Astonishing Recovery

Lin Chongshu opened his panel and took a look.

[Name: Lin Chongshu]

[Strength: 6]

[Mental: 6.8]

[Agility: 5.6]

[Constitution: 15↓]

[Speed: 5.5]

[Chakra (Water): 18↓]

[Shukaku's Power: Sand Manipulation (Proficiency 25)]

[Bloodline Limit: Magnet Release—Gold Dust (Proficiency 13)]

[Water Release: Water Clone Technique (Proficiency 5↓)]

[Medical Ninjutsu: Mystical Palm Technique (Proficiency 4↓)]

[Medical Ninjutsu: Chakra Scalpel (Proficiency 4↓)]

[Six Paths Sage Body: Incomplete Uzumaki Clan Version (1%)]

That bite had temporarily boosted his constitution, chakra, and even his ninjutsu. Now, that foreign chakra was fading, and the numbers on the panel were dropping with it.

Before the values had fully fallen back, Lin Chongshu formed three hand seals toward the water cup in the room.

Water Release: Water Clone Technique!

The water in the cup trembled. Its surface swelled, barely forming the outline of a human figure, but before its features could take shape, it collapsed with a splash and drenched the table.

Lin Chongshu checked the panel again. His chakra, constitution, and ninjutsu values had all fallen, and the downward arrows had vanished as well.

This was incredible! Wasn't this basically a temporary cheat?

He gave Karin and her mother one final look, then pushed open the door and walked out.

The chunin was waiting outside. "How's the recovery? Worth it, right?"

"Worth it." Lin Chongshu rolled his shoulders and smiled.

The chunin glanced into the room. "Too bad her body is already failing. There were too many wounded after the Third Shinobi War, and she was drained too badly. Her daughter is still too young, too. Hopefully, she can hold on through these Chunin Exams."

"Are we bringing her along when we go hunt the monster?"

"Of course. Better her dead than us, right? Hahaha."

Lin Chongshu laughed along twice without replying.

After laughing, the chunin left on his own. He still had to arrange lodging and mission groups for the other examinees.

Lin Chongshu found a mud-brick house at the edge of the village that had been temporarily assigned to examinees. He tossed his ninja tool bag onto the bedboards and lay down.

There were still several days before they set out to hunt the monster, and he did not idle around.

During the day, he stayed inside studying scrolls. At night, when no one was paying attention, he slipped to the small pool behind the village to practice.

A Water Release B-rank ninjutsu like the Water Dragon Bullet Technique, which required forty-four hand seals, was something he would never have considered before. But after biting Karin's mother, he had realized something.

Hand seals were, bluntly put, catalysts for chakra.

When one's chakra was insufficient, hand seals were used to guide and condense it. When one had enough chakra, all it took was clapping one's hands and shouting whatever technique one wanted.

As long as one knew a little of the basics, techniques could always be cast once their chakra reserves rose high enough. The only difference was speed.

It was like during the Fourth Shinobi War, when those Hidden Leaf Village shinobi collectively used Earth-Style Wall. Most of them normally never used Earth Release, yet they learned it on the spot and slapped out walls anyway.

His current strategy was to greedily broaden his skill pool, then wait for the system cheats to turn him into an expert.

Two days later, news reached the village that the monster had appeared again. A villager who had fled back from the border said that the thing had attacked another caravan.

The chunin immediately gathered everyone after receiving the news and moved up their departure.

The team assembled at the village entrance. Besides the leading chunin and Lin Chongshu, there were seven genin. With Karin's mother included, there were ten people in total.

They headed northwest along the mountain path. The closer they got to the Land of Earth, the more desolate the land became. There was nothing but rocks and withered grass along the way.

The chunin walked at the front, holding a hand-drawn map marked with the locations of the monster's most recent appearances.

Those marked points were scattered far apart, stretching all the way from the Land of Grass border to the mountains of the Land of Earth.

The chunin told them that every time the monster went berserk, it ran wildly without direction and only hid after becoming exhausted. Its range of activity was far larger than that of an ordinary beast.

The last attack had occurred at a mountain village on the Land of Earth side, so their target should be nearby this time.

Lin Chongshu walked near the back of the group and noticed that Karin's mother was in the middle. Her pace was not fast, but she was gradually managing to keep up with everyone.

The Uzumaki Clan's recovery ability really was absurd. After going several days without being bitten, her body had begun repairing itself.

The dense blood marks on her arms had all faded as well, leaving only tooth-shaped scars.

Lin Chongshu could not help feeling envious.

After traveling for an entire day and night, the group finally reached the place where Jugo had last appeared.

The chunin chose a sheltered mountain outcrop. He was responsible for setting traps, then ordered the genin to spread out and search for the monster. If they found it, they were to lure it here so they could surround and attack it together.

As soon as they dispersed, Lin Chongshu used Eye of Sand to find a safe crack between the rocks and hid inside. He definitely did not want to encounter Jugo alone. His current panel values were not enough to withstand a single slap from Jugo.

The others were about the same. Rather than spreading out to search for Jugo, it was more like they were playing hide-and-seek with him. The moment they split up, each found somewhere to hide, terrified that Jugo would find them first.

As night approached, everyone returned to camp one after another. No one had found Jugo, but no one had been injured either.

The chunin probably guessed that these genin had all been slacking off after heading out, but he did not say anything.

No fire was lit that night. Everyone ate their dry rations separately.

As Lin Chongshu chewed flatbread with strips of dried meat, he noticed Karin's mother sitting in a corner. She held a piece of bread, but only broke off a small piece and put it into her mouth. She wrapped up the rest and tucked it into her clothes, then drank from her water flask sip by sip.

She had saved all the food for Karin. The chunin and the other genin saw it, but none of them spoke. The war had only just ended, and no one had much to spare.

Lin Chongshu walked over and held a piece of bread out to her.

Karin's mother looked at him in surprise. It was him again—the same person who had secretly given her extra Military Ration Pills last time.

She hesitated before accepting the bread. Her lips moved, as though she wanted to say thank you, but only a faint breath escaped.

Lin Chongshu looked at her. Her red hair was tucked behind both ears, her chest stretched the rough hemp clothes taut, and her full figure had regained some color after not being bitten for the past few days.

A conversion mechanism this efficient really existed in this world. Every bite of grass could turn into milk.