I Play Ninjutsu in Jujutsu Kaisen! Chapter 7

Furiously forming a Rasengan with his bare hands, spewing Hosenka no Jutsu from his mouth, or perhaps possessing a Sage Body.

Any one of those would have been ridiculously awesome.

As the roulette wheel slowed, each time it slowly passed through the white "Thank You for Participating" section, his suspended heart sank again. But once it passed that white section, the opposite happened.

The roulette wheel crawled along, passing an A-rank ninjutsu and the white dead zone, then moving through the taijutsu section before reaching the tiny S-rank ninjutsu section.

The wheel was still turning, but it now moved as slowly as a minute hand. It slowly passed through the S-rank ninjutsu section, seeming as though it was about to stop, yet it continued moving.

Natsu Hiraku's heartbeat quickened. He closed his eyes, pressed his palms together, and shouted inwardly:

Stop already! Taishang Laojun, by the law, make it happen!

Jesus Christ, give me an S-rank ninjutsu! This is the first time I've believed in you—if I get one, I'll believe only in Jesus for the rest of my life!

Buddha, bless this poor child with an S-rank ninjutsu! I'll burn incense for you!

Brother Jade Emperor, please! Give me an S! Once I ascend to heaven, I'll definitely help you manage the Heavenly Court!

With those four deadly buffs stacked together, Natsu Hiraku opened his eyes with complete confidence.

[Thank You for Participating]

"..."

Damn it, I must be seeing things. There was a C-rank ninjutsu after the S-rank one—how could it have jumped straight to "Thank You for Participating"...

Natsu Hiraku rubbed his eyes and looked again hopefully, but while imagination was beautiful, reality was still "Thank You for Participating."

"..."

"Fuck!"

He really couldn't hold back that curse and blurted it out. This damn system had definitely tampered with the roulette data while he had his eyes closed stacking buffs. Damn it, he had never seen anything this infuriating.

There were three chances left. Should he go all in? This time, he would watch the whole process and see how this damn system cheated.

For the second draw, the roulette wheel began spinning from the "Thank You for Participating" slot. Then its speed slowed, and it steadily stopped on the "Thank You for Participating" section...

"..."

Natsu Hiraku's face darkened. Suppressing the urge to cough up blood, he clicked to draw again.

The roulette wheel spun rapidly. The heart that had yet to go cold gave off its final traces of warmth as his yearning gaze fixed firmly on the wheel. He craved a ninjutsu—he would take even a C-rank one.

The wheel slowed, its pointer passing one ninjutsu after another, crossing the dreaded white dead zone as it advanced toward his dream.

"Gulp—"

Natsu Hiraku swallowed as he watched the pointer land on an S-rank ninjutsu. Joy gradually filled his heart. Although the system had yet to display a notification, the wheel could barely move now. Besides, he had watched the entire time—the stupid system couldn't fool him again.

[Congratulations, you have obtained S-rank Ninjutsu: Flying Thunder God Shard. 40 shards are required to synthesize the ninjutsu.]

"..."

"Fuck!!"

"Are you nesting dolls infinitely here?"

Even Natsu Hiraku, who thought he had a pretty good mentality, was at the end of his rope. He cursed this trash system for preferring to be a dog rather than a person.

Forty shards to synthesize one ninjutsu—how many S-rank ninjutsu even were there? If he ever managed to synthesize one, he must have saved the universe in his past life.

Looking at his last remaining point, Natsu Hiraku directly clicked to draw again. Though he no longer held any hope for this thing, keeping that one point was useless anyway, and just looking at it pissed him off.

The roulette wheel sped past the pointer while Natsu Hiraku closed his eyes to rest. His mentality had already shattered—if he kept hoping for this thing, he would probably get so angry he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage.

"Natsu, are you all right?"

The door suddenly burst open, and Yuta Okkotsu's worried voice came through.

"I'm fine. I just got so angry I nearly had a cerebral hemorrhage."

Natsu Hiraku held his head and glanced at the roulette wheel.

[Congratulations, you have obtained B-rank Ninjutsu: Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation.]

[Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation: Cursed energy consumed: 150 points. The more cursed energy infused, the greater the damage dealt.]

[Hidden reward obtained. First ninjutsu acquired. Permanently gained 100 cursed energy.]

"..."

"Holy shit...!"

The suddenly appearing B-rank ninjutsu made Natsu Hiraku's pupils contract. His expression froze, as if he regarded the ninjutsu that had suddenly popped up with both suspicion and confusion.

Had this damn system finally found its conscience?

It had actually given him a ninjutsu, and it was even B-rank!

This ninjutsu probably cost at least 150 points, yet he had gotten it with only four points. Holy shit, this system really did have a conscience.

"What's wrong?"

Yuta Okkotsu watched his expression shift from helplessness to delight, with two seconds of confusion in between, and immediately felt that his brain could no longer keep up with this era.

"Ahem!" Natsu Hiraku coughed sharply a few times, then forced himself to remain calm. "Nothing. How many days was I unconscious?"

Yuta Okkotsu: "It's been a week. The doctor said it seemed to be due to nerve damage, and he's been in a deep coma."

Deep, huh...

No wonder I remembered those childhood memories.

Natsu Hiraku slowly rose to his feet and stretched a few times, feeling the abundant power within his body. He praised inwardly, Not bad. Much better than before. That 100-point increase in cursed energy was seriously huge. I was worried that after obtaining ninjutsu, my cursed energy wouldn't be enough to keep up. Looks like I don't need to worry at all now.

[Host: Natsu Hiraku]

[Cursed Energy: 500, Grade 3 Sorcerer]

[Stamina: 15]

[Eye Technique: One-Tomoe Sharingan]

[Ninjutsu: Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation.]

[Taijutsu: Not Learned]

Yeah, I could count as a ninja now. One blast of Fire Style, and I'll burn the whole world!

"Natsu, you just woke up. Why not rest in the hospital for another couple of days? Thank you so much for last time. You gave me the courage to summon Rika. But please, you have to take care of your body. I was afraid you'd never wake up again."

Yuta Okkotsu's eyes welled with tears, like a remorseful child.

Natsu Hiraku smiled faintly at the sight. He raised his right hand and gently patted Yuta's head. "It's fine. My dream is to save lives and heal the wounded. It's what I should do."

He shouted inwardly, I've won one over—woohoo! Once he gets back on his feet, I'll be able to strut through the jujutsu world!

"What are you two talking about? Mind including me?"

Maki Zenin's voice came from the doorway. Natsu Hiraku turned toward her. She wore Jujutsu High's black uniform, and her expression practically radiated confidence.

Ah! Damn it, I still haven't made that 5,000-yen meal. Should I pretend to be sick and see if I can raise it to 10,000 yen?

Forget it. She'd probably beat me to death. In a one-on-one fight, I could barely force things into an even match for a short while. I could use the Sharingan's powerful tracking ability, but once my cursed energy ran out, I'd be the one getting beaten up...

Yuta Okkotsu didn't seem surprised to see Maki Zenin at the door, as though they had come to visit him together. He patted Natsu Hiraku on the shoulder, said, "I'll go take care of the discharge procedures," and left.

"Oh, okay. Go ahead."

Watching Yuta leave, Natsu Hiraku said to Maki Zenin, who was standing in the doorway, "Once we get back, I'll buy groceries and cook for you."

"Mm, that can wait. How's your body? I'm really sorry for treating you like a coward who ran away in the middle of battle."

"Uh, that? It's nothing. I forgive you."

Natsu Hiraku said self-mockingly, "Even though I could tell how much you hated me when you cursed me out, I'm a merciful person. Give me 10,000 yen and we'll call the matter settled. Just give me another 5,000."

"...#"

Veins bulged on Maki Zenin's forehead. She had originally felt apologetic toward him, but for some reason, seeing that punchable face of his now made her want to beat him up.

"Just kidding, just kidding. Don't take it seriously. I was only teasing. Anyway... I'm going to buy groceries first. See you tonight!"

Natsu Hiraku grinned and left without looking back, worried that if he stayed any longer, he really would get beaten up.

The sun hung high in the sky as Natsu Hiraku walked down the street in a hospital gown. Passersby stared at him strangely, but he paid no attention to their worldly gazes.

What should I make tonight?

His original clothes had been ruined. Although the 5,000 yen in his pocket was still intact, it didn't change the fact that he was currently penniless.

I still need to figure out a way to make money. But what's fast and easy?

As he pondered, a faint cry for help came from a nearby alley. It vanished in an instant, like the buzz of a mosquito, quickly swallowed by the clamor of the street.

The pedestrians passing by seemed not to notice anything unusual and continued with whatever they were doing.

Natsu Hiraku's dark eyes fixed on the alley where the sound had come from. In an instant, his pupils turned scarlet. As though he had spotted something interesting, an unreadable smile appeared on his lips before his eyes returned to black.

I didn't expect a way to make money to show up so quickly. Who would've thought that saving a damsel in distress would one day fall to me?

How should I spend this huge sum of money?

Should I buy clothes, or food?

Natsu Hiraku gave a cold smile and headed straight into the dark alley, ready to uphold justice.

The world was bleak, but justice would prevail.

Today, I...

Wrong script, wrong script.

Deep within the alley.

Several burly men held knives and sneered, seemingly lusting after the beauty of the woman before them.

"Stop struggling, little lady. People usually aren't willing to come in here. Do you want us to take your body first, or hand over your money first? Or do you want both?"

"Boss," one of the underlings quietly chimed in, "weren't we only here to rob her today? If you want women, we can go find some. If it turns into rape, that's a different matter."

"..."

The leading man seemed to recall something, cold sweat beading on his forehead. His lecherous smile vanished as he said in a low voice, "Hand over your bank card now, or we'll take your body today."

One of the underlings quietly reminded him again, "Boss, we've already got her under control. Just ask for her bank card password."

"..."

"Ahem," the man coughed lightly and continued threatening her. "Tell me the password, now!"

At that moment, the underling holding the bank card noticed the password written in the card's note and reminded him, "Boss..."

"...#"

"For fuck's sake, are you the boss or am I? Quit yammering and let me finish the robbery process, will you?"

The man flew into a rage and slapped the underling beside him twice. The kidnapped woman was left dumbfounded, inwardly complaining:

With that level of intelligence, he still came out to be a robber?

Face was important to people, but something even more important than face was probably faith.

For Ryota Hida, a master thief, his faith was to become a thief whose name struck terror into people's hearts. Even this robbery was merely for the sake of becoming a master thief someday.

As the saying went, a man lived for one breath of pride; among the 360 trades, every trade had its masters. He intended to become the strongest in this line of work.

Ryota Hida took the bank card from his underling, put it back into the bag, zipped it up, and tossed it back to the woman.

"Put the bag over your shoulder. Let's do this again and let me go through the normal process."

"..."

Looking at the bag in her hands, the woman was suddenly at a loss. As the young lady of the Mitsuchi Family, she had seen plenty of robbers, but never one quite this bizarre.

Though speechless, she still slung the bag over her shoulder and asked softly, "Is this okay?"