Railgun!

The days seemed to slow down all at once.

Under Tsunade's iron-fisted rule and occasional gambling impulses, the Hidden Leaf Village was rebuilding with difficulty, yet steadily.

The ruins on the streets were cleared away, new houses rose from the ground, and the gloom on the villagers' faces was gradually dispelled by new hope.

Ling Yue's life became structured and fulfilling.

Training, eating, sleeping—the same three points every day. Occasionally, she would visit Naruto at the hospital, or Sakura would drag her out shopping to clear her head.

Strength! She needed even greater strength!

Only by becoming stronger would she avoid being put on the back foot, no matter what she encountered.

Looking at the 1,650 points still left in the system, Ling Yue decided to draw again!

"System, another ten-pull! Use points!"

[900 points consumed. Conducting a ten-pull lottery...]

[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining: Medium Soldier Pills x4, Ninja Tool Maintenance Oil x1, Steel Wire x10, Seasoning Set x1, Thank You for Participating x2,

Skill [Beast Instinct] (Passive, R-rank)

Skill [Projection Magic: Basic] (from Fate, R-rank)

Skill [Railgun] (from A Certain Scientific Railgun, SR-rank)!]

[Beast Instinct]: Passively improved her ability to sense danger. Not bad.

[Projection Magic: Basic]: It could project and construct simple cold weapons. The cost was considerable, but it might have miraculous effects at critical moments.

[Railgun]?! SR-rank!

Wasn't this the Railgun's signature skill?! It used electromagnetic force to accelerate metal projectiles, creating a terrifying piercing attack!

A stream of information flooded into her mind—refined control over electromagnetic induction, calculating trajectories, that cool coin-flicking motion... as well as the massive computational power and electricity (chakra) consumption required.

She instinctively pulled out a shuriken from her ninja pouch and tried to mobilize Lightning-nature chakra, circulating it according to the skill description.

Blue-white arcs of electricity danced at her fingertips, wrapping around the shuriken with a buzzing hum! Even the air seemed to tremble slightly!

She hurriedly dispersed her chakra. Damn, that was quite a commotion, and the consumption really was huge. Just that brief attempt felt more taxing than using [False Darkness] once.

But its power would definitely be impressive! This would become her trump card for long-range sniping!

"Pika?" Pikachu on her shoulder curiously watched the jumping arcs. Tiny sparks also appeared on its cheeks, and it seemed a little excited.

"Hm? Can you charge up too?" Ling Yue became interested and tried guiding Pikachu's faint electric current into her own chakra.

A tiny spark flashed, then nothing happened.

Ling Yue: "..."

Fine, she had been overthinking it. This Pikachu was currently just a decoration.

She had 750 points left. She resisted the urge to draw again; she needed to save some funds for emergencies.

She had gained quite a lot, so her training schedule needed another update.

[Railgun] required extremely precise chakra control and computational ability. She began practicing with pebbles by the lake, aiming to accurately strike falling leaves drifting down on the opposite shore.

[Projection Magic] required an understanding of weapon structures. Whenever she had free time, she would hug a kunai and Senbonzakura Asauchi, thinking deeply as she tried to construct every detail of them in her mind. Occasionally, she could successfully project a crooked kunai phantom that collapsed after only a few seconds.

[Beast Instinct] took effect passively. She found herself becoming more sensitive to the gazes and presences around her, and several times she detected ANBU or Root observing her from afar in advance.

Training [Armament Haki] and [Ken] became mandatory daily lessons, steadily improving her physical strength and mental power.

Her fusion of [Soru] and the [Lightning Flash Body Technique] also became increasingly proficient. Her short-range explosive dashes were so fast that only afterimages remained.

Her days were packed to the brim.

Occasionally, she also went to help at the Hidden Leaf Hospital. After taking office, Tsunade had vigorously reformed the medical system, and manpower was in short supply.

Although Ling Yue's [Healing Arts] came from a different system, its effects were outstanding. It was highly efficient at treating ordinary external injuries and chakra disorders, leaving even Shizune clicking her tongue in amazement.

"Yue, there's a patient over here with blocked chakra pathways. Can you take a look?" a medical ninja called out.

"Coming." Ling Yue walked over, soft white light glowing from her palm. She carefully sensed the flow of chakra inside the patient's body and cautiously guided it with the energy of [Healing Arts].

During breaks in her work, she could see Sakura studying diligently with thick medical notes in her arms, her gaze growing firmer by the day. Naruto still had not awakened, but his vital signs remained stable.

That day, she ran into Tenten and Rock Lee on the street.

"Yue!" Tenten greeted her happily. "Long time no see! I heard you've been helping out at the hospital?"

"Yeah, every now and then." Ling Yue smiled.

Tenten was still the same as always, bursting with energy.

Rock Lee, meanwhile, wore his green jumpsuit and was drenched in sweat, clearly having just finished training.

"Miss Yue! Please have a battle of youth with me!" Rock Lee immediately gave her a thumbs-up, flashing his gleaming teeth.

"Next time for sure." She had no desire to become a punching bag for the Eight Gates.

"Oh, right." Tenten suddenly lowered her voice. "Your Team 7... what will happen from now on? Sasuke, he..."

The atmosphere suddenly became a little heavy.

Rock Lee also put away his smile and clenched his fists. "Sasuke chose his own path... but we cannot fall behind either! That is youth!"

Ling Yue looked at them and nodded. "Yeah. Let's all work hard in our own ways."

After bidding Tenten and Rock Lee farewell, she passed by Ichiraku Ramen and saw Choji Akimichi wolfing down his fifth bowl of ramen while Shikamaru sat beside him with an expression that screamed, "What a drag."

"Yo." Shikamaru listlessly raised a hand in greeting.

"Finished your mission?" Ling Yue asked. She knew that the Ino-Shika-Cho team had recently taken on a B-rank mission.

"Yeah, just got back. I'm exhausted. Choji insisted on eating ramen first."

"Ramen is the source of strength!" Choji mumbled through a full mouth.

Watching this familiar everyday scene, Ling Yue relaxed slightly.

The village was slowly recovering from its wounds.

A few days later, Ling Yue tried combining [Water Breathing: Striking Tide] with [Lightning Release: Earth Walk] at the training ground.

She swung her Asauchi with both hands, drawing water around herself while simultaneously infusing Lightning-nature chakra into it!

Blue-violet arcs darted through the water, forming a charged body of water that covered a considerable area. Its power seemed decent, but it was difficult to control and consumed a great deal of chakra.

"A combination of Water Release and Lightning Release? That's an interesting idea." A slightly cool voice came from beside her.

Ling Yue dispersed the ninjutsu and turned around to see Hyuga Neji standing there at some point, his Byakugan seeming to have just deactivated.

"Neji? Need something?"

"I was merely passing by." Neji walked over and looked at the remaining puddles and scorch marks on the ground. "Your chakra control is very refined, but carrying out two nature transformations simultaneously places a heavy burden on the chakra pathways."

As expected of the Hyuga Clan's genius—he had seen the key issue at a glance.

"Yeah, I'm still figuring it out." Ling Yue nodded. She had a good impression of Neji. He was a calm and powerful companion.

"I heard you've been training very hard lately."

"Aren't we all? After all... so much has happened."

Neji fell silent for a moment and looked toward Hokage Rock in the distance. "Yes. The weak cannot decide their own fate. Only by becoming stronger..."

Neither spoke for a while, yet the atmosphere was not awkward. There was a faint mutual understanding between skilled peers.

"I'm leaving." After saying that, Neji turned and walked away.

Ling Yue watched his retreating figure. She could sense that Neji had also emerged from the setbacks of the Chunin Exams and become even more composed.

That was good.

She practiced a while longer, not preparing to go home until the sun had set.

On the way, she saw Tsunade seemingly talking to Kakashi at a window of the Hokage Building, her expression somewhat serious. Kakashi nodded from time to time.

There's probably a mission coming soon, Ling Yue muttered inwardly.

After returning home, she followed her usual routine and tried communicating with Senbonzakura Asauchi as part of her daily exchange.

The blade still showed no response, but she could feel a faint connection gradually forming.

Pikachu on her shoulder had already fallen asleep, softly mumbling, "Pika~ chu~" in its dreams.

Ling Yue lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling as she took stock of her recent gains.

Her strength had improved significantly, and her skill arsenal had greatly expanded. Though she was still far from those Kage-level monsters, she was at least no longer a genin anyone could push around.

[Railgun] required suitable conductive metal projectiles. Ordinary shuriken suffered too much wear and tear, so she needed to find some special metal.

[Projection Magic] required more practice and understanding.

[Bankai] and [Shikai] were still far beyond reach, but Senbonzakura's basic sharpness was already enough to make it a good sword.

[Armament Haki] and [Ken] were long-term pursuits.

Just as she was planning for the future, far outside her window, a Root member wearing an animal mask appeared once again in the shadow of a large tree. The Telescope Technique in his hand was aimed at Ling Yue's little house.

"The target's daily training intensity is extremely high. She has acquired multiple unknown ninjutsu and taijutsu skills, and is suspected of mastering a high-speed movement secret technique and a long-range Lightning Release attack method. She maintains normal contact with fellow students such as Hyuga Neji, Rock Lee, and Tenten. No contact with suspicious persons has been discovered. Continued observation is recommended."

After reporting in a low voice, he once more blended into the shadows.

Ling Yue seemed to sense something and glanced in that direction, but [Beast Instinct] provided only a vague, indistinct feeling.

She frowned, but did not pay it much mind. It was not as though this was the first or second day she had been watched.

Right now, she was more excited for the new mission that would soon arrive.

She wondered what Kakashi would take them to do.

Hopefully, it would not be another job like escorting some old man building a bridge.

She yawned and fell into a deep sleep.

Under the moonlight, the Senbonzakura Asauchi resting beside her bed seemed to flicker ever so faintly.