"System, I choose..."
"'Five chakra natures and their transformations,' 'Kage Level chakra control,' 'Kage Level Hand Seal speed,' 'ten random ninjutsu,' and 'one compound ninjutsu of my choice.'"
"Claim them now!"
The moment Lihuo finished speaking with the system, a familiar headache swept over him.
The pain was just right—enough to leave him dazed, but not to hurt his brain.
Along with the pain came countless memories of forming Hand Seals, as well as meticulous chakra control.
Lihuo felt his hands grow incredibly nimble. Forming all twelve seals came as naturally as breathing.
Not only that, he could even sense the faint chakra inside his body with incredible clarity.
By carefully coating the soles of his feet with chakra, he could keep them from touching the ground without damaging it.
Climbing trees and Water Walking were even easier.
And Lihuo could clearly sense that something new had appeared inside his body: chakra pathways unlike anything he'd ever had before.
Although he hadn't known his chakra nature before, he would certainly have all five chakra natures when he tested them in the future.
Before Lihuo could test them again, the system's cold voice rang out in his mind once more.
"Now drawing ten random ninjutsu for the host."
Lihuo's heart leaped with excitement.
"Let's see how many coins this old ninjutsu-tossing geezer can cough up!"
"Congratulations, host. You have obtained—"
"Ninja Art: Three Body Technique" (Clone, Substitution, Transformation)
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique"
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique"
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique"
"Earth Style: Headhunter Technique"
"Earth Style: Earth Wall"
"Shadow Clone Technique"
"Telescope Technique"
"Shuriken Shadow Clone"
"Water Wall"
"System draw complete. Extracting rewards."
Lihuo was stunned by the sight before him.
"I swear, from now on, I'll never badmouth Sarutobi Hiruzen—the Third Hokage. He's the most perfect old geezer in my heart... I mean, ninja."
"His drops are just too good. Aside from a few basic techniques, they're all proper, powerful ninjutsu."
"Oh, right! There's also the very gentlemanly 'Telescope Technique.'"
After a brief pause, the system sprang into action again.
Following another bout of headaches, Lihuo had mastered all ten ninjutsu.
He'd gone from a little brat who couldn't do anything to a little brat who knew ten ninjutsu.
Even an ordinary Chunin could never hope to master all ten of these techniques at once.
Thanks to his powerful cheat, Lihuo had successfully mastered all ten.
"What I lack most now is chakra and combat sense."
"Of course, there's also the greatest advantage of the Uchiha Clan—the Sharingan."
"With the Sharingan, I can become a professor of ninjutsu myself."
Lihuo thought to himself, Huh? Wasn't there one more reward?
"Please select a compound ninjutsu, host."
"Compound Ninja Art: Earth Dragon Flame Flow": Combines Earth Release and Fire Release ninjutsu. The user spits a powerful fireball from their mouth with a Fire Dragon Bullet, then combines it with an Earth Dragon Bullet to create a fire-breathing earth dragon.
"Compound Ninja Art: Lightning Water Dragon Bullet": Combines Water Release and Lightning Release ninjutsu to create an electrified water dragon bullet that attacks enemies. It is more powerful than Water Dragon Bullet and can paralyze enemies.
Of the ten ninjutsu, there were more Fire Release and Earth Release techniques, while the Water Release and Lightning Release techniques were fewer and leaned toward defense.
So there was no question: he had to choose "Compound Ninja Art: Lightning Water Dragon Bullet."
A moment later, Lihuo had memorized how to use Lightning Water Dragon Bullet inside and out. Of course, the inevitable headache had helped.
"If you're going to give me rewards, just give them to me. Why do I have to get a headache every time?"
"Headaches are a necessary part of transmitting knowledge and modifying the host's body. Please endure them."
"I say, you... You really are a good system."
"Congratulations, host. You have successfully claimed all rewards."
"Converting all abilities into data."
"Host" Uchiha Lihuo
"Ninjutsu" Three Body Technique, Great Fireball Technique, Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, Great Waterfall Technique, Headhunter Technique, Earth Wall, Shadow Clone Technique, Telescope Technique, Shuriken Shadow Clone, Water Wall
"Taijutsu" None
"Genjutsu" None
"Chakra" Micro-Kakashi (One micro-unit of Kakashi's chakra. Even at full strength, the host can only release one ninjutsu.)
"My goodness! I got all these rewards through sheer luck... and my own courage."
"But these rewards are way too generous. If I pat a few more people on the head, I'll be unstoppable!"
"Wait! I can keep patting the same person on the head to farm rewards!"
"I really am a head-patting dog... a little genius!"
"System notice: Unless a ninja's abilities and talents change at different points in time, repeated head-patting will not grant rewards."
"Tch. No loopholes to exploit."
By the time Lihuo had claimed all his rewards, Sarutobi Hiruzen's long-winded speech had finally reached its end.
"Wherever the leaves of Konoha dance, the fire burns on. The fire will continue to illuminate the village and help new leaves sprout."
"Now, I hereby declare the entrance ceremony officially over. The entrance examination begins!"
Lihuo was dumbfounded. There was an entrance exam, too? They were all little kids—what was the point of testing them?
Obito, standing beside him, had been reduced to a miserable husk by the Third Hokage's hours-long speech. He noticed his friend's confusion.
"Idiot Lihuo, this is a test to see whether dead last kids like you have what it takes to become ninja."
"But for a genius ninja like yours truly, this is the perfect stage! Hahaha!"
Lihuo couldn't help but feel speechless. The Obito before him wasn't yet the traitor who would turn against his teacher. He was just a hot-blooded idiot wearing goggles.
Maybe the reason I came to this world is to change all these tragedies? Lihuo thought.
But he didn't hold back when he spoke. "You're the idiot, Obito. Someone who was late even for the academy registration can't possibly be a genius ninja. We'll settle this on the training ground."
The two of them went back to their usual banter.
But then an arrogant voice cut in.
"Uchiha Lihuo, Uchiha Obito, you two ill-mannered brats do nothing but disgrace the Uchiha Clan."
The speaker was an Uchiha boy who looked at everyone through his nostrils.
"You lost your parents on the battlefield, and no one raised you. No wonder you're so ill-mannered. And you even said in public that you wanted to be Hokage. What a joke."
At those words, Obito's anger exploded.
"Say that again if you've got the guts!" Obito roared furiously, ready to charge over and fight the other boy to the death.
Suddenly, a small hand pressed down on Obito's head. It was Lihuo!
Lihuo's expression was remarkably calm. His voice betrayed no emotion, yet it sent a chill through everyone and could not be ignored.
"Hey, nostril boy. Our parents died on the battlefield. They were the pride of the Uchiha Clan and the pride of the village."
"As for whether we've got what it takes, let's settle that on the training ground."
Feeling his authority challenged for the first time, Nostril Boy flew into a rage.
"You brat! Do you know who I am? I'm—"
Before he could finish, Lihuo suddenly burst forward at incredible speed and stopped right in front of Nostril Boy.
"Shh. Extras don't need names."
The entrance exam officially began!
Before you continue