However, it wasn't until Li Fan clicked on the redemption interface that he realized just how valuable this skill really was!
Exchange Menu:Page 1 (1 / 900 billion pages)
Lightning attribute chakra (10 skill points)
Wind attribute chakra (10 skill points)
Fire attribute chakra (10 skill points)
Water attribute chakra (10 skill points)
One Magatama Sharingan (100 skill points)
Two Magatama Sharingan (200 skill points)…
A pair of Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan (two random abilities, 20,000 skill points)
A pair of Rinnegan [Samsara Eyes] (30,000 skill points)
Low-grade Favorability Fruit (1 skill point; can be used on any target; immediately increases target's favorability by 2 points)
Medium-grade Favorability Fruit (2 skill points; immediately increases target's favorability by 5 points)…
Medium-grade Favorability Double Fruit (100 skill points; doubles the favorability of the chosen target once per day, capped at a set value)
Top-grade Favorability Double Fruit (40 skill points; doubles target's favorability per day, capped at 200)
A Promise Worth a Thousand Gold (20 skill points; grants a random stunning beauty with 100 favorability and a random identity)
One-Click Full Favorability (600 skill points; instantly boosts target's favorability to 300 within three seconds; can only be used when facing the target)
Never Give Up (100 skill points; instantly boosts any woman's favorability to a set level within seconds, greatly slowing the rate of decline; can only be used in person)
Eternal Companion (700 skill points; instantly boosts any woman's favorability to 300 within ten seconds, making it 100 times harder for it to drop; effect persists through reincarnation; can only be used in person)
…
Staring at the densely packed list before him, Li Fan quickly realized only a handful of items were truly worthwhile. The rest could be exchanged for a surprisingly low amount of skill points.
But then his eyes lingered on the favorability items — their effects were outrageous.
Immediately, Li Fan thought of an endless feedback loop, a kind of perpetual motion machine for skill points.
He exhaled in relief. With this, he'd never need to worry about the future again. As long as he stayed calm and kept to steady early growth, life could be… well, very comfortable.
Still, to be sure his hunch was correct, Li Fan muttered to himself:
"Exchange one Top-grade Favorability Double Fruit and use it on Yasha Lian."
"Exchange successful — 40 skill points deducted, 370 remaining!""Usage successful — Yasha Lian's favorability increased from 9 to 18!""The host's favorability gain of 9 points has been converted into 9 skill points!"
Just as I thought! Li Fan's pulse quickened. Even using an item to boost favorability still earns me the equivalent skill value.
If you spend just 40 skill points on a Top-grade Favorability Double Fruit and apply it to someone, in a few days you can earn back more than 100 skill points. That's a 300–400% return.
All he had to do in the early stage was avoid wasting points on combat gear and instead focus on favorability boosts. With that, his skill points could snowball rapidly. In just days, he could easily amass thousands.
The only price? A single year of his life to activate the system. Compared to the return… it was nothing.
Satisfied, Li Fan turned his attention to the looming Third Ninja World War. He had watched the original Naruto anime and read the manga multiple times, but that was seven or eight years ago.
Since starting college, and later work, he'd stopped following Naruto entirely. Day-to-day life had been a repetitive blur of office work, news, videos, and games — until now, much of the plot had faded from memory.
But being in this world for real meant he had to get the story straight.
Meanwhile, outside the room, Yasha Lian — standing guard — suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. She turned, eyes full of unease.
One hour later, the strategy meeting wrapped up.
As Aoki Jōnin exited, he glanced back at Li Fan. Only once everyone, especially Chiyo and her brother, had gone did Li Fan rise to his feet.
He'd spent most of the meeting listening. Partly because he was piecing together the storyline in his head, partly because he could guess the general direction of events from the original — but details like troop assignments or border rotations were beyond his modern, desk-job experience.
Even though he'd read plenty of historical records and "otherworld farming" novels, the ninja world was a different beast entirely. Better not to pretend expertise he didn't have.
Li Fan had only taken a few steps when a faint fragrance reached his nose.
It was unfamiliar yet strangely recognizable. Turning, he saw Ye Cang following him closely.
"Ye Cang, what's wrong?"
She brushed a strand of hair from her forehead, a faint blush coloring her otherwise pale, cold face. Her gaze flicked over Li Fan's above-average features before she looked away.
"Nothing. It's just… we haven't seen each other in half a month. Why don't we have a meal together?"
Li Fan remembered her favorability toward him had reached 29. To her, they were already good friends.
The problem was… Li Fan had never had a girlfriend — or even a close female friend — before crossing into this world. His pre-transmigration life had been a routine of late nights at the office, quick dinners, a bit of news or gaming, a shower, laundry, and bed.
He hesitated.
Ye Cang, noticing his pause, frowned and crossed her arms. Frost crept over her expression, and her usually emotionless voice now carried a hint of resentment:
"What, is the future Fourth Kazekage starting to dislike his old friend?"
Embarrassed, Li Fan shook his head.
"Of course not! I was just thinking about where to eat."
Her mood eased, though her tone returned to its usual coolness:
"Restaurants in the village are too much trouble. Two jōnin eating together will attract attention, and the food's not even good."
She hesitated, cheeks reddening slightly without her noticing.
"You've never been to my place, have you? We're such good friends, yet you've never visited. That's unreasonable. Come over and try my cooking."
Li Fan understood her favorability wasn't high enough for anything romantic — but as a man, especially one single for 23 years, he couldn't help noticing the way her arms pushed her chest forward, the smooth skin of her exposed underarms, her wasp-like waist, and her long legs ending in pale toes peeking from her ninja sandals.
How Sand Village kunoichi kept such fair skin under constant sun and sandstorms was a mystery.
After a lingering glance, he finally nodded and stepped forward.
Since arriving in this world — and with his system in hand — his confidence had subtly grown, and old hesitations were fading.
Ye Cang followed, swaying slightly as she walked, her face faintly flushed. She had noticed his gaze but, unlike with others, felt no urge to lash out. Instead, an odd happiness bloomed inside her.
When Yasha Lian saw Li Fan emerge, her eyes lit up — only to dim slightly when she spotted Ye Cang close behind.
The two women exchanged a brief, complex look. Ye Cang's smile deepened; Yasha Lian clenched her fists, silently vowing she'd one day match her rival's strength and figure.
A few minutes later, just as Li Fan turned to say something to Ye Cang, a rough male voice cut him off:
"Master Li Fan, I want to spar with you!"
The speaker was a muscular, bearded man in his forties — Aoki Jōnin.
Li Fan's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't even upgraded his combat abilities yet. Why a challenge now?
He was sure he'd done nothing in the meeting to provoke this… but Ye Cang, standing close by, instantly understood what was going on. She glanced around — it was only 4 p.m., with plenty of Sand ninja milling about.
The sight of three top-ranking ninja in a tense conversation drew a small but interested audience.
Ye Cang's eyes narrowed, glaring at Aoki Jōnin with open anger.
Author's Note: This is a slow-burn story. The first chapters focus on setting, characters, and background. I've tried to quicken the pace.