Waiting twenty years to gamble on one chance at a romance target was clearly not a wise choice.
There was no way Hozuki Zangetsu was going to just lie low until the Fourth Great Ninja War before making his move.
After all, the rewards for making progress were far too tempting.
The system divided the romance progression into eight tiers:
0-20% (Stranger): No reward.
21-40% (Acquaintance): Obtain one piece of intel about the target daily.
41-60% (Favorable Impression): Randomly obtain one of the target's abilities.
61-70% (Ambiguous/Intimate): Randomly obtain one of the target's abilities and strengthen it.
71-80% (Couple): Choose and obtain one of the target's abilities and strengthen it.
81-90% (Married Couple): Obtain all of the target's abilities and strengthen them.
91-99% (Undying Love): Reward unknown.
100% (Eternal Love): Reward unknown.
The eight progression tiers corresponded to eight types of rewards, though the last two were currently unknown.
But just the rewards that were already revealed were enough to make Zangetsu's eyes gleam with desire.
The system's detailed rules clearly stated that "abilities" included intelligence, physical constitution, bloodline, ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, and even chakra.
In other words, if Zangetsu successfully romanced Uchiha Mikoto and reached a progress level of 71-80%, he could choose to obtain her Sharingan and have it strengthened!
By the same logic, if he romanced Uzumaki Kushina, he could obtain the powerful Uzumaki clan constitution and have it enhanced.
And then there was Tsunade's Senju clan constitution, or her monstrous strength, or her medical ninjutsu…
Just thinking about it made him drool.
But for now, all Zangetsu could do was think.
The first problem he had to solve was how, as a member of the Hozuki clan from the Hidden Mist, he could possibly go to Konoha and start a relationship with those women.
The relationship between Konoha and the Mist was already bad, and now with a war about to start, it was only going to get worse. In this situation, forget about romance; it would be difficult to even become ordinary friends with them. The most they could ever be was strangers.
A favorable impression? That was just a dream.
"Sigh!"
Sighing again, Zangetsu felt like his head was about to explode. This damn system was absurd. He was a Hidden Mist ninja, yet all his targets were from Konoha.
"Forget it. It's useless to think so much right now. I'll just take it one step at a time."
After thinking for a long time without coming up with a good solution, Zangetsu gave up in frustration.
He muttered to himself and prepared to go back and pack his things. He was heading to the battlefield tomorrow. The village would provide clothes and food, but things like kunai, shuriken, and paper bombs had to be prepared by oneself. It wasn't that the village didn't provide them, but the amount they gave was pitifully small. Plus, since Zangetsu was only a Chunin, he would receive even less.
"Well, well, if it isn't our Hozuki clan's 'beauty,' Hozuki Zangetsu? What are you sighing about? Afraid you'll be killed by some Konoha trash on the battlefield? Are you about to piss your pants in fear? Go on, squat down and take a leak, hahaha!"
A voice that Zangetsu found disgusting and annoying sounded from behind him. A flash of killing intent sparked in Zangetsu's eyes but vanished just as quickly.
He turned around calmly and looked at the young man opposite him.
The man was named Hozuki Kengetsu, about eighteen or nineteen years old. His ordinary face was filled with mockery, making him look sharp and mean.
"I am indeed afraid," Zangetsu said, which made the mockery on Kengetsu's face grow even wider.
However, just as he was about to mock Zangetsu further, he heard Zangetsu continue.
"I'm afraid that you will die in the Land of Fire. After all, you grew up with Hozuki Seigetsu. Even though she doesn't like you, Seigetsu is the type to get sad even if a stray cat or dog on the street dies. If you die, she will definitely be upset for you."
Here, Zangetsu paused briefly before continuing, "And when she gets upset, she'll come to me for comfort. There will be hugging, kissing, and all that... I really can't stand it."
As he spoke, Zangetsu put on a helpless expression.
"So you'd better not die. I'm afraid if you do, Seigetsu will do something even more outrageous."
CRACK!!!
"You bastard, are you looking to die?!"
Zangetsu's words completely shattered Kengetsu's composure.
He was seething with rage, his eyes wide as he glared fiercely at Zangetsu and began walking toward him step by step.
Hozuki Seigetsu was Kengetsu's childhood friend and the object of his affection—the woman he saw as his future wife. Kengetsu had countless daydreams of their wonderful life together, and he believed that future was certain.
However, everything changed the moment Seigetsu met Zangetsu. Seigetsu was captivated by Zangetsu's handsome face and abandoned Kengetsu without a second thought, beginning to pursue Zangetsu madly.
This was a huge blow to Kengetsu, and it made him hate Zangetsu to the core, causing him to target Zangetsu at every opportunity.
"I advise you to calm down. This is the clan's territory. If you dare to make a move here, even if you are an elder's son, the clan leader will absolutely send you to the scout team," Zangetsu's voice made Kengetsu stop in his tracks.
The scout team. The unit with the highest death rate in any war. They were called scouts, but they were mostly just cannon fodder. Of course, if one was strong enough, the scout team was also the best platform to become famous. But Kengetsu was clearly not the type to excel there; his strength was only that of a strong Chunin, not even at the level of a Special Jonin.
"You bastard! Once we leave the clan's grounds, I will definitely kill you!" Kengetsu gritted his teeth, feeling helpless.
The Hozuki clan didn't absolutely forbid fighting among its members, but it was explicitly forbidden within the clan's territory. Those who dared to break the rule would be assigned the most dangerous missions. Not even an elder's son—or the clan leader's son—could escape punishment.
"Scared by just a few words. How pathetic, Kengetsu-kun. No wonder Seigetsu doesn't like you. Forget it, I don't want to waste any more time talking to you. I have to go back and pack my ninja tools."
After mocking Kengetsu, Zangetsu turned and walked away.
As he walked, he muttered just loud enough for Kengetsu to hear, "We're all going to the battlefield soon, who knows if we'll come back alive… Maybe I should just give in and accept Seigetsu? Speaking of which, she has such fair skin, and she always smells so nice…"
"HOZUKI ZANGETSU!!! I WILL KILL YOU, I SWEAR IT!!!!"
Watching Zangetsu's retreating back, Kengetsu trembled with rage, his eyes spitting fire.
"Just you wait! The scout team… I'll make sure you're sent to the scout team!!!" he roared under his breath, gritting his teeth, his eyes bloodshot.
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (250 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (225 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (90 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (100 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (270 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (98 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (120 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(59 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (160 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (80 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (50 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (80 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (90 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (65 Chapter)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (50 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (60 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (60 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (50 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (30 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (30 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (30 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it.