Naruto: Troublesome Ninja Haruta

Chapter 26: On the Path to Becoming Asura?

Land of Rain.

The downpour continued relentlessly.

Sasori, looking utterly displeased, trudged toward a small village. He hadn't expected to be played like that.

He didn't fear the Sunagakure shinobi individually.

But facing an overwhelming siege was another matter entirely.

With no other choice, he had abandoned his "material collection" and retreated to the Land of Rain.

"You look a little worse for wear, Sasori."

A voice rang out suddenly.

Sasori looked up to see their organization's leader, Pain, standing on a rooftop, staring down at him.

"Ran into some trouble, but don't worry—I wasn't followed."

Sasori responded indifferently.

He had no intention of explaining further, but the humiliation of being outplayed still gnawed at him.

Finally, unable to hold it in, he asked,

"Pain, have you heard of a man named Danzo?"

"Danzo..."

Pain's eyes narrowed slightly.

And elsewhere, hidden within a towering structure, Nagato's expression darkened.

"Did you encounter him?"

"No, but I ran into one of his subordinates—

"A truly insidious one."

Sasori's voice carried undisguised fury.

"He was accompanied by another ninja who could summon a strange chakra giant. It was incredibly difficult to deal with, and in the end, they got away. But they caused me a lot of trouble!"

Pain remained expressionless but fell silent for a moment before finally speaking.

"I know of him. We will deal with him in time. He won't escape."

With that, Pain's figure vanished.

Sasori stared at the spot where he had disappeared, sensing a rare intensity in Pain's words.

He really seems to hate Danzo...

But Sasori wasn't interested in probing further.

He had lost far too many puppets in that battle.

He needed time to rebuild and recover.

---

Meanwhile, in Kirigakure…

Obito sat in the shadows, skimming through a mission report.

"A chakra giant... similar to a tailed beast?"

He tapped his fingers on the table, lost in thought.

---

Back in Konoha

Haruta hadn't expected his rewards to be this generous!

8 free points!

That was no small amount.

It was enough to significantly boost his physical stats—and still have some left over!

But more importantly, he had received something very special.

"Ninja World Scholar?"

Haruta rarely received unique rewards.

And this one, judging from its description, seemed to have dropped from Hiruzen Sarutobi himself.

After examining it carefully, Haruta's eyes lit up.

Simply put, it was a one-time-use reward.

Modeled after Hiruzen's abilities, it had undergone some modifications by the system.

By using it, Haruta could instantly master any jutsu—so long as he understood its theoretical foundations.

And most importantly...

"It can raise a technique to my current maximum ability level—Lv6!"

This was huge.

That's a potential savings of 21 free points!

The only limitation was that it would be capped at his current potential.

Still, Lv6 was elite jōnin level.

And with his absurd physical stats, his Cursed Seal, and his other boosts, his combat ability would far exceed ordinary jōnin.

---

Leaving the Hokage's Office

"I still can't believe it… we're heroes now?"

Yugao was still in a daze.

She felt like she hadn't done enough to deserve the title.

"Yeah… it's a little surreal."

Even Shisui was struggling to wrap his head around it.

But Haruta wasn't surprised.

He figured their sense of responsibility was making them overthink things again.

If you could coast through life while getting paid… wouldn't that be great?

But for people obsessed with duty, that kind of thinking didn't sit well.

Still, Haruta knew how to handle it.

"Alright, stop overanalyzing. We're back now. Let's get together tonight and celebrate our first successful mission."

"A celebration?"

Shisui tilted his head before breaking into a smile.

"That's actually a great idea."

He had genuinely started to trust Haruta.

This mission had proven a lot to him.

After all, he had used his Mangekyō Sharingan—a power he had kept completely secret.

No one knew he had it yet.

But in the face of overwhelming danger, he had been forced to reveal it.

What surprised him, however, was that Haruta never brought it up.

Not in the reports.

Not in the debriefing.

Not even in front of the Hokage.

Shisui assumed it was because Haruta didn't recognize the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Regardless, it had deepened his trust in him.

Of course, he still needed to consult with the Uchiha elders.

"No problem."

Yugao, seeing Haruta wasn't overthinking things, decided to let it go as well.

She even volunteered,

"I'll cover the cost tonight. I didn't contribute much in the last battle, so let me handle the celebration."

A free meal?

Haruta wasn't about to say no.

As a former Root operative, he sometimes wondered if Danzo had been withholding his mission rewards.

His wallet was always suspiciously empty.

By comparison, Yugao—being a regular ANBU—seemed to be doing much better financially.

"Damn it.

"Danzo, you greedy bastard. Did you just lump this mission's reward in with the last one?"

Cursing internally, Haruta maintained a friendly smile and bid farewell to his teammates.

He had other matters to deal with.

Like handling Danzo.

And Kabuto.

If his guess was right, Kabuto should be waiting outside the village by now.

And the intelligence he had delivered to Danzo would be far more detailed than the one Haruta had given Hiruzen.

---

As Haruta Walked…

"Hmm?"

He spotted Kakashi approaching the Hokage's Office—his expression unusually grim.

Haruta considered greeting him…

…until he remembered he still hadn't paid Kakashi back for their last ramen meal.

"Never mind. Next time."

Shrugging, Haruta shifted his focus back to his system.

With one point left from before, he now had a total of 9 free points.

Time to put them to good use.

"System, upgrade my physical attributes."

[Overall Physical Ability Upgraded to Lv7]

As soon as he spent his points, he immediately felt a change in his body.

"Whoa…"

Even at Lv6, his physical abilities had been borderline insane.

His stamina, chakra recovery, speed, strength, and sensory perception were already leagues above most shinobi.

But now—at Lv7—everything had received another massive boost.

Especially his perception, chakra control, and… something else.

"Wait… I can sense something inside me?"

Clenching his fists, Haruta felt a mysterious power stirring within him.

A moment later, his system interface flashed with a new message.

[Your body has surpassed its natural limits. A hidden restriction has been lifted, unlocking a new ability.]

[Yang Release - Lv1]

Haruta froze for a moment.

Then a bizarre thought crossed his mind.

"Breaking through my body's limits… enhancing all my abilities… unlocking Yang Release…

"Am I… on the path to becoming Asura?"

But before he could process it fully, he noticed someone watching him from the shadows.

Aburame Ryoma.

One of Danzo's men.

"Tch. Here we go."