Why Was the Reward a Potluck?

The door of the little house shut with a click.

Uzumaki Hayashi, who had hummed all the way home, kicked off his shoes, flopped onto his bed, and called out in his mind:

System, I'm home. I'm the only one here. Can I claim it now?

[Ding-]

[Host detected in a quiet environment. Claim conditions met.]

[Reward distribution commencing.]

Fine, commence, but at least give me some warn-

His vision abruptly went black. Before Uzumaki Hayashi could even finish complaining, he completely shut down.

Some time later, Uzumaki Hayashi opened his eyes and found himself standing somewhere unfamiliar.

There was no sky above or ground below. An endless expanse of white stretched out in every direction.

And right in the middle of that white light stood a solitary target.

There was nothing else.

Uzumaki Hayashi stared for a while before it slowly began to dawn on him.

A target?

Am I supposed to practice?

He exploded on the spot.

"System! Get out here!"

"So all that talk about a hundred percent ninjutsu mastery, and I still have to practice it myself?!"

"What kind of crappy system are you? I ought to dismantle you and sell you for scrap!"

The white light remained silent.

The system listened to his rant without a single word in its defense.

"Say something! Quit playing dead! You're quick enough when you're throwing pop-ups at me!"

"I'm asking you a question! A hundred percent! What happened to the hundred percent you promised?!"

Still nothing.

Uzumaki Hayashi cursed to his heart's content. By the time he finished, his throat was a little dry, yet he was still met with deathly silence.

Fine. You win.

Too tired to keep ranting, he sighed in resignation, rolled up his sleeves, and walked toward the target.

Fine, I'll practice. What else can I do with this crappy-

But then, with a hum...

An enormous flood of knowledge forced its way into his brain without warning or the slightest regard for him.

"Holy shit, you'd better-"

Before he could finish cursing, Uzumaki Hayashi's vision went black, and he toppled straight over, unconscious again.

When he opened his eyes again, he was still lying in that expanse of white light.

This time, however, a familiar glowing panel floated in front of him.

[Host: Uzumaki Hayashi]

[Age: 12]

[Bloodline: Uzumaki Clan (87% purity)]

[Chakra reserves: Elite Chunin Level]

[Affinities: Wind, Water]

[Abilities: Mind's Eye of the Kagura (beginner), Chakra Refinement Technique (proficient)]

[Ninjutsu: Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere (perfect mastery)]

[Current quest: Save Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha from prolonged bullying and soothe their wounded hearts (in progress)]

Rubbing his aching, swollen-feeling head, Uzumaki Hayashi sat up and read through it line by line.

Pathetic. Still just as pathetic.

I've looked at this stupid panel so many times, and it still can't cough up anything new.

But this time, the last words in the ninjutsu field looked pleasing no matter how he read them.

Perfect mastery.

Hehehe. Perfect mastery.

Only then did he finally understand why the system had insisted he find somewhere quiet.

With the way it had crammed that knowledge into him, anyone would have passed out on the spot after having such a huge mass of unfamiliar information forcibly stuffed into their brain.

If he'd dared claim it out on the street, he'd be lying on the ground right now. By tomorrow, the entire village would be saying that the Uzumaki kid had come down with some bizarre illness while walking along and suddenly dropped dead.

Besides, what had been shoved into his head wasn't just words.

Images. Nothing but images.

People-more than he could count-unleashing Vacuum Sphere in all sorts of places.

Some spat them out in rapid, dense volleys. Others conserved their strength, firing one at a time. Others produced air bullets a full size larger than everyone else's.

How to form the hand seals, how to channel chakra, where to draw in air and where to expel it-every last detail seemed carved into him, becoming his own knowledge.

And the person who appeared most often in those images was a gloomy old man with bandages wrapped around half his face.

Every movement was ruthless and practiced.

He had to admit, the old man's Wind Release was beautifully executed.

The man himself, though, was a real piece of work.

Well, damn. Uzumaki Hayashi's mouth twitched.

So this hundred percent proficiency of yours is a potluck you cobbled together from a bit here and a bit there?

Complaints aside, the goods were the real deal.

He stood, loosened his wrists, and looked at the target nearby.

Before, he would have had to raise his hands and send his fingers flying through a whole sequence of seals before he dared open his mouth.

Now?

With a single thought, his cheeks puffed out, and he opened his mouth:

"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"

Three air bullets tore through the air, shrieking as they slammed into the target and punched straight through it. Without losing momentum, they shot into the white light and vanished.

Uzumaki Hayashi's eyes lit up instantly.

No hand seals. Just open his mouth and fire. Every shot punched a hole.

Compared to his old "beginner" level, this wasn't even the same thing!

"Again!"

Caught up in the fun, he spat out breath after breath, firing one air bullet after another. Once the target shattered into splinters, a wooden post appeared in the white light, and he kept blasting away at that.

It grew smoother with every shot. By the end, he didn't even need to aim; he could hit wherever he pointed.

Unfortunately, he hadn't fired many before he suddenly felt empty inside. His legs gave out, and he dropped onto his backside, panting hard.

Nope. Out of mana.

Sprawled in the white light, Uzumaki Hayashi counted on his fingers—even with his current Elite Chunin Level chakra reserves, firing at full power would get him seven or eight shots at most.

The consumption was a little steep.

But it was absolutely worth it!

From today onward, he, Uzumaki Hayashi, had some real skills to his name!

"Hehehe, today's haul was definitely worth it..."

He lay on the ground, practically bubbling over with delight, and was about to stay there a little longer to savor it-

[Reward distribution complete. Host, please leave.]

Huh?

The next second, an irresistible force appeared out of nowhere and booted him out.

"Hey, hey, hey-can't you be a little gentler?!"

Uzumaki Hayashi's eyes snapped open.

The familiar ceiling beams. The familiar bed. He lay sprawled on his little bed, and outside the window, it was already pitch-black.

What time is it...?

He sat up, rubbing his throbbing temples, and his stomach chose that moment to growl.

Well, yeah. After a whole day of this, even a stomach made of iron couldn't hold out.

Then, out of habit, a thread of perception spread out from him-

As the Mind's Eye of the Kagura swept over the area outside the little house, it suddenly paused.

A cluster of chakra sat quietly by the door, drooping listlessly. Whoever it was had clearly waited long enough to start dozing off.

Uzumaki Hayashi blinked.

Who's at my door this late at night?