Naruto:Shockwave of Change

Sal could barely recall how he had made it back to Konoha. His last memory before losing consciousness was of dragging his wounded body beyond the border of the Land of Lightning. Every movement was unbearable agony; his muscles burned, and his chakra drained away like water slipping through his fingers.

When he finally opened his eyes, the sharp scent of medicine and healing herbs invaded his nostrils. He was lying on a hospital bed in Konoha, staring up at the stark white ceiling above him. Beside him, Tsunade watched him with a severe expression, arms crossed, her brow furrowed.

— "You're lucky to be alive," she said, her voice firm but carrying an undercurrent of concern.

He tried to move, but a sharp pain surged through his body, especially in his legs. A groan escaped his lips, but he forced himself to speak, his voice hoarse and weak:

— "How long was I out?"

— "Three days," Tsunade replied without hesitation.

Three days. His mind raced, trying to process the information. Had he really been unconscious for that long? But Tsunade's next words struck him like a hammer blow to the chest.

— "You can no longer be a shinobi."

The air seemed to be sucked out of the room.

— "What?" he whispered, his voice barely audible.

Tsunade sighed, her eyes reflecting a mix of pity and determination.

— "The chakra points in your legs were severely damaged. The emergency treatment I performed prevented you from losing your ability to use chakra entirely, but it compromised your natural flow. Your tenketsu have become unstable and fragile. If you try to use jutsu that require a significant amount of chakra, you could destroy them completely. From now on, you won't be able to use jutsu ranked B or higher, and your chakra reserves have been reduced to just 10% of what they once were."

Ten percent.

The words echoed in Sal's mind, each syllable hammering into his thoughts. He quickly calculated what that meant. If he were someone like Hashirama, with absurdly vast chakra reserves, he might still be able to fight at a jōnin level. But he wasn't Hashirama. His chakra had always been average. Now, with only 10% of that… he would barely have enough to rival an ordinary genin.

Even with his techniques and experience, he would, at best, be at a chūnin level.

Worse still, his strongest abilities all had high chakra consumption:

Shunpō (S-Rank)

Paper Painting & Texture Surprise (B-Rank)

Armament Haki (A-Rank)

This left him practically unarmed. For someone who had faced the Third Raikage… this was a catastrophic fall.

— "Is there nothing I can do?" he asked, his voice carrying a mix of hope and desperation.

Tsunade hesitated, her eyes locking onto his with an intensity that made him hold his breath.

— "There is a surgery. But the chance of success is only 20%."

Sal clenched his teeth, his mind spinning. Twenty percent. Even Rock Lee, who had his muscles utterly crushed by Gaara, hadn't faced such slim odds. But he understood why. Tsunade had yet to reach the peak of her medical skills. If this were the Tsunade of the Fourth Great Ninja War, the chances would probably be much higher.

He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath.

He wasn't shaken. He didn't feel despair.

Why?

Because he had the System of Change.

"I just need points."

Even though he was severely weakened now, Sal knew that the key to his recovery lay within his system. Now, all he needed to do was find a way to earn points quickly. And for that, he would have to think like a strategist.

Sal leaned back against the hospital bed, processing all the information.

His career as a shinobi was, technically, over.

His chakra was severely limited.

And the only available solution had a 20% success rate.

For most ninjas, this would be the final sentence.

But Sal was not an ordinary ninja.

"I have the system."

And if there was one thing he had learned from all the worlds he had seen, it was that the most efficient way to cause lasting change always started at the root of the problem.

"If I want to change Konoha, strengthen the future, and earn points at the same time… then the best place to be isn't on the battlefield."

"It's in the Ninja Academy."

The Academy was the foundation of everything. That was where Konoha's future shinobi were shaped.

If he could influence this generation early on, he could alter the destinies of countless important figures—without needing to take unnecessary risks.

And, more importantly: this would generate changes in the village.

Changes meant points for the system.

He smirked to himself.

"This might just work."

Becoming a teacher at the Ninja Academy wouldn't just earn him points—it would allow him to shape the next generation of ninjas, strengthening Konoha and ensuring that future events wouldn't unfold the same way.

And he knew getting that position wouldn't be difficult. Even without his full chakra reserves, his combat experience and skills were still far superior to those of any normal academy teacher.