Ren truly wanted to thank Uchiha Obito properly.
Not that Obito was any kind of "good person" in Ren's eyes.
More like… the evergreen of the simp world, the pillar of all clowns, the highest card in the deck, McDonald's mascot, Batman's top customer, Gotham's biggest crime boss—
The comparison sounded ridiculous, but if you lined it up against everything Ren remembered…
It actually fit disturbingly well.
"Rin always seemed to like Kakashi," Ren thought, "but because of Obito, Kakashi wouldn't—couldn't—accept it."
In short—
Obito's love was one-sided.
And he'd even turned that one-sided love into a personal creed—like a passive skill called "Thinking About Women."
So unbreakable that even the Ten-Tails couldn't shred his will.
"Still," Ren concluded, "he's a good person."
Holding onto Yugao's hand while she examined him, Ren's gaze slid to his status panel.
[Shihara Ren]
[Overall Physical Attributes: LV9]
[Chakra: LV9]
[Abilities: Wood Release LV6, Flying Thunder God LV6, Taijutsu LV5, Sealing Techniques LV5, Cursed Seal LV5, Yin Release LV3]
[Free Points: 12]
Staring at those 12 Free Points, Ren began to seriously consider where to invest them.
The optimal choice was obvious—
Either raise physical attributes… or Wood Release.
His physical attributes were already LV9—basically the upper limit of an elite jōnin.
One step beyond that…
was the Kage tier.
That temptation was hard to resist.
But he craved Wood Release too—
And right now, he simply couldn't afford it.
"Wood Release at LV6 is a three-way combination," Ren calculated.
"Raising Wood Release by one means raising the other three components once too."
"That's eighteen points total."
He didn't have eighteen.
Not even close.
If he wanted that, he'd have to wait for the future—and it made him itch with frustration.
As for other options—
Flying Thunder God was hugely meaningful. That technique had carried him through too many situations. If he mastered it further, his ceiling could rise dramatically.
Taijutsu, Cursed Seal, and Yin Release were also valuable.
His taijutsu was only LV5, but with his physical stats, he still hit like a monster.
The Cursed Seal's "Sage Mode-like" amplification was all-around.
And Yin Release was key for future Yin–Yang fusion.
Looking at the whole spread—
"…Free Points are still too few."
Ren sighed.
After turning it over again and again, he made a decision.
"Raise the foundation first."
"Then focus on improving the Cursed Seal and Yin Release."
Spending points was always equal parts joy and pain.
So many choices—
And never enough points.
He'd only just stabilized Wood Release, and he still had the Scorch Release formula…
and now even a potential Yin–Yang fusion formula.
That was the direction he had to go.
[Overall Physical Attributes increased. Current level: LV10]
[Yin Release increased. Current level: LV4]
[Free Points: 0]
The moment his physical attributes hit LV10, Ren suddenly felt the Yang Release power inside him explode.
His whole body jolted.
In an instant, that Yang power flooded every corner of his body.
Heat surged through him—
And a strange pain bloomed inside, making his muscles spasm uncontrollably.
"Hm?"
Yugao, still checking him, immediately sensed something wrong.
"What's happening? Are you okay? Wait—I'll go get someone!"
She tried to pull her hand away to call for help.
Even though she'd trained with the medical unit for a while, she was nowhere near a true medical-nin.
But Ren clamped down on her hand and refused to let her go.
"No. Just give me a moment. It'll pass."
Ren's face had gone pale. Even he hadn't expected it to turn into this.
"You're sure you're okay?" Yugao's eyes were full of worry.
Ren stayed firm.
"Relax. I'm fine. I just wanted to circulate my chakra to cooperate with your exam… I didn't expect this to happen."
He truly hadn't expected the Yang Release surge to be this violent.
Compared to before, it wasn't even in the same league.
But it made sense.
This wasn't a single stat increasing—
It was a comprehensive upgrade across everything.
That was why his panel sometimes didn't look that outrageous—
Yet he could trade blows with far stronger shinobi, even defeat them.
A "bucket build" was strong because it was complete.
Your strengths? He matched them, sometimes exceeded them.
Your weaknesses? He filled them too.
"That's the charm of being a numbers monster."
It was just that becoming a numbers monster…
hurt like hell.
Especially since his body at LV9—boosted by Wood Release—hadn't even been fully adapted yet.
Upgrading again so soon causing backlash?
Normal.
"This time, I'll need a full adaptation period."
"Perfect chance to raise other abilities too."
The pain wracked him.
It felt like countless tiny insects were chewing through his entire body.
He could only grit his teeth and endure.
He felt the Yang power running wild through his muscles, blood, and bones—
Tempering, strengthening—
Every nerve.
Every inch.
Even without moving, he could feel it:
Faster.
Stronger.
More stamina.
His chakra recovery felt sharper too. His body could hold more chakra.
Even his reflexes—reaction speed, neural response—rose in a way that felt absurd.
But the biggest change was coordination.
His control over his body reached an unbelievable level.
Combined with his sensing, he felt capable of things that bordered on impossible.
He could sense his heart rate.
Blood flow.
Pulse.
Muscle condition.
And he could extend that into calculations.
If he was injured, he could judge the depth of the wound… the speed of blood loss… how long he could last.
He could even estimate what range of movement would minimize damage—
And how quickly the wound would recover.
"This change…"
Ren murmured.
And then, right around then—
The Yang surge began to fade.
The extreme pain ebbed away.
In its place came a wave of intense relief—
Mixed with a faint, hollow weakness.
He was drenched in sweat.
"How are you now?" Yugao had been watching the entire time. The chakra in her hand had already shifted fully into the green glow of medical ninjutsu.
When she felt his muscle spasms stop, she asked immediately.
"I'm okay…"
Ren tried to stand and loosen up.
But his legs went soft and he staggered.
"Hey—careful."
Yugao caught him at once, holding him steady, worry written all over her face.
"Your body is strange. Everything looks fine… but there's also this weird weakness. You—"
"Isn't that basically what I told you before?" Ren blinked.
But his peripheral vision drifted downward for a split second.
He realized he might've underestimated how much this senpai of his had… grown.
"Ren, do you have a moment?"
As Ren silently processed his own changes and Yugao was still puzzling over his condition—
A voice suddenly came from outside the room.
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