Naruto lay across his bed staring at the ceiling.
It was late enough that Konoha had gone quiet, but Naruto's mind hadn't. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Sasuke cutting through his trap network, the Sharingan following his Flash Anklet, and Chidori screaming toward Gale Pierce.
A draw.
Naruto still wanted the win.
But mostly, he wanted the rematch.
A blue screen appeared above him.
System Points: 695
Naruto grinned.
"Right."
He sat up.
He'd been waiting to deal with that.
Naruto opened the Shinobi Codex.
His eyes moved through the options before stopping on one.
Uzumaki Bloodline Awakening Fragment — 250 Points
Naruto became still.
Then he opened his status.
Uzumaki Bloodline (Weak): 2/3
Next Upgrade: Moderate
That made the decision much easier.
Stats could be trained.
Skills could be trained.
Jiraiya was already beating better Fūinjutsu fundamentals into him every morning.
But his bloodline?
Naruto couldn't exactly do push-ups until that improved.
He selected the fragment.
Purchase Uzumaki Bloodline Awakening Fragment?
Cost: 250 System Points
YES / NO
Naruto pressed YES.
PING!
Purchase Complete!
System Points: 695 → 445
A crimson fragment appeared in Naruto's hand.
For several seconds, he simply stared at it.
Then—
Uzumaki Bloodline Awakening Fragment Acquired!
Fragments: 3/3
Bloodline Advancement Available!
Naruto grinned.
"Do it."
The fragment shattered.
Red chakra rushed into his palm.
Naruto's entire body locked.
"WHOA—"
Heat spread through his arm and across his chest before flooding through every chakra pathway in his body. Naruto rolled off the bed and hit the floor as his chakra suddenly swelled hard enough to make the windows rattle.
THUMP!
"OW!"
The pressure lasted several seconds.
Then stopped.
Naruto slowly sat up.
He felt...
Full.
That was the only way he could describe it.
His chakra had always been enormous, but now it felt deeper. More stable. Like he'd just discovered there had been another room inside a house he'd lived in his entire life.
A notification appeared.
Bloodline Advancement Complete!
Uzumaki Bloodline — Moderate
Endurance and overall chakra capacity increased by 20%.
Fūinjutsu-related skills gain +35% leveling speed.
New Bloodline Effect Unlocked: Uzumaki Vitality
Your exceptional life force now provides increased defense against lethal wounds. When others would die, you stay in the fight!
Naruto stared.
Then slowly smiled.
"Okay."
That was worth two hundred fifty points.
Definitely.
He looked back toward the shop.
445 System Points Remaining
Naruto considered spending more.
Then stopped himself.
That amount could buy almost anything later.
More importantly, Naruto didn't actually need another element or twenty random stat points right now. Wind, Water, and Fūinjutsu already gave him more things to improve than he had time to train.
So he closed the shop.
Four hundred forty-five points stayed untouched.
Naruto felt strangely responsible.
It was horrible.
Then he remembered something significantly more exciting.
"Wait."
His inventory opened.
Rare Item Box x1
Naruto's restraint immediately disappeared.
"That doesn't count. I already own this."
He selected it.
Open Rare Item Box?
YES / NO
Naruto grinned.
"Yes."
Golden light exploded through his apartment.
"GAH!"
Naruto covered his eyes.
The glow faded.
Slowly, he lowered his arm.
PING!
Rare Item Acquired!
Naruto stared at what had appeared in front of him.
"...Oh, that's awesome."
The golden light collapsed.
Something landed on Naruto's bed.
He stared.
Sandals.
Naruto's face fell.
"...Seriously?"
PING!
Phantom Step Sandals
Rarity: Rare
Specialized shinobi footwear designed to conceal the user's movement and create false information for pursuing enemies.
Effects:
Silent Step:
Significantly reduces sound generated by the wearer's movement, including high-speed movement.
Chakra Suppression:
Chakra emitted during movement is significantly harder to detect or track.
Special Effect — Phantom Dash:
Once every 60 seconds, rapid movement leaves behind a brief chakra afterimage that continues in the user's original direction for several meters.
Naruto blinked.
Then read the last part again.
His mind immediately returned to red eyes spinning desperately while following the Flash Anklet.
Naruto moved left.
Sasuke followed.
Except Naruto wasn't going left.
Naruto's grin appeared.
"Oh."
Shadow Clones.
Substitutions.
False chakra signatures.
Flash Anklet.
Now something that could make an opponent see Naruto going somewhere he wasn't actually going.
He picked up the sandals.
"...Sasuke is going to hate me."
Naruto immediately put them on.
They fit perfectly.
Of course they did.
Naruto stood and took a few steps across his apartment.
Nothing.
His feet touched the floor without making a sound.
Naruto stopped.
Nothing.
His eyes widened.
He stomped harder.
Still nothing.
Naruto grinned and jumped.
His feet slammed against the floor.
Absolutely silent.
A second later, someone below him shouted.
"STOP JUMPING!"
Naruto froze.
"...Okay, they don't stop that."
He moved on.
Naruto focused chakra into the sandals.
Something changed.
He could feel the chakra entering them, flowing through the markings before gathering beneath his feet.
Naruto stepped forward.
A faint image remained behind.
He stopped.
The Naruto he'd left behind didn't.
It continued another few feet before disappearing.
Naruto stared.
Then slowly smiled.
"Oh, that's nasty."
The Sharingan could follow movement.
Naruto had learned that today.
Even when he was faster, Sasuke could watch his body and predict where it was going.
So what happened when Naruto's body lied?
Naruto looked down at the sandals.
Then toward his Flash Anklet.
Then back.
His grin widened.
"Definitely nasty."
Naruto sat back down.
The excitement faded enough for him to think again.
System Points: 445
He could still buy things.
A lot of things.
But Naruto closed the window.
Today had taught him something.
He hadn't almost beaten Sasuke because he had more stats.
He hadn't almost beaten him because he knew more jutsu.
The best moments had come when everything worked together.
Water forced Sasuke to move.
Wind turned that water into cover.
Clones controlled his attention.
Seals controlled his options.
The Flash Anklet created speed.
And now the Phantom Step Sandals could make that speed harder to read.
Naruto looked at his hands.
That was what he wanted.
Not a hundred random techniques.
Something that was his.
Wind.
Water.
Fūinjutsu.
Clones.
Movement.
He didn't know exactly what all of that became yet.
But for the first time, he could see the beginning of it.
Naruto smiled.
Tomorrow, Jiraiya was going to make him draw containment formulas until his hand wanted to fall off.
After that?
Naruto looked down at his new sandals.
He had some experimenting to do.
He lay back down.
Contentedly, Naruto used his two Medium Skill experience packs, one on Gale pierce and One one on Advanced Fuinjutsu
Wind Release: Gale Pierce LVL 5 (43/50) -> LVL 6 (1/60)
Advanced Fuinjutsu LVL 2 (18/20) -> LVL 3 (4/30)
His body still hurt from fighting Sasuke.
His chakra felt different.
His bloodline was stronger.
Four hundred forty-five System Points were waiting for when he actually needed them.
And somewhere across the village, Sasuke was probably already training.
Naruto closed his eyes.
A grin remained on his face.
"Next time, duckbutt."
For once, Naruto didn't need another System notification telling him what to do next.
He already knew.
Get better.
Name: Naruto Uzumaki
Village: Konohagakure
Rank: Experienced Genin
Stats
Strength: 74
Agility: 93
Endurance: 89 (+20%)
Intelligence: 91
Charisma: 62
Luck: 12
System Points: 445
Inventoryxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Flash Anklet - 20% move speed buff for 60 seconds, 300 second cooldown
Shinobi Mesh Undershirt - Reduced damage against slashing/piercing attacks, +10% physical and elemental damage resistance. Contains 4 sealing formula locations
Phantom Step Sandals - Greatly reduces sound during movment
Supresses chakra during movement, makes wearer harder to detect/track
Once every 60 seconds, rapid movement leaves behind a brief chakra afterimage that continues in the user's original direction for several meters.
Damaged Uzumaki Record (Fragment)
Standard First Aid Kit
Basic Smoke Bombs x 5
Basic Shinobi Wire - 20 feet
Military Rations x 3
2 Soldier Pills - stamina/chakra boost at cost of extreme fatigue
Chakra Stabilization Band: +15% experience boost to Chakra Control training
Uzumaki Vital Surge Capsule: +50% END/AGI Special interaction. Massive chakra boost
Skillsxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Trap Making – LVL 5 (27/50)
Academy Taijutsu – LVL 7 (MAX)
Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu – LVL 3 (8/30)
Shadow Shuriken Jutsu LVL 5 (2/50)
Tree Walking LVL MAX
Water Walking LVL 1 (5/10)
Advanced Fuinjutsu LVL 3 (4/30)
Wind Release: Cyclone LVL 6 (0/60)
Wind Release: Gale Pierce LVL 6 (1/60)
Water Release: Tidal Wave — LVL 4 (29/40)
Uzumaki Bloodline (Moderate): 0/5 -> Next upgrade = Advanced.
increase to Endurance and overall chakra capacity (20%)
Improved compatibility with fuinjutsu (+35% lvling speed for fuinjutsu related skills)
Uzumaki Vitaltiy - resistance against lethal wounds