Night had fallen in Konoha.
After finishing his evening training, Yuuki walked along the main street, his body aching all over, muscles sore, his mind weary.
Even though he felt drained, his thoughts were still racing.
Should he play matchmaker for Minato and Kushina?
After considering it for a while, Yuuki decided to abandon the idea.
He remembered that in the original timeline, Kushina didn't really change her opinion of Minato until the Second Great Ninja War.
A group of Cloud ninja had kidnapped her and were taking her to the border when Minato single-handedly caught up and rescued her. Under the moonlight, they finally opened up to each other. That was when their relationship truly began.
As Yuuki walked down the street, he couldn't help but feel a bit exasperated.
Sure, the hero-saves-the-damsel setup was romantic enough.
But Masashi Kishimoto had clearly overlooked reality when writing that part of the story.
Kushina was Konoha's jinchuriki, destined to carry the Nine-Tails. In any other village, someone like her would have been closely guarded, her movements restricted. Even if Konoha was a bit more lenient, there would definitely have been ANBU keeping watch at all times.
How could such an important figure be so easily kidnapped by enemy ninja?
Plot holes like that were all over Naruto. Yuuki could think of plenty more.
Jiraiya, in Sage Mode with enhanced sensory abilities, somehow let Pain sneak up on him and take his arm.
Sage Techniques weren't supposed to be absorbable, yet Pain's Preta Path managed to absorb Jiraiya's Sage Rasengan without issue.
Then there were things like Edo Tensei's supposedly infinite chakra, Konan's six hundred billion paper bombs, and the inconsistent rules of the Rinne Rebirth.
Of course, Naruto was a long-running series. With so much going on, it was normal for the story to have gaps and contradictions as the plot evolved.
But for Yuuki, those so-called plot holes might very well become his reality now.
This was no manga. Reality didn't have to follow logic.
Yuuki shook his head, deciding not to interfere in Minato and Kushina's relationship. It was better to let things unfold naturally.
He needed to focus on himself.
With a thought, the familiar panel appeared before him.
Since finishing the loading of Extreme Reflexes last week, he hadn't started creating a new skill.
The Skill Editor only had one loading slot. It could load only one skill at a time, and once loading began, it couldn't be stopped partway.
Loading a skill took years.
With conditions like that, Yuuki had to choose carefully.
After dinner, Yuuki lay down on his bed.
He summoned the editor's panel again, his gaze settling on the two empty input fields at the top.
[Input Field]
[Input Field]
After days of thought, Yuuki had a rough idea for his next skill.
He needed something simple in effect, but with room to grow.
The effect had to be simple because Extreme Reflexes had taken eight years to load. He still didn't know if that was just how long it always took, or if it was because the effect he had set was too powerful.
Back then, he had written, "Raise reaction speed to the limit."
At first, he regretted not creating a more aggressive skill, something like "kill with a glance."
But now, he felt that choosing Extreme Reflexes had been the right call.
Strange and fancy attacks always had counters, like Hidan's blood-curse jutsu that became useless if you just stopped him from getting your blood.
On the other hand, Extreme Reflexes boosted his perception and mental processing to the point where everyone looked like they were moving in slow motion.
No matter the fight, Yuuki could react a split second faster than his opponent. That split second often meant the difference between life and death.
Combined with Konoha's ninja system, it gave him growth potential far beyond the average shinobi. That was the path Yuuki had chosen.
And along that path, his future skills were becoming clearer.
Simple effect. Great potential. Enhances direct combat power. Covers his weaknesses.
Those four principles would guide every skill he edited from now on.
Ending his thoughts, Yuuki focused back on the panel in front of him.
With his heightened reflexes and terrifying observational skills, the world around him seemed to move in slow motion.
Things like strength and speed, he could build through hard work.
But talent-related abilities were beyond his control.
Like elemental release.
Yuuki had tested his chakra nature as soon as he learned to mold chakra.
He only had one affinity, but it was one he was happy with.
Lightning Release. Known for its strong offensive power and natural paralytic effect.
And right now, what Yuuki lacked was a powerful attack option.
So, with a thought, he began typing into the input fields.
[Skill Name]: Mastery of Lightning Release
[Skill Effect]: Greatly enhances natural talent for Lightning Release, making training far more effective and progress much faster than before.
He reviewed the description carefully.
Satisfied, he turned his attention to the confirm button below the fields.
Taking a deep breath, Yuuki felt a little nervous.
After a few seconds, his gaze firmed. He pressed confirm with his mind.
A soft chime sounded in his ear.
When he looked down, he saw Mastery of Lightning Release displayed at the start of the progress bar, the bar itself beginning to glow as loading started.
Watching the bar, Yuuki fell into thought.
His last skill had taken eight years. He had grown from an infant to a fourth-year academy student in that time.
He had tried everything to speed up the process.
Blood offerings, animal sacrifices, daily training, meditation, infusing chakra...
Nothing worked. The progress bar moved at its own pace.
Now, with a new skill, the loading had begun again.
Yuuki could only hope it would finish faster this time, before the Second Great Ninja War broke out.
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