Shiranui Riku said goodbye to Uzumaki Kushina.
To be honest, Riku had been lonely for so long that he really wanted a friend to talk to. But as he told Kushina, if she got close to him now, she'd be isolated too.
In Konoha, those who stayed away from Riku were seen as normal. Those who didn't? People called them strange. So Riku refused her friendship—for her own good.
After returning to the small, patched-up house that looked like it had been repaired a dozen times, Riku felt uneasy.
Still, he remained calm and asked, "System, when you take over my body and simulate the changes in lightning attribute chakra and the full Thunder Breathing sword forms, will it make a lot of noise?"
[It is recommended that the host find an open space. The current residence has a 99.99% chance of being destroyed.]
Riku's eyelid twitched. Good thing he asked—otherwise, he'd have no place to sleep tonight.
He left the house and went to a river on the far edge of Konoha.
This was his usual training spot. It was remote and deserted. Tree trunks nearby bore scars from his past training sessions.
Riku took a deep breath. "System, let's start. Collect the rewards!"
[Reward received. The system will take over the host's body in three seconds. 3...2...1... Body has been taken over.]
Riku felt strange—hyperaware. He could feel the blood moving through his veins.
[Simulation begins. First, simulating lightning chakra form change.]
The system raised his right hand. A ball of chakra condensed in his palm.
Though Riku wasn't in control, it felt like he was. That made it even weirder.
Next, the chakra began to shift. At first, it was ordinary—attributeless. But as it gathered into high density, his meridians screamed in pain.
Still, the simulation couldn't be stopped.
The chakra maintained its form. Now came the hard part: infusing lightning nature into it.
The moment it did, Riku's hand sparked with bright electricity.
It hurt. A lot. But Riku was thrilled.
Because the lightning held. It was stable. He'd just mastered the form change of lightning chakra.
[Form change complete. Beginning nature transformation simulation.]
Form gave structure. Nature gave power.
Right now, the lightning in his arm looked flashy—but it didn't shock, paralyze, or pierce. After this simulation, it would.
What followed was torture.
Thousands of phantom ants seemed to crawl through his veins. His nerves screamed. His skin tingled. His senses—heightened—made everything worse.
He wanted to cry out, but the system had control of his body.
Time crawled. Every second felt like eternity.
Then—
[Lightning chakra nature transformation successful. Beginning Thunder Breathing Full Sword Form simulation. No sword detected. Would the host like to purchase one?]
"Buy it," Riku said immediately.
The system's store appeared. He had only 100 witness points.
He chose a basic katana—10 points.
The one-meter blade materialized in his hand.
[Begin simulation of Thunder Breathing: Full Sword Form.]
Riku's stance shifted. Blue lightning danced around his blade—and wrapped his right leg, priming his muscles.
His breathing changed. Though the air wasn't cold, he exhaled white mist.
"Thunder Breathing: First Form—Thunderclap and Flash!"
With a single burst, Riku vanished like a lightning bolt. In a blink, he appeared five meters away and slashed through a thick tree.
Clean cut. The trunk split in two.
But no rest—
"Thunder Breathing: Second Form—Rice Spirit!"
He released five lightning-fast strikes in one breath. The falling tree was sliced into dozens of pieces.
Then came the Third, Fourth, Fifth Forms—one after another.
The pain was unbearable. Muscles torn. Body scorched. He felt like he was falling apart.
But he kept moving. Because the system demanded it.
The forest around him didn't fare any better. Trees blazed. Wood cracked. The air reeked of ozone.
By the time he finished the Fourth Form, his chakra was depleted.
But the system forcibly spent 30 witness points to refill it.
And again. And again.
Every new form drained him. Every new technique burned through chakra.
Now, the final move.
[30 witness points deducted. Chakra replenished.]
"Thunder Breathing: Seventh Form—Hono Ikazuchi no Kami (Flaming Thunder God)!"
Riku sprinted forward with blinding speed. Everything in his path—trees, stones, ground—was sliced clean through.
A thunder dragon—dark blue and glowing—trailed behind his slash.
Majestic. Terrifying. Beautiful.
And then—silence.
Smoke drifted from the ruined trees. Riku stood in the middle of the clearing, katana still humming.
He was battered. Drained. But in that silence, he smiled.
He had just taken his first step toward becoming truly powerful.
And all of Konoha was about to notice.