"Damn, I gotta steer clear of Orochimaru from now on," Ebara muttered, still shaken. "A guy's gotta protect himself out there."
Thinking of the original story, Orochimaru didn't just take over bodies—he might've done other unspeakable things along the way.
The more Ebara thought about it, the more he shivered.
Worst of all, he wasn't Orochimaru's match yet.
If he could one-shot him like Itachi, he wouldn't be scared.
"The road ahead is long," Ebara sighed. "And this damn system triggers too rarely."
Right then, two options popped into his mind.
[Option 1: Apologize to the system. Reward: Upgrade beginner-level Substitution Jutsu to proficient!]
[Option 2: Refuse to admit fault. Reward: 5 stamina attribute points!]
Ebara grinned.
Who'd have thought complaining could trigger the system?
"But what's upgrading beginner Substitution Jutsu to proficient mean?" he asked in his head.
[All ninjutsu have mastery levels: Beginner—Proficient—Mastered!]
[Higher mastery means faster casting and greater power!]
"Got it," Ebara said.
[Choose!]
"Kidding? Me, Ebara, an iron-willed man, a proud young lord? Everyone knows how tough I am! Apologize for a mere proficient Substitution Jutsu? You underestimate me," Ebara scoffed inwardly.
He was fishing for a better deal.
[Choice made! Reward: 5 stamina attribute points!]
Ebara: "???"
[Why you acting so smug?]
"You damn system, up the ante! I didn't say I wouldn't apologize!" Ebara cursed.
Proficient Substitution Jutsu—a god-tier skill—gone just like that?
He wanted to cry.
The system ignored him, vanishing again.
"Fine, stamina points it is," Ebara consoled himself. "Better than nothing."
He delivered Orochimaru's medicine to Aburame Shiso.
Shiso eagerly applied it to Shino's injury.
In minutes, the swelling and itching vanished.
Ebara couldn't help but marvel at Orochimaru's freakish skill.
Fixed in half an hour.
"Hey, what if I teamed up with Orochimaru to start an 'Indian God Oil' company?" Ebara mused, eyes gleaming. "We'd make bank."
But recalling Orochimaru's creepy final look, he decided to steer clear for now.
Even food delivery wasn't that generous.
Time flew, and soon it was evening, time to leave school.
From the office, Ebara watched Mikoto leave the Ninja Academy, then hurried to the forest on the village's east side for his meeting with Fugaku.
"Ebara, what's up?" a voice called.
A stunning woman appeared—fair skin, delicate features, like a lotus rising from water. Her impressive assets were mesmerizing, drawing Ebara's gaze like a magnet.
Who else but Tsunade?
Seeing the "big cute" before him, Ebara said fondly, "Playing the bad guy!"
"Bad guy?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow, then smirked. "What, that hero-rescue game you guys used to play?"
At thirteen or fourteen, Jiraiya, Ebara, and Orochimaru had played it. Jiraiya, desperate to woo Tsunade, begged Ebara and Orochimaru to be villains so he could play hero.
With Tsunade's strength, the outcome was predictable.
Ebara grinned. "Exactly."
"Who's the target?" Tsunade asked, leaning in eagerly, scanning for the victim. Her breath tickled Ebara's face, her soft, warm body making him lose focus.
"Not here yet," he said.
"Who is it? Tell me!" she pressed.
"Uchiha Fugaku, trying to impress his clansmate Mikoto," Ebara said.
"Mikoto? That little girl from before?" Tsunade said, clearly fond of her. Without Mikoto, she and Ebara wouldn't be this close.
"Yup."
"That Uchiha kid's got a screw loose, picking you to play the villain," Tsunade said indignantly. "Don't do it. How'll you teach after that?"
Feeling her concern, Ebara's heart warmed. "Don't worry, I'm using Transformation Jutsu, not my real face."
Tsunade shook her head. "Still no."
"Your rap sheet's long enough," she said. "Pissing in the village river, claiming it's 'premium boy urine' good for health. Stealing from the Third's house, hiding women's clothes in his study, getting him chewed out by his wife. You and Jiraiya—one posing as the Third, the other as Mito Uzumaki—showing up in the red-light district, making them the village laughingstock for weeks. Spreading rumors that single Koharu Utatane kept a boy toy, even writing Golden House Lover, a filthy book that became a Konoha bestseller, driving up paper prices. Sneaking into the women's bath with Jiraiya to peep on girls, even peeping on me since I was thirteen…"
Ebara was sweating. "Hold up, hold up!"
"I'll own the rest, but that last one about you? Total slander," he said. "Jiraiya wanted to peep, and I stopped him every time, okay?"
Tsunade stared hard. "You never peeped?"
"Never!" Ebara said.
"A thirteen-year-old kid? What's there to…" He caught himself. "Pfft, I'm not Jiraiya, that shameless creep."
Ebara was righteous. I'm loyal, okay? Only into twenty-year-old girls.
"Not once since we met?" Tsunade pressed.
"Absolutely not!"
Boom!
Tsunade punched a giant tree behind Ebara.
Ebara: o((⊙﹏⊙))o.
The tree creaked, groaning as if unwilling to fall, before collapsing with a crash.
If that fist had hit him…
Gulp.
Ebara swallowed hard. "I swear, never! If I did, let lightning strike me five times!"
Tsunade, angrier, smashed the ground.
The earth shattered, her raw power rippling outward like a stone in a pond.
A dozen trees snapped.
Fugaku, approaching with Mikoto, jumped in shock.
"That guy's already acting?"
"Professional!" he muttered.