Unknown Bloodline

"Do you think that just defeating a clone of a fraction of Kaguya-hime's essence means you'll get all her abilities?

Young man, I advise you to quit while you're ahead. Don't reach for the stars or sit around daydreaming..."

"Hm???!!! Chuuni, are you sure you want to talk to me in that tone?"

"Ahem. Anyway, you're pretty lucky. If it weren't for that woman just now, your bloodline would've killed you."

"Huh? My bloodline? I have a bloodline too? Right, my stats said 'unknown bloodline.' What's that?"

"I don't know. I can only access information about this world right now, so I can't figure out what your bloodline is.

"But luckily, your bloodline is very powerful. It can integrate any beneficial changes. Simply put, it gives you the ability to adapt.

"But it only works at a superficial level, making slight changes to your bloodline. That means you're still you, and your DNA hasn't changed.

"The bad news is that when your bloodline adapts and changes, it needs a huge amount of energy. If not for her just now, your own bloodline would've sucked you dry."

"Huh? That can happen? Tsunade..."

Thinking about how Tsunade had looked just now, Shangguan Yue felt a warm current well up inside him. This makes it a lot harder to break off the engagement!

"You still want to break off the engagement? That's heartless. After what she just did, she'll have lost years off her life."

"So what?"

"You... It seems sacrificing your luck with women is no big deal to you. With a mouth like that, tsk, tsk, tsk."

"Chuuni? If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all!!!"

"Forget it. Shut up. I'll see for myself. You can go now."

"Yeah, yeah. Such a tsundere."

If anyone had seen the two of them bickering, they would've died laughing. Together, they were only ten years old, and the sight of them arguing was both amusing and exasperating.

Feeling the unfamiliar sensation within his body, Shangguan Yue sensed an inexplicable prompting and suddenly murmured, "Amenominakanushi~"

His body instantly went limp. He fell face-first and skidded along the ground, his butt sticking up as he lay there, unable to move.

"Chuuni, what's going on? Get out here and save me!"

Chuunibyou God floated in midair and pointed at Shangguan Yue, laughing hysterically.

"That's quite a unique pose. Don't move. I'm going to record this."

With a casual wave of his hand, Chuunibyou God made portrait after portrait appear in the air. "You little—just you wait!"

"Ahem. I'm heading back for now. Don't call me unless you need something. I'm busy. You'll recover soon, so just wait.

"We gained a lot this time, and the other party is upset. I need to fix the bug. You can't use the Balance right now. I'll let you know when I've fixed it. Bye~"

Watching Chuunibyou God vanish right in front of him, Shangguan Yue was so furious his back teeth nearly cracked from clenching.

But gradually, an inexplicable warmth spread through his body, and he began to recover. Shangguan Yue got to his feet and rubbed his aching joints.

"Phew, I'm alive again. So this is the Sage Body? It heals that fast!"

Now that he'd recovered, Shangguan Yue glanced around. "Huh? Where's Amenominakanushi? Why's there nothing here?"

"Give it a rest. With your body that weak, you'd have been drained dry if not for the Sage Body."

"Chuuni, get out here! I haven't settled the score with you yet."

"Chuuni? That's it. You can hide like a coward, but don't ever come back out!"

When there was no response, Shangguan Yue continued experimenting with his body. "Looks like the Sage Body is the biggest gain from this. It's only at the beginner level, but that's good enough."

Feeling full of energy, Yue ran around the courtyard. "Woohoo! This feels amazing. I've never felt this good before."

"My strength, speed, stamina—everything. It's like my body has been broken down and rebuilt, freed from all its shackles."

Unable to sleep, Yue started testing his body.

"One, two... two hundred... one thousand..."

His arms trembled as he slowly lowered and raised himself, doing push-ups. His body's recovery gradually kept pace with his fatigue.

Each push-up gave him a faint sense that his body was growing stronger. He was enthralled, unable to stop. By then, the ground beneath him was already soaked with sweat.

The bright moon hung high in the sky, bathing the courtyard in moonlight. On that quiet night, Shangguan Yue kept pushing himself until his body was utterly spent.

Only then did he use the sky as a blanket and the ground as his bed. Fighting to keep his eyes open, he gazed at the full moon, the burning intensity in his eyes undimmed.

"Kaguya-hime, come on. I'll be waiting."

"Chirp, chirp." The early birds had already begun foraging. Shangguan Yue was still bleary-eyed when someone shook him awake.

"Who is it...? Oh, Granny, what are you doing here?"

"And you have the nerve to ask! Why are you sleeping on the ground? Look at the dew on your face. Go wash up, then come eat at my place. I've been waiting for ages."

"Sumimasen! I'll be right there."

After Yue disappeared, Granny looked at the mess around her, her expression worried. "Sigh. It seems Yue is destined to walk this path after all."

"Granny, sorry to keep you waiting. Let's go eat. I'm starving."

Shangguan Yue hurried over on his short legs, then took Granny's hand and went back to her house. The moment he sat down, he couldn't hold back.

Smelling the food, Shangguan Yue grabbed his bowl and wolfed down his rice. "Hey, easy, easy. Yue, slow down."

Yue raised his bowl. "I'm done. I want more."

Granny took it and filled it again. "All done already?"... "All done?"... "..."

As Yue went through bowl after bowl, Granny grew worried. She pulled him into her arms, felt his stomach, and looked him over. "Yue, are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I feel great."

Yue jumped down from Granny's lap and started practicing his punches on the ground. "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" The air cracked around him.

"See, Granny? I'm fine."

"But you used to eat only one bowl of rice. Now you've eaten enough for the whole day, and... and..."

"Granny, little Yue's growing, so I need to eat more."

"Is that so?" Granny looked at the empty rice pot, sorrow showing in the corners of her eyes.

Seeing Granny fall silent, Yue looked at the empty pot and fell silent too. A moment later, he said, "Granny, I'm really strong now. I'll go catch some fish later, so don't worry."

Granny looked at Yue anxiously. "Are you sure you can do that? You're still so young."

"Don't worry. I'm a genius. Don't forget where I come from.

"I'm starting to get stronger now, and I'll enroll next year. This is just my training.

"Granny, you should eat too, before the food gets cold."

"All right, all right."

"Granny, I'm going to exercise now. Wait for me at home."

Shangguan Yue opened the door and dashed off. Granny opened her mouth as if to say something, then fell silent. After a long while, she sighed and continued eating.

Shangguan Yue left the house and walked down the street, his head hanging.

"Sigh, what should I do? If I keep training with this appetite, I'll eat through all our savings. Granny already has a hard enough time raising me on her own. I can't burden her more."

"Ow! Who was that?"

Shangguan Yue was knocked to the ground. He pushed himself up, dusted himself off, and looked ahead.

"Hm? Tsunade, what are you doing here?"