The whole arms and legs training set cost me a staggering 30,000 ryo, and that was for just 25 kg in total. I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if I ever wanted a heavier set—could I even afford it? With my dad already spending so much on my fuinjutsu training, my monthly allowance had been slashed down to a mere 2,000 ryo. I couldn't blame him, though; the costs of fuinjutsu were outrageous. We were spending around 20,000 ryo each month just on chakra paper and ink, and that was with me being extremely careful about my usage.
The challenge was that, despite my best efforts, a significant amount of material would go to waste as I practiced. For example, when I worked on a storage seal, the chakra paper alone cost 2,000 ryo, and the chakra ink added another 1,000 ryo. If I succeeded, I could sell it for 4,000 ryo, but if I made a single mistake, all of that effort and expense would be completely lost.
Learning about our family's finances opened my eyes to the reality of our situation. After factoring in all our expenses, we earned 70,000 ryo a month. Out of that, 15,000 ryo went towards groceries, 15,000 ryo for rent, and another 5,000 ryo for electricity and other bills. With the additional costs from my fuinjutsu training, I felt a mix of gratitude and guilt. I knew how valuable money was, especially as an orphan in my previous life, so I deeply appreciated my parents' willingness to support my dreams.
After all the deductions, there was barely 10,000 ryo left, and that was if my parents didn't spend anything on personal expenses. When I suggested stopping my fuinjutsu training to ease the financial burden, I was scolded. Yet, I could feel their love and commitment to my growth, which made me even more grateful. I realized that while the pressure to succeed was immense, it also came from a place of deep care and support from my family.
For a moment, I felt a pang of fear at the thought of growing stronger. Could I handle the costs and responsibilities that came with it? I pushed those thoughts aside, knowing that I had to forge ahead. I had goals to achieve and a future to secure.
During my visits to the shop, I began to learn more about the prices of other essentials: a kunai cost 2,000 ryo, and a set of 10 shuriken was 3,000 ryo. Thankfully, I already had two sets of shuriken and two kunai. My parents even offered to buy me new ones, but I firmly refused. I knew how hard they worked for every ryo, and I didn't want to burden them further.
As I rested after my intense workout, I began to think about how to measure my growth. In many anime, characters who are transported to other worlds often have systems that display their stats. I didn't necessarily want a system with perks; just a status screen would suffice. The idea sparked an innovative thought: if I didn't have a system, why not create my own? What I really wanted was to see my abilities laid out in numerical form.
So, I devised a simple measuring system for myself:
Strength: I would find nearby bricks and count how many I could break with a single punch.
Stamina: I would measure how many rounds I could run around the training ground in 10 minutes.
Accuracy: I would shoot at a target from 50 meters away, counting how many times I hit it out of ten attempts, adjusting the distance as I improved.
Speed: I would record how much distance I could cover in one minute.
Defense: I tied a rope to a tree, creating a swing with a big wooden log, and would see how many hits I could take while standing still.
Chakra Control: I would time how long I could stand upside down on a tree to test my control.
Chakra Reserve: I would see how many times I could use the Transformation Jutsu to gauge my chakra reserve.
I knew that better chakra control and mastery of jutsu would influence my stats, but this was the best I could think of for now. I had yet to master any C-rank genjutsu, so the Transformation Jutsu was my only option for measurement. I also had to ensure I checked my stats under the same conditions each time.
I decided to commit to this plan: for at least one month, I would measure my stats every Sunday, my day off from the academy.
On the first Sunday, I was eager to see my results. When I finally wrote down my stats, they looked like this:
Name: Satoshi Kenya
Age: 7 Years 5 month
Chakra Reserves: 2100
Chakra Control: 10
Strength: 20
Accuracy: 5
Speed: 15
Defense: 15
Stamina: 11
Skills:
Transformation Jutsu: (CP: cost 130)
Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique: (can not do) (CP: cost xxx)
Storage Scroll: (50% chance of success) (CP: cost 6,000)
Reading my stats like this made me feel like I was truly part of a game. Not only was this a good way to train, but I was also having fun. The thrill of tracking my growth and seeing tangible results fueled my determination to keep pushing forward.