Land of Water, Kirigakure.
This is a cruel Ninja Village that believes in survival of the fittest and natural selection. If your talent isn't outstanding enough, or if your luck isn't great, then you probably won't survive long enough to graduate from the Ninja Academy.
Of course.
All this cruelty has nothing to do with truly exceptional, transcendent individuals.
Kirigakure.
Anbu's Underground Base.
In a dimly lit room.
Screech!
A sharp, chilling sword cry suddenly reverberated, a sound that made one's heart shudder and feel a cold dread, as if the very air around had frozen solid with frost.
Immediately after, a handsome young man dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt slowly walked out from the shadows of the room into the flickering candlelight where light and darkness intertwined.
The young man was handsome, but in his right hand, he held a long sword emitting a terrifying, ferocious aura. The hilt was blue and white, wrapped in chains.
The blade of the sword was exceptionally sharp. As cold light glinted off it, it radiated a terrifying chill. It had only been present for a moment, yet white frost flowers abruptly began to form on the room's walls.
'Ten years…'
'I've finally obtained my first Zanpakuto.'
Minazuki Sora looked down, his fingers gently stroking the blade, feeling the cold, sharp chill transmitted to his fingertips. Yet, his black eyes were brimming with excited delight.
Ten years ago, Sora transmigrated into the Naruto World, his soul possessing a youth from the Minazuki Clan in Kirigakure Village.
Not long after, he awakened a system called [Eternal Shinigami Master].
The system's function was simple: as long as Sora successfully survived one year in the Naruto World, he would receive a random reward.
It was equivalent to a survival mission. Each time he completed it, he would receive a reward.
As for the mission rewards, they could be Reiatsu points, Kido, special equipment, skills, or even Zanpakuto!
It's worth mentioning that, according to the system's rules, every five-year interval, specifically upon the 5th, 10th, and 15th completion of the survival mission, there was a high probability of obtaining higher-level rewards.
For example, when Sora was seven years old and completed the survival mission for the first time, he only drew the most basic Reiatsu reward.
But when Sora was eleven, on his fifth completion of the survival mission, the year he joined the Kirigakure's Anbu, he directly drew a high-level Kido reward: Hado #31, Shakkaho!
Now, at sixteen years old, after completing the 10th survival mission, Sora finally drew his first Zanpakuto, the strongest Ice-Type Zanpakuto in Soul Society: Hyorinmaru!
The only slight pity was that this Hyorinmaru was still in its Shikai State and had not yet achieved Bankai. But it was still plenty powerful.
Hum!
Sora flicked his wrist, and the Zanpakuto, which radiated a terrifying chill, was sheathed back into its scabbard.
'If I can't trigger a special mission, I'll probably have to wait another year for a new reward…'
'System!'
'Open the status panel!'
As soon as the words fell, a virtual interface shimmering with a silvery-white light materialized within Sora's field of vision.
[Eternal Shinigami Master System]
[Host: Minazuki Sora]
[Reiatsu: Rank 4 (7000/50,000)]
[Hakuda: Proficient Level (200/10,000)]
[Zanjutsu: Expert Level (0/10,000)]
[Shunpo: Proficient Level (400/10,000)]
[Kido: Ordinary Level (500/10,000)]
(Note: The levels for Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hoho, Kido are: Ordinary, Proficient, Expert, Master, Perfect)
[Zanpakuto: Hyorinmaru (Shikai)]
…
'After obtaining Hyorinmaru, my Zanjutsu level actually jumped directly from Proficient Level to Expert Level?'
Looking at the status panel before him, Sora's expression showed some surprise and delight.
After all, the levels of Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hoho, and Kido all required skill experience to improve.
Whether from Ordinary to Proficient or from Expert to Master, each required 10,000 points of skill experience to advance.
Of course, the difficulty of obtaining skill experience for the Expert level was certainly ten times harder than for the Ordinary level!
If he couldn't obtain corresponding skill experience rewards, he needed a lot of repetitive practice to slowly raise its level, and the efficiency was very low.
Just like the skills Hakuda, Zanjutsu, and Shunpo… over the years, Sora hadn't received any related rewards for them. He had barely managed to raise these skills from Ordinary Level to Proficient Level through ten years of arduous training.
But now, holding Hyorinmaru, Sora's feeling was instantly different.
To say that a Zanpakuto in Shikai could slay Otsutsuki above and strike down Senju Hashirama below was certainly unrealistic. But it had genuinely boosted Sora's combat power by a significant margin.
'Rank 4 Reiatsu, plus Hyorinmaru…'
'With my current strength, I should be stronger than the Copy Ninja Kakashi. Even if I encounter a weaker Kage-level opponent, I should have the power to fight.'
Thinking this, Sora's gaze became somewhat distant.
After all, the original body's talent was just ordinary. Without the system's bonuses, Sora would probably have been killed or at least severely battered in the cruel environment of the Village of the Bloody Mist.
But now, even without using his Zanpakuto, Sora, relying solely on the foundation of Rank 4 Reiatsu and the combat power of Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hoho, and Kido, could firmly stand at the level of an Elite Jonin.
Elite Jonin!
Invincible below the Kage-level!
A Ninja of this level, placed in a small Ninja Village, would be a leader-level figure. Even in a great Ninja Village, they would be high-ranking people holding real power.
Just like Sora now, by virtue of his battle achievements and strength, he had already become an Anbu Captain, which counted as a position of real power within Kirigakure.
Knock, knock, knock!
Just then, the door was knocked on softly.
"Enter."
Sora said quietly.
Immediately after, an Anbu with a mask and neat black short hair entered. She knelt on one knee and reported, "Sora-sama, there is an order from the Commander-General. Top Secret level."
As she spoke, the Anbu handed over a scroll marked with a black seal.
The effect of this seal was simple: if the scroll wasn't opened using the correct method, it would instantly self-immolate and explode upon being opened, completely destroying itself to ensure the intelligence didn't leak.
Sora took the scroll, unlocked it using the unique Anbu hand seals, and quickly read its contents.
Then, his expression became quite interesting.
[The Mizukage orders the Anbu to fully cooperate with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist in an assassination mission. The target is a Jonin from the Konoha of the Land of Fire…]
'Jiraiya!?!'