Talent System In The Naruto Universe

Night had fallen.

After saying goodbye to Tsunade, Hanekawa returned home.

Following an afternoon of training, he had successfully grasped the basics of the Body Flicker Technique.

[D-Rank Ninjutsu Trait: Body Flicker Technique.]

[Trigger Condition: Successfully perform this technique.]

[Effect: The technique is automatically raised to proficiency level.]

The standard Body Flicker felt to Hanekawa like the sprint ability in a video game from his past life. By channeling chakra into his legs, he could dramatically boost his speed for rapid movement.

Taking a deep breath, Hanekawa opened his Trait System.

It was time to start combining traits.

The first combination was for the C-Rank Trait "Swift as Wind."

[C-Rank Talent Trait: Swift as Wind.]

[Trigger Condition: Combined from D-Rank Traits "Body Flicker Technique," "Swordsmanship Trainee," and "Wind Release Trainee."]

[Effect: Leg speed increases by 100%, and ninja tool attack speed increases by 50%.]

It lived up to being a C-Rank Trait! The only drawback was that all improvements were based on existing capabilities, so it wasn't as overpowering as he'd hoped. Even so, it was already impressive.

Hanekawa drew his katana, twisted his wrist, and slashed downward.

The sound of the blade slicing through the air was sharp and clean as the katana embedded itself in the ground.

"It's definitely much faster."

Hanekawa sheathed his sword, channeled chakra into his legs, and dashed forward like the wind.

After a few seconds, he stopped.

"Improved leg strength is far more practical," he muttered, nodding in satisfaction.

Now his normal running speed was akin to using half a Body Flicker. In the academy's physical training sessions, even Might Guy probably wouldn't be able to outrun him.

More importantly, the faster he could run, the better his chances of survival in dangerous situations.

Suddenly, an idea struck him.

What if he used Body Flicker while already running at full speed?

Excited, Hanekawa started running again, forming hand seals mid-stride.

Body Flicker Technique!

His body blurred into a streaking afterimage.

"So fast!"

Hanekawa exclaimed, exhilarated. The wind rushing against his face felt like blades slicing through his skin, and his hair and clothes whipped violently backward.

Suppressing his excitement, he opened the Trait System again.

It was time to combine the second trait—the one he was most looking forward to.

[B-Rank Talent Trait: Seal-less Healing.]

[Trigger Condition: Combined from C-Rank Traits "Medical Ninja," "Robust Physique," and "Swift as Wind."]

[Effect: Increases natural healing ability by 150%.]

[Note: Can be combined with A-Rank Traits "Earth Release Elite" and "Water Release Elite" to create the A-Rank Trait "Wood Release (Yamato-Style)."]

Hanekawa's eyes lit up.

Seal-less Healing, as described in the original lore, was the innate talent of Hashirama Senju, whose incredible vitality allowed him to heal wounds without forming hand seals.

The trait granted enhanced natural healing, though Hanekawa knew it wouldn't reach Hashirama's legendary levels. After all, even after Hashirama's death, his cells remained extraordinarily active.

To test the ability, Hanekawa took out a kunai and made a shallow cut on the back of his hand.

Five seconds later, the wound closed completely.

"A bit slow," he murmured, "but still incredible."

It was like facing a regenerating enemy in a video game—something no player ever wanted to encounter.

What truly surprised Hanekawa, however, was the potential for the Seal-less Healing trait to lead to Yamato-style Wood Release!

While Yamato's version of Wood Release was often joked about as being suited for landscaping, his performance in the original series wasn't weak. His overall abilities ranked him among the elite jonin.

The only thing Yamato lacked was chakra reserves or the life force associated with the Yang Release.

When Yamato was controlled by White Zetsu, his combat power skyrocketed, rivaling even Kage-level ninjas. If he had access to Sage Mode, he might have become a half-step Hashirama.

Though Yamato couldn't acquire those enhancements, Hanekawa could.

After all, Deep Blue's leveling has no limits!

The only challenge lies in acquiring the A-rank traits "Earth Release Elite" and "Water Release Elite."

It makes sense, though—Yamato-style Wood Release is derived from the fusion of Earth and Water chakra natures. To combine chakra natures, one must at least be at the jonin level.

"Who should I target to grind for Earth and Water Release talents?" Hanekawa lay on his bed, deep in thought.

His innate chakra natures were limited to Lightning and Fire. Normally, he would need to become a chunin before he could learn other elements, but that was too slow. The best option was to grind for talents.

His Fire Release talent came from Obito Uchiha.

His Lightning Release talent came from Kakashi Hatake.

His Wind Release talent came from Asuma Sarutobi.

Hanekawa didn't know the system's criteria for selecting individuals or whether he could switch targets.

Suddenly, an idea came to him—Shisui Uchiha.

Because Obito Uchiha was relatively weak, his "Fire Spitting Kid" trait was still at E-rank.

However, Shisui Uchiha would undoubtedly meet the standards for an upgrade.

If he fought Shisui, he could find out whether it was possible to switch targets.

---

The next day marked the beginning of classes for third-year students.

Hanekawa yawned as he attended his first lesson.

The morning class covered the basics of setting traps.

Tsunade had already taught him much more advanced and detailed techniques, so what Eichiro taught in class felt overly simplistic, designed for freshly graduated genin.

Hanekawa scanned the room and spotted Kakashi Hatake. A thought crossed his mind.

In addition to Lightning Release, Kakashi also had Earth Release. After all, his signature Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall often featured his iconic dog carvings.

Kakashi usually sparred with him using the Hatake Sword Style. Next time, Hanekawa decided to request he use Earth Release instead.

Returning his attention to the class, Hanekawa pulled out Tsunade's notebook, which detailed her insights and training methods for her superhuman strength technique.

Eichiro noticed Hanekawa's inattentiveness but chose to ignore it.

In the past, he might have disciplined him, but now? Not worth the trouble.

Last month, after sustaining an injury, Eichiro had visited the Konoha Hospital for treatment—only to find that Hanekawa was the attending medical ninja.

As they say, in the ninja world, you can offend anyone, but never offend a medical ninja.

---

Hokage's Office

Bang!

The door flew open with a loud crash.

"Who the hell…" Hiruzen Sarutobi started, startled.

But upon seeing Tsunade, he sighed and asked, "Can't you ever knock?"

Among his three students, Jiraiya never used the main entrance, Tsunade always kicked the door open, and Orochimaru would push it open silently. None of them had any concept of knocking.

Add to that Danzo, who often barged in dramatically, and it was no wonder the office doors were always worn out.

"What's this nonsense about Sakumo Hatake?" Tsunade got straight to the point.

"What nonsense?" Hiruzen asked, confused.

"You don't know?" Tsunade frowned and recounted the rumors about Sakumo Hatake.

Hiruzen's expression darkened.

He already had a good idea who was behind it and why Danzo was stirring up trouble.

At this point in time, Sakumo Hatake had yet to take on the infamous mission that would lead to catastrophic losses, as depicted in the original story. From Hiruzen's perspective, Danzo's actions seemed completely unreasonable.

"Ninjas risk their lives to complete missions, only to come back and face baseless rumors?" Tsunade sneered, her tone cold.

"Old man, are you even fit to be Hokage?"

"Don't worry. Those rumors will disappear soon," Hiruzen replied, somewhat guilty.

"Fortunately, they're only circulating among the ninja ranks."

"They'd better," Tsunade shot back, turning to leave.

"Tsunade," Hiruzen called out, stopping her. "Who do you think should be the next Hokage?"

Tsunade paused and frowned at him.

-

Patreon.com/rashta/collections

Be a member so you can read:

- 500 adv ch of Qian Renxue's Younger Brother

- 150 adv ch of Talent System In Naruto

- 260 adv ch of Uchiha Madara's Cousin

- 163 adv ch of WDQK: Divorcing Ling Qingzhu (Complete)