Lin Yu returned to a small tent allocated to him in the rear logistics, where he examined his spoils of war.
"Phew, the harvest this time is truly immense. Not only did I gain a vast amount of ninjutsu, but I also completed the limited-time mission, though there was an element of luck involved."
The words "claimable" in his mind deeply attracted Lin Yu. He sank his consciousness inward, and strange text slowly appeared:
Monthly Missions:
Mission 1: Obtain a title from Uchiha Madara.
Reward: Perfect Sage Body.
Mission 2: Return to the Hidden Leaf Village from the Land of Rain.
Reward: Mangekyo Sharingan.
Mission 3: Carry Tsunade in a princess carry.
Reward: Chakra Scalpel (Claimed).
Cumulative Missions (1/10):
Mission 1: Obtain a title from Hanzō of the Salamander (Completed).
Reward: Two hours of experience with Rinnegan without consumption (Claimable).
Lin Yu's heart pounded with excitement. He could finally experience the feeling of being a "god"! He activated his Kagura Shingan and frowned deeply. The number of people in the entire camp was too large, and they were moving around everywhere. If he were to be discovered by chance, while Lin Yu wouldn't fear it, it would cause a lot of trouble and affect his upcoming missions.
After a moment of thought, Lin Yu flashed out of the Leaf Village camp without anyone noticing. After all, the masters were fighting on the battlefield, leaving behind only the old, weak, and disabled.
Lin Yu shuttled rapidly through the jungle. Estimating he was tens of kilometers away from the camp, he stopped at the edge of a cliff. After surveying his surroundings, he sat down cross-legged.
"Claim!"
With a thought, a surge of power erupted from deep within his body, converging in his eyes. There was no stinging sensation, no discomfort whatsoever.
The three-tomoe Sharingan automatically opened and slowly spun, forming a golden pattern that quickly shifted. Following this, concentric rings of spiral patterns appeared in his eye sockets. This was the most basic version of the Rinnegan, the same kind Nagato possessed.
As the Rinnegan appeared, Lin Yu had no time to admire his new, "cosmetic contact lens" appearance. His mind sank into understanding the abilities of his Rinnegan.
After a minute, Lin Yu silently uttered, "Freeze."
The spiral patterns in his eye sockets slowly disappeared, returning to black pupils. As expected, he could freeze the usage time. Lin Yu breathed a sigh of relief. He had feared the system might be secondhand, but thankfully, it hadn't failed him yet. A line of text appeared in his mind: "Limited-time reward: Rinnegan usage without consumption (Remaining 1 hour 59 minutes - Frozen)."
Lin Yu's Rinnegan was similar to Nagato's current Rinnegan, possessing abilities like basic Almighty Push, Universal Pull, Soul Absorption, and Planetary Devastation.
However, he couldn't use Uchiha Madara's Limbo: Border Jail or Chibaku Tensei, which were likely Madara's exclusive dojutsu.
Despite this, Lin Yu didn't feel disheartened because the dojutsu he had awakened was also incredibly powerful.
Dojutsu: Temporal Barrier. Lin Yu's exclusive Rinnegan dojutsu. Upon activation, it creates a realm of time that envelops the battlefield, where time is controlled by the caster.
It was somewhat similar to Uchiha Itachi's Tsukuyomi, but Tsukuyomi controlled time in the mental world and inflicted spiritual damage.
Lin Yu's Temporal Barrier, however, controlled time in reality. It could freeze enemies' time or rewind his own time to recover from injuries. Within the Temporal Barrier, Lin Yu was effectively immortal. It was an incredibly "buggy" dojutsu.
"This kind of skill would definitely be nerfed and reworked in the Summoner's Rift," Lin Yu thought to himself with a silent chuckle. He put away his thoughts and checked his other spoils of war.
The battlefield was littered with the corpses of ninjas. Their ninja tool pouches lay scattered. Lin Yu took the opportunity to copy ninjutsu while also "cleaning up" the battlefield.
Lin Yu wasn't overly greedy; he stopped after collecting about twelve ninja tool pouches. After all, these were spoils of war belonging to the victors, and taking too many would be difficult to explain.
Including the three ninja tool pouches he acquired before coming to the battlefield, he had a total of fifteen. Among them were two from Jonin, seven from Chunin, and six from Genin.
Lin Yu sealed them all into storage scrolls. "As for where I got the storage scrolls when I'm so poor?" he asked himself rhetorically. "Just say they came from that wealth-giving black-clad Jonin. It's not unreasonable for a Jonin to have a storage scroll in his bag, is it?"
Lin Yu happily counted his spoils, his eyes gleaming. This was all money, enough for him and Kushina to live for several years.
Because they were participating in the war, the ninjas had brought their entire fortunes to fight for their lives. Although most of it was consumed in battle, some remained.
Twelve kunai, sixty-seven shuriken, several ration pills, three storage scrolls, four paper bombs... Lin Yu roughly estimated the total to be around 1.5 million ryo, with the storage scrolls alone accounting for 1 million ryo. The rest, at most, amounted to 500,000 ryo.
It wasn't exactly overnight riches, but it was enough to buy Kushina some nice clothes. Indeed, war was also known as the "economic war," and it wasn't just a saying.
Lin Yu sorted and sealed everything into scrolls. He stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and gazed in the direction of the Land of Rain, pondering. "Should I go back now, or take a detour through the Land of Rain? Maybe I'll run into the trio of Nagato and make their acquaintance, making it easier to play the emotional card later."
As for stealing Nagato's Rinnegan, Lin Yu had no such thoughts. Firstly, he had no intention of doing so. Secondly, the "filial" Black Zetsu would surely be monitoring Nagato, and Uchiha Madara might also be lurking in some dark corner. Although he now had the Rinnegan, he still felt uncertain facing an elderly Uchiha Madara.
If it were later in the Third Great Ninja War, when Madara was half-dead, Lin Yu might dare to spar with him. But for now, no.
"There are still 14 years until Uchiha Madara's original death. I'll go and attend his memorial service then. He should welcome me, right?"
Lin Yu thought to himself, then moved towards the Land of Rain. As for safety? Hanzō of the Salamander had fled severely wounded. Knowing his personality, he would surely gather experts and confidants to guard him while he healed. Furthermore, most of the Rain Village ninjas were still on the battlefield. At most, a few incompetent Jonin would be left guarding the village. Lin Yu felt completely unthreatened now. Besides, he had just gained some confidence and wanted to show off a little...
At this moment, in a certain battlefield in the Land of Rain.
"Don't even think about escaping!" Nawaki Senju kicked an enemy ninja away. Seeing the opponent struggle to his feet and run back, he unhesitatingly gave chase.
A short distance away, Orochimaru, who was engaged in a battle with three Jonin, kept glancing in Nawaki's direction. Orochimaru cared a great deal about Nawaki, his disciple. Not only was Nawaki Tsunade's younger brother, but Nawaki's cheerful and optimistic demeanor had also slowly influenced Orochimaru, who had been an orphan since childhood, instilling a sense of care in his heart.
Seeing Nawaki pursue the enemy ninja, a bad premonition struck him. He repelled the three Jonin with a sword and ran towards Nawaki, shouting, "Nawaki, don't chase! Come back!"
At this moment, Nawaki had caught up to where the enemy ninja had fallen. He suddenly heard Orochimaru's roar and a sense of impending death washed over him. He was about to turn back.
The fleeing enemy ninja looked back with a sinister grin. "Too late, explode!"
*BOOM!*
With a deafening explosion, the explosive tags beneath Nawaki's feet detonated instantly. The intense airflow kicked up endless fragments of rock. Nawaki, covered in blood, fell to the ground in a parabolic trajectory.
Spitting out bright red blood, he looked remorsefully at the running Orochimaru and said intermittently, "I'm sorry, Lord Orochimaru, sister, I..."
Nawaki's vision gradually blurred, and he slowly closed his eyes, his life force gradually fading.
"Heh heh! The body of a direct descendant of Hashirama Senju! This is a rare experimental material. Perhaps I can obtain Wood Style from this! This would be a great achievement!" The enemy ninja, blinded by immense temptation, reached out towards Nawaki's chest.
"How dare you! Shadow Possession Snake Hands!" Orochimaru's heart jolted as he saw Nawaki blown away and fall to the ground. Seeing the opponent dare to lay hands on Nawaki's body, he could no longer contain his rage.
Countless snakes erupted, binding the enemy. Orochimaru rushed forward, a flash of his sword, and a head flew off. Without looking back, he quietly gazed at Nawaki's lifeless body, his body trembling. He murmured, "Life is truly fragile!"
At this moment, Orochimaru felt the desire for immortality for the first time. His scientist's genes had awakened within him!