"Why is wiping your own butt considered advanced now? Is it supposed to feel this good?"
Shigure looked helplessly at the skill panel. Why does this so-called system feel so unreliable?
Maybe... this is fate?
He glanced at the only skill currently recognized by the system—a basic Chakra Extraction Technique.
He tapped it casually and dragged it into the passive skill slot.
[Passive Skill Installed Successfully!]
Installed? Just like that?
What's the use of this!
[Current Passive Skill: Chakra Extraction Technique]
[Effect: Combines physical and spiritual energy to refine chakra.]
[Status: Active]
...Huh?
It's already running?!
He had just slotted it in, and it activated immediately?
There was no detailed explanation, no activation condition—just auto-run?
Well, it's not like he didn't understand what the Chakra Extraction Technique was. It's practically the second thing they teach you when entering the Ninja Academy.
Though everyone technically possesses chakra, the average civilian can't extract it.
Only those with a certain innate aptitude—those with a talent for chakra control—can learn to combine physical and spiritual energy to refine chakra.
Shigure had spent six years refining chakra, day and night, without pause.
And yet...
Because of his poor talent and limited potential, his chakra capacity ranked near the bottom of the entire academy.
He hadn't even met the minimum requirement for a Genin.
But chakra refinement wasn't something you could do nonstop.
Both body and mind required rest. After a few cycles of refining chakra, you'd be forced to stop and recover.
Everyone had different limits depending on their talent, but no matter how gifted you were, your physical and spiritual energy would eventually hit a wall.
Push past that limit, and the body would automatically shut down. Coma.
And if you forced it, you wouldn't just fail—you'd lose some of the chakra you already had.
Shigure could refine chakra three times a day.
A fourth time? He'd pass out on the spot.
The academy teachers often said that with age and experience, the body and mind would grow stronger, increasing one's chakra capacity and recovery speed.
But compared to someone like Naruto Uzumaki?
It felt like cheating.
Conservative estimates said that even if Naruto were extracting chakra for the first time, he could easily do it hundreds of times a day.
That's the kind of gap that exists between a genius and someone like Shigure.
An uncrossable chasm.
[Passive Skill: Chakra Extraction]
[Cycle Completed]
A mechanical voice rang in his head, and Shigure froze.
He suddenly felt a warm current slowly flowing through his body.
This sensation... he knew it well.
He felt it three times every day.
It was the feeling of chakra being successfully refined.
A single completed extraction only increased his total chakra by a fraction. But he could feel it—undeniably.
The chakra in his body now was barely the thickness of his pinky finger. That's how much he'd accumulated over six years of grinding.
Even this tiny reservoir wasn't enough to qualify for Genin.
Based on his understanding, the standard Genin should have at least twice this amount.
And yet...
This time, the bit of chakra that had just been added felt different.
It was pure.
Refined perfectly, as though done when his body and mind were in peak condition.
Shigure opened his eyes wide in realization.
"This passive skill bar... it refines chakra automatically, and at full efficiency?"
And the best part—no physical or spiritual exhaustion at all.
He didn't need to do anything.
Just sit there, and his chakra increased on its own.
"This is..."
"Generating chakra from nothing?!"
[Passive Skill: Chakra Extraction]
[Cycle Completed]
Another burst of refined chakra entered his system.
Shigure's eyes widened.
"Again?!"
Two refinements in ten minutes?
Was this the effect of a passive skill?!
It was outrageous!
It not only refined chakra perfectly—it did so continuously, without cost.
Which meant... as long as the skill ran, his chakra would just keep growing.
Once every few minutes.
One hour of this would be equal to months of training before!
Reaching the level of a Genin?
Suddenly, it didn't seem so far-fetched.
Closing his eyes again, Shigure sat motionless on the bed, focusing on the flow of chakra within.
Five minutes passed. Another refinement.
Half an hour flew by.
The passive skill bar had completed six full chakra extraction cycles.
Shigure finally opened his eyes.
His expression?
Pure elation.
Shigure's current limit for refining chakra was supposed to be three times a day. Yet in just half an hour, he had already refined it six times.
Oddly enough, he didn't feel tired at all—like he hadn't exerted himself in the slightest.
But the chakra in his body was definitely growing.
The fluctuations in his chakra flow were clearly stronger than before.
"If I sit like this refining chakra all night... I might actually reach the chakra level of a Genin by morning."
Expanding his chakra capacity didn't seem to be an issue at all.
"Still... no need to rush it."
After all, I've already spent more than ten years like this. What's one more night?
Shigure currently had six passive skill slots remaining. It was time to choose a few more skills to assign!
He opened the skill list. It wasn't just full of mundane life skills like eating, drinking, and going to the bathroom—there were actual useful skills now, like ninjutsu.
He had to choose carefully.
As Shigure scanned the list, he saw that the Chakra Refining Technique was once again listed as an available option.
"Wait… can I stack the same skill multiple times?"
With a why not give it a shot? attitude, he assigned the Chakra Refining Technique to another passive skill slot.
[Passive skill installed successfully]
[Current passive skill: Chakra Refining Technique]
[Skill is now in operation]
It worked!
[Passive skill, complete – one cycle finished]
In the next second, two strands of refined chakra appeared simultaneously within his body.
"Double the effect?"
Installing the same passive skill twice had doubled the speed of his chakra refining!
Shigure's eyes lit up.
He nearly jumped up in excitement—but managed to hold himself back.
"There are still five passive skill slots left… What if I fill all of them with Chakra Refining?"
If each skill worked independently, then running all six Chakra Refining Techniques together would mean a sevenfold increase in training speed—one from the base and six from the passives—operating in five-minute cycles, each achieving perfect chakra distillation.
Even Sasuke, that so-called Uchiha genius, or Naruto with the Uzumaki clan's monstrous chakra reserves, couldn't compare to this kind of refinement speed!
Shigure's chakra refining required no stamina, caused no fatigue, and never degraded his condition.
Each cycle resulted in the most perfect refinement possible.
Without hesitation, Shigure assigned the Chakra Refining Technique to all remaining passive slots.
[All passive skill slots now set to: Chakra Refining Technique]
[State: Maximum Refinement Efficiency Achieved]
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TN:
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