Pikachu and an SSR!!!

Back in the Hidden Leaf Village, the clouds of failure hung over Team 7...

Naruto was severely injured and unconscious, and was sent straight to intensive care.

News of Sasuke's defection spread, making the atmosphere in the village even more oppressive.

Although Tsunade had already begun handling administrative affairs, everything was in ruins, and every matter needed time.

The medical team treated Ling Yue's shoulder wound again. Fortunately, the bone had not been injured, and with Healing Arts and medicine, she recovered quickly.

She shut herself in her little house and stared at the huge sum on the system panel: 4,350 points and two SR card vouchers.

Frustration, anxiety about the future, and a desperate thirst for power intertwined, driving her to make a decision.

Draw! Draw until she dropped! Strength was what truly mattered!

"System! Start with a ten-pull! Use points!"

[900 points consumed. Performing ten draws...]

The familiar roulette wheel appeared, its pointer spinning wildly.

[Congratulations, Host, you have obtained: Soldier Pills (Medium) x5, Hemostatic Bandages (Advanced) x3, Chakra Test Paper x2, Kunai (Refined) x10, Explosive Tags (Enhanced) x5, Better Luck Next Time x1,

Skill [Navy Six Powers: Shave] (from One Piece, R-rank)

Skill [Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide] (from Demon Slayer, R-rank)

Skill [Nen Ability: Ken] (from Hunter x Hunter, SR-rank)!]

"Wow! What a great start!" Ling Yue's eyes lit up.

[Shave]! A godly short-range burst movement technique! It perfectly matched her speed-based style!

[Striking Tide]! A Water Breathing area-of-effect move that made up for her lack of wide-range attacks!

[Ken]! An advanced Nen technique that wrapped aura around the entire body, combining offense and defense while also nourishing the body! It truly deserved its SR rank!

Streams of information flooded into her mind, while her body seemed to undergo the corresponding training as well, giving her a preliminary grasp of the skills.

"Awesome! Keep going! Another ten-pull!"

[900 points consumed. Performing ten draws...]

[Congratulations, Host, you have obtained: Soldier Pills (Medium) x3, Ninja Tool Maintenance Oil x2, Smoke Bombs x5, Tent x1, Better Luck Next Time x2,

Skill [Basic Illusion Resistance] (Passive, R-rank)

Skill [Ghost Way One: Thrust] (from Bleach, R-rank)

Skill [Armament Haki (Beginner)] (from One Piece, SR-rank)!]

Illusion Resistance, a passive? Good stuff! At least she would not be helpless if she got caught in an illusion someday.

[Thrust]? The first destructive art? Though it was the most basic one, it was still an offensive Ghost Way spell from the Bleach system! She had to test its power!

[Armament Haki]! SR-rank! It could boost both defense and attack, and could even catch the tangible bodies of Logia users! It was only beginner level, but its potential was limitless!

Another surge of power spread through her body! Ling Yue could clearly feel that her physical defense and attack power had risen by an entire level!

"My luck is amazing today! Keep going! Third ten-pull!"

[900 points consumed. Performing ten draws...]

[Congratulations, Host, you have obtained: Soldier Pills (Medium) x4, Fresh Water x10, Salt x2, Fishing Rod x1, Better Luck Next Time x3,

Skill [Trap Disarm Mastery] (R-rank)

Skill [Lightning Release: Earth Walk] (from Naruto, C-rank, rated R-rank)

Skill [Summoning Technique: Random Little Spirit] (from Pokémon, SR-rank)!]

The pile of miscellaneous junk at the start darkened Ling Yue's expression, but the last three were not bad.

[Trap Disarm] was practical.

[Lightning Release: Earth Walk]! A local Lightning Release technique. Though it was only C-rank, paired with her lightning-nature chakra and [Thunder Breathing], she should be able to come up with some tricks.

[Summoning Technique: Random Little Spirit]? SR-rank? What was this? She tried activating it.

After a puff of faint white smoke, a yellow electric mouse appeared before her. Sparks crackled from its cheeks as it tilted its head at her. "Pika?"

Ling Yue: "..."

It really was Pikachu! It looked so tiny—probably still in its juvenile stage? Could this thing even fight?

Pikachu jumped onto her shoulder and affectionately rubbed against her cheek. A weak current ran through her, leaving her slightly numb and tingly.

"...Fine, it's not bad as a pet." Ling Yue did not know whether to laugh or cry. This SR felt a little like a rip-off.

She had 1,650 points and two SR card vouchers left.

"Let's go all in! One last ten-pull! Use an SR card voucher to cover it!"

[SR Card Voucher x1 consumed. Performing ten draws... (An SR card voucher ten-pull guarantees an SR, with a chance of SSR)]

The roulette wheel appeared again. This time, its light seemed even more dazzling! The pointer spun rapidly before finally stopping on a square radiating brilliant golden light!

[Congratulations, Host, you have obtained SSR Skill: [Bankai: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi] (from Bleach, SSR-rank)!!!]

[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on obtaining your first SSR-rank skill! System permissions have increased slightly! Some advanced exchange options have been unlocked!]

Ling Yue's mind buzzed, and the overwhelming surprise nearly knocked her unconscious!

SSR! It was actually an SSR! And Byakuya Kuchiki's Bankai at that—Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!

That was a bug-level skill capable of turning blades into hundreds of millions of cherry blossom petals for all-around attacks!

Though... with her current spiritual pressure—chakra—and mental strength, she would probably struggle even to release its Shikai, much less its Bankai.

But this was an SSR! Its potential was limitless!

A massive torrent of information poured into her mind. The mysteries of communicating with a Zanpakutō, Shikai, and Bankai left her dizzy, and it took her a long while to recover.

She had hit the jackpot! That SR voucher had been well spent!

She still had one final SR voucher and 1,650 points.

"Strike while the iron's hot! System, use the last SR voucher too! Single draw!"

[SR Card Voucher x1 consumed. Performing single draw...]

The pointer turned and stopped on a square glowing with soft silver light.

[Congratulations, Host, you have obtained special item: [Zanpakutō: Senbonzakura] (Asauchi state, from Bleach, SR-rank).]

An ancient-looking Japanese sword appeared out of thin air, floating before her.

Its sheath and hilt were both plain black, without any patterns. It looked like an unsharpened practice sword.

This was Senbonzakura in its Asauchi state? She needed to pour in her own mental power—spiritual pressure—to communicate with it and nurture it before its true Shikai could awaken?

Ling Yue gripped the hilt, and an unusual sensation of blood connection rose within her.

For now, it was merely a rather hard sword, but the future held promise!

The four rounds of draws were over, and the gains were enormous! But they had also nearly emptied her savings, leaving her with only 1,650 points.

She looked at the pile of newly acquired skills and items before her and felt a headache coming on. There was too much stuff—she needed time to properly digest it all through practice.

Over the following days, Ling Yue entered a frenzied training routine.

In the mornings, she practiced combining [Shave] with [Armament Haki], striving for explosive close-range attacks in an instant.

In the afternoons, she pondered the combination of [Water Breathing] and [Lightning Release: Earth Walk], attempting to develop new hybrid release techniques. At night, she held Senbonzakura in its Asauchi state, trying to use chakra to imitate spiritual pressure and communicate with the prideful blade. At the same time, she trained [Ken] to improve her overall physique and chakra control.

Training [Nen Ability: Ken] was exceptionally grueling. She had to maintain a coating of aura over her entire body for long periods, which heavily drained both her mind and stamina. But the results were obvious. She could feel her body becoming tougher by the day, while her chakra grew more condensed.

[Ghost Way One: Thrust] was more powerful than she had imagined. Though it was only number one, its concentrated force was enough to shatter massive boulders.

[Summoning Technique: Random Little Spirit]... apart from acting cute and releasing weak currents that could not even knock out a rabbit, Pikachu had no combat power for the time being. Still, it was adorable, and it could help her pick up shuriken.

Occasionally, she went to the hospital to visit Naruto. That guy was still unconscious, but his complexion had become much rosier. The Nine-Tails' recovery ability was seriously absurd. Sakura stayed by his side all day.

One day, she was at the training ground trying to incorporate [Shave] into the [Lightning Flash Body Technique].

Her figure vanished in an instant, leaving behind only a faint footprint. The next second, she appeared twenty meters away in a burst of lightning and smashed a human-sized boulder to pieces with one punch!

"Not bad power, but the instantaneous chakra burst is too intense. The transition isn't smooth enough," she analyzed, panting.

"Oh? A new technique? That's a very interesting way to unleash explosive power." A slightly teasing voice sounded.

Ling Yue turned around and saw Kakashi leaning against a tree some distance away. He held Make-Out Paradise in his hand, but the visible eye above it held a trace of scrutiny.

"Kakashi-sensei."

"Your injuries healed?" Kakashi closed his book and walked over. "It looks like you did more than recover. You've improved quite a bit. That burst just now was already close to special jonin speed."

"I still have a long way to go." Ling Yue lowered her stance. Before a ninja of Kakashi's level, it was difficult to hide everything completely. It was better to reveal a little.

Kakashi looked at the shattered stone on the ground, then at Ling Yue. "Both your chakra nature transformation and shape transformation have improved... It seems this mission was not entirely bad."

He paused, his tone turning slightly more serious. "Don't take Sasuke's matter too much to heart. Everyone has their own choices."

Ling Yue fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "I know."

"Train well." Kakashi patted her shoulder. "Team 7 will have a mission soon. Don't fall behind."

After saying that, he wandered off again.

Ling Yue watched his retreating figure, knowing that the peaceful days would not last much longer.

She clenched her fist and felt the newfound power within her.

No matter what missions or enemies awaited her in the future, she now had some confidence.

Pikachu on her shoulder: "Pika-pi!"

Well... though that confidence was sometimes not exactly reliable.