What the Hell, Are You Practicing Wellness? Why Are You Sleeping So Late at Night?!

After the lottery ended, Xuan Yu didn't rush to check his latest system panel. Instead, he reviewed what he'd learned from this scratch-off draw.

He thought to himself, From this draw, I can tell there are four kinds of cards in the pool: white, blue, purple, and gold. White cards are food. The worst prize is Expired Milk, and the best is probably something like Ichiraku Ramen.

The blue cards gave me ordinary ninja tools this time, but they might also contain regular ninjutsu or other items.

Purple cards contain rare ninja tools. I drew the Uchiha Flame Fan this time, but they might also hold rare ninjutsu and other things—I just didn't draw any.

The prize I'm most excited about is the scratch-off card that gives off a golden glow. This time, I got the Speed Force, a bug-level ability from the DC Universe. It's taught me a lot more about the Pay-to-Win System.

Xuan Yu figured there was definitely something special about gold scratch-off cards.

The prize he'd drawn from the gold card this time might not even be the best possible reward in its pool—just a relatively good one.

Someday, he might even draw something as outrageous as the Infinity Stones or the Infinity Gauntlet.

If he really got his hands on those, he wouldn't be preparing for war in the Ninja World and guarding against the Otsutsuki Clan's alien invaders anymore. He'd lead the Shinobi Allied Forces in a counterattack against the Otsutsuki Planet.

But there was no point dwelling on that now. He needed to focus on what was in front of him.

Overall, he'd made out very well this time.

Once he raised his other four attributes past ten thousand, he'd get more Growth Gift Packs.

If those packs also contained scratch-off cards, he could draw a few more and work out how the Growth Gift Pack lottery worked.

As long as he drew a purple card, the Growth Gift Pack would basically be worth it.

And if he drew a gold card, he'd hit the jackpot!

After the draw, Xuan Yu checked his latest system panel.

[Name: Uchiha Genba]

[Age: 18 years old]

Four Attributes:

[Stamina 2000: Incredible! Your stamina is now equivalent to about 0.9 Kakuzus! With the Xuan Yu Brand Heart, one heart is as good as six!]

[Strength 4013: Your strength is terrifying! In a pure contest of strength against Kakuzu, you'd have a very clear advantage!]

[Speed 10102: You're as fast as lightning, and you're at the very peak even among Super Kage Ninja! Your speed isn't just speed—it's the helpless tears in Kakuzu's eyes when you steal his bounty target right in front of him!]

[Spirit 951: Have you gotten checked out at Leaf Hospital? The system suspects you might be suffering from nervous exhaustion!]

Talent:

[Speed Force: With the Speed Force, you've become a speedster. However, the strength of your Speed Force is tied to your speed attribute, and its endurance is tied to your stamina attribute. With your current stats, you're still at the level of a Handan toddler among speedsters.]

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 kick up a powerful whirlwind that can blow even Kakuzu away!]

[Three Body Technique lv10: Your Three Body Technique has gained a special effect, "Chakra Clone." Chakra Clone: You can create chakra clones that are living beings made of chakra, like Tailed Beasts. Their strength depends on the quantity and quality of your chakra.]

[Body Flicker Technique lv10: Your Body Flicker Technique has gained a special effect, "Phantom Body Flicker." Phantom Body Flicker: Within a set area, you can create multiple Shadow Clones that are halfway between solid and illusory. Your real body can switch between the phantoms, which are unaffected by attacks, and multiple phantoms can attack at the same time. This ability's strength is affected by the Sharingan.]

[Mystical Palm Technique lv2: You've learned the Mystical Palm Technique terribly. Don't go around saying you used this system to pay for an upgrade. It's too embarrassing!]

[Current balance: 73,600 ryo!]

After checking the system panel, Xuan Yu couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

His speed was already tremendous, so next he could build up his stamina, strength, and spirit.

Stamina, in particular, might need to come first.

He needed a body of iron if he wanted to grind missions nonstop, day and night.

And raising his stamina to 10,000 would earn him another Growth Gift Pack to draw from.

If he got one purple card, it'd be worth it. If he got one gold card, he'd be grinning like a winner—he'd hit the jackpot!

What disappointed him was that the Speed Force was listed under talents instead of abilities, so he couldn't just brute-force upgrade it.

He'd have to keep raising his speed and stamina to gradually bring out the full power of the Speed Force.

Since he'd drawn both purple and gold cards from this Growth Gift Pack, Xuan Yu couldn't help hesitating over whether to upgrade his Mystical Palm Technique.

After a brief moment of thought, Xuan Yu stood up without changing expression, his gaze as resolute as if he were going on a pilgrimage.

But he wasn't heading to a shrine. He was going to grind missions and earn money.

He'd finally figured out the root cause of his indecision: he simply didn't have enough money!

If he had plenty of money, he could raise his attributes and upgrade his ninjutsu.

In short, every problem came down to not grinding enough missions and not earning enough money.

There was nothing else to it. Time to get grinding!

In his room, Kakuzu had just lain down. He'd spent some time investigating mission details at various places, then made a few plans for the missions ahead.

He was going to get a good night's sleep, recharge, and then grind that little brat Xuan Yu to death.

If Xuan Yu dared to mooch off him, he couldn't complain when Kakuzu stopped treating him like a person.

By grinding missions at an insanely intense pace, Kakuzu would make back both the money Xuan Yu had cost him by mooching and the losses from the times Xuan Yu had stolen his bounty targets.

Kakuzu thought to himself, No matter how you look at it, I've got five hearts against Xuan Yu's one. The advantage is mine!

With that thought, Kakuzu gradually drifted off to sleep.

But just as he was about to nod off, Xuan Yu showed up outside his door.

Xuan Yu didn't waste any time. He used his Unrecognizable Footwork on Kakuzu's door.

Bang!

With a deafening crash, Xuan Yu burst through the door.

The enormous noise jolted Kakuzu awake just as he'd started to drift off. He shot upright in shock!

As a mercenary, it was perfectly normal to be targeted for revenge or put up as a bounty by another mercenary.

But once Kakuzu was ready to fight, he nearly lost his mind.

He stared at the grinning Xuan Yu nearby, eyes bulging with rage, and roared, "You motherf—#￥%&#..."

Seeing that Kakuzu was about to speak, Xuan Yu predicted he was about to launch into a passionate tirade in the language of Zuan, so he promptly covered his ears.

Only after Kakuzu had roared for a while and gradually calmed down did Xuan Yu speak to him. "Kakuzi, what the hell, are you practicing wellness? Why are you sleeping so late at night? Get out there and grind missions! Come on, let's go!"

Kakuzu: (O_O)???

Kakuzu didn't know whether he was crazy or Xuan Yu was.

Was Xuan Yu even speaking like a human being?

What did he mean, "Why are you sleeping so late at night?"

But Xuan Yu didn't give him time to think. He simply slung Kakuzu over his shoulder and headed straight for the Black Market!