"Don't worry, I'm not shaken by her." Natsume Yō chuckled at Wada Chiba's concern. "I was just thinking things over, that's all."
Her words had lit a quiet warmth in his chest. Yō ruffled her hair lightly and grinned."Me? With my iron will, you think some sharp-tongued brat could throw me off? Impossible. I've always believed—if I set my sights on something, I'll make it happen. There's nothing Natsume Yō can't do—only things I haven't decided to do yet. Everything else? Man's will decides."
His voice carried unshakable confidence, almost infectious.
"Mhm." Chiba nodded firmly. "If it's you, you'll definitely succeed."
"Good. Then let's go. Still plenty of shops we haven't hit yet." Yō tugged her small hand and led her back into the lively streets.
To outsiders, Konoha was just a village. But to Yō's eyes, it was no different from a bustling market town—goods from across the shinobi world piled high, every strange trinket and shinobi tool within reach.
The two wandered together until the sun dipped behind the rooftops. Only then did they part reluctantly and return to their homes.
The moment Yō stepped inside, he got straight to training.
The Kikyo Mountain campaign wasn't far off. With Konoha stretched thin on manpower, a no-name like him—no family, no backing—was one unlucky draw away from being tossed onto the battlefield as cannon fodder. Even if he survived Kikyo by a miracle, the looming Kannabi Bridge battle against Iwa-nin was another monster waiting to devour him.
Luck? Please. The goddess of fortune wasn't a clingy lover—she'd never show up twice in a row. Depending on chance or allies was suicide. The only way forward was to sharpen himself until no battlefield could swallow him.
And besides… how could he, a transmigrator, not crave the thrill of seeing this world's bloody, dazzling history with his own eyes?
One week passed like a single breath.
To his surprise, no one came knocking. No missions, no summons—not even from Anbu. Wasn't this supposed to be wartime? Shouldn't the mission board be overflowing?
Yō frowned at the thought but quickly shrugged it off. "Doesn't matter. Thinking about it won't make me stronger."
In those seven days, he only took half a day to accompany Chiba. The rest, he drowned in relentless training.
His natural talent wasn't remarkable, but with the system's support, he was catching up to the so-called prodigies of this world.
"Seven days, and my stats climbed another twenty points. I've refined both Water Formation Wall and Wind Cutter Jutsu. But the biggest haul…" His eyes gleamed with excitement. "Wind Swordsmanship. That technique is insane."
The boost was far greater than he expected—it had alone raised his experience by fifteen full points.
He couldn't help but wonder: once he mastered the complete version of Wind Swordsmanship, what heights would his strength reach?
"Maybe not super-Kage level yet… but ordinary Kage? Yeah, I could probably crush them. Excluding monsters like the Third Hokage, of course."
The complete Wind Swordsmanship carried a brutal price tag: 66,666 gold. He checked the store—every technique in that range was S-rank or above.
Even if he wasn't Kage-tier yet, just wielding an S-rank ninjutsu would give him the edge to clash with them head-on.
His blood surged with anticipation.