**Chapter 4: Grade A [Ninja Secret Scroll]!

"What? Shadows!?"

 Staring at the dense, writhing shadow tendrils under Nara Raku, Ōishi was suddenly shocked.

 "You brat, are you a member of the Nara Clan?"

 Ōishi, the Iwagakure spy responsible for gathering intel on Kikyo Castle, had some understanding of the shadow techniques mastered by the Nara Clan. 

 Instinctively, Ōishi tried to raise his right hand and focus his chakra to either camouflage or use Body Flicker Technique to evade contact with the kid's shadows. 

But at that moment, his arm felt as though it was carrying an immense weight. Forget forming hand seals to gather chakra—lifting his arm became difficult.

 "It’s the explosion tag and the flash bomb from earlier!"

 Ōishi, an elite jōnin from Iwagakure, quickly realized what had happened, but it was already too late.

 In the [Pitch Eye] state, Nara Raku had reached complete mastery over his shadow techniques. He had already intertwined their shadows, securing a firm grip on his opponent.

 **[D-Rank Secret Technique: Shadow Imitation Technique]** 

**[Technique Description: A basic technique of the Nara Clan's secret shadow manipulation techniques]**

 **[Technique Effect: Creates shadow chakra through mental energy, injecting it into shadows to manipulate them. By overlapping shadows with a target, it restricts the target's movements.]**

 **[Technique Review: Stay right there, don't move.]**

 For a high-level ninja, the control of the **Shadow Imitation Technique** was not absolute.

 The simplest way to break free was to use brute force.

 If Ōishi had been in peak condition, it wouldn’t have been too difficult for him to break free from Nara Raku's **Shadow Imitation Technique**.

 However, in his severely injured state, brute force was out of the question.

 Moreover, Nara Raku wasn’t planning to give the Iwagakure spy any more time.

 If he didn’t finish the fight before the flash bomb’s effect wore off, he would be the one in danger! 

So, after securing his enemy with **Shadow Imitation**, Nara Raku immediately condensed more shadow chakra, thickening and solidifying his shadow tendrils. 

**[B-Rank Secret Technique: Shadow Sewing Technique]**

 **[Technique Description: Shadows are transformed into sharp blades.]**

 **[Technique Effect: Solidifies shadows into hard, sharp blades for both attacking and capturing. Multiple targets can be attacked simultaneously.]**

 **[Technique Review: An invisible blade is the most deadly.]**

 Shadow tendrils, under Nara Raku’s command, lunged toward their target.

 A closer look would reveal that the ends of the shadow tendrils had turned into sharp, shimmering shadow blades.

 *Thud, thud, thud—*

 With sickening thuds, Ōishi's body, like a ragdoll, was pierced by the dense shadow blades, riddling him with wounds. The unwilling glint in his eyes faded along with the last flicker of the flash bomb, swallowed by the night.

 New messages quietly refreshed on the panel, signaling the completion of the mission.

 **[You have slain the target of the B-Rank ninja battle mission!]**

 **[B-Rank Mission: Iwagakure Spy completed!]**

 **[First-time mission completion. Reward quality upgraded!]**

 **[You received an A-Rank Ninja Secret Scroll. Upon opening, you will randomly receive an A-Rank technique, ninja tool, or other items.]**

 ‘My mission… is complete!’

 Seeing the message, Nara Raku's previously tense nerves finally relaxed. The dark shadows in his eyes dissipated as he exited the [Pitch Eye] state, the shadow blades vanishing into the air. 

Nara Raku's [Wisdom] attribute was only C-Rank, and to defeat his opponent, he had pushed himself by using his self-developed A-Rank technique, **Pitch Eye**, and following it up with the D-Rank **Shadow Imitation** and B-Rank **Shadow Sewing Technique**.

 At this moment, Nara Raku felt his vision darken, intense fatigue overtaking him. His mental energy had been severely depleted during the battle.

 ‘Thank goodness for the [Lazy System] and its model of my chakra network, which allowed me to perfect the **Pitch Eye** technique... Otherwise, even if I had managed to use **Shadow Sewing**, I would’ve been completely drained of energy.’ 

Nara Raku took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to stay alert and not collapse.

 ‘My [Wisdom] attribute is secondary; the real issue is my [Precision] attribute, which is way too low! The D-Rank corresponds to genin, but my E-Precision is probably on par with an academy student!’

 The Nara Clan's **Shadow Chakra** is a form of **yin chakra** created purely from mental energy. To make the technique stable, **shadow chakra** instinctively seeks physical energy supplementation, whether from allies or enemies—that’s the principle behind **Shadow Imitation**. 

To perform strong, stable shadow techniques, the user needs to supply ample mental and physical energy.

 Even though the consumption of physical energy is minimal when using shadow techniques, Nara Raku’s **Precision** was too poor!

 That’s why he always felt he lacked the talent for ninjutsu.

 Low **Precision** means weak physical constitution and cell vitality, resulting in a lack of physical energy, which in turn makes it difficult to form enough chakra for conventional techniques.

 Worse yet, without basic chakra to enhance physical abilities, Nara Raku’s movement and combat agility were severely limited!

 Before today, Nara Raku only knew the basic family shadow techniques and the three fundamental academy techniques, but he couldn’t even use those smoothly.

 Even Might Guy, who graduated earlier, could have said, "My academy techniques are better than yours."

 That's why, despite being in the same class as Hatake Kakashi and Might Guy, Nara Raku didn't graduate from the academy until he was 12 years old. His specialization was too one-sided!

 In the ninja world, physical fighters still had a path to success, but a pure ninjutsu specialist couldn’t even make it out of the beginner village!
"Luckily, I've finally completed the 'Shichi Eye' jutsu, which allows me to perfectly control the effects of my Yin Release chakra. Now, when I use 'Shadow Secret Jutsu,' I won't need to consume additional physical energy."

 "From now on, I just need to focus on how to replenish and improve my physical energy... Not to mention I have the help of the 'Lazy System'!"

 Nara Raku suppressed his anticipation and quietly reflected on the lessons learned from this ninja combat mission.

 Aside from an A-Rank 'Ninja Secret Scroll,' several other information prompts had just refreshed on the virtual panel.

 "[Self-created A-Rank jutsu 'Shichi Eye,' your 'Ninjutsu' and 'Sage Knowledge' attributes have been enhanced! Overall rating increased!]"

 "[Ninjutsu: C → B-]"

 "[Sage Knowledge: C- → C]"

 "[Overall Rating: D-Rank (Genin) → C-Rank (Chunin)]"

 "Increasing the overall rating doesn’t provide substantial rewards; it’s not that important."

 "The key is that I discovered a way to boost my attributes! Learning and developing ninjutsu, gaining knowledge and experience, will increase spiritual energy, or 'Sage Knowledge!'"

 After processing the information on the panel, Nara Raku felt even more pleased, and his mental fatigue eased. 

"Oh right, there's still that A-Rank 'Ninja Secret Scroll!'"

 Taking a deep breath, Nara Raku used his thoughts to open the A-Rank 'Ninja Secret Scroll' on the virtual panel.

 "[Opening...]"

 "[The contents of this A-Rank ninja secret scroll: Jutsu]"

 "[A-Rank Secret Technique: Camouflage Concealment]" 

"[Jutsu Description: A highly advanced invisibility technique from the Hidden Stone Village]"

 "[Jutsu Effect: By finely controlling the moisture in the air with chakra, it wraps around the body’s surface, eliminating refracted light and bodily scent, rendering the user completely invisible.]"

 "[Jutsu Evaluation: Transparent Human]"

 "An ultra-high-level invisibility jutsu, 'Camouflage Concealment!'"

 While Nara Raku was reviewing the jutsu information, he suddenly heard a soft voice calling from the front.

 "N-Nara..."

 Tsunade’s voice still trembled noticeably, clearly showing that she hadn’t fully overcome her hemophobia.

 "Has the enemy been dealt with?"

 After Nara Raku had blocked her vision, the only external information Tsunade could receive came from the warm, steady hands on her eyes and the scattered sounds she picked up with her ears. 

Being in a state of panic, Tsunade hadn’t heard any loud noises for a while, apart from the obvious explosions from the detonation tags and flash bombs, making her feel a bit uneasy.

 If it weren’t for those warm little hands still being there, she might have started to doubt whether Nara Raku was still...

 "The fight is over, but the scene is a bit messy."

 Nara Raku snapped out of his thoughts, closed the panel, and glanced at the spy's corpse in front of them.

 "Should I take my hands off now?"

 "No!"

 Tsunade cried out, instinctively placing her hand on top of Nara Raku’s.

 But as soon as their palms touched, she pulled her hand back as if she had been shocked.

 The mighty Sannin, relying on the comfort of a child... 

Tsunade, oh Tsunade, how could you fall so low?

 "...Did I look particularly ugly just now?"

 After a brief silence, Tsunade asked in a pained voice. 

"I'm a medical ninja, yet the sight of blood..."

 "A ninja is someone with extraordinary endurance."

 "Because you’re a medical ninja, and because you're Tsunade-hime, one of the legendary Sannin, everyone depends on you and trusts you. Even when facing emotional trauma, you can’t show any emotion and must face the pain alone."

 Nara Raku looked up at the bright moon in the night sky, carefully choosing his words.

 "Fear, weakness, retreat... Elite ninja should never display these negative emotions.

 "But seeing the pain of the supposedly invincible Tsunade-hime firsthand doesn’t make me feel embarrassed; I actually find it quite... satisfying."

 Tsunade listened quietly to Nara Raku’s response, clearly moved, as she bit her lip lightly, feeling the shadow in her heart lift somewhat.

 "Nara, you always say strange things..."

 Tsunade exhaled deeply, her tone noticeably lighter and more cheerful.

 "Help me up! With all that noise from the fight, someone must have heard it and is coming this way—no! Someone’s already here!"

 Nara Raku helped Tsunade up and then followed her gaze in the direction she was listening to. His eyes lit up immediately.

 "Nonou-sister!"

(End of Chapter)