However, before that...
Motomu still had a long-overdue task to complete.
Uchiha Mikoto.
The residence of the future clan leader's wife.
This was also the home of that chubby girl.
The Big Eyeball dragged its tongue as it passed silently through the porch.
Inside the Japanese-style wooden estate, Motomu quickly located the chubby girl's room.
Looking through the open window...
Motomu immediately locked onto his target.
Through several days of inquiry, Motomu had learned that this person was named Uchiha Haru, the younger sister of Uchiha Mikoto.
Mikoto was currently very close to the Young Clan Leader. To avoid drawing trouble to himself, Motomu temporarily abandoned the idea of killing her directly. Having obtained a new skill, he adopted a plan with a higher utilization rate.
Watching the sleeping fat girl, Motomu activated Dream Eater without hesitation.
A wave of pure life force instantly flowed into the Big Eyeball's body.
Feeling the arrival of such a nourishing treat, the Big Eyeball flicked its purple tongue excitedly, transparent saliva dripping from its fangs onto the wooden window sill.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Uchiha Haru felt as though she was having a nightmare.
In the dream, she heard her sister calling her.
Opening the door in a daze, she saw the Uchiha district outside was pitch black and deathly silent, with only the sound of rain hitting the ground.
Her vacant eyes snapped open as she was startled awake.
"Sis... Big Sister?"
There was no answer.
She looked around outside.
There was no familiar figure at the door.
There wasn't even a single person!
Alarm bells rang in her mind.
Uchiha Haru slammed the wooden door shut.
"Where am I!"
"How did I end up here!"
She cautiously opened the tightly closed wooden door and took a few peeks.
"I should be sleeping... this is a dream."
Recalling her memories, she let out a sigh of relief and turned around.
Behind her, a ghastly, terrifying Sharingan with a wide mouth revealing frigid fangs was staring at her with a deathly gaze.
Foul-smelling drool dripped down, and the monster grew larger and larger amidst a sharp hiss.
As the vicious maw of the Sharingan that spanned the heavens clamped shut, her dim dream world shattered like porcelain, swallowed entirely by the monster's mouth.
The little figure representing her was torn to pieces.
A scream tore through the night sky.
The Deputy Chief's manor was instantly illuminated.
The Big Eyeball looked lingeringly at the chubby girl, who was shivering and staring at it in horror, before turning and flying into the sky under Motomu's command.
It vanished into the night sky before the manor's master could arrive.
After taking a ninety-percent cut of the life force, Motomu immediately began refining chakra while ordering the Big Eyeball to go to Training Ground 7 to grind on its own.
It was hard to say if it was because Haru was too fat or because humans simply had a lot of life force.
Under the influx of massive life force, Motomu's chakra refinement was incredibly smooth.
If Motomu had to describe it, refining chakra in the past was like squeezing toothpaste out of a tube.
This time, however, it felt like it was flowing out on its own!
It was very smooth!
...
The melodious chirping of birds rang out as Motomu stretched his legs, which felt like static pins and needles.
"I... I've pulled another all-nighter."
Feeling somewhat drowsy, he got up and washed his face with cold water.
After barely waking up, Motomu suddenly froze.
Looking at the calendar in the living room which had already flipped to Friday, he realized he might have gotten up for nothing.
Yesterday was Friday, so today was a holiday?
Bang—
Locking the door and closing the windows was done in one smooth motion.
Before long, snoring echoed from beneath the beige covers.
While Motomu was slacking off...
The Uchiha district outside was already in an uproar.
A piece of gossip was spreading like a plague among these dark-eyed, dark-haired Uchiha clan members.
Auntie A, scrubbing a washboard: "Have you heard? There's a monster haunting the district lately."
Auntie B, cracking melon seeds: "Yeah! They say it's the ghost of Uchiha Madara, who was killed by the First Hokage."
Old Man A, playing shogi: "I know about it. That thing is already devouring souls!"
"That forest nearby is full of bird corpses."
"Old Man Tanaka, it's true! I saw it when I was out peeing at night!"
"It was a Sharingan flying in the sky."
Auntie A: "That's terrifying. Isn't it only a matter of time before it starts eating people?"
Auntie B: "Now that you mention it, that family last night..."
"Shh! May the ancestors not take offense, may the ancestors not take offense."
The rumors grew more intense until, ten days later, some of the more faint-hearted clan members clamored to move out of the district.
"The matter of Uchiha Madara's ghost is purely a rumor."
At the monthly clan meeting, the Old Clan Leader personally clarified the situation.
Several Jonin in the clan, who had killed without blinking and survived the Second Great War, also stepped forward to testify.
The general sentiment was:
Look, they've killed so many people, yet they haven't encountered a single ghost!
The skeptical civilians finally relaxed.
However, Uchiha Haru, who was alone at home with bloodshot eyes and was noticeably thinner, knew the truth.
Everything was real!
There really were ghosts in this world!
And it came into her dreams every single night!
No matter what she said, her family wouldn't believe her.
As her only form of resistance, she hadn't slept for two days.
"Still not sleeping today?"
Motomu manipulated the Big Eyeball, which had returned empty-handed, as he arrived home.
Over the past dozen or so days, he had been milking Uchiha Haru dry, right up until now.
Having absorbed a great deal of life force, the Big Eyeball, now as large as a human head, descended from the sky.
After ordering it to shrink and dive back into his eye socket, Motomu opened the system panel.
[POKÉMON: ONE-TOMOE SHARINGAN]
[LEVEL: 14]
[TYPE: PSYCHIC/DARK]
[CURRENT EXP: 88/140]
[STATS: HP: 34 | ATK: 13 | DEF: 34 | SP. ATK: 32 | SP. DEF: 27 | SPD: 5]
[IVS: 24/31]
[EVS: 13/100]
[NATURE: BOLD]
[MOVES: DREAM EATER, HYPNOSIS, PSYCHOKINESIS, MINIMIZE]
[DESCRIPTION: PIDGEY SLAYER, YOU MONSTER.]
When its level reached 13...
Motomu had used a Move Refresh Card to roll the move Minimize.
The move was rolled, but which one to replace in the move list had been a difficult problem for Motomu at the time.
Dream Eater was a god-tier skill and couldn't be replaced.
As for Hypnosis, although it could currently only put small animals like mice to sleep...
Motomu was reluctant to give up its growth potential when paired with Dream Eater.
That left Psychokinesis and Reflect.
One offense, one defense—unrivaled under heaven.
If he really had to choose, Motomu could only give up Reflect.
After all, if he lacked defense, he could let the Big Eyeball tank it, but without offense, the Big Eyeball would truly be useless.
After being forced to give up Reflect...
Motomu also reconsidered his own defensive measures.
Under the desk lamp, three open scrolls were laid out on Motomu's desk.
These three ninjutsu were the most expensive inheritance his parents had left him.
A C-rank ninjutsu that every Uchiha knew: Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique.
One Earth Style: Mud Wall.
And one Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes.
The versatility of these three ninjutsu—providing damage, defense, and even a form of crowd control—was enough for an average Chunin.
Motomu was quite satisfied with this inheritance.
As for Fire Style, being a member of the Uchiha clan, Motomu certainly had the corresponding chakra nature.
As for Earth Style...
He would have to test it.
Taking out the chakra induction paper he bought from the ninja tool shop...
Motomu slowly injected a small amount of chakra into it.