Naruto: I have an attribute panel

Chapter 22 The First Real Battle

Wood Leaf Root Base.

Back at base, Danzo still couldn't suppress his anger. He wasn't angry about failing to acquire Matsushita Taichi as a "tool." After all, Konoha lacked many things, but not geniuses. Besides, Taichi's current talent was only on par with Kakashi's. Danzo's Root had plenty of clan ninjas and secret technique ninjas; he didn't really need another Matsushita Taichi. Moreover, a genius who hasn't reached his full potential is nothing.

What truly angered Danzo was Sarutobi's last words: "I am the Hokage."

Back when everyone was evacuating, when faced with Tobirama's question, Danzo hesitated for only a moment before Hiruzen Sarutobi beat him to it. Otherwise, he, Danzo, would be the Hokage now.

Danzo, growing angrier the more he thought about it, smashed things again before finally calming down. Thinking about how Hiruzen Sarutobi had refused his request, he felt another wave of resentment. Finally, he decided to meet Matsushita Taichi himself. If he was willing to join Root, surely Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't refuse him?

……

At this moment, Taiichi was unaware that the two bigwigs of Konoha had started arguing because of him.

Back home, Taiichi rested for a while before shouldering his short sword again, preparing to head to the training grounds. On the way, perhaps because the ninja academy was on holiday, Taiichi noticed that the streets were much busier than usual.

Every now and then, small groups of children would brush past him, leaving behind bursts of laughter. At that moment, people probably couldn't imagine that the next war would soon return, and they were still enjoying this moment of peace.

No, the higher-ups in Konoha definitely know, and the higher-ups in each village definitely know too. Right now, they're just licking their wounds. Once everyone has accumulated enough strength, the next war will break out.

Summer was exceptionally hot and humid. Away from the bustling streets, the cicadas' chirping, mixed with the dampness, clung to the skin. As Taiichi walked through the shadows of the trees toward the riverside training ground, he heard a crisp clanging of metal in the distance. He instinctively gripped the hilt of his sword, his chakra flowing along his meridians to his toes—Kakashi had just taught him last week how to silently approach a target.

In the clearing behind the bushes, three ANBU were attacking a man wearing a Kirigakure headband. Suddenly, the masked ninja threw out three kunai with explosive tags attached, and five water clones emerged from the dust kicked up by the explosions. Taiichi recognized it as a Kirigakure Substitution Jutsu and was about to retreat when he caught a glimpse of an Iwagakure tattoo flashing on the man's sleeve. An imposter Kirigakure ninja!

"Northwest!" the leader of the ANBU suddenly roared towards Taiichi's hiding place. Taiichi rolled away to dodge the flying wind blades, grass blades brushing against his cheeks. The spy disguised as a Kirigakure spy used the recoil to leap onto a tree trunk, and with a few leaps, he closed in on Taiichi's location. The boy could clearly see the cold sweat under the spy's forehead protector and the chakra threads wrapped around his fingers—it was a Sunagakure technique for controlling puppets!

"Flame Bullet!" Taiichi's fingers trembled as he formed the hand seals, and the fireball barely grazed the enemy's clothes. A poisoned senbon needle shot out from the spy's sleeve, and Taiichi drew his sword with a backhand, slashing swiftly at the last second. The vibration of the metal clashing against the blade traveled up his shoulder blade from the hilt, and he almost lost his grip on the short sword.

[Hatake Swordsmanship Experience +1]

The panel notification flashed across his retina in an instant, and the spy's whip kick had already swept towards his face. Taiichi, leaning back, recalled Guy's Leaf Whirlwind and spun around, striking his opponent's knee. Compared to swordsmanship, Taiichi's hand-to-hand combat skills were currently superior. The cracking sound of dislocated bones caused his stomach to convulse; it was the same dislocated knee he'd just seen at the hospital that morning. But this time, he'd caused it himself.

After unleashing several ninjutsu, Taiyi's chakra, which had been severely depleted that morning, was now almost completely depleted. Without hesitation, he quickly added a point to his constitution attribute, instantly restoring all his stamina, spirit, and even chakra to full. This gave Taiyi even more confidence.

"You brat, you're asking for it!" The spy unleashed a gust of wind mixed with pebbles, and Taiichi's hand seals suddenly transformed into the medical hand seals that Nono had taught him. Green light enveloped his left arm, allowing him to take the hit head-on, and amidst the tearing sound of fabric, drops of blood splattered onto his eyelashes. Using the clarity brought on by the pain, he threw a smoke bomb, a tactic Asuma had used in their last battle.

As the gray fog rolled in, Taiichi held his breath, and Kakashi's teachings echoed in his ears: "Listen to the wind to locate." He felt the resistance of the blade piercing his flesh, but the recoil forced him back three steps—it was an earth clone that had been hit! The real shuriken attacked from behind, and Taiichi barely managed to turn to the side, the blade carving a deep furrow in his shoulder.

"Phoenix Fire!" He endured the pain and unleashed a fireball that blocked the enemy's retreat. The scorching air ripped off the spy's camouflage mask. The scarred face reminded Taiichi of the wounded soldiers he treated in the hospital, and his fingers paused in the hand seals. In that instant of vulnerability, a chain shot from the Sand Village ninja's sleeve wrapped around his ankle.

The metallic scraping sound abruptly ceased as three kunai precisely severed the chakra threads. The ANBU captain instantly appeared behind the spy, and Taiichi could almost see the smirk playing on his lips beneath the mask. As the katana pierced the enemy's shoulder, Taiichi was pressing his bleeding wound, the green light in his palm much dimmer than usual.

"Medical team!" The captain's shout startled the weary birds in the forest. Taiichi slid down to the ground, leaning against a tree trunk, watching the ANBU put chakra-sealing shackles on the unconscious spy. The morning light shone on the blood-stained hilt of his sword, and he found himself smiling—so this was what real battles were like, the smell of disinfectant mixed with rust.

"Kid, your swordsmanship is alright, your hand-to-hand combat is decent, but you always seem to lose focus during fights." As the captain tossed him a bandage, Taiichi noticed the faded flame pattern on the edge of his headband. The Anbu gloves were stained with the blood of both enemies and himself, yet the pat on his shoulder felt unusually warm. "What's your name?"

"Matsushita Taichi."

Then the captain of the Dark Army questioned Taiichi, mainly about why he came here and what he was doing here. When he learned that Taiichi was a student at the Ninja Academy, he was surprised, wondering if students these days were all so fierce.

Taiichi, having finished his interrogation, gazed at the unconscious spy on the stretcher and suddenly remembered the child in the hospital whom he had soothed with his healing magic. The morning breeze brushed against his sweat-dampened back, and his hand gripping the knife finally stopped trembling. A notification panel flashed quietly in the corner of his vision; the entries were slowly increasing.

[You gain experience by engaging in combat with enemies.]

Your basic physical skills have been improved; experience points +1.

Your skill "Hatake Sword Technique" has been upgraded; experience points increased by 1.

Your skill Fire Release: Phoenix Fire has been upgraded, experience points +1.

……

[You engaged in battle with a ninja, gaining combat experience and increasing your Ninja Apprentice class experience by 50.]

A single battle caused all my stats to surge, even more effectively than a day of training. It's true that only real combat can accelerate the growth of strength, but unfortunately, such opportunities are rare.

Taiichi, having distanced himself from the Anbu members and arrived at the riverbank, did not continue training. After all, he had just experienced a major battle, and both his body and mind were greatly depleted. Although his previous injuries had been healed on the spot with medical ninjutsu, he was not suited for strenuous exercise in the short term.

Reflecting on the battle, Taiichi realized he had made several mistakes. He had been overthinking during the fight, and the timing of his ninjutsu releases was off. Fortunately, the Anbu intervened in time; otherwise, he might have been the one lying on the ground. It seemed there was still a significant gap between him and a true ninja, not just in strength, but more importantly, in experience under pressure.

After summarizing, Taiyi looked at his panel. His basic physical skills and basic meditation were about to be upgraded. If he could have upgraded them earlier during the battle, he might not have had to spend an attribute point. Despite his thoughts, Taiyi did not regret it. When life and death are at stake, there are no time for such worries.

Then Taiyi slowly began to train in the basic physical techniques of nourishment and practice basic meditation, both to restore his body and to quickly upgrade his two skills.

Sure enough, the notification came shortly afterward.

Congratulations! Your basic physical skills have been upgraded to Lv9 (0/1600)

Congratulations! Your basic meditation skill has been upgraded to Lv9 (0/1600)

With the two insights that came with the upgrade, Taiichi finally realized that his taijutsu level had reached the Chunin level. The rest was to digest these insights through continuous battles.

……

Meanwhile, the captain of the Dark Army handed the spy over to the interrogation department and then went to the Hokage's office to report the situation.

"You mean you encountered a student from the Ninja Academy during the battle, and that student intervened to stop the spy from escaping?" the Hokage couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, Hokage-sama, he is a first-year student named Matsushita Taichi. I have verified his identity, and it is correct."

"Alright, I understand. You can go and rest now."

"yes!"

After the ANBU left, Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the pipe on the table, filled it with tobacco, lit it, took a deep drag, and exhaled with satisfaction, instantly disappearing into the smoke.

Remembering that Danzo had come to him that morning demanding people and questioning whether his training would bury talent, Hiruzen Sarutobi was surprised to see the Anbu report to him that afternoon about Taichi's outstanding performance in battle. He couldn't help but wonder if Matsushita Taichi was his lucky charm; every time he heard his name, good things seemed to happen.