Chapter 56: Striving Towards Kage Level
Akiyama Makoto's face was filled with pleasant surprise.
Although he had known that Sakura, a character with the ceiling of an ordinary person, would bring him great benefits, he hadn't expected the improvement to be so immense.
First was the Hand Seal attribute, which he was most concerned about. It had jumped directly from 6 to 8, which was Sakura's own stat value. A score of 8 basically meant that he now had the foundation to learn all of Tsunade's S-rank ninjutsu! Although the S-rank techniques she had mastered were all medical ninjutsu, they were more than enough for him to break through the Jōnin level and strive towards Kage level. More importantly, he had now mastered the knowledge of these S-rank techniques; all that was left was diligent practice in reality.
Secondly, his four chakra nature talents had all reached the Intermediate level. Only now did he remember that Sakura, like Ino, had a 2+2 configuration of Earth, Water, Yin, and Yang. Sakura's Genjutsu stat was even as high as 7. Originally, one of Sakura's initial character settings was that she was skilled in genjutsu, but since an ordinary person's genjutsu had little development value, she had walked the path of a medical ninja instead. It was for this reason that she had also given him an additional storage slot for simulation results.
With this, he could now store three simulation results. No matter what he did from now on, it would be much easier and more flexible.
Having sorted out his gains, Makoto immediately chose to accept the reward.
This time, he didn't do anything extra but instead focused on feeling the changes in his body.
Ten minutes passed, and he opened his eyes.
He spread his palm open. With a slight thought, a surge of blue chakra rose, swirled, and condensed in his hand, finally forming a chakra sphere whose light illuminated his bedroom.
A satisfied smile curved his lips. This was the hand-seal-less ninjutsu, the Rasengan. The difficulty of learning the Rasengan was A-rank. Coupled with the detailed explanation of its principles in the original story, he was able to replicate it so quickly. Naruto had a Hand Seal stat of 3, so he needed a Shadow Clone to perform it smoothly. The current Makoto had a Hand Seal stat of 8, allowing him to perform it with a single hand in one go.
Of course, the Rasengan in his hand was still just for show. To truly use it in combat, he would need to practice chakra shape transformation for a period of time, but this was already a level he wouldn't have dared to dream of in the past. It meant that in terms of talent alone, he had reached the level of a genius.
This could also be seen from his total of the eight ninja stats. The current Makoto had reached 59 points, just one step away from the 60-point Kage-level threshold. If his jutsu set was a bit stronger, he could be like Gaara (without Shukaku), who, with his powerful Sand Style ninjutsu and Absolute Defense, became a Kage-level powerhouse with a Ninjutsu of 10, a Stamina of 10, and a total stat of 58.
And this was without him having learned the Yin Seal.
Once he learned the Yin Seal and accumulated enough chakra, the moment he released it to begin a battle, his chakra reserves, speed, and strength would all increase dramatically. To be conservative, if his Speed, Strength, and Stamina attributes reached 9 with the release of the Yin Seal, then his short-term eight ninja stats would reach 66 points. In terms of base stats alone, he could even be on par with Kakashi!
At this thought, the unease he felt from the somewhat unsuccessful simulation calmed down. Although there wasn't much time left before the plot officially began, his strength could still be improved further. In the simulation, Danzō could plot against him, but by the time of the Chūnin Exams, his strength might have already reached a point where he no longer needed to worry about him at all.
Amidst his excitement, Makoto stretched his body. What should he do next? Practice the Yin Seal directly, or go back into the simulation to check the details?
He himself was more inclined to learn the Yin Seal, but... he was simply too curious about what had happened that night.
And so, Makoto immersed his mind in the simulation details, arriving on his wedding night.
A strong sense of drunken dizziness immediately washed over him, almost making him fall asleep. He quickly circulated the chakra in his body, trying his best to counteract the effects of the alcohol while struggling to stay awake enough to at least use his sensory ability.
Slowly, although his body still couldn't move, he could perceive his surroundings.
The Konoha and Suna ninja were celebrating together cheerfully. Even Gaara had joined the drinking, perhaps thinking of Naruto at that moment. In such a noisy environment, the commotion at the door seemed less jarring.
"Why can't I go in? I'm just checking on the condition of our Sand Village's advisor. It's not like I'm going to hurt him, am I?"
Temari's voice came from the door, followed by the low murmurs of several Konoha Anbu. A minute later, it seemed the Anbu had gone to report and received authorization, as they finally opened the door for her.
"Honestly, I should have gone back to the Sand Village sooner. It's so hard to even see you... Makoto?"
Temari was boisterous at first, but seeing no reaction from him, her voice slowly grew softer.
With a poof, she summoned her beast, Kamatari. She then whispered in the weasel's ear, "Make some noise. It's best if you pretend the two of us are drinking together. Please."
Kamatari nodded, leaped onto the table, and began to occasionally clink two wine glasses together. As for what its master was about to do... it was just an emotionless summoning animal. It couldn't care less.
Temari climbed onto the head of the bed and knelt beside it, looking down at the unconscious Makoto. A smile curved her lips, but tears streamed from the corners of her eyes.
"You idiot... why did you pursue me in the first place! Don't you know I'm actually easy to catch? Once I fall for someone, I can never forget them."
She slowly lowered her head. The gentle touch made even the perception-only Makoto feel a warmth in his heart.
Then, Temari's hand reached for the sash of her kimono.
"I don't know if you can hear me, but anyway... I don't blame you. You've given everything for the Sand Village. It's only right that you end up with the person you love."
"As for me... I'm going to take what I want. Neither you nor Gaara can stop me."
A rustling sound was heard. The drunken Makoto slowly began to feel something. It was the warm, passionate wind from the deep desert, carrying the sweet, moist vapor from an oasis, flowing into his parched throat, making him unable to stop the nostalgic tears from falling.
Half an hour later, by the time he had gradually regained the ability to move, Temari and her summoning beast were long gone.
An equally drunk Sakura walked in and, seeing his state, let out a snort of laughter.
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