Looking at his 13,000 points, Shin felt a pang of regret. He should have had 14,000.
The system had awarded him 1,000 points for the mission that exposed the mastermind, then another 3,000 for the second-stage escape mission. That added up to 4,000 points in rewards.
He had also killed five enemy Chunin himself, which should have earned him 5,000 points. But the Chunin he had planned to kill with an Explosive Tag was cut down by one of his own Elite Jonin, costing him the reward and 1,000 points.
Later, after escaping with Flying Thunder God, he killed an enemy Jonin and earned another 5,000 points, bringing his total to 13,000.
Shin had long since realized that, impressive as that many points seemed, they didn't go far at all. One S-Rank Ninjutsu was all they could buy, and he wouldn't have enough left for even a single A-Rank Ninjutsu.
He spent a long time thinking about what to exchange his points for. Now that he had Flying Thunder God, he was practically invincible when it came to either pursuing enemies or escaping them. The Rasengan was just about enough for offense. As for genjutsu, there weren't any good options. Tsukuyomi and Kotoamatsukami each cost 15,000 points because he only had Three Tomoe, and Kotoamatsukami even had a ten-year cooldown. What a rip-off.
As for Taijutsu, he could exchange points for the Eight Inner Gates. But considering his physique, and remembering how Rock Lee had trained from childhood only to struggle after opening three gates, he silently put that idea out of his mind. He'd wait until he had exchanged for a Sage Body before considering the Eight Inner Gates.
After thinking it over some more, he decided the Big Ball Rasengan wasn't necessary. With his current chakra control, he figured he could master it on his own before long if he studied it carefully.
"System, exchange for Shadow Clone."
"Shadow Clone, Rank B. Requires 1,000 points. Exchange?"
"Yes."
Watching his points drop by 1,000, Shin felt a warm current flow through his body and knew he had learned Shadow Clone.
Shadow Clone was one of the most useful B-Rank Ninjutsu. Created by the Second Hokage, it was practically an essential jutsu for traveling, killing, and getting away with it.
Decades later, in the era of the Five Great Nations, any shinobi who went out without knowing Shadow Clone would be embarrassed to even greet others.
In the original story, Naruto Uzumaki was constantly mocked for only knowing two moves: making Rasengan and Multi Shadow Clone. That wasn't too far from the truth.
Yet Naruto had relied on those two moves to defeat countless stronger opponents. Even if his success was partly due to plot armor, it still showed how powerful those techniques were.
Of course, Naruto used Multi Shadow Clone, an A-Rank Ninjutsu that demanded an enormous amount of chakra. Shin was confident in his own chakra reserves, but he didn't think they came close to Naruto's monstrous levels.
By his own estimate, if his chakra were measured using the original story's figures, it would be around seven. That meant he had a lot, but still had to ration it; he couldn't just spam jutsu without thinking.
He had no intention of exchanging points for a monstrous technique like Multi Shadow Clone.
With 12,000 points remaining, he spent another 2,000 to unlock Wind Release. That gave him both Wind and Fire affinities, but unfortunately, the Uchiha Clan had almost no Wind Release Ninjutsu.
He set aside the last 10,000 points for now. His own strength was still limited, and learning too many jutsu at once would only leave him unable to master any of them. Besides, keeping some points in reserve had its benefits. The system might suddenly go haywire again and give him a mission that sent him into a trap even though it knew one was waiting. Better to have points left over in case it needed to deduct them.
Besides, 15,000 points would be enough to exchange for a Mangekyo Sharingan ability, and he was still tempted by the idea.
When he opened his eyes, he had no idea how much time had passed. The little maid was still standing on his back. He smiled faintly. "All right, go to sleep."
The little maid jumped down and bowed to him. "Good night, Master." Then she left Shin's room.
He was alone in the room now. A few points of starlight spilled in through the window. He looked up at the brilliant moon and the countless stars filling the sky. They shone more brightly than anything in his previous life, and the sight was breathtaking.
Looking at the starry sky, Shin felt his mind grow calm.
Uchiha Tajima doesn't trust me anymore. There's no guarantee this won't happen again. If I reveal a new ability every time, he'll only grow more suspicious of me. In the end, I'm just not strong enough. If I were already at Kage Level, I could look for a chance to kill him. Even if I failed, I could still stand against him. For now, I need to focus on getting stronger. I can't stay with the clan much longer. Starting tomorrow, I'll volunteer for some missions, go out and hunt shinobi from other clans, and build up my points.
I also need to step up my Taijutsu training. Flying Thunder God works best when paired with strong Taijutsu.
And should I start building my own forces? The Uchiha Clan betrayed Madara in the original story, and after Konoha was founded, they might not be any more reliable.
These thoughts tangled together in his mind, but one thing was clear: he had to get stronger. After all, the Warring States Period was still a place where might made right.
Before he knew it, Shin had fallen asleep. The night passed without incident, and he woke up on time the next morning.
After the little maid helped him wash up and he had breakfast, he headed out. Before leaving, he told the little maid that he might take on a few missions and be gone for two or three days, and asked her to look after the house.
On his way out, he noticed the Heaven Cloud Sword still by the door. After a moment's thought, he took it with him. If he ran into a shinobi he could use for practice, he'd charge in and cut them down with Taijutsu. He'd only use ninjutsu if he couldn't beat them. That was the plan.
While it was still early, he went to the Martial Arts Arena. There were only a few people there. After practicing Taijutsu for a while, Uchiha children began arriving one after another. As soon as they saw him, they swarmed around him. Shin taught them some ninjutsu, then left before the crowd grew any larger.
Even in the morning, shinobi were moving all around the clan grounds, organizing various supplies. There was a sense that a storm was brewing. Shin knew this was a sign that war with the Hyuga was imminent.
But he had no intention of joining this war. One reason was that he wasn't strong enough yet. Another was that Uchiha Tajima no longer trusted him. Shin wasn't about to make a fool of himself by offering warmth to someone who'd turned cold.
Shin stepped into the Uchiha mission hall and looked around. At this hour, the great hall was almost empty. The floor was paved with slabs of greenish-black stone. Along both walls stood three supporting stone pillars, each with a reddish tint to its green surface and the Uchiha Clan's emblem painted on it.
He looked around and spotted an elderly clan member responsible for issuing missions, seated behind a desk. There was one about every thirty paces, nine in total. They were all different ages, but every one of them was disabled.
They were clan shinobi who had been injured on the battlefield. They had survived, but could no longer serve as shinobi, so the clan had assigned them to issue and settle missions. It was a way to make use of their remaining abilities.
This was the Warring States Period, and the Uchiha were one of the great clans of the Ninja World. Countless people came to hire their services every day, and the missions came in all kinds. Some wanted them as bodyguards, others wanted safe passage, and some hired them to assassinate targets or eliminate bandits. There was no shortage of variety.
Shin walked up to one of the mission clerks and asked, "Do you have any missions?"
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