Naruto seemed to have suddenly gotten fired up.
In Russell's eyes, the first half of this guy's life had been as miserable as a coffee table piled high with tragedies.
But he was the protagonist, after all. He had protagonist plot armor.
Why not let him help scratch it?
Russell handed the card to Naruto.
Naruto did not hesitate. He directly took out a kunai and scratched at it. As he did, everyone in the group involuntarily craned their necks forward, like a flock of ducks being lifted by invisible hands.
Huihui, whose curiosity was the strongest, nearly pressed her entire face against the card. Even Naruto was not as close as she was.
Under everyone's expectant gazes, a faint golden color gradually appeared on the card.
Russell's mood grew excited as well. No matter what setting it was, gold quality was never anything ordinary.
A golden legend?!
When all the coating had finally been scratched away, dazzling golden light burst forth.
"Ah!!! My eyes, my eyes!!"
Because she had been too close, Huihui was caught completely off guard. She fell to the ground, writhing and screaming.
It was pitiful yet comical.
It made people want to laugh.
—She had been too close. One person had blocked almost all the light.
As a mine owner, should he laugh at his means of production being damaged?
The Prompt Device's message made Russell's smile vanish completely.
Oh, damn.
He had nearly forgotten. This counted as his means of production.
"Mm, you all look at the item first. I'll go see how Huihui is doing."
The suffering boss in the early stages of entrepreneurship went to tend to his employee, who was exceptionally good at getting herself killed, leaving the remaining group members surrounding the card.
"...I'll take a look first?"
After confirming that someone was already looking after Huihui, Naruto took the lead in picking up the card.
He had been the one to scratch it, after all. With Russell absent, he naturally had top priority.
Under everyone else's watchful eyes, Brother Naruto eagerly raised it and looked up at it.
Then—
"Ah!!!"
He let out a scream as if his butt had been critically struck by a spiritually injected rod.
As though he had seen something filthy, Naruto, who was usually so carefree, flung the card onto the table. Clamping his legs together, he kept wriggling backward like a duck.
????
Megumin and Skadi both wore bewildered expressions.
Megumin walked to the table and picked up the card, while Skadi leaned closer as well.
Just like Naruto before them, the expressions of those two beauties instantly turned horrified, and they threw it away without hesitation.
"?"
Russell was full of question marks.
No, were the brothers and sisters in his group really that psychologically fragile?
A single card had scared them out of their wits.
He placed the peacefully expressioned Huihui on the sofa, then stepped forward.
He wanted to see exactly what kind of thing could make half the members of the interdimensional chat group turn pale at the sight of it.
"Let me see your true form!"
He snorted coldly, picked up the card, and arrogantly examined the skill.
Causality Law: Thousand Years of Death
Maximum targets: One person
Maximum attack range: 400 (m)
A technique of "causality" that reversed the order of events.
The instant it was unleashed, the "result" of "the opponent being hit by Thousand Years of Death" would be created first, while the "cause" of "the kunai hit because the butt was pierced" would occur afterward. Without considerable luck or magic resistance, it was almost impossible to evade.
Skill activation requirement: Hold a kunai
Method of acquisition: Tear open the card
Note: A kunai made from demon-breaking materials could greatly weaken magic resistance's suppression of this combat technique. If facing someone with great luck, try repeatedly using the combat technique.
If you wanted to enhance its effect, you could also coat the kunai with Capsaicin Extract.
Russell's hand trembled, and he immediately threw the card onto the floor.
?!!!
What the hell was this?!!!
The Establishment of the Mine
Russell had always believed that the Originium Arts he possessed were already among the most insidious things in the world.
But after seeing this skill, he had no choice but to admit it.
When it came to insidiousness, the Prompt Device was still superior.
Guaranteed Hit.
It could be unleashed continuously.
It could be enchanted.
It targeted the enemy's butt and launched an unending barrage of piercing attacks.
That was the skill sealed within the card.
How much physical damage this skill could inflict in one use was no longer important.
Because of the properties this thing possessed, even a wicked demon would kneel down and hold mass upon seeing it!!
Russell took a deep breath and tore open the Skill Card.
Very quickly, the method for activating this skill appeared in his mind.
"...Naruto...lend me a kunai."
The young man waved at the sunny and cheerful boy beside him, signaling for a casting tool.
This skill needed to be used with a kunai.
It was not that it could not be used barehanded. The main issue was that if it was, his fingers would be useless afterward.
But then again...
What exactly counted as a kunai?
Russell pondered.
If he carved the words "kunai" onto an AK-47 Assault Rifle, would that count as a kunai?
Hearing Russell's words, the fox-like boy, who was usually always cheerful and never complained even when doing hard labor, even foolishly smiling through it, suddenly took two steps back. His expression was as terrified as if he had just left the beginner village and found the Otsutsuki clan blocking the gate.
No, that was not right. Even when Naruto was attacked by the Otsutsuki in the future, he had never looked this terrified.
This poor bastard had really been hit by Thousand Years of Death before.
Russell's expression became somewhat subtle.
"Cough, cough. Power is righteous when used for righteousness, and evil when used for evil."
Russell coughed, indicating that he was an upright person who would use his ability for the right path.
But perhaps it was an illusion—everyone around him looked even more terrified.
"No, do you all seriously not believe I can put this power to good use?"
Russell's eyes widened as he looked at his group members, grief written all over his face.
"But Boss, you just took advantage of the difference in world trade to coerce a wandering crown prince into pledging loyalty to you."
"No matter how you look at it, you seem more like a growing boss than a hero."
Huihui muttered, receiving unanimous approval from the other group members.
"...Brother Russell's performance just now felt scarier than Hokage-sama."
"He really does have the air of some of the schemers on land... Perhaps nobles truly have trickery and conspiracies flowing through their blood."
"...Mr. Russell might really be someone destined to do great things."
Russell opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing. He only felt that a thick barrier had already appeared between him and the other group members.
Damn it!!
He had only wanted to get a lottery card!!
"...All right, enough of that."
Russell immediately changed the subject.
He felt that his reputation might be in a somewhat delicate state now.
"Now that the troublesome Reunion Movement has left, it is time for me to answer what you are more concerned about—the future."
Those words made every group member except Huihui hold their breath.
The fundamental reason they had all come to Ursus so uniformly was that Russell possessed an ability similar to future sight.
He could tell them about futures they needed to avoid.
Only someone as messed up in the head as Huihui would choose to ask for a job instead.
"How is Sasuke...doing right now?"
Naruto Uzumaki was the fastest to ask.
This guy had become seriously rare, his expression uneasy.
"Sasuke... If it has not been long since he defected, then he should still be training under Orochimaru, the man who wants to take over an Uchiha body."
The Uchiha were a famous clan of Red Eyes.
Their Mangekyo were powerful and stylish, and Orochimaru had coveted those eyes for a long time.
Naruto Uzumaki could not sit still.
He felt that he had to leave immediately and snatch Sasuke back from Orochimaru.
"But you do not need to worry, because your story is actually a fairly standard hot-blooded anime. Sasuke successfully killed Orochimaru in return, then killed Danzo, the great villain who had ordered Itachi to slaughter his clan, completing his revenge. In the end, he joined the Shinobi Allied Forces to protect everyone in the world and fought alongside you against Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, the ancestor of Chakra."
Russell recalled the plot of Hokage, shrugged, and pulled back Naruto, who clearly wanted to return and find Sasuke.
Those words made Naruto instantly start grinning foolishly.
Sasuke had come back.
That was good... that was good.
And fighting Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, the ancestor of Chakra, sounded incredibly awesome too!!
He would definitely become someone famous, perhaps even the Hokage!!
At the thought that he might become Hokage, Naruto kept grinning foolishly as though he were drunk.
Before you continue