How Did You Interpret So Much?

"Is... is there even any point in burying these?"

Standing in the forest with a shovel slung over his shoulder, Sen Chisato looked at the scene before him, his heart aching.

A large swath of the forest had been obliterated, and the nine Sand Ninja who had clashed with Orochimaru earlier were now nothing more than a pile of "fragments."

He had come here to "bury the dead," not to collect puzzle pieces for a game.

Although these nine were all Jonin and counted as mid-tier "seeds" in his mind, how was he supposed to bury this mess?

"Forget it." Sen Chisato sighed and shook his head. "Better to bury them anyway."

After all, the rewards for interring Jonin were substantial; it was just a bit troublesome that they were so shattered.

However, Sen Chisato understood. In this world, corpses held a wealth of intelligence.

Orochimaru didn't care about the intel on these Sand Ninja because he looked down on them, but he also didn't want others digging up information from these bodies—especially information related to himself.

Therefore, destroying them completely was for the best.

Closing his eyes, Sen Chisato released his sensory technique. After confirming no one was around, he pressed his palms together.

"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"

Massive vines erupted from the ground like writhing giant pythons. Trees toppled and the earth collapsed, dragging the nine Sand Ninja "fragments" into the depths and burying them deep beneath the soil.

Once finished, he deliberately dispelled the technique, and the vines conjured by the Wood Release gradually vanished.

"Done." Sen Chisato clapped his hands, a smile on his face.

This way, no one could figure out who did it, nor could they detect the Wood Release.

After all, Wood Release had been absent from this world for too long; most people didn't even know what it looked like.

Waiting in place for a moment, Sen Chisato finally received the system notification.

[System Notification]: [You have interred nine Jonin. You have gained the following ninjutsu: Wind Style: Wind Killing Array (71%), Wind Style: Net (33%), Wind Style: Tornado Hurricane (68%), Earth Style: Earth Splitter Palm (73%), Earth Style: Fish Projection Technique (77%)]

[System Notification]: [You have gained duplicate ninjutsu: Wind Style: Great Breakthrough, Earth Style: Earth Wall. Your ninjutsu proficiency and power will be greatly increased (Note: Obtaining the same ninjutsu three times allows for the synthesis of a new, higher-tier ninjutsu of the same attribute)]

[System Notification]: [Your chakra reserves have increased by 1 unit, bringing your total to 11 units]

Looking at the system rewards, Sen Chisato beamed. "Tsk, not bad. My ninjutsu repertoire and chakra reserves are growing steadily."

However, the proficiency of his newly acquired ninjutsu was not yet high enough.

The percentages in the system indicated two different things.

One was the awakening level of special powers, such as Kekkei Genkai, or even stronger Kekkei Tota and Kekkei Mora.

In such cases, if the bloodline wasn't fully awakened, Sen Chisato could only use the power of the bloodline itself, which would take a toll on his body and might even prevent him from unleashing ninjutsu through that bloodline.

The other was the proficiency of the five-element ninjutsu.

In this case, Sen Chisato could use the ninjutsu he acquired, but he could only use them skillfully once the proficiency reached maximum level. If the proficiency was insufficient, the power of these ninjutsu would be weakened, and he would need to perform significantly more hand seals.

If the proficiency was too low, the ninjutsu might even fail.

Of course, if the proficiency was high enough, the power of his ninjutsu would be greatly enhanced, and he could achieve the state of "clapping his hands and whatever he calls for appears."

This was the reason why his ninjutsu power was so high.

Ninjutsu proficiency could be improved in two ways.

One was through personal training, and the other was by burying more people. As long as he buried enough people, he would gain more ninjutsu, and if he obtained duplicates, he could increase the proficiency of that specific ninjutsu.

If the proficiency of an acquired ninjutsu reached the maximum level and he obtained it multiple times, he could even synthesize a higher-tier ninjutsu of the same attribute.

Burying people was the glorious path of evolution that belonged solely to Sen Chisato!

Of course, Sen Chisato hoped to bury more people with special bloodlines.

After all, the buffs from bloodlines were too powerful!

Once a bloodline was fully awakened, he would not only gain the full set of associated ninjutsu, but the proficiency would also be maxed out immediately.

How tempting!

"It seems the Sand Ninja's chakra attributes are mostly Wind and Earth, and aside from Puppet Jutsu, a large portion of the ninjutsu they use should be repetitive, so..."

Sen Chisato hoisted his shovel and quickly headed back the way he came.

He was going to bury everyone who died in this battle!

Especially that group of dead Sand Ninja; perhaps after this wave, many of his newly acquired ninjutsu would reach maximum proficiency.

But when he returned to the resting area, Sen Chisato discovered that his work had been stolen.

Looking at Sarutobi Hakuba and the others who were busy disposing of the corpses, and then at the few remaining Sand Ninja bodies, Sen Chisato's expression turned complex.

"Yo, kid, you're back." Seeing Sen Chisato, Sarutobi Hakuba greeted him with a smile while skillfully processing a corpse.

Sen Chisato's breathing grew heavy; he really wanted to smash the shovel in his hand onto this guy's head.

Smile, smile, smile—smile your sister!

I showed you mercy out of the kindness of my heart, and this is how you repay me?

Sen Chisato cursed inwardly.

Sarutobi Hakuba and the others didn't notice his mood at all; after exchanging greetings, they paid him no further mind.

Seeing that they were about to bury the remaining bodies, Sen Chisato hurriedly reached out his hand: "Leave it to me!"

Under their surprised gazes, Sen Chisato walked directly to the pile of corpses, formed hand seals, and slammed his palms onto the ground: "Earth Style: Earth Splitter Palm!"

The ground in front of him instantly shattered and collapsed, causing the corpses above to fall directly into the earth.

Looking at the proficiency increases for several ninjutsu in his system notifications, Sen Chisato wore a dejected expression.

If only he could have been the one to handle all of them, how great that would have been.

He had actually wanted to exploit a system bug by digging up the buried people and re-burying them, but he had already tried that method before, and it was completely useless.

Otherwise, he would have long since set his sights on Konoha Cemetery, repeating the process to "grind levels" until he was invincible.

One had to know that quite a few ninjas were buried in Konoha Cemetery, including many big shots and those with special bloodline limits.

If he could really do that, let alone Wood Release, he could even max out the Byakugan and Sharingan!

It was just a pity that the system wouldn't allow it.

Shaking his head, Sen Chisato said earnestly: "From now on, leave all the burial work to me. Don't you all interfere."

His tone was very solemn, so solemn that it left Sarutobi Hakuba and the others full of confusion.

"Why?" Sarutobi Hakuba scratched his head.

"Don't ask. If you must know, it's because I am kind-hearted and cannot bear to see death. Yet, since I cannot prevent death, I can only find peace of mind through this method," Sen Chisato spouted nonsense.

Sarutobi Hakuba paused in his movements, Maruboshi Kosuke straightened his posture, and even the gazes of the medical ninjas changed.

They did not think that Sen Chisato was just rambling.

What they felt was nothing but Sen Chisato's incomparable respect for life.

In their hearts, Sen Chisato was not just a genius, but a true powerhouse whose vision and capacity far exceeded that of ordinary people.

Even if he was only ten years old.

Hearing these words, everyone respected him from the bottom of their hearts.

"Respecting life and fearing death, yet still firmly gripping your weapon for the sake of the village and your comrades?" Sarutobi Hakuba stood up and said, "I understand. This must be your ninja way."

"Such noble spirit and will; he is truly worthy of being a disciple of Lord Orochimaru," Hyuga Hihi praised.

Maruboshi Kosuke smiled kindly and chimed in: "If there is a need, this old man would also be very happy to help you, Chisato-kun."

A look of bewilderment filled Sen Chisato's eyes.

I was just saying that off the cuff; how did you all interpret so much out of it?

Coming back to his senses, he hurriedly nodded.

Ah, yes, yes, yes—I am exactly the kind of person you think I am.