Haruki struggled to keep his lips from curving upwards.
Excellent!
It seems the system isn't entirely useless after all.
"How do I activate the copyable techniques?" Haruki rolled up his sleeves, ready to get to work.
[I don't know. I've already revealed too much information.]
"..."
Too much my foot!
"Aren't you an assistance system, meant to assist me?"
"Look at what you're saying?"
Haruki was both lucky and unlucky.
The system had many functions, but unfortunately, it was brain-damaged.
[...]
[I need to go offline to heal…]
[System Offline]
"..."
Haruki's lips twitched.
Never mind.
Based on the system's rules, activating copyable techniques and Cursed Spirits likely required him to collect emotions that humans generated towards him.
His most important task now was to find a place with people.
Snapping back from the horrifying death crisis and the infuriating system blunder, Haruki finally felt a hard lump behind him.
He reached back and felt around. A flicker of understanding crossed his eyes. It was his sword. He hadn't expected his sword to come along too.
When he was 186 cm tall, the sword fit perfectly on his back, but now, on his current body, it was almost longer than he was.
Haruki unstrapped the sword and placed it on the ground. Although the sword wasn't sharpened, he had certainly spent a lot of effort and money on it. He couldn't bear to leave it here. But carrying it on his back was too risky. Ultimately, he still put the sword on his back.
Life is precious, but money is even more so.
Haruki, with his sword on his back, stepped into a puddle, moving further and further away from the cave where he had been hiding.
Two ninjas had died in the cave. Judging by their headbands, they were likely from one of the Five Great Ninja Villages. Such a tragic death might attract attention. This place was no longer safe.
He had to move. Although he didn't even know what time period in the Naruto World he had transmigrated to, or where he was, heading towards populated areas would surely get him the information he needed.
Moreover, Rika, in her starved state, couldn't continue fighting.
According to the ninja who was killed, it was currently a chaotic era of war. To avoid falling into such a desperate situation again, he had to, as the system said, find someone who loved him, provide him with points, and simultaneously enhance Rika's strength while freeing her from her starved state.
Up until now, the only method Haruki could think of was to acquire points through trickery and deception.
Though despicable, it was fast.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Haruki felt despair. He conservatively estimated that he had walked nearly 4 kilometers.
A full four thousand meters!
He hadn't seen a single living person on the way. He looked out, and all he saw were mountains and ridges, desolate and uninhabited. It was still raining incessantly. There was no sign of it stopping.
He hadn't found a single living person, but he had seen quite a few dead ones.
Thanks to the training from the scene of Rika tearing a living person apart with her bare hands, Haruki's psychological fortitude had grown to a terrifying degree.
He continued walking for another two kilometers and finally found a cave where he could take shelter. At least he could spend the night there.
Haruki looked at the sky, which grew darker under the cover of the dark clouds. He quickened his pace and hurried into the cave.
As soon as he entered, a wave of warmth enveloped him. Flickering firelight danced in Haruki's pupils. It was a roaring bonfire.
Not only that, there were three children sitting around the bonfire.
The moment Haruki burst in, the three children immediately stood up, their eyes wide, vigilantly looking towards the cave entrance.
When they saw Haruki's figure, all three froze simultaneously.
Thus, Haruki stood at the cave entrance, staring at them, and they stared back.
Among the three children, there were two boys and one girl.
The boy standing in the middle had short, orange-yellow hair and appeared to be the oldest.
The boy standing next to him had extremely distinctive red, medium-length hair, with long bangs that covered his eyes.
The girl had very fair skin, with blue hair tied into a bun, and a paper flower adorned her hair.
Haruki's gaze swept over the three of them in turn, and he had already confirmed their identities in his heart.
Yahiko, Nagato, Konan.
He actually encountered Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan when they were children?
Haruki was filled with surprise.
Yahiko and the other two in front of him looked emaciated. Although their eyes held the vigilance honed by brutal war and harsh living, they were mostly filled with innocence and youthfulness.
Seeing the three of them, Haruki immediately had a rough understanding of the Ninja World's time and location.
It should be during the Second Great Ninja War, and the location was Amegakure.
"Who… who are you?"
Yahiko looked Haruki up and down, gathering his courage to ask. He stretched out his hand like a mother hen, shielding Nagato and Konan behind him.
Haruki replied, "...I am Haruki."
Everyone here is an orphan, why should one orphan make it difficult for another?
"I'm Yahiko."
After stating his name, Yahiko tentatively stepped forward two paces.
He looked around. He seemed to be confirming whether there was anyone else behind Haruki.
After confirming that there was no one else around, especially no ninja, Yahiko let out a sigh of relief.
The vigilance in his eyes lessened by more than half, and he asked, "Are you alone?"
Haruki nodded, "I am alone."
Konan ran forward and tugged on Yahiko's clothes, her eyes showing compassion.
Yahiko knew Konan was kind, and he hadn't intended to drive the other party away.
Yahiko said to Haruki, who was soaked through with rain, "Then come in."
Haruki walked over and sat opposite the three of them. Closer to the fire, Haruki let out a long breath, extending his hands to absorb the warmth.
Once his body finally stopped feeling cold, he began wringing out his dripping clothes.
"Where are you going?" Yahiko asked him cautiously.
His gaze swept over Haruki's clothing and shoes.
"I have nowhere to go." Haruki gave him a smile.
Since he had so coincidentally met Yahiko and the other two, he wouldn't leave. It was easier to gain points from children than from adults. Especially war orphans.
"Your… your family also… in the war…"
Yahiko's eyes widened as he asked hesitantly.
He knew it!
The person in front of him didn't look like an orphan at all. His clothes were made of very good fabric, and his shoes looked warm and waterproof, and they were leather.
Orphans couldn't afford such clothes. But if it was a child who had just experienced the destruction of their family in the war, it was a different story.
Haruki, without any hint of gloom, nodded to Yahiko and admitted, "Yes."
Konan reached out and tugged on Yahiko's sleeve again.
Yahiko nodded to Konan and said to Haruki, "We… we don't have family either… If you have nowhere to go… you can stay with us…"
Haruki had been waiting for just such a sentence. He immediately nodded, "Alright."