Charles's gaze shifted to Mabui, the last recruit. Despite being a C-Rank ninja, Mabui's skills and role in the Hidden Cloud Village made her stand out.
She was not just the Fourth Raikage's trusted secretary but also a skilled shinobi with a unique jutsu: Heavenly Transfer Technique, capable of teleporting objects at the speed of light.
Charles speculated on the potential of this technique. If Mabui's chakra reserves were sufficient, she might even enable interstellar teleportation, which would significantly enhance the mobility of his forces and their capacity for multi-front operations.
With that thought in mind, Charles clicked Recruit:
"Congratulations, Charles Doyle! You have successfully recruited a 1-star C-Rank ninja, Mabui."
A scene unfolded of Mabui in her elegant office attire, holding a document, embodying her role as a competent and composed professional secretary.
Mabui's Details
Rank: C-Rank.
Star Level: 1-Star.
Basic Attack: Taijutsu combined with kunai strikes.
Substitution Jutsu: Wood Substitution.
Skills:
Secretary's Offensive: Charges forward to grab and slap the enemy repeatedly, followed by throwing or stomping them.
Heavenly Transfer Technique: Uses her teleportation technique to damage enemies. ("Weak bodies will be torn apart by the speed of this technique.")
Heavenly Transfer: Lightning Bomb:- Collaborates with the Raikage, teleporting him into the sky for a devastating Lightning Release slam on the enemy, causing a massive explosion.
Charles chuckled at Mabui's amusing first skill, but her Heavenly Transfer Technique left him thoroughly impressed. The added presence of the Raikage ensured Mabui's safety during combat and enhanced her usefulness as a support unit.
After selecting Receive Ninja, Charles's chakra reserves increased by 1 point, bringing his total to 563 chakra points. Mabui's Heavenly Transfer Technique and its intricate mechanics were also directly integrated into his knowledge base.
Charles's chakra reserves had grown by 71 points in total during this round of recruiting, a significant improvement despite being only about one-sixth of his total chakra capacity.
However, the practical enhancement to his abilities and strategic options was far greater.
Having recruited all four ninjas, Charles turned his attention to Academy Student Naruto Uzumaki, who had a pending upgrade prompt.
With a single command, Naruto was upgraded to 2-star C-Rank, but the change was so subtle that the single-minded and often oblivious Naruto hardly noticed the difference.
Finally, Charles spent 138,000 coins to unlock two additional battle slots, ensuring he could deploy two ninjas while keeping two others in reserve for fusion.
After exiting the system space, Charles entered the Summoning Realm and ordered Aoda to perform the Reverse Summoning Technique to summon Uchiha Sasuke back.
At that moment, Sasuke was hot on the trail of his brother, Uchiha Itachi, but he immediately sensed the summoning.
Realizing it was a call from Lord Charles, Sasuke knew this took precedence over everything else—even his long-awaited confrontation with Itachi.
In an instant, he accepted the summon and appeared in the Summoning Realm.
…
Sasuke bowed respectfully upon seeing Charles.
"Lord Charles," he greeted.
Charles nodded to Sasuke with approval and said, "I summoned you to inform you of something important. In the River of Time, I managed to recover another version of your future self. I'm going to fuse this version with you to enhance your power further."
Sasuke's eyes lit up with excitement. This boost would give him even greater confidence in his upcoming battle against Itachi.
"Thank you for your care, Lord Charles," he replied sincerely.
Charles nodded, satisfied with Sasuke's attitude. He then focused his mind and entered the system space to retrieve Sasuke's ninja card.
The system prompt appeared:
"Duplicate character cards detected. Proceed with fusion?"
Charles confirmed:
"Fusion!"
The two ninja cards floated into the air, spinning rapidly. In a burst of golden light, they merged into a single, more powerful card:
"Shippuden - Uchiha Sasuke (Fused)"
This fusion brought Sasuke to a new level of strength. With multiple cards already merged—including Base Sasuke, Sharingan Sasuke, Cursed Seal Sasuke, Shippuden Sasuke, and Shippuden - Cursed Seal Sasuke—he now stood as a fully-fledged Kage-level ninja.
His skill set was so extensive that the system required two pages to display them all. Even without considering the secret scroll techniques he had mastered, his arsenal already included over 15 unique jutsu.
However, despite his tremendous growth, his Sharingan had yet to evolve into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Regardless, his physical attributes and chakra reserves far surpassed the version of himself that had killed Orochimaru in the original timeline.
After completing the fusion, Charles re-equipped the newly fused ninja card and materialized Sasuke within a three-meter radius of himself.
In the Summoning Realm, Sasuke reappeared. His appearance remained unchanged, but his aura was noticeably more imposing. His mind was flooded with new memories, which played out like a vivid movie.
These memories detailed his journey.
Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno seeking him out at Orochimaru's base.
His eventual slaying of Orochimaru in Cursed Seal form, marking his second teacher's demise.
The assembly of his Hebi Team to track down and confront Itachi.
His encounter and intense battle with Deidara of the Akatsuki, where Deidara's self-destruction left Sasuke gravely injured.
Finally, the memories brought him back to the present, where he was once again hunting Itachi for vengeance.
Sasuke opened his eyes, now brimming with newfound strength and determination.
"Thank you, Lord Charles," he said, bowing once more.
Charles then inquired, "Have you located Uchiha Itachi yet?"
Sasuke nodded, "I've found clues to his whereabouts. I expect to confront him within a day or two."
Charles approved, "Good. Once this task is complete, report back to the base immediately."
"Yes, Lord Charles!" Sasuke affirmed before departing to continue his mission.
Charles watched Sasuke leave, satisfied that another key piece of his plans was falling into place.