Buy a Power for Myself

Konoha's ninja, even Genin who had just graduated from the academy, had to carry out missions.

They gathered every morning.

At that moment, Shen Mo followed Sasuke toward Team 7's meeting place.

Although dawn had only just broken, there were already quite a few people on the streets. Most were neatly dressed ninja preparing to carry out their daily missions.

Of course.

Shen Mo also sensed quite a few gazes directed his way.

After redeeming the Mini-map function again, Shen Mo discovered that among the surrounding dots of light on the map, quite a few merely indicated "attention," rather than the "hostility" shown by the Anbu leader yesterday.

It seemed yesterday's minor conflict had still changed something.

It was probably the effect of that final glance.

Even through a surveillance Ninjutsu, the meaning of Dragon Might should have been conveyed quite clearly to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

—Shen Mo was not someone to be trifled with.

That said.

As Shen Mo looked at the number of Trading Points in his mind, aside from the twenty million Trading Points reserved for emergency combat, he still had more than nine million points.

Some had been left over from before, while the rest had been earned from Sasuke yesterday.

It seemed he could buy a power for himself.

This time, Shen Mo was the one looking forward to it.

Although he could buy one-time Items and one-time powers, they consumed quite a lot, and there was always the danger of being ambushed. Strengthening himself was definitely necessary.

Most importantly—

Why keep money if he was not going to spend it?

"Let me see, powers under nine million." Shen Mo began searching through the list.

He had long since decided on the direction of his own enhancement.

He knew himself best.

Shen Mo was the kind of person who preferred ranged characters even when playing games. Poor reflexes and bad game sense were one reason, but more importantly, it was elegant.

If a flick of the fingers could solve it, why fight bare-chested in close combat?

So.

The choice was you, Telekinesis!

As one of the most common Esper powers in fantasy works, Telekinesis had an incredibly broad range of applications. It could attack, defend, and sometimes even scout. It was also exceptionally stealthy, basically an invisible, intangible force.

So the question now was which one to buy.

The prices of powers already available in the system were much lower than custom-ordering the same powers.

At this price...

Shen Mo looked through the various forms of Telekinesis on the list and finally set his sights on a particularly powerful type.

Tatsumaki's Telekinesis.

From the world of One-Punch Man.

At her peak, she could easily destroy an entire city, a humanoid natural disaster. Even while unconscious, she would automatically raise a barrier, leaving her enemies helpless.

Since it did not require much growth, its price was—seventy-six million Trading Points.

He could not afford it.

But he could buy Tatsumaki's little sister's version. It had the same attributes, only much weaker. It cost just four million, and he could strengthen it after buying it.

"This one, then. I'll add Professor X's psychic power later." Shen Mo made the decision happily.

The instant he bought it and used it on himself, Shen Mo could clearly feel something surge out from within his mind.

It was as though he had gained control over a new sense.

An invisible force spread out in every direction.

So this was what Telekinesis felt like...

It truly was wonderful.

Shen Mo knew that from now on, he could free up his hands. Every movement could be replaced with Telekinesis—fast, convenient, and efficient.

Then he used the remaining five million to strengthen it.

The strength of his Telekinesis increased severalfold in an instant. After pouring in just nine million Trading Points, Shen Mo felt that his destructive power might now be no less than that of a weaker Kage-level fighter.

Sure enough, he still needed to make more money.

Shen Mo felt incredibly motivated.

Sasuke beside him had no idea.

Over the course of that short walk, the merchant beside him had gone from an ordinary person to a powerhouse with Kage-level strength, using money earned from him.

He had simply arrived at the usual small grove.

Kakashi and the other two had already been waiting there.

"You're too slow, Sasuke."

Kakashi looked at Sasuke approaching, then at Shen Mo beside him.

Someone he had never seen before.

Sasuke, who was never late, had actually arrived late. Could this person be the reason?

"Ah, it's the Jars uncle from yesterday." Naruto recognized Shen Mo at once.

"Jars uncle?"

Several black lines appeared on Shen Mo's forehead.

Even "mysterious, powerful, and handsome merchant" would have sounded better than that title.

But just as he was about to say something, he suddenly turned to look in another direction.

Two people were walking over from there.

Tsunade and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Lord Hokage, Lady Tsunade." Kakashi had not expected to see the two of them.

"Why are Lord Hokage and Lady Tsunade here?" Sakura was also a little bewildered.

Only Naruto was still carefree as he greeted them.

Meanwhile, Shen Mo sized up Konoha's Third Hokage.

He looked just like he did in the anime.

Relatively short and thin, with age spots covering his face, yet the smile around his mouth gave him a somewhat kindly appearance.

At the same time.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was also carefully observing Shen Mo.

He looked as ordinary as any ordinary person.

He had barely slept at all last night. When Tsunade had come to him to exchange healing potions for money, he had taken the opportunity to ask her to bring him to meet this merchant.

"I came here for Lord Shen Mo."

Hiruzen Sarutobi walked over with a genial smile and spoke to Shen Mo.

Just one sentence.

Made Kakashi look at Shen Mo again.

Even the Hokage was using an honorific for him?

"You're too polite."

Shen Mo merely smiled, as though the man before him were only an ordinary old man rather than the most powerful person in Konoha.

He even added:

"I had thought Konoha did not welcome my arrival."

"Konoha welcomes all friends." The smile on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face did not change in the slightest. "Lord Shen Mo helped Tsunade greatly, so naturally you are Konoha's friend. I came this time to explain what happened last night—it was not my intention. One of my subordinates acted on his own initiative, which led to some misunderstanding."

"Oh?" Shen Mo was somewhat surprised.

Not by what Hiruzen Sarutobi had said, but by the fact that, as Hokage, he had personally come to offer an explanation over something like this.

Even though Shen Mo had displayed miraculous goods and an apparently terrifying aura, Hiruzen Sarutobi's boldness was still enough to astonish anyone.

However...

Shen Mo glanced at Tsunade, who was standing nearby with a faint smile as well.

He understood.

This was probably not merely an explanation. Hiruzen Sarutobi was also preparing to test him personally. Had he brought Tsunade along to keep the atmosphere from becoming too tense?

If so, that was perfect—

Shen Mo turned to Sasuke and smiled. "Sasuke, didn't you want to leave the team? The Third Hokage happens to be here. He definitely has the authority to approve it."