Chapter 6: Progress

Creak~

The door closed once more.

The sorrow on Seimei's face vanished instantly. Although he had absorbed the memories of his previous life, he didn't feel much for the "parents" he had never met.

However, considering the compensation money, Seimei decided that he would visit their graves each year to offer a bouquet of flowers. Of course, that was only if he could survive. Otherwise, it wouldn't matter what he said.

Opening the envelope, he counted the contents; there was a total of 1,010,000 ryo inside.

"Not bad, no one embezzled any!"

Both of his previous parents were Chunin, and the compensation money for each was 500,000 ryo after they died in battle.

Thus, combined with the 10,000 ryo living expenses distributed by the clan, that totals to 1,010,000 ryo—neither a bit more nor a bit less.

But then again, if even this money were embezzled, what cohesion would the clan have left?

Moreover, while one million ryo seems like a lot, it isn't necessarily so.

In Konoha, the reward for a D-Rank mission ranges from 5,000 to 50,000 ryo, a C-Rank mission yields 30,000 to 100,000 ryo, a B-Rank mission offers 80,000 to 200,000 ryo, and an A-Rank mission can reach 150,000 to 1,000,000 ryo. S-Rank missions exceed one million ryo.

Chunin can take on C-Rank and B-Rank missions, while Jonin can accept B-Rank and A-Rank missions. Even with the village taking a cut and sharing with teammates, earning one million ryo isn't too difficult.

As for the 10,000 ryo living expenses...

A bowl of ramen costs 60 ryo; if one eats ramen three times a day, that totals 5,400 ryo a month.

And that's just for food.

For ninjas, the costs of training are a much bigger expense.

So, the 10,000 ryo living expenses were only enough to keep Seimei from starving, but if he wanted to invest in his training, that would undoubtedly be a pipe dream.

For the past week or so, he had been training under such circumstances.

Now, however, it was different. With this one million ryo, he could easily purchase some special pills to aid his training.

With this thought in mind, Seimei stepped out of his room and headed straight to the pharmacy run by the Nara family.

In Konoha, the family with the highest achievements in medicine is the Nara clan; their products are synonymous with quality.

However, after browsing for a while, Seimei found that the most useful item for him was the Military Rations Pill.

That's right, the kind that can replace a meal with just one pill.

It can replenish the various nutrients the human body needs and is generally used as rations for ninjas on missions.

Some special Military Rations Pills can even temporarily enhance a ninja's chakra.

However, Seimei didn't need those types; he only needed the kind of Military Rations Pill that could serve as a meal.

This way, he could extend his training time for the "Chakra refining technique," and then use the extra chakra to practice the Three Basic Jutsu, ultimately creating a synergistic effect that would increase the proficiency levels of multiple skills at once.

With that thought in mind, Seimei took out his money and, despite the shopkeeper's odd gaze, made a large one-time purchase of Military Rations Pills.

If it were any other supplies, it might attract the village's attention, but since these were Military Rations Pills, it was less likely to raise suspicion.

However, to be safe, Seimei planned not to eat out for a while. This way, others would think he was just training hard and using the Military Rations Pills as meals.

······

Back home, Seimei opened his panel.

A familiar light blue screen floated into view:

Bloodline: Sharingan: Unawakened (51/100)

Skills: Chakra Refining Technique: lv0 (8/100) → lv0 (53/100)

Clone Jutsu: lv0 (46/100) → lv1 (2/200)

*Transformation Jutsu: lv0 (77/100)

*Substitution Jutsu: lv0 (71/100)

Basic Taijutsu: lv0 (35/100) → lv1 (16/200)

Ninja Tool Throwing: lv1 (29/200) → lv2 (10/500)

In the past week, he persisted in practicing the "Chakra refining technique" for four hours every night. Most of the time, he could only gain six points of proficiency level, but occasionally he would gain a bit more.

So after seven days, he accumulated a total of forty-five points of proficiency level. This raised his "Chakra refining technique" from lv0 (8/100) to lv0 (53/100), and the progress had surpassed the halfway mark.

During this time, his Chakra limit increased by 28 points, going from 131 to 159. Although it's still not much, at least he can see hope. Seimei believes that as long as he persists, he will soon have plenty of chakra to spend.

Additionally, the 200 points of Chakra he recovers daily from practicing the "Chakra refining technique" are all used for practicing Ninjutsu.

A couple of days ago, he focused and leveled up the "Clone Jutsu" to lv1, successfully becoming a Beginner and able to create an illusory shadow. After that, he managed to get through the weekly exam as planned.

However, just like with "Ninja Tool Throwing," once "Clone Jutsu" reached lv1, the same problem arose—he could only gain a single point of proficiency level with each practice session. Seimei knows that this is the limit of his previous self's skills, and he can only rely on himself from here on out.

Thus, he turned his attention to practicing "Transformation Jutsu" and "Substitution Jutsu."

Thanks to the experience and memories left by his previous self, the training speed for these two Ninjutsu is no less than that of the "Clone Jutsu" before reaching Beginner.

Basically, he gains two to three points of proficiency level with each practice session. In just five days, he has leveled up "Transformation Jutsu" and "Substitution Jutsu" to lv0 (77/100) and lv0 (71/100), respectively!

At this rate, within two to three days, he should be able to reach Beginner level with both skills. By then, he will have nearly exhausted the legacy of his previous self.

As for "Basic Taijutsu," over the past week, Sugiki Kazuto has organized three more sparring sessions. Taking advantage of these opportunities, his "Basic Taijutsu" has successfully reached Beginner level and even advanced to lv1 (16/200), but that's about it.

From here on, he will need to practice diligently. Finally, "Ninja Tool Throwing" continues to be the fastest progressing skill, now reaching Lv2 (10/500)!

At this stage, he can hit the bullseye with 100% accuracy on a fixed target within ten meters. This level is comparable to some Genin who have graduated two or three years ago.

However, "Ninja Tool Throwing" ultimately has its limitations. Seimei estimates that if he cannot awaken his Sharingan, he can at most raise its proficiency level to lv3. After all, practicing now requires him to throw and hit the bullseye on a target fifteen meters away; otherwise, it won't increase his proficiency level at all.

To go from Lv2 to Lv3 requires a full five hundred points of proficiency level. One can imagine that once he maxes it out, his skill level should be comparable to that of an average Chunin.

Unless aided by Sharingan to manipulate the ninja tools creatively, otherwise, using this method to kill someone is nearly impossible—except for surprise attacks, group assaults, or picking on those significantly weaker than himself.

"But Sharingan…" Seimei glanced at the panel, noting the (51/100) progress, and fell silent.

Over the past week, he had considered ways to increase the awakening progress of his Sharingan, but after trying several methods, he saw no results. The progress seemed to be stuck, not moving at all.

However, Seimei did not give up. Since the panel could display the progress, it meant that the progress could be pushed forward; he just hadn't found the right method yet.