Chapter 5: The Spark of Dawn
Closing the status panel, Hyuga Shinra's attention drifted to the final, unopened tab: [Backpack]. He could guess its function. A mental command opened it, revealing a grid-based inventory, reminiscent of the storage systems in the role-playing games of his past life. How much each slot could hold was a question for later; his focus was immediately captured by a single, ornate item resting in the first slot: a gift box, labeled **Compensation Package**.
*A compensation package?* he mused, a flicker of irony in his thoughts. *Is this the system's apology for its three-year silent treatment?* He didn't bother asking the unresponsive system. The answer, as always, would be in the opening.
He willed the box to open.
A light, so intensely golden it was almost physical, erupted from the package, flooding the void of his mental space. Shinra recoiled, squeezing his eyes shut against the painful glare.
"By the Sage!" he hissed, rubbing his eyelids. "That nearly flash-fried my Tenseigan! If what's inside is some kind of cruel joke, I'm going to find a way to uninstall this system myself."
As the phantom spots cleared from his vision, he looked back into the backpack. Three new items now sat within the grid. The first made his breath catch: a yellow, spiral-patterned fruit. A Devil Fruit.
A war of desire and caution waged within him. The allure of a new, potent ability was undeniable, but the legendary weaknesses—the crippling fear of seawater, the nullification by seastone—were a shackle he was reluctant to wear. After a moment of internal struggle, he gritted his teeth. "I'll look at its description first. If it's a top-tier fruit, I'll take the gamble. If it's some useless trash Zoan, it can rot in this inventory forever."
He focused on the fruit, and a system description shimmered into view.
[Light-Light Fruit (Perfected Version): System-modified. Removes the standard Devil Fruit weaknesses to seawater and seastone. Enhances base offensive capabilities. No conflict with other power systems. No risk of catastrophic bodily rejection from consuming multiple fruits.]
That was all he needed to see. Without a second thought, Shinra mentally "grasped" the fruit and brought it into reality. The bizarre fruit materialized in his hand. He stared at it for a second, then took a decisive bite.
His entire face contorted. A taste that defied description—a mixture of rotten eggs, chemical waste, and sheer vileness—assaulted his senses. Gagging, he forced the pulp down his throat, then scrambled for a water jug, gulping down the contents to wash the horrific aftertaste away.
"Ugh... I forgot about the taste! A terrible miscalculation," he groaned, leaning against the wall as his stomach churned.
In his excitement, he had completely missed a single, tiny line of text at the very bottom of the fruit's description:
*Note: While systemic modification has removed its debilitating side effects, its palatability has been significantly reduced.*
Not that it would have stopped him. Power had a price, and if the price was a single, unforgettable meal, it was one he was willing to pay.
Once the world stopped spinning, he raised a trembling hand. Concentrating, he focused the new energy within him. A faint, golden light sparked to life at the tip of his finger, flickering like a dying ember.
"Is this the limit?" he murmured, not disappointed but analytical. "Of course. I just ingested it. My body is three years old. The fact that I can produce light at all is a testament to the fruit's potential." He wasn't expecting to launch lasers or move at light speed on day one. This was a seed, and he now possessed the time and the means to make it grow into a sun.
"The Glint-Glint Fruit... Kizaru's power. To have an enhanced version of this..." A slow, genuine smile spread across his face. The possibilities were staggering.
Shaking his head, he returned his focus to the backpack. Two items remained. He summoned them forth. One was a scroll that dissolved into a stream of knowledge in his mind: **Marine Six Styles**. The other was a simple, mundane flash bomb—useless to him now, but he stored it away nonetheless.
The knowledge of the Six Styles—Finger Pistol, Iron Body, Shave, Tempest Kick, Moon Walk, and Paper Drawing—unfolded in his consciousness. It included the advanced applications: Life Return, the Six King Gun, and its ultimate technique. This was not just a set of attacks; it was a complete, brutal, and supremely efficient physical conditioning regimen. The shinobi world's training methods, by comparison, seemed almost primitive. While shinobi enhanced their bodies with chakra, the warriors of the seas honed their flesh to its absolute, unaugmented peak. For Shinra, who possessed the Sage Body, this training method was a perfect key to an untouched lock.
"But first, the foundation," he whispered, his excitement returning. "Chakra."
He retrieved the Chakra Refinement Technique scroll. After three long years of waiting, the moment had finally arrived. Sitting cross-legged on his bed, he quieted his mind, recalling the intricate instructions. Chakra, the fusion of physical and spiritual energies drawn from every one of the body's trillions of cells.
His talent, refined by the system and bolstered by the Sage Body, was monstrous. He grasped the method almost instantly. A warm, tingling sensation began deep within his core, a single spark of energy growing steadily as he guided the two energies to merge. It was a trickle at first, then a steady stream.
A thrill, purer than any he'd felt from the lottery, coursed through him. This was real. This was power he was generating himself. Lost in the process, he continued to draw forth more energy, the reservoir within him swelling through the night.
By the time the first rays of dawn painted his window, the chakra coiled within him was comparable to that of a fresh Genin. But the cost was immense. The process of chakra refinement was an act of cellular exertion, a drain on both body and mind. As the adrenaline faded, a wave of absolute exhaustion crashed over him. He slumped onto his bed, his limbs feeling like lead, his mind a foggy haze.
"Note to self," he mumbled into his pillow, his voice slurred with fatigue. "Do not combine a full day of physical training with an all-night chakra session. Even a Sage Body has its limits."
His stomach growled, a painful, hollow ache. His cells had been squeezed dry and were screaming for fuel. Forcing his protesting body to move, he stumbled to his kitchen and prepared a breakfast of staggering proportions—enough to feed two grown men. He devoured every last morsel, feeling the nutrients being greedily absorbed, the energy slowly trickling back into his depleted form.
He was a child of immense potential, now holding the keys to his own growth. The path ahead was long, but for the first time, Hyuga Shinra truly felt he had taken the first, concrete step upon it.