The Newbie Celebration Pack!

"Fifteen million taels just to open some lousy chest?! Why don't you go rob someone?! That's nearly half of Asuma's head's worth, you know!" Xian Yu's little face turned deathly pale with anger, and he couldn't help shouting.

"Hm? Xiao Yu, you little brat! Why are you hollering around the yard instead of training?" Just then, a man in a kimono, with two intersecting scars on his chin, suddenly appeared in the courtyard.

What an incredibly fast Body Flicker Technique...

That old bastard Danzo was in his prime, and his skills had improved like crazy over the past two years!

He'd gotten even quieter on his feet... and even more elusive...

At the sight of the man, Xian Yu's small body shuddered instinctively.

He was reminded of the fear he'd felt all these years under the rule of the Darkness of the Shinobi World...

"Heh... heh heh... Old man, please calm down. Training needs a balance of work and rest... I'm still a kid..."

"Quit changing the subject. How's your progress with the Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere I taught you a few days ago?" Danzo's expression darkened as he asked in a low voice.

After Xian Yu successfully extracted chakra, he'd used chakra paper to test his affinities and discovered he had both Wind and Lightning Release. Danzo had immediately taught him how to train in the Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere.

"Uh... I'm just a little short..."

"Enough. I don't have time to waste here with you. I've got an important mission outside the village and might not be back for a while. I've already taken care of your enrollment. When the Ninja Academy opens in a few days, Ayumi can take you there!" As soon as Danzo finished speaking, he vanished.

He'd gone inside to pack his things.

Based on his interactions with him over the past two years, Xian Yu's cheap old man didn't seem nearly as bad as the one depicted in the anime from his previous life...

Maybe... at this point, when he was only twenty-five or twenty-six, the young version of Lord Pot-King was still a passionate young man who loved Konoha and was willing to give everything for it?

"Phew..." Xian Yu let out a breath and turned his attention to the Treasure Chest Radar.

The circular radar map showed one blue chest and two black chests within the village.

As for the ones outside the village, he'd leave those aside for now.

"Iron? Bronze? Silver? Sigh, money's a huge problem too!" Xian Yu sighed helplessly.

"There's no way I can count on opening that Silver Treasure Chest that costs fifteen million. I just wonder how much the lower-tier chests cost to open."

"I hope they aren't too much of a rip-off..."

"After all, taels in this world have about the same purchasing power as yuan did in my previous life!"

Just thinking about fifteen million made Xian Yu's heart ache.

By the standards of Konoha's economy, it ranked among the wealthiest places in the entire Shinobi World.

An ordinary villager's family only earned around three to five thousand taels a month.

A Chunin might earn tens of thousands in mission pay over the course of a month. Whether it was ten or twenty thousand, or eighty or ninety thousand, depended on the Chunin's actual strength.

Jonin were much better off. They could generally make hundreds of thousands, or even over a million, from their missions each month.

But ninjas had plenty of expenses, too!

They needed all kinds of precious medicinal herbs to nourish and strengthen their bodies while training.

Then there was the wear and tear on their ninja tools, repairs, and the occasional meal out with teammates. Most of them were still broke and didn't have much left in savings.

Just one high-quality Explosive Tag made by the Uchiha clan cost fifteen hundred taels, with no discounts.

Of course, cheaper Explosive Tags were available at ordinary ninja supply shops for five hundred taels each. They might have only half the power of the high-quality ones, and there was no guarantee they'd even go off.

He patted the thirty thousand or so taels in banknotes in his pocket. He'd thought he was a rich second-generation kid.

Turns out, when it came to opening treasure chests, he was still dirt-poor... Xian Yu gave a bitter smile.

"If I'm back in as little as half a month or as long as two, and you still haven't mastered a mere C-rank Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere, you'd better get ready to spend another month in bed!"

At the sound of his voice, Xian Yu's little body stiffened. He had no idea when Danzo had changed into his Anbu gear and put on a Red Fox Mask. Scrolls bulged from the pouch at his waist, and he stood behind Xian Yu, his icy voice raising goosebumps.

That old bastard Danzo really wasn't joking. When he beat you, he actually beat you half to death...

"Wait!" Seeing Danzo about to leave, Xian Yu hurriedly called out.

"Hm?" Danzo had somehow already leaped onto the courtyard wall. He paused and glanced back over his shoulder.

The cold eyes beneath that eerie Red Fox Mask sent a chill down Xian Yu's spine.

"Uh... I, um... could you give me a little more money? I need it for something."

Danzo paused, then looked doubtfully at the little brat shivering in the cold wind. He said nothing, simply pulled a money pouch from his waist and tossed it over.

After Xian Yu caught the pouch, he looked up toward the wall.

Danzo was already gone.

Reborn with the soul of an adult, Xian Yu wasn't really all that afraid of the old bastard Danzo.

It was just that he'd spent his previous life as a kid who ran an internet café in peaceful times. Facing a ninja like Danzo, who'd killed countless people, and the ferocity he sometimes revealed without warning... on top of his reputation as the Darkness of the Shinobi World...

It was hard not to... feel a little cowardly.

Fine, he was scared.

He opened the money pouch and counted the bills. The little guy's eyes immediately narrowed.

Well, no wonder his old man was loaded!

There were a full twenty-six bills, each worth ten thousand taels.

With a fortune in his arms, Xian Yu didn't hesitate. He roared in his mind, "System! Get your butt out here! This great lord wants to top up 290,000 taels!"

In that moment, he felt like a salted fish had finally flipped over and started singing~(≧▽≦)/~

"Congratulations, host. You have successfully topped up 290,000 taels and received 29 diamonds."

"Holy crap! Why do I suddenly feel like I'm actually poor after hearing that?"

Xian Yu couldn't handle the massive gap between those two numbers. His little face turned ashen.

His big, bright eyes immediately welled up with tears〒▽〒

"Congratulations, host. Your cumulative top-ups have exceeded 100,000 taels. You have been promoted to Joy Level 1 and received one Newbie Celebration Pack."

"Huh! I thought this stingy system didn't care about newbies at all! I can't believe it's being generous for once and giving out a newbie pack!" Hearing the notification, Xian Yu felt tears streaming down his face!

This was so moving!

I was wrong about you all along. You're a system with a conscience! A good system!

"Wait... does it cost money to open the newbie pack?" As if something had just occurred to him, Xian Yu asked warily.

"..."

Right, he'd almost forgotten that this thing never answered any of his questions.

After a moment's hesitation, the little brat decided to test it himself.

So he silently thought, "Open the newbie pack!"

"Does the host confirm opening the Newbie Celebration Pack?"

"Phew..." At the sound of the system's voice, Xian Yu thought the rip-off system was about to announce some exorbitant fee for opening the newbie pack.

False alarm...

"Confirm." He continued sending the command silently.

"Ding dong! Congratulations, host. You have successfully opened the Newbie Celebration Pack! You received Golden Treasure Chest x1. Throws confetti.jpg"

Looking at the dazzling Golden Treasure Chest that had appeared out of nowhere in the second slot of his inventory, Xian Yu suddenly felt his heart sink...

He had a bad feeling...

The little guy took three deep breaths in a row, then tentatively murmured, "Open the Golden Treasure Chest."

"Opening the Golden Treasure Chest requires 15,000 diamonds. The host's balance is insufficient. Please top up and try again! Create happiness with care. We look forward to your next visit!"

"I knew it... I knew it..." Xian Yu seemed to lose all his strength at once.

His eyes blank, he crumpled to the ground.

The most despairing thing in the world wasn't being unlucky all the time or having no hope at all.

It was when God shut one door for you... then opened a window instead.

Just as you, hopeless and helpless, started to feel hopeful again... and prepared to climb through the window...

Bang!

The window shut, too.╥﹏╥