"Young master, you're finally awake!" When Xian Yu woke, the first thing he saw was a gaunt face streaked with tears. Shinozaki Ayumi's voice still had a trace of a sob in it. Her eyes were red and swollen, and dark circles ringed them. His heart warmed despite himself.
He realized he was in a thatched hut, with Shinozaki Ayumi keeping watch beside the bed. Tear tracks still marked her cheeks.
"Hey, why are you calling me young master again?" A faint smile appeared on Xian Yu's pale face.
His chakra had been nearly depleted at the time. Maybe that illusion had just made too deep an impression on him.
To keep the man from doing anything else, Xian Yu had been desperate to kill the bastard. So he had chosen to bet his life on a mutual kill.
The black-haired man's kunai had indeed stabbed Xian Yu, but he hadn't noticed that the moment it pierced Xian Yu's heart, the Wind Release kunai in Xian Yu's hand had unleashed its blade of wind. The black-haired man's heart had already been blown away—a hole as big as a fist!
That was exactly why the man's kunai hadn't gone very deep. In the moment before passing out, Xian Yu had done just one thing.
He had frantically drawn on the Eternal Spirit Blade's life force.
"You're still smiling? When I saw that hole stabbed through your chest, with so much blood pouring out, I had no idea what to do. Thank goodness for this bottle of wound medicine." As she spoke, Shinozaki Ayumi carefully took out the bottle of Secret Golden Wound Medicine Xian Yu had given her for her scars and waved it before his eyes. Then she tucked it back against her body as if it were a precious treasure, before starting to sob again.
"All right, all right. My Ayumi is the most obedient. No more crying, okay?" Xian Yu was deathly pale, and his chest still ached faintly. He couldn't help thinking how lucky it was that he'd given Ayumi a bottle of Secret Golden Wound Medicine for her scars. What went around came around.
The medicine must have taken effect, and together with the life force he'd drawn on, it had just barely kept him alive.
Thinking of that, Xian Yu glanced at Ayumi's neck and smiled. "Looks like it worked well. I can't see the scar at all. By the way, how long was I asleep?"
"A day and a night." As she spoke, Ayumi brought over a bowl of rice porridge from the bedside. "You must be starving, young master. I made some porridge. Eat it while it's hot."
Shinozaki Ayumi took great care with every spoonful. She blew on it several times, then touched it with her lips to make sure it wasn't too hot before feeding it to Xian Yu.
Xian Yu didn't say it aloud, but he was delighted. This was the life.
After finishing the porridge, he felt a little stronger and told Ayumi, who clearly hadn't slept a wink all day and night, to go rest. But the little girl refused to leave him no matter what. Luckily, the bed was big enough. In the end, Xian Yu gave in and scooted over, letting her sleep on the other half.
He felt around his waist and realized his ninja tool pouch wasn't on him. But he wasn't worried.
"Come forth~ Pikachu~ Ugh, I'm such a dork... Let's try that again. Come forth~ Eternal Spirit Blade!" A miraculous sight appeared! The Eternal Spirit Blade, which must have been put somewhere along with his ninja tool pouch, appeared in Xian Yu's hand out of thin air.
Xian Yu wasn't surprised in the least. Having watched Cooking Master Boy in his previous life, he knew that once the Eternal Spirit Blade acknowledged its owner, it couldn't be lost. No matter where it was, as soon as its owner summoned it, it would return to his side.
More than half the life force inside the Eternal Spirit Blade had been depleted!
The realization sent a chill down Xian Yu's back... He'd really pushed things too far this time. He wasn't Naruto Uzumaki, after all. No matter how many treasures he had, he could still die if he wasn't careful...
After all, no matter how miraculous the life force inside the Eternal Spirit Blade was, if he were killed in one blow, even the blade couldn't save him!
Besides, Hidan of the future Akatsuki might have a regenerative ability no worse than the Eternal Spirit Blade's!
And the Third Raikage's lightning-forged body might not be inferior to his Five Thunders Method.
It seemed he'd gained plenty of extraordinary abilities after arriving in the Naruto World, but when he thought about it carefully, there were still plenty of people with even more incredible powers. He'd have to be more careful from now on and stop acting recklessly.
With the life force left in the Eternal Spirit Blade, Xian Yu recovered to about eighty percent in just an hour and could get out of bed.
The price was that the blade's life force had been completely exhausted. Refilling it with chakra would probably take more than half a month of nonstop effort...
"Open the Slaughter Shop." He focused his thoughts.
The Slaughter Shop interface appeared.
Killing Points: 117? The last black-haired man had been a Chunin and was worth 100 points. Before that, he'd killed seventeen bandit underlings.
"Today's limited-time shop item is the First's Wood Release!" Xian Yu's eyes widened. He wanted it so badly!
Wood Release: Wood Clone was more advanced than the Shadow Clone. It had all the Shadow Clone's abilities, but was even more lifelike and impossible to tell apart from the original. When dismissed, it could instantly turn into branches that wrapped around or attacked enemies. With further development, it could become multiple Wood Clones...
Wood Release: Four Pillars House was even more of an essential for home and travel... Build a mansion anytime, anywhere—even a whole village...
But then he saw the price...
Limited-Time Shop:
Wood Release, Price: 88,888 Killing Points. Note: Pair it scientifically with Senju bloodline for a complete year's worth of nutrition for your baby!
He'd slept for a day and a night, and his injuries had mostly healed. Xian Yu tiptoed over the little girl and got out of bed.
He took some clothes from the Space Backpack, changed, and headed outside.
If he remembered correctly, there was a Bronze Treasure Chest nearby!
It was in the woods northwest of the village.
"Xiao Yu, are you all right now?" As soon as Xian Yu stepped out of the yard, he ran into someone he knew.
"Uncle Ya, what brings you here? It's been a day and a night. I thought the caravan had already left." Xian Yu was a little surprised. The Hua Qi Caravan was still in Yangxi Village?
Ya Midie said awkwardly, "Boss Hua Qi still hasn't settled something with the village chief, so the caravan got held up here."
"What's going on? Can you tell me, Uncle Ya?" Xian Yu asked curiously.
"It's nothing I can't tell you. You know our boss... he never does anything without a profit in it. Actually, this has something to do with you." Ya Midie leaned close to Xian Yu's ear and whispered the last part.
"This has something to do with me?" Xian Yu was even more curious. He didn't know anyone in this village, and he'd only caught a ride with the Hua Qi Caravan. How could their business have anything to do with him?
Ya Midie cautiously led Xian Yu into the yard and closed the gate before continuing in a whisper. "You remember Black Wind Stronghold, right? The ninja you killed was Black Wind, the stronghold's boss. This time, Black Wind Stronghold was completely wiped out! All five bosses died at your hands and Xiao Yu's. Black Wind Stronghold no longer exists."
Xian Yu didn't respond. He waited for Ya Midie to continue. He wasn't particularly interested in Black Wind Stronghold or White Wind Stronghold. If they'd been wiped out, that was a good thing. It meant there wouldn't be any trouble later.
Ya Midie didn't deliberately keep him in suspense. After a pause, he continued in a low voice, "You might not know this, Xiao Yu, but with Black Wind Stronghold gone, there are three huge prizes up for grabs! One of them is something even the Five Great Nations would covet. If word got out, it could even trigger the Second Shinobi World War at once! That's why our boss, Hua Qi, is shamelessly dragging the entire caravan into staying here rather than leaving."
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