SWTO

Beneath the clear azure sky, the land ravaged by artillery fire was dotted with one crater after another. Gray-white cordite smoke billowed out of them and rushed into the sky. If a white dove, symbol of peace, were to fly past at this moment, it might make for quite a poetic scene.

Pity that what flew over was not a dove with pure white wings, but a black bird of death.

A crow with red pupils, completely unafraid of the smell of gunpowder and cordite, landed on this land, hopped back and forth for a moment, and finally flapped its wings and flew up into the sky.

Meanwhile, far away in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, Uchiha Naruto lowered the arm that had been shielding his eyes, revealing a pair of deep, pitch-black eyes.

Thinking of that round of artillery strikes with the force of a thunderbolt that had flattened an entire hill in an instant, Uchiha Naruto could not help but turn solemn.

This kind of destructive power already surpassed his current strongest attack method, the Great Fireball Technique.

The destructive power of modern military technology was not inferior to the powerful ninjutsu in Naruto. If one did not consider those gods who could rewrite maps with a wave of their hands at the end, it was even superior.

However, the hypothetical enemy of modern human military forces had never been individual existences with powerful power. Naturally, Uchiha Naruto could not possibly be foolish enough to fight head-on against a regular army standing by in full battle array.

"The biggest advantage is still that the government is out in the open while I'm in the dark. As long as the government doesn't discover that all the superhumans are my avatars, then I have room to maneuver and even stir up trouble behind the scenes... Bah! I mean, command the overall situation."

Ninjas in Naruto had high offensive power, high agility, and extremely strong mobility. Hiding in the dark to launch a sudden attack with a sure-kill strike, then quickly retreating to blend into the crowd and escape into the city-there was nothing the Japanese government could do to him.

No matter how unhinged the Self-Defense Forces were, they couldn't possibly carry out a blanket artillery bombardment in an international metropolis like Tokyo. For the Metropolitan Police Department to dispatch the Special Assault Team (SAT) for a encirclement and suppression campaign would already be the limit.

However, for Uchiha Naruto, who possessed the Transformation Technique and the Bird Clone Technique, escaping the encirclement was not a difficult task.

Executing such repeated guerrilla warfare and assassination tactics could greatly shake the social order of this country and cause drastic social turmoil. If he were even more unhinged...

"Level 2 Fire Style can only use C-Rank ninjutsu, which cannot compare to a round of artillery fire in terms of momentum and destructive power. But if it upgrades to Level 3 and can use B-Rank or even A-Rank ninjutsu, that power won't be in the same league."

Uchiha Naruto had great confidence in the lethality of the Naruto power system, but the fly in the ointment was that ninjas were a bit fragile, thin-blooded, and had average defense.

Although Uchiha Naruto was not very afraid of light weapons like handguns right now, it was merely by relying on agility to dodge or parry beforehand. If he were shot by a handgun, even a close-range hit from a police pistol like the Nambu M60 would cause bleeding, let alone machine gun bullets, sniper rifles, and the like.

Like protagonists in movies who took multiple gunshots and yet remained light on their feet, full of life, and able to fight three hundred rounds with pursuing troops, that was simply impossible.

Given Uchiha Naruto's current physical condition, taking a large-caliber rifle bullet would probably cause him to lose his mobility.

"How I want Hidan's immortality! The powerful vitality of the Senju and Uzumaki clans, and medical ninjutsu that can even reattach a body cut in half at the waist. And Orochimaru. Although Orochimaru's strength is ordinary, his self-preservation ability can be considered top-tier among Kage Level ones. It's just that his techniques involve bodily modification; I certainly don't want to turn into that inhuman and ghostly look of his."

Just in case, he still needed to get his hands on this kind of life-saving ninjutsu as soon as possible. Since the monsters in this world possessed abilities similar to Naruto ninjutsu, there was a high possibility that among them were several of the aforementioned abilities. If he could get his hands on them, it could also eliminate his worries.

It was just a pity that Uchiha Naruto did not have a ninjutsu to search for monsters, nor was he a sensory-type ninja, so he couldn't find monsters to prey upon.

It would be great if this system had the functions of automatic enemy-seeking combat or issuing quests to actively provide targets for him to resolve.

It was a pity that it had neither. The system currently only had two functions: the training ground and the Item Shop. He needed to advance to Jonin before he could light up the next icon, but the next icon obviously didn't have the functions of automatic enemy-seeking and quest-issuing either.

School let out at 3:00 PM. Coming out of the classroom, Uchiha Naruto did not rush to the Takasaki Izakaya, but instead took his backpack and went to the school library.

Although there were quite a few more people in the school library after school, it still maintained a quiet and peaceful atmosphere. The rustling sounds of writing and page-turning made for a very motivating ambiance.

It was a bit awkward to say, but for the past week, Uchiha Naruto had not fulfilled his duty as a student; instead, he had been exorcising demons, subduing monsters, and playing god in secret like a superhero high school boy in a manga.

One had to know that around April 28th, there would also be a monthly test. If he did too poorly and his grades dropped severely, he wouldn't be able to show his face either.

He certainly couldn't be like Sasuke in the Chunin Ninja Exams, opening a pair of scarlet Sharingan right in the exam room to directly copy the class monitor's test paper.

Wait, wasn't that actually possible?

After all, he now possessed the Bird Clone Technique and could share vision with a crow. If a crow were parked near the window, the test papers of the other students would also be laid out in full view.

Stop that, stop that! He mustn't entertain such crooked thoughts.

Uchiha Naruto wasn't coming to study just for deviation scores.

Setting aside some messy distractions and calming his mind, Uchiha Naruto took out his textbooks, pen, and paper, and began to study earnestly.

After studying in the library for over an hour, Uchiha Naruto got up and hurried toward the Takasaki Izakaya, arriving shortly before 5:00 PM.

"Hello, Uchiha-kun. Sorry for the trouble again today. Dinner is also ready; please come eat first."

"Thank you for the bento. It tastes great; I've already washed it clean." Uchiha Naruto returned the washed bento box to Takasaki Tsuki.

"If Uchiha-kun doesn't mind, please leave the lunches from now on to us at the Takasaki Izakaya as well."

That meant in addition to the original evening employee meal, she was also taking care of that midday meal for him.

"I couldn't possibly."

Takasaki Tsuki bowed at a ninety-degree angle and said sincerely, "Now is the time we must rely on Uchiha-kun, so please do not refuse."

Japanese people really were too polite, bowing and offering greetings at every turn. Uchiha Naruto wasn't someone who would drag things out either-it was just a bento, no need to go through three offers and three declines-so he agreed.

The worst he could do was be more dedicated to his part-time job afterward, which would suffice as repayment.

The evening employee meal was also a typical family-style fare without any grand dishes, but under Takasaki Tsuki's skillful cooking, it could be called flavorful. Uchiha Naruto unceremoniously ate five bowls in a row.

It left Takasaki Anzu, who was witnessing Uchiha Naruto's terrifying appetite for the first time, somewhat dumbfounded.

After finishing dinner, they began to make preparations before opening.

After Uchiha Naruto changed into his employee uniform and came down from the second floor, he saw the Takasaki sisters wearing wide-sleeved, thick blue-cloth kimonos, with white aprons printed with the shop's name worn over them, and white headscarves wrapped around their heads. Coupled with their youthful and vibrant faces, they very much had the vibe of izakaya poster girls.