Yugao's Suspicions

Itachi has always been in poor health.

Even if he hadn't deliberately held back against Sasuke in the later stages, he wouldn't have lived long.

It is precisely because of his physical condition that Itachi's peak period was actually very short.

It is normal for a ninja to stay at their peak for more than ten or twenty years.

For example, one could reach their peak in their late teens or early twenties.

Then, this state can be maintained until around the age of 40, after which it begins to gradually decline, and serious decline usually starts by the age of 60.

However, the average lifespan of ninjas is very low. Living to 60 years old is already considered having lived a very long life.

People like Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzō didn't die until they were in their seventies so they have lived a lot longer than most ninjas.

Of course, there are exceptions like Kakuzu and Senju Hashirama.

If Senju Hashirama's injuries weren't too severe and his cellular energy wasn't constantly overexerted, he could have easily lived for one or two hundred years.

Additionally, his strength would decline very slowly, and he might not have experienced a significant decrease in his strength until the age of 150.

But compared to them, Itachi's situation was not very promising. His prime only lasted for a few years.

However, his real peak state came after he was reincarnated through Edo Tensei.

In that state, he no longer had to worry about his physical limits, and he could freely use his Mangekyō Sharingan without the risk of blindness.

Therefore, Itachi in the state of Edo Tensei could probably surpass the Kage-level threshold.

The system likely took this situation into consideration when it transformed Itachi's biopheromone into a gold talent entry.

The problem, however, was that the attributes of this talent entry were so trash that it left him speechless.

That being said, the likelihood of getting a gold talent entry from Kisame's blood was minimal and nearly impossible.

'Even if it's just a purple talent entry, as long as the attributes are good, it'll be better than the garbage talent entry I got from Itachi!' Ryosuke thought to himself.

This was the first time he realized that a gold talent entry could also have such bad attributes. While the value was high, the effect was less than ideal.

"I hope Kisame doesn't follow Itachi's example and turns out to be a kind and good person!"

Ryosuke silently prayed as he took a drop of Kisame's blood and ordered the system to transform it.

Ding!

"Conversion successful!"

"Congratulations to the Host for acquiring the talent entry: [Real Man (Purple)]!"

Real man?

The name seems pretty good.

Although the name was somewhat reminiscent of the previous [Filial Son] talent entry, there was a difference: one was praise, the other was ridicule.

The former was a compliment while the latter was an insult.

Surely, they can't be the same, right?

"Let's check the attributes. Please don't be another rubbish talent entry." Ryosuke muttered.

He opened his character panel and found the new talent entry at the end.

[Real Man (Purple): Although you don't have a peerless face or a magnetic voice, your endurance is remarkable. No matter how much pain you suffer, you won't show the slightest weakness. Even in the face of death, you remain extremely tough! For this reason, people who know of your deeds call you a real man.]

[Physical Fitness +450%, Ninjutsu Power +450%, Willpower +450%, Comes with Master of Hand Seals]

Hiss!

When Ryosuke saw the attributes of this talent entry, he gasped in surprise.

This attribute...

If the system said it was a gold talent entry, Ryosuke would believe it.

Three numerical attributes!

This is the most powerful purple talent entry he has ever seen.

In his previous experiences, he had only seen three numerical attributes on gold talent entries and it wasn't guaranteed.

But Ryosuke had never seen something like this in a purple talent entry before.

The best part was... the bonus was massive.

Comparing this talent entry with some previous gold talent entries, Ryosuke realized that the [Real Man] talent entry was exceptional.

All three of its attributes had reached 450%!

Moreover, its attributes were highly useful.

While the willpower stat might not be as useful in most cases as the physical fitness or ninjutsu power, it still had its advantages.

In certain situations, having strong willpower could make a huge difference.

For example, when facing genjutsu or other extreme conditions, it could allow him to maintain his strength even in the worst conditions.

As for the other two attributes, physical fitness and ninjutsu power, these were essential and incredibly useful for most ninjas.

But this talent entry's boons didn't stop there. It even came with a special ability.

And it was an extremely useful ability!

With this, Ryosuke became certain that this was the strongest purple talent entry he had ever encountered.

[Master of Hand Seals: You are the master of hand seals. The speed at which you make hand seals is unparalleled (eight hand seals per second). Any ninjutsu that requires hand seals can have double the effect in your hands!]

This ability meant that Ryosuke could perform hand seals at lightning speed—eight per second.

More importantly, any ninjutsu that required hand seals would have double the effect in his hands.

Initially, the hand seal speed was unappealing to Ryosuke, considering that most of his ninjutsu didn't require hand seals.

But once he considered the second part of the ability—the double effect—everything changed!

This meant that whatever type of ninjutsu Ryosuke used, as long as it required hand seals, its effect would be doubled!

This was a game-changer!

The effect wasn't limited to just destruction either.

It could apply to healing, buffs, summoning, and more.

As long as it required hand seals, the effect will be twice as much as usual!

Now, even simple C-rank ninjutsu would have the power of S-rank ninjutsu—or even surpass it.

For example, with a simple Wind Cutter Technique, Ryosuke could unleash destructive power greater than anything Madara's full Susanoo could muster.

A C-rank ninjutsu in his hands could cut through mountains.

And after performing the same technique with hand seals, the wind blade grew from 100 meters to 700 meters, and its speed increased dramatically. The power was far greater, enough to trigger volcanic eruptions miles away!

This was the power of doubling the effect of his ninjutsu!

With this ability, Ryosuke's already powerful techniques became even more formidable.

His ninjutsu was no longer limited by rank—it was a force to be reckoned with.

"Impressive, Kisame!"

Ryosuke couldn't help but admire the new talent entry he had acquired.

The frustration from earlier with the [Filial Son] was completely gone.

After equipping the [Real Man] talent entry without hesitation, Ryosuke immediately felt his body strengthen even further.

While there was no visible change in his physique, he could now easily block most S-rank ninjutsu with his body alone without getting injured.

Even when faced with the most powerful S-rank ninjutsus, the worst that could happen would be some minor flesh wounds.

With this kind of resilience, if Ryosuke claimed to be number one in the ninja world, who would dare to refute him?

After all, anyone who challenged him would face a quick and explosive end.

In the afternoon

Ryosuke went to the beach to test out the effects of ninjutsu with and without hand seals.

He didn't test many techniques, and just used the Wind Cutter Technique as a reference.

Without any hand seals, the C-rank Wind Cutter Technique released a wind blade over 100 meters long.

The blade sped across the sea surface, traveling several thousand meters before cutting through a mountain.

It didn't dissipate until it was several kilometers away.

This power was already on par with many S-rank ninjutsu.

After using hand seals, Ryosuke performed the same Wind Cytter Technique but the results were astounding.

The wind blade grew from 100 meters to 700 meters long!

It flew much faster than before and cut through the air for tens of kilometers, eventually exploding a volcano on an island over 10,000 meters away.

The blade didn't dissipate until two or three kilometers after hitting the target.

In terms of power, the Wind Cutter Technique used with hand seals was far stronger than the no hand seals version, and doubling the effect was no exaggeration.

After the test, Ryosuke confirmed the [Master of Hand Seals] passive ability was extremely powerful.

This alone was worth more than the ninjutsu power bonus.

He wouldn't trade the ninjutsu power bonus attribute for this Master of Hand Seals.

Some might wonder if of his hand seals could be interrupted by enemies.

But with eight hand seals per second, Ryosuke could simplify the ninjutsus that typically required many hand seals.

A technique that would have required ten to twenty hand seals could now be completed with just four or five, or even three hand seals.

At this rate, he could use a ninjutsu in just half a second.

In addition, Ryosuke wouldn't be a stationary target while performing hand seals.

He could still move and attack without stopping making hand seals.

His hand seal speed was unaffected by any external factors, which made him a truly fearsome opponent.

In the evening

Ryosuke was invited to dinner at Kurenai's house.

She had also invited her close friends, Yugao and Anko.

This time, Hinata or the others weren't here, so they enjoyed a lively meal together.

Despite Ryosuke being only 12 years old, the three women treated him as a child, though they had prepared plenty of wine.

While drinking, Yugao noticed something off about Ryosuke and Anko's behavior.

"What's going on with you two?"

She asked, pointing at them suspiciously.

"What do you mean?"

Anko had a guilty conscience.

"You two didn't argue tonight, and Anko, you just wiped the corner of Ryosuke's mouth,"

Yugao observed.

"Could it be…?"

"No! No! It's not what you think!" Anko quickly denied it.