Kushina Uzumaki's Red Hair

The Hayate Clan had always been small. Its grounds were modest, with only a few old houses, and its location was relatively secluded.

Moonlight Ruyun returned to his room and shut the door tightly.

He spread his fingers, his palm slightly damp. A few strands of red hair that seemed to shimmer were reflected in his eyes, and his excitement refused to settle.

As the saying went, the Hokage world was a stage for cheats—if yours were weak, don't bother showing up.

From the age of ninshu to the Warring States Period, then on to the age of ninja villages, what powerhouse hadn't used cheats?

From Hashirama Senju to Naruto Uzumaki, from Madara Uchiha to Sasuke Uchiha, while everyone else was still playing around with the Five Basic Nature Transformations, those four were either piloting Gundams or messing with space-time.

They made the natives of the shinobi world look like cavemen.

By the Fourth Shinobi World War, the Sage of Six Paths was remotely handing out power from the Pure Land. They weren't even pretending anymore.

It left Black Zetsu, who had schemed for a thousand years, too furious to speak.

Moonlight Ruyun strongly condemned such behavior for ruining fairness in the shinobi world.

But... that was then, and this was now.

"If I get cheats too, forget I said anything."

"Deep Blue... no, equipment slots, give me a stat boost!"

A futuristic screen of light unfolded before him. At its center was a small three-legged cauldron with two handles. Below it sat a row of twelve square slots, and in the upper-right corner was an icon resembling a warehouse.

He tapped the little cauldron.

[Equipment crafting/fusion]

[Craftable equipment material detected. Begin crafting?]

He took out his private savings, a grand total of eighty-one thousand ryō.

"Start crafting!"

The red hair on the table vanished along with thirty thousand ryō.

[Crafting started]

[Estimated time remaining: 10, 9, 8...]

For those ten seconds, he stared nervously at the countdown without blinking.

Given the crafting cost of thirty thousand ryō per attempt, he suspected that equipment crafting might have a chance of failure.

[Estimated time remaining: 3, 2, 1]

His gaze burned, his mouth went dry, and his heartbeat gradually quickened. Never had ten seconds felt so long.

[Crafting successful!]

"First try? Nice!"

Moonlight Ruyun's eyes lit up. He pumped his fist and opened the warehouse, where a piece of equipment had already appeared.

[Kushina Uzumaki's Red Hair]

[Quality: green]

[Trait one: a girl's blessing]

[Effect: slightly increases luck]

[Trait two: immense strength]

[Effect: increases strength by 60%]

[Note: he said my red hair was beautiful.]

"Why does equipment come with a personal message?"

"Luck... that's a trait too?"

Moonlight Ruyun glanced at the somewhat strange note, then focused on the first trait, [a girl's blessing]. According to the astonishing wisdom he had acquired through gaming, any trait involving charm or luck was bound to be something special.

He continued to the second trait, [immense strength]. Its effect was straightforward.

"A 60% strength increase. An actual percentage bonus!"

The corners of his mouth lifted. Those who knew, knew just how valuable percentage bonuses were.

Whether in taijutsu or swordsmanship, strength and speed were crucial.

Hatake Sakumo, currently Konoha's foremost swordsman, had carved out a fearsome reputation with the uncanny speed of his White Fang Swordsmanship.

Before Minato Namikaze rose to prominence, Hatake Sakumo was the terrifying figure whose name alone could silence a crying child.

"Equip!"

An icon of red hair appeared in one of the slots beneath the little cauldron.

In an instant, warmth surged through every part of his body. It felt as though he were soaking in a hot spring, and he couldn't help letting out a soft hum.

A few minutes later, the warmth faded. The equipment's traits had taken effect.

He clenched his fist sharply, feeling his newfound strength, and broke into a grin.

In the small courtyard.

Standing before the wooden dummy he had practiced against in the past, he drew the short sword at his waist and casually twirled it.

The next instant, the short sword crashed into the dummy with an explosive, dull thud.

A deep slash remained in the wooden dummy.

One dull impact after another echoed through the courtyard.

Cracks spread like a spiderweb before the dummy burst into countless pieces with a bang.

Fragments flew everywhere. The largest struck the courtyard wall and actually embedded itself deep inside.

The violent impact shook loose several leaves, yet they paused strangely in midair.

Clang!

He sheathed his sword, and the shredded leaves drifted slowly to the ground.

Moonlight Ruyun looked at his hand, disbelief rising in his eyes.

"Hahahahahahaha!"

Unrestrained, exhilarated laughter echoed through the small courtyard.

"Ruyun, you've improved again."

He stopped laughing and turned toward the voice. A middle-aged man in casual clothes stood outside the gate. It was his uncle, Gekko Naoto.

The current head of the Hayate Clan, and the man who would one day father "Shippuden."

"Uncle, I've still got a long way to go."

"No. If I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't have believed it... With your current strength, no genin in Konoha could match you."

"Really?"

His expression turned odd. Not necessarily, he thought.

Everyone knew Konoha was like a monster spawner. Its strongest fighters were genin, and every so often, another monster would pop out.

Never mind the future Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. Even in present-day Konoha, there was an "eternal genin" named Maruboshi Kosuke.

"I'm a special Jonin. I wouldn't misjudge this. Your strength is already far beyond genin level, and you're only nine..." Gekko Naoto laughed. "You have the makings of a Jonin!"

"Don't go saying things like that, Uncle." Moonlight Ruyun shuddered.

Looking at his modest nephew, Gekko Naoto felt even more pleased.

Something seemed to cross his mind, and his eyes filled with equal parts pride and regret. "With your current strength, if you could bring your speed up to match, White Fang's swordsmanship would suit you best."

"Uncle, Konoha-Style Swordsmanship is already very good."

He meant it.

In the world of Naruto, swordsmanship and blade techniques amounted to the same thing.

Comparisons between sword styles usually came down to the caliber of the powerful fighters who practiced them.

In Konoha as it stood, if Hatake Sakumo claimed second place in swordsmanship, nobody would dare claim first. The standing of White Fang Swordsmanship rose along with him.

Put simply, White Fang was strong, not his sword style.

With a few more pieces of equipment, I'll show the shinobi world the beauty of pure stats!

Moonlight Ruyun thought with anticipation.

Looking at his optimistic nephew, Gekko Naoto sighed inwardly.

Once this child became a ninja, he would understand just how terrifying Konoha's White Fang was-a towering mountain in the history of swordsmanship that no one could scale.

Unwilling to dampen the youngster's enthusiasm, he changed the subject. "Once you graduate from the Ninja Academy, I'll give you the sword your father left behind."

"What?"

Moonlight Ruyun was puzzled. Why didn't he remember his father in this life leaving behind a sword?

"A sword forged entirely from chakra metal. He hoped you would put it to good use and become a Jonin."

"Chakra metal?"

Afraid his nephew might not understand how precious the sword was, Gekko Naoto explained, "It's an extremely valuable metal. Forging this sword emptied the Hayate Clan's savings. A weapon like this is something every master swordsman dreams of."

Moonlight Ruyun fell silent. Naturally, he knew how precious chakra metal was.

He simply hadn't expected the Hayate Clan to possess such an unimaginably valuable sword, or that his uncle, a special jōnin, would actually save it for him.

After a few seconds of shock, he began making calculations.

Entirely made of chakra metal?

I wonder if a sword like that counts as equipment material...