets are really far apart."
Shiranui Genma spoke with a Senbon between his teeth, sounding rather dispirited.
"Even if we attack those locations, it'll take us a long time to get there. And we don't know what's happening behind the lines, since we're not in contact with the other teams."
On enemy territory, they had to maintain radio silence, which also meant they couldn't know how the other teams were doing.
After all, if they were captured and couldn't withstand the Great Memory Recovery Jutsu, they might expose information about the other teams. Then they'd all be doomed together.
Uchiha Sou knew that too, and he looked rather troubled. But his unease didn't last long before his eyes suddenly lit up.
An intriguing idea had just occurred to him.
Before you continue