Chen's plan had made Itachi somewhat suspicious too. But although Itachi already had his own ideas, he trusted his good friend Shisui more.
For that reason, Chen's plan had also won Itachi's approval.
"Ding! System notification: Limited-time mission activated.
Mission deadline: thirty days. Learn at least one B-rank jutsu of any of the five elements—earth, water, fire, wind, or lightning—within thirty days. Learn more than one B-rank jutsu to earn additional rewards.
Mission failure penalty: forcibly kiss Uchiha Shisui!"
(Shisui: Thanks, I guess? What the hell did I ever do to you?)
"System, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you? Never mind how difficult this limited-time mission is. What kind of penalty is that?
Have you finally awakened the soul of a fujoshi?
First it was Orochimaru, and now it's Shisui. What the hell are you planning to do next?"
"Try badmouthing me again, and see what happens. Believe it or not, I'll give you three days to learn an S-rank jutsu, and if you fail, you'll have to forcibly kiss the Daimyo of the Land of Fire's toes!"
"I..."
The words Chen had been about to say suddenly caught in his throat.
He had to admit, the system really knew how to get to him. It wasn't the first time Chen had wanted to kill her.
Unfortunately, he never got the chance.
Deeply annoyed, Chen fell silent. This mission was both difficult and not difficult; both simple and not simple.
B-rank jutsu were certainly hard to learn, but Chen believed a month would be enough.
The real question was, where could he get his hands on some jutsu?
Chen had received the mission on the third day. At first, he'd wanted to ask Itachi or Shisui.
But both of them were away on missions and weren't in the village.
"Fugaku really is something. His son just lost a teammate and a supervising jonin, and he still sends him on a mission. Are you even his real father?"
Chen grumbled helplessly. Shouldn't Itachi be allowed to stay home and get some comfort at a time like this?
Without Itachi or Shisui around, Chen had no idea where to find any jutsu. As he walked down the street, he picked a spot at random to sit and opened the system panel.
Host: Uchiha Chen Age: 4 (18) Abilities: Ninjutsu: Three Body Technique LV1, Great Fireball Technique LV3, Flame Bullet LV2, Phoenix Sage Fire Technique LV1, Dragon Flame Technique LV1, Fire Style Mastery LV1 Taijutsu: Basic Taijutsu LV1. Genjutsu: XXXXX. Item: Asauchi
Looking over the jutsu he knew, Chen saw that they were all Fire Style, but he was already doing pretty well.
"Should I learn Rasengan too? That thing has a lot of room to grow."
Chen was lost in thought when a small figure came over.
Since they were in Konoha, Chen hadn't been especially alert. He didn't notice the other person until she was right in front of him.
"Chen, thank you."
"Hinata, don't mention it. We're from the same village. It was only right to help."
"That's not all. If you hadn't talked to me about my problems, I might have stayed timid forever."
Hinata's personality really had begun to change. She hadn't transformed overnight, of course, but at least she had made a good start.
"That was your own effort. I didn't do much to help.
Did you come out to play today?"
Chen knew that children from powerful clans—especially the eldest daughter of the clan head, like Hinata—didn't have much time to themselves, even when they were young.
"Yes. I've made a lot of progress with Gentle Fist recently, so Father gave me some time off."
Hinata had actually had plenty of free time before, partly because she was still young, but mostly because Hyuga Hiashi had been disappointed with what he saw in her.
Hyuga Hiashi had once had high hopes for Hinata, but she was far too timid. Her personality had even played a part in Hanabi's birth.
But after what had happened, Hinata began to change noticeably. She wasn't so timid anymore, and she had always had plenty of talent. Hyuga Hiashi was very pleased, which was why Hinata now had much less time to play.
Even so, Hinata clearly preferred things this way to the disappointment she had seen in her father's eyes before.
"Congratulations."
"I have you to thank for all of this."
"It was nothing."
Seeing Hinata blushing, her little hands tapping together in front of her chest, Chen couldn't help feeling a little puzzled.
So he opened the system panel and checked the section on affection. Hinata's affection for him had already reached eighty.
That didn't necessarily mean she liked him romantically. Uchiha Izumi's affection for Chen was also over eighty, but hers was the kind of familial affection an older sister might feel for a neighbor boy—or even her own little brother.
But seeing Hinata like this, Chen couldn't help wondering if something else was going on.
"Hey, why are you calling me lecherous when you're the one starting to go after girls?
First Shion, and now Hinata.
You really are a lecher."
The system's voice rang out at just the right moment, and Chen could only stare back in disbelief.
"Chen, are you waiting for someone here?"
When Chen didn't say anything more, Hinata continued. She had changed so much from the timid little girl she had been before.
Come to think of it, the Hinata from the original story hadn't developed that personality in a day or two. Chen had appeared just as things were starting to go wrong and set them straight.
That was why Hinata had been able to change so quickly.
"Not really. I was just sitting here, lost in thought.
I want to learn some powerful jutsu, but I don't have any way to do it.
I'm from the Uchiha Clan, but I have access to very few jutsu."
Chen didn't hide anything. He really had been thinking about this.
"Well, um... If you don't mind, the Hyuga House has some jutsu in its collection. But I'll need to explain things to Father. Wait here."
Without waiting for Chen to reply, Hinata ran straight toward the Hyuga Clan compound.
"Is that really Hinata?
I don't think she's going to turn into the Hinata I remember."
"You really are a pervert. You're a grown man, and you're calling Hinata 'little Hina'? Isn't that disgusting?"
"Hey, system, I'm only a four-year-old kid right now. I just happen to have some extra memories.
And I only gave her a nickname. With all the weird rewards and bizarre punishments you've come up with, you're the pervert here, okay?"
Chen was at a loss. Somehow, everything became weird whenever the system got involved.
He'd only given her a nickname, and he'd only thought it to himself. How did that make him a pervert?
"You dare badmouth this system?
Believe it or not..."
The system suddenly let out a series of lecherous laughs.
"Hey, what are you planning?"
The system's lascivious laughter sent a chill down Chen's spine.
"Nothing. I'm just planning to grant your wish and issue a mission for you to bed Hinata.
How about it? Aren't you grateful? Come on, hurry up and submit to me! Hahaha..."
Before you continue