The Worst in the Entire Field? / A Rare Kekkei Genkai

"I think you could try to cultivate Xueqing, Big Brother. She might become a good clan leader someday."

"Forget it. That girl, Xueqing, doesn't like the family's mess. I think Xia You would be a good choice. He's decisive and more talented than either of us. He's got what it takes to be clan leader."

"Besides, if you hadn't run away from home to shirk your responsibilities back then, I wouldn't have wanted to be clan leader either. These years have been exhausting."

"So your son should 'repay your debt' for you. Once he's promoted to Jonin in a few years, let him inherit the clan. Then I can finally take it easy."

Xia Hong sighed. The changes in his daughter had surprised him.

As the head of the largest Kekkei Genkai clan in Yang City, Xia Hong had never demanded that Xia Xueqing excel.

As long as she could live a safe, happy, and peaceful life, that was enough. With the resources the family had, it was only a matter of time before his daughter became a Jonin. She didn't need to work hard for it.

Besides, Xia Hong had never planned to burden his daughter with inheriting the clan. He knew her personality, and he knew how difficult it was to lead a clan...

Xia Ling gave a bitter smile and admitted that he'd been wrong.

When he was young and headstrong, he'd always wanted to go with his teammates to the Wasteland Zone and fight Magic Beasts, living a carefree life of settling grudges and savoring revenge. He'd ended up making a fool of himself.

"Let's drop it." Xia Ling quickly changed the subject. "That kid Su Bai really surprised me. He's a Genin, yet he's awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan. His mental strength is far greater than a normal ninja's!"

"Two-Tomoe?" Xia Hong was surprised, but immediately grew worried.

"Ugh, no ninja has ever survived the side effects of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan... That kid is a real headache. Why did Xueqing have to fall for him?"

When he'd first heard that Su Bai had teased Xia Xueqing, he'd been so furious he'd wanted to go to the school himself!

But he'd held back, considering his daughter's reputation among her classmates. He'd planned to have Xia Xueqing's cousin, Xia Ling's son Xia You, teach Su Bai a lesson instead.

What he hadn't expected was for his daughter to come home and tell him to leave it alone. Xia Hong had understood what Xia Xueqing meant.

As a doting father, Xia Hong indulged Xia Xueqing in everything. As long as his daughter was happy, he wouldn't object even if she married an ordinary man with nothing to his name!

What did their family lack?

Money? They were the richest family in Yang City.

Status? Aside from the Federal Government, no other force in Yang City dared to challenge the family.

Ninjas? That went without saying. The family had ninjas to spare!

Yet Xia Xueqing had given him a difficult problem...

"You're telling me Xueqing could have fallen for anyone, but she just had to pick Su Bai, a powder keg liable to explode at any moment?" Xia Hong was so furious his teeth ached, but there was nothing he could do about Su Bai. He could tell that his daughter really liked him.

Xia Ling rubbed his bald head, unsure what to say.

If Su Bai were an ordinary person, it would have been easy to use the Xia family's resources to help him become a Jonin...

But he'd awakened the Sharingan, and there was no way to solve its side effects.

Chapter 60: The Worst in the Entire Field?

Early the next morning, Su Bai and Xia Xueqing arrived at the Hunter Guild.

After he'd gotten home the day before, he'd brought a small pack of Long-Eared Rabbit meat for his parents and little sister to try.

Su Xiaoxiao had been so eager to taste Magic Beast meat for the first time that she'd nearly bitten her tongue. Su Bai found it both funny and heartbreaking, and resolved to cure his little sister's eyes as soon as possible.

"The experts say that only a Medical Jonin might be able to treat Xiaoxiao's illness. But getting those lofty Jonin experts to help would cost too much. Maybe I can try becoming a Medical Ninja myself."

"That way, I can treat Xiaoxiao's eyes, and I'll also be able to treat myself right away if I get hurt in the Wasteland Zone, which would improve my chances of survival."

Last night, he'd checked the Hunter Guild's internal website. The price for a Medical Jonin's help was a kind of item called a God Tree Fruit. Eating one could increase Chakra and alter a person's constitution, and they were only found in Secret Realms.

Secret Realms were the lairs of the Magic Beasts that had invaded Blue Star. There were currently more than a hundred Secret Realms of various sizes across the planet.

Even the smallest Secret Realm was larger than a Base City. As for the largest, its size was impossible to estimate. Humanity had spent more than two hundred years without figuring out just how big it was.

Secret Realms were also ranked. In descending order of danger, they were divided into four levels: A, B, C, and D. The more dangerous the Secret Realm, the higher the ranks of the Ninjutsu Scrolls and God Tree Fruits found there.

The lowest price Su Bai had found for a Medical Jonin's help was ten C-Rank God Tree Fruits.

He'd then looked up the price of God Tree Fruits. They were divided into four ranks, A through D. The Hunter Guild currently only had D-Rank God Tree Fruits for sale. The price had made Su Bai's eyes widen, and he could still remember the listing clearly.

[D-Rank God Tree Fruit: Ninjas can eat one every three months. Each fruit increases Chakra by 10–20 cards. Price: 10 billion Federal Coins.]

As for the higher-ranked A-, B-, and C-Rank God Tree Fruits, they couldn't be bought with money. Some were rewards for Guild missions, while others were sold privately in exchange for specific items.

For example, Su Bai had seen one listing where the requested price for a C-Rank God Tree Fruit was a B-Rank Ninjutsu Scroll—Shadow Clone!

He later discovered that God Tree Fruits weren't the only items traded for other goods. Most B-Rank and higher Ninjutsu Scrolls were the same: they weren't sold directly, but exchanged for something the seller needed or awarded for completing a Guild mission.

"Ah, strength." Su Bai sighed as he and Xia Xueqing entered the Guild.

After Su Bai had accompanied her to join the Guild, the two of them were led by a young woman at the reception desk to the Guild's Training Ground.

The Training Ground was about the size of ten soccer fields. By the time the two of them went in, more than a dozen people were already there. They looked about the same age as Su Bai and Xia Xueqing, and seemed to be students who'd only recently become ninjas.

"Su Bai?"

"Xia Xueqing?"

As soon as the two entered, they ran into someone they knew: Yang Liu!

Yang Liu immediately came over. "Are you here for the test too?"

"Of course." Su Bai smiled. "I didn't expect to run into you here. What a coincidence."

"Yeah, it is." Yang Liu nodded, then asked, "Have you made any progress these past few days? I've been looking forward to fighting you. Since we're here for the test, how about we have a sparring match?"

"Sure. I'd love to." Su Bai's eyes lit up, and he immediately agreed.

Yang Liu was an Ice Release Ninja. Su Bai wondered if his Sharingan could copy the technique.

Yang Liu smiled when Su Bai accepted. "I like your spirit!"

"But I'm different now. You know about God Tree Fruits, right? My father got me a D-Rank one. I've got 20 cards of Chakra now, so you'd better be careful."

"A God Tree Fruit... You're rich." Su Bai clicked his tongue. The difference between having resources and not having them really was enormous.

Xia Xueqing frowned. "Wouldn't eating a God Tree Fruit so soon have the side effect of forcing your growth?"

God Tree Fruits were rare, but they were nothing special to her.

The first time a Genin ate a God Tree Fruit, it was best to have more than ten cards of Chakra. By then, a ninja's physical constitution had already been gradually altered by Chakra over time, allowing them to withstand the fruit's effects.

"It doesn't matter. My father had planned to let me eat it later, but he had my body tested, and it already met the minimum requirements." Yang Liu clenched his fist and flexed his arm. His muscles were well-developed, clearly the result of extensive Taijutsu training.

The three chatted for a while. Then a middle-aged man wearing a Chunin badge on his chest walked over and said sternly, "Members here for the test, follow me."

Su Bai and the others immediately followed him. Soon, they arrived in front of a metal wall. A display beside it showed four zeroes.

The middle-aged man said, "You'll attack this wall with your strongest Ninjutsu. Remember, you can't use more than one card of Chakra. This test measures how proficient you are with your Ninjutsu."

"I'll call out your names. When I do, you can begin. Understood?"

"Understood!" Everyone answered in unison.

"Good. First, He Lang."

"Here."

A boy about 1.7 meters tall stepped forward and began forming Hand Seals.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Boom!

A huge fireball flew toward the wall. It struck with a loud bang and vanished, leaving the wall as smooth and spotless as before.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

A number immediately appeared on the display beside it: 5.

"An attack power of five cards? Not bad." The middle-aged man glanced at the display and called the next name.

"What is that thing?" Su Bai asked quietly, looking at the wall.

Xia Xueqing replied, "That's a Ninjutsu Testing Machine. They're very valuable. There are only a few in all of Yang City, and they can measure how powerful a ninja's Ninjutsu is."

"That boy's Ninjutsu had a power of five cards. That means he used one card of Chakra to produce five times the power. That's pretty good."

"I see. Have you taken the test before?" Su Bai asked.

"Mm. I took one at home before, when I had nothing to do." Xia Xueqing said it casually, then looked toward a girl who was taking the test.

When she had nothing to do... At home...

Su Bai stared at the girl's exquisite profile and fell silent.

Hadn't they said the machine was valuable? That there were only a few in all of Yang City?

From the way she'd said it, it sounded as casual as watching TV at home whenever she felt like it...

Su Bai felt thoroughly crushed.

Just then, the middle-aged man called Xia Xueqing's name. Su Bai immediately turned his attention to the girl as she stepped forward.

"Heh, go ahead," the middle-aged man said with a smile.

Xia Xueqing nodded, took up an attacking stance, and cried, "Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

Her fair hand struck toward the wall, sending an invisible gust of air crashing into it!

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The display immediately showed a number that had never appeared before: 13!

"Impressive. As expected of someone from the Xia family!" the middle-aged man thought, quickly recording the result.

"Next, Yang Liu!"

Yang Liu stepped forward and immediately unleashed his Ice Release Ninjutsu.

"Ice Release: Ice Pillar!"

Beep! Beep! Beep!—12!

"Another one? Are you Yang Long's son?"

"Mm." Yang Liu nodded coolly and returned to his place.

The middle-aged man shook his head, thinking that there really were a lot of "big shots" here today, then continued calling names.

"Next, Su Bai."

"Here." Su Bai answered immediately and stepped up to the wall, eager to begin. He already knew what his number would be.

The middle-aged man glanced at him and said flatly, "Go ahead."

"Yes."

Su Bai immediately formed Hand Seals. He planned to use Lightning Release Ninjutsu for the test.

He finished forming the Hand Seals in less than three seconds, though it was slower than when he'd copied Chu Yuan's technique. That was because he was relying on his own proficiency now, rather than Chu Yuan's proficiency when he used his Sharingan to copy the technique.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang!"

A mass of electricity appeared in Su Bai's hand. He threw it, and it transformed into a wolf-shaped beast that slammed into the wall.

Beep! Beep! Beep!—3!

Su Bai was stunned. Yang Liu was stunned too, while Xia Xueqing only smiled without a word, as though she'd expected it.

Wasn't that the lowest score in the whole place? Was the Ninjutsu he'd just learned really that weak?

Chapter 61: A Rare Kekkei Genkai

Before long, everyone in the Training Ground had finished taking the test. Apart from one girl who'd scored two cards of attack power, only Su Bai had scored lower.

"I need to practice my Ninjutsu more," Su Bai sighed to himself.

Although the Copy Eye could let him master a copied Ninjutsu right away, his lack of proficiency made its power pitifully low. It was completely different from when he copied a Ninjutsu.

When he'd copied a Ninjutsu, Su Bai had clearly felt that both the speed of forming Hand Seals and the technique's power were many times greater than they were now!

That was the proficiency of the person whose technique he'd copied. He could match them exactly while copying, but afterward, he needed to practice on his own.

The group went to the Chakra Testing Machine, where the middle-aged man had them line up to measure their Chakra Level.

"He Lang, you're first. Go ahead."