Star Platinum

The 70 soul fragments clattered like coins dropped into a pachinko machine, producing a crisp, melodic chime.

The numbers flickered, vanished, and transformed into tiny, brilliant stars that poured into the gacha interface.

It still wasn't enough!

"I stake my soul."

A wisp of golden light drifted out from Lin Qing's soul.

It was cast into the gacha interface once more.

The ten-pull was complete.

Draw!

The stars in the night sky suddenly erupted with radiance, and ten celestial bodies plummeted, carving dazzling arcs across the horizon.

Ding, ding, ding, ding.

Accompanied by four consecutive crisp sounds, four stars appeared.

The starlight coalesced into a purple vine.

Stand Name: Hermit Purple.

Star Rating: 4.

Owner: Joseph Joestar.

Ability: Thoughtography; can view distant scenes by smashing cameras or other media, conduct Ripple energy and electricity, and be used as vines for movement.

Current Level: 1.

Note: "Your Stand is the most useless one, old man—Dio."

"Four stars?"

Lin Qing was stunned for a moment.

Wasn't a ten-pull supposed to guarantee a five-star Stand?

Furthermore, what was the meaning of "most useless" in the note?

Suddenly, a series of crisp dings rang out again.

And this time...

There were five!

As the starlight flashed, a robust, muscular, blue-purple humanoid Stand with flowing hair appeared.

Stand Name: Star Platinum.

Star Rating: 5.

Owner: Jotaro Kujo.

Ability: A close-range power-type Stand possessing immense strength, extreme speed, and high precision.

Current Level: 1.

Note 1: Time Stop ability not yet unlocked.

Note 2: Invincible.

Two Stands in a single ten-pull!

What incredible luck.

No, it couldn't be called mere luck.

There was also, in the mysterious depths of fate, the acknowledgment of the Stands themselves.

Lin Qing had countless reasons to choose to hide, to choose to flee.

After all, once he stepped out, he would be risking his life, staking his own soul as a wager.

But there was only one reason that made Lin Qing step out—

The courage to face injustice.

The two Stands before him had responded to his courage.

Lin Qing did not know who these two murderers were, nor was he clear on what kind of all-encompassing power prevented anyone from the village behind them from coming to the rescue.

Lin Qing only knew one thing.

As a mature adult, if he lacked the ability, so be it, but he could not stand by and watch these two animals lay hands on a child when he finally had the power to make a choice.

When poor, one keeps to oneself; when successful, one helps the world.

Of course, at this very moment, he wasn't thinking that deeply.

Lin Qing only wanted to crush these two animals.

He took a deep breath, and when he opened his eyes again, there was not a shred of fear left in them.

He clenched his fists, assuming a boxing stance.

"Come on! You piece of trash!"

Being called trash by the shame of the Uchiha clan, a flicker of complex emotions briefly crossed the eyes of Itachi Uchiha; he had not expected that the one standing before him in the end would be Lin Qing.

Was this irony from fate itself?

The superfluous emotion vanished in a flash, and Itachi Uchiha walked forward, blade in hand.

He did not waste chakra on ninjutsu, nor did he even activate his Sharingan.

The Masked Man at his side was too mysterious and too dangerous; Itachi Uchiha needed to reserve enough strength to guard against him.

Most importantly, Itachi believed that dealing with Lin Qing required none of those things.

The reason he walked over with a blade rather than casually throwing a kunai was out of respect for Lin Qing, who dared to stand his ground despite knowing he would surely die.

Itachi took a step, moving like a phantom, his blade slicing through the air with a sharp hiss.

He gazed at Lin Qing with indifference:

"I retract my contempt for you; you are a man worthy of respect."

"It is only a pity that, for the sake of Konoha and the peace of the world... please, die."

The blade swept upward from below, and Lin Qing was on the verge of being cleaved in two.

Obito let out a bored yawn.

Young Sasuke, having witnessed too much death this night, squeezed his eyes shut.

Just then—

"ORA!!!"

Accompanied by a thunderous roar, the dull sound of a fist striking flesh erupted!

Sasuke snapped his eyes open.

"Hm?"

Obito frowned slightly, his gaze peering through his mask.

The lethal blade froze in mid-air.

Despite being less than an inch from Lin Qing, it was as if it had struck an invisible barrier, unable to continue its swing.

Blood sprayed, and under the silver moonlight, it looked like tiny red rubies; the source of the blood...

Obito's pupils constricted sharply.

Itachi was injured?!

A moment ago, Star Platinum had slammed a fist into Itachi Uchiha's face, collapsing his prominent nose and sending blood spraying.

And this...

Was only the beginning!

Star Platinum had a range of only two meters.

If Itachi had used ninjutsu from a distance, Lin Qing would have had no way to counter.

But since his opponent had chosen to step into Star Platinum's range, Lin Qing would not let this opportunity slip!

Lin Qing stood with one hand in his pocket; the tragic deaths he had witnessed along the way transformed into fury, concentrating on his index finger.

He pointed directly at the executioner, who had been stunned by the punch.

"ORA! ORA! ORA!"

Star Platinum grabbed the blade with one hand and clenched the other into a fist; a fist the size of a sandbag hammered relentlessly against Itachi Uchiha's skull.

Each punch was fiercer than the last!

Each punch was heavier than the last!

By the third punch, the sound of cracking bone could be heard.

Obito snapped back to reality.

It was too fast!

And too brutal!

From the moment Itachi Uchiha swung his blade to the moment he was about to have his skull crushed, not even a fraction of a second had passed; what was even more terrifying was that it was impossible to tell what kind of ninjutsu this was.

There were no hand signs.

There were no incantations.

Could it be a Kekkei Genkai?

What kind of Kekkei Genkai was this... no! He was a member of the Uchiha clan, what about his Sharingan?

But...

Obito could not find any tomoe or Mangekyo in Lin Qing's eyes.

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Obito's mind. Driven by years of combat instinct, his body acted faster than his thoughts, flickering to Itachi Uchiha's side and reaching out to grab his shoulder.

Itachi's power was crucial to Obito's subsequent plans.

He intended to transfer Itachi into the Kamui dimension.

Lin Qing's abilities were too bizarre; Obito did not want to make direct contact with him.

Just as Obito's hand was about to touch Itachi Uchiha.

"Meteor Finger Stab."

Star Platinum released the blade, its two fingers pressed together and extended, thrusting toward Obito like a long spear.

Obito could not see Star Platinum, but he instinctively sensed the threat and activated his intangibility.

He successfully dodged the Meteor Finger Stab.

However, his hand, intended to save Itachi Uchiha, passed right through his shoulder.

In his intangible state, Obito could not bring people or objects into the Kamui dimension; this was a limitation of his ability.

Information is always the key to a ninja's battle.

Given the combat levels of Itachi Uchiha and Obito, not to mention two-on-one, even one-on-one, their ninjutsu, techniques, and combat experience would absolutely be enough to crush Lin Qing.

But it was a matter of who struck first.

A pure "first-strike kill" effect.

No matter how powerful the ninjutsu, no matter how refined the taijutsu.

The human body is, after all, fragile.

Even at level 1, before any upgrades, the impact force of Star Platinum's fist was in no way inferior to a semi-truck speeding down a highway.

What Itachi Uchiha?

I thought it was just a speed bump!

Go talk to my insurance!

Star Platinum tossed Itachi Uchiha upward, clenched its right fist, and took a deep breath.

"Too, too strong..."

Sasuke sat in the corner, staring blankly at his brother being thrown into mid-air.

It felt unreal.

Everything was like a dream.

Itachi killing the entire clan was a dream.

Lin Qing wanting to kill Itachi was also a dream.

But Sasuke knew that everything was real.

"ORA!"

A violent shout rang out.

The wind from the punch swept forth, a gale howling as it smashed toward Itachi Uchiha's face with peerless momentum.

If it connected, he would surely die!

"Susanoo."

A ring of dark red barrier appeared, encircling Itachi Uchiha.

At the moment of life and death, Itachi Uchiha's intense will to survive brought him back to his senses.

Obito breathed a sigh of relief.

It was Susanoo; he was saved.

Crack.

Star Platinum's fist descended, striking the red barrier accompanied by a faint, crisp sound.

Cracks as thin as hair appeared.

Lin Qing took another step forward, closing the distance to Itachi Uchiha, and said calmly:

"Mortgage my remaining soul, exchange everything for resources, and upgrade Star Platinum."

Star Platinum has been upgraded to... Level 2.

Soul mortgage quota is 0. Please obtain 500 soul fragments within 24 hours, or your soul will completely vanish.

Even though he had mortgaged his entire soul, the golden light deep within Lin Qing's eyes shone even more brilliantly.

The wind stirred by Star Platinum's punches blew his hair wildly.

The moonlight hid behind the clouds, and the world seemed to fall into darkness. Only Lin Qing's eyes, radiating golden light, watched Itachi Uchiha quietly in the dark, like a god descended upon the world.

Lin Qing raised his finger, pointed at Itachi in mid-air, and issued the command.

"Blow him away."

At Level 2, the strength and speed of Star Platinum had climbed across the board.

"ORA ORA ORA!"

In a mere instant, countless punches were thrown.

The Susanoo that Itachi Uchiha had just unleashed now resembled a tea egg that had been sitting in a pocket all day, covered in fine cracks, until the final blow—

BANG!

A breach shattered open in the Susanoo.

Star Platinum's arm thrust inside, gripping Itachi Uchiha by the throat.

His neck was thin.

After all, at this moment, Itachi Uchiha was only thirteen years old.

But...

Demons do not distinguish by age.

Lin Qing did not hesitate for even half a second.

Star Platinum's palm exerted sudden, crushing force.