~~~~Don't Read Word Filler!!!~~~~
Shigure wasn't entirely sure what was going on—maybe it was because his chakra reserves had increased.
Could that be why I didn't feel any strain when refining chakra just now? Maybe my physical or mental energy has improved too...
To confirm his theory, Shigure began his second round of chakra refinement.
Just like before, it took him half an hour to complete.
However, this time the system remained silent—no prompts, no messages. That could only mean one thing: the quality of this refinement hadn't surpassed the previous one.
But that didn't bother him much.
What really surprised him was that—once again, he didn't feel any chakra consumption at all.
"It really is cost-free!"
Once could be chalked up to a fluke. But twice? That was no coincidence.
Shigure's excitement grew.
Being able to use a skill without any chakra cost...
If it were just the Chakra Refining Technique, maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal.
But what if this effect extended to other jutsu?
It had to be related to the skill bar. That was the only possible explanation.
He glanced at the skill bar. The Chakra Refining Technique was installed, and somehow it allowed him to refine chakra without consuming any.
Then what about other jutsu?
Without hesitation, he installed the Clone Technique into the skill bar.
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
The Chakra Refining Technique's passive function still occupied six slots.
Shigure eagerly jumped out of bed and began forming hand seals for the Clone Technique.
This time... it felt different.
With a soft puff of white smoke, a clone appeared before him.
And this time, Shigure clearly felt chakra being consumed.
"Huh? Wasn't it supposed to be free?"
"Don't tell me... only chakra refinement is cost-free?"
If that were the case, then all his excitement had been for nothing.
He dismissed the clone with a wave, a little disappointed.
But then—while sitting back down on the bed—he sensed it again.
Six strands of newly refined chakra flowed steadily into his body.
Something felt off.
Both the Chakra Refining Technique and the Clone Technique are installed as skills, so why is only one of them free to use?
Could the system be distinguishing between different types of skills?
He looked over the skill bar once more.
Six passive slots were filled with Chakra Refining Techniques, and one with the Clone Technique.
Then it hit him—
Quantity!
Could the difference lie in how many times a skill is installed?
Is the Clone Technique not fully installed yet?
Shigure frowned.
Let's try installing another one!
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
[In operation]
[Passive skill, run completed!]
Just as he was about to cast the Clone Jutsu again, Shigure suddenly felt... something extra. It wasn't obvious—more like an instinct—but something had definitely changed.
What does it mean to "complete a run" of the Clone Technique?
Pushing the question aside, Shigure attempted the jutsu again.
This time, his hands moved with surprising ease. He didn't even need to consciously recall the hand seals—his body just knew them. It was as if the motion had become muscle memory.
Not only that—his seal speed had noticeably improved.
Bang!
A puff of chakra burst out, and a clone appeared.
Shigure studied it carefully. The clone looked sharper... more solid, more perfect than before.
But what truly stunned him was—
No chakra was consumed!
"It's because of the number of passive skill slots I used!"
One instance of the Clone Technique had a chakra cost—but with two copies installed in separate passive slots, the cost vanished entirely!
No wonder chakra refinement felt free too!
"So this... is a hidden function?"
No. That didn't seem right.
More likely—it was a bug.
A glitch in the system caused by its damaged state. Normally, the system shouldn't allow duplicate passive skills. But now, with its restrictions broken, Shigure had control over what he could install.
And by stacking identical passive skills, he had found a loophole.
Free skill usage.
As long as a skill was installed in two passive slots, it could be cast without any chakra cost.
He currently had seven passive skill slots—meaning he could run three free passive skills at a time, and still leave one slot for chakra refinement.
His eyes lit up.
Who says I can only use three free skills?
If I need a different skill mid-fight, couldn't I just reassign two slots to it temporarily?
Excited by the possibility, Shigure opened the system panel, preparing to swap out the Clone Technique for the Transformation Jutsu.
[Notice: Please wait before swapping passive skills]
[Current remaining cooldown: 4 seconds]
"Tch."
He sighed.
So my idea won't work in real time...
There was a one-minute cooldown between skill swaps. That wasn't long, but in combat, even a second could be fatal.
Even Nagato's Shinra Tensei had a five-second cooldown. A minute? He'd be crushed before the skill swap completed.
But still, it wasn't hopeless.
In preparation for battle, he could pre-load three non-consuming jutsu and dedicate the final slot to Chakra Refining.
Why? Because Chakra Refinement didn't just increase chakra capacity—it restored chakra too.
If his chakra was full, refinement might yield only a trickle. But once depleted, a single refinement could recover more than half of it.
And with the skill passively running, it was like having a built-in chakra regen ability.
Once every five minutes, his chakra would bounce back significantly—like an auto-restore function.
For someone like Shigure—currently a mid-tier Genin—that meant recovering a massive portion of his reserves. And as his chakra pool expanded over time, so would the benefit.
And if I learn Senjutsu...
If he could replace regular refinement with Sage Mode refinement, he could passively absorb natural energy and generate Sage Chakra on demand.
That would be the very technique Naruto once dreamed of—refining Sage Chakra in battle.
Even without Hashirama's insane body that auto-absorbed nature energy, Shigure's skill bar could replicate the effect through passive means.
In fact, his system was arguably better.
Hashirama absorbed nature energy naturally—but passively. Shigure, on the other hand, could trigger it through active refinement, then turn that active function into a passive effect via his skill slots.
After thinking it through, the answer was clear.
His system wasn't just powerful. It was broken.
Shigure raised his head and looked out the window.
He slowly clenched his hand.
"Average? Ordinary?"
He laughed softly.
"No, no, no... from today onward—the entire ninja world will tremble because of me."
Shigure wasn't entirely sure what was going on—maybe it was because his chakra reserves had increased.
Could that be why I didn't feel any strain when refining chakra just now? Maybe my physical or mental energy has improved too...
To confirm his theory, Shigure began his second round of chakra refinement.
Just like before, it took him half an hour to complete.
However, this time the system remained silent—no prompts, no messages. That could only mean one thing: the quality of this refinement hadn't surpassed the previous one.
But that didn't bother him much.
What really surprised him was that—once again, he didn't feel any chakra consumption at all.
"It really is cost-free!"
Once could be chalked up to a fluke. But twice? That was no coincidence.
Shigure's excitement grew.
Being able to use a skill without any chakra cost...
If it were just the Chakra Refining Technique, maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal.
But what if this effect extended to other jutsu?
It had to be related to the skill bar. That was the only possible explanation.
He glanced at the skill bar. The Chakra Refining Technique was installed, and somehow it allowed him to refine chakra without consuming any.
Then what about other jutsu?
Without hesitation, he installed the Clone Technique into the skill bar.
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
The Chakra Refining Technique's passive function still occupied six slots.
Shigure eagerly jumped out of bed and began forming hand seals for the Clone Technique.
This time... it felt different.
With a soft puff of white smoke, a clone appeared before him.
And this time, Shigure clearly felt chakra being consumed.
"Huh? Wasn't it supposed to be free?"
"Don't tell me... only chakra refinement is cost-free?"
If that were the case, then all his excitement had been for nothing.
He dismissed the clone with a wave, a little disappointed.
But then—while sitting back down on the bed—he sensed it again.
Six strands of newly refined chakra flowed steadily into his body.
Something felt off.
Both the Chakra Refining Technique and the Clone Technique are installed as skills, so why is only one of them free to use?
Could the system be distinguishing between different types of skills?
He looked over the skill bar once more.
Six passive slots were filled with Chakra Refining Techniques, and one with the Clone Technique.
Then it hit him—
Quantity!
Could the difference lie in how many times a skill is installed?
Is the Clone Technique not fully installed yet?
Shigure frowned.
Let's try installing another one!
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
[In operation]
[Passive skill, run completed!]
Just as he was about to cast the Clone Jutsu again, Shigure suddenly felt... something extra. It wasn't obvious—more like an instinct—but something had definitely changed.
What does it mean to "complete a run" of the Clone Technique?
Pushing the question aside, Shigure attempted the jutsu again.
This time, his hands moved with surprising ease. He didn't even need to consciously recall the hand seals—his body just knew them. It was as if the motion had become muscle memory.
Not only that—his seal speed had noticeably improved.
Bang!
A puff of chakra burst out, and a clone appeared.
Shigure studied it carefully. The clone looked sharper... more solid, more perfect than before.
But what truly stunned him was—
No chakra was consumed!
"It's because of the number of passive skill slots I used!"
One instance of the Clone Technique had a chakra cost—but with two copies installed in separate passive slots, the cost vanished entirely!
No wonder chakra refinement felt free too!
"So this... is a hidden function?"
No. That didn't seem right.
More likely—it was a bug.
A glitch in the system caused by its damaged state. Normally, the system shouldn't allow duplicate passive skills. But now, with its restrictions broken, Shigure had control over what he could install.
And by stacking identical passive skills, he had found a loophole.
Free skill usage.
As long as a skill was installed in two passive slots, it could be cast without any chakra cost.
He currently had seven passive skill slots—meaning he could run three free passive skills at a time, and still leave one slot for chakra refinement.
His eyes lit up.
Who says I can only use three free skills?
If I need a different skill mid-fight, couldn't I just reassign two slots to it temporarily?
Excited by the possibility, Shigure opened the system panel, preparing to swap out the Clone Technique for the Transformation Jutsu.
[Notice: Please wait before swapping passive skills]
[Current remaining cooldown: 4 seconds]
"Tch."
He sighed.
So my idea won't work in real time...
There was a one-minute cooldown between skill swaps. That wasn't long, but in combat, even a second could be fatal.
Even Nagato's Shinra Tensei had a five-second cooldown. A minute? He'd be crushed before the skill swap completed.
But still, it wasn't hopeless.
In preparation for battle, he could pre-load three non-consuming jutsu and dedicate the final slot to Chakra Refining.
Why? Because Chakra Refinement didn't just increase chakra capacity—it restored chakra too.
If his chakra was full, refinement might yield only a trickle. But once depleted, a single refinement could recover more than half of it.
And with the skill passively running, it was like having a built-in chakra regen ability.
Once every five minutes, his chakra would bounce back significantly—like an auto-restore function.
For someone like Shigure—currently a mid-tier Genin—that meant recovering a massive portion of his reserves. And as his chakra pool expanded over time, so would the benefit.
And if I learn Senjutsu...
If he could replace regular refinement with Sage Mode refinement, he could passively absorb natural energy and generate Sage Chakra on demand.
That would be the very technique Naruto once dreamed of—refining Sage Chakra in battle.
Even without Hashirama's insane body that auto-absorbed nature energy, Shigure's skill bar could replicate the effect through passive means.
In fact, his system was arguably better.
Hashirama absorbed nature energy naturally—but passively. Shigure, on the other hand, could trigger it through active refinement, then turn that active function into a passive effect via his skill slots.
After thinking it through, the answer was clear.
His system wasn't just powerful. It was broken.
Shigure raised his head and looked out the window.
He slowly clenched his hand.
"Average? Ordinary?"
He laughed softly.
"No, no, no... from today onward—the entire ninja world will tremble because of me."
Shigure wasn't entirely sure what was going on—maybe it was because his chakra reserves had increased.
Could that be why I didn't feel any strain when refining chakra just now? Maybe my physical or mental energy has improved too...
To confirm his theory, Shigure began his second round of chakra refinement.
Just like before, it took him half an hour to complete.
However, this time the system remained silent—no prompts, no messages. That could only mean one thing: the quality of this refinement hadn't surpassed the previous one.
But that didn't bother him much.
What really surprised him was that—once again, he didn't feel any chakra consumption at all.
"It really is cost-free!"
Once could be chalked up to a fluke. But twice? That was no coincidence.
Shigure's excitement grew.
Being able to use a skill without any chakra cost...
If it were just the Chakra Refining Technique, maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal.
But what if this effect extended to other jutsu?
It had to be related to the skill bar. That was the only possible explanation.
He glanced at the skill bar. The Chakra Refining Technique was installed, and somehow it allowed him to refine chakra without consuming any.
Then what about other jutsu?
Without hesitation, he installed the Clone Technique into the skill bar.
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
The Chakra Refining Technique's passive function still occupied six slots.
Shigure eagerly jumped out of bed and began forming hand seals for the Clone Technique.
This time... it felt different.
With a soft puff of white smoke, a clone appeared before him.
And this time, Shigure clearly felt chakra being consumed.
"Huh? Wasn't it supposed to be free?"
"Don't tell me... only chakra refinement is cost-free?"
If that were the case, then all his excitement had been for nothing.
He dismissed the clone with a wave, a little disappointed.
But then—while sitting back down on the bed—he sensed it again.
Six strands of newly refined chakra flowed steadily into his body.
Something felt off.
Both the Chakra Refining Technique and the Clone Technique are installed as skills, so why is only one of them free to use?
Could the system be distinguishing between different types of skills?
He looked over the skill bar once more.
Six passive slots were filled with Chakra Refining Techniques, and one with the Clone Technique.
Then it hit him—
Quantity!
Could the difference lie in how many times a skill is installed?
Is the Clone Technique not fully installed yet?
Shigure frowned.
Let's try installing another one!
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
[In operation]
[Passive skill, run completed!]
Just as he was about to cast the Clone Jutsu again, Shigure suddenly felt... something extra. It wasn't obvious—more like an instinct—but something had definitely changed.
What does it mean to "complete a run" of the Clone Technique?
Pushing the question aside, Shigure attempted the jutsu again.
This time, his hands moved with surprising ease. He didn't even need to consciously recall the hand seals—his body just knew them. It was as if the motion had become muscle memory.
Not only that—his seal speed had noticeably improved.
Bang!
A puff of chakra burst out, and a clone appeared.
Shigure studied it carefully. The clone looked sharper... more solid, more perfect than before.
But what truly stunned him was—
No chakra was consumed!
"It's because of the number of passive skill slots I used!"
One instance of the Clone Technique had a chakra cost—but with two copies installed in separate passive slots, the cost vanished entirely!
No wonder chakra refinement felt free too!
"So this... is a hidden function?"
No. That didn't seem right.
More likely—it was a bug.
A glitch in the system caused by its damaged state. Normally, the system shouldn't allow duplicate passive skills. But now, with its restrictions broken, Shigure had control over what he could install.
And by stacking identical passive skills, he had found a loophole.
Free skill usage.
As long as a skill was installed in two passive slots, it could be cast without any chakra cost.
He currently had seven passive skill slots—meaning he could run three free passive skills at a time, and still leave one slot for chakra refinement.
His eyes lit up.
Who says I can only use three free skills?
If I need a different skill mid-fight, couldn't I just reassign two slots to it temporarily?
Excited by the possibility, Shigure opened the system panel, preparing to swap out the Clone Technique for the Transformation Jutsu.
[Notice: Please wait before swapping passive skills]
[Current remaining cooldown: 4 seconds]
"Tch."
He sighed.
So my idea won't work in real time...
There was a one-minute cooldown between skill swaps. That wasn't long, but in combat, even a second could be fatal.
Even Nagato's Shinra Tensei had a five-second cooldown. A minute? He'd be crushed before the skill swap completed.
But still, it wasn't hopeless.
In preparation for battle, he could pre-load three non-consuming jutsu and dedicate the final slot to Chakra Refining.
Why? Because Chakra Refinement didn't just increase chakra capacity—it restored chakra too.
If his chakra was full, refinement might yield only a trickle. But once depleted, a single refinement could recover more than half of it.
And with the skill passively running, it was like having a built-in chakra regen ability.
Once every five minutes, his chakra would bounce back significantly—like an auto-restore function.
For someone like Shigure—currently a mid-tier Genin—that meant recovering a massive portion of his reserves. And as his chakra pool expanded over time, so would the benefit.
And if I learn Senjutsu...
If he could replace regular refinement with Sage Mode refinement, he could passively absorb natural energy and generate Sage Chakra on demand.
That would be the very technique Naruto once dreamed of—refining Sage Chakra in battle.
Even without Hashirama's insane body that auto-absorbed nature energy, Shigure's skill bar could replicate the effect through passive means.
In fact, his system was arguably better.
Hashirama absorbed nature energy naturally—but passively. Shigure, on the other hand, could trigger it through active refinement, then turn that active function into a passive effect via his skill slots.
After thinking it through, the answer was clear.
His system wasn't just powerful. It was broken.
Shigure raised his head and looked out the window.
He slowly clenched his hand.
"Average? Ordinary?"
He laughed softly.
"No, no, no... from today onward—the entire ninja world will tremble because of me."
Shigure wasn't entirely sure what was going on—maybe it was because his chakra reserves had increased.
Could that be why I didn't feel any strain when refining chakra just now? Maybe my physical or mental energy has improved too...
To confirm his theory, Shigure began his second round of chakra refinement.
Just like before, it took him half an hour to complete.
However, this time the system remained silent—no prompts, no messages. That could only mean one thing: the quality of this refinement hadn't surpassed the previous one.
But that didn't bother him much.
What really surprised him was that—once again, he didn't feel any chakra consumption at all.
"It really is cost-free!"
Once could be chalked up to a fluke. But twice? That was no coincidence.
Shigure's excitement grew.
Being able to use a skill without any chakra cost...
If it were just the Chakra Refining Technique, maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal.
But what if this effect extended to other jutsu?
It had to be related to the skill bar. That was the only possible explanation.
He glanced at the skill bar. The Chakra Refining Technique was installed, and somehow it allowed him to refine chakra without consuming any.
Then what about other jutsu?
Without hesitation, he installed the Clone Technique into the skill bar.
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
The Chakra Refining Technique's passive function still occupied six slots.
Shigure eagerly jumped out of bed and began forming hand seals for the Clone Technique.
This time... it felt different.
With a soft puff of white smoke, a clone appeared before him.
And this time, Shigure clearly felt chakra being consumed.
"Huh? Wasn't it supposed to be free?"
"Don't tell me... only chakra refinement is cost-free?"
If that were the case, then all his excitement had been for nothing.
He dismissed the clone with a wave, a little disappointed.
But then—while sitting back down on the bed—he sensed it again.
Six strands of newly refined chakra flowed steadily into his body.
Something felt off.
Both the Chakra Refining Technique and the Clone Technique are installed as skills, so why is only one of them free to use?
Could the system be distinguishing between different types of skills?
He looked over the skill bar once more.
Six passive slots were filled with Chakra Refining Techniques, and one with the Clone Technique.
Then it hit him—
Quantity!
Could the difference lie in how many times a skill is installed?
Is the Clone Technique not fully installed yet?
Shigure frowned.
Let's try installing another one!
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
[In operation]
[Passive skill, run completed!]
Just as he was about to cast the Clone Jutsu again, Shigure suddenly felt... something extra. It wasn't obvious—more like an instinct—but something had definitely changed.
What does it mean to "complete a run" of the Clone Technique?
Pushing the question aside, Shigure attempted the jutsu again.
This time, his hands moved with surprising ease. He didn't even need to consciously recall the hand seals—his body just knew them. It was as if the motion had become muscle memory.
Not only that—his seal speed had noticeably improved.
Bang!
A puff of chakra burst out, and a clone appeared.
Shigure studied it carefully. The clone looked sharper... more solid, more perfect than before.
But what truly stunned him was—
No chakra was consumed!
"It's because of the number of passive skill slots I used!"
One instance of the Clone Technique had a chakra cost—but with two copies installed in separate passive slots, the cost vanished entirely!
No wonder chakra refinement felt free too!
"So this... is a hidden function?"
No. That didn't seem right.
More likely—it was a bug.
A glitch in the system caused by its damaged state. Normally, the system shouldn't allow duplicate passive skills. But now, with its restrictions broken, Shigure had control over what he could install.
And by stacking identical passive skills, he had found a loophole.
Free skill usage.
As long as a skill was installed in two passive slots, it could be cast without any chakra cost.
He currently had seven passive skill slots—meaning he could run three free passive skills at a time, and still leave one slot for chakra refinement.
His eyes lit up.
Who says I can only use three free skills?
If I need a different skill mid-fight, couldn't I just reassign two slots to it temporarily?
Excited by the possibility, Shigure opened the system panel, preparing to swap out the Clone Technique for the Transformation Jutsu.
[Notice: Please wait before swapping passive skills]
[Current remaining cooldown: 4 seconds]
"Tch."
He sighed.
So my idea won't work in real time...
There was a one-minute cooldown between skill swaps. That wasn't long, but in combat, even a second could be fatal.
Even Nagato's Shinra Tensei had a five-second cooldown. A minute? He'd be crushed before the skill swap completed.
But still, it wasn't hopeless.
In preparation for battle, he could pre-load three non-consuming jutsu and dedicate the final slot to Chakra Refining.
Why? Because Chakra Refinement didn't just increase chakra capacity—it restored chakra too.
If his chakra was full, refinement might yield only a trickle. But once depleted, a single refinement could recover more than half of it.
And with the skill passively running, it was like having a built-in chakra regen ability.
Once every five minutes, his chakra would bounce back significantly—like an auto-restore function.
For someone like Shigure—currently a mid-tier Genin—that meant recovering a massive portion of his reserves. And as his chakra pool expanded over time, so would the benefit.
And if I learn Senjutsu...
If he could replace regular refinement with Sage Mode refinement, he could passively absorb natural energy and generate Sage Chakra on demand.
That would be the very technique Naruto once dreamed of—refining Sage Chakra in battle.
Even without Hashirama's insane body that auto-absorbed nature energy, Shigure's skill bar could replicate the effect through passive means.
In fact, his system was arguably better.
Hashirama absorbed nature energy naturally—but passively. Shigure, on the other hand, could trigger it through active refinement, then turn that active function into a passive effect via his skill slots.
After thinking it through, the answer was clear.
His system wasn't just powerful. It was broken.
Shigure raised his head and looked out the window.
He slowly clenched his hand.
"Average? Ordinary?"
He laughed softly.
"No, no, no... from today onward—the entire ninja world will tremble because of me."
Shigure wasn't entirely sure what was going on—maybe it was because his chakra reserves had increased.
Could that be why I didn't feel any strain when refining chakra just now? Maybe my physical or mental energy has improved too...
To confirm his theory, Shigure began his second round of chakra refinement.
Just like before, it took him half an hour to complete.
However, this time the system remained silent—no prompts, no messages. That could only mean one thing: the quality of this refinement hadn't surpassed the previous one.
But that didn't bother him much.
What really surprised him was that—once again, he didn't feel any chakra consumption at all.
"It really is cost-free!"
Once could be chalked up to a fluke. But twice? That was no coincidence.
Shigure's excitement grew.
Being able to use a skill without any chakra cost...
If it were just the Chakra Refining Technique, maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal.
But what if this effect extended to other jutsu?
It had to be related to the skill bar. That was the only possible explanation.
He glanced at the skill bar. The Chakra Refining Technique was installed, and somehow it allowed him to refine chakra without consuming any.
Then what about other jutsu?
Without hesitation, he installed the Clone Technique into the skill bar.
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
The Chakra Refining Technique's passive function still occupied six slots.
Shigure eagerly jumped out of bed and began forming hand seals for the Clone Technique.
This time... it felt different.
With a soft puff of white smoke, a clone appeared before him.
And this time, Shigure clearly felt chakra being consumed.
"Huh? Wasn't it supposed to be free?"
"Don't tell me... only chakra refinement is cost-free?"
If that were the case, then all his excitement had been for nothing.
He dismissed the clone with a wave, a little disappointed.
But then—while sitting back down on the bed—he sensed it again.
Six strands of newly refined chakra flowed steadily into his body.
Something felt off.
Both the Chakra Refining Technique and the Clone Technique are installed as skills, so why is only one of them free to use?
Could the system be distinguishing between different types of skills?
He looked over the skill bar once more.
Six passive slots were filled with Chakra Refining Techniques, and one with the Clone Technique.
Then it hit him—
Quantity!
Could the difference lie in how many times a skill is installed?
Is the Clone Technique not fully installed yet?
Shigure frowned.
Let's try installing another one!
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
[In operation]
[Passive skill, run completed!]
Just as he was about to cast the Clone Jutsu again, Shigure suddenly felt... something extra. It wasn't obvious—more like an instinct—but something had definitely changed.
What does it mean to "complete a run" of the Clone Technique?
Pushing the question aside, Shigure attempted the jutsu again.
This time, his hands moved with surprising ease. He didn't even need to consciously recall the hand seals—his body just knew them. It was as if the motion had become muscle memory.
Not only that—his seal speed had noticeably improved.
Bang!
A puff of chakra burst out, and a clone appeared.
Shigure studied it carefully. The clone looked sharper... more solid, more perfect than before.
But what truly stunned him was—
No chakra was consumed!
"It's because of the number of passive skill slots I used!"
One instance of the Clone Technique had a chakra cost—but with two copies installed in separate passive slots, the cost vanished entirely!
No wonder chakra refinement felt free too!
"So this... is a hidden function?"
No. That didn't seem right.
More likely—it was a bug.
A glitch in the system caused by its damaged state. Normally, the system shouldn't allow duplicate passive skills. But now, with its restrictions broken, Shigure had control over what he could install.
And by stacking identical passive skills, he had found a loophole.
Free skill usage.
As long as a skill was installed in two passive slots, it could be cast without any chakra cost.
He currently had seven passive skill slots—meaning he could run three free passive skills at a time, and still leave one slot for chakra refinement.
His eyes lit up.
Who says I can only use three free skills?
If I need a different skill mid-fight, couldn't I just reassign two slots to it temporarily?
Excited by the possibility, Shigure opened the system panel, preparing to swap out the Clone Technique for the Transformation Jutsu.
[Notice: Please wait before swapping passive skills]
[Current remaining cooldown: 4 seconds]
"Tch."
He sighed.
So my idea won't work in real time...
There was a one-minute cooldown between skill swaps. That wasn't long, but in combat, even a second could be fatal.
Even Nagato's Shinra Tensei had a five-second cooldown. A minute? He'd be crushed before the skill swap completed.
But still, it wasn't hopeless.
In preparation for battle, he could pre-load three non-consuming jutsu and dedicate the final slot to Chakra Refining.
Why? Because Chakra Refinement didn't just increase chakra capacity—it restored chakra too.
If his chakra was full, refinement might yield only a trickle. But once depleted, a single refinement could recover more than half of it.
And with the skill passively running, it was like having a built-in chakra regen ability.
Once every five minutes, his chakra would bounce back significantly—like an auto-restore function.
For someone like Shigure—currently a mid-tier Genin—that meant recovering a massive portion of his reserves. And as his chakra pool expanded over time, so would the benefit.
And if I learn Senjutsu...
If he could replace regular refinement with Sage Mode refinement, he could passively absorb natural energy and generate Sage Chakra on demand.
That would be the very technique Naruto once dreamed of—refining Sage Chakra in battle.
Even without Hashirama's insane body that auto-absorbed nature energy, Shigure's skill bar could replicate the effect through passive means.
In fact, his system was arguably better.
Hashirama absorbed nature energy naturally—but passively. Shigure, on the other hand, could trigger it through active refinement, then turn that active function into a passive effect via his skill slots.
After thinking it through, the answer was clear.
His system wasn't just powerful. It was broken.
Shigure raised his head and looked out the window.
He slowly clenched his hand.
"Average? Ordinary?"
He laughed softly.
"No, no, no... from today onward—the entire ninja world will tremble because of me."
Shigure wasn't entirely sure what was going on—maybe it was because his chakra reserves had increased.
Could that be why I didn't feel any strain when refining chakra just now? Maybe my physical or mental energy has improved too...
To confirm his theory, Shigure began his second round of chakra refinement.
Just like before, it took him half an hour to complete.
However, this time the system remained silent—no prompts, no messages. That could only mean one thing: the quality of this refinement hadn't surpassed the previous one.
But that didn't bother him much.
What really surprised him was that—once again, he didn't feel any chakra consumption at all.
"It really is cost-free!"
Once could be chalked up to a fluke. But twice? That was no coincidence.
Shigure's excitement grew.
Being able to use a skill without any chakra cost...
If it were just the Chakra Refining Technique, maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal.
But what if this effect extended to other jutsu?
It had to be related to the skill bar. That was the only possible explanation.
He glanced at the skill bar. The Chakra Refining Technique was installed, and somehow it allowed him to refine chakra without consuming any.
Then what about other jutsu?
Without hesitation, he installed the Clone Technique into the skill bar.
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
The Chakra Refining Technique's passive function still occupied six slots.
Shigure eagerly jumped out of bed and began forming hand seals for the Clone Technique.
This time... it felt different.
With a soft puff of white smoke, a clone appeared before him.
And this time, Shigure clearly felt chakra being consumed.
"Huh? Wasn't it supposed to be free?"
"Don't tell me... only chakra refinement is cost-free?"
If that were the case, then all his excitement had been for nothing.
He dismissed the clone with a wave, a little disappointed.
But then—while sitting back down on the bed—he sensed it again.
Six strands of newly refined chakra flowed steadily into his body.
Something felt off.
Both the Chakra Refining Technique and the Clone Technique are installed as skills, so why is only one of them free to use?
Could the system be distinguishing between different types of skills?
He looked over the skill bar once more.
Six passive slots were filled with Chakra Refining Techniques, and one with the Clone Technique.
Then it hit him—
Quantity!
Could the difference lie in how many times a skill is installed?
Is the Clone Technique not fully installed yet?
Shigure frowned.
Let's try installing another one!
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
[In operation]
[Passive skill, run completed!]
Just as he was about to cast the Clone Jutsu again, Shigure suddenly felt... something extra. It wasn't obvious—more like an instinct—but something had definitely changed.
What does it mean to "complete a run" of the Clone Technique?
Pushing the question aside, Shigure attempted the jutsu again.
This time, his hands moved with surprising ease. He didn't even need to consciously recall the hand seals—his body just knew them. It was as if the motion had become muscle memory.
Not only that—his seal speed had noticeably improved.
Bang!
A puff of chakra burst out, and a clone appeared.
Shigure studied it carefully. The clone looked sharper... more solid, more perfect than before.
But what truly stunned him was—
No chakra was consumed!
"It's because of the number of passive skill slots I used!"
One instance of the Clone Technique had a chakra cost—but with two copies installed in separate passive slots, the cost vanished entirely!
No wonder chakra refinement felt free too!
"So this... is a hidden function?"
No. That didn't seem right.
More likely—it was a bug.
A glitch in the system caused by its damaged state. Normally, the system shouldn't allow duplicate passive skills. But now, with its restrictions broken, Shigure had control over what he could install.
And by stacking identical passive skills, he had found a loophole.
Free skill usage.
As long as a skill was installed in two passive slots, it could be cast without any chakra cost.
He currently had seven passive skill slots—meaning he could run three free passive skills at a time, and still leave one slot for chakra refinement.
His eyes lit up.
Who says I can only use three free skills?
If I need a different skill mid-fight, couldn't I just reassign two slots to it temporarily?
Excited by the possibility, Shigure opened the system panel, preparing to swap out the Clone Technique for the Transformation Jutsu.
[Notice: Please wait before swapping passive skills]
[Current remaining cooldown: 4 seconds]
"Tch."
He sighed.
So my idea won't work in real time...
There was a one-minute cooldown between skill swaps. That wasn't long, but in combat, even a second could be fatal.
Even Nagato's Shinra Tensei had a five-second cooldown. A minute? He'd be crushed before the skill swap completed.
But still, it wasn't hopeless.
In preparation for battle, he could pre-load three non-consuming jutsu and dedicate the final slot to Chakra Refining.
Why? Because Chakra Refinement didn't just increase chakra capacity—it restored chakra too.
If his chakra was full, refinement might yield only a trickle. But once depleted, a single refinement could recover more than half of it.
And with the skill passively running, it was like having a built-in chakra regen ability.
Once every five minutes, his chakra would bounce back significantly—like an auto-restore function.
For someone like Shigure—currently a mid-tier Genin—that meant recovering a massive portion of his reserves. And as his chakra pool expanded over time, so would the benefit.
And if I learn Senjutsu...
If he could replace regular refinement with Sage Mode refinement, he could passively absorb natural energy and generate Sage Chakra on demand.
That would be the very technique Naruto once dreamed of—refining Sage Chakra in battle.
Even without Hashirama's insane body that auto-absorbed nature energy, Shigure's skill bar could replicate the effect through passive means.
In fact, his system was arguably better.
Hashirama absorbed nature energy naturally—but passively. Shigure, on the other hand, could trigger it through active refinement, then turn that active function into a passive effect via his skill slots.
After thinking it through, the answer was clear.
His system wasn't just powerful. It was broken.
Shigure raised his head and looked out the window.
He slowly clenched his hand.
"Average? Ordinary?"
He laughed softly.
"No, no, no... from today onward—the entire ninja world will tremble because of me."
Shigure wasn't entirely sure what was going on—maybe it was because his chakra reserves had increased.
Could that be why I didn't feel any strain when refining chakra just now? Maybe my physical or mental energy has improved too...
To confirm his theory, Shigure began his second round of chakra refinement.
Just like before, it took him half an hour to complete.
However, this time the system remained silent—no prompts, no messages. That could only mean one thing: the quality of this refinement hadn't surpassed the previous one.
But that didn't bother him much.
What really surprised him was that—once again, he didn't feel any chakra consumption at all.
"It really is cost-free!"
Once could be chalked up to a fluke. But twice? That was no coincidence.
Shigure's excitement grew.
Being able to use a skill without any chakra cost...
If it were just the Chakra Refining Technique, maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal.
But what if this effect extended to other jutsu?
It had to be related to the skill bar. That was the only possible explanation.
He glanced at the skill bar. The Chakra Refining Technique was installed, and somehow it allowed him to refine chakra without consuming any.
Then what about other jutsu?
Without hesitation, he installed the Clone Technique into the skill bar.
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
The Chakra Refining Technique's passive function still occupied six slots.
Shigure eagerly jumped out of bed and began forming hand seals for the Clone Technique.
This time... it felt different.
With a soft puff of white smoke, a clone appeared before him.
And this time, Shigure clearly felt chakra being consumed.
"Huh? Wasn't it supposed to be free?"
"Don't tell me... only chakra refinement is cost-free?"
If that were the case, then all his excitement had been for nothing.
He dismissed the clone with a wave, a little disappointed.
But then—while sitting back down on the bed—he sensed it again.
Six strands of newly refined chakra flowed steadily into his body.
Something felt off.
Both the Chakra Refining Technique and the Clone Technique are installed as skills, so why is only one of them free to use?
Could the system be distinguishing between different types of skills?
He looked over the skill bar once more.
Six passive slots were filled with Chakra Refining Techniques, and one with the Clone Technique.
Then it hit him—
Quantity!
Could the difference lie in how many times a skill is installed?
Is the Clone Technique not fully installed yet?
Shigure frowned.
Let's try installing another one!
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
[In operation]
[Passive skill, run completed!]
Just as he was about to cast the Clone Jutsu again, Shigure suddenly felt... something extra. It wasn't obvious—more like an instinct—but something had definitely changed.
What does it mean to "complete a run" of the Clone Technique?
Pushing the question aside, Shigure attempted the jutsu again.
This time, his hands moved with surprising ease. He didn't even need to consciously recall the hand seals—his body just knew them. It was as if the motion had become muscle memory.
Not only that—his seal speed had noticeably improved.
Bang!
A puff of chakra burst out, and a clone appeared.
Shigure studied it carefully. The clone looked sharper... more solid, more perfect than before.
But what truly stunned him was—
No chakra was consumed!
"It's because of the number of passive skill slots I used!"
One instance of the Clone Technique had a chakra cost—but with two copies installed in separate passive slots, the cost vanished entirely!
No wonder chakra refinement felt free too!
"So this... is a hidden function?"
No. That didn't seem right.
More likely—it was a bug.
A glitch in the system caused by its damaged state. Normally, the system shouldn't allow duplicate passive skills. But now, with its restrictions broken, Shigure had control over what he could install.
And by stacking identical passive skills, he had found a loophole.
Free skill usage.
As long as a skill was installed in two passive slots, it could be cast without any chakra cost.
He currently had seven passive skill slots—meaning he could run three free passive skills at a time, and still leave one slot for chakra refinement.
His eyes lit up.
Who says I can only use three free skills?
If I need a different skill mid-fight, couldn't I just reassign two slots to it temporarily?
Excited by the possibility, Shigure opened the system panel, preparing to swap out the Clone Technique for the Transformation Jutsu.
[Notice: Please wait before swapping passive skills]
[Current remaining cooldown: 4 seconds]
"Tch."
He sighed.
So my idea won't work in real time...
There was a one-minute cooldown between skill swaps. That wasn't long, but in combat, even a second could be fatal.
Even Nagato's Shinra Tensei had a five-second cooldown. A minute? He'd be crushed before the skill swap completed.
But still, it wasn't hopeless.
In preparation for battle, he could pre-load three non-consuming jutsu and dedicate the final slot to Chakra Refining.
Why? Because Chakra Refinement didn't just increase chakra capacity—it restored chakra too.
If his chakra was full, refinement might yield only a trickle. But once depleted, a single refinement could recover more than half of it.
And with the skill passively running, it was like having a built-in chakra regen ability.
Once every five minutes, his chakra would bounce back significantly—like an auto-restore function.
For someone like Shigure—currently a mid-tier Genin—that meant recovering a massive portion of his reserves. And as his chakra pool expanded over time, so would the benefit.
And if I learn Senjutsu...
If he could replace regular refinement with Sage Mode refinement, he could passively absorb natural energy and generate Sage Chakra on demand.
That would be the very technique Naruto once dreamed of—refining Sage Chakra in battle.
Even without Hashirama's insane body that auto-absorbed nature energy, Shigure's skill bar could replicate the effect through passive means.
In fact, his system was arguably better.
Hashirama absorbed nature energy naturally—but passively. Shigure, on the other hand, could trigger it through active refinement, then turn that active function into a passive effect via his skill slots.
After thinking it through, the answer was clear.
His system wasn't just powerful. It was broken.
Shigure raised his head and looked out the window.
He slowly clenched his hand.
"Average? Ordinary?"
He laughed softly.
"No, no, no... from today onward—the entire ninja world will tremble because of me."
Shigure wasn't entirely sure what was going on—maybe it was because his chakra reserves had increased.
Could that be why I didn't feel any strain when refining chakra just now? Maybe my physical or mental energy has improved too...
To confirm his theory, Shigure began his second round of chakra refinement.
Just like before, it took him half an hour to complete.
However, this time the system remained silent—no prompts, no messages. That could only mean one thing: the quality of this refinement hadn't surpassed the previous one.
But that didn't bother him much.
What really surprised him was that—once again, he didn't feel any chakra consumption at all.
"It really is cost-free!"
Once could be chalked up to a fluke. But twice? That was no coincidence.
Shigure's excitement grew.
Being able to use a skill without any chakra cost...
If it were just the Chakra Refining Technique, maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal.
But what if this effect extended to other jutsu?
It had to be related to the skill bar. That was the only possible explanation.
He glanced at the skill bar. The Chakra Refining Technique was installed, and somehow it allowed him to refine chakra without consuming any.
Then what about other jutsu?
Without hesitation, he installed the Clone Technique into the skill bar.
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
The Chakra Refining Technique's passive function still occupied six slots.
Shigure eagerly jumped out of bed and began forming hand seals for the Clone Technique.
This time... it felt different.
With a soft puff of white smoke, a clone appeared before him.
And this time, Shigure clearly felt chakra being consumed.
"Huh? Wasn't it supposed to be free?"
"Don't tell me... only chakra refinement is cost-free?"
If that were the case, then all his excitement had been for nothing.
He dismissed the clone with a wave, a little disappointed.
But then—while sitting back down on the bed—he sensed it again.
Six strands of newly refined chakra flowed steadily into his body.
Something felt off.
Both the Chakra Refining Technique and the Clone Technique are installed as skills, so why is only one of them free to use?
Could the system be distinguishing between different types of skills?
He looked over the skill bar once more.
Six passive slots were filled with Chakra Refining Techniques, and one with the Clone Technique.
Then it hit him—
Quantity!
Could the difference lie in how many times a skill is installed?
Is the Clone Technique not fully installed yet?
Shigure frowned.
Let's try installing another one!
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
[In operation]
[Passive skill, run completed!]
Just as he was about to cast the Clone Jutsu again, Shigure suddenly felt... something extra. It wasn't obvious—more like an instinct—but something had definitely changed.
What does it mean to "complete a run" of the Clone Technique?
Pushing the question aside, Shigure attempted the jutsu again.
This time, his hands moved with surprising ease. He didn't even need to consciously recall the hand seals—his body just knew them. It was as if the motion had become muscle memory.
Not only that—his seal speed had noticeably improved.
Bang!
A puff of chakra burst out, and a clone appeared.
Shigure studied it carefully. The clone looked sharper... more solid, more perfect than before.
But what truly stunned him was—
No chakra was consumed!
"It's because of the number of passive skill slots I used!"
One instance of the Clone Technique had a chakra cost—but with two copies installed in separate passive slots, the cost vanished entirely!
No wonder chakra refinement felt free too!
"So this... is a hidden function?"
No. That didn't seem right.
More likely—it was a bug.
A glitch in the system caused by its damaged state. Normally, the system shouldn't allow duplicate passive skills. But now, with its restrictions broken, Shigure had control over what he could install.
And by stacking identical passive skills, he had found a loophole.
Free skill usage.
As long as a skill was installed in two passive slots, it could be cast without any chakra cost.
He currently had seven passive skill slots—meaning he could run three free passive skills at a time, and still leave one slot for chakra refinement.
His eyes lit up.
Who says I can only use three free skills?
If I need a different skill mid-fight, couldn't I just reassign two slots to it temporarily?
Excited by the possibility, Shigure opened the system panel, preparing to swap out the Clone Technique for the Transformation Jutsu.
[Notice: Please wait before swapping passive skills]
[Current remaining cooldown: 4 seconds]
"Tch."
He sighed.
So my idea won't work in real time...
There was a one-minute cooldown between skill swaps. That wasn't long, but in combat, even a second could be fatal.
Even Nagato's Shinra Tensei had a five-second cooldown. A minute? He'd be crushed before the skill swap completed.
But still, it wasn't hopeless.
In preparation for battle, he could pre-load three non-consuming jutsu and dedicate the final slot to Chakra Refining.
Why? Because Chakra Refinement didn't just increase chakra capacity—it restored chakra too.
If his chakra was full, refinement might yield only a trickle. But once depleted, a single refinement could recover more than half of it.
And with the skill passively running, it was like having a built-in chakra regen ability.
Once every five minutes, his chakra would bounce back significantly—like an auto-restore function.
For someone like Shigure—currently a mid-tier Genin—that meant recovering a massive portion of his reserves. And as his chakra pool expanded over time, so would the benefit.
And if I learn Senjutsu...
If he could replace regular refinement with Sage Mode refinement, he could passively absorb natural energy and generate Sage Chakra on demand.
That would be the very technique Naruto once dreamed of—refining Sage Chakra in battle.
Even without Hashirama's insane body that auto-absorbed nature energy, Shigure's skill bar could replicate the effect through passive means.
In fact, his system was arguably better.
Hashirama absorbed nature energy naturally—but passively. Shigure, on the other hand, could trigger it through active refinement, then turn that active function into a passive effect via his skill slots.
After thinking it through, the answer was clear.
His system wasn't just powerful. It was broken.
Shigure raised his head and looked out the window.
He slowly clenched his hand.
"Average? Ordinary?"
He laughed softly.
"No, no, no... from today onward—the entire ninja world will tremble because of me."
Shigure wasn't entirely sure what was going on—maybe it was because his chakra reserves had increased.
Could that be why I didn't feel any strain when refining chakra just now? Maybe my physical or mental energy has improved too...
To confirm his theory, Shigure began his second round of chakra refinement.
Just like before, it took him half an hour to complete.
However, this time the system remained silent—no prompts, no messages. That could only mean one thing: the quality of this refinement hadn't surpassed the previous one.
But that didn't bother him much.
What really surprised him was that—once again, he didn't feel any chakra consumption at all.
"It really is cost-free!"
Once could be chalked up to a fluke. But twice? That was no coincidence.
Shigure's excitement grew.
Being able to use a skill without any chakra cost...
If it were just the Chakra Refining Technique, maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal.
But what if this effect extended to other jutsu?
It had to be related to the skill bar. That was the only possible explanation.
He glanced at the skill bar. The Chakra Refining Technique was installed, and somehow it allowed him to refine chakra without consuming any.
Then what about other jutsu?
Without hesitation, he installed the Clone Technique into the skill bar.
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
The Chakra Refining Technique's passive function still occupied six slots.
Shigure eagerly jumped out of bed and began forming hand seals for the Clone Technique.
This time... it felt different.
With a soft puff of white smoke, a clone appeared before him.
And this time, Shigure clearly felt chakra being consumed.
"Huh? Wasn't it supposed to be free?"
"Don't tell me... only chakra refinement is cost-free?"
If that were the case, then all his excitement had been for nothing.
He dismissed the clone with a wave, a little disappointed.
But then—while sitting back down on the bed—he sensed it again.
Six strands of newly refined chakra flowed steadily into his body.
Something felt off.
Both the Chakra Refining Technique and the Clone Technique are installed as skills, so why is only one of them free to use?
Could the system be distinguishing between different types of skills?
He looked over the skill bar once more.
Six passive slots were filled with Chakra Refining Techniques, and one with the Clone Technique.
Then it hit him—
Quantity!
Could the difference lie in how many times a skill is installed?
Is the Clone Technique not fully installed yet?
Shigure frowned.
Let's try installing another one!
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
[In operation]
[Passive skill, run completed!]
Just as he was about to cast the Clone Jutsu again, Shigure suddenly felt... something extra. It wasn't obvious—more like an instinct—but something had definitely changed.
What does it mean to "complete a run" of the Clone Technique?
Pushing the question aside, Shigure attempted the jutsu again.
This time, his hands moved with surprising ease. He didn't even need to consciously recall the hand seals—his body just knew them. It was as if the motion had become muscle memory.
Not only that—his seal speed had noticeably improved.
Bang!
A puff of chakra burst out, and a clone appeared.
Shigure studied it carefully. The clone looked sharper... more solid, more perfect than before.
But what truly stunned him was—
No chakra was consumed!
"It's because of the number of passive skill slots I used!"
One instance of the Clone Technique had a chakra cost—but with two copies installed in separate passive slots, the cost vanished entirely!
No wonder chakra refinement felt free too!
"So this... is a hidden function?"
No. That didn't seem right.
More likely—it was a bug.
A glitch in the system caused by its damaged state. Normally, the system shouldn't allow duplicate passive skills. But now, with its restrictions broken, Shigure had control over what he could install.
And by stacking identical passive skills, he had found a loophole.
Free skill usage.
As long as a skill was installed in two passive slots, it could be cast without any chakra cost.
He currently had seven passive skill slots—meaning he could run three free passive skills at a time, and still leave one slot for chakra refinement.
His eyes lit up.
Who says I can only use three free skills?
If I need a different skill mid-fight, couldn't I just reassign two slots to it temporarily?
Excited by the possibility, Shigure opened the system panel, preparing to swap out the Clone Technique for the Transformation Jutsu.
[Notice: Please wait before swapping passive skills]
[Current remaining cooldown: 4 seconds]
"Tch."
He sighed.
So my idea won't work in real time...
There was a one-minute cooldown between skill swaps. That wasn't long, but in combat, even a second could be fatal.
Even Nagato's Shinra Tensei had a five-second cooldown. A minute? He'd be crushed before the skill swap completed.
But still, it wasn't hopeless.
In preparation for battle, he could pre-load three non-consuming jutsu and dedicate the final slot to Chakra Refining.
Why? Because Chakra Refinement didn't just increase chakra capacity—it restored chakra too.
If his chakra was full, refinement might yield only a trickle. But once depleted, a single refinement could recover more than half of it.
And with the skill passively running, it was like having a built-in chakra regen ability.
Once every five minutes, his chakra would bounce back significantly—like an auto-restore function.
For someone like Shigure—currently a mid-tier Genin—that meant recovering a massive portion of his reserves. And as his chakra pool expanded over time, so would the benefit.
And if I learn Senjutsu...
If he could replace regular refinement with Sage Mode refinement, he could passively absorb natural energy and generate Sage Chakra on demand.
That would be the very technique Naruto once dreamed of—refining Sage Chakra in battle.
Even without Hashirama's insane body that auto-absorbed nature energy, Shigure's skill bar could replicate the effect through passive means.
In fact, his system was arguably better.
Hashirama absorbed nature energy naturally—but passively. Shigure, on the other hand, could trigger it through active refinement, then turn that active function into a passive effect via his skill slots.
After thinking it through, the answer was clear.
His system wasn't just powerful. It was broken.
Shigure raised his head and looked out the window.
He slowly clenched his hand.
"Average? Ordinary?"
He laughed softly.
"No, no, no... from today onward—the entire ninja world will tremble because of me."
Shigure wasn't entirely sure what was going on—maybe it was because his chakra reserves had increased.
Could that be why I didn't feel any strain when refining chakra just now? Maybe my physical or mental energy has improved too...
To confirm his theory, Shigure began his second round of chakra refinement.
Just like before, it took him half an hour to complete.
However, this time the system remained silent—no prompts, no messages. That could only mean one thing: the quality of this refinement hadn't surpassed the previous one.
But that didn't bother him much.
What really surprised him was that—once again, he didn't feel any chakra consumption at all.
"It really is cost-free!"
Once could be chalked up to a fluke. But twice? That was no coincidence.
Shigure's excitement grew.
Being able to use a skill without any chakra cost...
If it were just the Chakra Refining Technique, maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal.
But what if this effect extended to other jutsu?
It had to be related to the skill bar. That was the only possible explanation.
He glanced at the skill bar. The Chakra Refining Technique was installed, and somehow it allowed him to refine chakra without consuming any.
Then what about other jutsu?
Without hesitation, he installed the Clone Technique into the skill bar.
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
The Chakra Refining Technique's passive function still occupied six slots.
Shigure eagerly jumped out of bed and began forming hand seals for the Clone Technique.
This time... it felt different.
With a soft puff of white smoke, a clone appeared before him.
And this time, Shigure clearly felt chakra being consumed.
"Huh? Wasn't it supposed to be free?"
"Don't tell me... only chakra refinement is cost-free?"
If that were the case, then all his excitement had been for nothing.
He dismissed the clone with a wave, a little disappointed.
But then—while sitting back down on the bed—he sensed it again.
Six strands of newly refined chakra flowed steadily into his body.
Something felt off.
Both the Chakra Refining Technique and the Clone Technique are installed as skills, so why is only one of them free to use?
Could the system be distinguishing between different types of skills?
He looked over the skill bar once more.
Six passive slots were filled with Chakra Refining Techniques, and one with the Clone Technique.
Then it hit him—
Quantity!
Could the difference lie in how many times a skill is installed?
Is the Clone Technique not fully installed yet?
Shigure frowned.
Let's try installing another one!
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
[In operation]
[Passive skill, run completed!]
Just as he was about to cast the Clone Jutsu again, Shigure suddenly felt... something extra. It wasn't obvious—more like an instinct—but something had definitely changed.
What does it mean to "complete a run" of the Clone Technique?
Pushing the question aside, Shigure attempted the jutsu again.
This time, his hands moved with surprising ease. He didn't even need to consciously recall the hand seals—his body just knew them. It was as if the motion had become muscle memory.
Not only that—his seal speed had noticeably improved.
Bang!
A puff of chakra burst out, and a clone appeared.
Shigure studied it carefully. The clone looked sharper... more solid, more perfect than before.
But what truly stunned him was—
No chakra was consumed!
"It's because of the number of passive skill slots I used!"
One instance of the Clone Technique had a chakra cost—but with two copies installed in separate passive slots, the cost vanished entirely!
No wonder chakra refinement felt free too!
"So this... is a hidden function?"
No. That didn't seem right.
More likely—it was a bug.
A glitch in the system caused by its damaged state. Normally, the system shouldn't allow duplicate passive skills. But now, with its restrictions broken, Shigure had control over what he could install.
And by stacking identical passive skills, he had found a loophole.
Free skill usage.
As long as a skill was installed in two passive slots, it could be cast without any chakra cost.
He currently had seven passive skill slots—meaning he could run three free passive skills at a time, and still leave one slot for chakra refinement.
His eyes lit up.
Who says I can only use three free skills?
If I need a different skill mid-fight, couldn't I just reassign two slots to it temporarily?
Excited by the possibility, Shigure opened the system panel, preparing to swap out the Clone Technique for the Transformation Jutsu.
[Notice: Please wait before swapping passive skills]
[Current remaining cooldown: 4 seconds]
"Tch."
He sighed.
So my idea won't work in real time...
There was a one-minute cooldown between skill swaps. That wasn't long, but in combat, even a second could be fatal.
Even Nagato's Shinra Tensei had a five-second cooldown. A minute? He'd be crushed before the skill swap completed.
But still, it wasn't hopeless.
In preparation for battle, he could pre-load three non-consuming jutsu and dedicate the final slot to Chakra Refining.
Why? Because Chakra Refinement didn't just increase chakra capacity—it restored chakra too.
If his chakra was full, refinement might yield only a trickle. But once depleted, a single refinement could recover more than half of it.
And with the skill passively running, it was like having a built-in chakra regen ability.
Once every five minutes, his chakra would bounce back significantly—like an auto-restore function.
For someone like Shigure—currently a mid-tier Genin—that meant recovering a massive portion of his reserves. And as his chakra pool expanded over time, so would the benefit.
And if I learn Senjutsu...
If he could replace regular refinement with Sage Mode refinement, he could passively absorb natural energy and generate Sage Chakra on demand.
That would be the very technique Naruto once dreamed of—refining Sage Chakra in battle.
Even without Hashirama's insane body that auto-absorbed nature energy, Shigure's skill bar could replicate the effect through passive means.
In fact, his system was arguably better.
Hashirama absorbed nature energy naturally—but passively. Shigure, on the other hand, could trigger it through active refinement, then turn that active function into a passive effect via his skill slots.
After thinking it through, the answer was clear.
His system wasn't just powerful. It was broken.
Shigure raised his head and looked out the window.
He slowly clenched his hand.
"Average? Ordinary?"
He laughed softly.
"No, no, no... from today onward—the entire ninja world will tremble because of me."
Shigure wasn't entirely sure what was going on—maybe it was because his chakra reserves had increased.
Could that be why I didn't feel any strain when refining chakra just now? Maybe my physical or mental energy has improved too...
To confirm his theory, Shigure began his second round of chakra refinement.
Just like before, it took him half an hour to complete.
However, this time the system remained silent—no prompts, no messages. That could only mean one thing: the quality of this refinement hadn't surpassed the previous one.
But that didn't bother him much.
What really surprised him was that—once again, he didn't feel any chakra consumption at all.
"It really is cost-free!"
Once could be chalked up to a fluke. But twice? That was no coincidence.
Shigure's excitement grew.
Being able to use a skill without any chakra cost...
If it were just the Chakra Refining Technique, maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal.
But what if this effect extended to other jutsu?
It had to be related to the skill bar. That was the only possible explanation.
He glanced at the skill bar. The Chakra Refining Technique was installed, and somehow it allowed him to refine chakra without consuming any.
Then what about other jutsu?
Without hesitation, he installed the Clone Technique into the skill bar.
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
The Chakra Refining Technique's passive function still occupied six slots.
Shigure eagerly jumped out of bed and began forming hand seals for the Clone Technique.
This time... it felt different.
With a soft puff of white smoke, a clone appeared before him.
And this time, Shigure clearly felt chakra being consumed.
"Huh? Wasn't it supposed to be free?"
"Don't tell me... only chakra refinement is cost-free?"
If that were the case, then all his excitement had been for nothing.
He dismissed the clone with a wave, a little disappointed.
But then—while sitting back down on the bed—he sensed it again.
Six strands of newly refined chakra flowed steadily into his body.
Something felt off.
Both the Chakra Refining Technique and the Clone Technique are installed as skills, so why is only one of them free to use?
Could the system be distinguishing between different types of skills?
He looked over the skill bar once more.
Six passive slots were filled with Chakra Refining Techniques, and one with the Clone Technique.
Then it hit him—
Quantity!
Could the difference lie in how many times a skill is installed?
Is the Clone Technique not fully installed yet?
Shigure frowned.
Let's try installing another one!
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
[In operation]
[Passive skill, run completed!]
Just as he was about to cast the Clone Jutsu again, Shigure suddenly felt... something extra. It wasn't obvious—more like an instinct—but something had definitely changed.
What does it mean to "complete a run" of the Clone Technique?
Pushing the question aside, Shigure attempted the jutsu again.
This time, his hands moved with surprising ease. He didn't even need to consciously recall the hand seals—his body just knew them. It was as if the motion had become muscle memory.
Not only that—his seal speed had noticeably improved.
Bang!
A puff of chakra burst out, and a clone appeared.
Shigure studied it carefully. The clone looked sharper... more solid, more perfect than before.
But what truly stunned him was—
No chakra was consumed!
"It's because of the number of passive skill slots I used!"
One instance of the Clone Technique had a chakra cost—but with two copies installed in separate passive slots, the cost vanished entirely!
No wonder chakra refinement felt free too!
"So this... is a hidden function?"
No. That didn't seem right.
More likely—it was a bug.
A glitch in the system caused by its damaged state. Normally, the system shouldn't allow duplicate passive skills. But now, with its restrictions broken, Shigure had control over what he could install.
And by stacking identical passive skills, he had found a loophole.
Free skill usage.
As long as a skill was installed in two passive slots, it could be cast without any chakra cost.
He currently had seven passive skill slots—meaning he could run three free passive skills at a time, and still leave one slot for chakra refinement.
His eyes lit up.
Who says I can only use three free skills?
If I need a different skill mid-fight, couldn't I just reassign two slots to it temporarily?
Excited by the possibility, Shigure opened the system panel, preparing to swap out the Clone Technique for the Transformation Jutsu.
[Notice: Please wait before swapping passive skills]
[Current remaining cooldown: 4 seconds]
"Tch."
He sighed.
So my idea won't work in real time...
There was a one-minute cooldown between skill swaps. That wasn't long, but in combat, even a second could be fatal.
Even Nagato's Shinra Tensei had a five-second cooldown. A minute? He'd be crushed before the skill swap completed.
But still, it wasn't hopeless.
In preparation for battle, he could pre-load three non-consuming jutsu and dedicate the final slot to Chakra Refining.
Why? Because Chakra Refinement didn't just increase chakra capacity—it restored chakra too.
If his chakra was full, refinement might yield only a trickle. But once depleted, a single refinement could recover more than half of it.
And with the skill passively running, it was like having a built-in chakra regen ability.
Once every five minutes, his chakra would bounce back significantly—like an auto-restore function.
For someone like Shigure—currently a mid-tier Genin—that meant recovering a massive portion of his reserves. And as his chakra pool expanded over time, so would the benefit.
And if I learn Senjutsu...
If he could replace regular refinement with Sage Mode refinement, he could passively absorb natural energy and generate Sage Chakra on demand.
That would be the very technique Naruto once dreamed of—refining Sage Chakra in battle.
Even without Hashirama's insane body that auto-absorbed nature energy, Shigure's skill bar could replicate the effect through passive means.
In fact, his system was arguably better.
Hashirama absorbed nature energy naturally—but passively. Shigure, on the other hand, could trigger it through active refinement, then turn that active function into a passive effect via his skill slots.
After thinking it through, the answer was clear.
His system wasn't just powerful. It was broken.
Shigure raised his head and looked out the window.
He slowly clenched his hand.
"Average? Ordinary?"
He laughed softly.
"No, no, no... from today onward—the entire ninja world will tremble because of me."
Shigure wasn't entirely sure what was going on—maybe it was because his chakra reserves had increased.
Could that be why I didn't feel any strain when refining chakra just now? Maybe my physical or mental energy has improved too...
To confirm his theory, Shigure began his second round of chakra refinement.
Just like before, it took him half an hour to complete.
However, this time the system remained silent—no prompts, no messages. That could only mean one thing: the quality of this refinement hadn't surpassed the previous one.
But that didn't bother him much.
What really surprised him was that—once again, he didn't feel any chakra consumption at all.
"It really is cost-free!"
Once could be chalked up to a fluke. But twice? That was no coincidence.
Shigure's excitement grew.
Being able to use a skill without any chakra cost...
If it were just the Chakra Refining Technique, maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal.
But what if this effect extended to other jutsu?
It had to be related to the skill bar. That was the only possible explanation.
He glanced at the skill bar. The Chakra Refining Technique was installed, and somehow it allowed him to refine chakra without consuming any.
Then what about other jutsu?
Without hesitation, he installed the Clone Technique into the skill bar.
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
The Chakra Refining Technique's passive function still occupied six slots.
Shigure eagerly jumped out of bed and began forming hand seals for the Clone Technique.
This time... it felt different.
With a soft puff of white smoke, a clone appeared before him.
And this time, Shigure clearly felt chakra being consumed.
"Huh? Wasn't it supposed to be free?"
"Don't tell me... only chakra refinement is cost-free?"
If that were the case, then all his excitement had been for nothing.
He dismissed the clone with a wave, a little disappointed.
But then—while sitting back down on the bed—he sensed it again.
Six strands of newly refined chakra flowed steadily into his body.
Something felt off.
Both the Chakra Refining Technique and the Clone Technique are installed as skills, so why is only one of them free to use?
Could the system be distinguishing between different types of skills?
He looked over the skill bar once more.
Six passive slots were filled with Chakra Refining Techniques, and one with the Clone Technique.
Then it hit him—
Quantity!
Could the difference lie in how many times a skill is installed?
Is the Clone Technique not fully installed yet?
Shigure frowned.
Let's try installing another one!
[Passive Skill: Clone Technique]
[In operation]
[Passive skill, run completed!]
Just as he was about to cast the Clone Jutsu again, Shigure suddenly felt... something extra. It wasn't obvious—more like an instinct—but something had definitely changed.
What does it mean to "complete a run" of the Clone Technique?
Pushing the question aside, Shigure attempted the jutsu again.
This time, his hands moved with surprising ease. He didn't even need to consciously recall the hand seals—his body just knew them. It was as if the motion had become muscle memory.
Not only that—his seal speed had noticeably improved.
Bang!
A puff of chakra burst out, and a clone appeared.
Shigure studied it carefully. The clone looked sharper... more solid, more perfect than before.
But what truly stunned him was—
No chakra was consumed!
"It's because of the number of passive skill slots I used!"
One instance of the Clone Technique had a chakra cost—but with two copies installed in separate passive slots, the cost vanished entirely!
No wonder chakra refinement felt free too!
"So this... is a hidden function?"
No. That didn't seem right.
More likely—it was a bug.
A glitch in the system caused by its damaged state. Normally, the system shouldn't allow duplicate passive skills. But now, with its restrictions broken, Shigure had control over what he could install.
And by stacking identical passive skills, he had found a loophole.
Free skill usage.
As long as a skill was installed in two passive slots, it could be cast without any chakra cost.
He currently had seven passive skill slots—meaning he could run three free passive skills at a time, and still leave one slot for chakra refinement.
His eyes lit up.
Who says I can only use three free skills?
If I need a different skill mid-fight, couldn't I just reassign two slots to it temporarily?
Excited by the possibility, Shigure opened the system panel, preparing to swap out the Clone Technique for the Transformation Jutsu.
[Notice: Please wait before swapping passive skills]
[Current remaining cooldown: 4 seconds]
"Tch."
He sighed.
So my idea won't work in real time...
There was a one-minute cooldown between skill swaps. That wasn't long, but in combat, even a second could be fatal.
Even Nagato's Shinra Tensei had a five-second cooldown. A minute? He'd be crushed before the skill swap completed.
But still, it wasn't hopeless.
In preparation for battle, he could pre-load three non-consuming jutsu and dedicate the final slot to Chakra Refining.
Why? Because Chakra Refinement didn't just increase chakra capacity—it restored chakra too.
If his chakra was full, refinement might yield only a trickle. But once depleted, a single refinement could recover more than half of it.
And with the skill passively running, it was like having a built-in chakra regen ability.
Once every five minutes, his chakra would bounce back significantly—like an auto-restore function.
For someone like Shigure—currently a mid-tier Genin—that meant recovering a massive portion of his reserves. And as his chakra pool expanded over time, so would the benefit.
And if I learn Senjutsu...
If he could replace regular refinement with Sage Mode refinement, he could passively absorb natural energy and generate Sage Chakra on demand.
That would be the very technique Naruto once dreamed of—refining Sage Chakra in battle.
Even without Hashirama's insane body that auto-absorbed nature energy, Shigure's skill bar could replicate the effect through passive means.
In fact, his system was arguably better.
Hashirama absorbed nature energy naturally—but passively. Shigure, on the other hand, could trigger it through active refinement, then turn that active function into a passive effect via his skill slots.
After thinking it through, the answer was clear.
His system wasn't just powerful. It was broken.
Shigure raised his head and looked out the window.
He slowly clenched his hand.
"Average? Ordinary?"
He laughed softly.
"No, no, no... from today onward—the entire ninja world will tremble because of me."
~~~~Don't Read Word Filler!!!~~~~