Your Traits Are Great, but They're Mine Now

"Of course. That would be even better."

Qingyu smiled slightly and took out the roast chickens for Tsunade.

"You bought these too?"

Tsunade's eyes lit up.

Qingyu set a bundle wrapped in oiled paper on the coffee table.

He unfolded the paper, revealing several roast chickens still steaming, their skins baked golden brown.

"Mm. I had some allowance left over. Besides, you've been so good to me, Tsunade."

Qingyu said it without batting an eye.

It was true enough.

He really did have more spending money than Tsunade had cash on hand.

After all, Qingyu wasn't burdened with debt.

Tsunade, on the other hand, was saddled with an astronomical debt, an amount equal to all the royalties Jiraiya had earned from his books.

Jiraiya would become a bestselling author in the Land of Fire, with works that ranked among the most popular in the entire Shinobi World. One of them would even be adapted into a movie.

The fact that all that money was equal to the amount she owed gave some idea of just how enormous her debt was.

Tsunade froze for a moment. She hadn't expected this little brat to be so filial.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

The buxom Tsunade reached over and vigorously ruffled Qingyu's head, messing up his black hair before finally withdrawing her hand with satisfaction. Then she picked up a roast chicken and took a bite.

Qingyu's eyelid twitched as he watched. Those two globes were bouncing. Honestly, Tsunade had a supermodel's figure.

Not only did she have the 106-inch bust Jiraiya had vouched for, but she was also curvy in all the right places, without a single flaw.

"What are you looking at, brat?"

Tsunade noticed Qingyu staring at her. She took a bite of the chicken and spoke.

A faint sheen of oil on her soft lips made them look even redder.

"Nothing."

Qingyu hurriedly shook his head, not wanting to end up like Jiraiya.

"This place is pretty good. Where did you buy these?"

Tsunade remarked.

When it came to eating chicken, she was a true expert.

"A new place that opened by the school gate."

"Fine. No need to cook dinner tonight."

Tsunade waved her hand grandly.

She'd noticed Qingyu had bought several chickens, enough for three people to have for dinner.

Seeing this, Qingyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

That had been his goal.

In this household, Tsunade was the undisputed boss.

Not because she was bossy, but because she simply never did any housework. She couldn't even be bothered to bend down and boil water.

So, the cooking and other chores usually fell to Qingyu and Shizune.

Shizune was the little maid, and he was the little houseboy.

In the original story, Shizune followed Tsunade everywhere, serving tea, pouring water, and cleaning up her messes—a life of constant toil. Now there was just one more person in the household to share the chores.

Trading a few roast chickens for an evening off from cooking was an excellent deal.

Another half month passed.

The morning mist hadn't completely lifted, but people were already out on Konoha's streets.

Qingyu was jogging laps, breathing evenly with steady steps.

Over the past half month, he'd picked up a new habit: following a systematic exercise routine.

The Senju Clan's constitution was naturally stronger than most, but not strong enough to coast on its advantages.

Even Asura, the Sage of Six Paths' own son, had been beaten down by Indra in his youth. It was only after grueling training that he caught up.

Bloodline determined the upper limit, but sweat was what raised the lower one.

Qingyu knew perfectly well that the future belonged to Senjutsu and Taijutsu.

Flashy Ninjutsu could let someone dominate for a time, but in the end, anyone whose physical strength couldn't keep up would have to leave the high-level arena.

Take all the Space–Time Ninjutsu that appeared later on. If your body wasn't strong enough, then even if your Sharingan could follow what was happening, your body still wouldn't keep up.

It was like Sasuke, who'd been confident he could use his Mangekyō Sharingan against Killer B, only to get completely outclassed and nearly lose.

"Another beautiful day!"

Might Guy ran over from the other end of the track, both hands held high. His booming voice startled a whole flock of birds from the trees.

His green jumpsuit stood out in the morning light, and two rows of teeth shone beneath his thick eyebrows.

Qingyu nodded to him.

"Yeah."

[Detected collectible trait: Stamina Regeneration]

[D-Rank Trait: Stamina Regeneration]

[Effect: Slightly accelerates stamina recovery, increasing it by 20%.]

Qingyu raised his eyebrows slightly, feeling a gentle warmth spread through his limbs.

"Phew..."

Qingyu let out a breath, and he could clearly feel the muscles in his legs, which had been aching and tight, suddenly ease up, as if someone had lifted half their weight off him.

Another trait dropped.

Over the past half month, he'd kept up his morning exercise, and he'd been running into Might Guy on the track more and more often.

He didn't know whether Guy's youthful spirit was simply too intense or his own training had finally crossed the system's threshold, but this was the second trait he'd collected from him.

The first one had been [Skin and Flesh Durability], another D-Rank Trait. Its effect was that basic physical training no longer caused minor injuries.

Qingyu could clearly feel the benefits of the two traits working together.

After intense training, he used to feel tiny tears in his skin and muscles that took time to heal.

Now he could train harder and still take more wear and tear than before. One night's rest was enough to leave him full of energy again.

Stamina, recovery, and resistance to wear and tear—together, these meant he could train longer and harder than other people.

It was a miracle that Might Guy's punishing physical training left no lasting injuries.

If you couldn't complete five hundred laps walking on your hands, you had to do five hundred push-ups. If you couldn't finish those, you had to do five hundred finger push-ups.

If an ordinary ninja kept up with Might Guy's daily training, they'd wreck their knees before they ever became strong.

And this was still the amount Guy trained every day when he was only six or seven years old.

That was actually where Might Guy's greatest talent lay.

A body that could train without accumulating hidden injuries, combined with superhuman willpower, was what made it possible to master the final gate of the Eight Inner Gates.

People like him were born for Taijutsu.

Still, Qingyu was looking forward to seeing what he could do.

Your traits are great, but they're mine now.

Everyone's traits would become Qingyu's nourishment. Even he didn't know how strong he'd eventually become.

After saying goodbye to Might Guy, Qingyu stopped to buy breakfast on his way home.

One portion was for Shizune and one was for Tsunade.

Lazybones like Tsunade usually got up late. As for Shizune, she'd run with Qingyu for a while at first but eventually gave up, unable to keep it up.

Qingyu didn't push her. After all, Shizune was a commoner by blood, albeit from a family that had inherited a secret technique: the Spirit Transformation Technique.

However, the technique was related to the soul and the mind, and did nothing to train the body. That was why Dan Katō had been killed in a sneak attack when he was completely defenseless.

Soon, it was time for another monthly exam.

This time, unlike the first monthly exam, they wouldn't be using a practical test.

The Chunin instructors had realized that the gap between the students' abilities was simply too wide, so they decided to start with theory.

"Almost came in first."

Qingyu looked at the rankings and rubbed his chin.

His traits were kicking in, making him learn anything at a rapid pace. That meant Kakashi was at risk of being overtaken by him.

Kakashi looked at the rankings too, and felt the pressure.

[Detected collectible trait: Genius Crisis Sense]

[D-Rank Trait: Genius Crisis Sense]

[Effect: When a genius of equal standing is nearby, one's own insight temporarily increases.]