Chapter 63: The Weight of Three Years
In the end, Uchiha Raizen had to surrender under his sister Kuna's relentless stream of advice and warnings. No matter what she said, he just nodded and repeated, "Yes," "I understand," and "I'll be careful."
Once he had finally placated his family, he completed his daily routine of gathering the faint, glowing orbs of spent chakra and low-level ninjutsu that littered the training ground. At his current Pickup Level, he could collect twenty-one times a day. His system interface was now a dense, scrolling list of abilities and chakra fragments. He was grateful the storage seemed infinite, unlike some game inventories he vaguely remembered; running out of space would have been a logistical nightmare.
With a quiet sigh, he made his way to his mother's room, knocking softly on the doorframe. "Mother, it's Raizen."
"Come in, my son."
He slid the door open and entered. Uchiha Yōyō sat by the window, her posture as graceful and composed as ever, though he could see the subtle lines of worry around her eyes.
"Mother, the three days of rest are over. The patriarch could summon me for a mission at any time now. If I have to leave… please, you must take care of yourself."
"We will be fine, Raizen. Do not burden your heart with worry for us." She gave him a gentle, knowing look. "And, my son… about your… condition…"
"I am certain it will resolve itself soon," he said, his voice firm with a conviction he truly felt. He then turned to the young woman quietly preparing tea in the corner. "Haruka, thank you. For everything."
Haruka Ozawa bowed her head gracefully. "It is my duty to serve."
She still referred to herself that way, as she was not yet officially his wife. He had told her countless times to stop, but old habits and the formality of their engagement held fast.
"I've said it too many times to count," he murmured, a note of fond exasperation in his voice. "Very well. I will take my leave now. Rest well, Mother."
After paying his respects, Raizen returned to his own room. The solitude allowed his thoughts to turn inward. It had been nearly three years since his soul had awakened in this world, yet he had discovered a deeply strange and unsettling constant: his body. It had not changed. At all. This was the period of a teenager's most rapid growth, yet he looked exactly the same as he had at fifteen. There were no new lines on his face, no additional inches to his height. Time was passing, but it was leaving no mark on him.
Shaking off the disquieting thought, he focused on his training. He reviewed the vast library of ninjutsu within his system, then raised his hand, palm open.
"Spiral Pill!"
The air in his palm shuddered as wind-nature chakra violently swirled, fighting for cohesion. It spun erratically for a moment before collapsing with a soft puff, dissipating into a harmless breeze.
He had been trying to master this technique ever since he'd acquired the Wind Nature chakra attribute, drawn to its iconic status. But after two years of effort, his progress on the system's meter was a paltry 5 out of 100. It was frustratingly elusive.
"Another failure. Let's try something else," he muttered to the empty room, shaking his hand out. He formed a new set of hand seals, and electricity crackled to life around his palm. "Lightning Style: Chidori!"
A harsh, screeching sound instantly filled the air, like a thousand birds crying out at once. The concentrated lightning chakra stung his hand, a sharp, biting pain. If not for the enhanced durability granted by his Sage training in Shikkotsu Forest, this single attempt would have likely torn his muscles to shreds. He held the form, the light casting stark shadows across his focused face.
Screech…
Slowly, the deafening chirps faded as he allowed the chakra to dissipate. His hand throbbed. According to his system, his mastery of the Chidori was at 90 out of 100. It made sense; Lightning Nature was his original, innate chakra affinity, so mastering a lightning-based technique came far more naturally.
He had also considered attempting to combine his Wind and Water natures to replicate the Ice Release kekkei genkai. But with the Rasengan and Chidori still incomplete, developing an entirely new bloodline limit was a distant dream.
If only the system could pick up innate talent itself, he thought, a wave of frustration washing over him. Then I could truly change my limitations.
As if in direct response to his thought, his system interface flickered. A new column appeared on his status panel, one he had never seen before. The heading was simple: Available Talent Points. And the number beside it was a stark, promising 2.