Chapter 94: A Shifting Landscape
A week later, the combined delegation set out for the southern territories. Uchiha Raizen was accompanied by his newly appointed Shadow Guard, Uchiha Ryoken and Uchiha Natsume. While the original plan was for just the three leaders—Raizen, Madara, and Hashirama—to go, his brothers had insisted, and Raizen saw no reason to refuse their company.
Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have completed 1000 consecutive days of pickup. Obtained: Intermediate Gift Pack. Please check your inventory.
As the group began their journey, the system's notification echoed in Raizen's mind. He had been diligent in his daily collections, focusing primarily on ninjutsu orbs, as they were the foundation of his power. The recent large-scale battles against the Kaguya and Senju had depleted his reserves, but over the past seven days, he had managed to collect over a hundred new orbs, replenishing his stock with higher-level techniques than before.
Many of them were duplicates of techniques he already knew, like the Phoenix Sage Fire. His system interface now reflected this with a new feature: a counter next to mastered jutsu. Once a technique's counter reached 100, it would display a *2, indicating that a single activation would now unleash double the power. The counters represented the number of orbs he had absorbed for each specific jutsu.
"System, open the gift pack," he commanded, feeling a familiar thrill. It had been a while, and any reward was a welcome boost.
Congratulations, Host. You have obtained: Forging Technique (Level 1).
His status panel updated instantly. A new entry, "Forging," appeared under his list of skills. As he scanned the updated interface, he noticed another change.
Host: Uchiha Raizen
Age: 18
Pickup Level: 8 (24 pickups/day)
Pickup Experience: 126,000 / 128,000
Chakra: 98,700 / ??? (Power Evaluation: ???)
Physical Stamina: 28,900 / 34,000 (Power Evaluation: Elite Jōnin)
Mastered Ninjutsu: Sage Mode, Summoning Technique, Body Flicker Technique2, Shadow Clone Technique, Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire2, Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique...
Ninjutsu in Progress: Lightning Release: Chidori (80/100), Lightning Release: Kirin (1/100), Fire Release: Susano'o's Fury (2/100)...
Bloodline Limits: Sharingan, Shikotsumyaku, Byakugan (50/100), Wood Release (352/1000)
Special Skills: Forging (Level 1)
Pickup Talent: None
Today's Pickups: 0/24
Inventory: Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet18, Fire Release: Susano'o's Fury10, Lightning Release: False Darkness12, Water Release: Water Dragon Projectile5...
Raizen was puzzled. "System, what does 'Forging Technique Level 1' mean? How do I improve it? And what is this 'Pickup Talent' column?"
Forging Skill can be acquired via pickup. Talent can also be acquired via pickup, the system responded mechanically.
Raizen's face fell. That's not an answer. That's a tautology. He knew they came from pickups, but he had never seen an orb for either. After a few more fruitless attempts to get a clearer explanation, he gave up. Forget it. The path will reveal itself in time.
The journey south took thirteen days. Throughout the trip, Raizen made a point of collecting the faint, green orbs of Wood Release chakra that Hashirama passively left in his wake. With his Sharingan active, he could now see and absorb them. His progress in Wood Release slowly climbed to 352 out of 1000.
The experience requirements for these bloodlines are insane, he mused. A hundred for the Byakugan, but a thousand for Wood Release? This world's balancing is full of bugs, and the one with the best cheat code wins. He was determined to be that winner.