Jie Uchiha had spent seven whole months flicking baby Sasuke's forehead just to grind out 20% of Indra's reincarnated chakra.
Yet today, all Sasuke did was call him "Brother," and the system directly rewarded him with 5%?
Although it was the very first word, the very first syllable Sasuke had spoken since birth, was there really such a massive difference?
Before Jie could investigate further, a refreshing sensation surged from his mind and instantly circulated throughout his entire body.
This feeling was somewhat similar to when he had integrated the Basic Sage Body, yet notably different. Previously, although he had accumulated a fair amount of Indra's reincarnated chakra, he had never felt it this clearly—perhaps because the percentage had been too small.
Today, the system settled a 6% reward all at once, pushing his total ratio straight to one-quarter.
This time, Jie clearly felt an inexplicable power gathering toward his eyes. Along with it, his visual prowess began to gradually increase. Though the margin was small, it was undeniably improving.
Furthermore, he didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he felt that the Basic Sage Body he had integrated earlier had undergone some subtle changes.
After that refreshing sensation washed over his entire body, his total chakra reserves hadn't changed, but the quality of his chakra seemed to be slowly elevating.
'After integrating the indomitable trait, the Basic Sage Body has about one-quarter the efficacy of a Perfect Sage Body.'
'Now, Indra's chakra has also been raised to one-quarter.'
'They are both at one-quarter. Could they have triggered a special mutation?'
However, his cheat ability only calculated and distributed rewards; it wouldn't answer any of his questions. With his current breadth of knowledge, he simply couldn't deduce the answer.
One thing was certain, though: whether the Sage Body and Indra's chakra were mutating or not, everything was progressing in a positive direction. Since it continuously made him stronger, Jie had no desire to interrogate the root cause. After all, he wasn't a research maniac like Orochimaru.
Snapping back to reality, he glanced down at baby Sasuke, who was excitedly waving his arms and dancing in his embrace. A bright smile spread across Jie's face.
As expected of one of the future protagonists; little Sasuke really was his lucky star.
After playing with his little brother for a while, Jie returned to his room and began refining his chakra. Now, he felt even more clearly that his physique was different from before.
In the same amount of time, if the chakra he could extract before was about one, he could now refine it to about one and a half.
It was a full 50% increase, and the quality of his chakra had vastly improved. Simply put, casting the same jutsu with his current chakra quality would be more than twice as powerful as before.
'No wonder Madara could dance whenever he wanted. With this kind of chakra quality, anyone would be that arrogant.'
Jie sighed with emotion and threw himself back into his chakra control training. It was rare to get such an improvement, and he needed to seize the moment to increase his total chakra reserves and bolster his strength.
The night passed quickly. Early the next morning, Jie brought Izumi Uchiha out onto the bustling streets of the Hidden Leaf.
"Jie, is it really okay for us to do this?"
Inside the dango shop, Izumi held a skewer of tricolor dango, looking at him with a troubled expression.
"We aren't three-year-olds. What's there to be afraid of?" Jie pulled a piece of dango off the skewer with his teeth, speaking casually as he chewed. The taste wasn't bad, just a bit too sweet. He had no idea why Itachi liked eating this kind of stuff.
"Easy for you to say! You've already graduated, so of course it doesn't matter. But I'm skipping class right now!" Izumi facepalmed, groaning in exasperation. "Skipping class when school hasn't even been in session for a week... the instructors will definitely think I'm a bad student."
"The Ninja Academy? It's just a formality. Having fun is what's most important," Jie said, feigning shock. "Does anyone actually think the stuff they teach at the Academy is useful? No way, right? Surely no one actually believes that?"
"Jie, you've really become a bad influence!" Izumi scolded him with an embarrassed laugh. But with him interrupting her worries, she stopped agonizing over her truancy.
They chatted and laughed over a few more skewers of dango before Izumi suddenly fell quiet.
"This kind of life is really nice. Everyone is so carefree, and there's delicious dango." She looked out at the village, her face full of yearning. "It would be wonderful if things could always stay like this."
"Is that so? Compared to war, this kind of life really does make people lower their guard," Jie replied casually.
"That's why, Jie, you have to promise me." Suddenly, Izumi stared at him, her expression dead serious. "With my level of talent, I might never be able to step into the world you're reaching for. But I'll work hard. I'll fight to get closer to you, little by little. So please, promise me you'll survive, no matter what hardships or dangers you face."
"You absolutely have to survive."
Jie paused for a moment before a soft smile graced his lips.
"Don't worry. I will do everything I can to survive. That is my promise, and it will never change."
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