Year 35 of Konoha, June.
The wind was especially boisterous today.
"Finally! I've saved up a million ryo!"
"Twelve years! A whole twelve years! Do you know how I've been living these past twelve years?"
"System! Hurry! Exchange that 'Newbie Value Pack' for me! I've waited so long for this day, the flowers have already wilted!"
Halfway down Konoha's busiest street stood a shop called the Everything Shop.
Its curtain was half drawn, revealing a modest interior.
A few shelves stood along either side, piled high with commissions. Three wooden desks in the middle served as the shop's work area.
A handsome, long-haired boy with black hair and black eyes sat at the desk in the center.
His hair was tied back with a simple wooden hairpin, revealing a sharply defined jawline. Though only twelve, he had an exceptionally handsome face.
The boy was named Bai Lin, and he was a transmigrator.
In his previous life, he'd lived in Chuan City. He'd been playing the mobile game Anime Brawl on his phone when he never expected a speeding car to come crashing through his balcony and hit him.
When he opened his eyes again, he'd become a bawling infant, abandoned in the woods outside Konoha. Fortunately, some patrolling shinobi found him and took him to the Konoha Orphanage, giving him a place to call home.
[ Ding! Would the host like to spend 1,000,000 ryo to exchange for the 'Newbie Value Pack'? ]
A cold, mechanical voice rang in his mind.
"Quit the damn chatter and exchange it already!"
Bai Lin spoke firmly, though his fingertips trembled slightly.
The system was called the Consumption System, and it worked just like the mobile game he'd played in his previous life: spend money to draw rewards.
There were restrictions on how he could earn money, too, much like in the game.
One: run a business (progression)
Two: complete missions (daily)
Three: kill enemies (Genin: 50,000 ryo; Chunin: 200,000 ryo; Jonin: 500,000 ryo; Elite Jonin: 1,000,000 ryo; Kage Level: 10,000,000 ryo; Super Kage: 100,000,000 ryo; Six Paths Level: 1,000,000,000 ryo)
From Genin to Six Paths Level, there were six tiers: Beginner Ten-pull (100,000 ryo, corresponding to the Genin tier), Intermediate Ten-pull (1,000,000 ryo, corresponding to the Chunin tier), Advanced Ten-pull (10,000,000 ryo, corresponding to the Jonin tier), Kage-level Ten-pull (100,000,000 ryo), Super Kage Ten-pull (1,000,000,000 ryo), and Six Paths Ten-pull (10,000,000,000 ryo).
He'd waited a full twelve years for the guaranteed reward from this Newbie Value Pack.
Over those twelve years, he'd recruited thirty ordinary boys from the orphanage or humble families and founded the Everything Shop.
The Everything Shop operated separately from Konoha's mission system.
It handled errands, housekeeping, and minding shops. Sometimes, when shinobi had to leave for an extended period, they could book regular services like cleaning through the shop.
Through hard work and perseverance, he'd managed to save up a million ryo, all for the chance to soar to the top.
[ Exchange successful! The 'Newbie Value Pack' has been delivered to the host's system. Open it now? ]
"Open it!"
A golden flash streaked past, and the system's notifications rang out one after another:
[ Ding—Opening pack... ]
[ Congratulations, host! You have obtained: Sasuke Uchiha (Snake Sasuke) template. ]
[ Ding! Would the host like to equip the Sasuke Uchiha (Snake Sasuke) template? ]
"Equip it." Bai Lin answered without hesitation, his eyes brimming with twelve years' worth of suppressed anticipation and excitement.
[ Host: Bai Lin ]
[ Age: 12 (October 21) ]
[ Template: Sasuke Uchiha (Snake Sasuke) ]
[ Kekkei Genkai: Three-Tomoe Sharingan ]
[ Ninjutsu: Three Body Technique, Body Flicker Technique, Great Fireball Technique, Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, Dragon Fire Technique, Lightning Release: Chidori, Chidori Blade, Chidori Current, Kirin... ]
[ Weapon: Kusanagi Sword ]
[ System Space: 10,000 ryo ]
[ Amount Spent: 0 ]
[ Combat Strength: Elite Jonin ]
A scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan appeared in his dark eyes, spinning rapidly as it unleashed a terrifying pressure. Everything around him seemed to slow down. He knew it was the change in his dynamic vision brought on by the Sharingan.
The experience of using countless techniques—Three Body Technique, Body Flicker Technique, Great Fireball, Chidori, Kirin—was etched into his mind. It felt as though he'd trained in them himself for years.
"Hahahaha..." Bai Lin covered one eye with a hand. The scarlet tomoe gleamed fiercely between his fingers as his laughter brimmed with arrogance and confidence.
"No one starts out standing in the heavens. Not you or me—not even the gods."
"From now on, I'll stand at the very top."
Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara, the Sage of Six Paths, even the Otsutsuki Clan—these so-called powerhouses?
In his eyes, they were merely targets who had gotten ahead for the moment.
"Your era is over!"
"There's no ship left in this era that can carry you!"
Before Bai Lin could properly savor the power coursing through him, he raised an eyebrow. His Sharingan vanished in an instant, and the cold glint in his eyes gave way to warmth, as though his earlier arrogance had been nothing but an illusion.
"Boss! Something's wrong! Something's wrong!"
Just then, the curtain was flung aside, and a boy rushed in, looking frantic, his forehead drenched in sweat.
Bai Lin still wore the same gentle smile he'd had for twelve years. He took out a tissue and softly wiped Xiao Zhi's sweat away, his touch impossibly tender. "Xiao Zhi, how many times have I told you? Don't rush. Take it slow."
"Yamamoto's leaving us! He's taken A-Li, Xiao Ya, and two others with him. They rented a shop on the corner and say they're going to compete with us!" Xiao Zhi stamped his foot in frustration.
"What's the rush?" Bai Lin's voice remained gentle, but his fingers tightened slightly, making Xiao Zhi stiffen.
"They also said that you don't do any of the commissions yourself, Boss, but still take thirty percent of what we earn. He thinks he's just as capable as you, so..." Xiao Zhi didn't say the rest outright. Yamamoto's words had been the kind that would make anyone furious.
"Heh! He thinks he's more capable than me?" A trace of contempt flashed in Bai Lin's eyes.
A lowly ant, unaware of its own insignificance, dares to compare itself to a soaring gull in the sky. It was begging for death!
After all, he'd built the Everything Shop from the ground up. He couldn't very well leave behind a mess when it was time for him to go. So Bai Lin said gently:
"Those who leave are dead weight. The ones who stay are the real talent."
"That Yamamoto fellow is impatient and careless. A few days ago, he botched a client's commission. I had to apologize with him, and I criticized him a little. He must have been nursing a grudge ever since."
"Now he's finally made up his mind to leave. So let him."
"But..." Xiao Zhi started to say more.
Before he could finish, Bai Lin cut him off.
"Xiao Zhi, simply founding an Everything Shop doesn't make it a good one. It only becomes good once people recognize it."
"Over the years, my plans and policies have made our shop famous. That's because we do everything to the best of our ability."
He paused, his smile growing even more charming. "Go tell everyone that we won't stop anyone who wants to leave. We'll just need to collect their Everything Shop armbands."
Xiao Zhi stared at his boss's still-gentle face and felt an inexplicable chill. But he obediently nodded. "All right. I'll take care of it!"
The Yamamoto Xiao Zhi had mentioned was Yamamoto Toru, sixteen years old and one of the Everything Shop's first members—a founding veteran.
Bai Lin wasn't the oldest member of the Everything Shop, but he'd built the shop's structure, plans, and policies step by step, figuring them out as he went.
He'd traveled all over Konoha, talking to countless people.
When the Everything Shop was just starting out, nobody wanted to entrust commissions to a group of children. Bai Lin had led his friends in helping the villagers for free, and that was how they slowly built their first bit of goodwill.
There was a reason Yamamoto Toru was leaving the shop. Maybe he was jealous; maybe he was simply greedier than the rest.
It didn't matter. He would rewrite the entire Ninja World. In his eyes, a little shop like the Everything Shop was nothing but a trivial matter now.