After wolfing down all his rice balls, Byakuya finally felt his strength returning.
He rested until the sun went down before organizing his ninja tools and heading home.
Excessive chakra depletion required extreme caution.
In the original story, Naruto Uzumaki learned Wind nature transformation from Kakashi Hatake using the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu to speed up the process. For anyone else, that would be unthinkable—pure suicide.
Byakuya cooked himself another batch of sweet and sour pork. After eating and drinking his fill, he felt too lazy to do anything else, so he just lay in bed.
He wondered if "Destiny Choice 2" would appear when the system missions refreshed after midnight.
Lost in thought, he drifted off to sleep.
---
He slept soundly.
His eyes snapped open before the alarm went off.
He hurriedly pulled up the status interface.
> [System: Hard Work Pays Off]
> Limited Time Mission (4 Days): 100-meter Sprints (0/50)
> Reward: Minor increase in Speed.
> Destiny Choice 2: Establish a foothold in the ANBU Training Division (Limited Time: 30 Days).
> Reward: Major increase in Chakra Quality.
Wait... Major increase in Chakra Quality?!
Did that mean that for the same amount of chakra consumed, his jutsu would be more powerful?
Byakuya pondered this deeply. He couldn't recall any specific explanation about "chakra quality" from the original series.
But it had to be good.
After all, the last Destiny Choice reward was the Storm Style Kekkei Genkai.
"Finally found you~ Luckily I didn't give up~ Happiness isn't easy to come by, so it makes people cherish it more~~"
Humming a tune, he prepared breakfast: tomato and scrambled eggs over rice, with a glass of hot milk.
The food of the ninja world wasn't exactly gourmet to Byakuya's palate, but these simple, hearty meals gave him a sense of home once they hit his stomach.
As he finished eating and prepared for work, reality hit him. "Where's the happiness? Root missions are deadly dangerous. One wrong move and it's game over."
Root—the ANBU Training Division. Destiny Choice 2 fit perfectly with his current situation.
He unlocked the three heavy doors of the warehouse.
With his recent boosts to Stamina and Vitality, Byakuya felt incredibly energetic.
He ran ten 100-meter sprints before a teacher arrived to requisition some tools. He filled out the forms according to protocol.
"You're Byakuya Senkaku?"
"Pleasure to meet you."
They shook hands.
"The previous warehouse manager was hard of hearing. Every time I came to get tools for class, I had to yell for half the day. It wasted so much time. The school should have replaced him ages ago."
"The old employee was cautious. I'm young and a bit rash."
"Haha... Byakuya, you're too modest. By the way, the teachers are having a get-together soon. Want to come?"
"No thanks. I'm just the warehouse manager, not really a teacher. Sorry to decline your kindness."
"It's fine, it's fine. See? You're too modest. Let me introduce myself properly. I'm Eiji Sarutobi. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, is my uncle."
"So you are the esteemed nephew of the Hokage. An honor!"
"Well, I'm off to teach class."
"Take care."
After sending off the Sarutobi clan teacher, Byakuya ran another ten sprints. The open ground in front of the warehouse was just long enough for him to pick up speed.
He didn't feel tired at all.
Just as he was planning to knock out the entire timed mission in one go, an unexpected visitor arrived.
Kurenai Yuhi.
"Byakuya Senkaku? So you work at the Academy."
"Hello, Kurenai."
"This is a requisition form for ninja tools. It's signed by Vice Principal Hiroya."
He took the document and checked it carefully.
The listed items were all combat-ready gear: kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, storage scrolls, and more.
He logged the withdrawal in the warehouse ledger.
Byakuya quickly gathered the items Kurenai needed and handed them over.
"Were you sprinting just now, Byakuya?"
"Yeah. Just killing time, getting some exercise."
Kurenai was beautiful. Although she hadn't fully matured yet, you could already see the "cool beauty" vibe she would have later.
"The Leaf is in the middle of a great war. Are you content to just waste your time here?" she asked as she counted the tools to verify the order.
Her words were blunt.
Byakuya smiled politely. "To be honest, my skills are poor. If not for the village's new policy, I might not have even passed the graduation exam. Being a warehouse manager here is already a huge stroke of luck for me."
Seeing Kurenai about to speak again, he continued, "Besides, you guys killing enemies on the battlefield and me managing the warehouse here... we're both contributing to the Leaf."
Although Kurenai felt like there was something wrong with that statement, she couldn't find an angle to refute it. She simply packed up her tools and left.
---
In a flash, seven days passed.
Aside from the minor speed boost, Byakuya also gained minor boosts to sensory perception and reaction time from other daily missions.
Teacher Izumi sought him out once more. Byakuya gave her no face, pressing her on whether she intended to harm him. Izumi denied it profusely, claiming only she could save him. Byakuya ignored her completely and focused on his training.
During their conversation, Izumi even tried to use her feminine wiles on him. Unfortunately for her, Byakuya had a "mature" soul that had seen plenty of that before. He ignored it so thoroughly that Izumi started doubting her own charm.
During this time, he also refined his Storm Style: Torrential Lightning. His mastery of this jutsu, developed from Water Style: Wild Water Wave, grew deeper and more fluid.
As for Lightning Style: Earth Flash, Byakuya could currently only use it in combo with Water Style: Wild Water Wave. First, he would spew the water, then use Earth Flash to conduct electricity through it. The downside was that it was easy to accidentally electrocute himself.
Compared to his Storm Style, it was leagues behind.
He also learned the Summoning Jutsu. Since he didn't have a contract beast, he used the space-time scrolls from the warehouse to store his ninja tools. This would make future Root missions much more convenient.
As the countdown on "Destiny Choice 2" ticked away day by day, Byakuya knew deep down that completing this destiny choice would require him to succeed in his next Root mission.
---
Today was sunny and bright.
Hiroya didn't dare delay. He was waiting at the warehouse before Byakuya even arrived for work.
Seeing the Vice Principal squatting in front of the warehouse counting ants, Byakuya asked in surprise, "Principal, what are you..."
"Byakuya. Come with me."
Hearing the serious tone, Byakuya knew a new mission had arrived.
They went to Hiroya's office and locked the door tight.
"How is your new ninjutsu training going?" Hiroya asked with feigned concern.
Byakuya shook his head. "My aptitude is average. I haven't made much headway yet."
"Oh, it doesn't matter. You're still young; your future has endless possibilities. You'll learn it sooner or later. Did you memorize Lord Tobirama's Water Formation Wall?"
"I have memorized it all."
"Return the scroll then. I need to give it back to the higher-ups."
"Yes, sir."
Such a precious jutsu scroll—Byakuya carried it on him at all times. He placed it on the desk, and Hiroya carefully put it away.
"Byakuya Senkaku. This is your second mission as an off-the-books operative of the ANBU Training Division." Hiroya solemnly handed him a mission scroll.
"Principal, when do I execute this?"
"From the moment you accepted this scroll."
"Understood."
"Byakuya..."
"Yes?"
"Take care."
Byakuya bowed. "Thank you for your concern, Principal."
"Go on. I won't keep you chatting."
"I take my leave."
Back in the warehouse, he opened the scroll.
Among the Leaf ninja stationed in the Land of Rivers, there was a spy from the Hidden Sand Village of the Land of Wind. Byakuya's mission was to kill this spy, named Sansan Kaoru, without alerting anyone.