Shendu Statue

Just as Enshi Shu was about to smash a cup in frustration, a large, pudgy hand suddenly stopped him. It belonged to Koizumi, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries.

His grip was strong, but his face was wreathed in smiles. In a fawning tone, he said, "My lord Daimyo, there's no need to pay those rabble-rousers so much mind~ Once we get back and get things moving, we can haul out the ancient, ancient, ancient, ancient rice that's been sitting in the warehouses for ten years and put it on the market, can't we?"

"Don't worry. The rice may be a little old, but it's still very fresh and very delicious!"

Enshi Shu jerked his hand away. He was about to angrily snap at Koizumi for his insolence when he met that seemingly kind face, with its hidden menace.

How could a boy in his teens withstand that kind of pressure? He wilted on the spot, his bravado vanishing without a trace. All he could do was awkwardly nod and let them leave.

After the ministers had gone, Enshi Shu slammed his palm down hard on the desk, cursing over and over. "Damn it! Damn it! Those bastards!"

Though he was young, he had grown up by the side of the former Daimyo. How could he not understand what the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries' expression meant?

They saw him as a new ruler who hadn't yet built up his own power, an easy target. They were warning him not to meddle in their affairs, weren't they?!

The treasury was also running a huge deficit. If things continued like this, it wouldn't be long before the people of the Land of Fire banded together and overthrew him.

But whether he smashed the desk or beat his fists until they were red, it wouldn't change the situation. His eyes were filled with the humiliation of being a powerless figurehead.

Just as he had no idea what to do, shadows suddenly spread across the walls around him. They gathered in front of him, then took shape as Shadow Ninja.

"Y-You... who are you?!"

"This is the Daimyo Mansion! I'm the Daimyo of the Land of Fire!"

He spoke with authority, but his body betrayed him, trembling uncontrollably. When the Shadow Ninja showed no regard for his status, his legs gave way and he collapsed. He couldn't even get back up, only managing to shuffle backward until his back hit the wall.

A Shadow Ninja's large hand reached for him. He squeezed his eyes shut in terror, thinking, It's over! I'm going to be assassinated just like my father! Then shadows engulfed him. After a dizzying spin, he opened his eyes to find himself in a strange place he had never seen before.

On either side of him stood mountains of gold and silver, riches beyond even the Land of Fire's treasury. After leaving Enshi Shu behind, the Shadow Ninja melted into the darkness.

"Could I have been taken to some kind of sacred realm?!"

As Enshi Shu, he had grown up spoiled by the former Daimyo, so he had never lacked for entertainment.

He had read plenty of novels about protagonists who fell off a cliff after a setback, then found an unrivaled divine technique in a sacred realm.

Could it be?! Was he the protagonist of this world?!

Never mind that now. Anyone would be tempted by all the gold and jewels in front of him. He might as well grab some first!

Just as Enshi Shu was grumbling about why tailors didn't make his pockets bigger and give him more of them, a chill wind swept up from the bottom of the pitch-black passage, making him shiver.

At the end of the passage stood a dilapidated wooden door, covered in dust and cobwebs.

Why was there such a decrepit wooden door here, so at odds with the opulence outside?

For some reason, Enshi Shu felt as though faint, indistinct sounds were calling to him, luring him to push the door open.

The cacophony lured Enshi Shu into opening the door almost as if in a trance. He found himself face-to-face with a pair of red eyes. The bone-chilling wind vanished in an instant, replaced by a somewhat shrill voice with a built-in electronic echo—

"Welcome... child..."

"Y-You're?!"

Before him was a flat dragon statue mounted on the wall. Its body was coiled together, and its surface was greenish-yellow. Twelve holes of unknown purpose dotted the statue, two of them occupied by stones carved with a chicken and an ox. Its crimson eyes glinted with a menacing intensity. Together with its shrill voice, they left Enshi Shu cowering in fear.

"Do not be afraid, child. I am the guardian deity who has protected your Land of Fire for generations—Shendu!"

"What you saw outside is only the tip of the iceberg. It was all left for you descendants..."

That's right! That's right! Just like that!

Enshi Shu was at an age when he was chuunibyou and easily taken in. His eyes immediately lit up, and he imagined himself as the protagonist of a novel with an impossibly powerful ancestor.

"Is that true?! But... I can't even handle those ministers... How could I possibly have caught your eye?"

Even Enshi Shu, who fancied himself a "wise and worthy ruler," hadn't expected Shendu to praise him so highly. He pointed at himself, putting on an exaggeratedly astonished expression, though what had just happened still made him feel utterly pathetic.

"That's right, child. It is you."

"Do not underestimate yourself, child... Your ancestor was once a callow youth just like you."

"Later, he became my partner. Together, we conquered far and wide, until we had brought almost the entire world under our rule."

"We succeeded in erasing the divisions between people. War and hunger were no more, and the world flourished."

"But our good fortune did not last... This beautiful, peaceful world was soon thrown into chaos by a group called the Saint Warriors..."

"They were utterly wicked, burning, killing, looting, and even altering history, erasing the deeds of me and your ancestor, as well as their invasion of"

"They devoured this world, and in the end, they used an evil spell to turn me into a statue. They split my power into twelve Talismans, each engraved with a different animal, and scattered them across the world..."

"And I... was imprisoned here for all eternity..."

"Until you appeared... Child, you have a soul as pure and noble as your ancestor's!"

Shendu's words left the chuunibyou-stricken Enshi Shu completely spellbound. He immediately became convinced that he was the legendary protagonist.

"Child! Join forces with me!"

"Just help me find the Twelve Talismans! Then I'll conquer the world alongside you once more and reclaim everything we lost! You'll gain supreme power, too! You'll even surpass your ancestor!"

Shendu's impassioned words kindled a fire in Enshi Shu's heart. His gaze hardened, and he no longer feared Shendu's frightening appearance. He bravely stepped forward—

"Then how do I find those Talismans?"

"The dragon's eyes... will lead you to them. Find... my Talismans..."

As Shendu finished speaking, the Shadow Ninja coalesced out of the walls once more. They presented him with the Talisman Tracker, engraved with four dragon heads.

"The Shadowkhan will obey your commands. All you need to do... is lead them..."

In theory, the Shadowkhan could search for the Talismans on their own, but Shendu had a reason for luring Enshi Shu into working with him.

That reason was restoration!

Though Shendu was a creation of the system, his personality matched that of the original: "a cunning demon who wants to rule the world."

And why had he come to Enshi Shu? Of course, it was so he could earn some extra Dimensional Points while ruling the world!

After all, a new ruler had just taken the throne and hadn't yet built up his own forces. It would be easy for the Shadowkhan to infiltrate the country. Once they'd cleaned house throughout the Land of Fire, Enshi Shu would be nothing more than a pawn to discard at will.

In a small cabin in Konoha—

With the Ox Talisman appearing and the Daimyo of the Land of Fire being assassinated, Qian Yu had raked in a huge haul of Dimensional Points. First, he exchanged some for a Chakra Scroll.

As chakra flowed out from his body, he nodded in satisfaction. At last, he wouldn't have to make Jack dig out people's hearts anymore...

Now it was time to consider how to spend the more than five thousand Dimensional Points he had left. To be fair, he might have had a better chance of getting something good if he saved up for eighty or a hundred pulls. But Qian Yu was the kind of person who could never save his currency in a gacha game. The thought of being able to pull but not doing so made him feel as though ants were crawling all over him.

So... there was only one choice!

Go all in!

Going all in was a kind of wisdom!

While the system wasn't looking, Qian Yu quickly tapped the gacha button. A flash of light appeared, and his pupils filled with a "blue sky and white clouds."

[Congratulations, Host! You obtained a C-rank item card—"Lesser Healing Potion ×30"!]

[Congratulations, Host! You obtained a C-rank character card—"SpongeBob SquarePants"!]

[Congratulations, Host! You obtained a B-rank ability card—"Armament Haki"!]

...Aside from junk like the "Solar Flashlight," Qian Yu's pulls this time could only be described as a "disastrous haul."

It just went to show how hard it was to go from extravagance to frugality. Without the rate boost from the premium pool, Qian Yu's abysmal luck was on full display.

Still, it wasn't as if the things he'd pulled were completely useless...

[Item Card] Lesser Healing Potion

[Rank] C

[Description] A basic healing potion from the world of Terraria.

[Ability] Drinking it rapidly heals injuries to a certain extent, but also inflicts the "Potion Sickness" status, preventing the user from drinking another potion right away.

[Character Card] SpongeBob SquarePants

[Rank] C (Special)

[Description] A cheerful little sponge from Bikini Bottom.

[Ability] Makes "Krabby Patty."

[Ability Card] Armament Haki

[Rank] B

[Description] One of the Three Haki from the world of One Piece. Its attacks can bypass the elemental intangibility of Logia Devil Fruit users.

[Ability] Can coat the skin, greatly increasing its offensive and defensive power.

First up was the Lesser Healing Potion... Even if it was only a "lesser potion," in a world like Naruto, where practically everyone was a glass cannon, being able to quickly restore some health and save your life was pretty great!

Next was "SpongeBob SquarePants"... Like Patrick Star, he couldn't use his "comedic powers."

It was just a shame Qian Yu hadn't pulled the "Glint-Glint Fruit." Otherwise, he could have transformed into "Yellow Sponge"...

Last was Armament Haki... An ability that combined offense and defense. It was pretty good for Qian Yu right now. After all, he was still a Ninja Academy student, and he probably wouldn't face any battles that exceeded this ability's limits, right?

But... it really seemed like just a ten-pull wasn't enough to satisfy him...

Looks like he'd have to stir up some trouble in the capital!