This time, Kazuo didn't wake up from slumber when the time loop happened.

He simply had his eyes closed and he was lying down on his bed.

This was the shortest time loop he had done since the first one when he had died against the cloud Jonin on his patrol mission.

There was around one hour left before the anbu would come inside the tent.

Opening his eyes slightly, Kazuo opened his quest menu.

[ Quests ]

[ The Root has taken notice of the User. ]

[ Join the Root ]

[ Reward: 2 Minor Stat Upgrades ] [ Claim! ]

[ Decline the Root Invitation ]

[ Reward: 1 Minor Stat Upgrade, ??? ]

Thinking of clicking the button, Kazuo saw it light up slightly before it appeared to be pressed on its own and a new pop-up appeared in front of Kazuo's face.

[ User has been granted 2 Minor Stat Upgrades ]

Another difference that took place was that the first part of the quest where it told him to join the root was now greyed out whilst the decline option was still written in a golden color.

'That means I can still do it, getting double the rewards from the same quest.' Kazuo thought as he felt exhilaration and joy course through his body at the notion.

Opening his status screen, Kazuo looked at his stats and didn't hesitate even for a second.

[ Endurance: D ]

[ Agility: D ]

'Strength has much less importance at this low of a level, at least until you reach levels similar to Might Guy or Rock Lee, then strength isn't really the best, this is best demonstrated by Minato Namikaze, he doesn't have the raw strength of many cloud ninjas or someone like Tsunade however he could run circles around them and simply slice their neck apart before they even knew what was happening. Strength can also be compensated easily by the usage of chakra techniques like Tsunades strength.' Kazuo thought before closing the status menu.

When he had put in the stat upgrades he had felt a warm current pass through his body however he had noticed no other changes, he would have to test it out to see just how much faster and durable he had gotten tomorrow.

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Closing his eyes once more, Kazuo remained in pure silence as he awaited for the root anbu.

The moment that he felt the slight shift in the air, Kazuo quickly substituted himself away as he had in the previous loop.

This wasn't simply to protect himself but to also show off that he was always on guard and couldn't be sneaked up on.

If you wanted to leave the impression of a genius ninja then you had to act out even the smallest of details otherwise the whole image could crumble away at the slightest blow of wind.

"Kazuo, I'm from the root division of the Anbu corps, our leader would like to extend an invitation to join our ranks so that you could be of better use to the leaf village." The anbu said as he stood at the other side of the tent from Kazuo's position.

"I decline," Kazuo said as he shook his head.

The anbu seemed taken aback by his swift rejection and seemed to want to question Kazuo's choice.

This was easily discernable by his body language and so Kazuo didn't even wait for him to ask as he answered.

"The leaf village is made of two parts, the leaves, and tree that showers in the light and brightness of the world as well as the roots that are under the ground and nourish the tree, and as much as I respect the fact that you the Anbu do the brunt of the behind the scenes missions for the village, that isn't a place where I want to be in," Kazuo said, using Danzo's own words against the man's minion.

"How do you know about that, how do you know that saying?" The anbu questioned almost instantly after Kazuo finished his speech.

"I simply made a guess from the name of your organization, it was simply an assumption, turns out that I was correct," Kazuo said as he took a step closer to the anbu.

"I do not wish to be under the ground, for I wish to be the brightest fire in the leaf, a fire that protects all of those around it however if I am put under the leaf then I might just accidentally burn the tree itself because of my intensity," Kazuo said with a light smile.

"I've tried, not gaining attention, following the middle and even bottom of the barrel however it simply wasn't for me. My very existence burns when I remember the fact that I was invisible. Never again." Kazuo said as a fire seemed to be ignited behind his eyes.

"I thank your commander for the offer however as I just explained, I wish to be a part of the light," Kazuo said before sitting down on the ground and awaiting the anbus decision.

Kazuo didn't fear the man, he feared pain however he wasn't a slave to it and thus if he wanted something, he would get it.

Death?

That had lost its meaning quite a couple of turns back.

Why be scared of death if it basically doesn't exist?

The anbu stood silent for a few moments before nodding his head.

"I shall relay your words to the commander." The man or woman said as they disappeared from sight.

'His Shunshin Jutsu is around the same mastery as mine.' Kazuo thought before lying down fully on the ground.

Unlike what he had just shown, unlike the vigor and passion that had been carried through his voice merely seconds ago, Kazuo's mind was calm as a lake.

'Become the light? Fuck me if I give a shit about that, I simply don't want to become your fucking slave. If there was enough benefit to it then I would have considered it however there is none.' Kazuo thought.

At this moment, Kazuo heard the jingle of a bell inside his mind.

[ Ding! ]

[ User has accomplished a quest! ]

[ The Root has taken notice of the User. ]

[ Decline the Root ]

[ Reward: 1 Minor Stat Upgrade, 0.1% Bloodline Activation ] [ Claim ]

Reading the second reward, Kazuo felt his eyes open impossibly wide from the shock.

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