Xuan Yu's thoughts stirred, and he began communicating with the system.
"Brother System, I wanna top up. Add thirty-five million ryo to my account."
[Ping! Top-up successful! Current balance: 35.0736 million ryo!]
The top-up was complete.
Xuan Yu stared at his status panel and pondered for a while before quickly settling on a plan for his upgrades.
He thought to himself, There's no need to upgrade any more ninjutsu this time. Unless I raise an existing technique to Lv20, the improvement won't be significant. I'd be better off focusing on my four core attributes...
Right, I'll spend five million ryo on stamina first, bringing it closer to Kakuzu's level—that monster who mastered the Earth Grudge Fear Secret Technique. I'll aim to make my mortal body rival the effects of Earth Grudge Fear. Then I'll spend another five million on strength, ten million on speed, and finally another five million on mental strength.
The plan would cost a total of twenty-five million ryo, leaving him with ten million to use as "entertainment expenses" when demonstrating his talent for learning ninjutsu to Orochimaru.
After all, whatever the ninjutsu, as soon as he began learning it, he could simply spend money to raise it to Lv1. That would count as having learned it.
With this heaven-defying ability, he might even be able to get a ninjutsu out of Orochimaru for free.
Once he'd made up his mind, Xuan Yu eagerly ordered the system, "System Bro, apply the upgrades according to the plan I just laid out!"
[Spent 5 million ryo! Your stamina has increased from 1,500 to 2,000! Current balance: 30.0736 million ryo!]
[Spent 5 million ryo! Your strength has increased from 3,513 to 4,013! Current balance: 25.0736 million ryo!]
[Spent 10 million ryo! Your speed has increased from 5,102 to 6,102! Current balance: 15.0736 million ryo!]
[Spent 5 million ryo! Your mental strength has increased from 451 to 951! Current balance: 10.0736 million ryo!]
Then the system displayed a notification:
[Tip: When any one of your four core attributes exceeds 10,000 points, you will automatically receive 1 Growth Gift Pack. Its contents can help you survive and thrive in the cruel Ninja World.]
After finishing his upgrades, Xuan Yu didn't rush to inspect his improved status panel. Instead, he focused on the new tip.
The moment he saw it, anticipation showed on his face.
He'd long suspected that the Pay-to-Win System had plenty of hidden features yet to be unlocked. Now, he'd stumbled upon one at last.
Raising any one of his four core attributes to 10,000 points would take a full hundred million ryo.
Just as spending a hundred million ryo to raise a ninjutsu to its transformative level granted a special effect, the system had clearly prepared a special reward for maxing out an attribute, too.
Xuan Yu figured the Growth Gift Pack was bound to be extraordinary. It might even be as amazing as the transformative effect he'd received when Leaf Whirlwind reached Lv10.
Unfortunately, he didn't have that much money on hand right now. Otherwise, he would've dumped it all into speed right away to see what treasure the pack held.
After suppressing the urge for now, he reopened his status panel and took a closer look.
[Name: Uchiha Genba]
[Age: 18]
Four core attributes:
[Stamina 2000: Incredible! Your stamina is now roughly equivalent to 0.9 Kakuzus. Xuan Yu Brand Heart—a single heart nearly as good as six.]
[Strength 4013: Your strength is terrifying! In a pure contest of strength with Kakuzu, you'd have a very significant advantage!]
[Speed 6102: Even among Kage Level ninja, your speed is outstanding. Kakuzu will never catch up to you again, so go ahead and boldly snatch any bounty targets he has his eye on!]
[Mental strength 951: Have you actually been to Leaf Hospital for a checkup? The system suspects you might be suffering from mental weakness!]
Abilities:
[Leaf Whirlwind Lv10: Your Leaf Whirlwind Taijutsu has gained the 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 Lv10: Your Three Body Technique has gained the special effect "Chakra Clone." Chakra Clone: You can create a living clone made of Chakra, just like a Tailed Beast. Its strength depends on the quantity and quality of the Chakra you infuse into it.]
[Body Flicker Technique Lv10: Your Body Flicker Technique has gained the special effect "Phantom Body Flicker." Phantom Body Flicker: Within a certain range, you can create multiple illusory Shadow Clones and freely switch places between them. The illusions are unaffected by attacks and can attack your enemies at the same time! The strength of this ability is affected by the power of your Sharingan.]
After reading through the entire status panel, Xuan Yu had a much clearer understanding of how much stronger he'd become.
"When I get to Orochimaru's hideout tomorrow, I'll open Snake Bro's eyes—and squeeze some more money out of him while I'm at it!"
Xuan Yu rubbed his hands together, eager to get started.
If he was lucky, he might even be able to get more ninjutsu out of Orochimaru for free. That would be an even better deal.
Orochimaru was a legendary ninja who specialized in creating and improving ninjutsu. He had plenty of techniques at his disposal.
Night gave way to morning, and before long, dawn broke.
Early that morning, Xuan Yu waited at the inn for someone sent by Orochimaru to escort him.
He'd assumed Orochimaru would send Kabuto Yakushi. After all, out of all his subordinates, Kabuto was the tool he used most often.
But when the visitor arrived, Xuan Yu realized he'd guessed wrong.
The person before him wasn't Kabuto Yakushi, but another familiar face.
The newcomer was dressed just like Orochimaru.
He wore a gray-white robe, with a purple sacred rope tied around his waist.
His hair was white, his skin pale, and two symmetrical crimson markings sat between his brows.
Before the man could speak, a name flashed through Xuan Yu's mind—
Kaguya Kimimaro, or rather, Kaguya Kimimaro of the Kaguya Clan.
When Kimimaro saw Xuan Yu, he bowed respectfully. "Lord Xuan Yu, I'm Kaguya Kimimaro, a subordinate of Lord Orochimaru. Lord Orochimaru asked me to take you to the meeting place. Shall we set off?"
Xuan Yu nodded. "Lead the way."
"Please, follow me." Kimimaro gestured politely, then took the lead.
Of course, the Xuan Yu standing beside Kimimaro wasn't the original. He was a Chakra Clone carrying ninety percent of Xuan Yu's Chakra.
With Kimimaro leading the way, the two soon left Kusagakure.
The hideout Orochimaru had chosen this time wasn't near Kusagakure, but it was still within Grass Country.
After about four hours on the road, they arrived outside a desolate, silent valley.
A hidden underground base lay concealed in this remote, uninhabited place.
As soon as Xuan Yu and Kimimaro stopped outside the hideout, Orochimaru appeared in front of them with Kabuto Yakushi.
Upon seeing Xuan Yu, Orochimaru got straight to the point. "Xuan Yu, how do you plan to prove what makes you special? And which of your exceptional abilities do you intend to demonstrate?"
Xuan Yu had already prepared an answer.
He casually raised three fingers and smiled. "Snake Bro, I plan to prove my exceptional abilities in three areas: speed, strength, and talent for learning ninjutsu."
Before Xuan Yu could finish, Orochimaru shook his head and cut him off. "How do you plan to prove your talent for learning ninjutsu? Besides, speed and strength might not have any research value."
Xuan Yu hadn't expected Orochimaru to be so particular.
But he wasn't worried.
He really did have an ability no one else possessed—one that Orochimaru would almost certainly find interesting.
Xuan Yu smiled with confidence. "Snake Bro, proving my talent for learning ninjutsu is easy. Just give me any technique you like. No matter how difficult it is, I can learn it in three minutes—or even less."
At those words, Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Kimimaro all froze. Their eyes widened in unison, as if they doubted their own ears.
Learn a ninjutsu in three minutes?
Was this kid seriously messing around?
Even a ninjutsu with only a little difficulty took time to learn and get the hang of.
Some advanced techniques could take an enormous amount of practice just to master the basics.
Orochimaru couldn't understand why Xuan Yu would make such an absurd boast.
At least for now, he didn't believe Xuan Yu could really learn that quickly.
With that in mind, Orochimaru decided to test him.
"Poof!"
With a soft pop, a cloud of white smoke appeared and vanished, and three scrolls suddenly appeared in Orochimaru's hand.
He'd taken the three ninjutsu scrolls from a sealing scroll. Then he looked at Xuan Yu and said slowly, "These three scrolls each contain a different ninjutsu. Pick whichever one you like and learn it. If you can't learn it within three minutes, then your ability to learn ninjutsu is nothing special. But if you really can master any one of them within three minutes, you'll have to answer a few questions honestly afterward, to make sure your ability can help with my research."
Before you continue