The sun was just beginning to dip behind the hills as Shūyū Hikaru and Uzumaki Kushina sparred on the forested ridge behind the academy.
Unsurprisingly, their bout didn't last long.
Hikaru's foot swept through the air like a scythe, catching Kushina's guard and sending her stumbling.
"Your strength… it's gotten stronger again," she muttered, rubbing her aching forearm where the blow had landed.
Hikaru flashed a calm smile.
"Hard work always pays off. My growth is inevitable, isn't it?"
Kushina fell quiet, chewing her lip.
"But haven't you been busy developing that new jutsu? You haven't even been meditating or refining chakra when we train. What, you sneak in extra training behind my back?"
Her brows furrowed. She'd seen him every day for weeks. No extra drills, no harsh routines. If anything, he'd been more focused on that strange jutsu project of his than anything else.
So how the hell was he getting so strong?
Was it really just from sparring with her?
No way. If that were the case, she should be leveling up too.
Hikaru shrugged. "Isn't it obvious?"
He didn't explain, of course. But deep down, he knew the truth. He'd been farming materials off her like she was a walking loot chest. In a way, she had helped him become strong.
"You, on the other hand, are always looking for an excuse to slack off. If you got stronger with that kind of attitude, it'd be a miracle."
He gave her a look of mock pity.
So much for the girl who wanted to be the first female Hokage.
Kushina's cheeks flushed crimson. "W-Well, come on! We're only five years old! What's the rush?!"
Despite her embarrassment, her shameless streak was still intact. Training was boring. Goofing off was way more fun.
"I'm going fishing!" she announced, grabbing her rod and sprinting toward the riverbank.
"Remember to stand on the water this time," Hikaru called after her. "Practice your chakra control while you fish!"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it!" she shouted without looking back.
He chuckled and watched her go, then—
DING!
[You have defeated your target. Material dropped: Uzumaki Bloodline (Blue)][Special Material dropped: Genin Headband (Green)]
Hikaru's eyes lit up.
A new drop?
"A new special material? From Kushina?"
He hadn't expected this.
He'd been farming her for weeks and only ever received the Nine-Tails Chakra material. Not once had anything else dropped—until now.
And this time, it wasn't a fragment.
It was a full, intact special material.
"Maybe the drop rate's just ridiculously low. That would explain why it took this long to pop out another one."
Curious, Hikaru pulled up the item's description.
[Genin Headband (Green)]Yes, you're reading that right. This is the kind of headband worn by ninja who remained Genin their entire lives.
"…Wow."
Hikaru blinked, stunned. "So Kushina… stayed a Genin forever?"
The more he thought about it, though, the more it made sense.
To the higher-ups in Konoha, Kushina wasn't a shinobi. She was a container. The second vessel for the Nine-Tails.
They wouldn't risk sending her on missions. In fact, the only time she'd ever been in danger was the incident with the Hidden Cloud, and even that was orchestrated to tie her more closely to the village.
After Mito's health began to deteriorate, Kushina became the next Jinchūriki somewhere around age sixteen.
That meant…
No missions.
No Chūnin Exams.
And no official promotions.
So yeah. A lifetime Genin? Entirely possible.
"Either that, or she was promoted—but since she never left the village, the system just assigns her a Genin designation anyway."
Not that it mattered.
What mattered was that he now had another special material in hand.
Even if it was just green-tier, it was still a free upgrade.
But then…
Hikaru stared at the list of materials in his inventory:
Nine-Tails Chakra
Yellow Flash
Genin Headband
Uzumaki Bloodline
Sage Body
Something about this list felt… familiar.
Eerily familiar.
Was the system trying to push him toward something?
"Add in a few more," Hikaru muttered, eyes narrowing. "Shadow Clone Jutsu. Rasengan. Sexy Jutsu…"
He trailed off, a chill running down his spine.
No way.
There's no way this isn't pointing toward—
"Nine-Tails Chakra Mode."
If he could find or forge the right combination of materials…
He might actually be able to create Naruto Uzumaki's signature transformation.
And if that's the case—
Then he wasn't just grinding.
He was building a legend.