Information Organization

He opened the scroll the rogue ninja had taken out just before dying.

Water Release: Water Clone Technique, a C-rank ninjutsu, required three hand seals.

It created a clone by manipulating water. It was similar to a Shadow Clone, but the clone possessed only one-tenth of the original body's combat strength and could not stray too far from the original.

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Its advantage was that creating a clone was easier than using a Shadow Clone, but it consumed more chakra. In water-rich areas, part of that consumption could be reduced, though creating multiple clones at once increased the difficulty exponentially.

It worked well in combination with sealing techniques like the Water Prison Technique, but on its own, its combat power was limited.

Lin Chongshu set that scroll aside and continued looking through the remaining three.

The first was Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique.

A B-rank ninjutsu, it required forty-four hand seals, making it one of the Water Release techniques with the most seals.

There were two ways to activate it. One was to spit out a water dragon from the mouth, while the other was to gather water from the surroundings into the shape of a dragon.

Looking at the hand-seal diagrams on the scroll, Lin Chongshu could not help grumbling, "You were practically dead and still hid the good stuff. Good thing I killed you."

The second was a sealing scroll containing a large amount of water.

He probed it with chakra and sensed an enormous body of water sloshing within the scroll. It should have been enough for several large-scale Water Release ninjutsu.

That rogue ninja had probably prepared this trump card so he could fight beyond his usual limits even in places without water, but Lin Chongshu had pierced his throat before he could use it.

The third was a blank sealing scroll, likely something he had prepared for himself in case of special circumstances.

Lin Chongshu spread it out on the table, then unwrapped the cloth around the rogue ninja's head.

"This is just right for wrapping your head."

He first removed the slashed Hidden Mist forehead protector and stuffed it into his ninja tool pouch. It might come in handy someday.

Then he pressed a hand onto the head, mobilized his chakra, and tried sealing it into the blank scroll.

Just as he finished sealing the head, the woman came in carrying a basin of hot water.

She set the wooden basin on the table. Seeing the pile of ninja tools and scrolls spread across it, then noticing that the thing that had seemed to be a human head was gone, her tense shoulders relaxed slightly.

She soaked a towel in the hot water, wrung it dry, and handed it to Lin Chongshu.

Lin Chongshu took the towel and wiped his face. Then, as he wiped the blood from his hands, he asked, "Are there any unusual places nearby?"

"Unusual places?"

"For example, somewhere that looks like a public latrine, but hardly anyone actually goes there to use it. Strangers come and go, yet none of them seem to be there for that sort of thing."

The woman was startled. "There really is one! To the west of the village, about a two-hour walk away, there's a temple. They call it a temple, but there are no monks inside, only a caretaker. Ninja often go in and out of the place."

Lin Chongshu asked curiously, "It's so far from the village. How do you know about it? Have you been there?"

"I heard people talking about it while washing clothes at the village entrance." The woman moved the basin aside. "They also said that merchants passing through tried to stay the night there, but the people at the entrance turned them away. It doesn't look like a temple at all."

Lin Chongshu smiled. The information network at the village entrance really was impressive.

That was probably the Underground Bounty Exchange in this area. After wandering around all day, he might as well have chatted with the village women and picked up some gossip.

In the middle of the night.

The woman was not curled up in the corner like she had been the night before. She lay facedown on the table, her face buried in her arms, breathing softly.

Lin Chongshu sat on the bed with his back against the wall, the scroll for Water Release: Water Clone Technique spread across his knees.

He gestured a few times with his fingers, then mobilized the little Water-Nature Chakra he had just gained and attempted the hand seals.

When he finished the seals, a bubble rose from the basin before him with a gurgle. The water surface trembled, then nothing happened.

He tried twice more, but it still did not work. A feeling of mental exhaustion washed over him, and his temples throbbed.

Lin Chongshu spread his palm again. Sand peeled away from the bracelet and hovered above his hand.

A question suddenly occurred to him. Now that I have chakra, Gold Sand can share touch. Can I share sight too, like Gaara?

He closed his right eye and poured chakra into the sand in his palm.

The sand began to change shape. It first became an irregular ball, then slowly stretched and divided, forming the shape of an eye in his palm.

The pupil of the Eye of Sand was hollow, with only an extremely thin membrane of sand covering its surface.

Then he closed his left eye.

His left eye should have seen only darkness, but now it lit up with a different angle, looking up at his own face from below.

The image was not very clear. Its edges were blurry, its colors grayish, as though he were looking through a layer of filthy glass.

With a thought, the Eye of Sand rose from his palm and slowly turned in the air.

His field of vision turned with it, changing from an upward view to a downward one. He saw the top of his own head, the basin on the table, and the woman's back as she lay on the table.

It really worked!

Before, when he had no chakra, the sand he controlled could only use its most basic abilities. Now that he had chakra, he could use more advanced applications.

With this move, he could stay farther away from his enemies in the future. He could send out the Eye of Sand to scout while hiding his real body at a safe distance.

The Eye of Sand flew two circles through the air. His vision suddenly blurred, then the image disappeared.

The sand rustled down onto the table, turning back into an ordinary pile of sand.

His chakra had run out, and a hollow feeling of mental exhaustion surged over him.

He leaned against the wall and rested for a long while before recovering.

Early the next morning, when the sky was just beginning to brighten.

Lin Chongshu climbed down from the bed and tied his ninja tool pouch around his waist.

Although he had made no progress with the Water Clone overnight, his sand-control ability had become much more proficient.

He felt that it was not just eyes. He should also be able to use sand to remotely imitate hands and feet.

But hands and feet could not be called Sand Hands and Sand Feet. Gaara called that move Sand Binding Coffin. Now that he had chakra, he could use it too.

Gaara did have some culture. Sand Hands and Sand Feet really did sound far less impressive.

He opened the panel and took another look.

[Name: Lin Chongshu]

[Strength: 5.7]

[Spirit: 6.4]

[Agility: 5.2]

[Physique: 5.4]

[Speed: 5.2]

[Chakra (Water): 1.1]

[Shukaku's Power: Sand Manipulation (Proficiency 20)]

[Bloodline Limit: Magnet Release: Gold Dust (Proficiency 7)]

[Water Release: Water Clone Technique (Proficiency 0.1)]

He had not expected skills acquired outside the system to appear on the panel as well.

But after staying up most of the night, he had only gained 0.1. Training was far too exhausting.

Training was out of the question. I should just inherit the Will of Sand.

Finding more people to bully would be far better than staying up all night training!

Just as Lin Chongshu was about to quietly climb out through the window, a rustling sound came from behind him. The woman lifted her head from the table, her hair scattered over her shoulders.

"Are you leaving? Will you come back?"

Lin Chongshu ignored her and left directly.