Chapter 59: Updating the Bond System

"Scorch Release, or rather, the training process for all kekkei genkai formed by combining different chakra natures, follows a similar path.

"As long as you master one, with your talent and full chakra nature compatibility, it's highly likely you can awaken several other kekkei genkai."

Pakura spread her hands, and two golden fireballs floated in her palms, dancing gently.

The temperature in the underground chamber rose sharply, and the air quickly dried out.

Scorch Release generated much higher heat than regular Fire Release and possessed other terrifying qualities.

Its most broken ability was its capacity to evaporate water in an instant. If it came in contact with a person, it could turn them into a dried husk.

Pakura's signature technique, "Extremely-Steaming Murder," was based on this principle.

Additionally, due to the integration of wind nature, the speed of Scorch Release fireballs far exceeded that of Fire Release, making them even harder to defend against.

Yami took a few steps back, not out of fear of the heat, but because the dryness was overwhelming. He didn't want to end up coughing from it.

Seeing this, Pakura dispersed the fireballs in her hands.

"Actually, everyone in the ninja world knows that fusing two chakra natures can awaken a kekkei genkai. But why have so few succeeded?"

"First, it's because very few people possess both natures and have strong talent in both. Many jōnin manage to learn a second nature, but only to expand their jutsu arsenal, not to delve deeper into fusion.

"Second, there's a major misconception. Most people think you extract each nature separately, then fuse them. But in reality, fusion occurs during the extraction process itself. You refine Scorch Release chakra directly."

As she spoke, Pakura demonstrated slowly, purposefully condensing chakra so Yami could see clearly.

"Scorch Release is mainly fire-based. So, when fusing, the ratio is about 70% fire and 30% wind."

Although the system had already rewarded him with Scorch Release, Yami still paid close attention.

The system merely gave him the affinity for it, not instant mastery. He still had to train.

After watching Pakura's demonstration, he followed her instructions and tried it himself.

Forming the Ram seal, Yami began extracting chakra accordingly.

Boom!

To Pakura's astonishment, a sphere of orange-red flame erupted from Yami, wrapping around his entire body.

A few seconds later, the flame grew unstable. It flickered for a bit longer before flaring up and then vanishing.

Yami shook his head, dissatisfied. "Still rough. Chakra output wasn't stable enough."

"Are you trying to piss me off?" Pakura snapped. "You're complaining after succeeding on your first try?! Do you know how many years it took me to master Scorch Release?!"

"Yami, you've been hiding it all along, haven't you? Just to provoke me?"

"No way," Yami said, quickly raising his head and giving her his most innocent gaze. "I really just learned it. And you saw it yourself, the chakra isn't stable yet."

Pakura nodded suspiciously.

Indeed, the performance did resemble a first-time success that collapsed due to poor control.

"Now that you've taken the first step, you need to make refining Scorch Release chakra instinctive. Once you do that, casting Scorch Release jutsu will feel no different than using any other element."

Pakura pushed Yami to keep practicing. She was genuinely excited.

She had taken on an apprentice back in Sunagakure, but the girl didn't have fire affinity and couldn't inherit Scorch Release.

She never expected that her true successor would be Yami, of all people, here in Konoha.

If Yami made his name using Scorch Release, it would surely send a message to those old fools in Sunagakure.

A Scorch Release shinobi killed by betrayal, only for another village to produce a new Scorch Release user?

Ironic didn't even begin to describe it.

Thinking about the expressions on Rasa and the elders' faces when they heard the news, Pakura's motivation only grew.

She immediately transformed into a strict instructor, giving Yami no chance to slack off.

But Yami's learning speed and comprehension were frightening. He only needed to be shown once, and he'd instantly grasp the correction.

By dawn, he could extract Scorch Release chakra continuously and steadily. The next step was to expand the volume of extraction in a single use.

Fifteen days later.

"Scorch Release: Extremely-Steaming Murder!"

Two voices rang out at the same time, one male and one female. Pakura and Yami cast their most powerful Scorch Release technique simultaneously, launching fireballs larger than a person at each other.

The resulting explosion formed a small mushroom cloud. Thankfully, they were far from Konoha. If they had been closer, the noise would have drawn in the village's shinobi.

When the dust settled, a massive crater dozens of meters in diameter remained, the air still heavy with the scent of burning.

Pakura stared blankly at the crater for several seconds before letting out a deep sigh.

"Congratulations, Yami. Your Scorch Release is now on par with mine. You've reached the level of Mastery."

At this moment, Pakura felt both relieved and complex emotions.

Most of all, she was stunned by how fast Yami learned.

Fifteen days to catch up to what took her fifteen years.

Was the gap between people really this wide?

What she didn't know was that little Izumi, who had been acting like a house pet these days, was the biggest contributor.

With her 100% training acceleration and an additional 20% bonus for being a genin, paired with Yami's own solid foundation, reaching Pakura's level in half a month wasn't so strange.

Yami stretched and finally allowed himself a brief rest before the Chūnin Exams.

"Let's head back."

After returning to Konoha and having a simple dinner with Pakura, Yami used the excuse of being tired to retreat to his room.

Once inside, he opened the system interface.

The old attribute panel and bond list were gone, replaced by an upgrade progress bar.

The bar had already reached 98%. Just a little more to go.

Last night, after mastering Scorch Release, he had received a system message.

[Congratulations to the Host for reaching Kage-level. The Bond System is being upgraded and will complete in 24 hours. Please stay tuned.]

Yami had no idea the system could even be upgraded, let alone require Kage-level to trigger it.

Fortunately, Scorch Release gave him a shortcut to reach Kage-level attack power.

Otherwise, it would've taken another year through the Five Nature Transforms alone.

Yami rolled around on the bed, his eyes glued to the panel.

Finally, after more than ten minutes, the bar completed and a brilliant system interface appeared, followed by a pop-up.

[The Strongest Bond System has been upgraded to Version 2.0. Host, please continue working hard and reach the Six Paths level to unlock Version 3.0. Click to view update announcement.]

Yami ignored the encouraging words.

Six Paths?

Even if he could reach it someday, it definitely wasn't happening any time soon.

He clicked the update announcement, revealing a concise list of new features.

[1] Optimized Bond Establishment Method:

"Heroes are not judged by their origins, nor are bonds."

As long as the target feels strong emotions toward the Host, it is no longer necessary for either side to know the other's identity.

Current range limit: Within 5,000 units.

[2] Bond Points Added:

Establishing a bond now grants Bond Points.

Stage 1: 1 point

Stage 2: 10 points

Stage 3: 100 points

(Note: Life-and-death bonds earn half as many points due to their unique nature.)

Bond with a country now also grants rewards based on national power.

Bond Point Functionality:

Bond points can be consumed to improve skill proficiency and talent cap.

Point cost depends on rarity and difficulty of the upgrade.

Initial Gift:

System grants 1,000 bond points as compensation. Use them wisely.

The announcement was short and easy to understand.

Yami skimmed it all and quickly understood the changes.

Both were huge improvements.

The first meant he no longer needed to exchange names before killing someone, which previously made him look like a lunatic.

He was a decent kid, he had been forced into that behavior by the system. In the past six months, he'd spent more time memorizing intel than training.

This change saved a ton of hassle.

The second was even better. Not only did the system not increase the difficulty, but it offered extra rewards.

Some bonds were ridiculously hard to raise and didn't offer great rewards.

Like Jiraiya's Sage Art talent. Almost no one in the world had it. Originally, Yami planned to wait until Naruto grew up to get it. Now, maybe that wouldn't be necessary.

After closing the announcement, his updated personal panel appeared.

[Name: Shimura Yami]

[Gender: Male]

[Age: 8 years old]

[Date of Birth: April 1, Year 46 (Konoha Calendar)]

[Chakra Attributes: Fire, Wind (Limit Break), Earth, Water, Lightning, Yin, Yang (Ultimate)]

[Total Chakra: 20.3 Cards (1 Card = 5 Standard Jōnin)]

[Chakra Control Talent: Ultimate]

[Mastered Ninjutsu: Large number of elemental jutsu, several forbidden techniques, Scorch Release]

[Nature Transformations: Wind, Fire (Limit Break), Earth, Lightning, Water (Mastery)]

[Special Talents: Senju Bloodline (Normal, Developing), Sharingan (Two Tomoe), Swordsmanship Genius, Ninja World Darkness, Mother-in-Law's Expectation, Space Talent (2/3), Uchiha Bloodline (Ultimate), Sage Art Affinity (Basic)]

[Evaluation: You've left the beginner village and officially joined the ranks of the ninja world's strongest—barely. You're at the bottom tier of Kage-level. Keep working hard, become a social butterfly, and bond with everyone.]

Previously, all attributes had silver text. Now, some had turned gold, indicating buttons.

Yami tapped one, and a pop-up appeared.

[Earth Release: Mastery (0/500)]

Upgrade available with 500 bond points.

He explored other options to gauge system pricing.

Upgrading Mastery to Ultimate: 500 points.

Ultimate to Limit Break: 1,500 points.

Talents followed a similar pattern.

Special traits were expensive.

For example:

Senju Bloodline from Normal to Good = 2,000 points.

To Ultimate? Likely 4,000+.

Sage Art Affinity from Basic to Intermediate = 3,000 points.

Turns out that 1,000 points wasn't even enough to get started.

It was clear the system encouraged mass bonding.

Stage 1 gave 1 point, Stage 3 gave 100.

But few had reached Stage 3 with him so far. Even Izumi hadn't.

Not because her feelings weren't deep enough, but because she was too young. It wasn't mature love yet.

Just raise her for a few more years.

So the only real option was quantity... and that meant killing.

Life-and-death friendships brought rich rewards and extra bond points.

Lying on the bed, Yami's bloodthirst was already stirring.

He couldn't wait for the Chūnin Exam. The more foreign ninjas that showed up, the more he could happily slaughter.

With Scorch Release mastered and Kage-level achieved, Yami's training schedule relaxed. He wasn't rushing out at dawn or returning late at night anymore.

He introduced Pakura to Kurenai and Yugao, but she wore a Root mask to conceal her identity.

The mask was specially made—impervious even to the Byakugan.

Just as Yami thought he could now wait for the Chūnin Exam, Danzō sent someone with a message:

He had found the traitor.

The moment Yami heard, he grabbed his Kusanagi sword, took Pakura, and rushed to Root.

"Old man, where's the target?" Yami looked around as he entered.

"They're not here."

Danzō stood up slowly, pulled his cloak over his head, and stepped in front of Yami.

"This one's identity is quite special. I want to gauge Hiruzen's reaction first.

"But rest assured, the culprit will die. I'm just testing for accomplices."

Knowing Yami's temperament, Danzō explained clearly. Then he looked at Pakura.

"We're going to meet the Third Hokage. It's best if you stay at Root."

Pakura said nothing, only looked to Yami.

When he nodded, she quietly left the room.

Danzō raised an eyebrow, opening his rarely-seen eyes slightly. "Seems you've got her well under control."

Yami stretched. "You don't understand. This is the power of bonds.

"Root's cruelty creates elites, but not true strength. Chakra is physical and spiritual. Suppress emotions too much and you hit a ceiling. But bonds..."

"Bonds push you forward. Like Might Duy and Might Guy."

"One kicked the Seven Ninja Swordsmen into retirement, the other almost kicked the final boss. That's the power of bonds."

"Hmph." Danzō snorted and walked out. "We'll see if you still believe that in the future."

The two arrived at the Hokage Building.

Ignoring the line of shinobi at the door, Danzō barged in, kicked Nara Shikaku out, and entered.

Too arrogant.

Hiruzen sighed at his old friend's usual behavior.

He already knew why they were here—Anbu had reported everything.

"Danzō, what are you thinking?"

Danzō tapped his cane twice and lowered his voice.

"It was too much."

Hiruzen nodded slowly, watching Danzō's expression. "But it seems to be a personal issue. Don't involve innocents.

"Especially now, with the envoys from the Land of Wind and Land of Earth arriving soon. Don't stir things up too much."

"Well done."

Danzō nodded, satisfied with Hiruzen's stance.

"I'll only punish the main culprit. No innocents."

"Old man, who is it?" Yami was already losing patience. These old men and their cryptic talk made him want to throw a punch.

Danzō closed his eyes, then slowly said one name coldly.

"Hyūga... Hireta."

(To be continued.)

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