Arata Itsuki studied the three options in silence.
Strictly speaking, Shizune had no blood relation to him. By logic, he should simply choose the first option.
But the reward for Option 1 — Light-Weight Rock Jutsu — was utterly useless to someone who already possessed the ability to fly. Truly a chicken rib among chicken ribs.
And Arata had no idea how many times the system would ever offer choices.
So he needed to pick the best possible reward every single time.
With that logic, he immediately ruled out the second option as well.
Dust Style sounded amazing on paper — but Arata already had the Thunder Fruit.
Pure offensive ninjutsu was not what he urgently needed.
What he did desperately need…
was the one day inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber offered by Option 3.
He possessed incredible growth potential.
Whether it was mastery over his Devil Fruit or the marine-style body techniques of Garp — both required time to refine.
And one day inside the Time Chamber equaled one full year of training.
The benefits would be enormous.
At a glance, he looked strong now.
But one Elite Jōnin had already pushed him to his limit.
If he didn't continue growing, then in the approaching Second Great Ninja War, he could die at any moment.
Not to mention Uchiha Madara and Obito in the decades ahead — storms waiting to engulf Konoha.
"In that case… I can only choose the third option. Stay put for now and wait for a chance to speak to the Third Hokage."
But first, he needed to finish the previous mission.
The earlier choice demanded that he head to the border and eliminate Sunagakure's intel squad.
Having made up his mind, Arata rested for a moment before preparing to move—
When suddenly, another group of shinobi rushed toward his direction.
This time, however, they weren't coming from Konoha.
They were approaching from the border garrison.
Even from more than a kilometer away, Arata sensed them through the dense forest.
The man leading them was unmistakable —
short silver hair, and a small white blade strapped across his back.
His identity couldn't have been clearer.
The commander of the border forces—
Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo.
Beside him rode a ninja atop a ninken — clearly a member of the Inuzuka Clan.
"Sakumo-sama, we've detected an enemy! Approximately one kilometer ahead, slightly to the left!"
Sakumo nodded calmly.
"Encircle from the flanks. I'll go ahead and confirm the situation."
If anyone else had said that, they would've been mocked as a fool.
Charging in alone without knowing the enemy strength?
Practically a suicide mission.
But the one speaking was Hatake Sakumo, one of the strongest shinobi in Konoha — nearly Kage-level.
No one dared question him.
Arata heard the entire exchange through his Mind Net and immediately stood up to dispose of the corpses.
He suspected strongly that these attackers belonged to Root.
He knew from the original storyline that Danzō was behind this —
but Sakumo didn't.
If Sakumo arrived and saw Arata standing over four dead Konoha shinobi, no one knew what he might do.
Since the four were already dead, Arata simply released a full-power burst of lightning, reducing every corpse to charcoal with no recognizable features.
Even their equipment was burned to ash.
By the time he finished, Sakumo had arrived.
Seeing the figure ahead, Sakumo relaxed slightly — but still kept distance as he called out:
"You're Arata Itsuki? I received intel saying you'd return to the border outpost today. Do you have your mission scroll?"
Arata didn't blame him for the caution — they were at the border, after all.
He tossed over the scroll.
Sakumo inspected it carefully before finally lowering his guard, stepping closer.
"Welcome to the patrol division. Did you encounter enemy attacks?"
He had naturally noticed the four charcoal-like remains on the ground — but in this state, there was no identifying which village they belonged to.
Arata nodded.
"They were wearing masks, so I couldn't tell their affiliation. Their leader was an Elite Jōnin. The other three were Jōnin."
He hadn't wanted to explain much, but the person before him was Hatake Sakumo — not someone who could be fooled easily.
He could only state their strength truthfully.
Sakumo's reaction was immediate.
"Did you say… Elite Jōnin? One of these four was an Elite Jōnin — and you killed them all?"
It wasn't that he doubted Arata.
It was simply too shocking to believe.
He had sensed Arata's chakra — solidly mid-chūnin level.
Combine that with kenjutsu, and he might match a Tokubetsu Jōnin at best.
Someone of that level killing an Elite Jōnin was…
impossible.
He had heard of Arata's kenjutsu — many even compared him to Sakumo himself.
Some claimed Arata was a "chakra-weakened White Fang of Konoha."
Sakumo was only two years older than Arata, but his chakra reserves were true Kage-level material.
Given that comparison, Sakumo naturally assumed Arata was exaggerating the enemy's strength out of pride.
"Young people like to compete — I understand. But you have to stay realistic. A Special Jōnin defeating an Elite Jōnin? Impossible. Even if you told the truth, no one would look down on you."
Arata almost laughed.
So I'm being underestimated?
But he wasn't someone who liked showing off.
If Sakumo didn't believe him — even better.
If Sakumo did believe him, he'd probably assign Arata even more patrol missions later.
Sakumo saw Arata go quiet and assumed he had accepted the advice. He said no more.
After surveying the area again and finding no evidence, he concluded the matter would need to be filed for later investigation.
On the way back, Arata felt many gazes on him — and none were friendly.
His position was… awkward.
Strong, but not strong enough.
He was above chūnin, capable of defeating Jōnin —
but still officially only a Special Jōnin, below full Jōnin and far below squad captains.
"Did you hear? That Arata kid claims his kenjutsu is comparable to Sakumo-sama's!"
"He's bragging, surely. I've seen Sakumo-sama fight — he can kill Elite Jōnin!"
"Looks like we'll have to knock some sense into him later. Otherwise that kid won't know how high the sky is!"