Gacha! Dragon?!?

"It's fine. You're not shy about accepting things, are you? Qiuyan, what do you think?"

Seeing how smoothly Gen sheathed his sword, Setsuna Uchiha curled his lips into a smile and spoke to Qiuyan Uchiha, who had walked over.

"Take good care of it, and defend the honor of our Uchiha Clan."

Qiuyan Uchiha smiled as he looked at Gen.

"I will."

Gen gently stroked the scabbard with his thumb and nodded.

Showcase his own strength, let those in power decide his worth, and then secure their investment.

At this stage, that was the most reliable path Gen could think of. So far, the results had been good.

"Master Gen's talent really is terrifying. That Fire Release just now seemed even faster than the Dragon Fire Technique. Come to think of it, with your current strength, Master Gen, you could graduate early and start taking missions."

The Uchiha shinobi who had tested Gen also came over and spoke to him.

"I'm not interested. I have a rare chance to spend a few more years training and getting stronger. Why would I graduate early to take on those thankless missions?"

Gen smiled at the Uchiha shinobi, whose face was streaked with blood.

"...That's true. What Gen needs most right now is time to grow. Gen, this is Ganghuo. He's the leader of the guard squad I've assigned to you. With his strength and that of the others, they'll have no problem keeping you safe."

After a brief silence, Setsuna nodded. Then he pointed to Ganghuo—the Uchiha shinobi who had tested Gen—and introduced him.

Although Setsuna would have preferred Gen to graduate early and crush the Senju orphan, he respected Gen's own decision.

"Thank you, Elder Setsuna. Senior Ganghuo, sorry for the trouble."

Gen didn't refuse Setsuna's kind offer and gladly accepted his decision to have him protected.

It would have been foolish not to take advantage of the privileges that came with being part of a ninja clan. Besides, Konoha wasn't entirely safe behind the scenes.

Gen didn't want to gamble on other people not trying to hurt him.

"It's late, so you should head back and rest. I've already had people move everything from your old room over. If you need anything else, just have Ganghuo and the others take care of it."

"Understood."

Mist Space.

Familiar cards of every color danced through the sky.

He still hadn't had a chance to use the one draw from the D-rank pool he'd earned by defeating Hyuga Hiashi earlier that day.

"Hopefully it isn't white."

Looking at the colorful cards swirling through the sky, Gen raised a hand.

Snap!

At the sound of his fingers snapping, all the cards burst apart, sending countless sparkling lights flowing through the air.

Amid the dazzling lights, a flash of blue appeared.

Seeing it, excitement flickered in Gen's eyes.

A blue card!!!!

He'd drawn a B-rank card from the D-rank pool!!!!

The odds were just 0.1 percent, and he'd actually managed to get one!!!

Without hesitation, Gen reached out and took the card. When he looked at it, he saw an orange figure printed on its face.

The instant he grasped the card, its information became clear to him.

Fine: Charmander

Source world: Anime—[Pokemon]

Card type: Summon

Description: A Fire-type Starter Pokémon from the Kanto region of the Pokemon world, and the most suitable one for beginner trainers to master. Pokémon are a strange species that wield mysterious powers, also known as Pocket Monsters.

"Charmander? So... my childhood dream is coming true in the Shinobi World?"

Holding the card, Gen looked at the image of Charmander basking in flames and murmured to himself.

"Come to think of it, a lot of Pokémon moves can brush up against the laws of nature, and they grow incredibly quickly. If this Charmander has enough talent..."

As he spoke, Gen squeezed the card in his hand, and it shattered in an instant.

The next moment, a cute, bright-orange creature with a flame burning at the tip of its tail appeared in front of him.

"Char!"

As soon as Charmander appeared, it happily ran circles around Gen.

"Well then... I hope we get along."

Gen smiled at Charmander as he reached down and gently rubbed its head.

"Char!"

Time passed.

On the Ninja Academy training field, the students were taking part in a practical test under Ino Sarutobi's supervision.

A year had passed since enrollment. During that time, Gen's classmates had gradually earned him draws from the D-rank pool.

Minato Namikaze had even earned him one draw from the C-rank pool.

That had finally helped Gen understand how Mist Space worked. When a ninja reached a new level of strength, a new opportunity to earn a card draw appeared.

In other words, as long as someone kept getting stronger, Gen could wring draws from every rank of card pool out of them.

Over the past year, Gen had also defeated quite a few Uchiha shinobi within the Uchiha Clan, earning a number of draws from the C-rank pool.

Unfortunately, it seemed as though all his luck had been spent on Charmander. He hadn't gotten anything particularly good from his later draws.

"Next match! Gen Uchiha versus Minato Namikaze!"

Ino Sarutobi stood in the center of the training field, holding a sheet of paper on which all the match results were recorded. In a stern voice, she called out the next pairing.

"Gen, looks like we're sparring again. How should we do it this time?"

Hearing his name, Minato turned to Gen, who had his eyes closed, and spoke quietly.

"Same as last time. Taijutsu only. I'll dodge, and you try to catch me. You win if you manage to touch me."

Gen stopped focusing on training his qi and letting it circulate through his body. He opened his eyes and answered softly.

"All right."

Minato nodded.

When the two of them stepped onto the platform, their classmates watching below grew excited and cheered Minato on, hoping he would win this time.

Everyone knew they were good friends and that Minato was no match for Gen, but what if? What if Minato happened to have a breakthrough this time?