Cheat Activated

Taking a deep breath, Naruto strode toward home, hurrying back under the cold stares around him.

He walked through the door.

Naruto looked at the empty house and the crude furniture, and his emotions gradually calmed.

He went to the desk, picked up paper and pen, and began drawing while sinking his consciousness into the system.

Under his inspection, an illusory interface called the Saiyan Shop appeared before him.

The interface required 100 Experience Points to unlock, and he happened to have exactly 100. Clearly, the system had activated at 100 Experience Points for this reason.

Filled with anticipation, Naruto did not hesitate to choose to unlock the Saiyan Shop.

[Ding! Saiyan Shop successfully unlocked.]

After the mechanical voice faded, Naruto swiftly opened the Saiyan Shop. Its sole item appeared before him.

[1 drop of Saiyan Blood, price: 10 Experience Points.]

Seeing the price of the Saiyan Blood, Naruto was greatly surprised. Though there was only one drop, he still felt it was well worth it.

Having watched the Dragon Ball anime, he knew that Saiyans were a true warrior race. No Saiyan was easy to deal with; every one of them was a battle-crazed maniac.

If he could obtain a complete Saiyan bloodline, he would definitely be able to sweep through the Ninja World. Even a single drop could bring a certain degree of improvement.

Thinking of becoming a Saiyan in the future, thinking of that world-destroying power, Naruto grew excited once more.

He clenched his fists and tried hard to calm himself while continuing to study the system shop.

He soon discovered something.

There were several other functions beneath the Saiyan Shop, but unfortunately, he could not see them yet. It seemed that he did not have enough Experience Points for them to appear.

No longer paying attention to those functions, Naruto focused his consciousness back on the Saiyan Blood.

Though he no longer had any Experience Points, just 10 points could be exchanged for a drop. Such an exchange left him itching with anticipation.

However, one thing particularly bothered Naruto: when he had parted from Hinata, the Experience Orb around her had become much smaller.

It was obvious that this had happened because he had absorbed its Experience Points, leaving Naruto somewhat puzzled about where Experience Points came from.

After observing carefully, he found that aside from the Experience Orb around Hinata, no one else had one. Not even the ninjas he encountered on the road had any.

Naruto could not make sense of it. He could only speculate that Hinata had one because she was a heroine, while Sasuke and Sakura, as important plot characters at the academy, might also have Experience Orbs around them.

Tomorrow. I'll go to the academy tomorrow and take a look. Maybe I really can obtain Experience Points from people other than Hinata, Naruto thought to himself.

After making up his mind, Naruto went to the corner of the room, picked up a piece of wood and a carving knife, and began carving a wooden sculpture. At the same time, he circulated Chakra through his hands to train his Chakra control.

Though he had been suppressed over the years, he had continued working hard in secret through his own methods. Not only had he refined more Chakra than in the original story, but his Chakra control had also improved by a major step.

Moreover.

Hand seals had been Naruto's weakness in the original story, but he had long since overcome that flaw. His hand seal speed was even faster than Sasuke's.

These were all gains from his secret efforts. Training hand seals in particular had required him to practice furtively in a pitch-black room every time. He had paid dearly for his current results.

"Wait."

The carving knife in Naruto's hand suddenly stopped. A glimmer appeared in his eyes as he thought of something: the Nine-Tails sealed within him.

If important plot characters had Experience Orbs around them, then the Nine-Tails inside him should have one too. After all, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was hardly something that could be ignored.

"I'll give it a try."

Naruto muttered to himself, put down the wooden carving, and returned to his bed to rest. The next instant, his consciousness arrived at the place where the Nine-Tails was sealed—the Sealing Space.

"Brat, you dare come here? Are you looking to die?"

A chilling voice rang out, carrying a savage aura. Surging Chakra churned with the voice and spread beyond the seal, as though it intended to swallow Naruto outside whole.

But.

Standing outside the seal, Naruto revealed a delighted smile. His smile even gradually became brighter.

Because he could clearly see a blue Experience Orb floating around the Nine-Tails as well.

This Experience Orb was a size smaller than Hinata's, but its blue glow made Naruto's heart race with excitement.

"What a turn of fortune. I never expected there really would be one. Hahaha!"

Naruto laughed loudly as he looked at the enormous Nine-Tails as if it were a treasure trove, wishing he could dig it open and inspect it.

That look left the sealed Nine-Tails somewhat confused. It brought its enormous head close to the edge of the seal and said, "Brat, what kind of look is that?"

[Experience Points +3]

"Hm?"

Naruto froze and stared at the Nine-Tails in surprise. He had never expected the Experience Points to be +3.

"Brat, are you mocking me?" The Nine-Tails felt deeply uncomfortable under Naruto's strange gaze. It bared its chilling teeth and leaned closer.

"Mocking you? No, no, no. I just think you're quite amusing," Naruto said with a smile.

"Amusing?!"

A question mark seemed to appear above the Nine-Tails' head. Tilting its massive head, it roared angrily, "Damn brat, you dare call me amusing? Are you looking to die?"

[Experience Points +3]

"Yes, very amusing. You'd make a fine pet."

Naruto continued smiling as he looked the Nine-Tails over from left to right, constantly examining it as if choosing a pet, trying to figure out why it gave +3 Experience Points.

"Damn brat, do you believe I'll crush you with one swipe of my claw?"

The Nine-Tails abruptly raised a claw and slammed it down with murderous intent. The red Chakra around it trembled and surged without end.

[Experience Points +3]

"How pitiful."

Looking at the Nine-Tails within the seal, Naruto suddenly felt a sense of kinship. He had suffered countless cold stares and rejection in Konoha, and he deeply detested the village.

Meanwhile, the Nine-Tails had been sealed away for so long and had passed through three Jinchūriki in succession. The fury it had suppressed in its heart must have been as vast as mountains and seas, especially within such a cramped space.

Naruto believed that if he himself were sealed in such a place, he would be annoyed enough to want to beat someone up after only a few days, let alone after being sealed for so long like the Nine-Tails.

So he stopped teasing the Nine-Tails. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the ground, quietly watching it as he pondered why the Nine-Tails gave +3 Experience Points.

"Brat, what kind of look is that? Are you pitying me? Do you believe I'll eat you? Do you know how terrifying my power is?"

Naruto's gaze seemed to provoke the Nine-Tails. Its entire body rose up, and the red Chakra around it surged wildly, raging like a bursting flood.

[Experience Points +3]

Naruto watched the Nine-Tails' reaction without any change in his expression. He already had 12 Experience Points, enough to exchange for a drop of Saiyan Blood, so he chose to make the exchange without hesitation.

[Ding! 10 Experience Points consumed. Successfully exchanged for 1 drop of Saiyan Blood.]

"Brat, you'd better not look at me like that again, or I'll grind you into dust."

The Nine-Tails' blood-red tails swayed as its enormous head pressed close to the sealing gate. Its eyes stared fixedly at Naruto, looking ready to devour him at any moment.

But the next second, it seemed to sense something and suddenly took a step back. Then it looked at Naruto with uncertainty.

"Brat, what are you doing? Why do I feel a chill down my spine? I'm the Nine-Tails—how could I feel something like this? Damn it, what is going on?!"

The Nine-Tails carefully examined Naruto from head to toe, but it could not detect even the slightest change. Nor did it sense any particular change in Naruto's strength.

Yet it could not understand why it had felt that just now.

"Strange. Was it just an illusion?"

The Nine-Tails muttered, unable to figure out why. It investigated the surroundings for quite some time but found nothing in the end, ultimately dismissing it as an illusion.