Chapter Fifty-Two: The Harvest

Within the soul space, Kato Mikaze manipulated his soul avatar infused with that verdant energy, guiding it toward integration with his main soul. The process of merging the soul avatar with the main soul proceeded smoothly, much like the previous use of the Soul Nurturing Technique. The anticipated dangers failed to materialize, and Kato Mikaze breathed a small sigh of relief.

It seemed that the green energy, having been absorbed by the soul avatar and separated from its original living host, though still teeming with vitality as sensed, was akin to water without a source—unable to be replenished. Its hazardous nature had been greatly reduced; at least for now, Kato Mikaze had integrated it into his main soul without discovering anything suspicious.

Within the soul space, after the successful fusion of his main soul and soul avatar, Kato Mikaze carefully sensed the changes. The sensation was much like before—an elusive, almost imperceptible shift, so subtle that he might have missed it without fully amplifying his sensitivity.

Unlike the previous experience with the soul avatar, this time Kato Mikaze could also sense a faint change within his physical body. Compared to changes in the soul alone, these felt more direct and tangible. His body had gained a trace of exceptionally active vitality—a minuscule amount, barely detectable, but when Kato Mikaze focused, the response was unmistakable.

This energy, originating from his soul, permeated his entire body. It seemed to receive a boost from his own life force, becoming even more vibrant as it swiftly traversed and fused throughout his body. The energy blended seamlessly with every part of him, indistinguishable from his own being.

He seemed to hear a faint “click” from within his body, as if something had broken. Kato Mikaze examined himself closely, but apart from the changes he'd already sensed, nothing else was apparent.

At the same time, the ninja system, dormant for so long, gave a faint response. This was only the second time the system had reacted without Kato Mikaze actively invoking it—the previous time had nearly cost him his life during the training of the Spirit Transformation Technique, when the system had urgently intervened, saved him, and incidentally enabled him to master the Soul Nurturing Technique.

Kato Mikaze’s consciousness quickly sank into his soul and activated the ninja system.

Ninja System

Name: Kato Mikaze
Ninja Rank: Jonin
Affiliation: Hidden Leaf Village
Physical Attributes: Stamina 61, Strength 60, Spirit 75, Speed 64
Special Constitution: Life Activity Constitution (Inactive 1/500)
Chakra Attributes: Wind 65, Lightning 43, Earth 39, Water 0, Fire 0, Yin 75, Yang 61

Ninjutsu:
Wind Style [Wind Blade Technique, Wind Breath Technique, Light Wind Technique, Great Breakthrough, Thousand Wind Needles]
Lightning Style [None]
Earth Style [Small Swamp Technique, Earth Wall Technique]
Medical Ninjutsu [Basic Medical Ninjutsu, Yin Healing Extinction]
Three Body Technique [Transformation, Substitution, Clone]

Taijutsu:
Basic Taijutsu, Basic Swordsmanship, Shuriken, Kunai

Secret Technique:
Soul Nurturing Technique

Remaining Attribute Points: 5

Kato Mikaze quickly scanned through the information. The values remained as they were after he’d mastered the medical ninjutsu Yin Healing Extinction, and attribute points were still a meager five. There was no sign of the Wood Style he had hoped for.

Most striking was the newly appeared “Special Constitution” section after the physical attributes, displaying “Life Activity Constitution (Inactive 1/500),” its blinking drawing Kato Mikaze’s attention. Additionally, the recently acquired medical ninjutsu Yin Healing Extinction, trained under Tsunade, flashed alongside the Life Activity Constitution, both pulsing in unison and demanding his focus.

“Special Constitution? Life Activity Constitution (Inactive 1/500)? What is this, some kind of fragment collection? Isn’t it supposed to be the legendary Sage Body? Has the medical ninjutsu Yin Healing Extinction become linked with this new constitution?”

“(Inactive 1/500) — does this mean I need to absorb 499 more portions of that green energy to activate the Life Activity Constitution? Tsunade’s grandfather, the First Hokage Hashirama Senju, had this constitution, right? Immense vitality, vast chakra, overwhelming strength, rapid regeneration.”

“In the original story, Tsunade seemed to inherit her grandfather’s immense strength and rapid regeneration. The monstrous strength was inherited from childhood, but the rapid regeneration only awakened during the late stages, in the Fourth Great Ninja War, when she was on the brink of death.”

Kato Mikaze tried to allocate his remaining five attribute points to the “1/500” slot to see if he could make progress there.

No response. As expected, he knew activating the Life Activity Constitution wouldn’t be so simple. If it only required 500 attribute points, at his current pace of earning them through missions, he’d soon collect enough with some effort.

The special constitution couldn’t be advanced directly with system attribute points, but Kato Mikaze didn’t feel discouraged. He was already ahead of many who coveted Hashirama’s cell power—at least he now saw a viable path, the right way forward, and so far it seemed safe. After the fusion, he hadn’t developed any sudden white patches or grown a man’s face somewhere—a crude side effect of botched grafts.

There was only a slight green hue to his soul, but that was of little consequence; so long as he didn’t grow a man’s face, it was fine—nobody could see his soul anyway.

He felt no disappointment at the absence of Wood Style, reasoning that without the special Life Activity Constitution, even Wood Style wouldn’t possess the power Hashirama wielded. Wood Style was never his primary goal, and in both the Leaf and the wider ninja world, it attracted too much attention. It was good if he could have it, but even if not, Kato Mikaze wouldn’t be disheartened.

The power hidden within Hashirama’s cells—the unique Life Activity Constitution—was Kato Mikaze’s true objective: discreet, practical, and genuinely advantageous. Quietly amassing wealth is the way of the wise.

As for training Wood Style users, Kato Mikaze was content to help cultivate them for the Leaf Village—it was, after all, an SS-class mission, and completing it would earn him plenty of attribute points.

With the Life Activity Constitution, even without Wood Style, he need not fear lacking strength. Kato Mikaze found himself quite satisfied with his mastery of Wind Style; it was stylish, dashing, and efficient, fitting his aspiration to live as freely and gracefully as the wind.

He could also consider learning Lightning Style ninjutsu in the future—again, for the sake of style. Whether powerful or not, style was everything; it was a lifelong pursuit. Of course, if he could combine style and strength, that would be perfection.

Though he hadn’t yet activated the Life Activity Constitution, Kato Mikaze could already see a viable, relatively safe path with minimal side effects—a method uniquely his own. It was already in the pot, soon to be in his bowl; now it was only a matter of persistent effort. He would attain it eventually.

He was familiar with this sort of pursuit; after all, he was close to winning over Tsunade—a challenge of much greater difficulty. This would be no trouble in comparison.

Having tallied today’s harvest, Kato Mikaze lay flat on his spacious bed, adjusting his posture. He relaxed his expression and mind, preparing for the restorative practice of sleep, bringing his stimulating and eventful day to a close.

Today, he’d ventured into the underground base for the first time and taken risks, but the rewards were considerable. In the evening, he drank with Tsunade—she became thoroughly intoxicated, and he carried her home in a princess embrace. At Tsunade’s house, he even...

Soon, the room was filled with the gentle, rhythmic sound of breathing.

“Tsunade…” Kato Mikaze, lost in dreams, turned over, hugged the quilt tightly to his chest, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

...

PS: A new author humbly seeks your support—please recommend, please bookmark.

Another PS: The contract has arrived, the signing status has changed, let’s celebrate! I won’t write a special thank-you chapter; I’ll place my thanks here in this public section.

I am a true newcomer, writing a web novel for the first time, and posted it in a haze. I went a month without recognition before finally appearing on the new book chart, only to drop off after three days due to the automatic thirty-day expiration. The internet says a good novel gets a contract after twenty or thirty thousand words, but I didn’t receive one. That was disappointing. I persevered to one hundred thousand words, applied for a contract myself in the author’s backend, and now I have finally signed.

Thank you to my editor Penglai from the Ninth Group at Qidian, to the contract editor Sumu, and to every gentleman and lady who clicked, read, recommended, bookmarked, commented, and left messages in the chapters. I’m sure there will be young ladies reading my novel—it’s a pure love story, after all.

One last request for bookmarks and votes; they mean a great deal to a fresh, earnest new author like me. Thank you.