[Optional Mission 2: Uzumaki Descendant has been completed.]
[Draw secondary rune?]
"Fuck, the mission target really was Nagato? Damn system, screw you!!!"
After running dozens of li in one breath to another town, Rei finally had time to stop and check what the system prompt that had been ringing nonstop in his ear was about.
And when he looked, he was so angry that his vision went black on the spot. He almost fainted from rage.
A close-range encounter with a healthy Nagato in his rising period, and the system only gave him one secondary rune draw chance as a reward?
Who was it looking down on?
At the very least, it should have given him one Keystone Rune draw chance as a reward, right?
Also, that other optional mission said in the description that he only needed to wipe out that Konoha Anbu squad.
But in the end, every single one of them had a Flying Thunder God kunai from Minato Namikaze in their hands.
Was that also a difficulty level worthy of a mission that only rewarded one secondary rune draw chance?
If I had the ability right now to kill every teammate Minato Namikaze wanted to protect while Minato himself was present, would I still lack the improvement brought by one secondary rune?
Damn it.
In that mission where Obito Uchiha fell into darkness, the difficulty and reward level definitely weren't matched like this!
After venting his impotent rage toward the system for a while, Rei still obediently began drawing a new secondary rune.
No choice.
He was about to go to the battlefield.
Every extra hidden card that others did not know about gave him another chance to realize his dream.
[Please choose one of the following three secondary runes as the reward for this mission.]
[Absolute Focus: Secondary Rune. When your current vitality is above 70% of your maximum vitality, increase all your attributes by 10%.]
[Taste of Blood: Secondary Rune. When you deal damage to a target possessing chakra, restore 5% of your maximum vitality. This effect has a 60-second cooldown.]
[Legend: Alacrity: Secondary Rune. Increase all your speed by 3%. Every time you kill 5 targets possessing chakra, gain one additional stack of Alacrity. Each stack increases all speed by 3%. Additional Alacrity stacks can stack up to 5 times.]
There was nothing to hesitate about with this secondary rune selection.
Even if Rei used his toes to think, he would not possibly choose any rune other than [Absolute Focus].
There was no special reason.
He simply had confidence in the length of his health bar.
After choosing [Absolute Focus] as the reward, Rei instantly felt a very obvious improvement in his control over every part of his body and his reaction speed.
His distribution and mobilization of chakra also became more precise and refined.
Even the pain and burden of using the Dead Bone Pulse were reduced rather noticeably.
"What a good rune. If I had chosen [Waterwalking] last time, I would basically have a permanent 20% attribute boost now, wouldn't I? Unfortunately, I don't plan to walk the lone wolf route. Choosing [Biscuit Delivery] still has greater returns…"
After waking from the state of closing his eyes to sense the boost from [Absolute Focus], Rei casually settled the guaranteed mission that had long since been completed.
[Mission: Pursue Kirigakure Missing-nin has been completed.]
[Obtained Attack Rune x1, Resistance Rune x1.]
[Attack Rune: Your taijutsu strength increases by 3%. Can be stacked without limit.]
[Resistance Rune: All your resistances increase by 2%. Can be stacked without limit.]
"Oh? The stats of minor runes seem pretty good too. And they can stack infinitely. Once the number goes up, they might even become stronger than weaker Keystone Runes…"
"I just don't know what the exact definition of taijutsu is here… Hopefully the Dead Bone Pulse can benefit from this boost too."
After organizing all his gains from this mission, Rei identified his current location and got up, heading toward the southeast of the town.
He needed to hurry back to the village and participate in Kirigakure's war against Konoha.
While he was at it, he would also receive the next new mission from the Third Mizukage that could give him a rune draw chance.
The life of a corporate slave passed day after day in this kind of boring cycle.
…
Konoha.
"You seem to be recovering well, Minato…"
In a ward inside Konoha Hospital, Kushina Uzumaki helped Minato Namikaze remove the old bandages on his hand while speaking to the man who was already engaged to her in a very pleasantly surprised tone.
"Well, the captain of the emergency medical team said I still need to rest for a while before I can recover to my pre-injury condition."
Minato Namikaze scratched his blond hair with his left hand somewhat awkwardly, then looked at the clear sky outside and sighed.
"I was still careless. I originally thought my speed could surpass the limit of his reactions. I didn't expect him to prepare a counterattack in advance by exploiting a common misconception…"
"You're talking about that guy who took your Rasengan head-on and didn't suffer much injury, right? I think his name was Rei Kaguya, Minato?"
"Yeah."
Minato smiled helplessly and said in a slightly low voice, "Bottomless vitality and chakra like a Tailed Beast, defensive ability attached to the Dead Bone Pulse that can ignore most physical attacks, decent taijutsu and Water Release skill, and an excellent mind… If he appears on the frontal battlefield between Konoha and Kirigakure, I really don't know how many shinobi lives we'll have to pay just to barely force him back."
Kushina Uzumaki walked to Minato's bedside, carefully held his recently injured right hand, and said in a calm tone, "From your description, that Rei Kaguya sounds like a thinking humanoid Tailed Beast… Minato, you're not very good at dealing with that type of enemy, are you?"
"Mm. Before I develop a ninjutsu with greater destructive power than the Rasengan, the only thing I can do against him is probably use the Flying Thunder God mark that can't be erased to get close, then transfer him away from the frontal battlefield."
Perhaps because the two of them were alone, Minato did not maintain the image he kept in front of subordinates and colleagues, where he could handle any kind of difficulty with ease.
Instead, he openly admitted to Kushina that his compatibility against Rei Kaguya was very poor.
Seeing this, Kushina cheerfully flicked Minato's forehead and patted her chest.
"Heh heh. Minato, you might not be good at dealing with that type of enemy, but I still have ways to handle him."
"Yes, yes. I know you inherited the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques and have many ways to deal with enemies with powerful vitality like Rei Kaguya."
Minato did not get angry and simply followed his wife's words with a smile.
"So once my injuries recover, I will submit an application to Lord Third and go with you to the frontal battlefield to face that guy."
"I don't plan to let the guy who hurt my most important lover run free on the battlefield for that long, Minato."
"Huh?"
Seeing Minato Namikaze's expression stiffen, Kushina smiled and took out a mission commission personally stamped and approved by the Hokage from her ninja tool pouch.
Then she unfolded it in front of Minato.
"I have already obtained mission permission from Lord Third. Before your injuries heal and before you finish signing the peace agreement with Kumogakure, I will be responsible for facing the enemies invading the Land of Fire on the Kirigakure front."
"Huh!? How could this happen!? How could Lord Third feel at ease letting you alone shoulder the responsibility of fighting against Kirigakure's front line?"
Minato almost jumped out of bed in agitation, but Kushina immediately pressed him back down.
The red-haired woman looked seriously at the man she loved and spoke to him word by word.
"Don't forget. I was once someone who aimed to become the first female Hokage. If, when the village is short on manpower, I don't even have the courage to fight to protect its peace, what face would I have to meet the girl who once dreamed of becoming Hokage to prove herself?"
"Kushina…"
"All right, all right. Don't get so fussy."
Kushina flicked Minato's forehead again and said with a serious expression, "My own desire to avenge you is one reason. Another reason is that Lord Third has just received intelligence from spies hidden in Kirigakure."
"The intelligence says that Kirigakure's Three-Tails has, for some unknown reason, already entered its revival period. Their other Tailed Beast, the Six-Tails, also has not found a suitable Jinchuriki yet…"
"In other words, with the Third Mizukage required to stay in the rear, Kirigakure is actually quite lacking in high-end combat strength aside from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and that Rei Kaguya. Even if I go to command Konoha's front against Kirigakure, there basically won't be a situation where I'm besieged by multiple top-tier experts. My safety is still relatively guaranteed."
"I'll finish treatment as soon as possible, deal with Kumogakure's matters, and then come to find you."
Minato Namikaze covered his forehead, which had been flicked bright red, and spoke very seriously.
"Mm. Before you arrive, I'll properly let those Kirigakure guys witness the guts and resolve of an Uzumaki clan descendant!"
Kushina habitually grabbed Minato Namikaze's right hand and squeezed it hard, transmitting her will to him.
"Uwoaaaaahhh! That hurts, Kushina!!!"
Minato Namikaze's scream echoed through the small ward that held only the two of them, lingering for a long time.