[Chakra? More like Chuckra!: Your total chakra capacity increases fivefold.][What? You Have a Mysterious Grandpa Too?: Each time you refine chakra, you lose 70% of it. After enough loss, you will earn a mysterious reward.][Chakra, the Most Inconvenient Thing: You can refine chakra while performing any action without being interrupted or affected.]
"...Huh."Nara Kazuki stared at the three upgrade options in front of him, his face caught in a complex grimace.
After returning to the Nara Clan compound, he'd gone straight back to grinding —stacking Fireballs, sharpening his control.That very night, he maxed out his progress bar, unlocking a new set of choices.
But these choices...Each one had its own twisted charm.
The first option was simple: boost total chakra by five times.Huge immediate gain.
But Kazuki knew better.
This world had plenty of ways to steadily boost chakra capacity —through training, bloodlines, medicines, contracts.
Choosing brute-force growth now was shortsighted.
"Thirty years east bank, thirty years west bank..."Kazuki muttered, glancing suspiciously at his fingers —Good.No cursed rings, no demonic jewelry.
The second option was the most tempting:Sacrifice 70% of chakra refinement each time, but eventually receive a "mysterious reward."
Massive potential.Also massive suffering.
In essence, Kazuki would become the fastest to win the title of "Least Enduring Shinobi in Konoha," beating even Kakashi.
Kakashi at least had an excuse — his Mangekyō Sharingan burned chakra passively.Kazuki, on the other hand, would be bleeding chakra actively, every time he refined it.
Sling a few basic jutsu — boom, empty.
Third option:Simple, brutal, practical.
He could refine chakra at any time, during any activity, even during battle, even while eating, sleeping, or taking a piss.
Choose that, and Kazuki wouldn't just be hardworking —he'd be an unstoppable machine.
Forget seeing "4 A.M. Los Angeles" like Kobe Bryant.Kazuki could say he outworked every single shinobi in Konoha 24/7.Nonstop chakra training.
His gaze flicked back and forth between the second and third options.
Both tempting.Both powerful.
But Kazuki made his choice.
"Alright... Number Three it is."
He sighed, almost mournfully.Option Two — kicked offstage like a rejected talent show contestant.
He could almost hear a sad song playing: "Too bad it wasn't you..."
If he were living after the Nine-Tails Night, when Konoha entered a long era of peace, he'd pick Option Two without hesitation.
Slow burn.Big payoff.
But right now?Wrong timing.
He needed raw, sustainable strength — now — to survive the coming hell.
"Damn you, Obito,"Kazuki cursed silently, blaming everything on that future masked lunatic.
As soon as he confirmed his choice, he felt it —a new rhythm pulsing through his body.
Subtle at first.Then natural, like breathing.
Constant chakra refinement, even while unconscious.
Of course, once he consciously realized he could control it, it shifted into "manual mode."Fine-tuning became possible.
Buzzing with excitement, Kazuki collapsed into bed —ready to experience the new system properly.
Not to admire the night streets of Konoha.No.Because in his sleep, his body had instinctively kept refining chakra.
Too much chakra.Too much pressure.
The swelling inside his core had jolted him awake in a panic.
Instinctively, still half-dreaming, he started stacking Fireballs again —trying to vent the buildup.
Half the Nara compound woke up to fight a fire.
Wooden buildings, you idiot.
"...Kazuki,"Nara Suzaku said grimly, sitting across from him,"you're covering the damages yourself. No complaints, right?"
Next to him, yawning and bleary-eyed, was Nara Shikaku —future genius strategist, current family man, and Shikamaru's future father.
(Not that Shikamaru had even been born yet.)
"No complaints,"Kazuki answered quickly, shrinking under their glares.
Inside, he was screaming.
In his dreams, Kazuki had imagined facing Obito on the Night of the Nine-Tails.Burning with righteous fury, he had unleashed the ultimate Fireball, channeling all his accumulated stacked chakra.
"Witness the fruits of my endless grinding, you masked bastard!"
He could almost hear the cheers of Konoha's shinobi.
Then reality hit —someone had punched him awake —and his Fireball had torched five clan houses.
"Hahaha, Suzaku, come on,"Shikaku said, slapping his friend's back with a hearty laugh."Kid's just... enthusiastic. Young blood needs an outlet."
Shikaku actually felt pretty good about Kazuki.
Partly because Kazuki had ties with Kakashi and had gotten the Fourth Hokage's attention.Partly because —even with limited talent —Kazuki's work ethic was insane.
Talentless slackers were a dime a dozen.But someone who lacked talent yet still grinded relentlessly?
That was worth something.
Suzaku glanced out the window, looking at the charred wreckage.
You call that "young blood's outlet"?
Still, looking at Kazuki's earnest, apologetic face, Suzaku sighed.
Wanting to grow stronger was good, even if the method needed work.
Later that morning, Kazuki was reassigned to a stone-brick house far away from the main compound.No more torching wood buildings by accident.
"...Didn't the clan leader say it's normal for young ones to be fiery?"Kazuki muttered bitterly, eyeing the distance between him and the nearest other homes.
Still, he said nothing else.
At least this way, he wouldn't bankrupt himself paying for repairs.