[T/N: A huge thank you to another member "That Guy" for supporting me on Patreon! Your support really motivates me to keep writing, and I'm so grateful for it. Hope you all enjoy this chapter! Send him your blessings—thanks to him, you get these bonus chapters lol.]
"System! Open the shop!"
The familiar interface of the system shop materialized before Torifū's eyes. Instead of immediately resorting to the item search function, he began meticulously scrolling through the seemingly endless array of goods displayed on the full screen.
It wasn't that he didn't want to utilize the search bar, but the item he sought was so unique that he wasn't entirely sure which category it would fall under. It was a long shot, but he hoped to stumble upon it through a manual perusal.
As he swiped through the digital aisles, his gaze occasionally lingered on other intriguing items. He made mental notes of anything that caught his fancy, reminding himself that even after the hefty 60,000 Peace Points purchase he was planning, he would still have a respectable 14,300 points remaining – more than enough for some novel trinkets.
However, as he continued his search, the specific item he sought remained elusive. Instead, his attention was snagged by a particularly intriguing listing:
[Psychic Seed] (Combining the Spirit Communication Seed with beasts, insects, and plants can fundamentally evolve life, break the shackles of bloodlines, and gain extraordinary power. 10,000 Peace Points/each)
Ever since his initial sparring match with Hiruzen, the impressive Summoning Technique Hiruzen had employed had deeply resonated with Torifū, sparking a persistent desire to learn it himself.
Unfortunately, while the mechanics of the Summoning Technique were relatively straightforward to learn, finding suitable Summoning Beasts was a significantly more challenging endeavor. While the world teemed with animals possessing chakra, only a select few could be cultivated into true Summoning Beasts, capable of forming a lasting contract with a summoner.
Torifū felt a strong intuition that this Spirit Communication Seed had only recently been added to the system's inventory. He distinctly remembered not seeing any products related to Summoning Beasts during his last browsing session just a month prior.
Stroking his chin thoughtfully, Torifū mused, "This thing is quite interesting. With it, as long as you can get your hands on a cub with potential, you can cultivate a powerful Summoning Beast tailored to your exact specifications."
While the 10,000 Peace Point price tag was considerable, the prospect of obtaining a perfectly compatible Summoning Beast for that cost felt like an absolute bargain! The possibilities were tantalizing – any creature he desired could potentially become his loyal summon, with the Spirit Communication Seed handling the evolutionary heavy lifting.
Mentally bookmarking this intriguing item for future consideration, Torifū refocused his efforts on locating his primary target. He had repeatedly pestered the system about the lack of a "favorites" or "wishlist" feature in the shop, but the system, in its characteristic lack of helpfulness, remained stubbornly silent. With no other option, Torifū resigned himself to continuing his manual search.
Suddenly! His pupils constricted, and a wide smile spread across his lips. "Finally! Found it! This is what a year of hard work has been for! I'm practically a Konoha labor model!"
Torifū swiftly clicked on the item details, his eyes scanning the description with meticulous care.
[Kumotsuru Kajin One-Day Strength Experience Card] (This item takes effect instantly upon exchange. After it takes effect, your appearance, voice, form, strength, and temperament will completely change to Kumotsuru Kajin, lasting for 24 hours. 60,000 Peace Points)
That's right. The item Torifū had been banking on to survive the impending Uchiha Madara rebellion was this very Kumotsuru Kajin Experience Card.
To be honest, a persistent question had always lingered in Torifū's mind: just how powerful was this mysterious ancestor of his? To warrant a dedicated item in the system shop, and one priced so exorbitantly!
Even within the Kumotsuru Clan's historical records, information about this ancestor was scarce, only vaguely mentioning his creation of Cloud Release and his extraordinary power. No specific details about his strength were provided, nor was his fate – whether he was alive or long gone – ever explicitly stated.
Regardless, Torifū harbored a strong suspicion that this ancestor was not originally from this world, perhaps even a fellow transmigrator from another dimension. After all, the original Naruto world made no mention of a Kumotsuru Clan, Cloud Release, or anything remotely similar.
This discrepancy made Torifū's theory seem plausible. His current plan was to see if he could glean any clues about his mysterious lineage while utilizing the ancestor experience card.
Why was he being so serious about this? Well, partly out of sheer curiosity, and partly because he felt he hadn't done enough to uncover the secrets of his own origins. Maybe, just maybe, his ancestor was a legendary Sword Immortal from another realm! You never knew! Even the Crane Cry Sword, the ancestral blade passed down within his family, defied easy explanation.
He had meticulously compared its composition to numerous ores known for forging top-quality weapons in this world, but none matched the unique properties of the Crane Cry Sword.
"I'm definitely going to engage in combat after using the experience card," Torifū resolved. "I need to try and remember the feeling, the flow of power! Maybe I can even learn a move or two."
After all, an ancestor was still an ancestor. He wouldn't have survived in that tumultuous era without some formidable skills! Moreover, the intriguing possibility of him being a Sword Immortal from another world only heightened Torifū's anticipation.
Closing the system shop, Torifū felt a familiar wave of annoyance wash over him. This infuriatingly unhelpful system still lacked a simple "favorite items" feature, and the ancestor experience card was priced so high it practically emptied his coffers! If he was caught off guard in a fight and hadn't managed to locate the card in time, he would be in serious trouble.
If there were ever a system satisfaction survey, Torifū would undoubtedly give it a scathing review for its atrocious user experience! But despite his grumbling, the purchase was necessary. Cursing the system was one thing, but securing his survival was another entirely.
In short, everything was now prepared. All that was missing was Uchiha Madara's arrival. Torifū had never actually seen Madara before. The legendary Uchiha had left Konoha Village long before Torifū's birth. For this reason, Torifū was intensely curious. "I wonder if he's the same as he was in the anime."
It was a sobering thought that even someone as powerful as Uchiha Madara was ultimately just a pawn in a larger scheme. He had believed he had glimpsed true peace with his Sharingan, but in the end, it was merely a fabricated illusion.
"Eh?" Thinking of this, a sudden flash of inspiration struck Torifū. "If I could directly eliminate Uchiha Madara and prevent him from awakening the Rinnegan! Wouldn't that prevent all the subsequent chaos?"
Torifū's reasoning wasn't entirely unfounded. If Uchiha Madara were to die or fail to unlock the Rinnegan, Black Zetsu's meticulously crafted plan would face significant obstacles. In the original timeline, Madara had bitten off a piece of Hashirama's flesh at the moment of his apparent death, then used Izanagi to rewrite his fate, ultimately awakening the Rinnegan before finally succumbing to old age.
However, a seed of doubt lingered in Torifū's heart. Perhaps, without Uchiha Madara, Black Zetsu would simply find another pawn to carry out his agenda. All Torifū could do was try his best. After all, whether the world descended into chaos or not was secondary to ensuring the peace and security of his own little corner of Konoha Village.
Moreover, his own strength had been steadily growing, and even if genuine danger loomed in the future, he was increasingly confident in his ability to protect his home.
Having reconciled these thoughts, Torifū decided to cease his worrying. If he had spare time, he might as well dedicate it to mastering a few more ninjutsu.
It was worth noting that Hashirama had recently bestowed upon Torifū an official ninja headband, formally recognizing him as a ninja of Konoha Village! At the tender age of seven, this prodigious ninja was already a rising star throughout the village.
As a direct disciple of the Hokage, he also found himself the target of countless wealthy families eager to curry favor. Torifū didn't find this attention particularly distasteful. After all, they were all part of the same village, and fostering good relationships was never a bad thing.
While there was the common adage that a living genius should avoid being too ostentatious to prevent attracting unwanted attention, Torifū's current level of strength made him a formidable target to assassinate.
In the past year, his chakra reserves had reached an impressive level of 5 Kakashi, his overall strength had climbed to the upper echelons of jonin by system standards, and he had developed several life-saving ninjutsu. As a result, when Torifū sparred with Hiruzen and the others, he was now winning more often than losing, leading Hiruzen and Danzo to increasingly avoid these training sessions.
After all, a seventeen-year-old ninja being consistently defeated by a seven-year-old would be far too embarrassing to become common knowledge!
[T/N: Gosh, when I am uploading from phone, the formatting gets fked. So please forgive me if there's issues with structuring and formatting in some chapters, they were uploaded by mobile]