[Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique (Lv.10) — Max Level — Trait (Choose One)]
[Vitality: Your fire dragon will gain its own life.]
[Dragonization: You transform into a dragon of flames.]
[Bounce: It can bounce between multiple targets.]
"The third one is literally Brand's ultimate!" Akira muttered as he looked at the familiar effect.
That was straight out of League of Legends.
The second option was instantly discarded.
He still planned to use Dragon Slayer Magic in the future. Turning himself into a dragon sounded a bit ominous.
What if the Dragon Slayer Magic ended up slaying him instead?
That left the first and third options.
The first would give the fire dragon life.
This was actually the one Akira wanted the most. If he could summon several fire dragons, it would be like having teammates assisting him.
The third option expanded damage output by bouncing between multiple enemies.
Akira hesitated for a moment.
But in the end, he decisively chose Vitality.
He wanted to see how a fire dragon with life would work.
A flood of memories about the skill filled his mind.
Akira extended a finger, and a small blue flame flickered at his fingertip.
Soon it transformed into a tiny fire dragon.
"吟—"
It let out a clear cry and began circling around his finger.
"So vitality means the fire dragon lasts longer and gains a bit of intelligence. It can follow my commands."
The fire dragon coiled around his fingers.
Depending on how much chakra he invested, the dragon's lifespan and intelligence would also increase.
"I can even increase the chakra output and let it grow quickly."
The dragon grew from the size of a thumb to the size of a palm, then wrapped around his arm.
And then…
It burned his clothes.
Akira waved his hand, and the fire dragon vanished.
Still, the practicality was impressive.
He looked back at his skill panel.
"Next one."
[Great Fireball Technique (Lv.10) — Max Level — Trait (Choose One)]
[Fireball: Fireball is invincible. No objections accepted.]
Akira stared at it.
"…Are you starting a Fireball Cult or something?"
It didn't even explain the effect—just declared itself invincible.
[Flame Hunger: After four instances of fire damage, the target is stunned for 3 seconds.]
[Explosion: Explosion is the true art of fireballs!]
The last two traits were at least understandable.
Akira ignored the ridiculous first one and focused on Flame Hunger.
The fourth fire attack would stun the enemy for three seconds.
A dangerous thought appeared in his mind.
If the fourth hit landed on a Kage-level opponent…
Wouldn't they be completely helpless?
Even a Kage stunned for three seconds would be enough for Akira to kill them.
After all—
When people are killed, they die.
This trait clearly came from Annie's passive ability.
Akira immediately chose Flame Hunger.
It would definitely come in handy during critical moments.
As for Explosion, it looked powerful, but his Nine-Headed Dragon Technique was probably just as destructive.
Control effects were more valuable.
With the remaining experience, he upgraded Great Flame Technique to Level 9.
It cost more than 110,000 EXP.
[EXP: 35,884]
"To max out the remaining six low-level skills will require 306,600 EXP. Plus another 128,000 for Great Fireball…"
"That's a total of 434,600 EXP."
Akira calculated silently.
If he stayed on the Iwa battlefield, it would take at least half a year.
He was starting to consider switching battlefields.
Although he hadn't completed the Dragon Slayer Magic set yet, returning to the battlefield right now felt risky.
The moment he showed up, he had a feeling the Iwa ninja would swarm him.
He still hadn't even had the chance to retrieve the items dropped earlier.
And although dropped items wouldn't move, they did expire after a certain time.
Once the timer ended, they would disappear.
Just thinking about it made Akira's heart ache.
To grind experience, Akira showed up at the watchtower early the next morning.
Now every frontline had built watchtowers specifically for him.
As long as his fireballs appeared on the battlefield, the Iwa ninja would be firmly suppressed.
"Another day of grinding."
But before he could climb the tower, Crow appeared beside him.
"Player, by special order of the Hokage, you are to return to Konoha for rest."
"…Huh?"
Akira tilted his head in confusion.
He was grinding perfectly fine here—why send him back?
Changing battlefields would be fine, but returning home?
"I don't need rest," Akira tried to refuse.
He still had over 400,000 EXP to grind.
"This is the Hokage's order. You are to escort the wounded unit back to Konoha immediately."
"…Can I refuse?"
"No."
Akira nearly lost his mind.
That old man Hiruzen was definitely doing this on purpose!
But what could he do?
The arm couldn't twist the thigh.
"And while you're back, you'll take the Chunin Exam," Crow added, patting his shoulder.
Based on Akira's performance on the battlefield, he should have already been promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin.
But no one expected that only one year after graduating from the Ninja Academy, he would already qualify.
Since he had never taken the Chunin Exam, he couldn't be promoted exceptionally.
Returning now would solve that problem.
"I don't want to leave the battlefield…"
Akira looked heartbroken.
"This place is my home. I don't want to go anywhere else."
Returning to Konoha meant losing his EXP farming spot.
"How about you talk to Lord Danzo and transfer me to the Rain Country front instead? I'll definitely help him fight our way back into the Land of Rain."
Grow bigger, grow stronger, create new glory.
First defeat the Rain Shadow, then replace the Hokage.
Support Danzo—become the true shadow ruler.
"Lord Danzo's order is for you to follow the Hokage's commands," Crow shrugged helplessly.
Akira clenched his fists.
Exactly when had the relationship between those two gone bad?
Could he maybe push that moment forward?
Right now they were practically wearing the same pair of pants.
On the journey back from the Land of Grass to Konoha, Akira encountered no attacks.
When he finally entered Konoha, his last hope was crushed.
Didn't Onoki want to kill him?
Why had he suddenly gone silent?
Not even sending assassins?
Even his last chance to farm experience was gone.
"By the way… where am I supposed to turn in the mission?" Akira scratched his head.
Crow had always handled the missions for him.
Now that he returned alone, he didn't even know where the Root headquarters was.
Where was he supposed to claim the reward?
In the end, he simply decided to go home.
Luckily, before leaving he had paid a full year of rent.
Otherwise he might have come back to find himself homeless.
When he opened the door, the house was covered in dust.
Seeing the dusty room reminded him of Machi.
When he summoned Machi to clean the place—
She stared at him and asked quietly,
"When exactly are you planning to let me see this world?"
"Uh… hahaha…"
Akira scratched his head awkwardly.
He had completely forgotten about that.
The battles had been too intense, and Konoha ninja were everywhere. There was never a chance to release Machi.
"Next time. Definitely next time."
"First clean the house."
Machi exploded.
"Are you even human?!"
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