Harvest

Mirai lost consciousness. Seeing the life force of the two individuals completely vanish, the Third Hokage wore a look of profound grief and issued an order: "Take the remains of the Fourth Hokage and Uzumaki Kushina back. Do not let word of this spread; simply state that the Fourth Hokage and his wife perished together with the Nine-Tailed Fox for the sake of the village."

"Understood, Lord Third! What should be done with these two children?" one ninja asked the Third Hokage while holding the unconscious Mirai, while another held the infant Naruto Uzumaki in his swaddling clothes.

"Send Mirai to the hospital and have him treated properly. As for Naruto, assign someone to take good care of him; he is the Fourth Hokage's only bloodline. Let us return; there is still much to be done in Konoha." Seeing the Fourth Hokage die for Konoha at such a young age, the Third Hokage felt truly overwhelmed, yet this was no time for sorrow. Konoha had been devastated in many areas by the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Many villagers' homes needed to be rebuilt, and there were other ambitious ninja villages that would surely seize the opportunity to stir up trouble while Konoha was severely weakened; war was a distinct possibility. He had to return to take charge of the overall situation.

Three days passed in a flash. Mirai remained in a deep sleep in the hospital for those three days. The severe overdraft of his Sharingan's ocular power, the depletion of his chakra, and the heavy trauma his body had sustained—all of these factors erupted at once, leaving Mirai unable to hold on.

Three days later, Mirai opened his eyes. The wounds on his body had been treated while he was unconscious; though his entire body still ached, there was nothing seriously wrong.

Mirai surveyed his current surroundings and realized where he was. The final scene remained etched in his mind, and he could only sigh; against a battle of that caliber, he had been utterly powerless.

Mirai suddenly recalled the Hero Pavilion and the Rare Beast Pavilion he had heard of at the very end. Having lost consciousness before he could check what they were, he opened the System Shop.

Mirai first clicked on the Hero Pavilion, as he remembered the system mentioning it was related to the Fourth Hokage and Uzumaki Kushina before he passed out. Since both had saved his life, Mirai was deeply concerned about what had become of them.

[Hero Pavilion: Within the Hero Pavilion, you can collect various heroes to serve as the host's summonable targets. By consuming a certain amount of points, you can obtain the corresponding character for a set duration. Summoned characters possess all the strength and memories they had during their lifetime and can assist the host in battle and complete corresponding missions.]

Seeing this description, Mirai understood what it was. In the parlance of online games, these were mercenary-type figures; one could pay the corresponding points to have them assist in battle.

Mirai knew this could serve as his trump card. Having a powerful summoned character appear at a critical moment could very well save his life.

Mirai looked at the characters in the [Hero Pavilion]. Currently, there were only the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina. The summoning cost was also quite expensive; the Fourth Hokage required 1 point per second, and Uzumaki Kushina was the same.

Such a cost left Mirai tongue-tied. His entire current fortune combined wasn't enough to summon them for ten seconds. However, Mirai resolved that when he had enough points in the future, he would let the Fourth Hokage's family of three reunite, as that had been Uzumaki Kushina's greatest wish before she died.

Everything would be done to repay the debt of gratitude for the Fourth Hokage and Uzumaki Kushina saving his life; it was the only thing he could do.

Then, Mirai clicked on his [Rare Beast Pavilion] to check its description.

[Rare Beast Pavilion: You can consume a certain amount of points from this pavilion to purchase Tailed Beasts to serve as your summoned beasts in battle. They can also possess the host to increase combat power.]

"..." Mirai was speechless. So this is just a pet system, isn't it? Damn, did I really transmigrate, or am I playing an online game?

However, deep down, Mirai was incredibly excited. This was essentially a way to become a Jinchuriki in disguise. Becoming a Jinchuriki was no simple task; it required testing one's compatibility with a Tailed Beast.

The process of becoming a Jinchuriki was almost a death sentence; if one couldn't withstand the Tailed Beast's chakra, they would die. Mirai lacked that kind of resolve, so he had intended to pursue the highest evolution of the Sharingan toward the Rinnegan. But now, he had gained another trump card.

Mirai checked the Tailed Beasts and found that, like the Hero Pavilion, it was almost empty, with only one entry available.

It appeared to be a very, very tiny fox, only the size of a palm, looking extremely cute. Mirai clicked to view it.

[Nine-Tailed Fox: Juvenile stage. A creature created by the system by extracting and condensing Nine-Tailed Fox chakra. The ultimate form possesses the same immense power as the Nine-Tailed Fox and is a great helper in battle. (Note: Loyalty is absolutely reliable; no worries about betrayal.) Purchase cost: 100 points. Friendly reminder: The Nine-Tailed Fox's growth rate is relatively slow. It is recommended to purchase "Rare Beast Feed" to significantly accelerate the growth rate of the Tailed Beast.]

It really was the Nine-Tailed Fox. Although it was only the size of a palm and lacked the imposing aura of the one Mirai had seen, it was still the strongest Tailed Beast besides the Ten-Tails.

In the past, when Mirai played games, he only ever had trash pets and could only envy the rich players riding flashy mounts and carrying powerful pets to show off. Now, it seemed he could show off too.

His system was truly impressive. Seeing how the system could snatch souls from the hands of the Grim Reaper, Mirai knew his system was top-tier. It wasn't just summoning characters; now it even provided pets. His harvest this time was not small; if he didn't dominate the world of Naruto in the future, it would be a travesty. Mirai felt a surge of kingly ambition rising from his dantian. (In the near future, after buying the pet, Mirai would regret it. If he didn't provide 'Rare Beast Feed', its friendliness would plummet, dropping below 50 and even risking desertion. Mirai would be left wanting to cry but having no tears; the system was a total scam, but there was no way to return the item. He could only keep this big glutton, his heart bleeding. At that moment, Mirai realized one thing: if you try to show off without money, you're the one who suffers in the end.)

"Creak—!" The door to Mirai's room was suddenly pushed wide open. Mirai was startled; had someone come?