As expected, Xuan Yu once again managed to evade Kakuzu's pursuit.
After leaving Kakuzu far behind, he headed straight for the Black Market in the Empty District.
This territory wasn't under the Leaf Village's jurisdiction, but it had close ties to the Uchiha Clan. When Xuan Yu showed up carrying two corpses, he naturally attracted the attention of quite a few wandering ninja.
Along the way, groups of mercenaries pointed at him and whispered among themselves. Some even looked envious or jealous.
Xuan Yu didn't care in the slightest. Carrying the corpses, he swaggered into the bounty exchange hall.
One of the receptionists spotted Xuan Yu returning with another haul and couldn't resist teasing him. "Well, well, little Xuan Yu. Did you steal another bounty target that some other mercenaries worked so hard to hunt down?"
At that, Xuan Yu immediately struck a righteous pose and protested loudly, "Hey, hey! How can you slander my good name without any proof? We mercenaries just happen to pick up bounty targets our fellow mercenaries have hunted down. That's not stealing—it's taking what you can get! Can you really call what a mercenary does stealing?"
As soon as he finished that dead-serious yet twisted argument, several receptionists in the hall burst out laughing. The whole place was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
Xuan Yu couldn't be bothered with their laughter. He walked straight to the counter where the bounty exchange manager was stationed and tossed the two corpses onto the floor with a thud. "One's worth ten million ryo, the other twenty million. Pay up!"
The manager glanced down at the two corpses and couldn't help but freeze.
By all rights, with Xuan Yu's current strength, taking down two high-value bounty targets should have been almost impossible.
But then again, the kid was always good at taking advantage of a chaotic situation. He had probably used some underhanded trick to scoop up the spoils again.
Seeing the other man's astonished expression, Xuan Yu felt secretly pleased.
A little trick, and he'd netted thirty million ryo! It felt fantastic!
Making money was incredibly important to Xuan Yu!
Although he was just a civilian Uchiha with no talent for being a ninja, he had a unique Effort Upgrade System.
The "Effort Upgrade System" was simple: as long as he was willing to put in the effort—that is, spend money—his strength would shoot up!
For other ninja, money wasn't everything.
But for Xuan Yu, money was practically everything.
With the Effort Upgrade System, he could not only spend money to increase his base stats, but also strengthen any ninjutsu he had learned.
While the bounty exchange manager inspected the corpses, Xuan Yu was already calculating how to spend the money.
Before long, the manager confirmed the corpses were genuine, then promptly took out thirty million ryo in banknotes and handed them to Xuan Yu. He also instructed his subordinates to move the bodies away and store them properly.
Xuan Yu took the thick stack of banknotes, his lips curling into a grin. Without lingering at the bounty exchange, he turned and strode away.
Next came his favorite time: scrounging a meal!
As he walked along the paths of the Empty District, he saw Ninja Cats strolling about everywhere.
But Xuan Yu had no time to pet cats. He couldn't wait to invest the thirty million ryo he'd just earned in his "career."
Hurrying along, he called out in his mind, "Brother System! I'm ready to spend! Hurry up and credit thirty million ryo to my account!"
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, the familiar system notification sounded in his head.
[Ding! Recharge successful! Current balance: 30.068 million ryo!]
Xuan Yu quickly opened his system panel to check his current stats:
[Name: Uchiha Genba] [Age: 18] Four attributes: [Stamina 500: Your stamina can't even compare to one of Kakuzu's hearts, let alone all five.] [Strength 2013: Your strength is terrifying. If you arm-wrestled Kakuzu, he definitely wouldn't beat you.] [Speed 3102: You're unbelievably fast. Even if Kakuzu ran his legs off, he still couldn't catch you.] [Mind 451: Spend some money to get checked out at Leaf Hospital. The system suspects you might be suffering from nervous exhaustion.] Abilities: [Leaf Whirlwind lv9: Attack your enemies with high-speed spinning kicks.] [Three Body Technique lv9: Your Transformation Technique, Substitution Technique, and Clone Technique have reached a level of mastery.] [Body Flicker Technique lv9: Under normal circumstances, Kakuzu can only smell your dust.] ...
Xuan Yu's system interface was simple and straightforward. It even let him choose a reference point for measuring his stats.
He had chosen Kakuzu, so every evaluation the system gave compared him to Kakuzu.
The Pay-to-Win System charged ten thousand ryo per stat point.
His current speed stat was worth more than thirty million ryo.
As for Asuma Sarutobi, his bounty on the Black Market was thirty-six million ryo.
In other words, the money he'd spent on speed alone was almost enough to buy an Asuma.
The Pay-to-Win System could do more than increase a ninja's stats. It could also upgrade ninjutsu.
Upgrading ninjutsu with the Pay-to-Win System cost ten million ryo per level.
His Leaf Whirlwind taijutsu was currently worth ninety million ryo.
But he hadn't paid to upgrade that technique. It was one of his starting skills.
When he got the Pay-to-Win System, he had received lv9 Three Body Technique, Body Flicker Technique, and Leaf Whirlwind taijutsu in the beginner's gift pack.
There was no limit to how much he could increase his stats with the Pay-to-Win System. As long as he had enough money, he could grow infinitely stronger.
There was no limit to ninjutsu upgrades, either. And every ten levels, a technique gained a special effect.
His Leaf Whirlwind was currently lv9. Once he upgraded it to lv10, the taijutsu would gain its first special effect.
After staring at his system panel for a while, Xuan Yu decisively began to spend points and upgrade.
Only by becoming stronger could he earn more commissions.
That's right—commissions, not just any money.
Xuan Yu's Pay-to-Win System only recognized commissions earned by completing missions. Money acquired through other means was practically useless to him; he couldn't recharge the system with it.
[Spent 10 million ryo. Your speed increased from 3102 to 4102! Current balance: 20.068 million ryo!] [Spent 10 million ryo. Your strength increased from 2013 to 3013! Current balance: 10.068 million ryo!] [Spent 10 million ryo. Your Leaf Whirlwind taijutsu increased from lv9 to lv10! Current balance: 68,000 ryo!]
After a flurry of upgrades, Xuan Yu realized he was poorer—but stronger!
He could earn more money, but the increase in strength was immediate.
He could clearly feel mysterious power surging inside him. With every breath, he grew a little stronger than he had been the moment before.
Xuan Yu ignored the ache of spending all those banknotes and hurriedly opened the system interface again to check his updated stats:
[Name: Uchiha Genba] [Age: 18] Four attributes: [Stamina 500: Your stamina can't even compare to one of Kakuzu's hearts, let alone all five.] [Strength 3013: Your strength is terrifying. If you arm-wrestled Kakuzu, he definitely wouldn't beat you.] [Speed 4102: Your speed has reached the threshold of the Super Kage level. The next time Kakuzu chases you, he'll only be able to trail far behind and eat your dust!] [Mind 451: Spend some money to get checked out at Leaf Hospital. The system suspects you might be suffering from nervous exhaustion.] Abilities: [Leaf Whirlwind lv10: Your Leaf Whirlwind taijutsu has gained a special effect, "Whirlwind Fierce Kick." Whirlwind Fierce Kick: When you use this move, you can unleash a powerful whirlwind capable of blowing even Kakuzu away!] [Three Body Technique lv9: Your Transformation Technique, Substitution Technique, and Clone Technique have reached a level of mastery.] [Body Flicker Technique lv9: Under normal circumstances, Kakuzu can only smell your dust.] ...
Looking at his updated system panel, Xuan Yu grinned from ear to ear.
He'd known for a long time that ninjutsu underwent a qualitative change every ten levels, but he hadn't expected the upgraded technique to be this powerful.
Now he was so fast that Kakuzu probably couldn't even see his taillights.
And his signature taijutsu, "Leaf Whirlwind," now had an effect comparable to the Six Paths Tool Bashosen.
One kick unleashed a whirlwind that could blow even Kakuzu away!
He couldn't help marveling. No wonder this powerful technique had cost him over a hundred million ryo. It was worth every bit of it.
With his upgrades complete, Xuan Yu was thrilled. He happily wondered where he could earn more commissions so he could keep spending and getting stronger.
As he thought about it, he arrived at the door of a familiar little house: Granny Cat's Weapon Shop.
Granny Cat's Weapon Shop had a distinctive appearance: a cat-shaped building with long ears. Beside the entrance stood a beckoning cat statue without a bell around its neck.
As a shameless professional freeloader, Xuan Yu might have been thinking about upgrading his system, but his body had already guided him by instinct into Granny Cat's house, ready to begin his daily routine of scrounging a meal.
He'd arrived just in time for dinner, and Granny Cat was indeed preparing to serve the meal.
Inside, an old woman with pale hair and a black cat-ear headband was setting the freshly cooked dishes on the table.
Granny Cat was very old, but she still liked wearing cat ears. She looked kind, with a hint of playfulness.
Seeing Xuan Yu poking his head around the entrance, Granny Cat smiled helplessly. "Little Xuan Yu, are you here to mooch a meal at my place again? Haven't you earned quite a bit of money lately? Why do you keep coming here to eat and drink for free?"
Before you continue