Talent Cards?

The nearly obliterated forest was strewn with enormous boulders, leaving the place looking utterly desolate.

In this lifeless, desolate place, there were four people. Three of them surrounded a boy lying on the ground, his condition unknown, and seemed to be discussing something.

"Judging by his appearance, the wounds on his hands, and the tail on his back... could he be that Great Ape from just now?"

Zoro stroked his chin, adopting a thoughtful expression as he asked the other two.

"Setting everything else aside, he's quite handsome."

Li Jiahao eyed the unconscious boy in front of him. Mm, a perfect physique, eight-pack abs—though his pose was a little indecent.

"This boy must belong to some special race. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to turn into a Great Ape with such terrifying strength.

"And the transformation looks pretty dramatic, too. At least several dozen times stronger, I'd say. With his current physical strength, I wouldn't say he'd go down to a casual strike, but according to my estimate, he couldn't even withstand the most basic Fire Release Ninjutsu."

Uchiha Madara had naturally figured it out as well: the Great Ape that had just destroyed his Complete Body Susanoo was the boy lying before them.

After all, aside from that suspicious tail, there wasn't a single living creature—or rather, a single enormous creature—within a dozen miles. And a person had appeared right at the center of the battlefield. Those facts alone told him plenty.

Though it rankled him, Uchiha Madara had to admit that when the boy transformed into a Great Ape, his strength had been enough to make even him feel a flicker of alarm.

"But what puzzles me is, if he can turn into such a terrifying creature, why did the Chat Group issue a rescue mission?"

Zoro, standing nearby, had pointed out the key question.

Yeah, why? The other two began to ponder it as well.

Just then, Li Jiahao stared at the boy lying on the ground, with his tail and ability to transform into a Great Ape, and found him increasingly familiar. It felt as though he'd seen him somewhere before.

Suddenly, inspiration struck. It was like a bolt of lightning had hit Li Jiahao's mind, bringing a completely different feeling and a new perspective, drawn from memories buried deep within.

"Isn't he a Saiyan? Could this be the Dragon Ball World?"

Once he thought of that, everything began to connect, and it all made sense.

Dragon Ball was a famous action manga and anime from Earth, with immense influence and renown.

Its protagonist, Kakarot, was also known as Son Goku—and he was a Saiyan.

Every Saiyan had the ability to transform into a Great Ape upon seeing the Full Moon, multiplying their overall strength tenfold! A terrifying tenfold increase!

Nighttime, a transformation under the Full Moon—those two clues left Li Jiahao frozen in place. The thick clouds had parted, and a sliver of moonlight had somehow shone through.

Damn, they had to cut off his tail. The Full Moon was about to appear again.

At that thought, Li Jiahao immediately considered cutting off the Saiyan boy's tail. It was the safest option!

But at that moment, the Chat Group in his mind announced that the mission was complete, interrupting his train of thought.

"Ding! Detected that group member [Saiyan from Earth] is now in a safe location, with no danger within a ten-kilometer radius."

"Congratulations to [Ninja World Asura], [World's Greatest Swordsman], and [Lord of Time and Space Awakening] for completing the rescue mission. Each has received 1,000 points and a mysterious little gift pack."

[Opera Performer Who Likes Rock]: "You're all so impressive. You finished the mission so quickly."

[Arataki Gang Boss]: "Hahahaha! As expected of the Chat Group that connects all the worlds. Everyone's pretty great—almost as reliable as me."

[Death God Elementary Student]: "Normally, I still wouldn't believe it. A Chat Group that connects so many worlds actually exists."

[Lord of Time and Space Awakening]: "Of course it's real. The best way to prove it is to use the points you get from checking in to strengthen yourself with the Enhancement function. You'll believe it once you've boosted yourself across the board. For now, don't use your free chance. It's best to save it for a major breakthrough later."

[Lord of Time and Space Awakening]: "I hadn't noticed before, but the newcomer we were rescuing was a Saiyan. They're a battle race with limitless potential, even in this high-risk world."

[Lord of Time and Space Awakening]: "By the way, new members who are still lurking should use your check-in points to strengthen yourselves, then read the announcement. You'll get along better once you understand what the Chat Group is for."

[Lord of Time and Space Awakening]: "There's also the Fate Trajectory function. You can use it to see a rough outline of what your future might look like if you hadn't joined the Chat Group. For a detailed account of future events and their exact timing, though, you'll need to pay extra points. These functions are all very useful."

"Ding! Group member [Lord of Time and Space Awakening] has answered a new member's questions and received 1,000 points."

[Universal Family Planning Director]: "?"

[Death God Elementary Student]: "?"

[Opera Performer Who Likes Rock]: "?"

[Arataki Gang Boss]: "?"

[Arataki Gang Boss]: "This plus sign is fun. You can copy the previous person's message just by tapping it."

[Death God Elementary Student]: "I was curious, so I tapped it too..."

[Ninja World Asura]: "That was a pretty strange mission. It was supposed to be a rescue, but it felt like this group member didn't need us to save him at all. Still, getting 1,000 points and a little gift pack for free is nice."

[World's Greatest Swordsman]: "True. Have you opened your gift packs yet? I already opened mine and got a Sword Talent Card."

As he spoke, he sent a picture.

[Item: Sword Talent Card]

[Rank and Quality: Top-Tier Third-Order Talent Card]

[Effect: Increases swordsmanship talent by three to five levels, unconditionally]

[Description: Use this, and even if you have no talent for swordsmanship at all, you'll instantly become a swordsmanship prodigy!]

The golden card and its description gleamed brilliantly. Anything that could improve one's talent was exceedingly rare, no matter where you were. Even a single talent-enhancement card in the group store cost several thousand points.

That alone showed how valuable it was.

Uchiha Madara glanced at Zoro beside him. He couldn't help feeling a stir of excitement that Zoro had drawn such an item.

Then he opened his own mysterious little gift pack. A flash of blue light appeared, but the item inside made Uchiha Madara, the Ninja World Asura, scowl from head to toe.