Naruto: I Have Cursed Spirits!

[Current Cursed Spirit Status]

[Orimoto Rika: 59.5%]

[Ryomen Sukuna: 51.1%]

[Choso: 33%]

[Smallpox Deity: 58.8%]

[Hanami: 15%]

Shiratori had already awakened five cursed spirits. Among them, Rika, Sukuna, and the Smallpox Deity had reached the special jonin level.

However, he estimated that both Rika and Sukuna were stronger than the average jonin. Otherwise, Sukuna wouldn't be able to kill Suna ninjas as easily as slicing watermelons.

He remembered the system once indicated that cursed spirits born from special emotional values were stronger than ordinary ones.

He really looked forward to seeing what Sukuna would be like at 100% power.

If the five cursed spirits were ranked by strength currently, it would be:

Sukuna > Rika > Smallpox Deity > Choso > Hanami.

Hanami was at the bottom simply because its current level was too low.

But despite its low level, Hanami, as a special grade cursed spirit, had very high potential.

If all were at the same level, the rankings would definitely change.

In addition to the leveling up of the five cursed spirits, Shiratori's physical strength had also improved significantly.

Tomorrow, he planned to find crows in the village and infuse them with cursed energy. He wanted to turn the crows into surveillance monitors placed throughout Ame.

He closed his eyes and fell asleep contentedly.

---

At 5 AM, Shiratori got up, washed up, and left the room.

He looked dazed.

System, did I really sleep? I feel like I just laid down...

[Sleep duration logged: 8 hours - 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM]

[Physiological requirements: Met]

Really?

Then why does he still feel so sleepy?

No, wait!

In his mind, he corrected the system, Kids need a full ten hours of sleep!

[Host chronological age: 23 years]

Shiratori raised his child-sized hand. My body is only 8 years old!

[Training schedule parameters set by Hanzō. Recommend discussing sleep requirements with supervising authority.]

...Never mind then.

He still wanted to farm emotional value from Hanzō.

The heavy night sky of Ame loomed over his head. The sun wasn't even up yet, and training had already begun.

Worse than those hard-working students back in his old world.

At the familiar training ground, Hanzō's figure had already appeared in his field of vision.

So early?

Hanzō was also hardcore.

Shiratori thought he'd gotten up early enough, but clearly, there were still people more dedicated.

Besides Hanzō, there were already quite a few ninjas training on the grounds.

Had they just skipped sleep?

Even the most overworked people weren't this intense.

He entered work mode, running quickly toward Hanzō, guilt written all over his face. "I'm sorry I'm late."

Hanzō said sternly, "Don't let it happen again."

Shiratori quickly nodded.

"Let's begin training."

Hanzō glanced across the training ground and said to him, "Run laps around the training field. Don't stop until I tell you to."

He wanted to test Shiratori's physical limits.

Chiba only knew that he had exceptional talent in medical techniques, but had no idea about his physical stamina.

But Hanzō wasn't someone who only valued ninjutsu. He knew exactly how important taijutsu, often overlooked by most ninjas, really was.

Even though he mastered numerous jutsu and powerful poisons, he never stopped training his body.

As his student, Shiratori had to be just as physically strong.

"Yes!"

Shiratori nodded.

He also wanted to experience the Heavenly Restriction like Toji, who had been forcibly bound by the Heavenly Restriction from birth, sacrificing all cursed energy in exchange for the pinnacle of human physical ability.

You might ask, why doesn't Shiratori, who also has the Heavenly Restriction, need to give up his cursed energy?

Of course, it's because he has a system!

If he also had to sacrifice his cursed energy to use the Heavenly Restriction, what would he need the system for?

Besides, not having chakra was already unfair enough, if he didn't have cursed energy either, why the need for him to collect emotional energy? He'd just get beaten to death.

Toji's Heavenly Restriction granted superhuman senses, extreme muscular strength and speed.

Not only that, his body's self-healing rate after injury was far beyond normal, and his stamina was like a bottomless pit.

From the moment the Heavenly Restriction activated, he hadn't felt any major changes in his body.

So this taijutsu training was the perfect opportunity to test it out.

Inside the training grounds, only Shiratori was steadily running laps.

Hanzō stood in place, his gaze following his every move.

One lap, two laps, three laps...

Ten laps, eleven, twelve...

As the lap count climbed higher, Shiratori still didn't feel any noticeable changes in his body.

He didn't feel tired at all.

It was only at this point that he truly realized just how terrifying the Toji's Heavenly Restriction really was.

He had trained in taijutsu with others before, and his stamina was decent, but not this ridiculous.

100 laps... 200... 300...

Sweat finally began to bead on his forehead.

Hanzō: "..."

This wasn't normal.

The other Ame ninjas on the training field had all stopped their own exercises. They stood at the side, stunned, watching Shiratori still running laps.

"How many laps now?"

"Three hundred and eighteen..."

"You want to run that many?"

"Three hundred and eighty-seven."

"..."

Shiratori's breathing started to get heavier.

Sweat poured down his face and temples, running into his eyes, then dripping off his chin onto the ground like a localized rainstorm.

He could feel exhaustion creeping in, but even stronger than that was excitement.

He wanted to keep running. To push on. To run until he dropped.

Heavenly Restriction?

No!

He thought it should be renamed: Permanent Stimulant.

The more tired he got, the more excited he became.

Still, he stopped.

Because he was hungry.

His body didn't feel fatigued, but the massive sweat loss and energy depletion made him unbearably hungry and thirsty. He desperately needed a refill.

"How many laps now?"

An Ame ninja watching asked in a dazed tone.

"Four hundred and one laps..."

Another Ame ninja answered just as blankly.

"Reached your limit?"

Hanzō looked at Shiratori, who had stopped in front of him.

Shiratori shook his head and answered honestly, "Not tired. Just hungry and thirsty."

"..."

So what he meant was, if you feed him, he'll just keep going?

Hanzō figured there was no need to keep testing him.

Shiratori was a natural-born ninja.

With an ultimate physical body and extraordinary talent in techniques, he was destined to become a powerful ninja feared throughout the shinobi world.

"Next, we begin taijutsu training."

Hanzō gave him no break at all.

During the mere two minutes that he had stopped, Shiratori already felt his strength had fully returned.

"..."

This is way too overpowered!

He looked at Hanzō and nodded. "Yes!"

In Hanzō's stern eyes, a flash of satisfaction quickly passed. The boy's toughness pleased him.

He was more and more like his younger self.

[Reminiscence detected: +500 points]

[Energy transferred to Choso]

[Development progress: 33.5%]

Shiratori figured Hanzō was probably romanticizing his past again.

One hour later...

"Huff... Huff..."

Sweat poured from his forehead and temples like a stream, seeping into his eyes, dripping from his chin onto the ground, it was like a miniature downpour.

Ever since Hanzō realized Shiratori's stamina was abnormal, the training intensity had jumped sharply.

He abandoned standard taijutsu drills and began using real combat to train his reflexes and boost his battle experience.

After each bout, he would teach him combat techniques and have him apply them in the next match.

If Shiratori didn't have the Heavenly Restriction, he figured Hanzō would have beaten him to death on the training field.

Even if he wasn't beaten to death, he'd be exhausted to death.