It was precisely because he had heard two consecutive notifications about obtaining Ninja Fragments that Zhang Miao stopped singing in surprise.
Of course, he would not tell Kakashi about that. As Kakashi carried him home on his back, Zhang Miao immediately questioned the system in his mind.
"System, what's with these Ninja Fragments that have no star rating or name?"
The moment Zhang Miao asked, the system immediately answered in his mind.
"Host, fragments are divided into elite Ninja Fragments and ordinary Ninja Fragments. Ninja Fragments with star ratings and names are elite Ninja Fragments, while those without star ratings or names are ordinary Ninja Fragments."
Hearing the system's explanation, Zhang Miao frowned again.
"Since Ninja Fragments are divided into elite and ordinary types, what's the difference between them? Are elite Ninja Fragments better than ordinary Ninja Fragments?"
"Yes!" The system answered Zhang Miao's question again. "Ordinary Ninja Fragments can only recruit ninjas up to six stars, while elite Ninja Fragments can recruit ninjas of seven stars and above!"
"Oh, so that's how it is!"
Zhang Miao could understand that result very well. After all, six stars meant an elite Jonin, a ninja roughly at the strength level of the Hokage's Anbu, while seven stars meant a Kage Level powerhouse.
One had to know that in the Naruto World, every ninja at Kage Level or above was a renowned figure in the ninja world. In other words, there were no obscure nobodies at Kage Level or above!
How could the Ninja Fragments of people like that possibly be ordinary Ninja Fragments? They had to be elite ones!
The system's following explanation also proved that Zhang Miao's thoughts were correct.
"Ninjas recruited through elite Ninja Fragments can all wield the power of their current star rating. Under special circumstances, they may even exceed it. Ninjas recruited through ordinary Ninja Fragments are generally weak and have difficulty fighting elite ninjas!"
"Uh..." After hearing the system's explanation, Zhang Miao was stunned for a long while before he could not help grumbling, "So after all that, the ones recruited from ordinary Ninja Fragments are just cannon fodder?"
"The host may understand it that way!" Completely ignoring the dissatisfaction in Zhang Miao's tone, the system answered as mechanically as ever. "Ordinary ninjas are not strong in combat, but recruiting them can also provide the host with Chakra Reserves. Therefore, the system recommends that the host recruit them!"
"Uh..."
Hearing that, Zhang Miao remembered that his total Chakra amount was the combined Chakra of all the ninjas he had recruited.
Moreover, although ninjas recruited from ordinary Ninja Fragments were not powerful in combat, their total Chakra was not much lower than that of elite ninjas. Thinking about it that way, ordinary Ninja Fragments seemed somewhat useful after all.
As if it had sensed Zhang Miao's thoughts, the system's voice rang out in his mind again.
"Besides recruiting ordinary ninjas, ordinary Ninja Fragments can also serve as the host's usual consumables!"
"Consumables?" Hearing that term, Zhang Miao immediately grew curious again. "How are they consumed? Can this thing be eaten raw besides recruiting ninjas?"
Naturally, the system could not appreciate Zhang Miao's sense of humor, and its answer remained as rigid as before.
"Ordinary Ninja Fragments cannot be eaten raw. However, when the host uses certain special ninjutsu, taijutsu, or sealing techniques, ordinary Ninja Fragments can replace the blood vitality or life force the host would otherwise need to consume!"
"Hiss..."
This time, Zhang Miao was genuinely shocked.
After all, there were many forbidden techniques in the Naruto World, yet every one of them required taking enormous risks to activate, sometimes even at the cost of a ninja's life.
For example, Might Guy opening all Eight Inner Gates, or Minato Namikaze's Reaper Death Seal. Though immensely powerful, both could easily cost someone their life.
For someone as protective of his life as Zhang Miao, even if techniques like those were given to him for free, he would not want them!
But if ordinary Ninja Fragments could be used as substitutes, then things would be different.
Thinking of that, Zhang Miao hurriedly asked the system, "System, can I use ordinary Ninja Fragments to perform the Eight Inner Gates?"
"Yes!" The instant Zhang Miao finished speaking, the system answered immediately. "The power of the Eight Inner Gates corresponds to the system's two-star through nine-star ratings. Opening each gate requires consuming the corresponding Ninja Fragments!"
"That powerful?"
Zhang Miao had always known that the Eight Inner Gates were formidable, but he had not expected them to be this formidable. After all, nine stars were at the level of the Sage of Six Paths!
Thinking of that, he quickly pressed on. "So exactly how many Ninja Fragments need to be consumed?"
"The first gate requires fifty, the second gate requires one hundred, and so on. Opening all Eight Inner Gates requires a total of twelve thousand seven hundred and fifty ordinary Ninja Fragments."
"Uh..." Hearing that so many Ninja Fragments were required, Zhang Miao was dumbfounded again. After a long while, he asked unwillingly, "Then what if there aren't enough Ninja Fragments?"
"It'll cost you your dog life!"
Zhang Miao: "..."
Damn broken system, could it speak like a normal person?
Though the system's words had enraged Zhang Miao at the time, upon thinking it over afterward, the system did not seem to be wrong.
Take Might Guy from the original plot, for example. Although opening all Eight Gates had nearly beaten the Sage of Six Paths Madara to death, if Naruto had not desperately treated him afterward, he would have died long ago.
And although he survived in the end, he was left permanently disabled. It was impossible for him to ever be a ninja again, which showed just how terrifying the Eight Inner Gates were.
By that calculation, it was not strange for such a heaven-defying taijutsu to require twelve thousand seven hundred and fifty ordinary Ninja Fragments.
Most importantly, Zhang Miao felt that ordinary Ninja Fragments were not all that difficult to collect. As long as he got familiar with the people in the village later on, he could chat with ten or twenty nameless ninja extras a day. Over a year, gathering around ten thousand ordinary Ninja Fragments would be no problem at all.
Was it worth spending a year in exchange for a trump card that could save his life and turn the tide?
Did that even need asking? It was obviously an absolute bargain!
At that moment, Zhang Miao suddenly thought of another important question and immediately asked the system impatiently.
"System, if even ordinary Ninja Fragments are this useful, do elite fragments have other uses too?"
"Yes!"
The system was still as meticulous as ever. The moment Zhang Miao's question came out, it immediately answered.
"Besides recruiting the corresponding ninja, elite Ninja Fragments can also be used with the system's lottery function!"
"A lottery?" Hearing that term, Zhang Miao's interest was instantly piqued. He eagerly pressed on, "What can I win? Can I draw a Mercedes or a Maserati?"
Before you continue