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*****
Ximen Zhen's face lit up with joy.
Although he had long known that Sakura—whose ceiling was already that of an ordinary person—would provide a great boost to his abilities, he hadn't expected the improvement to be this dramatic.
Most notably, his Seal attribute, which he had always been most concerned about, jumped from 6 to 8 points. That was the same value Sakura herself possessed.
And a Seal stat of 8 essentially meant Ximen Zhen now had the foundational qualifications to learn all of Tsunade's S-rank medical jutsu!
Though Tsunade's S-rank techniques were all medical ninjutsu, that alone was enough to help Ximen Zhen break through the jonin level and step toward Kage level.
Even more crucially, he already possessed theoretical knowledge of these S-rank techniques. All that remained was diligent practice in the real world.
Additionally, his four chakra nature affinities were now upgraded to intermediate level.
It was only now that Ximen Zhen recalled that Sakura, like Ino, had a 2+2 chakra nature configuration: Earth, Water, Yin, and Yang. Her Genjutsu stat even reached 7 points.
Originally, Sakura's character design included proficiency in genjutsu. However, because genjutsu wasn't particularly valuable for ordinary shinobi, she had taken the path of a medical ninja instead.
For this reason, Sakura also unlocked another simulation result storage slot for him.
With that, Ximen Zhen could now store up to three simulation results, making all future planning and operations significantly easier.
After sorting through all these gains, Ximen Zhen immediately chose to accept the reward.
This time, he didn't waste any effort on distractions. He focused entirely on sensing the changes within his body.
Ten minutes passed. Ximen Zhen opened his eyes.
He extended his palm, and with a mere thought, a swirl of blue chakra began to rise, rotate, and condense in his hand. Finally, it formed into a chakra sphere, lighting up his bedroom with a brilliant glow.
A slight smirk tugged at the corners of Ximen Zhen's lips—this was the unadorned version of the Rasengan.
The Rasengan was an A-rank technique. Combined with the detailed explanation of its mechanics in the original series, Ximen Zhen had been able to simulate and recreate it so quickly.
Naruto had only 3 points in Seal, so he had to rely on Shadow Clones to use the Rasengan. But now that Ximen Zhen had 8 points, he could pull it off with a single hand.
Of course, the Rasengan in his hand was still mostly form over function. To truly use it in combat, he'd have to train intensely in chakra shape manipulation. But even this marked a level Ximen Zhen had never dared to imagine before.
From a purely innate talent perspective, he had now entered the ranks of true geniuses.
This was evident from his combined stat total across the eight ninja attributes: Ximen Zhen now had a total of 59 points, just one step away from the 60-point threshold for Kage-level shinobi.
With just a bit stronger ninjutsu setup, he could even follow Gaara's path—relying on powerful sand techniques and absolute defense—to become a Kage-level ninja with just 58 points split between 10 in Ninjutsu and 10 in Stamina.
And this was before he had even learned the Yin Seal.
Once Ximen Zhen mastered the Yin Seal and accumulated enough chakra to unseal it during combat, his chakra reserves, speed, and power would all be dramatically boosted.
Conservatively speaking, if unsealing the Yin Seal raised his Speed, Strength, and Stamina attributes to 9, then his total eight-ninja stat points would temporarily spike to 66.
Purely in terms of base stats, Ximen Zhen could now rival Kakashi!
With this realization, Ximen Zhen's restlessness—caused by previous simulation setbacks—finally calmed.
The plot's official timeline was fast approaching, but his strength still had room to grow.
In the simulation, Danzo had targeted him from the shadows, but by the time of the Chunin Exams, Ximen Zhen's strength might reach a point where Danzo was no longer a concern.
Excited, Ximen Zhen stretched his body. Now what?
Should he begin practicing the Yin Seal right away, or dive back into the simulation to explore more details?
He was more inclined to start training the Yin Seal, but... he just couldn't let go of the curiosity about what had really happened that night.
And so, Ximen Zhen directed his consciousness into the simulation logs—back to his wedding night.
Immediately, a wave of intense dizziness from alcohol nearly knocked him unconscious again.
Ximen Zhen quickly circulated his chakra throughout his body, trying to neutralize the alcohol's effects and maintain enough clarity to at least activate his sensory abilities.
Gradually, while his body remained immobile, he could sense his surroundings more clearly.
The Konoha and Sunagakure shinobi were laughing and drinking together in high spirits—even Gaara had joined the celebrations. Maybe he was thinking of Naruto?
In such a lively environment, even the noisy ruckus outside didn't seem out of place.
"Why can't I go in? I just want to check on the wellbeing of our Sunagakure advisor. It's not like I'd hurt him!"
Temari's voice echoed from beyond the door, followed by the quiet murmurs of a few Konoha Anbu.
About a minute later, perhaps after getting authorization from someone higher up, the Anbu finally opened the door for her.
"Honestly... I should've returned to Suna earlier. Just trying to see you has become this difficult... Zhen?"
At first, Temari spoke with her usual brashness, but as soon as she saw Ximen Zhen lying there unresponsive, her voice gradually softened.
With a thud, Temari summoned her weasel summon, Kamatari, and whispered into its ear, "Make some noise—pretend we're drinking together. Please."
Kamatari nodded and leapt onto the desk, lifting two sake cups and occasionally clinking them together.
As for what its master intended to do… it was just a contract beast, emotionless and indifferent.
Temari climbed to the head of the bed, knelt beside him, and gazed down at the unconscious Ximen Zhen. A soft smile played at her lips, even as tears welled at the corners of her eyes.
"You idiot... Why'd you go after me in the first place? Didn't you know I'm actually easy to win over? Once I fall for someone, I can never let them go."
She slowly leaned forward. The warmth of her touch brought a strange comfort even to Ximen Zhen, who could only rely on his sensory perception.
Then, Temari reached for the sash of her kimono.
"I don't know if you can hear me, but... I don't blame you. You gave everything for Sunagakure. Being with the one you love is only natural."
"As for me... I'll take what I want—neither you nor Gaara can stop me."
The rustle of fabric filled the room as the drunk and dazed Ximen Zhen began to regain a sense of physical sensation.
It was like the warm, passionate wind from the depths of the desert—carrying the sweet, humid breath of the oasis—pouring into his parched throat and drawing tears of emotion from his eyes.
Half an hour later, by the time Ximen Zhen regained enough motor control, Temari and her summon had already vanished.
Not long after, a slightly tipsy Sakura walked in. Seeing the look on Ximen Zhen's face, she burst into laughter with a snort.
(End of Chapter)