How Did You Read So Much Into That?

"Is there... even any point in burying them?"

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

A large swath of the forest had been destroyed, and the nine Sand Ninja who had fought Orochimaru earlier had been reduced to a pile of "pieces."

He'd come to "bury bodies," not collect video game loot.

Although all nine of them had been Jonin and counted as mid-tier "Seeds" in his eyes, how was he supposed to bury them like this?

"Forget it." Sen Chisato sighed and shook his head. "I'll bury them anyway."

After all, burying Jonin earned quite a few rewards. It was just a little troublesome when they were in pieces.

Sen Chisato understood, though. In this world, corpses held plenty of valuable information.

Orochimaru didn't care about the information these Sand Ninja carried. He didn't think much of them. But he didn't want anyone else digging information out of their corpses, especially anything connected to him.

So destroying the bodies was the best option.

Closing his eyes, Sen Chisato used the Perception Technique. After confirming that no one was nearby, he brought his hands together.

"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"

Huge vines burst out of the ground, twisting like gigantic pythons. Trees toppled, the earth collapsed, and the "pieces" of the nine Sand Ninja were churned up along with it and buried deep underground.

Once he was done, he deliberately dispelled the technique. The vines brought forth by Wood Release gradually vanished.

"Done." Sen Chisato dusted off his hands and smiled.

That way, no one could figure out who had done it, or discover Wood Release.

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

After waiting there for a while, Sen Chisato finally received a system notification.

[System Notification]: [You buried nine Jonin and obtained 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 obtained duplicate ninjutsu: Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, Earth Style: Earth Wall. Your ninjutsu proficiency and power will be greatly enhanced. (Note: Obtaining the same ninjutsu three times allows you to combine it into a new ninjutsu of the same nature.)]

[System Notification]: [Your chakra increased by 1 card. Your total chakra is now 11 cards.]

Looking at his system rewards, Sen Chisato beamed. "Heh, not bad. My ninjutsu reserves and chakra are growing all the time."

However, the proficiency of his newly acquired techniques was still too low.

The percentages shown in the system could mean one of two things.

One was the degree of awakening of a special power, such as a Kekkei Genkai, or the more powerful Kekkei Tōta and Kekkei Mōra.

In that case, if the bloodline hadn't fully awakened, Sen Chisato could only use its inherent power. Using it would also affect him, and he might even be unable to perform ninjutsu through the bloodline.

The other possibility was the proficiency of ninjutsu based on the five chakra natures.

In that case, Sen Chisato could use the ninjutsu he acquired, but he wouldn't be able to use it proficiently until its proficiency reached the maximum level. If his proficiency was too low, the technique's power would be reduced, and he'd need to use many more Hand Seals.

If his proficiency was extremely low, the technique might even fail.

Of course, with high enough proficiency, his ninjutsu would become much more powerful, and he could do the equivalent of clapping his hands and getting whatever technique he called for.

That was why his ninjutsu were so powerful.

There were two ways to raise ninjutsu proficiency.

One was to train on his own. The other was to bury more people. The more people he buried, the more ninjutsu he obtained. If he got a duplicate, he could increase the proficiency of that particular technique.

If the proficiency of a ninjutsu was already maxed out when he acquired it, and he obtained it repeatedly, he could even combine them into a higher-level technique of the same nature.

Burying people was Sen Chisato's own glorious path of evolution!

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

After all, bloodlines gave an incredible boost!

Once a bloodline was fully awakened, he would not only acquire its entire set of associated ninjutsu, but their proficiency would also be maxed out immediately.

How tempting!

"Looks like most Sand Ninja have Wind and Earth chakra natures. And apart from the Puppet Technique, they probably use a lot of the same ninjutsu, so..."

Sen Chisato slung the shovel over his shoulder and hurried back the way he'd come.

He was going to bury everyone who had died in that battle!

Especially the Sand Ninja who had fallen. Maybe after this haul, he could max out the proficiency of quite a few of his newly acquired techniques.

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

Looking at Sarutobi Hakuba and the others handling the bodies, then at the few Sand Ninja corpses left, Sen Chisato wore a complicated expression.

"Well, look who's back, kid." Sarutobi Hakuba greeted him with a smile as he expertly handled a body.

Sen Chisato's breathing grew heavy. He wanted nothing more than to smack the guy over the head with his shovel.

Why are you smiling? What's so damn funny?!

I showed you mercy, and this is how you repay me?

Sen Chisato cursed inwardly.

Sarutobi Hakuba and the others didn't notice how he felt at all. After greeting him, they simply ignored him.

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

Under their astonished gazes, Sen Chisato went straight to a pile of corpses, formed Hand Seals, and slapped the ground. "Earth Style: Earth Splitter Palm!"

The ground ahead instantly cracked and collapsed, and the bodies on top fell straight underground.

Watching the proficiency of several ninjutsu increase in the system notifications, Sen Chisato looked dejected.

If only they'd let him handle all of them.

He had thought about exploiting a system bug by digging up the buried bodies and reburying them, but he'd already tried that. It didn't work at all.

Otherwise, he would've set his sights on the Konoha Cemetery and kept "grinding levels" until he became invincible.

There were plenty of ninja buried in the Konoha Cemetery, including many big shots and people with special bloodlines.

If that had worked, he could've maxed out not only Wood Release, but also the Byakugan and Sharingan!

Unfortunately, the system wouldn't let him.

Sen Chisato shook his head and said earnestly, "From now on, leave all the body-burying to me. Don't get involved."

His tone was so serious that Sarutobi Hakuba and the others looked bewildered.

"Why?" Sarutobi Hakuba scratched his head.

"Don't ask. The answer is that I'm compassionate and can't bear to see people die. But I can't stop death, so this is the only way I can find peace of mind." Sen Chisato rambled.

Sarutobi Hakuba paused. Maruboshi Kosuke also straightened up, and even the medical ninja's expressions changed.

They didn't think Sen Chisato was talking nonsense.

All they sensed was his unparalleled reverence for life.

In their eyes, Sen Chisato wasn't just a genius. He was a true strongman, with vision and breadth of mind far beyond ordinary people.

Even though he was only ten years old.

Hearing his words, they all felt a deep respect for him.

"Respecting life and fearing death, yet still holding fast to your weapons for the sake of the village and your comrades?" Sarutobi Hakuba stood and said. "I understand. This must be your ninja way."

"Such lofty spirit and resolve. No wonder you're Lord Orochimaru's disciple," Hyuga Hihi praised.

Maruboshi Kosuke smiled kindly and chimed in. "If you ever need help, this old man would be happy to lend you a hand, Chisato."

Sen Chisato's eyes were full of confusion.

I just said whatever came to mind. How did you read so much into that?

Coming back to himself, he hurriedly nodded.

Ah, yes, yes, that's exactly the kind of person I am.