The system flashed a lecherous grin, leaving Chen utterly speechless.
But there was nothing he could do. Chen had no way to deal with this thing, and he was a little worried that if he said anything else, the system really would issue that kind of task.
If it were just a matter of completing a task, that would be fine. At least Chen still had the right to refuse.
But if this lousy system boxed him in from both sides, he'd be at a loss.
"Great System, I was wrong. Please don't issue that kind of task. I believe such an upstanding system wouldn't give me one."
Chen spoke against his conscience, and the system seemed quite pleased with how quickly he'd come around.
Chen had narrowly escaped disaster. Soon, Hinata returned carrying a good number of scrolls.
Since she didn't know Chen's nature, Hinata had brought ninjutsu scrolls of every nature, including several B-rank techniques.
"Won't your father scold you for bringing these?"
Ninjutsu was extremely precious to every clan, so Chen was a little concerned.
He did need ninjutsu, but it wouldn't be right to get Hinata into trouble over it.
"It's fine, Chen. These are all elemental Five Elements Release techniques. Our Hyuga Clan rarely practices them. These scrolls are actually spoils of war from past battles."
"Even so, I should thank you. Even if that's the case, I don't think Clan Head Hiashi would have given them to me without your help, Hinata."
Chen was very grateful for Hinata's help, and the two chatted for a while.
"Has Hinata changed a lot?"
Only after they parted did Chen mutter to himself. This Hinata was truly very different from the one he knew.
"Simply put, your arrival has changed the world. What you know may not necessarily be accurate anymore."
The system was unusually serious as it explained things to Chen, which surprised him.
"For example, Itachi originally awakened his Sharingan at eight, but now it happened when he was seven.
"As for Hinata, your words made her change earlier. In short, your actions are constantly affecting the world."
"Thanks a lot. I bet you're responsible for most of this, aren't you?
"Forget it. If things have changed, then they've changed. No matter how much the world changes, I'll still carry out my own plan."
Chen spoke to himself. He had already noticed some things; he just hadn't truly paid attention until now.
Carrying the ninjutsu scrolls, Chen returned to Training Ground Seven.
A month wasn't a short time, but Chen clearly didn't want to fail.
"Well, if it isn't Uchiha Sasuke, the bed-wetter.
"What are you doing out here today?
"By the way, are you wearing a diaper? If you wet yourself in public again, you might want to watch out. Someone could take away your little troublemaker."
"You! Don't make things up!"
"Make things up?
"So you weren't the one who wet his pants before?
"If I remember right, you're three, almost four. You're that old and still wetting your pants? If I were Itachi, I'd stay away from you too. Wouldn't want people saying I had a stupid little brother."
Chen didn't have a good impression of Sasuke, so he teased him as soon as he saw him.
But Sasuke, who was already very sensitive about this, once again had tears in his eyes.
Chen was even more exasperated. A real man didn't cry easily. Who went around crying at the drop of a hat?
Even if he was a little kid, crying all the time was really annoying.
"If you make one more sound, I'll tie you to a tree."
As he spoke, Chen took out a rope, looking ready to follow through.
At the sight of it, Sasuke quickly covered his mouth, but the tears kept streaming down uncontrollably.
Seeing Sasuke trying to cry without daring to make a sound, Chen found it rather amusing.
"Uchiha Sasuke, do you want to make your brother see you in a new light?"
"What does that mean?"
"Uh... It means getting Itachi to praise you and like you."
"Of course! Can you help me?"
"I could help you, but the process will be really hard. I wonder if you can stick with it."
Chen had suddenly gotten a mischievous idea. Since he disliked Sasuke, why not use this chance to give him some "elite training"?
The spider next door was having a great time, so Chen had come up with a similar idea.
"Hmph! There's no way I can't handle it!"
Sasuke saw Chen's disdain and immediately retorted, but he was so afraid of being tied to a tree that he took an involuntary step backward after saying it.
Trying to act tough at such a young age. Didn't he know that showing off could get you struck by lightning?
"Fine. Put this on first, then run laps around this training ground."
"Why?"
"To build your stamina, of course. A ninja without stamina is useless, no matter how powerful his ninjutsu is."
"But..."
"Does Itachi know you wet your pants? What do you think he'll do if he finds out..."
"I'll put it on!"
Under Chen's threat, Sasuke put on a tight green outfit and began running laps around Training Ground Seven.
Chen had assigned Sasuke three laps, and the whole training ground was a kilometer around.
For Sasuke, it was clearly no easy task.
"System, do you have anything that can control people directly? Something like a master-servant contract?"
"Not for now. After you complete this task, some other things will be unlocked, and you'll be able to exchange for them through me.
"But is it really necessary for that crybaby?"
"I was just asking."
Chen hadn't expected the system to have features that hadn't appeared yet, but that was good news too.
Ignoring Sasuke, Chen began practicing ninjutsu.
This task was to learn the B-rank Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.
As a B-rank technique, Fire Dragon Flame Bullet was just as effective as an A-rank technique. It was quite powerful; its only drawback was that it consumed a lot of chakra.
But that wasn't a problem for Chen, since his chakra reserves were already close to those of an elite jonin.
As he practiced the technique again and again, Chen found that his chakra control was becoming more precise.
"Ding! System notification: You have acquired the special ability Chakra Control LV1.
"Chakra Control LV1 reduces the chakra cost of all elemental ninjutsu by 2%. Each level increases the reduction by 2%. At LV10, the chakra cost of all elemental ninjutsu is reduced by 20%."
"Ding! System notification: Side quest unlocked—Train Uchiha Sasuke.
"Quest rewards will be granted according to the direction and intensity of the training. The host must submit the completed quest personally."
The system's voice rang out twice in succession, and the contents surprised Chen.
Chen didn't pay much attention to the side quest, but Chakra Control was clearly a very useful ability.
"System, you're finally not screwing me over. Tell me, what are you planning? Are you going to make me challenge the Third Hokage, or are you going to make me challenge Orochimaru?"
Having been tricked too many times, Chen felt vaguely uneasy. The system let out an exasperated "Tch."
Before you continue