Brother Golden Finger, why the hell are you still stuck in "Novice Mode"?
"Why didn't anyone tell me about this?!" Jinzō almost screamed in his head.If there's a beginner's period, at least warn me! And the limit's eight skills? The entry-level is ten?! What kind of scam is this?
"You mean I'm stuck two short from the starting line? Seriously?!"
No matter how much he raged, his so-called Golden Finger remained quiet. Honestly, maybe that was for the best — if it did answer back, that'd be way scarier.
With a long sigh, Jinzō started counting his arsenal.
Basic Internal Energy (his foundation, absolutely necessary).
Spiritual Pills (a one-shot long-range trump card; weak growth but strong early damage).
The Six Powers (postures, dodges, hardening, finger gun).
Cat Language (currently… 100% useless).
That made eight. Exactly at the limit.
Basic energy and pills were essential, but the rest? Paper Dodge was handy, Iron Block was trash (what kind of idiot ninja just stands there eating hits?), and Finger Gun? Worthless. Even a snake flicked with chakra was more dangerous. Cat Language was the cherry on top of his regret sundae.
"I should've saved room for something better," he grumbled.
Still, the system finally pinged an update:
Instant mastery cancelled.
Piggyback learning from others cancelled.
Detailed deduction steps added.
Now absorbs knowledge from everyone around you.
Host can call up any of that knowledge at will.
System deduces directly without needing your input.
Host comprehension +10%.
"Hsss—" Jinzō hissed through his teeth like he'd just cracked a molar. That was a lot.
Orochimaru glanced up from his work with a raised brow."…Something wrong?"
"Nope, just remembered something stupid," Jinzō said quickly, waving it off.
His heart was a swirl of frustration and excitement. The system was harder now, sure — no more being dragged forward by instant mastery. But in exchange, his horizons blew wide open. With every mind it touched, his database of ninjutsu expanded.
Orochimaru, for instance, was a walking encyclopedia of horrors. Jinzō could practically taste future Edo Tensei in the guy's head. From now on, he didn't need to waste time theory-crafting. Just name the technique, input the effect, and deduction would do the rest.
Still… he'd lost the "skip tutorial" button. No more free rides. He had to actually grind through learning like a normal human.
"This golden finger's turning into grad school," Jinzō muttered.Phase one: undergrad essay.Phase two: exams.Next stop: PhD hell.
Live and learn, huh?
He tested it by inputting: [Unawakened Uchiha + Hashirama Cells].
Results streamed out like a thesis:
Step 1: Awaken Sharingan.
Step 2: Awaken Mangekyō.
Step 3: Fuse Hashirama cells after both are stable.
Result: Perfect integration, no side effects.
Jinzō threw up his hands. "Are you kidding me?! If I could just pop Mangekyō on demand, I wouldn't need you!"
The system might as well have told him, 'Step one: be strong. Step two: be stronger.'
Still, it wasn't wrong. The knowledge base just lacked the bottom layers. What he really needed was someone like Uchiha Madara in the mix — that guy probably had the entire Sharingan library memorized.
But of course, Madara was still lurking in the shadows. No connection.
"This damn golden finger," Jinzō cursed silently.
Daytime.
Jinzō rolled up his sleeves and bent over a rice field, mud caking his hands. Beside him, Minato and Kushina were already filthy.
"Who says ninjas don't farm?" he muttered. "Guess we're genin, all right…"
These D-rank chores were soul-crushing: planting, weeding, hauling trash, babysitting. Low pay, high humiliation.
Kushina finally snapped. "Jiraiya-sensei! When can we get some real missions?!"
Their teacher looked up from his notebook, where he'd been doodling who-knew-what. He sighed. "Normally, a new genin team builds teamwork with these basics. But… you three are already pretty in sync."
He eyed them. Jinzō and Minato were steady, Kushina was fiery, but together they clicked.
"…Fine. Today, we'll take a higher-ranked mission."
"Finally!!" Kushina whooped, grabbing Minato and Jinzō by their collars and dragging them off to change.
Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head. "Just like Tsunade…"
Konoha Mission Hall.
Jiraiya swaggered in with his three disciples. "Hey, Sarutobi-sensei. Give us a B-rank."
The Third Hokage peered over his pipe at the trio. Minato, the golden prodigy. Kushina, the Jinchūriki. And… Jinzō. His eyes lingered on the Uchiha boy. Dangerous. Too composed. Not the type to sit quietly practicing fireballs.
But Jiraiya looked confident, chest puffed out. "This is my first team. We can handle B-rank easy."
Sarutobi exhaled smoke. "…There happens to be one." He slid a scroll across the desk.
"Mission: Identify a suspected spy in the village. Confirm and eliminate quietly."
Jiraiya's grin faltered. Spy hunts were nasty: surveillance, evidence, assassination. If the spy was weak, fine. But if it was a jōnin in disguise? This "B-rank" could turn A-rank real fast.
Most would refuse. Tsunade and Orochimaru definitely would.
But Jiraiya? He snatched up the scroll. "Heh. Then let's show you what my team can do."