Hokage: You Call This Guy the Savior?!

"They are dreaming!"

"You have all overlooked a problem." At this moment, Gaara suddenly ended his meditation and said calmly.

"What problem?"

"If it really was the Leaf Village that did this, why would they make the information of Leaf examinees public? What benefit would that bring them?"

"These cards must be recalled immediately. All of our Leaf Village's intelligence has been leaked. What good does this do us?" Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, the two advisors, stormed into the Hokage's office, clutching a pile of cards and looking furious.

Then, they saw with their own eyes that Hiruzen, the Hokage himself, was actually 'ripping packs' as well. A mountain of discarded sealing scrolls lay beside him, showing just how addicted he had become.

"Cough, cough. You've arrived? What's the matter? Why so much anger?" Hiruzen naturally tucked the cards into his sleeves, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Our intelligence has been completely leaked. Hiruzen, are you not worried at all?"

"What is there to worry about? Haven't you seen that the intelligence of ninjas from other villages has also been made public?"

"That is true, but if only others' information were published, wouldn't that be more advantageous for the Leaf?"

"Homura, don't be so short-sighted. This is just a Chunin Exam. We need to see the examinees demonstrate their strength in all aspects to judge if they are qualified, rather than helping Leaf examinees gain an advantage. That would just be deceiving ourselves."

"No, Hiruzen, this is no simple Chunin Exam; this is a small-scale war! I only know that the war hasn't even started, yet our intelligence has already been leaked—and by our own people, no less!"

"Oh? Who are you talking about?"

A document was placed on Hiruzen's desk, and the name 'Keiichi' caught his eye.

"Heh, it really is him. What a constant stream of surprises." Hiruzen smiled, though his gaze held a hint of appreciation.

According to the reports proactively sent by Root, he was well aware of Keiichi's recent movements. Looking at it this way, he really was a promising talent for intelligence work; even many Ninja Scouts hadn't done as clean a job as this kid.

No wonder Danzo had taken a liking to him. It could be considered a sharp eye for talent.

"Do you still not understand the severity of the problem? He has betrayed the Leaf and sold out the Leaf's intelligence!"

"Heh, it's not that serious. In every Chunin Exam, haven't the Ninja Scouts of various clans sold out the information of Leaf examinees? As long as there's money, they'll sell! Do you dare say your own clan hasn't done similar things?"

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu looked awkward, not knowing how to explain.

"It's all just information on Genin, after all. It doesn't count as any real secret. The key is that these cards have invisibly bolstered the Leaf's momentum. That is the crucial point." Hiruzen said with a smile.

The reason he allowed these little cards to circulate in the market was precisely because he saw the pros and cons clearly.

Otherwise, he would have invited Keiichi over for tea long ago.

Besides, don't look at this as just a tiny card; it has brought a substantial amount of tax revenue to the Leaf.

Even Hiruzen felt amazed. Why was the appeal of this thing so great that everyone was throwing money into it like crazy? Could this Keiichi actually be a business genius?

Chapter 31: Brainless and Unhappy

"Keiichi, it's Keiichi again! I never want to see this face again, it's such bad luck!"

"Exactly, this guy is simply polluting the card pool. I suspect the probability of pulling this card is the highest of all, bar none!"

"A mere N-Rank Card, it has no value at all. The person selling these scrolls is too heartless..."

Almost everyone who was frantically opening packs felt a deep hatred for this 'Keiichi' person, because seeing this face usually signaled that the pack was a bust.

The key was that this person only had N-level potential, and all his stats were trash. Only his 'Wisdom' was slightly higher, but in the eyes of those who valued martial power above all else, this was the least important stat.

Therefore, no one took 'Keiichi' seriously, and no one wanted to see his card appear and pollute their eyes.

If you were so inclined, you could even find cards named 'Keiichi' lying on the streets of the Leaf Village at any time—they were all discarded by pack-openers, and even the street sweepers didn't want them.

Yes, when Keiichi went crazy, he even dared to sell his own intelligence!

In order to maintain his credibility, he even made most of his own information public, without a shred of falsehood.

Of course, those overly advanced abilities granted by the system were not convenient to display.

So, setting aside the system's buffs, being rated as N-Rank was quite reasonable, right?

Keiichi felt quite good about his name suddenly becoming a 'hot topic' on every street corner.

So what? Bad publicity is still publicity!

If you're so capable, try resisting the urge to open a pack!

What's wrong with seeing me when you open a pack? This is called 'priming the luck,' alright? Maybe the next pack will have something good!

Although Keiichi was the inventor of these cards, given the current craze, he should have been raking in the money.

But in reality, he didn't earn much. He only took a ten percent cut of the profits, while the vast majority was divided among the cooperating ninja tool shops—and behind those shops stood the major noble ninja clans.

Of course, the Leaf Village also got a piece of the pie; for every Ninja Star Scroll sold, five hundred ryo in commodity tax had to be paid to the Leaf, which was one of the reasons Hiruzen was happy to see it happen.

Since everyone got a share of the benefits, naturally no one would create obstacles for the sales of the Ninja Star Scrolls; they might even push it along from behind. Keiichi was well-versed in the art of dividing the cake.

The Ninja Star Scrolls he sold to Naruto and the others for one thousand per pack were truly a 'friendship price.'

Following Gekko Hayate to learn the Transparent Style, he had now reached the internship stage. When he successfully completed an invisibility maneuver, the look of shock on his teacher's face was amusing to recall.

The only thing Keiichi didn't expect was that Gekko Hayate wanted to drag him home on the spot to acknowledge his ancestors.

Although having a ninja clan as a backer had many benefits, it depended on what kind of clan it was. He had no interest in a declining house like the Hayate Clan.

Ninja clans are not all created equal. Families like the Hyuga, with their vast numbers of powerful members and deeply entrenched influence, are undisputed noble houses.

The Hayate Clan, on the other hand, while possessing certain bloodline advantages, has withered over time due to various reasons. It is considered a decent feat if even one or two members hold relatively important positions in the Leaf Village; this is the standard definition of a humble house.

Some humble houses have even dwindled to the point of having only a single heir remaining.

The gap between a noble house and a humble house is not just a small difference; it is immense.

Of course, even those from a humble house are far better off than commoners. In the eyes of those from ninja clans, commoners are not even considered people—they are merely cannon fodder.

After much persuasion, and even using the rules of the ninja world as a shield, Gekko Hayate finally let him go for the time being. However, judging by the look in his eyes, he clearly had not given up yet.

I do not know if Teacher Hayate is just petty and trying to take revenge on me, but when I followed him to the entrance of the women's bathhouse, I finally understood what he meant by "practical lessons."

"You wouldn't be thinking of..."

"What is wrong? Now that you have learned the Stealth Technique, isn't your first thought to appreciate the beauty of art?" Hayate asked, acting as if it were only natural.

"No, no, no, I didn't, don't talk nonsense..." Keiichi quickly denied it three times over.

"If you don't even have such thoughts, are you even a man?"

"Of course I am!"

"Then why did you say you didn't have such thoughts?"

And so, under Teacher Hayate's overwhelming logic, Keiichi was defeated.

"Then please let me prepare myself mentally."

"Ahem... off you go!"

He kicked Keiichi in the backside, sending him flying in a parabolic arc. He crashed headfirst into the women's bathhouse, and then, ear-piercing screams erupted from within.

"Sigh, a failure. Your skills are not yet refined," Hayate lamented with genuine regret from outside the door.

When a bruised and battered Keiichi followed Hayate to the second women's bathhouse, he realized he could not go on like this. If he continued, his reputation would be completely ruined.

I fear the title of "Pervert from the Sky" will be permanently attached to me.

So, without waiting for Hayate to kick him, he immediately activated the Stealth Technique and entered the women's bathhouse voluntarily, looking as if he were heading to his own execution.

Sigh, I have sacrificed so much for the sake of practicing ninjutsu!

Half an hour later, Keiichi walked out with a flushed face, only daring to deactivate his Stealth Technique once he reached a deserted area, letting out a long sigh of relief.

As expected, this is indeed an excellent training ground; there is no progress without pressure!

One slight mistake and my reputation would be destroyed—who among my peers could understand this kind of pressure?

To better practice the Stealth Technique, I must come here many more times!

Teacher Hayate did not deceive me!

"Hehe, Sasuke, look, look! I'm an SSR-level card!" Naruto showed the card in his hand to Sasuke as if claiming credit, his face full of smug pride.

Keiichi is truly a good buddy; he actually ranked me as an SSR! I won't hold a grudge against him for what happened before!

But what is the meaning of the title 'Brainless' you gave me?

"Hmph, what is so great about that? I don't know what you are so happy about." Sasuke glanced at it and then revealed his own card, which was also SSR-level.

Seeing that Naruto was also an SSR, Sasuke was very unhappy, hence why he is known in the streets as 'Unhappy'!

"There must be a mistake somewhere. How could you be an SSR? You aren't even my match!"

Keiichi, let's break off our friendship! How could you put Sasuke on the same level as me!

"Idiot!" Sasuke couldn't be bothered to deal with him and continued to study the information of the other examinees on the cards.

Keiichi really didn't lie to me; this Chunin Exam is full of powerful people. There are nine opponents at my level alone!

But it doesn't matter; he will prove that he is the only one who is the strongest!

"Sakura! What about you? You must be an SSR too, right?"

"Hehe..." Sakura smiled very stiffly, wishing she could beat both Naruto and Keiichi to death.

As expected, he is as brainless as his name suggests—always hitting a sore spot, aren't you!

Why am I the only R?!

Am I really that weak?!

And you actually dared to give Sasuke the title of 'Unhappy'—it sounds absolutely terrible.

Keiichi, you are dead. Just wait until you get injured one day, and see how I unleash my heavy fists!

These past few days, the three of them have been incredibly busy. Following the strategy proposed by Sakura, they went everywhere looking for people to trade their duplicate cards with. This way, they could expand their own intelligence database without spending money.

However, the information on a few cards was simply too hard to come by. No one had heard of anyone pulling them, making them highly sought-after items on the market.

According to the calculations from the Ninja Scouts, the probability of pulling those specific cards was likely less than one in ten thousand, and perhaps only one existed in an entire shipment.

Once these statistics were released, they almost cursed the peers who produced these little cards to death. If they had known, why would they have spent so much money buying cards? They had actually thought they could collect them all with ten thousand packs!

Now they have already opened thirty thousand packs, and the prospect of completing the entire numbered set remains a distant dream.

What kind of marketing genius was this? Why hadn't he thought of this himself before?

As time passed and the July 1st Chunin Exams drew ever closer, the enthusiasm for opening packs not only failed to wane but instead became even more fervent.

Then, those "hidden" cards began to be released one after another, and now only the very last one remained unknown.

Gacha rates? Calculating such things was completely meaningless; Keiichi had never intended to release all the cards from the very beginning.

Once someone collected every single card, sales of the Ninja Star Scroll would inevitably plummet. He had to feed the market bit by bit to maintain this current, scorching-hot buying frenzy.

He had been raking in money hand over fist these past few days, to the point where he even felt the urge to create a set of cards for all the Jonin in the entire ninja world.

But that plan was just a passing thought; it was impossible to implement. Unless he wanted to face the endless pursuit of every ninja clan, in which case even Hiruzen wouldn't be able to protect him.

Chapter 32: Kabuto Yakushi's Mask of Pain

When only one day remained until the Chunin Exams, the final SSR card was finally pulled by someone. With that, the list of ten individuals possessing SSR-level potential was completely revealed.

Shikamaru Nara, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Neji Hyuga, Shino Aburame, Rock Lee, Temari, Kankuro, Kabuto Yakushi, and Gaara.

Leaf Village ninjas accounted for seven of the spots, Sunagakure ninjas held three, while ninjas from outside the five great ninja villages didn't secure a single seat.

Precisely because of this, many people believed the Ninja Star Scroll must be a conspiracy by the Leaf Village, a ploy to bolster the reputation of their own examinees and maintain an image of prosperity.

"Didn't you see that Leaf Village examinees also make up the majority of the SR tier? Do you really think we're blind?"

"This approach is far too clumsy. How do you explain why, apart from Kabuto Yakushi, the candidates with the most potential are almost all fresh graduates? Are all those experienced, veteran examinees just trash?"

Of course, others felt there was no issue, arguing that failing to pass the Chunin Exams for many years was simply proof of insufficient potential. Yet, this failed to explain why a perennial repeater like Kabuto Yakushi could be ranked as an SSR.

In short, everyone was arguing themselves hoarse over this list. If they knew it had been compiled by an obscure Genin, they would likely drown him in their spit.

Naturally, many were also waiting to see the Leaf Village make a fool of itself. Since they had hyped up their ninjas so highly, they had better have the real strength to back it up. When the Chunin Exams arrived, the truth would come out; if they dropped the ball then, it would be a laughingstock for the ages.

Interestingly, when the final SSR card, titled [Sandstorm] Gaara, was pulled by a nobody, Ninja Scouts moved at the news and actually purchased it for the exorbitant price of 500,000 ryo.