Half-Year Changes

Three months later, it was once again the end of the month—the time for them to kill one another. Nineteen people remained.

This time, everyone had learned their lesson. If they drew an opponent they could not beat, they would concede in advance and fight someone of comparable strength for a place among the survivors.

Among this batch of ANBU reserves undergoing special training, four people were universally acknowledged as untouchable: Terai, Lin Chuan, Fū Yamanaka, and Torune Aburame.

Lin Chuan's Body Flicker Technique was incredibly fast, Terai's Wind Release could not be dodged, Fū Yamanaka possessed sensory ninjutsu, and Torune Aburame's poisonous insects killed on contact.

Of the three people who died in the first month-end battle, all were killed by three of those four.

The one who died and the three who were severely injured in the second month-end battle had all been beaten by them. If they had not surrendered quickly enough, they would have been dead long ago.

Thus, during the third month-end battle, everyone avoided those four whenever they drew them. The moment they stepped onto the field, they immediately conceded. Once a fight began, the least they could expect was severe injury—at worst, death.

Over the fourth and fifth months, Lin Chuan and the other three quickly realized that the month-end battles of life and death had become little more than a formality. The four of them unconsciously relaxed somewhat. After all, facing a life-or-death trial every month was no joke. Anyone who dared slack off was courting death.

The special training soon reached the end of its sixth month. Everyone gathered on the training ground again, but there was unexpectedly no battle this time. Their numbers had also dwindled from over thirty to sixteen.

"Phew, I wonder what new trick they'll use to torture us this time." As Lin Chuan watched Ryūma Aburame and the other two continue their preparations, he quietly opened his personal panel to check the changes from the past six months.

[Life: 3 points]

[Bloodline: Ordinary]

[Talent: Mediocre]

[Strength: Genin]

[Chakra Nature: Water (Chunin: 31%)]

[Throwing: Kunai Throwing] [Ninjutsu: Non-Elemental Ninjutsu] [Water Release Ninjutsu] [Taijutsu] [Genjutsu] [Other Functions]

His Life Points were still at three. He had not had a chance to obtain any Life Points during this period. Even when he faced minor characters in the month-end deathmatches, they would surrender, leaving him with nothing.

His talent had also risen by two points over the past six months. After grinding so desperately, if his talent had remained unchanged, that damned game designer would have gotten an earful.

[Talent: [Nin: 5+] [Body: 5+] [Gen: 3+] [Wis: 5+] [Power: 4+] [Speed: 4+] [Spirit: 3+] [Seals: 5+] Total: 34]

His Body stat had increased by one point through the past six months of physical training.

There had also been additional ANBU knowledge training over the past six months, raising his Wisdom by one point.

His eight ninja attributes had reached thirty-four points, yet he still had not broken through to Chunin. He felt that to advance to Chunin, his overall talent total needed to approach forty—at the very least, thirty-seven or thirty-eight. He was not far from that number now.

Still, it was not all bad news. Thanks to grinding Water Release: Heavenly Weeping, his Water chakra nature had broken through to Chunin. Breaking through to the next stage would probably not be so easy.

Even an affinity he had high compatibility with was this hard to grind. He could not imagine how much time affinities with low compatibility would take. Recently, he had begun to feel that grinding was getting harder; his potential was nearly exhausted.

He had not trained kunai throwing at all over the past six months. As for non-elemental ninjutsu, only his Shadow Clone had changed. He still used Shadow Clone twice every day without fail, raising its proficiency to over three hundred. There was still some distance before it broke through to Chunin.

[Ninjutsu]

[Non-Elemental Ninjutsu]

[E-rank Ninjutsu: Transformation Technique (Genin: 1016/2000)]

[E-rank Ninjutsu: Clone Technique (Genin: 1015/2000)]

[E-rank Ninjutsu: Substitution Technique (Genin: 1020/2000)]

[D-rank Ninjutsu: Body Flicker Technique (Chunin: 2035/4000)]

[B-rank Ninjutsu: Shadow Clone (Genin: 378/1000)]

[Ninjutsu]

[Water Release Ninjutsu]

[C-rank Ninjutsu: Water Release: Water Clone (Genin: 266/1000)]

[C-rank Ninjutsu: Water Release: Water Shock Wave (Genin: 199/1000)]

[B-rank Ninjutsu: Water Release: Water Formation Wall (Usable: 28/100) (Two hand seals)]

[B-rank Ninjutsu: Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet (Usable: 31/100) (Six hand seals)]

[B-rank Ninjutsu: Water Release: Heavenly Weeping (Genin: 400/1000)]

His Water Release ninjutsu had changed quite a bit. Water Clone had gained over a hundred proficiency points, Water Shock Wave had gained over fifty, while Water Formation Wall and Water Dragon Bullet had each only gained a little over ten uses' worth of proficiency.

Water Release: Heavenly Weeping, on the other hand, had gained the most proficiency. It had broken through to Genin and gained over three hundred more proficiency points, making it barely suitable for sneak attacks.

Those were the changes he had undergone in the past six months. Only his Water chakra nature, kunai throwing, and Body Flicker Technique had reached Chunin. Everything else was still at Genin. No wonder the Grind Panel did not recognize him as a Chunin. He was not even half-qualified yet, and breaking through to Chunin remained a distant prospect.

"Next..."

Suddenly, he heard Ryūma Aburame begin to speak. He quickly closed the Grind Panel and listened carefully, ensuring he did not miss any information.

"Next... is the practical examination. Choose your own teammates and split into two-man squads. Select a captain, then come up and receive a mission scroll." Ryūma Aburame looked at the sixteen people before him. He wondered how many would survive after this mission. The mortality rate for Root ninja selection was as high as ninety percent—it was no joke.

As he watched the youngsters begin choosing teammates, his gaze fell upon the young member of the Aburame Clan, who had always been close to the young member of the Yamanaka Clan.

Then there was Terai, a ninja from Lord Danzo's own Shimura Clan, who had approached another child requiring special attention—Lin Chuan.

"Chuan, this mission won't be simple. Interested in teaming up?" Terai stepped closer and quietly tried to recruit Lin Chuan.

"Someone with connections? Did you hear some insider information again?" Lin Chuan knew the other man's surname was Shimura, so it was perfectly normal for him to have access to some inside information.

"Hehe, can't say." Terai winked lightly, though his expression completely betrayed him. The meaning could not have been clearer—he did have inside information.

"Fine. You pick the mission." Lin Chuan nodded lightly and ultimately accepted Terai's invitation. Excluding Torune and Fu, this guy was the strongest person besides himself. If he did not team up with him, who else would he team up with? Some weakling?

"This one, then. Let's see what the mission is." Terai opened the mission scroll and discovered that it was actually a mission to hunt down a rogue ninja.

"A Konoha rogue ninja? Chunin-level strength? Hiding in a Tanzaku Town casino as a thug? Dead or alive, just bring back his head." Lin Chuan stared at the mission details on the scroll, then looked speechlessly at the connected guy. This was his insider information? Lin Chuan began to doubt whether he truly had any. What a mission to pick!

He had actually chosen a mission to hunt down a rogue ninja—and that rogue ninja was a Chunin. They were two Genin being sent to kill a Chunin. Wasn't this mission difficulty a little too high?

"Haha, bad luck. You can pick the next mission." Terai laughed awkwardly, unable to hide the embarrassment in his eyes. It was true that he had insider information and knew in advance that they would be sent out on missions, but the mission selection was entirely random. He had no way of knowing the mission details beforehand.

This was, after all, a mission to hunt down a Chunin. Even if the two of them stood out among Genin, there was a real gap between Genin and Chunin. It was not as though being talented meant they could fight above their rank.