As far as the scenery went, it was only exciting on the first day. After that, the journey quickly became boring for the three of them.
For the wounded, it was undoubtedly their first time traveling by carriage. After all, ninjas usually trust their own legs more than any mode of transport.
Unlike Nawaki, who was still full of energy, Mikoto became sleepy as soon as she got in. The girl, cute as ever, dozed off a few times before finally succumbing to her fatigue. She leaned on Uchiha Tatsumi's shoulder and fell asleep.
The swaying of the carriage was oddly soothing.
Chronologically speaking, Mikoto was only around nine years old—still the equivalent of a primary schooler. No matter how precocious children were in the Naruto world, she was still just a child.
In his past life, Uchiha Tatsumi would have been an adult. In that world, being so close to a girl like this might have warranted a severe penalty. But in this world, it was simply part of being comrades.
Uchiha Tatsumi gently brushed away a stray lock of Mikoto's hair.
Then he opened the window of the carriage. It wasn't moving very fast. He gazed outside and saw they were on a forest path.
The Land of Fire had a humid climate, so the soil was fertile. Trees stretched endlessly along the roadside, and a gentle breeze drifted in through the window.
According to the map, it would take another three days before they reached the next supply town.
Suddenly, Uchiha Tatsumi remembered that when he had killed that jōnin during the mission, the system had notified him of task completion.
It had been a while since he checked the system interface.
It wasn't that he didn't care, but rather that point accumulation had become agonizingly slow. The cost of upgrades had skyrocketed.
Over the past few years, as Tatsumi's strength grew, earning ninja points within the Academy became nearly impossible.
Even Minato and Nawaki no longer gave any returns. They had been completely "farmed out," their system value exhausted.
Now it was more efficient to train alone than to spar with them.
Still, he had just completed his first real mission. That should yield a decent reward.
With that thought, Uchiha Tatsumi opened the holographic system panel:
---
Host: Uchiha Tatsumi
Country: Land of Fire
Age: 9
Overall Combat Rating: Invincible among chūnin
Attributes:
Chakra: Lv. 9 (3400/20000)
Taijutsu: Lv. 10 (500/30000)
Shurikenjutsu: Lv. 7 (600/12000)
Hand Seals: Lv. 7 (134/12000)
Ninjutsu: Lv. 9 (500/20000)
Genjutsu: Lv. 10 (611/30000)
Nature Transformations:
Wind: Lv. 6 (600/4000)
Fire: Lv. 8 (780/16000)
Lightning: Lv. 8 (580/16000)
Water: Lv. 3 (0/2000)
Earth: Lv. 3 (0/2000)
Other Attributes:
Sealing Techniques: Lv. 3 (0/2000)
Yang Release: Lv. 3 (0/2000)
Yin Release: Lv. 3 (0/2000)
Sharingan: Not awakened
Available Ninja Points: 26,000
---
As expected, the reward from his first mission had significantly boosted his points.
Levels 8 to 10 were considered mid-tier, and Tatsumi now had six attributes at or near this level. Two had even reached level 10.
It was far beyond what a normal nine-year-old should possess.
The panel reflected an incredibly well-rounded and overpowered child. But in truth, Uchiha Tatsumi had invested almost all his points into Chakra, Taijutsu, and Ninjutsu.
Chakra was the foundation of any ninja's power. While Uchiha naturally had stronger chakra than civilians, they still paled compared to clans like the Uzumaki or Senju in raw reserves.
His body was still in its developmental phase, so his current chakra capacity at level 9 was purely the result of using ninja points.
Taijutsu was similar. He couldn't risk overtraining his young body, so he gradually built his strength through controlled stat increases.
Taijutsu had always been his secret weapon, and he'd consistently funneled points into it.
His investment in Ninjutsu improved both his learning speed and mastery. It was his most reliable avenue for combat.
As for Shurikenjutsu and Hand Seals, those were trained through practice, not points.
When he first got the system, Tatsumi made the rookie mistake of trying to boost every stat. Later, he realized he simply didn't have the points to afford that.
He came to understand: "When you're young, you don't know how expensive points are. By the time you do, it's too late."
As for his elemental nature transformations, his Fire and Lightning attributes were already at level 8, boosted by his strong Ninjutsu foundation. He was now working on Wind nature transformation.
At this point, his path to further growth required both physical maturation and more ninja points.
But where could he easily get ninja points?
He wasn't some overpowered protagonist from another world with unlimited system hacks.
Tatsumi turned his gaze to his Yin and Yang attributes.
He had initially abandoned them, since they didn't yield immediate gains in power. But as point costs rose for everything else, the value of Yin and Yang grew clearer.
These two attributes influenced and enhanced nearly every other stat—and their effects would only become more prominent over time.
With that in mind, Uchiha Tatsumi dumped most of his ninja points into them:
---
System Update:
"Congratulations, Yang Release increased to Level 5."
"Congratulations, Yang Release increased to Level 6. Vitality and chakra recovery significantly enhanced."
"Congratulations, Yin Release increased to Level 5."
"Congratulations, Yin Release increased to Level 6. Illusion and mental strength significantly enhanced."
Remaining Ninja Points: 2,000
---
There was no visible change to his body, but Tatsumi could feel something inside beginning to evolve.
As for Genjutsu, Tatsumi hadn't spent points there.
Not because he didn't value it—far from it. In fact, it was already maxed out at level 10 without needing any help.
He chalked it up to natural talent... though he'd never admit it aloud.
He preferred to say it was the result of relentless hard work.
Just as Kushina denied her immense chakra was due to being an Uzumaki, or how Nawaki insisted he didn't have clan connections, or how Minato played dumb about his genius...
Yes, everyone was just an "ordinary ninja."
That's the story they'd all tell, anyway.
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