The holy healing potion worked fast—strength rushed back into Natsume Yō's limbs, his torn flesh knitting itself together. A half-dead rogue like Yūgyō didn't stand a chance now.
A few exchanges later, the man was down again, his body shredded and barely able to move.
Shhk!
Yō blurred forward, kunai flashing across Yūgyō's throat. Blood geysered into the night, soaking the earth in crimson.
Ding!Congratulations, Host: Mission complete! Reward: Beginner's Wind Sword Technique (Scroll) x1, EXP +20, Gold +50!
The voice rang sharp in his mind. Yō smirked. "Figures. A chunin-level scrub wouldn't give much, but a rogue genin? Twenty EXP in one swing. That's my fastest level-up yet."
His mind flicked back—back when he first awakened the system, when he'd unlocked Lion Combo, Shadow Clone, Binding Jutsu all at once. That had been his previous record. But now? Just one clean kill and he'd earned almost the same haul.
"This feeling of getting stronger… tch, I could get addicted to this."
Yō let out a low laugh, savoring the rush in his veins. It was a thrill only a transmigrator could understand—strength compounding, step by step.
He opened the new scroll with a flick. "Beginner's Wind Sword Technique, huh? Not bad. Right when I needed wind-nature insights too. Guess the system's looking out for me."
The content was crisp, straightforward yet profound, exactly what his current level demanded. "If even this fragment is this clear, then the full version must be terrifying. Having this will save me months of fumbling around."
Curious, he popped open the system shop.
"…Holy crap."
The complete Wind Sword Technique gleamed before his eyes—price tag: 66,666 gold.
"That's… what, hundreds of missions like tonight? Damn."
He hissed through his teeth but didn't despair. "Fine. Then I'll just keep grinding. One way or another, that sword art's mine."
Still, one warning nagged at him. He'd tested the system before: training ninjutsu could raise EXP, but if he tried to only grind skills without missions? System warning. And the penalty for ignoring warnings was death.
"Yeah, not worth gambling that one…" Yō muttered, shaking his head.
"Time to regroup with Shiei and the others."
He dashed off, vanishing into the trees.
By the time he rejoined, the battle was already decided. Sakura was wiping her blade, her opponent—a mere genin—long since dead. Shiei, with his usual cold precision, slashed open the rogue leader's throat in one stroke. The rest of the squad finished their clean-up without fuss.
"Let's move," Shiei ordered flatly, hefting the unconscious second son of the Fire Daimyō like baggage.
"Yes!" The squad answered as one, ghosting back into the night.
—
By dawn, they returned to Konoha's ANBU headquarters. Yō slipped away, dragging his weary body straight home.
He crashed hard, sleeping nine solid hours. When he woke, the sky was already painted in sunset hues, clouds glowing blood-red at the edges.
He stretched, smirking to himself. "No wonder it was called a 'special mission' for the Daimyō. Nearly half a million ryo in one payout… and ANBU's bonus isn't bad either. Enough to fund a serious dive into the archives."
His eyes gleamed. For Natsume Yō—the so-called "Stray of Konoha"—this was just the beginning.