System Shop

Meanwhile.

Land of Rain, Amegakure.

Inside Chen Xiaoxi's residence, the air had been perfectly still, but a wisp of black smoke suddenly appeared!

The next moment, the wisp transformed into a crack!

A sound like shattering glass rang out of nowhere. Space broke apart in an instant, revealing a black rift.

Then a foot stepped through.

It was Chen Xiaoxi!

"?"

Seeing the familiar surroundings, Chen Xiaoxi's eyes lit up, and a delighted smile spread across his face.

"Not bad."

"I made it back after just one try..."

He had only suspected that the Garganta could connect another world to the Ninja World. Now he had proved it beyond doubt—

It was completely possible!

Chen Xiaoxi raised a hand to his Fox Ghost Mask and chuckled as he dispelled his Hollowfication.

In an instant, pale moon-white Reiatsu smoke spread around him. Then his body began returning to normal.

As the mask quickly vanished, his silver hair turned brown again. His Las Noches Attire changed back into the Akatsuki's Red Cloud Black Robe, and his Zanpakuto returned to the ordinary Asauchi state it had been in before Shinsō's Shikai.

Chen Xiaoxi smiled as he walked to the desk and looked at the other version of himself in the room.

"Thanks for your hard work, my Reigai."

"Snap."

Chen Xiaoxi raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The Reigai Chen Xiaoxi immediately turned into Reiatsu and disappeared.

Just then, a system notification sounded in Chen Xiaoxi's mind—

"Ding! Congratulations, Host. Side quest completed!"

"Enter and exit the Masked Man's mysterious Mangekyo dimension once (1/1): Complete! Reward: Reiatsu +1, Hollowfication Experience +5!"

"Defeat a Kage Level opponent while in your Hollowfied mask form (1/1): Complete! Reward: Reiatsu +1, Hollowfication Experience +1!"

This counted as a side quest too?

Chen Xiaoxi couldn't help but laugh in surprise.

When he'd first heard the notification, he'd thought it was announcing the completion of the main quest. He hadn't expected it to be a side quest.

As if it had sensed Chen Xiaoxi pondering this,

the system promptly played another quest-completion notification—

"Ding! Congratulations, Host! Main quest completed!"

"You have successfully participated in a major event: Uchiha Clan Downfall Night (1/1). Reward: System Shop unlocked!"

"?"

"System Shop: Spend points to purchase all kinds of amazing items and abilities. More products will be added periodically in the future!"

"Ding! The system has detected that the Host has completed all branch quests!"

"Additional reward triggered: 10,000 initial Shop points. These can be used to purchase any item in the Shop!"

After the notification ended, a translucent, watery-blue screen appeared before Chen Xiaoxi.

Then,

one item after another appeared on it—

"Item: Tremor Point"; "Item: Sanrei Glove"; "Flash Step: Shiho Secret Art"; "Hakuda: Sokotsu"; "Swordsmanship: Genryu"; "Forbidden Kido: Space Transfer"; "Otherworld Summoning Technique: Kokujo Tengen Myo'o"...

"Hmm?"

After hearing all the notifications and seeing the Shop page before him,

Chen Xiaoxi's eyes lit up.

The system had actually unlocked a shop?

But what was going on?

Among all the normal items, there seemed to be something strange mixed in...

Otherworld Summoning Technique: Kokujo Tengen Myo'o?

What was that about?

Wasn't that the Bankai of Sajin Komamura, the captain of the Seventh Division?

He could summon it using a Summoning Technique?

Did that mean he might one day get to witness a giant robot battle between Kokujo Tengen Myo'o and Susanoo?

That was ridiculous, wasn't it?

Looking at the System Shop, Chen Xiaoxi felt both amused and exasperated for the first time.

The system had already given him some utterly nonsensical side quests. He hadn't expected the Shop to have such ridiculous items, too...

Still, seeing that it cost exactly 9,500 points, Chen Xiaoxi was a little tempted.

Maybe once he had more points, he really could buy one just for fun...

Chen Xiaoxi could practically picture the bizarre scene already.

The night passed in the blink of an eye.

Although Chen Xiaoxi had just been through a battle not long ago,

the all-purpose Recovery Potion had left him feeling not the slightest bit tired.

So he spent the entire night studying the System Shop.

However,

just as he was about to close his eyes and rest,

a strange presence suddenly appeared in the room.

A moment later, a figure resembling a pitcher plant slowly emerged from the floor and spoke in a low voice:

"Chen Xiaoxi, the leader has sent word—"

"The Akatsuki's official members are holding a meeting. Come along."

With that,

before Chen Xiaoxi could respond,

he sank back into the floor and left.

"An official members' meeting..."

Chen Xiaoxi stood up and looked out at the rain, murmuring to himself:

"It looks like,"

"Itachi Uchiha is about to join the Akatsuki."

"Another Actor to add to the roster."

At that moment,

in a valley outside Amegakure, a small boat was slowly making its way down a wide river.

There were only two people aboard.

A mysterious Masked Man dressed in a black robe.

And Itachi Uchiha, dressed in a Konoha Anbu uniform.

"Itachi, how are your injuries? Can you move around freely?"

The Masked Man asked coolly.

"As long as I only need to walk, I'm fine."

Itachi replied.

During his earlier fight against the Fox Ghost Mask, a deep Getsuga slash had struck him in the back. He wasn't in good shape now.

The Masked Man nodded and continued:

"In that case, I'll take you straight to meet the Akatsuki leader."

"But before that, there's something you need to keep in mind—"

"..."

"In the Akatsuki, everyone calls me Tobi. I'm not an official member, just a slightly underqualified trainee."

"So be careful how you treat me from now on."

The Masked Man spoke coolly.

In front of Itachi Uchiha, he had always claimed to be Madara Uchiha, the old ancestor of the Uchiha Clan.

As a result, Itachi would unconsciously use honorifics when speaking to him, which could easily give them away.

That was why the Masked Man had specifically reminded him to be careful.

Itachi glanced up slightly.

"Why hide your identity?"

"..."

The Masked Man fell silent for a moment, then answered with feigned composure:

"It's nothing, just... if people found out Madara Uchiha was still alive, it would cause a lot of trouble."

"Understood."

Itachi lowered his eyes slightly and said no more.

Of course, he knew the Masked Man was trying to conceal something,

but as a double agent for the Leaf Village, he had plenty to hide himself.