The private room at Ajino Takumi buzzed with laughter and the rich smell of grilled meat.
"Cheers!"
Team 10's celebration was in full swing.
Tsunade had learned that the massive A-rank special mission payout was being credited to Shinichi's name, complete with an eye-watering bonus. She immediately declared they were celebrating her student's rise to fame and made him foot the bill.
"Don't hold back!" Tsunade waved a hand grandly, already downing a full cup of sake. Her cheeks were flushed as she shouted toward the door. "Owner! Five more orders of grilled meat and three more bottles of sake! And bring two more plates of that mapo tofu! Shizune, Kurenai—order whatever you want. Don't save this stingy brat a single ryo!"
Shizune glanced at the menu prices and looked embarrassed, but Kurenai just smiled and picked a few of her favorite side dishes.
Shinichi sat at the head of the table, the fish head deliberately placed in front of him.
He kept his usual gentle smile, though anyone looking closely would notice it was a fraction stiffer than normal.
Eight hundred and fifty thousand ryo.
That was all he actually received.
After the village took its cut for mission costs, taxes, and development funds, he only got fifty percent of what remained. To most people, especially chunin, this was an absurd amount of money—something most shinobi would never see in years of hard work.
To everyone else, Higashino Shinichi had struck it rich today.
Only Shinichi knew the truth.
Every single ryo had been carved out of his own clone's hide.
This system was straight-up robbery.
The village's cut was way too heavy.
When he became Hokage, this distribution ratio was getting fixed. Better pay, better benefits. Every shinobi who bled for the village would get what they actually deserved.
Wait.
The thought made him pause.
If I'm already Hokage… what exactly am I reforming?
"Shinichi, that was seriously incredible."
Kurenai's voice pulled him back to the table.
"Yeah, seriously!" Shizune nodded hard in agreement.
Shinichi pushed the thought aside, slipped his usual gentle smile back on, and accepted their congratulations.
That night, after the noise died down and he was alone in his room, Shinichi called up his status panel.
[Name: Higashino Shinichi]
[Class: Chunin / Swordsman]
[Trait: ——————]
His eyes moved down the list.
The massive performance he and his clone had staged had triggered clear, powerful changes.
Three physical traits had evolved.
[Innate Divine Strength] was gone, replaced by [Crack Stone, Split Gold].
[Crack Stone, Split Gold (Blue): Your strength has broken past normal limits. Every movement carries overwhelming force. You can shatter stone and split metal with your bare hands.]
[Thick Skin] had become [Copper Skin, Iron Bones].
[Copper Skin, Iron Bones (Blue): Your body's toughness and resilience now surpass ordinary steel. Normal blades struggle to cut you. Most low-level physical attacks are greatly reduced, and even direct ninjutsu strikes lose much of their impact.]
[Agile as a Hare] had evolved into [Light as the Wind].
[Light as the Wind (Blue): Your speed and agility have undergone a qualitative change. You move as if wrapped in wind—swift, precise, and effortlessly fluid.]
These three blue traits came from the overwhelming dual perception of both bodies. His clone's monstrous physique and insane speed, especially tanking the Great Flame Rasengan with that metallic body, combined with Shinichi's own performance in their brutal sword and staff clashes.
The result was a body that far exceeded normal human limits.
His combat skills had also sharpened.
[Swordsmanship Proficiency] became [Swordsmanship Specialization].
[Swordsmanship Specialization (Blue): Your swordsmanship has reached true mastery. You no longer rely on fixed forms. You have begun forging your own style and sword intent. Every strike carries presence that can shake an opponent's spirit before the blade even lands.]
[Polearm Proficiency] became [Polearm Specialization].
[Polearm Specialization (Blue): Your understanding and use of long weapons has entered a new realm. Staff, spear, halberd, glaive—you wield them all with complete control. You can switch between overwhelming power and subtle technique at will.]
[Fire Release Proficiency] became [Fire Release Specialization].
[Fire Release Specialization (Blue): You now possess near-instinctive insight into Fire-nature chakra. Your Fire Release techniques have seen massive improvements in power, efficiency, control, and tactical flexibility. You can create, fuse, and apply Fire Release ninjutsu with far greater creativity and speed.]
These specializations came from the unforgettable display the entire village had witnessed—his refined, ever-changing swordplay clashing against his clone's brutal, overwhelming style, their staff duel that looked like gods fighting, and especially the seal-less, wide-range Flame Sweep followed by the Great Flame Rasengan that shook the entire arena.
A new green trait had also appeared.
[Lightning Release Proficiency (Green): You have begun to grasp Lightning-nature chakra transformation. Your speed in learning and using Lightning Release has increased significantly. You can apply it effectively in training and combat, granting greater speed, piercing power, and paralyzing effects.]
Shinichi stared at the panel, a deep, satisfied smile spreading across his face.
Body, technique, and elemental affinity—every core area had been strengthened. The number of blue traits had jumped. His overall combat power had undergone a complete transformation.
He had considered showing off even more abilities, but he knew people only had so much attention to give at once. Spreading it too thin would only weaken the impact on his core traits. So he held back.
He clenched his fist, feeling the dense, refined chakra flowing through him and the terrifying strength coiled in his muscles and bones.
One match. Six upgrades. One new trait.
This was easily fatter than the fight against Kakashi that first made him famous. Not just because the spectacle was bigger, but because this time he had the advantage of dual perception.
After a while, he closed the panel and walked to the window. Cool night air rushed in as he pushed it open.
He looked up at the stars. The lights of Konoha glowed below, but the sky above was vast and dark, heavy with the promise of the coming storm.
The Third Kazekage—the man called the strongest Kazekage in history, wielder of Magnet Release—hadn't appeared in public for some time.
Sunagakure claimed he was in deep training, but the village was clearly tense. Whispers had already started spreading in certain circles.
The Third Kazekage was most likely dead or missing.
The storm was coming.
The Third Great Ninja War was no longer a question of if, but when.
And in the narrow window before it arrived, Shinichi had used the stage he built to push his traits to an entirely new level. His combat ability had risen across the board.
Earlier that day he had tested himself. Without any chakra reinforcement, he pressed a kunai against his arm with enough force to pierce solid iron.
It only left a faint white line that quickly faded. The skin didn't even break.
When he pushed harder, the blade finally pierced, but the resistance felt like cutting into tempered steel. The wound stopped bleeding and began closing at a visible rate.
In the battles ahead, ordinary arrows, kunai, shuriken, and even flying debris would be almost meaningless against him.
Even if he took a direct hit from explosive tags with no preparation, the combination of [Copper Skin, Iron Bones], his enhanced physical stats, and the insane recovery from [Endless Vitality] and [Gastronome] meant he would most likely survive—probably with only light or moderate injuries.
His body was terrifyingly strong now. More importantly, it was balanced.
He had the overwhelming life force and recovery of an Asura descendant, combined with the raw physical toughness and strength of the Ape King's bloodline, plus dedicated speed and agility traits.
He didn't have to worry about being one-shot, getting worn down, or failing to break through defenses.
The only thing still missing was a dedicated reaction and dynamic vision trait.
If he got that, his body would be a perfect, well-rounded hexagon.
His mental side was still relatively weaker compared to his physical stats, but even there, most genjutsu in the shinobi world were already useless against him thanks to his dual-core setup.
Shinichi stared out at the night sky, lost in thought.
Ten years.
This performance—loud enough to shake the entire village and guaranteed to spread to every major intelligence network—had put a brilliant, almost excessive exclamation mark on the "genius persona" he had spent ten years carefully building.
Konoha's brightest new star.
The genius recognized by a powerful foreign samurai as the future strongest.
The pioneer of a new path in Fire Release.
The boy with an absurdly powerful body.
Countless shining labels.
He had taken an ordinary orphan from the village orphanage and turned himself into someone the younger generation looked up to and even veteran powerhouses had to take seriously.
But the title of genius was a double-edged sword.
It brought reputation, resources, attention, and protection.
It also brought eyes from the dark and blades aimed at his throat.
In peacetime, genius meant favor.
In times like these—when war clouds were gathering and the great nations were already clashing in the shadows—genius, especially in the eyes of enemy villages, simply meant a threat that needed to be eliminated early.
Shinichi had used his own power and planning to build this grand stage while there was still time.
Now the war furnace was coming.
It would burn away the last traces of the "promising young genius" image and forge him into something sharper. Something enemies would fear.
Let the coming Third Great Ninja War be the whetstone for this genius.
Let it be the trial that turns Higashino Shinichi from a name people expected great things from into a name they respected—and dreaded.
He gently closed the window, shutting out the cool night wind and the endless stars.
He was no longer satisfied with playing the genius on the village stage.
He was going out into a wider, crueler world to build an even bigger, brighter stage for himself.
To prove himself.
To take everything he wanted.
I set out in the name of genius.
I will return as a true powerhouse.
Volume One: In the Name of Genius — End
Volume One — Final Status Panel
Name: Higashino Shinichi
Class: Chunin (Ninja System — possesses teaching qualifications; training efficiency for ninja-related talents increased) / Swordsman (Swordsman System — possesses teaching qualifications; physical conditioning and swordsmanship training efficiency increased)
Traits
Blue Quality:
Genius, Clone, Gastronome, Lucid Insight, Crack Stone Split Gold, Copper Skin Iron Bones, Light as the Wind, Endless Vitality, Ninjutsu Specialization, Taijutsu Specialization, Fire Release Specialization, Swordsmanship Specialization, Polearm Specialization.
Green Quality:
Auspicious Omen, Ominous Sign, Spiritual Perception, Charisma, Diligent Practice Makes Up for Weakness, Blood-Bathed Battle, Lightning Release Proficiency, Medical Proficiency, Firearms Proficiency.
White Quality:
Calm, Guidance, Genjutsu Basics, Wind Release Basics.
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Name: Isshin
Class: Swordsman
Traits
Blue Quality:
Genius, Gastronome, Lucid Insight, Crack Stone Split Gold, Copper Skin Iron Bones, Light as the Wind, Endless Vitality, Swordsmanship Specialization, Polearm Specialization.
Green Quality:
Spiritual Perception, Blood-Bathed Battle, Firearms Proficiency.
White Quality:
Guidance.
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Fused Bloodline Talents (Innate — independent of the trait system)
Boundless Strength: Inherited the Ape King clan's domineering physical power. Muscles and bones are exceptionally sturdy. Can easily shatter stone and split metal without using chakra. (Still growing)
Indestructible Diamond Body: Muscle hardness and bone density far exceed human limits. Possesses extremely high natural resistance to blunt force, bladed weapons, and most physical attacks. (Still growing)
Copper Head, Iron Arms: A beneficial mutation born from the fusion of human and Ape King bloodlines. Can instantly metallize the entire body, granting powerful physical defense and the ability to reflect kinetic impact in the form of shockwaves.
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