Chapter 43

Level 10 Jin Gang Lockdown!

Should we go for it?

Fujinaka Genma hesitated.

He saved skill points for two reasons: one for Jin Gang Lockdown, the other for Flying Thunder God.

Especially the Flying Thunder God—if used carefully, it eliminates any threat to his life, unless he deliberately seeks death.

Moreover, the Flying Thunder God technique is undoubtedly extremely difficult.

Space-time ninjutsu demands extraordinarily high innate talent.

In the original story, the original owner of this body had only mastered a fraction of it, requiring three people to perform.

And even Hiruzen Sarutobi, known as the Ninja Professor, never mastered it.

Yet he had mastered high-difficulty sealing techniques like Death Seal.

Clearly, it requires unique talent.

“It’s now Year 43 of Konoha; five years remain until Year 48. In that time, I should be able to level up three or four times, right?”

“Plenty of time!”

“As for Senjutsu, it comes after Flying Thunder God!”

“Besides, I can buy skill points with Kan points by completing missions.”

One thought after another surfaced.

Finally.

Fujinaka Genma made his decision: go ahead!

All remaining skill points—bet it all!

In an instant, the Jin Gang Lockdown technique was instantly upgraded to Level 10.

Immediately afterward, Fujinaka Genma’s mind crashed, his gaze going blank.

At the same time, the temperature of his head began rising steadily.

Yet Fujinaka Genma was unaware of any of this.

He only felt his mind flooded with vast amounts of information, forcing him to sort and digest it, his brain spinning at maximum speed.

Time slowly passed.

Minutes later, Fujinaka Genma’s facial skin had turned bright red, beads of sweat rolling down.

“Genma…”

Suddenly, Hiruzen Haruno’s voice came from outside.

“Did he fall asleep?”

Hiruzen Haruno muttered, then said, “Miyu, wait a moment—I’ll go wake him up.”

“Thank Itachi, Teacher Haruno!”

Hyuga Miyu replied obediently.

What a wonderful girl!

This kid Genma really has good luck with women!

Hiruzen Haruno couldn’t help but feel envious—he was nearly thirty and still single.

He sighed inwardly, stepped into the tent, and froze.

“Genma?”

Hiruzen Haruno hurried forward, reached out to touch Genma’s forehead, and immediately snatched his hand back with a hiss.

“Miyu, come quickly—Genma is sick!”

Hiruzen Haruno shouted urgently.

“Genma!”

Hyuga Miyu rushed in, couldn’t help but cry out in alarm, then scrambled into action.

Fortunately, Hyuga Miyu was not a truly frail woman; though panicked, she kept her composure, cooling Genma’s body, replenishing his fluids, and checking for signs of poisoning or other ailments.

Time slowly passed.

Genma didn’t know how long had passed; when he opened his eyes again, he found many people around him.

“Genma!”

Beside him, Hyuga Miyu cried out in delight.

Genma turned his head, puzzled: “Miyu, why are Itachi here?”

“And Lord Jiraiya…”

Jiraiya smiled: “This time, Itachi owe your life to Miyu—if not for her, your brain would’ve been fried!”

Genma stared in shock: “Fried my brain?”

“I just leveled up!”

Ebisu and Guy were also present; Guy quickly explained everything.

Genma listened, startled, then understood what had happened—he couldn’t help but smile wryly inwardly.

Clearly, upgrading Jin Gang Lockdown all the way to Level 10 at once overloaded his mind with too much information, forcing his brain into overdrive.

Fortunately, his physical constitution was astonishingly strong; otherwise, he’d have fried his brain before Hyuga Miyu could save him.

“Looks like I can’t do that again—leveling up three levels is fine, but the knowledge from the next four levels is more than all the previous ones combined.”

Genma silently warned himself, then turned to Hyuga Miyu: “So I’m completely fine now, right?”

Hyuga Miyu immediately smiled: “No issues at all!”

Genma relaxed—he trusted the word of a professional.

He rose from the bed, stretched his body, and grinned at everyone: “I’m perfectly fine—let’s continue the mission!”

“Don’t Itachi need more rest?”

Jiraiya hesitated.

“No need!”

Genma now only wanted to get to the mission as soon as possible.

He already had a slight feel for the Level 10 skill.

To truly understand it, he’d need time to test the power of Level 10 Jin Gang Lockdown.

But without doubt—it was absolutely powerful!

Jiraiya, seeing Genma’s color was normal and confirming with Hyuga Miyu, the professional, finally nodded: “Then go meet Orochimaru.”

“I’m leaving too.”

Genma blinked: “Where are Itachi going, Lord Jiraiya?”

Jiraiya shrugged helplessly: “The Hidden Mist Village is showing unusual activity. To prevent a surprise attack, I must prepare there.”

Genma understood.

The Hidden Mist Village, having failed to quickly crush the Hidden Sand, now had its eyes on the richer Land of Fire—with an equally long coastline.

And

The Hidden Mist Village knew well: if the Sand Ninja started the war, the Stone and Cloud Ninja would inevitably join in.

Then Konoha would be surrounded on all sides—how could they not strike?

“The Stone Ninja will probably invade the Grass Village soon…”

“Then the Cloud Ninja won’t be able to hold back either.”

“It’s Year 43 of Konoha now; this war will last years, and we’re only at the very beginning—far from the bloodiest phase.”

Genma thought to himself.

After a few more words, Jiraiya hurried off.

Hyuga Miyu soon bid a reluctant farewell.

Genma stepped out of the tent, looked up at the high sun, waved to Ebisu and Guy, and vanished from the spot.

Inside the large tent.

Orochimaru looked up at Genma and smiled faintly: “It seems Itachi’re well now.”

“Thank Itachi for your concern, Lord Orochimaru—I’ve fully recovered and am ready for the mission.”

Genma quickly replied.

Orochimaru said nothing, merely tossed out a scroll: “The mission details are inside. Go—I have faith in Itachi.”

Genma caught the scroll, hesitated a moment, then bowed and left without opening it.

Outside the tent, Genma smiled inwardly: “Good—I didn’t run into any clichéd drama.”

Throughout, Orochimaru had not mentioned Wind Release: Rasengan again, despite clearly showing great interest the night before.

“The principle behind Wind Release: Rasengan isn’t complex—Orochimaru, with his mastery of ninjutsu, must have already understood it.”

“For a ninja like him, such a technique probably holds little research value.”

After thinking it over, Genma quickly returned, rejoined Ebisu and the others, and opened the mission scroll.

But when they saw its contents, all three froze.

The scroll’s mission wasn’t some grand operation—it was to escort wounded personnel and the remains of fallen Konoha ninja back to Konoha, then await the Hokage’s orders.

Genma couldn’t help but glance at the Kan mission system.

System evaluation: 10 Kan points.