In the dark forest, the sound of roaring explosions echoed again and again.
After a long while, the noise finally subsided.
Amidst the wreckage of ruins, two figures lay.
One was still gasping for breath, while the other had already passed away.
After exiting the Eight Gates of Dōjutsu, the aftereffects of overexerting his body and ignoring his injuries during the battle began to show.
Mo Yu was trembling uncontrollably, his body covered in numerous cuts, with blood flowing continuously from them, staining the ground around him red.
"System, quickly, heal my wounds!"
Mo Yu gritted his teeth, trying hard not to lose consciousness.
If he passed out now, he would likely die for real.
"To heal the host's injuries, a total of 50 gold coins is required. Do you wish to proceed with payment?"
"Damn, last time it was only 10 gold coins, why is it 50 this time? This is daylight robbery!"
Even though he was on the brink of death, Mo Yu still couldn't help but complain about the cost in his mind.
The system replied: "The cost to heal injuries depends on the host's condition."
Mo Yu didn't have the time to argue, as his blood was nearly drained.
"Fine, fine, 50 gold coins, just hurry up and heal me!"
As soon as Mo Yu finished speaking, the warm flow of energy from the last healing surged through his body again. Wherever it passed, his wounds healed automatically, and his internal organs, which had shifted, were corrected back into place.
In an instant, Mo Yu's body was fully restored to its original state!
Mo Yu jumped up from the ground, impressed: "Amazing, as expected of the system. If only it could be a little cheaper."
Mo Yu felt both happy and pained.
The happiness came from knowing that as long as he had enough gold coins, he wouldn't die. As long as he had a breath left, the system could save him, which was crucial to Mo Yu.
The pain stemmed from the high cost—every healing session required a substantial amount of gold coins. He was using money to buy his way out of life.
"Well, as long as I'm alive, I can make money. No matter how expensive, it's worth it!"
Looking at the deceased upper-ninja from the Yuma family, Mo Yu laughed with satisfaction.
This battle had truly been the most dangerous since his rebirth, but it was also the most exhilarating.
"Congratulations to the host for killing an upper-ninja. You have earned 500 gold coins!"
That's right, a full 500 gold coins! Mo Yu had been upset about spending 50 earlier, but now he was grinning from ear to ear.
"Made a killing! As expected, upper-ninjas are worth a lot!"
Looking at his balance, Mo Yu now had a total of 650 gold coins. Converted to real-world currency, that was equivalent to 650,000 silver taels. Even some small ninja clans wouldn't have that much in their coffers.
And the top-up amount had already reached 775 gold coins, just 200 or so away from the requirement to be promoted to an upper-ninja.
"Right, I still need to loot the body. I wonder if I can find anything good this time."
Mo Yu excitedly walked over to the body of the Yuma family's upper-ninja and stretched out his hand.
"Pick up!"
Three glowing orbs floated out, and as usual, there was no way to tell their contents from the outside. He had to rely on luck to make a guess.
After thinking for a moment, Mo Yu placed his hand on the orb in the middle.
Information poured into his mind.
"B-level ninjutsu: Wind Release — Cyclone Fist!"
Mo Yu's face lit up in surprise. He hadn't expected to draw the very wind jutsu the Yuma upper-ninja had used.
That was likely the most valuable item on the body.
No loss!
In the system's store, a B-level ninjutsu would typically cost at least 50 gold coins, and better ones could easily go over 100 coins.
The Cyclone Fist was a mid-range B-level technique, probably worth around 70 or 80 coins. That was a small profit.
With Mo Yu's current chakra, he could now use B-level ninjutsu, and the Cyclone Fist might even have higher damage than the Fireball Technique.
Having earned a large sum of gold and gained a new ninjutsu, Mo Yu was in a great mood.
Looking at the Yuma family's upper-ninja's body, which was no longer in recognizable form, Mo Yu hesitated for a moment. Instead of just leaving the corpse to be devoured by wild animals, he casually dug a hole and buried it.
"Since you contributed some gold to me, I'll spare you from the beasts' feast. By the way, I don't even know your name, so I won't be setting up a grave marker. Well, rest here in peace, and we shall never meet again."
Muttering a few words, Mo Yu clapped his hands, then leapt onto a tree trunk and swiftly disappeared into the dense forest.
Back at the inn, Mo Yu discarded his torn night clothes and took a bath. Changing into his pajamas, he lay down on the bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
No one knew that an upper-ninja had quietly died in this ordinary little town.
...
The next morning, after having breakfast with Kaguya and her daughter, Mo Yu set off again.
It was only half a day's journey to the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.
While driving the carriage, Mo Yu began to reflect on the battle from the day before.
This had become a habit he had developed since his rebirth. After completing something, he liked to analyze it from start to finish, identify his weaknesses and flaws, and try to improve for next time.
"The biggest gap between me and an upper-ninja is still in ninjutsu."
"First, my hand-seal speed isn't as fast as an upper-ninja's, and that's the most fatal issue."
"Second, the power of my ninjutsu is nowhere near strong enough to threaten an upper-ninja. Even if I use the same ninjutsu, due to chakra limitations, mine is much weaker."
"Third, my battle awareness is lacking. The experience that the system instilled in me is still limited to that of a Chūnin, so both my vision and awareness are no match for an upper-ninja with extensive battle experience."
"I was able to defeat the Yuma upper-ninja mainly because he was caught off guard, and I successfully ambushed him. Otherwise, he could have easily handled me. Even if he couldn't kill me, there's no way he would have been killed by me. If he hadn't been seriously injured at that time and was focused on escaping, I wouldn't have been able to stop him."
"Moreover, many upper-ninjas might not be skilled in taijutsu, but they are far from weak. They would have countermeasures for taijutsu users, so if I keep relying on the Eight Gates of Dōjutsu to fight upper-ninjas, it will be impossible."
"Ultimately, to stand a chance against upper-ninjas, I must solve the three issues above."
For other Chūnin, these three problems would be unsolvable, and they would have to wait until they were promoted to upper-ninja.
But Mo Yu had the top-up system, and as long as he had money, the impossible could become possible.
To solve the first problem, there were two ways.
One was to practice more and improve his hand speed, which would naturally speed up his hand seals.
The second was to learn handseal-less ninjutsu, like the Rasengan, which didn't require hand-seals, making it much faster than handseal-based techniques.
However, handseal-less ninjutsu were mostly A-level techniques, and it was still too early for Mo Yu to learn them.
So, the only option Mo Yu had for now was the first one.
"System, is there any way to improve my hand-seal speed?"