Seeing that Tenten's father didn't seem to be joking, Kaito didn't bother wasting time arguing. Otherwise, who knew how long he'd go on. Reluctantly, he took out three silver notes worth 100,000 ryo and handed them over.
He walked outside with shaky steps, and as soon as he stepped out, he spotted a young man wearing the Uchiha clan uniform standing at the shop entrance.
"Damn it! Why did I have to run into him?!"
Kaito's expression remained blank, but inside, a storm of emotions raged. He silently cursed his rotten luck.
This young man was none other than Uchiha Itachi, one of the two legendary geniuses of the Uchiha clan.
Also known as the Uchiha Clan's Reaper—the man who annihilated his entire clan to uphold his beliefs.
The ultimate big brother, who made even Sasuke seem emotionally stable by comparison.
The man revered as "Itachi-sama" by countless fans in Kaito's previous life.
Kaito pretended not to care and walked past Itachi with stiff steps.
"Guest! You're welcome back anytime!"
Tenten's father called cheerfully from behind.
Kaito paused, cursing inwardly, "If I ever come back, may you scam me again. Never. Even if I'm dying, I'm not stepping into that store again!"
"Tsk tsk, seems like Konoha will have another rising genius! A 50-kilogram weight?" Tenten's father muttered with a grin.
"50 kilograms of weight?" Uchiha Itachi asked flatly, his expression unreadable.
Tenten's father nodded, still smiling as he looked at the Uchiha genius.
"That's right, Mr. Itachi! The young man just bought a 50-kilogram weight set!"
"50 kilograms?" Itachi frowned slightly as he watched Kaito walk off.
He seemed afraid of me... Even though he tried to hide it, I could see fear in his eyes and stiffness in his movements.
Is it the Uchiha clan's reputation?
Failing to reach a clear conclusion, Itachi simply chalked it up to clan pressure.
That kid... is not simple, Itachi thought to himself.
If Kaito knew Itachi was evaluating him so seriously just for making brief eye contact, he'd probably avoid eye contact for the rest of his life.
---
Back at home, Kaito was already drenched in sweat. He stripped off the heavy weights strapped to his body, grabbed a bottle of water from the table, and chugged it.
"Phew... 50 kilos is definitely too much for me right now."
After cleaning up, Kaito went out to buy meat and ingredients for the gravy noodles Ino requested for dinner. By the time he returned, it was nearly noon.
He ate something quick and resumed his usual routine—lounging on a recliner in the sun, playing dead.
Only by doing this could he avoid drawing attention from Konoha's notorious schemers. If he ever exposed his hidden talent, Danzo the scavenger would definitely take notice.
The sun's golden light bathed the village, blanketing the ninja world in a warm glow.
Kaito got up, returned to the tatami mat inside, and shut his eyes—it was time for training.
"System! Enter the training space!"
[Training space initiated.]
In a blink, Kaito's vision changed, and he found himself standing in a dense forest.
This time, I'll focus on learning that broken jutsu—Shadow Clone. Taijutsu and chakra control can come second.
If he could master Shadow Clone, it would be a massive boost.
Unlike the standard Clone Jutsu, Shadow Clone was a B-rank technique that produced tangible clones capable of attacking. Each clone had its own body and mind, and when dispelled, transferred all memories and experience back to the user.
That's what made it such a cheat-level ability.
With the technique details flashing in his mind, Kaito began forming hand seals.
His seal speed was sluggish, and he poured half of his chakra into the attempt.
Bang!
Smoke puffed—and Kaito collapsed to the ground, barely conscious.
"Failed... Was it too much chakra? Or are my hand seals too slow?" Kaito muttered, frowning.
He tried again, splitting half of his chakra as before.
Bang!
Same result. Another failed clone.
Without showing much emotion, Kaito kept repeating the process.
One day passed...
Then two...
Then three...
Under the trees, Kaito stood still, deep in thought.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes. His fingers blurred into rapid seals as chakra surged around him.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Bang!
A puff of white smoke cleared, revealing a perfect copy of Kaito standing before him.
"Yo, Main Body! What are we doing today?!"
Kaito didn't even wait. "Nothing," he replied calmly and dispelled the clone with a poof.
"Phew... Finally got it. Now it's time to get proficient."
Taking a deep breath, Kaito threw himself into clone training.
---
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
During that time, Kaito honed his shadow clone technique until it was nearly second nature. Finally, he could put the skill to real use in training.
The only downside? His chakra was still too low. Right now, excluding his main body, he could only maintain three clones at most.
Even so, Kaito was thrilled—he had tripled his training output!
He couldn't help but envy the Uzumaki clan, born with vast chakra reserves, unlike himself who had to grind every drop.
But he quickly shook off the thought.
With the help of the system, his future would far surpass that of the average ninja.
---