For the next week, Ziyun rarely appeared before A. Instead, he stayed in his laboratory, concentrating on training his Observation Haki.
According to the system, Observation Haki was divided into three levels: basic, advanced, and top-tier.
The basic level allowed one to predict movements and detect living beings nearby. It was much like Sensory Ninjutsu, except that it required very little Chakra, making it harder for enemy sensory ninja to detect the user in turn.
Advanced Observation Haki was like that of Charlotte Katakuri, the strongest fighter under Big Mom, one of the Four Emperors among the pirates. It could glimpse briefly into the future.
As for top-tier Observation Haki, that was the kind possessed by the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. It was also the only top-tier Observation Haki in the original story-the Voice of All Things.
Of course, Ziyun figured the protagonist, Wang Luffy, definitely had it too, but had yet to display it.
What Ziyun had obtained this time was basic Observation Haki, which could currently cover a radius of several dozen meters around him.
Of course, that was before he had combined his Observation Haki with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's power. Once he fused them properly, Ziyun believed he would definitely be able to see much farther than the Byakugan of Konoha's Hyuga Clan.
With his Observation Haki activated, Ziyun could sense everything around him with exceptional clarity: the movements, changes, and auras of living beings, as well as the beings themselves.
He could even sense a dung beetle beneath the wall at the laboratory's northwest corner, busily piling up dung. A gecko then swallowed it whole, dung ball and all.
Beneath the floor in the southeast corner, eight rats were building a nest, while a small white-scaled snake was preparing to invade it for a full meal.
"How cruel..." Feeling a little uncomfortable, Ziyun withdrew his Observation Haki and opened his system panel.
[Host: Yeyue Ziyun] Physique: 25 (ordinary human limit: 10) Strength: 45 (ordinary human limit: 10) Speed: 67 (ordinary human limit: 10) (Rumble-Rumble Fruit bonus not included) Spirit: 39 (ordinary human limit: 10) Chakra: Chunin level Fruit ability: Rumble-Rumble Fruit (52% proficiency). Special abilities: basic Observation Haki (42% proficiency), Shave (89% proficiency), Finger Pistol (81% proficiency), Tekkai (79% proficiency) Accumulated points: 1,000.
"Hm? What are these points for?"
Ziyun paused when he saw the accumulated points on the last line, then asked about them.
After defeating his big brother A last time, he had been too busy running away to think about the points. Seeing them now reminded him, so he asked the system.
"Answering host: the uses of points are very complex and cannot be explained in a short time. The host can only explore their specific functions gradually," the system replied helplessly.
"That complicated? Then I'll take a look myself."
Ziyun opened the system interface and discovered a new search button in the upper right corner.
He clicked it, and a window popped up. The interface looked a little like a certain search engine's search bar.
"Host can try searching here for anything he wants. As long as it appears in the search results, it can be purchased with points," the system explained.
"Really? Then there's something I do want."
"How to improve the Navy Six Powers so they become Ninjutsu suitable for ninja to learn."
He clicked the search button, and something actually came up.
But just as Ziyun was about to click on it and study it, a large dialog box popped up.
[Host must pay 30,000 points to redeem this]
"So this is what points are for?" Ziyun understood at once.
It was a good function. As things stood, Ziyun wasn't capable of improving the Navy Six Powers enough to make them suitable for ninja to learn on his own.
After all, the physical abilities of people in the pirate world differed too much from those of ninja in the shinobi world.
Even if he explained the principles to the ninja and made them learn by force, their Six Powers would be very ineffective.
It could be said that, so far, no one in the Hidden Cloud Village besides Ziyun had truly learned the Navy Six Powers.
That was also why Ziyun had concluded that even if other ninja villages stole the principles behind the techniques, they wouldn't be able to learn them.
Next, Ziyun searched for the thing he wanted most at the moment: [Perfect Sage Body].
Although Ninjutsu wasn't the main focus of Ziyun's training, using his fruit ability also consumed a great deal of stamina. Ziyun was still too young, and his stamina and physique were both rather lacking, so the Perfect Sage Body was the most useful thing for him right now.
Once he had the Perfect Sage Body, Ziyun could use his fruit ability freely and boldly, without worrying about running out of stamina.
The Perfect Sage Body soon appeared, but it cost 300,000 points to redeem.
"Damn, that much?" Ziyun looked at his pitiful 1,000 points and sighed.
"Right, there are other ways to strengthen my physique besides the Perfect Sage Body."
His eyes lit up, and he searched for [Uzumaki Clan Physique]. He found that it cost only 30,000 points.
"This isn't bad. If I work hard, it's within reach." Ziyun smiled.
The Uzumaki Clan was born with powerful physiques and abundant vitality. Although they weren't as absurdly powerful as Hashirama Senju's Perfect Sage Body, they were more than enough for an ordinary person.
Of course, Ziyun's ultimate goal was definitely the Perfect Sage Body, but he didn't have enough points right now. The Uzumaki Clan Physique was a good stopgap.
"Now I have a goal: 30,000 points. I only have 1,000 right now, so I'm still a ways off. How do I get points?" Ziyun asked.
"Points can only be obtained by completing missions. Missions can be obtained by spending points to refresh them."
"Good grief, seriously? No nesting loops."
Ziyun was speechless. Then he saw that refreshing the missions actually cost 1,000 points.
"What a rip-off..." Ziyun muttered, but still decided to spend 1,000 points to refresh the missions.
After all, over the past ten years, the system had only issued him five missions on its own. If he kept waiting blindly as before, there was no telling how long it would take for another one to come along.
Fortunately, Ziyun was quite confident in his luck. What protagonist who transmigrated with a cheat wasn't ridiculously lucky?
"Refresh missions."
After he clicked refresh on the panel, a mission immediately appeared before him.
[A-rank mission: Defeat an elite Jonin]: Defeat an elite Jonin. Time limit: none. Mission rewards: 30,000 points, Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique, physique +10; mission failure: no penalty.
"Defeat an elite Jonin? Then I'll go see Teacher Dodai." Ziyun couldn't help smiling when he saw the mission.
If he found Teacher Dodai and asked him to go easy on him and concede, Ziyun wondered whether that would count as completing the mission. In any case, he could try it first.
Come to think of it, he was due for a trip outside. He wondered whether Yotsuki A's butthole had healed yet. Whatever; A couldn't hit him anyway.
Just as Ziyun's mind began to wander, a small white-scaled snake suddenly appeared in front of him and transformed into a human figure.
An instant later, the figure darted behind Ziyun with lightning speed, pressing a cold Kunai against his neck.
"I didn't expect this to be so easy. You must be Ziyun."
Orochimaru, standing behind Ziyun, flicked out his forked tongue, and a glint flashed in his slit pupils.
Orochimaru had yet to reach the peak of his strength, but his love of studying Ninjutsu had already led him to learn many strange and unusual techniques.
Using those rare Ninjutsu, Orochimaru had evaded the Anbu's sight, and he had concealed his Chakra, successfully infiltrating this place.
"Orochimaru, another assassin sent by Konoha?"
Ziyun sighed at the sight of the young Orochimaru, whose bearing was not yet as sinister as it was in the original story.
Danzo Shimura and Hiruzen Sarutobi really were the Shinobi World's shit-stirrers.
Ruining the geniuses in their own village every day wasn't enough for them; they were always setting their sights on geniuses in other villages too.
If his memory served him right, this was already the third time he had encountered an assassin sent by Konoha.
"You actually know my name? I'm honored."
Orochimaru smiled, his tone rather smug, while inwardly marveling at Yeyue Ziyun's composure.
At such a young age, he could remain this calm even with his life in danger. He truly was a great talent.
Danzo had been right. If a genius like this wasn't eliminated early, he would surely become a threat to Konoha one day.
The current Orochimaru was not yet disappointed in Konoha as he was in the original story. For now, he was still wholeheartedly serving the village.
"You've got some nerve, infiltrating this place alone. Kumogakure Anbu are all around us. If I shout, what do you think will happen?"
Ziyun silently activated his Observation Haki and discovered that he couldn't sense any Konoha ninja nearby except Orochimaru.
Ziyun also noticed that his Observation Haki could detect a little farther than before, though he didn't know whether it was because he had been ambushed. Was this the benefit of actual combat?
"No, you won't, Ziyun. You're still so young; surely you don't want to die. Life is precious. As long as you obediently hand over the Ninjutsu you researched, I can consider sparing you."
With that, Orochimaru pressed harder, forcing the Kunai firmly against Ziyun's neck.
Orochimaru had two objectives this time: assassinate Ziyun, and take the Ninjutsu Ziyun had developed back with him.
Those hand-sign-free Ninjutsu would greatly increase the combat strength of Konoha's ninja. Otherwise, he would have already driven the Kunai into Ziyun's neck.
"You'll spare me if I hand over the Ninjutsu? Nothing comes that easily."
Ziyun knew Orochimaru was testing him, but he happened to have something to ask Orochimaru as well.
Orochimaru's answer would also determine what Ziyun did next.
"By the way, Orochimaru, have you reached elite Jonin level yet?" Ziyun asked.
The Second Great War had yet to begin, and Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya had not yet been given the title of Three Sannin, so Ziyun wasn't sure what level Orochimaru's strength had reached.
"Hm?"
Orochimaru was caught off guard, unsure why Ziyun had suddenly asked that.