Awakening

Reeds swayed gently by the river, and a breeze swept across the grass, stirring a faint rustling sound.

Feng Xun crouched beside the river, his lifeless eyes fixed on the fish playing in the water as he kept mumbling to himself.

"This is all my fault, all my fault. If I hadn't arrogantly believed that I could fully play the role of the 'butterfly,' Dad and Mom wouldn't have died. If I had taken the initiative to interfere... if I had intervened..."

His clenched fist slammed into the ground, and thin streams of blood dripped from the scraped wound.

Time quietly passed amid Feng Xun's self-reproach.

"Xun... Xun, where are you?"

While Feng Xun was still sitting there in a daze, Minato's anxious shout came from the woods behind him.

Like a walking corpse, Feng Xun rose from the riverbank and followed the voice until he saw his brother again.

He noticed that Minato did not show much sadness on his face, but the deep exhaustion in his eyes betrayed how he truly felt.

"Big Brother, I'm here," Feng Xun said softly.

"Xun, are you all right? You left without saying a word. You nearly scared me to death." Seeing Feng Xun standing safely before him, Minato was overwhelmed with emotion. Feng Xun was already his only remaining family, and he did not want anything to happen to his last relative as well.

"Big Brother, what do you think this world is like?" Feng Xun suddenly asked, looking up at the bright moon overhead.

"?" Minato looked at his younger brother strangely, not understanding what he meant.

Without caring whether his brother understood or not, Feng Xun continued as if speaking to himself.

"Just now, I thought about many things. In my eyes, this world is wrong. What twists this world is the desires within people's hearts, and the profession known as ninja."

Minato frowned slightly at those words. After a long while, he finally said, "Xun, your thoughts are too extreme."

"Maybe." Feng Xun sighed noncommittally, but then he raised his voice. "But if this world isn't twisted, why did our parents die because of war? If this world isn't false, why did my efforts over seven years of flapping my wings fail to make any difference?"

(The false world here referred to the fact that his existence had not affected the Naruto World's inertial development.)

Cold tears struck the ground. Tears poured uncontrollably from the depths of Feng Xun's eyes.

Though he did not understand some of what Feng Xun had said, Minato could see his younger brother's helplessness and confusion. Faced with such a brother, Minato opened his arms and silently pulled the thin boy into his embrace.

"Xun, you need to be stronger. Even if our parents are gone, I'll always stay by your side. I'm your big brother. I'll always stand in front of you and protect you."

Hearing Minato's words, Feng Xun's shoulders trembled lightly. He gripped Minato's clothes tightly and made a decision in his heart. Fourth Hokage, Nine-Tails Rebellion... Big Brother, don't worry. I'll definitely shatter this false world. I definitely won't let you die.

Feng Xun now understood how weak he was. What should he do next? Become stronger. Only by becoming stronger—strong enough to defeat this world's ultimate boss, strong enough to change this world.

Feng Xun knew very clearly that in this world, he possessed a system cheat that no one else had. He had a bloodline that even the Otsutsuki Clan could not compare to. He knew a future that no one else knew.

With so many advantages, he believed that he could definitely change the future—not by relying on some so-called Child of Prophecy, but by changing it with his own hands.

Gently pushing Minato away, Feng Xun showed him a smile again. Although that smile now carried a touch more coldness and a touch less innocence, it still truly put Minato at ease.

Minato believed that if things continued like this, his younger brother would surely return to normal.

Just as Minato was about to say something else, Feng Xun shook his head. "Big Brother, go back by yourself first. I want to stay here a little longer."

Seeing Minato's worried expression, Feng Xun chuckled. "Don't worry, Big Brother. I'm not going to kill myself. Besides, the boss lady should still be worried about you right now. Go let her know you're safe."

After hesitating for a moment, Minato said, "All right. I'll go back and let them know first, but don't stay here too long. Kushina isn't only worried about me. She's worried about you too."

"Got it, got it! Being lectured by you, Big Brother, really makes me feel like I'm getting less mature the longer I live!" Feng Xun waved his hand, wearing an expression that said he understood.

After Minato left, Feng Xun returned to the river's edge and crouched down again.

Although he had already made a rough plan for the future, he still needed a clear strategy before that.

At his current strength, he could barely fight an ordinary low-level Chunin evenly.

If he encountered a slightly stronger Chunin, then without special circumstances, he would almost certainly face death.

So the most important thing before him was to improve his strength. Otherwise, forget fighting powerhouses like Madara in the future—even any two random extras might be able to kill him.

The Chunin from Kumogakure he had killed some time ago had contributed 500 points. The beginner's gift pack had given him 500 points, and he had exchanged all his previous savings for a little over a thousand points.

In other words, he now had more than two thousand points, enough to exchange for another B-rank skill.

During his earlier battle with the Cloud Ninja, he had discovered that he lacked powerful offensive techniques. Although the Afterimage Technique could confuse enemies, its actual damage was not very high.

Let's see what powerful offensive techniques there are.

Opening the system shop list, Feng Xun began browsing through the skill section little by little.

After a long time, Feng Xun selected the three skills he currently needed most from among the dazzling array of abilities.

[Dodon Ray: B-rank skill, the Crane School's secret technique. Gather ki in the fingertip and condense it into a white beam to shoot down opponents. Required points: 1200]

[Special Beam Cannon: B-rank skill, a technique created by Piccolo. After charging ki with two fingers placed against the forehead, release a beam from the fingers with power comparable to an A-rank skill. Required points: 2800]

[Kamehameha: B-rank skill, the Turtle School's secret technique. Gather the hidden energy throughout the body, compress it, bring both hands together, condense ki in the palms, and strike enemies with one's own ki. Its power depends on the user's ability. Required points: 2100]

Each of these three skills had its own advantages. For example, although Dodon Ray was cheap and not particularly powerful, it could be fired repeatedly. However, its drawback was equally obvious: it could only be useful now and did not have much room for future growth.

As for the Special Beam Cannon, although it was powerful, it required a long charging time. Unless it was used in a sneak attack, it would be difficult to put to use.

Even Goku's famous Kamehameha had significant limitations. Its power adjusted according to the user's strength. If the user was not strong enough, its power might not even be much greater than Dodon Ray's.

Even so, Feng Xun ultimately chose the Kamehameha, even if it was not as practical as Dodon Ray right now, and even if it was not as powerful as the current Special Beam Cannon.

But it could grow stronger along with Feng Xun's own strength. Therefore, even in the future, the Kamehameha would never become obsolete.