Chapter 20 (Patreon)

The next morning, Naruto packed his belongings and headed to Konoha’s gates to meet the others.

Iruka had prepared his supplies for him: kunai, shuriken, and food pills.

To be honest, Naruto hadn’t even known exactly what he needed to bring, so Iruka had taken care of it for him.

For once, Kakashi was on time. When Naruto reached the gates, Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and the drunken old man had just arrived too.

Naruto was a little excited.

The plan he had spent two months preparing could finally begin.

This mission would give him a way out. With the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, he could leave teleportation marks all along their route.

After that, Konoha would no longer be able to keep him confined. Whenever he found an opportunity, he could leave, make his own way through the shinobi world, and grow stronger as quickly as possible.

He could finally take control of his own future without constantly worrying about someone else’s approval.

He had had enough of putting on an act every single day.

This would be an important step toward becoming stronger. He also needed to find people who could work with him, whether as subordinates or companions.

That thought brought Haku to mind.

He would soon encounter him in the Land of Waves. As one of the few shinobi capable of using Ice Release, Haku had an exceptionally valuable ability.

But his gentle nature made him ill-suited to a shinobi’s life.

Naruto hesitated. Should he prevent Haku’s death and bring him to his side?

[Ding! New Mission: Decide Haku’s Fate.]

[Option 1 — The Virgin’s Choice: Haku has suffered enough. Save his life.]

[Reward: A chance to recruit Haku as a subordinate.]

[Option 2 — The Devil’s Choice: Haku is too gentle for a shinobi’s life and unsuitable as a subordinate. His fate is none of your concern.]

[Reward: Special Title — Killer’s Heart.]

[Killer’s Heart: Earn system points by killing enemies. Points can be exchanged in the System Shop for bloodlines, skills, and items, including those found in this world and rewards offered by the system.]

Naruto read the mission and compared the two rewards.

Three seconds later, he made his choice.

For him as he was now, [Killer’s Heart] and access to the System Shop would help him grow stronger much faster. They could get him out of his current situation sooner.

As for Haku, Naruto would leave his life and death to fate.

[Ding! Selection confirmed. Special Title acquired: Killer’s Heart.]

[System Shop unlocked.]

[Kill a genin-level enemy: 1 point.]

[Kill a chunin-level enemy: 10 points.]

[Kill a jonin-level enemy: 100 points.]

[Kill a Kage-level enemy: 1,000 points.]

Delighted, Naruto immediately opened the shop.

Yin–Yang Release, the Ōtsutsuki bloodline, the Rinnegan…

Reanimation Jutsu, Living Corpse Reincarnation, Puppet Jutsu…

Bloodline Upgrade Scrolls, Skill Upgrade Scrolls…

…

His eyes darted from one entry to the next, his heart racing with excitement. Before he knew it, he was drooling.

“Hey. Are you sure it’s alright to bring this kid along?”

The drunken old man pointed at Naruto, sounding distinctly unimpressed.

Naruto pulled his attention away from the shop and looked at him, then at Kakashi.

If Kakashi hadn’t been there, he would have taught the old man a lesson in how to treat people.

‘You’re the one lying to us, and you’re the one asking for our help. What gives you the right to judge us by how we look?’

“Hmph!”

Naruto glared at him, then turned away and ignored him.

If the old man did it again, he would find a chance to teach him a lesson he wouldn’t forget.

The Land of Waves was a small, impoverished island nation off the eastern coast of the Land of Fire.

It was isolated and sparsely populated. Even so, it was hard to believe that a single businessman could hold the entire country in his grip.

Team Seven made its way toward the Land of Waves at a leisurely pace. With three novice genin in the group, including Naruto, they couldn’t travel particularly quickly.

Sakura seemed nervous throughout the journey. She kept asking Kakashi questions about the world outside Konoha and the mission they were about to undertake.

“Don’t worry, Sakura,” Kakashi reassured her. “This is a straightforward C-rank escort mission. We won’t be fighting shinobi from other villages. There shouldn’t be any battles.”

Naruto scoffed inwardly.

He could already sense two rogue ninja lying in ambush up ahead.

The old man’s expression shifted slightly. Guilt and calculation flickered in his eyes.

Soon, as they followed a trail through the forest, Kakashi noticed a puddle on the otherwise dry road.

The two attackers really had chosen a foolish hiding place.

It hadn’t rained for days. Leaving such an obvious puddle on a dry trail was enough to alert anyone with even a little experience.

Whoosh!

Just after the group passed the puddle, two figures burst out of it.

The bladed chain connecting their gauntlets whipped around Kakashi, who was walking at the front. They pulled it taut with a sharp wrench.

His body was sliced into several pieces.

“One down.”

The attackers spoke with chilling confidence.

Sasuke, Sakura, and the old man were caught completely off guard.

They turned in horror. To their eyes, Kakashi had been killed instantly. In their panic, they could almost see blood and torn flesh flying through the air.

“Ah!”

Sakura couldn’t hold back a scream.

“You’re next!”

The voices came from behind Naruto. The attackers had chosen him as their second target.

Naruto gave a cold snort.

The instant the chain reached him, he used the Substitution Jutsu to escape.

Sakura thought he had been killed too and screamed again. Trembling, she hurried in front of the old man, determined to protect their client.

Sasuke frowned and prepared to engage the attackers.

But a moment later, Naruto appeared a short distance from them. Where he had stood, three pieces of a severed log fell to the ground.

The two attackers froze for an instant.

“Wind Style: Gale Palm!”

Naruto’s hands moved quickly, coming together in a sharp clap.

A compact blast of wind struck the pair before they could recover, hurling them toward a large tree in the distance.

Two dull impacts sounded as they slammed into the trunk.

They sagged against it, their eyes widening in horror as they stared at Naruto.

They had dismissed him as just another child. They had never expected anything like this.

[Ding! Two genin-level enemies killed.]

[Reward: 2 points.]

“Naruto… you…”

Sakura stared at him in disbelief.

With her limited experience, Naruto’s display of strength seemed overwhelming. But what stunned her just as much was how readily he had killed.

“Hmph. Always showing off.”

Sasuke turned his head away, trying to look unimpressed. He couldn’t help remembering how Naruto had beaten him for the fourth time the previous evening.

Kakashi emerged from his hiding place, regarding Naruto thoughtfully.

Fear showed in the old man’s eyes too.

The boy he had mocked repeatedly could kill without blinking. He hadn’t expected that at all.

It reminded him of Gatō, the ruthless businessman whose name frightened everyone in his country.

“Tazuna. There’s something I need to ask you.”

Kakashi’s expression was stern as he faced the old man.

Tazuna went pale. His gaze darted about before he put on a sorrowful expression.

Naruto paid no attention to his explanation for deceiving them.

He already knew Kakashi would use the danger as a chance for them to gain experience and let them continue, even though the mission now qualified as B-rank.

Instead, he focused on the system interface in his mind.

Killing the two genin-level attackers had earned him two points.

That was enough to buy twenty explosive tags from the System Shop.

‘It isn’t much, but those tags could make all the difference at the right moment. Getting points for kills really is useful.’

Soon, Team Seven resumed its journey toward the Land of Waves.

As they passed a large tree, Naruto found a moment to leave a Flying Thunder God mark in a concealed spot.

Beside it, he wrote a short message in Russian:

Naruto was here!