Su Bai feigned contemplation and let out a sigh.
"Since you two insist on asking, I'll tell you. After all, we're good friends."
"Mm-hmm, tell us quickly!"
"That's right, Su Bai, hurry up and say it!"
The curiosity of the two girls was completely piqued. Seeing this, Su Bai smiled. "Watch closely, and don't be too surprised!"
With that, he abruptly activated his Sharingan!
Instantly, his irises turned scarlet, and a tomoe-shaped pattern appeared within them, looking incredibly mysterious.
"Th-this is..."
"Sharingan!"
"Haha, surprised, right? I'm a Kekkei Genkai Ninja too!" Su Bai deactivated his Sharingan, waiting for them to show expressions of "admiration."
However, instead of admiring him, the girls' expressions shifted drastically, becoming incredibly grave as they stared at him intently!
Sensing that something was wrong, Su Bai asked with a puzzled look, "What's wrong with you two?"
He wondered, Is it that people who awaken a Kekkei Genkai like the Sharingan are so rare that it shocked them?
Xia Xueqing and Chang Rui exchanged glances, both seeing a trace of... pity in the other's eyes.
"Xueqing, you tell him. I just hope Su Bai won't be too devastated." Chang Rui sighed, losing her appetite.
Xia Xueqing nodded, looked at Su Bai, and said softly, "Su Bai, please don't get nervous about what I'm about to tell you."
"Nervous?" Su Bai was stunned. Why would he be nervous? It was just a Sharingan.
Seeing his reaction, Xia Xueqing shook her head. "Su Bai, you must have been unable to find any information about the Sharingan online, right?"
"Huh? Now that you mention it, I hadn't noticed." Su Bai nodded.
"That's exactly it!" Xia Xueqing continued. "Information on the Sharingan is blocked by the Federation government; you wouldn't be able to find it as a student. But that's not the main point. The point is that every Ninja who knows about it calls the Sharingan the 'Cursed Eye!'"
Cursed Eye?
Su Bai was bewildered and immediately asked for the reason. "What do you mean?"
Xia Xueqing glanced at Chang Rui, who said in a low voice, "Tell him. He has to face it eventually."
"Mm." Xia Xueqing nodded and uttered a sentence that shocked Su Bai!
"The reason the Sharingan is called the Cursed Eye is that every single Ninja who has awakened this Kekkei Genkai has gone insane!"
"They all went insane? Without exception?"
"As far as I know, yes." Xia Xueqing looked at him with sympathy. "Although the Sharingan is very powerful—even more powerful than my Byakugan—it requires too much mental energy. No Ninja can withstand it!"
"You know about genjutsu, right? That requires mental energy; the stronger the mental energy, the more realistic the genjutsu effect."
"However, the Sharingan requires exponentially more mental energy than genjutsu, which leads to Ninja being unable to bear the side effects and inevitably going insane!"
"So... Su Bai, you... sigh!" Xia Xueqing let out a heavy sigh, her pure white eyes filled with worry!
"Mental energy? It's just as I thought." Su Bai smiled after hearing this.
For others, the mental pressure brought by the Sharingan might be unbearable, but for him, there was nothing to worry about!
Because he had a system, he could add points to his Yin Attribute to enhance his mental energy!
Thinking of this, Su Bai gave the two girls a confident smile. "Don't worry, I will absolutely not become a madman."
"Besides, Xueqing, you're wrong about one thing: your Byakugan definitely has more potential than the Sharingan!"
The Byakugan, if one follows the original work, is the ancestor of all eyes!
"It's over, this guy has been scared silly and is starting to babble. Xueqing, I advise you to leave him early, so you won't be heartbroken when he goes crazy later." Chang Rui curled her lips, taking the opportunity to "hit" Su Bai.
For once, Xia Xueqing didn't feel shy. She felt sorry for Su Bai and decided to go home and ask her father if there was any way to help!
"Su Bai, don't worry too much. I'll go back and ask my father if there's any way to help you deal with the Sharingan."
At the entrance of the Monster BBQ Restaurant, Xia Xueqing was being pulled away by Chang Rui, but she turned back to comfort Su Bai.
"Alright, he's not going to die anytime soon, we should head back." Chang Rui said helplessly.
Seeing the girls so concerned for him, Su Bai felt deeply moved.
"Don't worry, Xueqing, I'll be fine."
"You and Rui, be safe on the way. I'm heading back too."
"Mm, we're leaving." Xia Xueqing nodded, though the trace of worry remained in her pure white eyes.
After bidding farewell to the two girls, Su Bai patted his backpack, gathered his spirits, and started running toward home!
"My physical training starts right now!"
It was already past 9:00 PM, the buses had stopped running, and a taxi was too expensive, so Su Bai decided to run home.
Whether it was the battle with Wen Yuanyuan or sparring with those Ninja in the prison, today's events made one thing clear to Su Bai: knowing Ninjutsu alone is not enough; he must possess powerful Taijutsu.
This world is different from the original work; Ninja are no longer "specialized" monsters with high attack but low defense, but rather individuals capable of all-around development.
As far as he knows, once Taijutsu training reaches a certain level, the body undergoes exponential strengthening, becoming many times stronger than a Ninja who has never trained in it.
Furthermore, a stronger physique naturally accelerates the refinement of chakra, which is truly killing two birds with one stone.
Physical fitness... it should be related to the Yang Attribute, but I won't know for sure until I unlock it later.
Now that I have two D-rank Ninjutsu, all that's left is to train.
The college entrance exam is in six days. I'd better master these two Ninjutsu within this timeframe. Completing the task will grant me ten usable attribute points—that's no small sum.
On the road, Su Bai pondered while running, covering over two kilometers in just a short while.
Yet, he was neither red-faced nor out of breath. This was the benefit of chakra subtly altering his physical constitution, further convincing him that dual-cultivating Taijutsu was the right path.
Su Bai was well aware of how monstrous the forbidden technique Eight Inner Gates was.
Although he hadn't yet learned about the Eight Inner Gates of this world... it was, after all, the Ninjutsu that nearly kicked the finale into existence in the hands of Might Guy!
He believed that as long as it existed in this world, it would not disappoint him. Training his Taijutsu now was laying the foundation for practicing the Eight Inner Gates in the future.
With his schedule for the next few days set, Su Bai stopped overthinking and suddenly accelerated, sprinting toward home.
Four hours later, Su Bai finally reached the bottom of his apartment building, drenched in sweat and exhausted to the point of collapse.
"Damn it, I can't just exercise so recklessly next time."
One must walk step by step and eat one bite at a time; Su Bai understood the principle that too much is as bad as too little.
After catching his breath for a while, Su Bai headed upstairs.
Creak.
He pushed the door open carefully, not wanting to disturb his parents, but he froze the moment he stepped inside.
His parents and younger sister were sitting in the room without a word, seemingly waiting for him.
"Dad, Mom, Little Sister, why aren't you asleep yet at this hour?"
"We were all waiting for you." Lin Xiu'e walked up to take the backpack from his hands, looking at him with a meaningful gaze.
Su Bai slapped his forehead, immediately realizing why.
At the police station, the officers had confiscated his personal belongings, and later, when he retrieved the backpack from his parents, they must have seen the Ninjutsu Scroll inside.
A Ninjutsu Scroll is worth at least a million Federal Coin; given his parents' honest nature, they were undoubtedly worried he had obtained it through illegal means.
"Haha, you're worried about this, right?" Su Bai took the Hell Viewing Technique and Body Flicker Technique scrolls out of his backpack and placed them on the table.
"Exactly!" Lin Xiu'e pulled him down to sit with a stern expression. "Xiaobai, tell me the truth—where did these two things come from!"
"That's right. Your mother and I have been worried all night. If you don't explain clearly, we won't be able to sleep."
"That's right, Brother. Xiaoxiao is very worried too." Su Xiaoxiao stared with her lifeless eyes, groping the table to move closer to Su Bai.
She had heard from her parents today that her brother had been arrested. Although they comforted her by saying it was nothing, Su Xiaoxiao, who rarely went out, had been timid since childhood and was deeply worried about Su Bai!
Su Bai helplessly picked up the scrolls. "Alright, I figured as much."
"This Genjutsu scroll was won in a bet, and this Body Flicker Technique scroll was traded with a fat guy for a trophy."
A bet? A trophy?
The three of them found the story increasingly bizarre. In the end, Su Bai told his parents everything, naturally excluding the Sharingan.
The Sharingan carried terrifying side effects in this world, and he knew that if his parents found out, they would only worry more!
Better to keep it hidden for as long as I can.
Su Bai thought to himself; he had always been the type to report the good news and hide the bad.
Hearing his "legendary" experiences from today, the family was left speechless.
Winning the Campus Tournament, getting two scrolls worth at least a million Federal Coin through a bet and selling a trophy...
Su Jianhong and Lin Xiu'e suddenly felt they couldn't understand their son anymore.
Finally, Su Jianhong, as the father, said in a deep voice, "Xiaobai, you've grown up and are more capable than us. I don't know if what I'm about to say is right, so I won't lecture you. I trust you have your own judgment."
"Don't worry, Dad. Starting today, this is the beginning of our family's transformation. I will definitely make sure you all live a good life!"
"And Xiaoxiao, just endure for a few more days. Brother believes that it won't be long before I have the ability to cure your eyes!" Su Bai said solemnly!
The family was deeply moved. They knew Su Bai wasn't joking, and a sense of relief—the feeling of finally seeing the light after a long struggle—welled up in their hearts.
The next morning, before the sun had fully risen, Su Bai had already headed into the crisp morning breeze toward his old spot—the suburban Slaughterhouse.
"Let's begin. Taijutsu training in the morning, Ninjutsu training in the afternoon."
Taking advantage of the cool morning air, Su Bai began to train his body following the "Green Beast" method from the original work.
In the open space on the outskirts of the Slaughterhouse, a boy in a school uniform could be seen doing one-handed push-ups, jumping rope, and then sprinting around the massive perimeter of the Slaughterhouse.
"If I can't finish one thousand push-ups, then I'll do two thousand jump ropes..."
"If I can't finish two thousand jump ropes, then I'll run one hundred laps..."
At this moment, Su Bai felt as if Rock Lee had possessed him; his entire body was brimming with motivation!
He spent the whole morning training his taijutsu, only returning home exhausted as noon approached.
After a quick lunch and a short nap, Su Bai returned to the Slaughterhouse, as he had planned to dedicate his afternoon to practicing ninjutsu.
"I'll start by practicing the Hell Viewing Technique. After all, since I've awakened the Sharingan, I have a natural advantage when it comes to casting genjutsu."
Beyond its series of monstrous abilities, the most unpredictable aspect of the Sharingan is its genjutsu.
Su Bai didn't know if Kotoamatsukami existed in this world, but in the original work, the strongest genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami, could control anyone except those at the Six Paths Level!
Although the Hell Viewing Technique couldn't compare to Kotoamatsukami, it was already quite decent for a D-rank ninjutsu.
Su Bai believed that once he mastered the Hell Viewing Technique, combined with his Sharingan and Yin Attribute... he would likely be hard to find an opponent among his peers!
Su Bai's hands moved awkwardly as he formed the seals. Since it was his first time practicing the Hell Viewing Technique, he wasn't yet accustomed to the flow of chakra through his body, and it took him a full five seconds to complete the sequence.
Of course, completing the hand seals didn't mean the ninjutsu was successfully mastered.
The chakra in this world was exceptionally violent; after circulating through the pathways required for the Hell Viewing Technique, it gradually dissipated, failing to coalesce into the ninjutsu.
"This is absurd. It's one thing that the Ninjutsu Scroll can only be used once, but is practicing a ninjutsu really this difficult? I truly wonder if I'll even be able to copy ninjutsu once my Sharingan evolves to the Three-Tomoe stage."