An Unusual C-Rank Mission

[Defeat a powerful enemy with the Kekkei Genkai Sharingan to obtain 1 Demon Point. Demon Points can be used to raise the rank of fruit abilities.]

The sudden voice of the system in his ear made Long Ye, who had been walking along, freeze.

"Demon Points? What are those?"

He stopped and focused on the Five-Pointed Star demon mark between his brows, activating the system and opening his personal information page.

The contents recorded on the personal information page had changed slightly. It read:

[Name]: Long Ye (Devil Fruit user)

[Level]: Apprentice Devil (80 Devil Points away from One-Star Devil)

[Awakened Abilities]: Barrier: Human Reassembly (Stage Two), Heart Shock (Stage Two)

[Body Modification]: No demon body modification performed

[Remaining Demon Points]: 1 (can be used to raise the rank of one ability)

This time, Long Ye found several useful pieces of information on the personal information page.

First, he was still 80 Devil Points away from becoming a One-Star Devil.

Second was the Demon Point he had been wondering about.

Given his identity as a transmigrator, Long Ye understood the purpose of Demon Points at a glance. They were basically like the skill points in the games he had played in his previous life.

"So ability ranks can also be raised with Demon Points. That's great. Judging from defeating that Uchiha ninja, they should only be obtained through battles."

After his excitement faded, he began to hesitate over which ability to spend this Demon Point on.

"From what I saw when I used Human Reassembly earlier, it's clearly a prerequisite ability for body modification after becoming a One-Star Devil. If I put the point into that, it'll probably increase the range of the barrier after activation..."

"Heart Shock, on the other hand, is currently my most important—perhaps even my only—means of fighting enemies. Putting it there would benefit my current strength more."

Having thought it through, he opened the ability attributes page and, with the system's assistance, added the Demon Point he had earned to [Heart Shock].

Its original Stage Two became Stage Three, and the ability changed slightly. Its description now read:

Heart Shock: Stage Three: Precise control of high-frequency electric currents allows the user to imbue a specific part of the body with electricity, greatly enhancing that part's abilities.

Long Ye seemed to realize something and raised his right hand.

Accompanied by the crackling of electricity, his entire right hand was engulfed in lightning. He tried clenching his fist, and it transformed into a brilliant blue electric fist.

Long Ye had a feeling that a blow from the blue electric fist might not be as powerful as Beastification, but it had greater endurance. In other words, he could fight for extended periods in this state without worrying that the electricity would vanish after he threw a punch.

He continued experimenting with his control.

The electricity faded from his hand and moved to one finger before finally gathering at his fingertip, becoming a brilliant blue point of light.

Long Ye's heart surged with excitement. At that moment, one of his fingers was an indestructible scalpel, capable of easily cutting open a human body.

After the electricity on his finger went out, currents began bursting from beneath his feet.

Long Ye took a step. With a crackle beneath his foot, he left behind a streak of blue light and flashed ten paces away.

"Trafalgar Law, who possessed this fruit in the One Piece World, didn't seem to develop an ability like this either," Long Ye murmured excitedly.

He gathered the blue lightning beneath his feet and sprinted toward his residence.

He moved so fast that he seemed to turn into a blue shadow, racing faster than the wind. Whenever he encountered an obstacle, a casual leap sent him five meters into the air.

Long Ye felt utterly exhilarated.

Only at that moment did he truly feel that he had gained the means to survive in the Shinobi World.

He did not sleep at all that night, constantly envisioning his future.

The next day.

Long Ye rose early.

Standing before the mirror, he solemnly tied on the ninja forehead protector he had received the day before. As for the vest, its style was far from appealing, so he had discarded it in the wardrobe.

Looking at himself in the mirror, he said to himself, "Now that I'm a Konoha ninja, I should do what a Konoha ninja ought to do."

Long Ye walked down the village streets as passersby occasionally gave him surprised looks.

"Isn't that Long Ye? Why is he wearing our Konoha ninja forehead protector?"

"You're seriously out of touch. I heard about it yesterday. Lord Hokage personally declared that Long Ye had been admitted into Konoha. He's now a legal resident of the Land of Fire."

"That happened?"

"I heard Long Ye possesses a rare Kekkei Genkai. He even subdued Tonghu. No wonder Lord Hokage thinks highly of him and allowed him to join Konoha."

The whispers around him had no effect on Long Ye as he arrived at the Konoha Security Office.

This was where Konoha issued missions.

Completing missions of different difficulty levels earned different amounts of money, and the missions completed would also become part of a ninja's career record.

For ninjas with little family wealth and no side profession, this was undoubtedly a chance to make quick money while improving their ninja records and gaining fame throughout the Shinobi World, so many people took part.

However, most missions posted here were relatively low-risk. A-rank and even S-rank missions were usually assigned personally by the Hokage.

The available missions were posted on a bulletin board, and anyone could accept them. Most were unique as well—once one person completed a mission, everyone else automatically failed it.

At a glance, Long Ye saw that the vast majority were D-rank missions, such as delivering letters or finding dogs. Depending on the time required, the reward was usually between one hundred and two hundred ryo.

Having been in the Shinobi World for a year, Long Ye had a general understanding of this world's currency system and its purchasing power.

In the Shinobi World, one ryo equaled ten yen.

A bowl of ramen usually cost five hundred yen, or fifty ryo.

In other words, even the most tedious D-rank mission would only be enough for Long Ye, Rin, and the other two to have one meal together—and that was only if they ate the cheapest ramen.

Naturally, Long Ye did not want to do missions such as delivering letters or finding dogs, even though he desperately needed money.

He continued searching intently.

"Found one! A C-rank mission."

Long Ye's gaze sharpened.

He had practically dug it out from beneath a stack of papers. Half of it was covered, clearly indicating that no one had paid much attention to this mission before.

[C-Rank Mission: A rogue ninja from Iwagakure in the Land of Earth is being pursued by ninjas from his own country. He has entered the territory of the Land of Fire and is currently hiding in the Demon Forest. Eliminate him for a reward of one thousand ryo.]

[Note: The rogue ninja is named Tao Gui, a genin from Iwagakure. His strength is rated below average. Intelligence indicates that he has been injured. Though he is not much of a threat, do not let down your guard or show mercy.]

"Iwagakure?"

Long Ye frowned slightly when he saw that.

As far as he knew, this was the ninja village that had started the Third Shinobi World War by launching a surprise attack on Konoha.

And there was less than a month left before that war began.

That made him suspect that this might be an act staged by Iwagakure—a way to scout Konoha's defenses in preparation for that surprise attack.