NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Rewards
"Yami, congratulations."
Danzō handed the forehead protector to Yami's small hands, his smile unwavering since stepping into the room.
"From today onward, you're officially a ninja."
Danzō encouraged him, "Although you're not the youngest Chūnin, times are different now.
You have the potential to become the youngest Jōnin in the village. Keep working hard."
The youngest Jōnin in Konoha's history was Hatake Kakashi, who achieved the rank at just twelve years old. However, Yami had both the talent and background to surpass him.
Yami held the Konoha forehead protector, contemplating where to wear it.
His forehead wasn't particularly wide, so he didn't want to wear it on his head and ruin his appearance.
Just then, the system prompt chimed in at the perfect moment:
[Host has established a bond with Konoha Village, acquired organization status (Genin), and obtained the special state: "Leaning Against a Big Tree."]
[Effect: Within the Land of Fire, training speed increases by 20%, and chakra recovery speed increases by 20%. The effect strengthens as rank advances.]
[Congratulations, Host, for becoming a Konoha Genin and reaching the first stage of 'Mother's Love.' Do you wish to claim your reward? (Note: Rewards expire after 24 hours.)]
"Not yet."
Silently responding in his mind, Yami looked up at Danzō and grinned.
"Old man, what's the point of being the youngest Jōnin? If I'm aiming for something, it should be to become the youngest Hokage."
Originally, he hadn't cared much about formal affiliation. As the true prince of Konoha, even Jōnin wouldn't dare act arrogantly around him, lest they be targeted by Danzō.
But upon receiving the system's notification, Yami immediately changed his stance.
No one in this world could be completely trusted, only his own strength was truly reliable.
"Good!" Danzō's lone eye gleamed with excitement. "You have ambition, as expected of my grandson. The position of Hokage should have belonged to our Shimura clan. Don't worry, I'll become Hokage as soon as possible to pave the way for you."
Danzō calculated that he could still work for another twenty years. By then, Yami would be under thirty, at the peak of his career, just the right age to assume the role of Hokage.
Then Yami would have children and grandchildren.
With proper grooming, perhaps Hokage could become a hereditary position, much like the daimyō.
The thought ignited a fire in Danzō's heart, making him want to overthrow Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately.
But that was merely a fantasy.
For now, the most pressing matter was arranging Yami's next steps.
Danzō calmed his excitement and spoke in a serious tone:
"Now that you're a Genin, Konoha's tradition dictates that a Jōnin instructor and two teammates must be assigned to you."
"But your situation—and Uchiha Itachi's—is unique. Only the two of you graduated early, and all the teams for this year's graduates have already been formed..."
"I'm not teaming up with Uchiha Itachi."
Yami immediately shook his head like a rattle.
That would be a disaster.
In the original timeline, Uchiha Itachi had awakened his Sharingan a year later than this, and the catalyst had been the death of his teammate.
"Then you won't team up with him."
Danzō nodded slightly.
"Let Hiruzen deal with Uchiha Itachi. You'll train at Root for a while, and I'll arrange your Jōnin instructor and teammates later."
"Fine by me."
Yami agreed without hesitation.
It was the perfect opportunity to farm rewards from the members of Root.
---
After finalizing the plan, Yami and Danzō had dinner together. Later, using an excuse, Yami retreated to his room to claim his rewards.
It was a shame the system only gave a 24-hour window. Otherwise, he would have saved up all his attributes and maxed them out before claiming them, potentially reaching the Limit Break threshold in one go.
And what was Limit Break?
At the very least, it meant standing at the level of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
Unfortunately, the system was too well-designed and wouldn't allow such an exploit.
In fact, Yami had considered staying in the Academy until he maxed out all his attributes before leaving, but after careful thought, he dismissed the idea.
He couldn't limit himself just because of a single talent effect.
The Academy had too few people to interact with—only by stepping into the real world as a shinobi could he truly build connections and advance his strength.
That was why he chose to graduate now.
What did talent matter? With enough effort, he could still reach the Limit Break level.
"System, claim rewards."
Yami muttered in his heart.
The system didn't respond,it wasn't particularly intelligent, only capable of answering basic rules-related questions.
Instead, the rewards were quietly distributed.
A wave of warmth spread through Yami's body. His cell activity and chakra vitality surged by an entire level.
And his total chakra began increasing rapidly.
Checking his system panel, he watched as the numbers climbed:
5.2 cards… 5.7 cards… 6.2 cards… 6.5 cards… 7 cards…
After about ten minutes, the numbers finally settled at 9 cards.
Meanwhile, in his Special Talents, his Senju Bloodline (Thin, Under Development) had changed to Senju Bloodline (Normal).
But as for Wood Release…
There wasn't a trace of it.
Many people mistakenly believed that Wood Release and the Senju bloodline were inherently linked. But in reality, that wasn't true.
The Senju were the Senju, and Wood Release was Wood Release.
Across thousands of years of history, the only shinobi to naturally awaken Wood Release had been Senju Hashirama.
Even whether the Sage of Six Paths could use Wood Release was debatable.
It wasn't the Senju who were special, it was Hashirama himself.
No one knew exactly how that monster had created such an absurd kekkei genkai, one that even connected to the God Tree itself.
Suddenly.
A sharp pain shot through Yami's eyes, making him instinctively cover them with his hands.
A warm liquid trickled down his face.
When he pulled his hands away, he saw streaks of blood tears staining his arms.
And when he opened his eyes again.
Yami's pupils had turned a deep, blood-red color.
Within each eye, a single tomoe had appeared.
(To be continued.)