The rain in Amegakure never stopped. It fell relentlessly, washing away the blood and grime of the world below.
Back in the tall steel tower, Uehara Naraku sat alone in his room. The thrill of his first kill had faded, replaced by the excitement of his new reward.
He sat cross legged on his bed and focused his mind on the system interface.
"Let's see what this skill can actually do."
Uehara took a deep breath. He raised his right hand and activated the skill he had just received.
Destiny.
Suddenly, three spectral cards appeared over his head, shuffling rapidly in a magical rotation. The colors were distinct and vibrant: Blue, Red, and Gold.
Unlike the paper ninjutsu Konan used, these cards glowed with a strange neon energy. They cycled through their colors in a rhythmic loop.
Blue... Red... Gold... Blue... Red... Gold...
Uehara watched the rotation closely. According to the skill description, he had to reactivate the skill to "lock in" the card he wanted.
"Blue Card!"
With a thought, the shuffling stopped. A blue card materialized solidly between his index and middle fingers. It felt like a tangible object, crisp and charged with energy.
He flicked his wrist.
The Blue Card flew across the room, leaving a faint azure trail in the air. It struck the stone wall on the opposite side.
Ding!
There was no explosion. Instead, upon impact, the card dissolved into pure blue energy that rushed back toward Uehara, absorbing instantly into his body.
He felt a refreshing wave wash over him.
"My chakra..." Uehara checked his status panel. "It recovered."
The cost to cast the skill was minimal, but the Blue Card restored a significant chunk of chakra. In the game League of Legends, this card was used for mana sustain. In the Naruto world, it meant Uehara had potentially infinite chakra as long as he kept throwing Blue Cards.
"This is incredible," he whispered. "If I run out of chakra in a fight, I can just kite the enemy with Blue Cards until I'm full again."
Next, he wanted to test the damage.
He waited for the cooldown, which was surprisingly short, only about six seconds.
"Destiny."
The shuffling began again. This time, Uehara locked in the Red Card.
A crimson card appeared in his hand. The energy radiating from this one was volatile and hot.
He threw it at the same spot on the wall.
Boom!
A small explosion erupted upon impact. Dust and stone debris scattered across the floor. The force was roughly equivalent to two or three standard explosive tags detonating at once.
"Area of effect damage and a slow effect," Uehara analyzed. "Useful for clearing groups of weak enemies or creating distance."
Finally, the most important one.
The Gold Card.
Uehara activated the skill a third time. He focused intensely, waiting for the yellow glow to cycle around.
"Now!"
He locked it. A golden card shimmered in his fingers. It didn't feel hot or refreshing; it felt heavy, carrying a suppressive weight.
He looked around the room for a target. He didn't want to destroy his furniture, and throwing it at the wall wouldn't show the stun effect.
Just then, the door to his room creaked open.
"Naraku, are you resting?"
Konan walked in holding a tray of food. She had sensed the chakra disturbance from the explosion earlier and came to check on him.
Uehara froze. The Gold Card was already primed in his hand.
"Teacher!"
He tried to cancel the skill, but the card was already formed. He awkwardly held it behind his back, but the golden glow was impossible to hide in the dim room.
Konan's amber eyes narrowed. She looked at the debris near the wall, then at Uehara's hiding hand.
"What is that?" she asked calmly.
"It's... a new technique I'm working on," Uehara said, deciding to stick to half truths. "I call it Paper Shuriken: Destiny."
Konan placed the tray on the table and walked over. "Show me."
Uehara hesitated. "It might be dangerous."
"I am a S Rank missing nin," Konan said flatly. "Do you think a technique practiced by a novice can hurt me? Throw it."
Uehara swallowed hard. Well, she asked for it. And honestly, if anyone could tank a Gold Card, it was Konan. Plus, she could turn her body into paper to negate damage.
"Alright. Be careful, Teacher."
Uehara whipped his hand forward. The Gold Card spun through the air, flying straight at Konan.
Konan didn't dodge. She intended to catch it or let it pass through her paper form to analyze its composition. She activated her Dance of the Shikigami, preparing to disperse her body into sheets of paper the moment the card made contact.
The Gold Card hit her shoulder.
Ping!
A crisp metallic sound rang out.
Konan's eyes widened in shock.
She tried to disperse into paper. She tried to move her hand to grab the card. She tried to channel chakra to her feet.
Nothing happened.
For exactly one second, her connection to her chakra was severed. Her body refused to obey her mental commands. She was frozen in place, completely stiff.
It wasn't a genjutsu. It wasn't a paralysis poison. It was a forced rule of the world imposed by the card.
Stun.
One second later, the effect vanished.
Konan stumbled back slightly, her face pale with genuine surprise. She immediately turned into a flurry of paper sheets and reformed on the other side of the room, looking at Uehara with a gaze that was no longer just a teacher looking at a student. It was the look of a ninja assessing a threat.
"What was that?" Konan asked, her voice losing its usual monotone calm. "I couldn't move. My chakra flow stopped."
Uehara scratched his head, pretending to be just as confused. "I'm not sure. I was trying to infuse different chakra natures into the paper. That one was... uh, Lightning Release meant to paralyze?"
It was a blatant lie. Uehara didn't have Lightning Release. But Konan didn't know that for sure yet.
Konan stared at him for a long time. The ability to forcibly seal an opponent's movements, even for a second, was terrifying. In a battle between high level ninja, one second was enough to die ten times over.
"You developed this yourself?" she asked.
"Yes," Uehara nodded shamelessly. "I wanted to make something useful for the organization."
Konan closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, the wariness was gone, replaced by a rare flicker of pride.
"Nagato was right," she murmured to herself. "You really are a genius."
She looked at Uehara. "That technique... do not show it to anyone else. Not even Hanzō's men. Keep it as your trump card. If you use it, ensure the enemy dies immediately after."
"Yes, Teacher," Uehara agreed dutifully.
Inside, he was grinning. The Gold Card worked on Konan. That meant the rules of the skill were absolute. Even a Kage level ninja could not resist the stun.
"Eat your dinner," Konan said, gesturing to the tray. "Tomorrow, your training intensity will double."
"Eh?" Uehara's face fell.
"You have potential, Naraku," Konan said as she turned to leave, her paper cloak rustling. "I intend to make sure you survive long enough to use it."
As the door closed, Uehara grabbed a rice ball from the tray.
He looked at his hand. With the Blue Card for infinite energy, the Red Card for damage, and the Gold Card for control, he finally had a foothold in this dangerous world.
"Now," he chewed on the rice ball, "I wonder what mission I need to do to get a skill for escaping..."