Chapter 3

Through the window, Liuyun could clearly see the insects on the weeds in the distance.

He hurriedly picked up the mirror on the windowsill. His black eyes had turned scarlet, with a single tomoe spinning around the edge of each iris.

The trademark of the Red Eye Disease Clan—the Sharingan!

It was also one of the gateways to the world of the strong.

"Holy! Fuck! I awakened it just like that! This system really is fucking amazing!"

Liuyun cried out. The moment he finished shouting, a flood of memories surfaced.

They felt innate, as though they had merely been gathering dust for years. His brain raced, frantically soaking them up like a sponge.

The principles of genjutsu, its applications...

A little while later, Liuyun finished absorbing the memories in his mind.

His understanding of genjutsu had jumped straight from complete ignorance to a beginner's grasp.

In principle, genjutsu was a form of secret Yin Release technique.

Unlike ninjutsu and taijutsu, it targeted an enemy's five senses, trapping them in illusions.

The stronger the mind, the more powerful the genjutsu it could cast.

In short, genjutsu relied primarily on the mind, with chakra serving as support.

The Uchiha Clan's Sharingan, meanwhile, required intense emotional stimulation to awaken and continued to evolve through it.

Ultimately, awakening the Sharingan was inseparably linked to the mind or Yin Release.

The Sharingan also greatly enhanced genjutsu, to the point where one plus one could be greater than two.

In the original story, some Uchiha Clan ninja who were not particularly skilled in genjutsu immediately gained a basic grasp of its simplest forms after awakening their Sharingan.

That alone showed just how terrifying a boost the Sharingan gave genjutsu.

Yet despite having such excellent genjutsu at their disposal, the Uchiha Clan insisted on making their name with Fire Release instead.

Liuyun honestly did not know what to say.

Wasn't genjutsu good enough for them?

Shaking his head, Liuyun turned his attention to a card.

"System! Use the random Logia Devil Fruit card!"

The golden card erupted with dazzling white light in Liuyun's mind!

A genuine legendary gold pull!

Excitement filled Liuyun's eyes. After all, these things were famous in that other world.

A single one could make someone one of the mightiest beings on the seas. Having one was practically a foot in the door to the very top.

He clasped his hands together and prayed earnestly.

"I'm not asking for much. Give me a Rumble-Rumble Fruit. I'll take any of the Three Admirals' fruits, too. Even a Dark-Dark Fruit will do in a pinch. Just don't give me one of those garbage fruits!"

"Amitabha! All my anime wives, bless me! My darling Yan, I'm counting on you! Gaia!!!!!!"

As Liuyun murmured his prayers, the dazzling light gradually faded.

A fruit appeared before his eyes.

It resembled a pineapple, covered in rings of strange patterns, with a crystalline, translucent color tinged with blue.

"This! Could this be..." Liuyun already had an answer in mind and silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he had not drawn the Rumble-Rumble Fruit he wanted most, this one was pretty good, too.

Just then, the system's voice rang out in his mind.

Ding! Congratulations, host. You have drawn a Devil Fruit without side effects: the Ice-Ice Fruit! Would you like to use it?

"Use it!"

Liuyun trembled all over with excitement. The Ice-Ice Fruit! The fruit wielded by Admiral Aokiji, one of the navy's Three Admirals in the original story.

His strength went without saying. After all, he had been able to contend with Red Dog for the position of Fleet Admiral.

He was one of the strongest people on the seas.

He was a terrifying powerhouse who could freeze all of Crescent Bay with a single Ice Age.

The Ice-Ice Fruit was also the only Logia Devil Fruit that had no fear of seawater.

Now that he had obtained it, he could draw on all the ice-based moves he had seen in anime and other fiction in his previous life.

Liuyun was confident he could develop the Ice-Ice Fruit even further than Aokiji had.

With the Sharingan's genjutsu to support him, Liuyun could already picture his future: one opening of his beautiful eyes, one movement of his body, and everything in sight would become an ice sculpture.

At the thought, a trickle of drool unconsciously escaped the corner of his mouth.

Just then, a strange energy poured into every part of his body.

A refreshing coolness spread through him, and he felt as though he had gained command of an immensely powerful force.

At a thought from Liuyun, cold air enveloped him, and the surrounding temperature began to plummet.

He extended his palm, and a crystalline ice short spear appeared in his hand.

At the same time, his chakra began to drain.

Liuyun frowned and immediately let it disperse.

"So it consumes chakra? Must be because of the Shinobi World's rules!"

In that case, his Ice-Ice Fruit ability had become an Ice Release kekkei genkai, just like the Yuki Clan's!

He had to admit, it was ironic. A clan that specialized in Fire Release had produced an oddball like him, who used Ice Release and genjutsu.

Just then, some information about the Ice-Ice Fruit surfaced in Liuyun's mind.

Elementalization, the most basic applications of the Ice-Ice Fruit...

(New book—please send flowers, ratings, and bookmarks! I'm begging for everything! As requested, Elementalization works normally. Please stop flaming me, sob.)

Be Eastern Wu first, then Cao Cao! (Fifth update!)

After absorbing everything, a sharp gleam flashed in Liuyun's eyes. These were only the most basic applications.

He was certain he would be the brightest star in tomorrow's combat exercise.

With everything he had gained today, his rise was all but guaranteed!

Finally, Liuyun turned his gaze to the inventory slot he had been looking forward to most.

His eyes shone, and his little face brimmed with excitement.

He was even more worked up than when he had received the Ice-Ice Fruit.

His lips spread into a rather particular kind of grin.

Just as he was about to give it a thorough "critical review," the system's icy voice extinguished the heat in his heart.

Ding! Your future wife, Uchiha Mikoto, has been detected having a nightmare. Please make one of the following choices, host!

1. Sneak into Mikoto's room, hold her little hand like Xiao Huo, and keep watch beside her bed all night. Reward: physique increased by 50%!

2. Sneak into Mikoto's room, gently shake her awake, and ask with concern, "Mikoto, are you all right?" Reward: mental energy increased by 30%!

3. Go all the way. She is your future wife, after all. Hold her as you sleep for the night without waking her. Reward: chakra increased by 100%!

Liuyun was speechless.

System, do you seriously think I have a choice?

"Well, there goes tonight's critical review session!"

Looking dejected, Liuyun got up and quietly jumped out the window.

It was summer, and Mikoto's window was open just like his.

Liuyun slipped inside and landed without a sound, displaying a certain pervert's instinctive talent.

The moment he entered, a familiar, rich fragrance greeted him.

Liuyun greedily drew in a breath, then slowly tiptoed toward Uchiha Mikoto.

The darkness did nothing to obstruct his vision.

Reaching Uchiha Mikoto's bedside, he saw that her little face was pale, her brows tightly knitted, and her expression filled with terror.

Liuyun fell silent...

Ding! Congratulations, host, on selecting option three. Chakra increased by 100%.

Liuyun's expression remained unchanged as he gently held the little girl before him. Girls in the Naruto world matured early mentally.

But their bodies were just like those in his previous world, only gradually developing after the age of fifteen.

To him, Uchiha Mikoto was nothing more than a pleasantly scented flat board.

Still, feeling the chakra in his dantian double, Liuyun gave a satisfied little smile.

This option was pretty good...

Compared with the other two, he preferred being a scoundrel like Cao Cao.

As a child, he had cursed that scoundrel every time he watched Three Kingdoms. But after growing up, who knew how many people wished they could be him?

With a wistful sigh, Liuyun breathed in the fragrance before him and drifted peacefully to sleep.

At dawn, a ray of sunlight pierced the darkness, spilling countless beams of light as a new day arrived.

"Liuyun! Liuyun! Wake up!"

The gentle voice carried a hint of shyness, and a series of shakes roused Liuyun.

He opened his sleepy eyes and immediately saw Uchiha Mikoto before him, her face crimson and her expression somewhat flustered.

"Morning, Mikoto!" Liuyun greeted her.

"Liuyun! Why are you in my room?"

Uchiha Mikoto puffed out her cheeks, her flushed face plainly declaring that she was angry.

"I heard you shouting last night, so I rushed over. It turned out you were dreaming!"

"You looked so upset that I was worried, but I couldn't bear to wake you."

"All I could do was sit quietly beside your bed and keep you company. Then you grabbed my hand, so I had to stay there and wait for you to let go!"

"The next thing I knew, I woke up to you calling me!"

The little lecher Liuyun had long since prepared his story. Channeling an Oscar-winning actor, he put on a thoroughly aggrieved expression.

"O-oh, that's what happened! Liuyun, I guess I misunderstood you!"

Uchiha Mikoto's adorably fierce expression vanished at once, and alarm flashed through her bright, dark eyes.

She really had suffered a nightmare last night. She had dreamed of witnessing her parents' murder.

The killer had not only killed her parents but intended to kill her as well. Just as she was about to die, an arm had appeared in her dream.

It had pulled her out of that nightmare. That arm had been warm and full of light. Putting that together with Liuyun's explanation, she supposed she must have...

Thinking of everything Liuyun had done for her last night, only for her to snap at him this morning, Uchiha Mikoto's beautiful eyes filled with regret and sympathy.

"I! I'll go make breakfast! You should wash up!" With that, she hurried outside.

"Remember! You can't tell anyone about last night."

Poking her little head back in, Uchiha Mikoto gave him a solemn reminder.

"I know! I know!"

Liuyun nodded furiously. Little girls in this world really were naive. She had believed him just like that.

"And... s-sorry, Liuyun..."

With that, Uchiha Mikoto hurried off and disappeared from his sight.

"That girl!" Liuyun chuckled.