Sasuke hurriedly began memorizing the contents of the scroll, terrified that the writing might disappear at any moment.
The frantic look on his face made Itsuki burst out laughing.
Sasuke and the others stared at him in confusion.
Only then did Itsuki explain.
“You don’t have to study the techniques you receive from me the normal way.
Just press the reward scroll against yourself, and you’ll learn the technique immediately.” “What?!” Sasuke stared at him in disbelief.
Once he was certain Itsuki wasn’t joking, he swallowed hard.
“Any technique?
No matter what rank it is?” “As long as it’s a technique rewarded here, yes.” Itsuki smiled faintly, a trace of pride entering his voice.
“Even if it’s an S-rank ninjutsu or senjutsu, one touch is enough.” Kakashi, who had been examining his own scroll, drew in a sharp breath.
He had already checked the contents of the Water Release: Water Formation Wall scroll.
The technique recorded inside was completely legitimate, identical to the version he had learned himself.
For a moment, Kakashi had even wondered whether Itsuki had somehow stolen Konoha’s ninjutsu.
But after hearing this explanation, that suspicion vanished completely.
No one in Konoha could accomplish something like this.
More importantly, Kakashi doubted anyone anywhere in the shinobi world could.
A technique that could be mastered instantly.
A system that could even grant kekkei genkai as mission rewards.
There wasn’t a shinobi alive who wouldn’t be tempted by something like this.
The shinobi world isn’t going to stay peaceful for long.
Kakashi’s expression remained calm, but his thoughts were grim.
If word of Itsuki’s abilities spread, countless shinobi and villages would inevitably be drawn here.
And where there was power, conflict would follow.
I need to report this to the Hokage as soon as possible.
Kakashi made his decision immediately.
Sasuke, meanwhile, had already lost his patience.
He raised the scroll and pressed it against himself.
The scroll dissolved into countless specks of light.
Those motes scattered through the air before flowing directly into Sasuke’s body.
His eyes widened.
Knowledge that had never existed in his mind before suddenly appeared all at once.
Chakra flow.
Nature transformation.
Hand seals.
The timing and method required to release the technique.
Everything related to Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work had become as familiar to him as though he had practiced it himself.
Sasuke stood frozen.
“I…
learned it?” No months of training.
No repeated failures.
No endless practice.
He had simply pressed a scroll against his body, and now he knew a B-rank ninjutsu.
For a moment, Sasuke didn’t know what to think.
Compared to this, all the years he had spent training suddenly seemed almost absurd.
Itsuki watched the disbelief on his face with great satisfaction.
Sooner or later, he would make everyone understand one simple truth.
Why spend years struggling when completing missions could make you stronger far faster?
Naruto quickly followed Sasuke’s example.
The scroll in his hand contained the Three Basic Techniques.
He slapped it against himself.
The scroll dissolved into light and entered his body.
Naruto blinked several times as the unfamiliar knowledge settled into his mind.
Then his eyes lit up.
“So that’s how it works…” He muttered excitedly under his breath.
“I finally learned all three properly.” The Clone Technique had nearly prevented him from graduating from the Academy.
Being able to master it completely should have made him ecstatic.
Unfortunately, Sasuke had already told him that his own reward was a B-rank ninjutsu.
The moment Naruto remembered that, most of his excitement disappeared.
Sakura also used her scroll and instantly learned the medical ninjutsu Hemostasis Technique.
A moment later, she was already standing beside Sasuke, eagerly talking his ear off about their new techniques.
Kakashi watched the three of them before finally accepting that what he was seeing was real.
Then he looked down at the scroll in his hand.
After hesitating briefly, he turned toward Itsuki.
“Can these scrolls be used by someone else?” Kakashi already knew Water Release: Water Formation Wall.
Using the scroll on himself would accomplish absolutely nothing.
“No.” Itsuki answered without hesitation.
That wasn’t entirely true.
The system itself actually permitted reward scrolls to be transferred between participants.
Itsuki had simply disabled that function.
For the time being, he had no intention of allowing shinobi to freely trade techniques among themselves.
Part of the reason was balance.
The other was much simpler.
If everyone could simply exchange rewards privately, there would be far less incentive for new shinobi to come to him and complete missions themselves.
Kakashi was visibly disappointed.
But Itsuki continued.
“You can’t give the scroll to another person, but you can sell it back to me.” “Sell it to you?” Kakashi looked surprised.
He seriously doubted Itsuki had any shortage of ninjutsu.
“Think of it as a recycling system.” Itsuki explained with a smile.
“If you receive a technique or item you don’t need, I can take it back and give you a coin of the corresponding rank.” Kakashi’s eye sharpened.
“And what are the coins used for?” He had immediately noticed the important part.
Itsuki gave him a meaningful look.
“You can think of them as a universal currency for certain services I provide.” “They can’t be used to directly purchase techniques or items, but they can be spent on functions outside the normal mission system.” “What kind of functions?” Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura had stopped talking.
All three were now listening closely.
Kakashi was staring at Itsuki just as intently.
Itsuki smiled.
He had thrown out the bait.
Sure enough, Kakashi had taken it.
“For example…
special scenarios.” “Special scenarios?” The four of them exchanged puzzled looks.
This time, however, none of them interrupted.
They had already learned that whenever Itsuki introduced something strange, it was usually better to let him explain first.
“Well…” Itsuki scratched his hair.
Explaining the concept from scratch sounded troublesome.
After a moment, he simply looked at Kakashi.
“It’ll make more sense if you experience one yourself.” Kakashi paused.
Then, after a brief hesitation, he handed over the scroll that Naruto and Sasuke had been eyeing enviously.
“Fine.” “Take it back.” Itsuki accepted the scroll and contacted the system.
The ninjutsu scroll vanished instantly.
In its place appeared a single coin.
It was golden, with a large B engraved on its surface.
A B-rank coin.
“One B-rank coin can be exchanged for ten C-rank coins.” Itsuki held it up.
“The same conversion applies between the other ranks.” Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura watched curiously.
Kakashi, meanwhile, noticed that something new had appeared on his mission panel.
Currency: 1 B-rank Coin Itsuki continued operating the system.
“System, open Kakashi’s scenario list.” A new window appeared before him.
Lines of text filled the screen.
Itsuki glanced over them.
Then his expression became increasingly strange.
The Death of the White Fang — S-rank Obito’s Death — A-rank Rin’s Death — S-rank The Death of His Teacher — S-rank Orochimaru’s Defection — S-rank The Night of the Uchiha Massacre — A-rank …
Itsuki stared at the list for several seconds.
Then even he was left speechless.
Kakashi really had suffered one tragedy after another.
His father.
His teammates.
His teacher.
Nearly everyone important to him had died.
Looking at the list laid out so neatly in front of him, Itsuki couldn’t help thinking that Kakashi’s life had been almost unbelievably cruel.