For the next few days Uehara Naraku did not leave his room.
From the outside it was quiet. But inside if anyone had the ability to sense chakra they would be terrified. The chakra fluctuations in the room were constant and rhythmic and never ending.
"Command: Protect."
A ball of energy formed a shield around him.
(System: +3 Mana)
"Wild Cards."
Three cards appeared and vanished.
(System: +3 Mana)
"Pick a Card."
A blue card appeared restoring the mana he just spent.
(System: +3 Mana)
Uehara lay on his bed lazily flicking his wrist casting skills one after another. He was not training his aim. He was not practicing combat drills. He was simply abusing the Tear of the Goddess passive named Mana Charge.
Every time he used a skill his maximum mana increased by 3. The cap was +360 bonus mana which would then transform the item into Seraph's Embrace (a much more powerful item).
"Three points at a time... this is going to take a while" Uehara yawned throwing another card at the ceiling. "But for the sake of infinite chakra I must endure this hardship."
Suddenly the door opened.
Uehara immediately sat up straight dispersing the cards. He looked at Konan who was standing in the doorway with a tray of food.
"Sensei!" Uehara greeted her trying to look like he had not just been lying in bed.
Konan looked at him her amber eyes scanning him. She could feel the lingering chakra in the room. The air was thick with it.
"You have been training your chakra control?" she asked.
"Yes" Uehara nodded solemnly. "I realized during the fight with the Hanzo remnants that my reserves were lacking. I have been practicing constant release to expand my capacity."
Konan's expression softened. He is so young yet so disciplined. She had worried the promotion would make him arrogant but it seemed to have made him work even harder.
"Rest is also part of training Naraku" she said setting the food down. "Do not burn yourself out."
"I will not let you down Sensei" Uehara said grabbing a rice ball. "I need to be strong enough to protect you and Pain sama."
Konan watched him eat. "You mentioned money before."
Uehara froze mid chew. "Yes?"
"The organization finances are... managed by Kakuzu" Konan explained. "However since you killed the Hanzo loyalists you are entitled to the bounties on their heads."
Uehara's eyes lit up. Bounties!
He had forgotten. In the real world the System Gold was great for skills but Ryo was necessary for living and more importantly for bribing people and buying information.
"Those ninjas... they are worth money?" Uehara asked feigning ignorance.
"The leader of that squad was a Chunin with a B rank bounty in the Bingo Book" Konan said. "He is worth 2 million Ryo. The others combined are worth about 3 million."
5 million Ryo!
Uehara did the math. That was enough to live like a king in the Rain Village for years.
"Where do I get this money?" Uehara stood up his fatigue from training instantly vanishing.
"There is a Bounty Station near the border of the Land of Fire" Konan said. "It is a good opportunity for you to see the world outside the Rain. Pack your things. You leave tomorrow."
"Alone?" Uehara asked.
"Alone" Konan confirmed. "You have the ring now. You are an elite. You must learn to operate solo."
She turned to leave but paused at the door.
"Naraku."
"Yes Sensei?"
Konan reached into her cloak and pulled out a stack of paper. It was not normal paper. They were intricately folded tags infused with her chakra.
"Take these" she handed him a thick stack of Explosive Tags. "These are my special tags. They are more powerful than standard ones. Use them if you run into trouble you cannot handle."
Uehara took the stack. There must have been at least a hundred of them. In the market a single explosive tag was expensive. This was a small fortune in explosives.
"Thank you Sensei!" Uehara said genuinely. "I will use them... artistically."
Konan nodded and left.
Uehara looked at the tags then at his System interface.
[Side Mission Triggered: Exchange Bounties.]
[Reward: 100 Gold Coins.]
[Side Mission Triggered: The First Journey.]
[Description: Leave the Land of Rain and visit the Land of Fire.]
[Reward: Speed Boots (Basic Item).]
"Boots" Uehara smirked. "Movement speed is essential for a squishy mage like me."
He shoved the last rice ball into his mouth and stood up.
"Alright. Time to go make some money see the world and maybe... find some unfortunate souls to help me stack my Tear of the Goddess along the way."
The Mastermind was leaving the rookie village. The ninja world was not ready for someone who treated their lives like minion waves.