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"Bang!"
The door slammed shut.
Yuki, who had forcefully kicked off her slippers, turned around, hands on her hips, standing at the entrance. She stared intently at the young man in front of her, her small face tightly strained.
"Sawara Kiri—!"
Even though Mr. Sawara had anticipated it, he still hadn't expected such an astonishing roar to erupt from Yuki's petite body.
"You clearly said you'd be off work by ten yesterday, but you didn't come home all night!"
"The phone in your office was constantly busy, and the food I made for you got cold! In the middle of the night, there was a huge noise from the Hokage Building, and such a big fire broke out. Anbu were running everywhere on the rooftops, the Uchiha Police Force was dispatched, and there were signal fires and flares on the village walls…"
"Later, when the noise stopped, you still didn't come back. I thought something had happened to you!"
Yuki's voice grew more aggrieved as she spoke, and the dark circles under her eyes from staying up all night were rimmed with a reddish hue.
Large, shimmering tears welled up in her eyes, held back with great effort, and her voice trembled as she spoke.
"But, but it turns out you were out on a date with that philanderer again, and only came back when it was almost daytime…"
"And, and so slowly!"
"Like you were just strolling down the street, you didn't even think to run back and tell me sooner."
As the girl spoke, her face, almost red from holding back tears, finally couldn't maintain its composure. She took a step forward, and with a small, cat-like charge, she crashed into Sawara Kiri's embrace, burrowing into his chest with resentment.
She looked as if she wanted to bite him.
A subtle dampness stained the fabric of his shirt, and her small hands clutched his sleeve tightly. Even her sobs were muffled, tinged with a slight nasal tone:
"I was so scared."
"Yes, yes."
Sawara Kiri gently held her, reaching up to softly stroke the girl's head, smoothing down her flowing long hair, like comforting a frightened cat.
For Yuki, her brother, with whom she had grown up relying on each other, was her sole support in this world. From childhood, she had always been the one protected, and he was also her most important refuge in life so far.
This kind of emotion manifested in daily life as an extreme brother complex, but in wartime, it translated into her constant fear and worry every time he went on a long-term mission.
The period working at the Hokage Building was actually not bad. When Sawara Kiri had just graduated and was going on external missions with his squad, Yuki often couldn't sleep all night, counting the days until he returned.
Even though his brother was just an impostor.
Sawara Kiri pondered calmly, his voice growing even softer: "I was wrong today. I didn't come home early and made Yuki worry."
"Mm."
The girl made a heavily nasal sound, but she was still not satisfied.
"Next time, I will definitely come home early," Mr. Sawara added.
"Mm."
Still not satisfied.
"And what else?" Mr. Sawara hoped for a small hint from Yuki.
"And you're not allowed to go on dates with that philanderer!" Sawara Yuki said quite domineeringly, "Especially at night!"
"Eh?"
Sawara Kiri's voice was slightly hesitant.
"Hmm?!"
Yuki immediately bristled.
"Yes, yes."
Sawara Kiri's tone of agreement was quite difficult.
However, getting Yuki to calm down quickly was the priority; future matters could be dealt with later.
The girl finally nodded in satisfaction and turned to walk into the living room: "You didn't eat dinner, did you? I kept it warm. Do you want to have a little something first?"
"Indeed, I'm almost starving."
Sawara Kiri said, taking off his shoes and stepping into the entrance hall.
"Also…"
Yuki said, subconsciously glancing at his changed clothes, the blood-stained Ninja shoes, and the faint smell of blood.
Although somewhat concealed, Sawara Yuki, also a Ninja, still noticed the signs of battle on her brother—this was also Kiri's deliberate action.
"What exactly happened last night?"
Sawara Kiri thought for a moment and smiled: "It should be, well, a good thing."
After eating and drinking his fill, Sawara Kiri was sent to the bathroom by his little housekeeper to take a bath.
The pervasive smell of blood was indeed a bit unpleasant.
It wasn't until he was fully immersed in the bath that he had some leisure to think about what was next.
His performance in front of Sarutobi Hiruzen tonight should partially alleviate the Konoha higher-ups' suspicion of him, this suddenly appearing 'genius,' but the necessary vigilance would absolutely not be reduced.
At the same time, as someone with a 'blemish,' it would be difficult for him to be included in the Hokage's master-disciple succession selection, which was a matter of principle.
Sawara Kiri could accept this level of exclusion.
As long as Hidden Mist didn't reveal too many flaws going forward, his Ninja life would become quite comfortable—compared to his initial long-term undercover period.
Besides that, the biggest gain was the initial impression he left on Orochimaru.
Sawara Kiri pondered, touching his left pectoral muscle, feeling his heart beat strongly.
Brain, tongue, heart.
The three designated Sealing Technique restrictions had been his top priority from the very beginning.
With the system as support, Sawara Kiri's future life would definitely move further and further away from the image of a 'Hidden Mist undercover agent.'
Since that was the case, he absolutely could not be restrained by others.
However, advanced Sealing Technique and its Cracking methods were the absolute secrets among the top secrets of every Ninja village—to acquire Sealing Technique, Hidden Mist and Kumogakure had even personally orchestrated the war that destroyed the Uzumaki Clan.
The entire Uzumaki Clan became sacrifices for their most proficient Sealing Technique.
Therefore, it was extremely difficult to obtain Sealing Technique through conventional means.
It was because of these difficulties that Sawara Kiri thought of the path of Orochimaru.
—This was someone who dared to do anything and was exceptionally capable.
However, to make him willing to exchange with himself, Sawara Kiri had to show his value.
The upcoming advancement selection would be a good opportunity.
Besides that—
Sawara Kiri looked at the panel in front of him.
"Personal Information"
"Name: Sawara Kiri"
"Age: 15"
"Talent: Photographic Memory (B), Kekkei Genkai (A)"
"Abilities: Limitless Void • Stage Two (S), Water Release (A), Lightning Release (A+), Fire Release (B), Taijutsu (B+), Genjutsu (A), Sealing Technique (D+), Ninja Tool Manipulation (C+)"
"Overall Rating: A+"
"Heart Knot Points: 1"
"System Evaluation: Gulp! What's there to fear from mere Kage-level powerhouses! Isn't this sturdy muscle, and this powerful aura, meant to be used at times like this?! Gulp! Kill! Ah! Gulp—hiss, can we reconcile?"
Looking at the evaluation on the panel, Mr. Sawara's face immediately soured.
This darn evaluation, the moment it opened its mouth, it exuded an aura of weakness.
At his current level, even in the entire Ninja World, he was already a quasi-first-tier powerhouse below Kage-level and top-tier elite Jonin, alright?
However, thinking of System-chan's initial ramblings about killing Ōtsutsuki... perhaps it wasn't entirely incomprehensible.
These weren't the main points.
Sawara Kiri scanned the abilities on the panel, finally looking at the Heart Knot Points, which showed a count of 1.
Currently, he hadn't accumulated enough points to qualify for further enhancement. Every resource he obtained needed to be spent as quickly as possible, transforming into his own strength—one had to know that this transformation process also required time.
The second upgrade of "Limitless Void" required two points, and the magnification was relatively limited.
But Sawara Kiri still had many shortcomings.
He lowered his head, looking at the "Level Up," "Survival," "Perception," and "Special" options on the lottery panel, thinking quietly.
Based on the previous draw options, "Level Up" and "Survival" represented attack and defense-oriented abilities, respectively. He was not currently lacking in these two.
As a squishy class, most Ninja only needed a light cut to be fatal.
Even puppet masters who could protect their main body, or Earth Release defense, could be completely broken through with "Six Eyes" and "Limitless Void."
The only things that could give him a headache were tough opponents like the Third Raikage and Uchiha Obito, who could both take a hit and escape.
However, he was unlikely to directly confront these two unless he got incredibly lucky.
"Perception" was even more self-explanatory; the effect of "Six Eyes" was temporarily sufficient.
Excluding various options, Sawara Kiri's gaze finally fell on the "Special" option.
Perhaps it was the spatial ability brought by "Limitless Void" that gave him a real taste of sweetness, or perhaps Sawara Kiri subconsciously believed that he had a little bit of 'protagonist's luck.'
Almost the moment he saw this option, he thought of time-related abilities, which were as advanced as spatial ones.
Whether it was Kurumi Tokisaki's "Zafkiel" for manipulating time, or Rintarou Okabe's "Time Machine" capable of sending people back to the past, or Diavolo's "King Crimson," all would significantly supplement his current situation.
Although Sawara Kiri himself was unwilling to admit it.
But ever since he bound this system, he had no choice but to form deeper bonds with the people around him.
These people were clearly ones he couldn't abandon.
Precisely because of this, he needed to prepare a 'backup plan' for himself.
To avoid encountering something he would regret deeply in the future.
"Directional: Special"
"Cost: 1"
"Draw for me, damn it!"
Under System-chan's familiar foul language, the blank screen flickered once again.
Sawara Kiri's gaze initially furrowed with dissatisfaction, but then his eyes suddenly widened as he clearly saw the words on the screen.
"Ability Acquired"
"Mirror Flower Water Moon (S)"
"Information Localization: Completed"
"Complete Hypnosis: Dominates the opponent's five senses, making them fully believe the host's desired appearance, form, quality, touch, and even smell of a specific object."
"Activation Conditions: 1. Select three activation factors (hand seals, characteristics, incantation), 2. Chakra is higher than the enemy's, 3. Target is within the host's Chakra influence range, 4. Continuous Chakra consumption when the ability is active."
"Consume Heart Knot Points to upgrade"
Although the ability that appeared on the screen was not what Sawara Kiri had expected.
But upon seeing those lines of explanation, his heart still involuntarily leaped, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face.
With this, he would have much more leeway in his actions.
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