(O_O)???
Sasori had no idea what was going on with Kakuzu—what was getting into him.
He had already made himself perfectly clear: he wanted to get help from Senshi in order to quickly increase his strength.
Besides, as a ninja, isn't it always important to improve one's own strength, no matter what?
Kakuzu, that guy, has obviously fried his brain by doing too many missions.
Just now, his tone clearly suggested that he didn't really care much about increasing his power.
What's more unexpected to Sasori is that Kakuzu went on to do something even stranger right after.
Right now, Kakuzu's gaze drifted off into the distance, as he clenched his right fist and said quietly,
"Just you wait. One day, I will stand by that man's side again and become his perfect partner!"
"Looking across the entire ninja world, only I truly grasp the significance of completing missions, and only I am qualified to be Senshi's partner!"
Hearing Kakuzu's mysterious words, Sasori was left speechless.
He only wanted to learn more about Senshi through Kakuzu, that was all.
But once he began asking, Kakuzu just spouted some inexplicable nonsense.
He couldn't comprehend any of that gibberish Kakuzu had just said.
It made him strongly suspect that Kakuzu's mind had really cracked from all those endless missions.
Who knows how long Kakuzu is going to stay like this.
If the guy keeps acting like this, how is he supposed to get any intel about Senshi from him?
With that in mind, Sasori couldn't help giving Kakuzu a long stare.
He just hoped they could at least talk normally once before reaching Iwagakure.
…
Over in Kumogakure, at a restaurant:
Karin was exhausted these past few days. Even though she could sleep normally whenever Senshi was off doing missions day and night, her own workload had gone up several times over in this period!
After soaking in the hot-spring bathhouse, she felt completely relaxed. Now she was eating in a restaurant, and halfway through the meal, she actually dozed off against Senshi's shoulder.
Noticing Karin leaning against him, Senshi glanced at her and couldn't help finding it funny.
Karin actually managed to fall asleep while eating?
She hasn't really been short on sleep these past few days, so how is she this tired?
Senshi gently patted Karin on the head and turned toward Terumi Mei. "Sis Mei, are you done eating?"
Terumi Mei gave a slight nod. "I'm done. Do you have any other plans?"
Senshi casually replied, "Sis Mei, I'm going to take Karin back to the inn to rest, and then keep waiting for my target to appear."
Hearing that, Terumi Mei felt a little regretful. As the Mizukage, she usually had quite a few matters to deal with, so coming here to Kumogakure was primarily for Senshi's sake. She wanted to spend more time around him, build up a strong bond, and then rope him into coming to Kirigakure to help her develop the village.
With Senshi joining, Kirigakure would see continuous, dramatic progress. Unfortunately, getting closer to Senshi and forming a deep friendship obviously isn't that easy.
So when Senshi started gathering his things, Mei also packed up to leave with him.
After Senshi paid the bill, he said to Terumi Mei, "Sis Mei, next time I'll take you and Karin to try some other Kumogakure dishes. For now, I'll take her back first."
Terumi Mei smiled. "Next time, let me treat. I'd feel bad if you always pay."
Hearing that, Senshi nodded but didn't object. He didn't mind at all. Now that he was loaded with money—so much that he couldn't spend it all—treating Karin and Terumi Mei to a few meals was no problem.
After saying goodbye to Terumi Mei, he took Karin back to their inn. Once he dropped her off to get some sleep, he himself didn't go out on any more missions. He'd already cleared all the high-level tasks in Kumogakure, but he still had several Wood-Clone copies out doing mid- to high-level missions. Those could be handled by his Wood Clones without needing him to go personally.
As for his real body, he had something more important to handle: frenzied prize draws in hopes of getting an item to cure Nagato's health problems. A while ago, Konan had posted that quest for him. Unfortunately, system-bro hadn't been kind—he had already spent several 100x draws but never got any item that could completely fix Nagato's health. Out of desperation, he'd even considered using something like a Senzu Bean, which was extremely hard to pull, just to get by.
But recently, here in Kumogakure, he'd earned a ton of commissions from A and B, from the black markets of the Land of Lightning, from the Kumogakure mission office, and even from Jiraiya. With tons of commissions came tons of "employment points." All together, he had a staggering 760,000 plus!
That meant he could afford seven 100x draws and still have plenty of points left. But Senshi was hoping he could solve Nagato's problem in just one of those 100x draws. That way, he wouldn't need to stress over the remaining ones; it wouldn't matter what he pulled.
With that in mind, he sat down at Karin's bedside, silently reciting his "lottery incantation":
"A lonely cloud in the northwest sky, a crow among phoenixes!"
"Jackpot, jackpot! One 100x draw—give me something big!"
[100,000 employment points deducted! 660,650 points remaining!]
[Drawing in progress…]
[Congratulations, Host! You have acquired…]
[Expired Milk ×1 Carton!]
…
"What the—!" As soon as he saw the first prize pop up, Senshi didn't even bother looking at the rest. He just couldn't hold back his curses.
What kind of trash reward is this?
Naruto's had been grinding, cranking out missions left and right. Even Naruto wouldn't want some expired milk!
Complaining inwardly about the system, Senshi then quickly checked the other prizes, hoping they wouldn't be as random. Maybe he'd get something for Nagato's problem. If not that, then some powerful cheat item would be fine. He still needed to mess with the Otsutsuki clan soon, and he was feeling slightly underpowered as he was.
Continuing on to the rest of the rewards, Senshi's expression instantly changed. Just now he'd been scolding and ranting, but now he was grinning from ear to ear:
"system-bro! Not bad at all! I knew I could count on you!"
[Senzu Beans ×3!]
[Bloodline Limit: Three-Tomoe Sharingan ×1 Pair!]
[Bloodline Limit: Ice Release ×1!]
[String-String Devil Fruit ×1!]
Seeing these, Senshi was all smiles. Apart from that first box of expired milk, everything else was top-tier. Especially the Senzu Beans, Bloodline Limits, and a Devil Fruit. In previous draws, it was almost impossible to get all three in a single 100x pull. Now he'd snagged three Senzu Beans, plus the Ice Release Bloodline Limit (like the one Haku had). Judging by Haku's performance, it was pretty decent.
And on top of that, he'd gotten a very interesting Devil Fruit, the String-String Fruit.
[Name: String-String Fruit (Ninja-World Modified Version)]
[Description: An S-rank reward from the One Piece dimension, Paramecia-type. Once awakened, it can function akin to a Logia. The fruit grants the ability to produce and manipulate strings from one's body and use them invisibly to cut objects and living beings. You can also control other people's limbs from a distance using the strings.]
Abilities listed (once developed):
• Five Colored Strings: Produce five nearly invisible threads from the fingertips, arranged like a beast's claws to slash at the enemy. Extremely sharp—capable of slicing or severing the opponent's body!
• Overheat: Shoot dozens of nearly invisible threads from the palm, then twist them together to form a thick rope, strong enough to slice an opponent or even cut a tall building in half in an instant.
• Parasite String: Scatter a swarm of threads into the air, then have them rain down like shooting stars, piercing the target's body and letting you control their movements.
• Bullet String: Raise the index finger and curl the rest, then shoot out a high-speed thread like a bullet, powerful enough to puncture someone's bones in one hit!
…
Though it couldn't cure Nagato, the String-String Fruit was plenty useful. The possibilities were huge—once awakened, the user would have upward of 18 or more techniques. Senshi could already think of two people in the ninja world who'd be a good match for it: 1) Kakuzu, with his Earth Grudge Fear technique, which basically used threadlike tentacles, and 2) Sasori (or any puppeteer). But as of now, he had no intention of giving it to Sasori or other puppet users—Kakuzu was a core member of the mercenary group, an endless mission-grinder, and the heir to the "Will of Rain." So that was likely where it would go.
Once he finished checking the first draw, Senshi saw that none of it directly cured Nagato. With a sigh, he moved on to the second 100x pull:
"system-bro-bro, quit messing around. This time you've gotta give me what I need!"
[100,000 employment points deducted! 560,650 points remaining!]
[Drawing in progress…]
[Congratulations, Host! You have acquired…]
[Expired Instant Noodles ×1 Box!]
…
Senshi: ⊙▂⊙???
Seeing the first prize of the second draw, Senshi couldn't help but grumble again. What's going on here? Did Naruto's pantry get mixed up in my prize pool? Expired milk, then expired ramen?!
Annoyed, he kept reading. And then, just like before, he switched from scolding to smiling in delight:
[Experience Card: Dust Release (Bloodline Selection) ×3!]
[Bloodline Limit: Scorch Release ×1!]
[Sukuna Finger ×2!]
…
He was thrilled. Three uses of the Bloodline Selection Dust Release (from the Tsuchikage) would let him or an ally launch a full-power Dust Release attack three times, a solid trump card in a pinch.
He could also hand those three opportunities over to Karin or other members of the mercenary group as a trump card to save their lives.
The Scorch Release (like Pakura's) might come in handy eventually.
This Bloodline Limit isn't needed at the moment, so I'll just let it sit in the system space and gather dust for now.
What truly excited Senshi, though, was drawing two "Sukuna Fingers," which are quite the extraordinary treasures.
[Name: Sukuna Finger]
[Description: S-rank reward from the Jujutsu World. Each Sukuna Finger can awaken the power of the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna. Every finger contains immense cursed energy, with twenty fingers in total. By swallowing them, one gains the abilities of this legendary demon. The more fingers swallowed, the greater the power—but also the higher the risk of being devoured by Sukuna himself.]
• Swallow 1 finger: Unlock "Kamutoke"
• Swallow 2 fingers: Unlock "Shrine"
• Swallow 3 fingers: Unlock "Fuuga (?)"
• Swallow 5 fingers: Unlock "Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine"
• Swallow 10 fingers: Unlock "Sukuna's True Form!"
…
This item made Senshi fall into deep thought.
If someone ate a Sukuna Finger, they should be able to learn the reversed curse technique, which could indeed cure Nagato's health problems. But would letting Nagato consume it really be a good idea? This treasure definitely had some side effects.
After a bit of contemplation, Senshi decided to keep drawing a few more times, unless he truly ran out of options.
[100,000 employment points deducted! 460,650 points remaining!]
[Drawing in progress…]
[Congratulations, Host! You have acquired…]
[Sake ×5 Bottles!]
[Dice ×1!]
[Slot Machine ×1!]
[IOU Storage Box ×1!]
[Bloodline Limit: Byakugan ×1 Pair!]
[Hextech Core Prototype (Old Version) ×1!]
Senshi: (O_O)???
The results of the third 100-pull put Senshi in a tough spot.
It felt like the first 100-pull of the day had tapped into Naruto's pantry. Now, for this third 100-pull, could it be pulling items out of Tsunade's room?
How else do you explain getting both sake and dice? And if that wasn't enough, there's also a slot machine and an IOU storage box. Aside from Tsunade, the "Princess of Konoha," who would even use those?
But when Senshi saw the final reward, he held back his complaints!
Because what he found was a remarkable item—"Hextech Core"!
Seeing that, Senshi couldn't help exclaiming, "Whoa! That thing can come out of this prize pool too?!"
However, upon checking its attributes, he realized what he pulled was only the prototype version of a Hextech Core—not the one from the story of Piltover & Zaun, but rather the in-game equipment version that had been enhanced by the system.
[Name: Hextech Core Prototype (Old Version)]
[Description: SS-rank reward from the Runeterra world, originating from the essence of Hextech. It can be upgraded with employment points, which improves its stats and grants extra skills with each upgrade.]
• Hextech Core Prototype: +10 "Kakashi units" of chakra
• Hextech Core Prototype (Level 1): +20 chakra; unlocks skill: "Death Ray"
• Hextech Core Prototype (Level 2): +30 chakra; unlocks skill: "Gravity Field"
• Hextech Core Prototype (Level 3): +40 chakra; unlocks skill: "Siphon Power"
• Perfect Hextech Core (Max Level): +50 chakra, +100% Ninjutsu Power; unlocks skill: "Chaos Storm"
Each upgrade costs 10,000 employment points!
"Whoa! So basically a laser cannon, right?!"
After closely checking the item's attributes, Senshi realized that although it provided decent benefits, it also required a lot of employment points—making it somewhat impractical. Sure, even at Level 1, it gives the equivalent of ten Kakashis' worth of chakra, which isn't bad. But upgrading costs 30,000 employment points in total to reach max level, and given the returns, it's not really worth it.
Feeling no interest in spending money on that now, he moved on to the fourth 100x draw:
"system-bro-bro, come on—enough with the games. I've already used six 100x draws for Nagato's quest. This seventh one better be the one! Pull, pull, pull! Give me the goods!"
[100,000 employment points deducted! 360,350 points remaining!]
[Drawing in progress…]
[Congratulations, Host! You have acquired…]
[Susanoo's Cooking Tips ×1 Book!]
"Pffft!" Senshi nearly spat blood. That first item was so bizarre it almost knocked him out. It had to be a future masterpiece written by Karin, right? Aside from her, who else would author something so out there?
But bracing himself, he read on, and sure enough, he found treasure again:
[Crystal Ball: Telescope Technique ×1!]
[Perfect Super-Soldier Serum ×1!]
He finally had the cure for Nagato's health! Although the Telescope Technique ball was the same one Hiruzen Sarutobi used (which Jiraiya would definitely misuse for peeping), the real catch was that last item:
[Name: Perfect Super-Soldier Serum (Captain America's Serum)]
[Description: An S-rank reward from the Marvel Universe, optimized by the system. It can repair physical damage, fully awaken a ninja's latent potential, and drastically enhance every aspect of the body, pushing it toward perfection!]
At last! Nagato was going to be saved. This "sportsman's serum" could be used on him to give him a fully healthy, possibly muscular body, removing all his frailty. Someday he might be known as "Nagato, the guy who can haul bags of rice all day without breaking a sweat." This was the perfect fix, with no wild downsides.
Having finally gotten the item he needed, Senshi could stop drawing for now. He had over 360,000 employment points left, and that was enough for him. Even so, it would take time to digest all the other powerful items he'd just received.
…
While Senshi's objective was complete, Kakuzu and Sasori's quest was just beginning. Their current mission was to bring a ninja named Deidara into the organization. Because Deidara had caused multiple terror incidents in his youth just to prove the worth of his "art," he lived outside Iwagakure, in a nearby temple.
In that temple's main hall stood eight large "Buddha" statues. Even they couldn't calm Deidara's restless heart. Beside a display rack, the yellow-haired Deidara was admiring the clay artworks he'd laid out. But at that moment, two figures quietly appeared at the entrance. Hearing footsteps, Deidara turned around unhurriedly and saw a man with green eyes and another whose appearance was… rather peculiar.
Looking at them coldly, Deidara asked, "Who are you people, and what are you doing here?"
He'd never seen these two intruders before, and their looks made him uneasy.
Sasori sized up Deidara. "He seems fragile. Are you sure he's our target?"
Kakuzu nodded. "Yes, that's him. Leader says his ability would be valuable to Akatsuki."
Having heard that, Deidara let out a soft scoff. "Oh? You two know about my abilities?"
While he spoke, his left hand behind his back was already shaping a clay spider. Kakuzu had no interest in a drawn-out chat; once he confirmed Deidara's identity, he simply said:
"Your abilities are impressive. Our leader wants you to join Akatsuki."
Deidara scoffed again. "How rude. You haven't even answered my question!"
Kakuzu kept walking forward. "I'm not interested in irrelevant questions. If you don't want to get hurt, you'll come with us quietly."
That dismissive tone enraged Deidara, who was certainly no pushover—he was a somewhat fanatical artist. As Kakuzu continued approaching, Deidara flicked his right hand. A small clay grasshopper soared toward Kakuzu. "Hmph!"
Once it got close, Deidara formed a seal with his fingers. "Drink this in!"
Boom!
A small explosion went off right in front of Kakuzu. Yet the bomb barely affected him—he had already used the Body Flicker to avoid damage.
Seeing the location where the explosion struck, Kakuzu's eyes showed a hint of contempt. He had used that moment to gauge how powerful Deidara's bombs were, and he concluded that this level of clay explosive posed no risk to his hearts. Confirming that, he no longer intended to be polite.
On the other side, Deidara spotted Kakuzu's dismissive look and frowned, furious. "Damn it! You dare to belittle my art?!"
That line triggered Sasori. "That fleeting, momentary thing—how can you call that art? Something everlasting is what true art is."
Deidara's temper flared: "What nonsense is that? Art is the brilliance and splendor of an explosion in a single moment! Eternally unchanged objects have nothing to do with art!"
Sasori: "Art is eternal. Only something that endures forever can truly be called art."
Deidara: "Art is an explosion. It's the dazzling radiance of that single instant!"
Sasori: "Art is eternal!"
Deidara: "It's explosion!"
Sasori: "Eternal!"
Deidara: "Explosion!"
Just as they were about to carry on, Kakuzu forcibly cut them off. "Enough! That's it. Once we finish up here, I need to get back to my missions."
Inwardly, Kakuzu thought, Doing missions is the real art!
With Kakuzu's sharp words, Deidara stopped bickering with Sasori about art, switching his focus back to the real fight. He held his left hand behind his back, forming another clay grasshopper that suddenly emerged from the ground beneath Kakuzu, constricting him at close range.
Deidara snickered: "Hmph! So the guy who thinks so little of my art is this weak, huh?"
But even as he sneered, his expression changed. Kakuzu had activated Earth Grudge Fear, transforming into five masked creatures connected by black tendrils. That fluid, shifting mass of threads was impossible to trap. Freed in moments, Kakuzu directed the five masked beasts to charge straight at Deidara.
Protected by his nigh-impenetrable carapace around his hearts, Kakuzu felt confident that Deidara's bombs posed no real threat. He'd already tested their might. So from Sasori and Deidara's perspective, Kakuzu's all-out assault looked downright reckless.
Deidara was stunned to see the five masked beasts rushing him despite the barrage of clay bombs. In desperation, he hurled swarms of clay spiders to blanket them. Explosions rang out in rapid succession—Boom! Boom! Boom!—lighting up the hall. However, once the dust settled, Kakuzu's five hearts emerged almost entirely unharmed, with only some of the black threads severed. It was minor damage to him.
Undeterred, he carried on. Sasori, watching from behind, couldn't help being amazed.
Sasori: ?
He'd known Kakuzu a long time and seen his fighting style before, but he'd never witnessed him charging through explosions so brazenly just to seize an enemy. Deidara, for his part, was also stunned. In all his time studying art, he'd never come across a guy who'd just tank bombs like that. He'd be seeing those eerie green eyes in his nightmares.
…
Deidara hadn't started dreaming yet, but Hidan was already well into a nightmare of his own. Over in Kumogakure, at the bottom of a hot-spring bath, Hidan lay motionless. He wasn't dead—granted the god's "blessing" (curse), he couldn't die. His consciousness drifted, at first hazy, but little by little, the surroundings became clear. He found himself in a place he knew well: the cave that served as the main base of the Jashin faith. It was enormous—maybe not as large as Uchiha Madara's mountain tombs, but not much smaller.
There, numerous devout Jashinists were performing a ritual prayer to their god. Hidan looked toward the giant idol of the Jashin deity, but its face was always cloudy, beyond his view. He stepped closer, wanting to examine the statue in detail. But a bolt of lightning broke the ritual:
Rumble—boom!
With thunder and lightning came a low rumbling voice, as though from the depths of the abyss, echoing in his ears:
"Go… accept… missions…"
"Go… turn in… missions…"
The words were vague. Hidan tried to focus on them, but darkness swallowed the scene. After some time, the blackness faded, and everything around him gradually regained clarity. Again, he found himself at that same ritual, the same worshippers, the same giant idol with its indistinct visage. Another flash of lightning, and the ceremony again ended abruptly. The divine command echoed once more:
"Go… accept… missions…"
"Go… turn in… missions…"
This time, Hidan's consciousness repeated in a murmur, "Accept missions… Turn in missions?"
As he whispered, the world around him began to shift once more. The ground of the cavern cracked and split, molten lava glowed from below the fissures. The gloom turned into a terrifying inferno. The worshippers vanished one by one, leaving only the towering idol. Yet even then, Hidan couldn't see its face. The sweltering hellscape soon morphed into a land of ice and snow, as though everything was being frozen solid.
Meanwhile, outside in the real world, the hot-spring staff had decided to replace the bathwater. The temperature dropped for a bit, then they refilled it with new steamy water, letting the spring heat up again. So Hidan's body at the bottom went from cold to hot to cold again—over and over. Within his entranced mind, he cycled between a fiery hell and an icy one. Ritual, idol, thunder, divine words, blazing inferno, frozen wasteland… it was an endless loop that gradually sharpened his consciousness. Over and over, he kept hearing "Accept missions… turn in missions…"
Finally, after who knows how many rounds of this, Hidan's eyes flew open—he understood. In that final vision, he clearly saw the face of "Jashin." The deity had bright red hair like a burning sky, features chiseled with cold perfection. After countless cycles, he at last beheld his god's face and was overjoyed:
"Ahahahaha…"
"I've done it! I've seen Lord Jashin! I've seen Lord Jashin!"
"Hahahahahahaha…"
He began laughing like mad, muttering non-stop. Everything about missions—accepting them, turning them in—was now branded into his soul. Memories flooded back, merging with his current consciousness, making him recall that in fact, his "Jashin-sama" had always been by his side. More accurately, he had always been at Jashin's side, perpetually taking on missions and completing them. He also remembered some Jashin Church higher-ups who'd been "disposed of"—fools who had never realized the true doctrine of "doing missions" and wasted their time on empty rituals. Of course, they were unqualified worshipers, so they died in vain.
While Hidan cackled in ecstasy, Senshi received a system prompt:
[New member available to join your Mercenary Group! Your bond with Hidan has reached the maximum threshold. Would you like to invite him?]
Senshi: ?
When he saw that message, he finally remembered what it was he'd forgotten: Hidan at the bottom of the hot-spring bath. So that's where Hidan had been left all this time. But how on earth did their bond max out already? The highest level, no less. The next time Naruto goes on about the power of bonds with his comrades, Hidan can retort that Naruto knows nothing of the word "bond."
Recalling that he'd left Hidan submerged, Senshi was ready to retrieve this "cherished friend and ally" (or so the system claimed). He didn't want to scare any other bath guests by leaving him there. But as soon as he opened the door to his room, he saw a soaking wet Hidan standing in the hallway, staring at him with wild fervor:
"Lord Jashin! You really are Lord Jashin!"
"Life does not end, nor do missions! Lord Jashin, I have fully grasped the teaching of the Church now!"
…?
Hidan's first sentence made Senshi think the man's brain really was broken. Hidan had never been the brightest, but now he was short-circuited on top of that. Yet the second thing he said gave Senshi hope—at least he still understood the idea of doing missions. That meant there was a chance of salvation.
Senshi patted Hidan on the shoulder, "Life does not end, nor do missions. That's false faith, not the Jashin creed."
Hidan, however, burst into tears of joy upon hearing what he believed was "his god's instruction."
"Yes! Life does not end, nor do missions! That's our true Jashin doctrine!"
~~~
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