Scroll

[ Ding! Quest 6 complete. Congratulations, you received: Scroll.]

[ Ding! Mastered Air Cannon Ninjutsu Version. Reinforcing knowledge...]

These were the system notifications that rang in Gu Qi's mind after he completed the Ninjutsu version of the Air Cannon.

The principle behind the Air Cannon was actually simple: compress air, then release it all at once.

Despite how simple the principle was, it had taken Gu Qi several months to complete.

The biggest problem was figuring out how to keep the compressed mass of air powerful even after it was released.

Otherwise, the Air Cannon would quickly weaken as soon as it was fired, losing its power.

To solve this problem, Gu Qi had suddenly thought of a tornado.

If he couldn't solve the problem of the air weakening, why not let the Air Cannon build up power as it flew?

All he had to do was make the fired air projectile spin, drawing in and compressing the surrounding air to offset its loss of power.

Though he had an idea, making it work wasn't so easy.

The air projectile had to reach a certain rotational speed to meet Gu Qi's requirements.

Unlike the Rasengan, which rotated in opposite directions at once to create a tearing force, Gu Qi needed the air projectile to spin in a single direction, creating powerful suction.

Spinning in a single direction also had an advantage: at least it would make the air projectile more penetrating.

As for whether it should spin clockwise or counterclockwise, he only had to look at how a rotary hammer drill worked.

Though he had a solid theoretical foundation, putting it into practice was still a real headache.

Fortunately, he already had experience training with the Rasengan, and with his extensive knowledge of math and physics, Gu Qi ultimately succeeded in completing the technique.

The air projectile Gu Qi fired looked like an upside-down tornado, with a cone-shaped nose and a flared tail.

There were two reasons for this: one was to increase its destructive power, and the other was to make it easier to draw in the surrounding air.

The process had been a little bumpy, but in the end, Gu Qi had succeeded.

Gu Qi had now completed Tasks 4, 5, and 6. To unlock the next stage of tasks, all he had left were Tasks 1, 2, and 3, which would take a great deal of time and money.

Actually, as long as he had enough money, he wouldn't need long to complete Tasks 1, 2, and 3.

Unfortunately, Gu Qi had no way to come up with that much money all at once.

There was nothing he could do but wait for now.

"Hey, what is this scroll for?" Gu Qi asked in bewilderment as he took his latest reward from the system.

He'd discovered that there was no way to open the scroll, which really annoyed him.

[Please read the instruction manual carefully.]

After dropping that line, the system vanished without a trace.

"Tch!"

There was nothing he could do. With the system being so haughty, Gu Qi could only read the manual himself.

After giving it a careful read, Gu Qi realized the scroll wouldn't open because it hadn't been unsealed yet.

To unseal it, he had to complete the trial quest issued by the scroll.

But the manual didn't explain what the scroll was for.

"Who cares? Let's see what the trial is first!"

Gu Qi shrugged, then followed the instructions in the manual. He cut his finger with a Kunai and dripped his blood onto the scroll.

After a cloud of smoke swirled around, the character "Refine" appeared on the scroll.

At the same time, the system's notification sounded in Gu Qi's mind.

[ Ding! Enter the Trial Space? 1,000 Ryo per entry.]

"..." Gu Qi was speechless. That certainly sounded like the system.

Though he wasn't happy about it, Gu Qi could only grit his teeth and let himself be taken for a ride.

[Opening Trial Space... 3, 2, 1]

As the countdown hit zero, Gu Qi's figure abruptly vanished from the room.

By the time Gu Qi realized what had happened, he had arrived in a dojo with a classic martial-arts style.

"Hello, challenger. Please get ready. The challenge is about to begin."

Before Gu Qi could finish surveying the surroundings, he heard a deep, honest-sounding voice from across the room.

Following the voice, Gu Qi saw a man wearing yellowish-beige shorts with a few patches, white leg wraps, and straw sandals. He was bare-chested, with a round, pale belly and a pair of enormous dark circles around his eyes.

"You are..." Gu Qi pointed at the man in astonishment. He was far too familiar with that look.

"That's right. I'm your opponent. So, come attack me!"

Gu Qi froze, then said nervously, "Hey, hey, did something go wrong?"

Gu Qi stood no chance against him!

The guy standing before him was 1.88 meters tall and weighed over a hundred kilos—a hulking fat man.

Compared to him, Gu Qi's arms and legs were tiny. They weren't even in the same weight class.

Forget fighting him—a single body slam could take half of Gu Qi's life.

"If you're not going to attack, then I'll come to you." With that, the man charged straight at Gu Qi.

Watching the huge figure barrel toward him like a tank, Gu Qi knew he had no choice but to fight.

"Konoha Whirlwind!" Using the momentum of his charge, Gu Qi pivoted on his left foot and swung a powerful roundhouse kick at the man's belly.

Thud~

Gu Qi felt like he'd kicked a wad of cotton. It didn't feel like he had hit a person at all.

"Not bad, but it's not enough." The man stuck out his belly, and Gu Qi felt a tremendous force bounce him backward.

He landed on his feet after a backflip, then charged at the man again.

But now that he knew he couldn't beat the man by meeting force with force, Gu Qi switched tactics and used softness to overcome hardness.

Relying on his incredible speed, Gu Qi circled behind the man, leaped up, and brought his heel down in a powerful axe kick.

But the man's back seemed to have eyes. He easily raised both arms to block Gu Qi's thigh.

Then the man did a backflip and, using the momentum, grabbed Gu Qi's leg and hurled him away.

Gu Qi was a little frustrated. The guy was a fat man, so how could he be that nimble? Was this any way to repay all the delicious food he'd eaten over the years?

Even as the thought crossed his mind, Gu Qi wasn't about to give up. Just before he crashed into the wall, he turned in midair and landed steadily on it.

"Cool! How can you do that?" The man seemed fascinated by Gu Qi's skills and asked in curiosity.

"Want to know...? Not telling!" Gu Qi kicked off the wall and charged at him again.

In midair, Gu Qi gathered chakra in his left hand. In no time, a small Rasengan had formed.

"Rasengan!"

"That looks awesome, but I can do it too!"

As Gu Qi flew through the air, he was startled to see light shining from the man's hands.

The man formed a ball of energy between his palms, then thrust it forward, sending it flying at Gu Qi.

"Huh?!" With no way to dodge in midair, Gu Qi quickly dispersed his chakra and brought out his shield.

The energy ball looked weak, but the moment it hit the shield, Gu Qi felt a tremendous force.

Still in midair, Gu Qi was driven straight back into the wall.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Gu Qi grimaced and cried out, hoping to win some sympathy from the man.

Unfortunately, the man was unmoved and pressed on relentlessly.

"This is tricky."

Gu Qi got to his feet and silently pulled a coin from his clothes. At the same time, Lightning Flash began crackling along his arm.

Zzzt~

The accelerated coin flew straight at the man.

Just when Gu Qi thought victory was assured, the man suddenly grinned. With a perfect Taiji move, he used the opponent's strength against him and sent the coin flying back.

Only then did Gu Qi remember that this man was a master who could even catch cannonballs fired from an artillery gun.

"Yamete! I'm going to die!" Every hair on Gu Qi's body stood on end. He threw up shields with both hands and only just managed to block the coin.

Before Gu Qi could catch his breath, the man charged at him with a shout and a wide grin.

"Ha! Yah!"

Then a massive fist lightly struck Gu Qi's cheek.