Balance of Fate

A flood of information poured into Uchiha Xian's mind, leaving his brain frozen for a long while. It took him quite some time to sort through everything.

There was a lot of information, but once he stripped away the empty boasts, it boiled down to a few points.

Life, luck, souls, supernatural abilities, skills, and more could all be weighed, and every exchange had its price.

The Balance of Fate followed the principle of equivalent exchange. It cheated neither the young nor the old.

Each item could be traded only once.

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Each transaction cost 1,000 reputation points.

"Hmph! At least it's pretty down-to-earth."

The moment the Balance of Fate appeared, Uchiha Xian had been marked by it.

He spent a while studying his Golden Finger, then opened his personal status.

[Host: Uchiha Xian]

[Life: 10]

[Spirit: 14]

[Skills: Sharingan, Uchiha Swordsmanship, Water Binding Technique, Water Prison Technique.]

[Available for Trade: Vitality, Fortune, Sharingan, Water Binding Technique, Water Prison Technique.]

[Reputation: 1027]

"Life" represented everything related to physical energy.

"Spirit" represented mental energy.

(The average life and spirit values for a Genin were 10.)

That was right. Xian was an oddity among the Uchiha Clan. The chakra natures he had awakened were Water, Earth, and Wind.

He lacked the Lightning and Fire natures possessed by most of his clan members.

For the past few years, he had barely managed to learn two Water Release Ninjutsu by leeching off Elder Yashiro.

Thinking it over, the Great Elder giving up on him didn't seem so—

Like hell!

Those short-sighted fools couldn't see how excellent he was.

After grumbling to himself, he turned his attention back to the Balance of Fate.

First, he tried placing Water Binding Technique on one side of the scales with his mind. The tray sank by an almost imperceptible amount.

A ball of light appeared on the other side, and Xian immediately grasped what it represented.

"Exchange for 1 'Spirit' point?"

He chose no, then repeated the process with Water Prison Technique.

The Balance of Fate offered one attribute point for that, too.

He refused again.

After tinkering with it for a while, he had a basic understanding of how his Golden Finger worked.

He closed the interface and frowned, considering how to make the most of the Balance of Fate.

First, he ruled out vitality, soul, and fortune. There was no need to say more about those... They were traps.

The two Water Release Ninjutsu he had left—one D-rank, one C-rank—were valued equally by the Balance of Fate.

It seemed the two techniques had no fundamental difference.

As for techniques like the Three Body Technique, they weren't even eligible to be weighed.

Given his current situation, he had been forced into the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha High Command. One wrong move, and he'd be doomed.

That was the price of leeching off the clan. There was no way around it.

From now on, he had to prove his worth and make himself important enough to attract serious attention. That was the only way he might break out of this predicament.

So one or two attribute points were a drop in the bucket. They wouldn't help him nearly as much as he'd hoped.

He should give up on them.

Besides, it was currently the forty-seventh year of Konoha. If he remembered correctly, the Third Shinobi World War was about to begin.

How could he survive without strength?

To be honest, he wasn't a true genius, and he had no idea how to evolve his Sharingan.

With danger right before him, there was no time to wait for help from afar. He had to make a decisive choice.

With that in mind, Uchiha Xian made his final decision.

He opened the system again.

Without hesitation, he placed his Sharingan on the Balance of Fate.

This time, the scales sank far lower than before, then slowly returned to equilibrium.

"Talent: Water Element Mastery (Beginner). Can be advanced to the ultimate level to refine all the waters under heaven. Passive: Increases Life by 10 points."

Uchiha Xian's eyes gleamed. He strongly suspected this was a divine skill tailor-made for him.

Both its active and passive effects were exactly what he needed most right now.

He took a deep breath.

After a brief pause, Xian silently thought, Yes!

An indescribable force descended. His eyes turned icy cold, and before he could react, wisps of energy seemed to flow into him from the depths of the void.

Xian felt as if he had returned to the beginning of life.

He felt himself immersed in some unknown spiritual liquid.

A sudden understanding welled up within him. He seemed to become a drop of water, rising into the sky as vapor under the sun's rays, crossing mountains and rivers, condensing into raindrops, then falling to the earth and becoming a stream.

Streams joined to form rivers, and those rivers became mighty waterways, their currents finally pouring into the vast blue ocean.

As Uchiha Xian sat with his eyes closed, comprehending the nature of water, his skill list quietly changed along with his growing understanding of the water element.

The two Water Release Ninjutsu gradually fused, eventually becoming a single technique.

"Water Python Technique."

No one knew how much time had passed. When Xian opened his eyes, a clear spring seemed to glimmer within them.

The world appeared more vivid than ever before.

He sat cross-legged on the ground, his hands forming an unfamiliar seal.

Wisps of mist slowly enveloped him. From a distance, he seemed to be sitting in a pale blue haze.

Xian had shaken off his former weakness. Chakra flowed forth endlessly, and his body, like parched land, was finally receiving a thorough soaking.

That wasn't all.

His newly formed chakra was more lively, as if it had gained a trace of life. He could control it with far greater ease.

How could he describe it? He had never felt so good. It was as if he had endless strength, and even lightly clenching his fist made him feel like he could crush the air.

Of course, he knew it was an illusion caused by his sudden increase in power.

With a thought, his status panel appeared. It had changed again.

His "Life" attribute had risen to 20. He had spent 1,000 reputation points and had 27 left.

Xian walked into the courtyard, thinking about what to do next.

"Misfortune is where good fortune leans. Look at the same thing from a different angle, and you'll often get a different answer. Assassinate Minato! Maybe I can do it this way..."

Uchiha Xian came to a stop.

"Next, I'll test the results."

A full moon hung high in the night sky. Beneath its light, the boy stood with a sword in hand.

The wind rose.

At the same spot, his afterimage slowly faded as he appeared ten meters away.

A flash brighter than moonlight flickered and vanished. Xian had already appeared on the other side of the courtyard, sheathing his sword.

"Hahahahaha..."

The boy clutched his forehead and laughed.

Such behavior was common in the Uchiha Clan's compound, so it drew no particular attention.

At nine the next morning, bright sunlight spilled across the village.

Konoha's busiest shopping street was bustling.

Shopkeepers had opened early, and pedestrians streamed past in both directions.

Shinobi were people, too. Many took advantage of their rare days off to go shopping with family and friends.

To be fair, few places in the entire Ninja World could boast such a lively scene. Konoha happened to be one of them.

By a bridge at the roadside, a boy set up a stall selling wooden carvings.

He had chosen a good spot. From there, he could see the entire street, and every passerby walked past his stall.

Before long, a crowd of children surrounded it.

"Big brother, what did you carve?"

A little girl pointed at Optimus Prime and asked Uchiha Xian with wide-eyed innocence.

"This is a Puppet."

Xian's answer was very much like a shinobi's.

"What about this one?"

The girl pointed at a Shinnosuke Nohara doll.

"This one..."

Xian thought for a moment.

"He's incredibly powerful. With a single Concept Ninjutsu, he can defeat everyone under heaven."

"No, no! The Hokage is obviously the strongest."

The little girl stared at him with wide eyes, her expression saying he was wrong.

The children around her all agreed.

"Exactly! The Hokage is the strongest."

"That's right! My dream is to become Hokage."

"That's a wonderful dream."

Xian was only nine himself, but at that moment he acted like a very mature person.

Why was he here? Of course, it was because the Great Elder had given him a difficult assignment.

Assassinate Minato? What kind of moron would come up with that idea?

He could complain all he wanted, but he had still come.

Would the final result satisfy Elder Yashiro? Who knew?

Come to think of it, what was the hardest part about assassinating Minato?

First, he had to meet Minato.

Given Xian's current status, he didn't even have a chance to appear in front of him. That wasn't a joke; it was the bare truth.

However, since the Great Elder had given him the mission, Minato must have returned to the village.

According to the timeline, he and Kushina were passionately in love at this point.

With that in mind, Uchiha Xian took out the wooden carving he had just finished the day before—a chibi Kurama—and quietly set it on the stall.

He didn't mind running a stall. He could temper his mind through the bustle of the world while he was at it—a win all around.

Not everyone felt the same way.

Two members of the Uchiha Military Police Force stared at Xian's stall, their eyes practically blazing.

"Are we really going to let him keep disgracing the Uchiha here?"

The Military Police Force was responsible for law and order in Konoha. In busy areas especially, two Uchiha members were assigned to patrol at all times.

"What can we do? He's one of the Great Elder's people."

Uchiha Keitai disliked seeing Xian, too, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Uchiha Tekka had wanted to pick a fight with Xian for a long time.

Why?

Why did a useless guy like him have the Great Elder's favor?

"No. We can't let him keep damaging the Uchiha's reputation. Even if it means risking the Great Elder's displeasure, I'm going to teach him a lesson today and make him understand... The name Uchiha must never be insulted."

Tekka stormed toward the stall.

Uchiha Keitai shrugged and followed him.

He wasn't stupid. Of course he knew why Tekka was doing this, but blood was thicker than water, and he was happy to let it happen.

The two crossed the street. When they were a dozen meters from the stall, Tekka suddenly stopped and asked in surprise,

"Why is that lord here?"

Keitai followed his gaze and saw that it really was that lord.

The sun climbed overhead, then gradually moved west.

Fewer and fewer people stopped to buy Uchiha Xian's wooden carvings.

He had been about to take a nap when two figures stopped in front of his stall, blocking the slanting sunlight.

He looked up.

Uchiha Xian smiled.

All his effort had paid off. He had finally waited for them.

Minato Namikaze and Kushina.

Minato hadn't yet earned the title of Yellow Flash, but Xian knew that anyone who became his opponent would be wise to sleep with one eye open from then on.

His skill set was so overpowered there was no counter.

"Hey, shopkeeper! Did you carve this fox?"

Kushina pretended to be casual as she crouched down, picked up the chibi Kurama from the stall, and asked bluntly.

"Oh, you mean this Nine-Tails? I carved it."

Xian's honesty made Kushina pause.

Minato's expression didn't change. He studied Xian for a moment, then asked in confusion, "Which clan are you from? How did you learn about the Tailed Beasts?"

Uchiha Sen was dressed casually today, so Minato's question was understandable.

"You might not believe me, but I came here today specifically to wait for you two. Could I have a word with you somewhere more private?"

The two exchanged a glance. Minato grew a little more interested in the eloquent young man before him.

"All right. There's a barbecue place not far ahead. Let's go there and talk over a meal."

"Very generous of you, as expected of Lord Minato."

Xian offered him a quick compliment.

"Of course, I won't eat for free. Here, this wooden carving is for you both."

He took a carving of Minato and Kushina's wedding from his bag and handed it to the red-haired woman.

Kushina took it, and the more she looked at it, the more she liked it. She patted Xian on the shoulder.

"You're a thoughtful kid, aren't you?"

Not bad. Things were going smoothly so far.

A few minutes later, in a private room at the Barbie-Q BBQ, Xian got straight to the point.

"Lord Minato, someone hired me to assassinate you..."