She regretted it as soon as she said it.
That sounded... almost like she was hinting at something.
But Uchiha Makoto smiled.
[Ding! Kurenai Yuhi's trust in your lie-she might become your wife in the future: 20%. Manifestation: 6%.]
It worked.
Although her trust was only at 20%, her manifestation ceiling was just 30%, since she wasn't a heavily weighted character in the story.
That meant even if Kurenai believed him completely, the system could only manifest thirty percent of the effect.
But that didn't matter.
Slow and steady.
Twenty percent today, thirty tomorrow, fifty the day after... sooner or later, he could max it out.
And her affection for him had increased, too.
Six percent wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.
"Thanks." Uchiha Makoto smiled at Kurenai. "That's quite a compliment."
Then he turned to Asuma, who was still glaring at him.
"Did you hear that, Asuma? Kurenai said she might choose someone like me. Better step up your game."
With that, he strolled back to his seat.
Asuma stood rooted to the spot, his clenched fists cracking.
But Kurenai held him back.
"Asuma, stop it," Kurenai said softly. "Cheng was only joking."
"Joking?" Asuma gritted his teeth. "You call that joking? He was obviously-!"
"Enough," Kurenai interrupted. "Class is starting."
The teacher entered the classroom, leaving Asuma no choice but to return to his seat, seething.
He glared at Uchiha Makoto for the entire lesson.
Uchiha Makoto paid him no attention whatsoever.
He was thinking about something else.
The system notification just now had put Kurenai Yuhi's weight at only 30%.
Kurenai had a fair amount of screen time in the original story.
She was Hinata's Jonin instructor, and she'd even had a child with Asuma.
Early on, she'd always hung around with Kakashi, Guy, and Asuma.
She could be considered one of Konoha's most prominent Jonin.
And a character like that had a weight of only 30%?
Who knows how this damn system calculates those weights, Uchiha Makoto thought.
The bell rang.
Kurenai packed her things and prepared to go home. Asuma followed beside her, still rambling.
"Kurenai, don't pay attention to that Uchiha Makoto. Everyone in the Uchiha Clan is like that-arrogant, conceited, looking down on everyone..."
Kurenai said nothing.
She was still thinking about what had happened earlier.
Cheng had asked her whether he would make a suitable husband.
She'd answered, "I might choose someone like you."
Looking back, she'd said that far too casually.
But at the time... she hadn't known why she'd simply blurted it out.
And afterward, the way she felt when she looked at Cheng... seemed a little different.
Before, she'd thought of Cheng as just a classmate. He was strong and good-looking, but she hadn't felt anything special.
Now, her heart beat a little faster when she saw him.
"Kurenai? Are you listening?" Asuma asked.
"Huh? Yes." Kurenai snapped out of her thoughts. "What did you say?"
Asuma sighed. "I said, tomorrow's the weekend. Want to go up to Hokage Rock and enjoy the view?"
"I..." Kurenai hesitated. "I've got something to do tomorrow."
"What?"
"Training," Kurenai said, finding an excuse. "My chakra control still needs work."
It really was an excuse.
She simply didn't want to go out alone with Asuma.
Before, she'd thought nothing of it. Asuma was a friend, so hanging out together was perfectly normal.
But now... now she was getting a little annoyed.
Annoyed that Asuma was always following her around, annoyed that he always acted as though she belonged to him.
She wasn't anyone's possession.
"Then I'll train with you!" Asuma immediately offered.
"No need." Kurenai shook her head. "I want to practice alone."
With that, she quickened her pace, leaving Asuma behind.
Asuma stood there, staring blankly after her.
What had he done wrong?
Why was Kurenai suddenly ignoring him?
Was it because of Uchiha Makoto?
It had to be!
Asuma clenched his fists, his eyes blazing.
Uchiha Makoto...
Just you wait!
Meanwhile, Uchiha Makoto was on his way home.
He carried some freshly bought beef, still thinking about NPC weights.
After mulling it over, he smiled.
Forget it. No point dwelling on it.
There was plenty of time. He could take it slow.
Humming an off-key tune, he pushed open his front door.
The house was still just as shabby and empty.
But at least he could afford meat now.
And in the future, he might even have an exceptionally beautiful girlfriend.
"Life," Uchiha Makoto said as he put the beef in a pot and lit the stove, "still gives you plenty to look forward to."
Uchiha Makoto ate the meat on the table, absentmindedly twirling his chopsticks as he considered which skill to manifest next to improve his strength.
First, Ninjutsu was completely off the table.
Seriously, an Uchiha orphan whose parents were both dead suddenly displaying earth-shattering talent for Ninjutsu?
He certainly wouldn't be put on a pedestal. Danzo would secretly eliminate him, or Orochimaru would eventually see him as the perfect breeding ground for a Sharingan and material for his experiments.
Power that appeared too suddenly, with no reasonable explanation, would be a death sentence until he had enough strength to protect himself.
So he could only keep developing his Taijutsu.
Now it was time to sift through the other five techniques of the Six Powers, one by one.
After all, the Six Powers were relatively simple, making them easier to manifest.
Finger Pistol was the first to go.
Uchiha Makoto curled his lip. Even while reading the manga in his previous life, he'd thought that skill was just there to make up the numbers.
"Why would I stab people with my fingers? I've got kunai and shuriken. I might even get my hands on a legendary weapon like the Kusanagi Sword someday. Why bother poking people with my fingers?"
In the world of Naruto, where kunai, swords, and explosive tags flew everywhere, specializing in "stabbing people with your fingers" felt a little too much like performance art.
Kami-e sounded like an incredible evasion skill, but it offered too little value in the world of Naruto.
Relaxing the body to sense air currents sounded wonderful, but compared to the Substitution Technique, one of the three most basic techniques, it instantly lost its shine.
Rather than spend time manifesting that skill, he would be better off figuring out how to use his daily Lie-Into-Reality opportunity to become more proficient with the Substitution Technique.
Shave's high-speed movement was certainly tempting.
The problem was that the world of Naruto already had the Body Flicker Technique.
Not to mention Flying Thunder God, the pinnacle of Space-Time Ninjutsu, further down the line.
If he was going to spend effort manifesting anything, it should be the Body Flicker Technique. Having an established concept would make it easier to manifest, too.
Tempest Kick did look pretty cool.
But Naruto's ranged attacks were far stronger.
Great Fireball Technique, Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves, Lightning Release: False Darkness, Tailed Beast Bomb... Tempest Kick's meager cutting power barely amounted to anything here.
Its only advantage might be that it required no hand seals. He could manifest it later, when he had more opportunities.
In Uchiha Makoto's mind, Tempest Kick belonged in the same tier as the Great Fireball Technique anyway.
Finally, his attention settled on Moonwalk.
Aerial mobility was nothing short of a strategic advantage in the early and middle stages of Naruto.
Thinking it over, very few people in Naruto could actually sustain flight.
Deidara relied on his Clay Bird, and the Third Tsuchikage relied on the Light-Weight Rock Technique. Both were signature abilities.
Everyone else either needed something like Sasuke's hawk or had to reach Six Paths level in the later stages before they could float freely.
That meant mastering Moonwalk would give him control of a three-dimensional battlefield that the vast majority of shinobi could never hope to match.
He could attack from above when advancing, or take to the air to evade ground-based Ninjutsu and encirclement when retreating.
Scouting, ambushes, retreats, evasive maneuvers... his tactical options would multiply exponentially.
In an unexpected encounter, that would be an advantage on an entirely different level.
"I have to get Moonwalk."
Uchiha Makoto murmured to himself, lightly tapping a finger against the table.
It wasn't merely a skill, but a crucial license to engage in aerial combat.
In this shinobi world, where the vast majority of battles took place on the ground, being the first to take the battlefield into the sky meant being the first to seize the key to victory.
As for how to convince Obito or Guy that he'd figured out such an absurd Taijutsu technique-stepping on air to climb into the sky!
Hmm. I'll need a good story.
Uchiha Makoto rubbed his chin and began devising his next "well-intentioned lie."
Before you continue