"It's been hard on you, Uehara-kun."
Namikaze Minato did not notice Uehara Naraku's abnormality. He simply patted Uehara's shoulder gently, his voice carrying a reassuring power. "Don't worry. The reinforcements from the village will arrive soon. The war will end."
"Yes, I believe in Minato-sama!"
Uehara Naraku nodded heavily, his eyes filled with 'fanatical' trust.
Seeing the high morale of his subordinate, Minato smiled warmly again, turned around, and left the medical tent. He still had to inspect the perimeter defenses.
Watching Minato's back disappear, the fanaticism on Uehara Naraku's face vanished instantly, replaced by a calm indifference.
"He truly lives up to the name 'Yellow Flash'... Such terrifying charisma."
Uehara Naraku shook his head and sat back down on his simple folding chair.
"System, open the personal panel."
With a thought, a translucent blue light screen appeared before his eyes.
[Name: Uehara Naraku]
[Gender: Male]
[Birthday: April 4th]
[Chakra Attribute: Water, Wind, Earth]
[Chakra Volume: 850 (Chunin Level: 500-1000)]
[Ninjutsu: Transformation Jutsu, Clone Jutsu, Body Replacement Jutsu, Mystic Palm Jutsu...]
[Skills: None]
[Gold Coins: 0]
[Legend Points: 10]
"A standard Chunin panel..."
Uehara Naraku curled his lips.
In this dangerous world of Naruto, a Chunin was nothing more than a slightly stronger ant. If he encountered a Jonin, or worse, a Kage-level powerhouse, he would be dead in seconds.
"Fortunately, I have the Newbie Gift Bag."
Uehara's gaze shifted to the system backpack. There, a golden gift bag was quietly waiting to be opened.
"System, open the Newbie Gift Bag!"
[Ding! Newbie Gift Bag opening...]
[Congratulations! You have obtained 1000 Gold Coins!]
[Congratulations! You have obtained a random Akatsuki Member Card: Deidara (Young Version)!]
[Congratulations! You have obtained the skill: Explosion Release (Kekkei Genkai)!]
"Deidara?"
Uehara Naraku raised his eyebrows.
A card materialized in his hand.
It featured a blonde teenager with a high ponytail, looking arrogant and unruly.
[Deidara (Young Version)]
[Identity: Disciple of the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure]
[Ninjutsu: Explosion Release]
[Secret Technique: C1, C2, C3, C4, C0 (Self-Destruction)]
[Note: Art is an explosion! Wait, why does the ultimate art look like a starfish?]
"Pfft..."
Seeing the note at the bottom, Uehara almost laughed out loud.
Patrick Star?
He shook his head and integrated the card into his body.
In an instant, a strange warmth flowed through his limbs and bones. He could feel that his Chakra nature had changed. Earth and Lightning natures fused together, forming a violent and unstable new power—Explosion Release!
At the same time, the palms of his hands began to itch.
He looked down and saw mouths forming on his palms, sticking out their tongues as if hungry for clay.
"Explosion Release... This is a good ability."
Uehara clenched his fists.
With this ability, his combat power had instantly soared from a cannon-fodder Chunin to an Elite Chunin, or even a Special Jonin!
Explosion Release was extremely destructive. In a chaotic battlefield, a single explosive bird could take out a squad of enemies.
"Now, let's see what my first mission is."
Uehara looked at the mission panel.
[Main Mission 1: Establish a Secret Organization (0/1). Reward: 1000 Legend Points, Random S-Rank Card.]
[Side Mission: Survive the Battle of Kikyo Pass. Reward: 500 Gold Coins.]
"Survive?"
Uehara narrowed his eyes.
Indeed, the Battle of Kikyo Pass was one of the bloodiest battles in the Third Great Ninja War. Konoha fought against Iwagakure and Sunagakure simultaneously. The casualties were terrifying.
Even with Minato here, victory was bought with piles of corpses.
"Since I have the system, I can't just 'survive'..."
Uehara stood up, walking to the entrance of the tent.
Outside, the rain was getting heavier.
Through the rain curtain, he could vaguely see the nervous expressions on the faces of the Konoha ninjas patrolling the camp.
"The war is about to begin."
Uehara stretched out his hand, letting the rain fall on his palm.
The mouth on his palm opened and took a sip of the rainwater.
"Then, let's add some 'art' to this boring war."
He smiled, a dangerous glint in his eyes.
"After all... Art is an explosion!"