Although Uchiha Renji felt utterly cheated by his so-called "system," at least he had managed to finish the task. That meant he wouldn't be erased. Renji clicked "Complete Mission," and immediately received a mission reward pack. But when he opened it, his expression twisted with rage.
"Are you kidding me, you damned system? Five kunai? That's my mission reward? I practically starved myself just to save up and buy more than ten kunai for that ambush on Itachi, and now you give me five as a prize? You've got to be playing me! You're absolutely playing me!"
"The mission itself wasn't difficult. You're the one who was stupid. Who else can you blame?"
Hearing the system's cold, mechanical reply, Renji felt like he was about to explode.
"You win. You must've been sent by the heavens specifically to torment me."
"Actually, the reward isn't just five kunai. Those are just a bonus. The real prize is the throwing technique for shuriken and kunai."
Sensing Renji's despair, the system finally stopped toying with him.
"Throwing technique? You mean the kind of advanced weapon skills the Uchiha clan is famous for?"
At that, Renji's frustration vanished and his eyes lit up. At this point, he was desperate for anything. In three years' time, the Uchiha massacre would take place. If he hadn't grown stronger by then, he'd just be another casualty swept aside.
"That's right," the system confirmed.
Instantly, a flood of knowledge poured into Renji's mind, and his body seemed to shift, adapting to the new skills. Yet when he checked his stats, there was no visible change.
"That's it?" he asked, doubtful.
"What else were you expecting? Your ability with shuriken and kunai is now on par with an average Uchiha chūnin."
That was enough to leave Renji satisfied. The Uchiha clan's skill with throwing weapons far surpassed that of ordinary shinobi. To already be at the level of a Uchiha chūnin was an incredible advantage.
Just as Renji was about to log out of the system to test his new ability, a new mission notification popped up. He opened it—and nearly lost his mind again.
"Ding! Main mission acquired: Become friends with Uchiha Itachi. Raise his affection to one hundred. Time limit: one month. Failure will result in erasure. Reward: ???"
"You've got to be kidding me! System, you're screwing with me again! You just forced me to ambush Itachi yesterday, and now you want me to be his friend? Within a month? And failure means erasure—again? And what's with the mystery reward? What, is it going to be more kunai? Or maybe ration pills this time?"
"Oh, you don't like kunai? Fine, I'll change the prize to soldier pills instead," the shameless system replied casually.
Renji swore then and there never to waste another word on the system. If he did, he was sure it would drive him to an early grave. He had wanted to test his new skills, but now he was too irritated to care. Instead, he collapsed onto his bed and decided to rest.
What Renji didn't know was that ever since he had woken up, a pair of eyes had been silently watching him from nearby. Every move he made was being observed. Luckily, his conversations with the system took place entirely in his mind. Otherwise, his secret would have already been exposed to none other than Uchiha Itachi himself.
Only once Renji had fallen asleep did Itachi finally leave. The ambush from the day before still puzzled him deeply. Renji had no connection to him at all, and yet he'd launched such a pointless attack. The flimsy excuse Renji had given wasn't enough to convince Itachi either.
The next morning, Renji woke up early. After breakfast, he headed straight to Training Ground Seven. Knowing the "plot," Renji understood that the Itachi who attended the academy was usually just a shadow clone. The real Itachi spent his time training alongside Shisui. If Renji wanted to build a connection, this was the only place to wait. After all, Itachi had already graduated as a genin.
Though he couldn't walk up tree trunks like a real shinobi, Renji could still climb them the hard way. Settling himself on a sturdy branch, he quietly waited for Itachi's arrival.
But instead of Itachi, he was greeted by Shisui.
"Who are you?" Shisui asked curiously. Renji already recognized him, but he had to act as if he didn't. After all, the real Uchiha Renji had never met Shisui before.
"My name's Uchiha Shisui. You're that little brat who tried to ambush Itachi yesterday, aren't you?"
Shisui studied him with interest. Even for the battle-loving Uchiha, it made no sense for a kid to suddenly attack Itachi. Yet now that he saw Renji in person, he couldn't detect any true bloodlust from him.
"I'm Uchiha Renji. And yeah… yesterday I did try to ambush Itachi. But it turned out to be only a shadow clone. Honestly, if Itachi hadn't saved me, I'd probably be dead right now."
Renji's face turned red with embarrassment as he admitted it. Failing to land an ambush was one thing, but being rescued by the very person you were targeting? That was humiliation on another level. It was the kind of memory he'd rather erase forever.
(The system, meanwhile, was smugly noting: "Video evidence secured, complete with replay footage.")
"Itachi… as your 'big brother,' huh? Interesting," Shisui chuckled. "So, you came here today just to wait for him?"
"Yeah. Yesterday I only managed to meet his clone. I figure if he doesn't have a mission today, he'll come here. Besides, I don't know anywhere else he might be. This is the only place I can wait for him."
"I see. And why exactly are you looking for him? Judging from your attitude, you're not here to ambush him again. Planning to fight him head-on instead?"
"No! I want to learn from him. I can't attend the ninja academy right now, so my only chance is to ask Itachi to teach me. What about you, Shisui? Did you come here to meet him too?"
Though Renji already knew exactly why Shisui was there, he played dumb to keep up appearances. If Shisui grew suspicious of him, things could get complicated.
"Renji?"
Shisui was about to explain his relationship with Itachi when, right on cue, Itachi himself arrived.
"Itachi!" Renji ran straight to him, completely ignoring Shisui. "Itachi-nii, please teach me!"
Shisui smirked. "Well, Renji already calls you 'big brother.' Why not give him a few pointers, Itachi?"
Given Shisui's words, Itachi couldn't refuse. He gave a small nod.
Renji had expected it to be far more difficult to convince Itachi, but thanks to Shisui, the hardest part was already over. In Renji's mind, once he got Shisui on his side, everything else would fall into place.
The three of them entered the training ground together. Before Renji could say anything else, Itachi demonstrated his shurikenjutsu with flawless precision.
"Start with the basics. This is shurikenjutsu. Train hard," Itachi instructed.
"Yes, Itachi-nii!" Renji said eagerly.
With Renji occupied, Itachi and Shisui headed deeper into the training field, leaving him to practice alone. Renji didn't mind. Of course they wouldn't stick around to train him directly. That wasn't important.
What mattered was that thanks to the system's "cheat," every throw he made struck closer and closer to the bullseye. Before long, his shuriken were finding their mark with consistent accuracy.