"It's finally over," Aoi Ren thought to himself.
When Ren and his team arrived at the designated meeting point, Orochimaru was already waiting for them.
"Well done," Orochimaru said. "The women will be taken in by the people of Moxixi Village. Let's return to Konoha."
"Yes, sir!"
"Ren-kun, you really are a promising little ninja. I can hardly... hehehehe..."
In the pouring rain, Orochimaru's voice sounded soft and chilling.
...
After submitting their mission report, Orochimaru's squad disbanded to rest.
As for Orochimaru, he disappeared before they even entered the village, no one knowing where he'd gone.
Ren returned home, washed up quickly, and collapsed into bed.
Even with the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit and Hyorinmaru, his body was still ordinary. After so much fighting, the mental exhaustion was unavoidable.
"Ugh."
Ren finally woke up after sleeping most of the day.
"Ah, I feel alive again. That full day of rushing and intense combat was really draining."
"How did the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and the Warring Asura, Madara Uchiha, manage to fight for days at a time?"
"No wonder Madara always said, 'Do you really think you're worthy of dancing with me?' In his eyes, everyone but Hashirama must have been trash."
Ren stretched lazily.
"If I ever meet Madara, I'll tell him, 'I don't just want to dance, I want to rave!'"
"System, come out. I still have a God-Tier Lottery Point, right?"
[Correct. Host currently has one God-Tier Lottery Point.]
"System, don't you have any other abilities? All you ever do is spin that wheel."
[Of course. The system has built-in storage space, but it can only store items won from the lottery.]
"Seriously? Why didn't you say so sooner? I thought you were just a spinning wheel."
[Host, you never asked.]
"..."
"Forget it. I won't argue with a system. Let's draw!"
[Ding... Random reward drawing in progress...]
The mechanical voice sounded again. The six sections of the wheel displayed new prizes:
S-Rank Skill: Life Return
S-Rank Skill: Eye of Darkness
S-Rank Item: Devil Fruit – Paw-Paw Fruit
S-Rank Item: Senzu Bean x1
S-Rank Skill: Forbidden Technique – Eight Gates
S-Rank Weapon: Lake Toya
"Come on, Lake Toya again? System, are you messing with me?"
[All rewards are random. If your luck is bad, don't blame the system.]
"..."
"Well, aside from that junk wooden sword, the rest look good. As expected of S-Rank prizes."
Life Return was a skill from One Piece, allowing the user to control their body, hair, even internal organs at will, simply by focusing their mind.
Eye of Darkness was the core of the Male Mage in Dungeon Fighter Online, replacing the heart and granting immense magical power. Even if HP dropped to zero, the user would enter a recovery state instead of dying.
"In the ninja world, that's basically unlimited chakra and immortality. I could live however I want with that."
The Paw-Paw Fruit was another Devil Fruit from One Piece. It granted paw pads on the palms that could repel anything, including fatigue, pain, and injuries, as well as fire off air shockwaves at light speed.
The Senzu Bean was from Dragon Ball, a miraculous item that could fully heal any injury as long as the person still had a breath of life left.
And Eight Gates — Might Guy's ultimate technique, powerful enough to nearly end Naruto itself.
Finally, the useless, cursed wooden sword, Lake Toya.
"Alright, start the draw!"
[Ding-dong... Drawing prize...]
[Ding-dong... Congratulations to the host for obtaining S-Rank Item: Senzu Bean x1]
Ren looked at the result and sighed.
A single Senzu Bean. Useful, but just one.
Better than nothing. At least it was another life-saving option.
Ren knew the Third Great Ninja War was drawing near. He had to grow stronger, master the Glint-Glint Fruit's abilities.
Schemes and plots were nothing before true power.
Only by being strong could he control his own destiny.
...
Meanwhile, somewhere on Konoha's border, inside a secret lab
Orochimaru took out a strand of hair and began a simple analysis.
Before long, he stared at the results, eyes gleaming with madness.
"Such powerful life force in these cells? They can even stimulate plant growth. What would happen if I combined them with Wood Release cells?"
"A Light Release bloodline limit? In all these centuries, the ninja world has never seen this before."
"Like the Hydrification Jutsu of the Hozuki clan, but with greater penetration and heat. Far superior in combat."
"But what interests me isn't just the fighting power."
"Ren-kun, you've truly given me a wonderful surprise..."
He continued his experiments.
That hair? A strand he'd quietly saved from Ren.
On the dark walls behind him stood rows of towering vats.
Inside, dozens of human bodies floated — women, men, even children.
...
The days that followed saw Ren training with Kurenai and Yugao, honing his abilities and exploring their potential.
Every Devil Fruit ability was developed slowly. What the system granted him was just what Borsalino had developed.
Ren, with his modern knowledge, could certainly surpass that and create techniques of his own.
As for Orochimaru, always busy with research, he only led Team 4 on a mission about once a month.
At first, they took down bandits and escorted supplies. Later, they started chasing rogue ninja and gathering intel.
Time passed, and with every mission, Ren felt the calm before the storm wouldn't last.
A year and a half slipped by.
...
Hokage's Office, Konoha
A shadow flickered and appeared inside the office.
"Hokage-sama, urgent report!"
[ 250 - 1 Extra Chapter ]