Genin · Chakra Rank Nine, Peak and Perfected · Half-Step to Chunin

[Uchiha Itachi's affection for you has increased to: Trust (actively seeking your company, sharing his thoughts, you will become close friends)]

[Genin trait draw opportunity +1]

[Worldline mission completed. Rewards automatically granted at the maximum limit: Permanent Trait · Robust Physique · Blue]

[Robust Physique: Greatly increases constitution, recovery, and chakra]

Seeing the rewards, Uchiha Kazuhiko nodded in satisfaction.

Although Itachi was a little nuts and tsundere, he was actually a pretty good kid.

He could be won over.

Of course, Comrade Shisui had done well too. He deserved special praise.

Most importantly, all the groundwork he'd laid early on had paid off and provided a solid foundation.

Shisui was the one with the "true Hokage Mindset" now. Itachi, just follow his lead.

The permanent [Robust Physique] trait required no equipment and appeared directly in his status panel.

[Permanent Traits: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique (Green), Chakra Perception Mastery (Blue), Genjutsu Mastery (Blue), Chakra Thickening (Green), Robust Physique (Blue)]

As the trait took effect—

The chakra in Kazuhiko's cells and meridians began to surge and boil.

A warm current seemed to pour down from his mind, flowing through his entire body and soaking into his cells, meridians, muscles, and even bones, silently nurturing something within him.

"Ah..."

The pleasant sensation made Kazuhiko shiver. He couldn't help but let out a moan.

He could clearly feel it—

His nerves were tingling with excitement, his cells growing tougher, and his muscles and bones slowly developing.

Just as the trait described, his body was becoming stronger.

The enhancement ended quickly. Kazuhiko examined himself in the mirror.

"I don't look all that different, but my muscles are much more defined. A textbook inverted triangle, and I'm a little bulkier..."

He lifted his shirt and ran a hand over his sharply defined abs, secretly pleased.

No one could refuse a body improving for the better, and Kazuhiko was no different.

"Too bad..."

Traits of the same kind couldn't stack. Otherwise, if he got a hundred or so [Robust Physique] traits, even Hashirama would have to shine his shoes!

Kazuhiko could understand why they couldn't stack.

After all, a stream of urine was 36°C. Pee ten streams and it still wouldn't reach 360°C and scald someone to death.

If you wanted a quantitative change to lead to a qualitative one, you'd have to pee an entire ocean and drown them.

[Chakra +0.2]—[Chakra: 0.7 cards]

"[Chakra Thickening] raised my chakra limit by 0.1 cards. [Robust Physique] enhanced my body and added another 0.2 cards of chakra. That's a pretty good boost."

"Numbers can't capture how strong I am!"

If he had to put a number to it, Kazuhiko estimated his attributes had improved by at least 0.6 this time.

After all, [Robust Physique] was just a general term.

Body strength, recovery, chakra capacity—all of them counted as part of the trait and could be enhanced.

With these three attributes combined, Kazuhiko's chakra output in battle would definitely exceed 0.7 cards.

And if he used outside aids like soldier pills, his combat ability would be even greater.

All that stood between Kazuhiko and becoming a Chunin was one Chunin Exam.

I'll take on ten!

Uchiha Kazuhiko felt terrifyingly strong.

Genin · Chakra Rank Nine, Peak and Perfected + Half-Step to Chunin. This state filled him with boundless confidence.

Bring on Hashirama!

After clinic hours ended, Kazuhiko took his graduation album and made a decision that went against his ancestors:

He was going to learn from Kurenai Yuhi.

That's right, he was shameless. He lusted after Kurenai Yuhi's—

Genjutsu (...).

Actually, Kazuhiko planned to give his genjutsu one last boost in preparation for awakening his Sharingan.

He had to work on their affection levels from both sides, of course.

His mother, Eri, knew Sharingan Genjutsu too, but learning Uchiha genjutsu had one prerequisite: the Sharingan.

So Kazuhiko couldn't even mooch off his mother right now.

If he wanted to improve his genjutsu in a short time, make the VR illusions more realistic, and get the best possible effect when Shota awakened his eyes, he'd have to cram at the last minute.

Exchanging experience and learning from a ninja who excelled at genjutsu was undoubtedly the best way to hone Kazuhiko's "spear" until it gleamed.

And Kurenai Yuhi, Konoha's leading genjutsu specialist, was unquestionably the best person outside the Uchiha to learn from.

Kazuhiko planned to ask his mother for mission funds and hire Kurenai Yuhi to teach him genjutsu.

There was just one problem: everyone's genjutsu was a clan technique, so there were restrictions on who could use it.

To hire Kurenai Yuhi and learn her clan's genjutsu, he would have to offer a technique of equal value in exchange and get approval from both clans.

Kurenai Yuhi was the only child in her family and its current head, so she owned the "rights" to all of her clan's techniques. That wouldn't be a problem.

Kazuhiko planned to trade the Uchiha's "Exclusive Genjutsu Seal," an amplification technique, for Kurenai's genjutsu.

But he only had the right to use the technique, not to teach it to others. The rights belonged to his mother, Eri.

Clan techniques were not to be taught lightly!

Private exchanges were punishable as treason!

To make an equal exchange with Kurenai Yuhi, he had to ask his mother and have it registered with the clan.

Although Eri spoiled Kazuhiko and let him enjoy a status second only to her and higher than the cats, she clearly wouldn't agree to this.

After all, the Uchiha were Konoha's foremost clan, and their Sharingan Genjutsu had struck fear throughout the Shinobi World. No one dared claim to be its equal.

Who in their right mind would trade an Earth-ranked genjutsu for one ranked Heaven, or even Mystery?

But there was always a way out.

Kazuhiko had already figured out how to persuade his mother. He'd ask her for mission funds and permission to share the secret technique as soon as he got home.

"Mom, you wouldn't want your son to spend his whole life alone, would you?"

At the center of the clan grounds, in Eri's little courtyard.

Uchiha Kazuhiko hurried home as soon as work was over, ready to dig in.

The square dining table was set with an elegant spread of two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes.

Uchiha Eri wore casual clothes and sat at the head of the table, eating watermelon with a wooden pick as if she owned the place.

Watermelon tasted best when you speared it with a wooden pick. The whole family agreed on that.

Of course, the head of the family, Eri, had guided them toward that consensus, while Hideki, the househusband, had handled the actual work.

Ninja Cat Black Charcoal was sprawled on a booster seat to the right. Its fur was pitch-black and glossy, its paws tucked beneath it as it dozed, tail swishing.

Black Charcoal was a traditional Ninja Cat. It ate fish, not fruit.

Uchiha Hideki had it worse on the other side. He wasn't at the table and was still busy in the kitchen.

One sniff told Kazuhiko that his father was cooking fish for Black Charcoal, preparing the last dish.

"Mom, having watermelon? That outfit you're wearing today..."

Eri raised a hand to stop Kazuhiko from continuing, focused on her watermelon without even glancing at her son.

"Just tell me how much you need."

Kazuhiko brightened. His mother was so domineering. He loved it.

Hideki overheard his wife and quietly pricked up his ears.

Black Charcoal didn't even open its eyes. Its tail kept swishing.

With Eri as its owner, and the freedom to take missions on its own without handing over the pay, it was in no way short of money.

Thinking about the money needed to hire a Jonin, Kazuhiko felt a little embarrassed for once.

"150,000 ryo should be enough."

"How much?!"

Hideki cried out in shock from the kitchen, his voice full of disbelief.

150,000 ryo?!

And it should be enough?!