It was approaching midnight, yet the lights in Yakumo’s house were still on.
Sitting in front of a mirror, he began making subtle adjustments to his face.
Less healthy color, more pallor.
Fewer sharp angles, a thinner appearance.
Less sharpness in his eyes, more timidity.
The technique was just like the character customization systems found in online games.
Perhaps it hadn’t been this extraordinary when it was first created, but the intervention of his status panel had brought about some remarkable changes.
After thinking it over, Yakumo added dark circles beneath his eyes, making himself look even more exhausted.
He also set a restriction that would seal away two-thirds of his chakra.
Finally, he examined the numerous calluses on his hands, accumulated through swordsmanship training, and decided to conceal eighty percent of them.
Yakumo stood up and inspected his body.
He subtly reduced the definition of his muscles until he once again resembled the thin, timid boy he had been a month earlier.
Strictly speaking, such extreme caution wasn’t necessary.
But every time he remembered Keisuke Shimizu’s piercing, hawk-like gaze, he felt a chill run down his spine.
As chakra circulated through his body, it formed an enormous and intricate sealing array.
The alterations he had designed gradually appeared across his body.
Yakumo closed his eyes and sensed the seal.
All he needed to do was mobilize his chakra to break it easily.
However, restoring the concealment afterward would require another payment of 100 gold coins.
After examining himself in the mirror for several more minutes, Yakumo finally climbed into bed, satisfied.
He hadn’t changed his appearance too drastically.
He had merely adjusted his overall demeanor.
Tuesday, June 29.
The group met again the following day.
Looking at Yakumo’s dramatically altered demeanor, Mori Yasuko nodded knowingly.
It was a familiar feeling, yet somehow unfamiliar at the same time.
The others also thought something about Yakumo seemed strange, but they couldn’t quite put their fingers on what had changed.
After all, Rin’s attention was focused on Kakashi, while Obito’s attention was focused on Rin.
Yakumo remained the inconspicuous background character whom nobody paid much attention to.
That day, they continued their swordsmanship training as usual.
Unfortunately, his ninja blade had been destroyed, so Yakumo had no choice but to purchase another decent-quality weapon from a ninja tool shop, tears practically streaming down his face as he paid.
His savings now stood at…
2.8 million ryō.
The three pleasant days of the holiday passed in the blink of an eye.
Thursday, July 1.
Yakumo opened his mission panel as usual.
However, the entire interface was suddenly swallowed by a new notification.
MONTHLY LIMITED-TIME EVENT
Failure carries no penalty!
The rewards are exceptionally generous!
A rare opportunity that must not be missed!
Mission: Blood Nourishes the Growth of the Strong
Objective: Kill a Hidden Mist spy.
Rewards: 3 free attribute points and 1,000 gold coins.
Bonus Reward: Mastery Breakthrough Scroll
Item Description: Perfected marks the end of a technique’s conventional progression.
Mastery goes beyond that limit, granting the user a new understanding of the technique and dramatically enhancing its various properties.
Using this scroll can raise a skill with Perfected proficiency to the Master level.
The words appeared in dazzling, multicolored text, as flashy and fantastical as the enormous neon displays outside shopping malls in his previous life.
Every line seemed designed to grab his attention.
Yakumo grew excited.
His blood began to boil.
Come on, then!
[Accept!]
A true mission enthusiast fears no challenge!
“What a treasure!”
Yakumo’s heart burned with anticipation.
Wait…
He suddenly calmed down.
No wonder failure carried no penalty.
If he died, what kind of penalty could there possibly be?
Yakumo understood the mission panel’s habits all too well.
Since it had issued this mission, he probably wouldn’t even need to search for the Hidden Mist spy.
The spy would come straight to him.
And once that happened, it would be a fight to the death.
“The road ahead is long…”
After his morning run, Yakumo’s first task was to replenish the quicklime he had used during the previous battle.
As he walked along the street, perfectly ordinary passersby began to look suspicious to him.
It was almost as though the words Hidden Mist Spy were written across every face.
He was becoming as jumpy as a frightened bird.
During the morning lesson, the teacher lectured from the front of the classroom while Yakumo spent his time imagining how the Hidden Mist spy might make an appearance.
Judging by the mission panel’s usual behavior, it wouldn’t assign him a mission that was guaranteed to be impossible.
There were two likely possibilities regarding the spy’s strength.
The first was that the spy wasn’t stronger than a chūnin.
The second was that the spy was a wounded jōnin.
Against the former, Yakumo might have a fighting chance as long as he remained cautious.
Against the latter, he would have to be especially wary of a desperate counterattack before the enemy died.
During the afternoon practice session, Yakumo approached Kakashi, who was training with his blade, and pulled him into a secluded corner.
“I need you to do me a favor,” Yakumo said directly.
With a potentially dangerous Hidden Mist spy coming his way, he needed to make some preparations.
“What do you need?” Kakashi asked.
“Body-dissolving fluid, trace-erasing powder, and a deadly poison that kills with a single drop…”
Yakumo paused.
“Actually, forget the poison.
That stuff is a little too dangerous.
Just the first two.
I need the high-grade stuff—the kind used by ANBU.”
Both items were available at ninja tool shops, but only in civilian-grade versions.
Their effects weren’t as clean, and they could leave traces behind.
Yakumo knew this from information he’d learned from Yasuko.
The highest-quality body-dissolving fluid and trace-erasing powder were reserved for ANBU.
“If it’s urgent, I can go home and get them later today.
If not, I can bring them to school tomorrow,” Kakashi replied without hesitation.
He didn’t ask Yakumo why he needed the items.
“It’s not urgent.
I only want them for self-defense…” Yakumo said with a laugh.
He finally felt a weight lift from his chest.
He had been worried Kakashi would press him for an explanation.
The next morning, Kakashi delivered the requested supplies right on time.
To Yakumo’s surprise, however, he hadn’t brought only the two items.
He had brought an entire ANBU field-supply kit!
Inside were three explosive tags, body-dissolving fluid, trace-erasing powder, a fake blood pack, hemostatic spray, blood-replenishing pills, fixing bandages, specially formulated military rations pills, two chakra-disrupting poison needles, and an antidote.
Such a comprehensive supply kit finally gave Yakumo some confidence about facing the Hidden Mist spy.
“I’m loving this!
Absolutely loving this!”
Over the next few days, Yakumo returned to his usual training routine.
He also invested all the gold coins he earned from his missions into the Water Bullet Technique.
The battle in the Forest of Death had taught him an important lesson: without the enhancement of Lightning Release chakra, the Hatake Secret Art’s contribution to his combat strength was far less significant than the straightforward destructive power of his Water Bullet Technique.
July 5.
It had been exactly one month since his transmigration.
Looking at his completely transformed status panel, Yakumo couldn’t help feeling proud.
His impressive progress had come from his own hard work.
Personal Status
Name
Iori Yakumo
Age
7
Constitution
Endurance, resistance, recovery
8.2
Strength
Carrying capacity, attack power
6.7
Agility
Nerve response, running speed
7.9
Intelligence
Learning ability, mental resistance
7.5
Chakra
30 points required for chūnin promotion
11.4
Gold Coins
0
If he hadn’t spent every day grinding missions, writing countless reading reflections, and filling notebooks with class notes, he would never have achieved such dramatic improvements.
He had even nearly become food for the black-and-white giant bear while completing a mission.
If Yasuko hadn’t thrown so many explosive-tag kunai at the critical moment, he might already have been…
Well, a pile of bear droppings.
After school, the group headed to the training ground for their daily practice.
Perhaps Obito had experienced some personal awakening.
Perhaps Kakashi and Yakumo’s example had influenced him.
Or perhaps he simply didn’t want to remain the class dead last.
Whatever the reason, Obito had begun training seriously over the past few days.
Before long, night fell, and the group started heading home.
“Let’s not take that route today, okay?
It’s a little dark,” Yakumo said when he and Yasuko disagreed about which way to go.
“It’s already late.
I need to get home before my parents do.
I can’t let Dad find out that I’m still outside at this hour…”
Yasuko looked rather nervous.
Yakumo knew that she was afraid of her father.
In the end, Yakumo had no choice but to follow her into the dark alley.
After all, he couldn’t come up with a convincing reason to refuse.
Besides, surely he couldn’t be unlucky enough to encounter a Hidden Mist spy just because he took a walk at night…