[Optional Mission 2 · Uzumaki Descendant — Completed]
[Proceed with Secondary Rune Draw?]
"Damn it—so the mission target really was Nagato?!"
Rei only dared to stop and check the system notifications after sprinting dozens of li away to another town. And the moment he saw the content, he nearly fainted from anger.
Meeting a healthy, rising Nagato at close range—
And the system rewarded him with only a secondary rune draw?
Was it mocking him?
At minimum, that deserved a cornerstone rune draw.
And the other optional mission—
The description said he only needed to wipe out that Konoha ANBU squad.
But every single one of them carried a Flying Thunder God kunai tied to Minato?
Was that difficulty really worth only a secondary rune reward?
If Rei could kill everyone Minato was protecting while Minato was present, he wouldn't need the system's help at all.
He vented for a while, then drew anyway.
War was coming. Another hidden trump card was another layer of insurance.
[Choose one of the following three secondary runes as your reward:]
Absolute Focus — Secondary Rune. When current HP is above 70% of max HP, increase all attributes by 10%.
Taste of Blood — Secondary Rune. When you deal damage to a chakra-bearing target, restore 5% max HP. 60s cooldown.
Legend: Alacrity — Secondary Rune. Increase all speed by 3%. Each time you kill 5 chakra-bearing targets, gain an additional stack of Alacrity: all speed +3%. Up to 5 stacks.
There was nothing to debate.
Even using his toes to think, Rei couldn't pick anything but Absolute Focus.
Why?
Because he trusted the length of his HP bar.
The moment he selected it, he felt the boost—sharper control, faster reactions, more precise chakra distribution. Even the burden and pain of using Shikotsumyaku eased noticeably.
"…What a rune."
"If I'd taken Waterwalking last time, I'd basically have a permanent 20% boost."
"But I'm not going lone-wolf. Biscuit Delivery still paid better."
After that, he settled the "guaranteed" mission rewards too.
[Mission · Pursue Kirigakure Traitors — Completed]
[Gained Attack Rune ×1, Resistance Rune ×1]
Attack Rune: Taijutsu strength +3%. Stackable with no limit.
Resistance Rune: All resistances +2%. Stackable with no limit.
"Oh?" Rei raised a brow. "These minor runes aren't bad."
Stack enough of them and they might surpass weaker cornerstone runes.
Only question was what exactly counted as "taijutsu."
He sincerely hoped Shikotsumyaku benefited.
After organizing his rewards, Rei checked his bearings and headed southeast.
Back to the village.
Back to the war.
And—if possible—back to the Mizukage to pick up the next mission with another rune draw.
The life of a wage slave was an endless loop.
…
Konoha.
In a hospital room, Uzumaki Kushina replaced the old bandages on Namikaze Minato's hand, her voice bright with relief.
"You're recovering pretty well, Minato!"
"Yeah…" Minato scratched his blond hair with his left hand, embarrassed. "The head of emergency medicine says I still need time before I'm back to full strength."
He looked out at the clear sky and sighed.
"I got careless. I thought my speed could outrun his reaction limit."
"I didn't expect he'd already laid a countertrap using a blind spot in common sense…"
"You mean that guy—Kaguya Rei?" Kushina narrowed her eyes. "The one who tanked your Rasengan and barely got hurt?"
"Yeah." Minato's smile was tired.
"His vitality and chakra are like a tailed beast. Shikotsumyaku's defense basically nullifies most physical attacks."
"Plus solid taijutsu and Water Release… and a frighteningly good brain."
"If he appears on the main battlefield between Konoha and Kirigakure, I can't imagine how many shinobi we'd have to lose just to drive him back."
Kushina held his injured right hand carefully, voice even.
"From your description, he's basically a thinking humanoid tailed beast…"
"And you're not very good at dealing with that type, are you?"
Minato chuckled helplessly.
"Until I develop something stronger than Rasengan, the only thing I can do against him is…"
"Get close using the Flying Thunder God mark and move him off the main battlefield."
Kushina flicked his forehead with a grin.
"Hmph. You're not good at it, but I am."
Minato smiled. "Yeah, yeah. I know you inherited Uzumaki sealing techniques."
"So when I recover, I'll request to fight him on the front line with you."
Kushina's eyes sharpened with a dangerous glow.
"I'm not planning to let the guy who hurt my most important person run wild for long."
"…Huh?" Minato froze.
Kushina pulled out a mission authorization stamped by the Hokage and unfolded it in front of him.
"I already got permission from the Third Hokage."
"Until you fully recover and Konoha finishes the peace treaty with Kumogakure…"
"I'll be the one in charge of the Kirigakure front."
"W-What?!" Minato nearly jumped out of bed. Kushina shoved him back down.
"Don't forget," she said, eyes steady, voice firm, "I once wanted to become the first female Hokage."
"If I don't even have the courage to fight for Konoha when we're short-handed…"
"What right do I have to face that girl who once dreamed of proving herself by becoming Hokage?"
"Kushina…"
"Enough with the sappy face." She flicked his forehead again, then grew serious.
"One reason I'm going is to get revenge for you."
"Another is the intel the Third Hokage just received."
"Konoha's spies say the Three-Tails in Kirigakure has entered a revival period for some reason… and the Six-Tails still hasn't found a suitable Jinchūriki."
"That means the Third Mizukage has to stay in the rear."
"So Kirigakure's high-end combat power is lacking beyond the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and that Kaguya Rei."
"I probably won't get surrounded by multiple top-tier enemies. It's relatively safe."
Minato looked at her, then spoke with quiet intensity.
"I'll finish treatment as fast as possible, handle Kumogakure, and come find you."
Kushina grinned, grabbing his right hand and squeezing with all her Uzumaki enthusiasm.
"Good! I'll show Kirigakure what Uzumaki guts look like—!"
"AAAAAAAA—Kushina! That hurts!!"
Minato's scream echoed through the room.
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