[Successfully used Kaguya Clan's Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai (Medium Grade) {Extremely Rare}, Body Modification Complete, Body +10!]
No one knew how much time had passed. It might have been just a moment, or it could've been a century. But finally, Maruyama Shin opened his eyes once more.
He felt unbelievably weak, yet every cell in his body seemed to be buzzing with energy. It was an extreme contrast. He was in pain, but at the same time, it felt strangely pleasant.
He patted his head.
"Damn it, not even a single system warning?"
It had hit him out of nowhere, completely catching him off guard.
If he had known what it would be like, he might've seriously reconsidered using that card.
It was brutal.
Judging from the blood all over the floor and the ground torn up by his uncontrollable spasms, the aftermath said it all.
Of course, the gains from such inhuman torment were just as enormous.
Shin opened his status panel, and the changes were drastic.
[Name: Maruyama Shin]
[Age: 13]
[Attributes: Fire, Earth]
[Rank: Chūnin]
[Kekkei Genkai: Shikotsumyaku (Medium Grade)]
[Body: 38]
[Spirit: 25]
[Ninjutsu: 24]
[Genjutsu: 19]
[Control: 27]
[Seals: 22]
[Taijutsu: Flowing Water Swordsmanship]
[Ninjutsu Techniques: Clone Jutsu, Fire Release: Flame Petals, Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole, Earth Release: Earth Flow Return, Fire Release: Flame Bullet...]
[Items: Uchiha Clan Faint Bloodline Card (2/3), Firestone's Obsession, ...]
The biggest change, of course, was in his Body stat. Overnight, it had skyrocketed from 25 to 38, far surpassing his other attributes.
Three of those points came from the enhancement card, but the other ten were granted by the Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai.
That was insane.
Still, it was a fair trade for the sheer torment he had endured.
But the key point was... Shikotsumyaku had really awakened!
Shin couldn't resist testing it out.
He extended his hand. With just a thought, he felt his cells rapidly divide and multiply. A strange itch spread through his bones, and he clearly sensed the skeletal structure at his fingertips beginning to split.
Then came the sharp, penetrating pain.
Each of his fingertips split open, and five bullet-sized phalanges shot out in a burst.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The finger bones hit the morgue walls with dull, heavy thuds.
Afterward, the splits on his fingertips quietly sealed up, looking no different than before.
Shin glanced down at his hand, then walked over to the wall to examine the five blackened impact holes.
"Not bad. Just about the same power as a real bullet, but damn, that hurt."
Everyone says the fingers are connected to the heart. Cracking them open and firing out bones? Just imagining it made his skin crawl.
He had been completely fooled by how effortlessly Kimimaro used Shikotsumyaku in the anime. Sure, the ability was strong, but extracting bones and splitting flesh and muscle meant hurting yourself before even touching your enemy.
A ninja without a strong enough willpower wouldn't survive this kind of self-inflicted torment.
"The bone's pretty tough though."
He pried a lodged phalange out of the wall and tapped it with his sword. It rang with a crisp metallic sound.
And if just a finger bone was this painful, what about pulling out your entire spine like Kimimaro?
Shin shuddered instinctively.
One sentence summed it up. Kimimaro was a freak.
"But Shikotsumyaku isn't just about using bones."
Murmuring to himself, he lightly dragged his blade across his arm. A fine line of blood appeared, quickly followed by a thin wound.
But just seconds later, it closed up and healed as if it had never existed.
He nodded to himself. "As expected. My overall physical abilities, recovery speed, and even cellular control have improved drastically."
Shikotsumyaku not only fortified his bones to the strength of rare metals but also came with a regenerative ability nearly on par with a Sage Body.
Shin even wondered, if someone tried to behead him, could they actually cut all the way through?
If they couldn't, then... wouldn't that make him effectively unkillable?
Super-fast regeneration plus steel-hard bones equals can't be cut equals nearly immortal.
Simple math. He figured it out in a second.
"As long as I keep improving steadily, I can safely keep looting corpses."
Now, even wide-range AOE attacks didn't scare him. Let others do what they want, he would remain unmoved.
He was now one step closer to becoming the chill, carefree corpse collector he dreamed of being.
He rubbed his arm. After a short adjustment period, his body was feeling much better.
Satisfied, he tidied up the morgue and got ready to sleep.
Then a thought popped into his head.
He still hadn't figured out how the experience card matching system worked.
Sanpō Ichigo's jōnin experience card only had 50% compatibility, yet Akagi Tsukasa's quasi-Kage experience card had a 70% match.
He opened the system interface.
It took him a full thirty minutes to finally locate the almost-invisible [Supplementary Clauses] menu tucked away in a corner.
Clearly, the system didn't want him to notice it, but had to include it due to rules.
Clicking it open, he was met with an overwhelming wall of fine print.
This was the first time Shin realized just how many rules and conditions the system actually had.
[Supplementary Clauses]:
[1. Host's death is not the responsibility of this system and requires no obligations from it.]
Wow.
The very first clause was already that cold.
He quickly skimmed through the rest, most of it flying past unread.
Eventually, he found what he was looking for—the clause regarding experience card compatibility.
[Clause 136: Experience Card compatibility is determined by various factors including the host's chakra attributes, preferred combat style (Taijutsu type, Ninjutsu type, Sensor type, Stealth type, etc.), clothing style, weapon choice, attribute distribution, personal code of conduct, emotional fluctuations, and level of desire for power.]
[Clause 137: During the experience card usage phase, if the host's self-learning, compatibility, and cognitive patterns align well, there may be an increase in basic attributes after the card expires. Further exploration required for specifics.]
"So it really does depend on a ton of factors. Meaning, Akagi Tsukasa was likely an Earth Release specialist, and due to some unknown similarities, our compatibility rate was higher."
Shin began to wonder, if he could adjust himself in advance, could he improve compatibility rates for future cards? Could he unleash even more power from them?
Still, an experience card was just that, a temporary power-up, not actual growth.
For now, while he was still weak, the cards were incredibly helpful. But once he got stronger, their main value would probably lie in learning new jutsu and combat experience, not temporary boosts.
Just like how, by using Akagi Tsukasa's card and memorizing the chakra flow, he managed to learn two B-rank Earth Release techniques: Yomi Marsh and Earth Dragon Bullet.
As for the A-rank jutsu Earth Release: Turning the Road Into a Mountain, the difficulty was too high. Even after exhausting himself, he still couldn't master it.
"Finally, time for a good night's sleep."
This mission had left him physically and mentally exhausted. Between the nonstop travel and the fight with the Mist ninja, he was completely drained.
A nap at noon didn't cut it. Nighttime sleep was when real recovery happened.
Even though the horizon was already starting to brighten with the faint light of dawn...
It didn't matter. He could just pretend to be recovering from injuries and laze around in the morgue for the next few days.
And just like that, the peaceful life returned once more.
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Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 450 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch!