Rin Nohara

Long Ye focused his thoughts between his brows. A faint glow flashed from the pentagram, and a black scroll appeared before him. When it unfurled, several lines of information appeared:

I. Personal Information

II. Ability Attributes

III. Devil Missions

Long Ye opened the "Personal Information" option, and the details appeared:

[Name]: Long Ye (Devil Fruit user)

[Level]: Apprentice Devil (next level: One-Star Devil)

[Ability]: Op-Op Fruit ability (the ultimate devil power for modifying human bodies; its power has no upper limit and holds infinite possibilities.)

[Modification]: Has never undergone physical modification

"So it really is the Op-Op Fruit. But what does Apprentice Devil mean?"

Long Ye found it somewhat baffling.

However, his attention was quickly drawn to the second option. He opened the "Ability Attributes" page, and several lines of information appeared.

[Apprentice Devil] (Skills awakened):

Barrier: Human Reassembly (Creates a spherical enclosed space in which limbs can be severed and reassembled. Severed living beings will not die, bleed, or even be injured.)

Heart Shock (Releases high-frequency electrical shocks at the heart, numbing or even sending the target into shock. At its limit, it is no weaker than Chidori Stream.)

[One-Star Devil] (Not awakened):

Barrier: Body Modification (Within a spherical enclosed space, performs surgical modifications on others or oneself. Not only can body parts be transplanted, but bloodlines and souls as well.)

Fatal Injection (Strikes an enemy at extreme speed. Within the Surgical Barrier, the enemy cannot evade. At its limit, its instantaneous speed is no slower than Flying Thunder God.)

[Two-Star Devil] (Not awakened):

Barrier: Absolute Control (Creates a spherical enclosed space and manipulates nonliving objects within it. It can reverse-control an enemy's ninjutsu and strike it back at them.)

Gamma Knife (Condenses an azure blade of light in the palm to attack an enemy's body. Without damaging the surface, it can sever internal organs and inflict irreversible damage. At its limit, it is no weaker than Rasenshuriken.)

[Three-Star Devil] (Unavailable; requires a second awakening of the Devil Fruit)

[Four-Star Devil] (Unavailable; requires a second awakening of the Devil Fruit)

Long Ye was utterly shaken.

"I'm currently an Apprentice Devil. Does that mean I already have the two Devil Fruit abilities of an Apprentice Devil?"

He extended his right hand, palm down, and tried to release the Surgical Barrier.

To his surprise, the process went exceptionally smoothly. The ability seemed to have become an instinct.

A white vortex of light emerged from his palm and rapidly expanded. A hemispherical barrier of light enveloped an area ten meters around him.

"It worked!"

Long Ye was overjoyed.

He could feel that within this space he had created, he had become its master. His strength, speed, and agility had all improved to varying degrees.

Conversely, anyone else who entered this space would be suppressed in every aspect. They would be constrained in battle and unable to display their true strength.

"My stamina is draining quickly. It seems maintaining the Surgical Barrier consumes stamina."

With his first experience behind him, he began experimenting with its variations.

After a round of experimentation, he reached a conclusion: the longer he charged it, the wider the barrier's range would be. At his current level, fifteen meters was his limit.

Satisfied, Long Ye dispersed the barrier and began testing his second ability.

Crackle!

Blue lightning flickered over his hand.

"What kind of lightning is this? It's actually blue."

Long Ye glanced around before his gaze settled on the large tree in front of him.

He walked over. Remembering his earlier lesson, he did not dare use brute force on the tree again. Instead, he gently pressed his palm, crackling with blue electricity, against the trunk.

Sizzle!!!

The sound of surging current rang out, then calm returned in an instant.

There was not the slightest wound on the surface of the trunk, not even the scorch marks he had expected.

Yet Long Ye revealed an excited smile.

Only he knew that the tree's core had already been reduced to wood dust.

"So this is the terrifying part of blue lightning. No wonder this ability is called Heart Shock. If used on a person, it would do far more than send them into shock—it could turn their internal organs to ash."

Just as he was immersed in the excitement of gaining power and unable to pull himself away, the system's voice suddenly rang out:

[A devil main quest is available. Please check it promptly...]

"A quest?"

Long Ye perked up.

From the information he had learned so far, there was clearly only one way for him to advance from Apprentice Devil to One-Star Devil: complete devil missions.

His gaze moved to the third entry, the "Devil Missions" option. Upon opening it, a line of text appeared:

Apprentice Devil Mission · Main Quest

[Content: One month from now, the Third Shinobi World War will begin. The Shinobi World's balance will shift. You must survive this war and obtain the Sharingan Kekkei Genkai to complete your first Devil Body Modification.]

[Consequence: Success will grant subsequent missions. Failure will result in the Devil Fruit ability being reclaimed, and the chance at rebirth bestowed by the Lord of Devils being stripped away. Death will mean extinction, and you will vanish forever.]

"Huh?"

Long Ye's expression changed drastically when he saw the last part.

"If I fail, I'll disappear forever?"

Long Ye's heart clenched.

"One month. I still have one month. I need to improve my strength as quickly as possible."

"According to the mission, I need to obtain the Sharingan Kekkei Genkai to pass. But to complete the mission, obtaining the Sharingan is only one part. The second is acquiring the ability Barrier: Body Modification, and that ability can only awaken once I become a One-Star Devil."

"One month to advance to One-Star Devil... Can I do it? I can only give it everything I have."

Long Ye clenched his fists and silently made up his mind.

At that moment, in the distance.

A petite, adorable figure hid behind a large tree, secretly watching that "lonely" figure. She let out a soft sigh.

"Long Ye, you must be feeling so helpless right now. How can I help you?"

The girl steadied herself, stepped out from behind the tree, and smiled as she waved toward him.

"Hi, Long Ye. You really are here. I went to your house to look for you, but you weren't home. I knew you'd be here practicing..."

The sudden voice startled Long Ye from his own world. When he came back to himself and saw the girl waving at him in the distance, a rare smile appeared on his face.

"Rin!!"

Seeing Rin's smiling face gave him even more courage to fight for his life.

During the year since he had entered Konoha, he had only made two friends. One was Obito Uchiha. The two had become friends because they were, in a way, kindred spirits.

Obito came from the Uchiha clan, yet he was called the Uchiha clan's disgrace. His talent was poor, and he suffered countless scornful looks from his clansmen.

Of course, that "poor" talent was only by the standards of the Uchiha clan, where geniuses were everywhere. Compared to Long Ye, Obito was still considered a genius.

The second was Rin Nohara.

Rin was the gentlest and kindest girl Long Ye had seen since coming to this world. In fact, a large part of the reason he had survived until now without starving to death was Rin's selfless help.