Senshi summohe sickly, weakehree-Tails, and Pain handed over the check he had already prepared. With that check, Senshi could withdraw 10 million ryō at the money exge!

  [ission plete!]

  [Employer: Akatsuk

  [Objective: Capture a Tailed Beast]

  [Reward: 10 million ryō]

  [Mission Rank: S-rank]

  [Mission Reward: 10,000 Employment Points]

  Catg a Tailed Beast yields a huge bounty, as well as a rge number of Employment Points—an windfall!

  Nagato couldn’t help marveling once again at Senshi’s abilities. Acc to his pn, capturing Tailed Beasts was supposed to be a long-term project, requiriiculous preparation. But to his plete surprise, Senshi had already brought in a Tailed Beast so quickly! Not only that, but Senshi’s Kage-level bat power and astonishing intelligence skills had left Nagato even more amazed: it was as if Uzumaki Senshi alone had better ihaire Akatsuki.

  After p for a moment, Nagato used the Deva Path of Pain to tialking to Senshi:

  “Do you happen to know the whereabouts of any other Tailed Beasts? Ideally, ohat’s also alone, like the Three-Tails?”

  Senshi heard this and appeared thoughtful.

  “Aailed Beast that’s on its own...? Hmm... I don’t think so. Wait a sed…”

  After thinking a bit longer, Senshi’s eyes suddenly lit up.

  “If my information is correct, Takigakure might have one as well.”

  Just as he was about to expin more, a swirling vortex-like ripple appeared. An instahe masked man wearing the tiger-stripe mask stepped out using his space-time ninjutsu.

  At this point in the Akatsuki—aside from Senshi—nobody seemed to know the masked man’s true identity. Even Nagato still believed the man in the mask was Uchiha Madara. But of course, Senshi knew perfectly well who was behind that mask: Uchiha Obito. If Obito had been less pessimistic back then, maybe he could have awakened double Kamui and avoided his tragedy. Unfortunately, there was no “if” in life; and one of Obito’s Sharingan eyes was still with Kakashi, so the idea of dual Kamui and using Susanoo was out of the question.

  When Pain saw “Uchiha Madara” appear, he said to Senshi:

  “You may leave now. We’ll discuss this ter.”

  Hearing that, Senshi couldn’t help silently griping in his head:

  Nagato’s body is already crippled, and Obito is aiming to cripple his mind as well. How wicked!

  Pain and Tobi both disappeared in the swirl of the vortex.

  “You’ve already captured a Tailed Beast?”

  Obito’s voice carried a note of surprise and doubt. In his mind, the Tailed Beast pn wasn’t supposed to start for awo or three years.

  Pain replied truthfully:

  “The new recruit to the anization, Uzumaki Senshi, is extremely capable. Not only does he have Kage-level strength, but he also seems to have an unbelievable intelligework.”

  Obito asked, a bit taken aback:

  “An unbelievable intelligework?”

  Pain nodded slightly.

  “Yes. Even before joining us, he knew everything about the Akatsuki. He also knows the secrets of the major shinobi vilges as if they were sed nature. For example, he was the one who told us about the wild Three-Tails residing in a ke near Kirigakure. And he basically captured the Three-Tails on his own.”

  Hearing all of this, Obito—hidden behind his mask—couldn’t help gaping in shock. But of course, with his face covered, Pain couldn’t see his expression.

  Meanwhile, Senshi had already taken Karin back to his residence. He wasn’t in a hurry to take on more missions; he inteo do some serious lottery pulls (draws) first. He had accumuted 130,912 Employment Points, so surely he could get something goht?

  Senshi opehe system interface:

  “Let’s start with ten ten-pulls!”

  [10,000 Employment Points deducted! Remaining points: 120,912]

  [Drawing...]

  [gratutions, you have obtained…]

  [-Explosion Tag Scroll * 1]

  “Sigh… A ‘Konan Capture Kit?’”

  [Ichiraku Ramen * 10]

  “A ‘Naruto Capture Kit?’”

  [Three-Color Dango * 20]

  “Whoa there! So this time I’ve got an ‘Uchiha Itachi Capture Kit!’”

  (Itachi was known to like sweets, especially three-color dango, though not many people khat. Teically speaking, his real “bait” is his “foolish little brother,” but oh well.)

  Senshi saw that he’d gotten a big pile of food, ninja tools, some everyday items, and a few negligible ninja teiques—nothing really good.

  Even so, he wasn’t upset. From all his time adventuring in the shinobi world, he knew you have to “use up your bad luck so that good luck follow.” That means he robably building up good fortune for a better pull ime.

  “Another pull!”

  [10,000 Employment Points deducted! Remaining points: 110,912]

  [Drawing...]

  [gratutions, you have obtained…]

  [World Affinity +1]

  “Oh! The first one’s already big!”

  [Current World Affinity (Shinobi World): SS-Rank]

  [New Ability Unlocked: Sage Body]

  At that moment, Senshi felt an incredible sensation throughout his body. Each of his cells began transf and upgrading. Over time, his body was evolving into the “Sage Body.” All at once, he sensed his perception of both chakra and natural energy being sharper and more sensitive. A massively heightened life force coursed through his limbs. Overjoyed, Senshi realized his ninjutsu had grown stronger, his Wood-Style more potent, and his total chakra per. He was a bit taken aback at how quickly things were progressing: first Wood Release, then Sage Mode, and now straight to the Sage Body? He really was heading in the same dire as Senju Hashirama.

  When Senshi came to his senses, he had already fihat draw. He couldn’t be bothered cheg the rest of the items; he’d just look at them all once he was done.

  “Let’s keep going!”

  Just as he was about to do another draw, the lottery s showed a message:

  [You have reached 1,000 uses of the basic draw, which meets the ditions frading the prize pool. Upgrade now?]

  So it could be upgraded?

  Senshi stroked his . Indeed, most of the items from the basic draw weren’t very useful to him anymore. Might as well upgrade.

  [100,000 Employment Points will be deducted to upgrade. Remaining points after that: 10,912.]

  [Upgrade in progress… Time remaining: 72 hours.]

  “How much?! A huhousand points?! That’s a huen-pulls’ worth! Gone in one shot?!”

  Senshi nearly choked. He pressed a hand to his chest, taking a moment to calm himself.

  “All right, o be angry… I still have two Super Draw attempts I use.”

  [Super Draw in progress…]

  [gratutions! You have pulled an SSS-rank reward: a pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan!]

  “Tch! This is ridiculous—what a waste! If I’d gotten these earlier, I might’ve beeed. But for me, at this poiernal Mangekyo is somewhat underwhelming as an SSS reward. Even Susanoo might be weaker than my current body. Plus, there’s no telling what Mangekyo ability it es with…”

  In the shinobi world, a big draw to the Mangekyo Sharingan is the unique ability that es with it. But the gap in strength among those abilities be huge: for instance, Amaterasu has the hype but famously zero kills. Meanwhile, Kamui is unbelievably overpowered—teleportation, intangibility. One-eyed Obito spent half the series looking invincible. Senshi shook his head, unimpressed with most Eternal Mangekyo powers:

  “All right, system, let’s keep going! Gimme something good!”

  [Super Draw in progress…]

  [gratutions! You have pulled an SSSS-rank reward: Karma Seal (Kāma) (Pure Version)!]

  “Whoa! Is that what I think it is? Straight-up Otsutsuki powers? A fancy tattoo? Is that in the same prize pool as the Eternal Mangekyo?”

  Senshi immediately checked his panel:

  [Name: Karma (Pure Version)]

  [Rank: SSSS]

  [Description: A special power of the Otsutsuki , granting near-immortality. As this power develops, the user’s body is slowly transformed into that of an Otsutsuki. Current Development Level: D]

  [Unlocked Abilities:]

  1) Parasitic Transference & Reination: press one’s self as data within the Karma and impnt it into another’s body. O fully unseals, resurrect through them.

  2) Absorption: pletely absorb all jutsu formed by chakra, verting it into stored chakra for your own use.

  3) Regeion: Instantly heal injuries without activating any special teique, letting the body heal on its own.

  4) Space-Time Portal: Summon a bck-red circur gateway like a miniature bck hole, allowing free travel between spaces.

  “Wow, so now I’m heading straight into Six Paths territory?”

  Senshi used it without hesitation. A diamond-shaped mark appeared in the ter of his palm. Right then, Karin—who was following him—moved closer:

  “Huh? When did you get a tattoo, Senshi?”

  “...???”

  Senshi suddenly remembered he still had the pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan in the system iory. In this world, having absolutely unrivaled power was always a priority, so every boost tth was crucial. But at this point, he no longer he Mangekyo. Meanwhile, Karin retty much just baggage on missions. Perhaps he could let her have the eyes so she’d be able to protect herself.

  “Karin, I have something good for you.”

  Hearing that, Karin’s face lit up with curiosity. She couldn’t help w what Senshi inteo give her.

  “Close your eyes,” Senshi said.

  Karin obediently shut them, cheeks flushed, her heart pounding as she imagined what Senshi might present. Once her eyes were shut, Senshi tapped her forehead with two fingers, just like how Itachi had oransferred his ocur powers. Then he selected the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan pair in the system.

  [Usiernal Mangekyo Sharingan…]

  Karin’s body trembled slightly. She felt two distinct flows of chakra entering her eyes, triggering some impossible evolution. In that instant, her power seemed to multiply expoially.

  “What is this? It feels like I have more chakra now, and my eyes…”

  Senshi smirked.

  “Heh, it’s a real treasure—Eternal Mangekyo of the Uchiha .”

  Karin’s eyes went round. After her travels with Senshi and Kakuzu these past few months, she’d seen enough to know just how precious this gift was in the shinobi world. Tears welled up in Karin’s eyes. Besides her mother, Senshi was the only one who had ever truly cared for her and looked after her. She had no idea how she could repay him for everything he’d done. Even though she sometimes threw little fits, she always tried her best to help Senshi in whatever small ways she could. But in her mind, she was still mostly useless—especially in the face of su overwhelming gift. She felt a deep sense of inadequacy.

  “Why are y? Does it hurt somewhere?”

  To his eyes, she didn’t look physically hurt—just emotional. Karin didn’t answer; she simply lunged into his arms, sobbing:

  “Senshi, I don’t know how to bee truly useful to you… Waaaah…”

  Tears rolled down her cheeks like beads on a broken string. Senshi realized what was going on aly patted Karin’s head to reassure her:

  “Don’t worry. I’ll help you get aced to these Sharingan soon, see what abilities they grant you, and help you get strohen you assist me with all kinds of issions.”

  Karin wiped her tears and looked up at him resolutely.

  “Senshi, it seems a lot has ged in Amegakure tely—how about we go check things out? I’ll treat you to something!”

  He thought briefly, then nodded.

  “Sure. We’ve been stantly on the road doing missions, so we haven’t really taken a look around the vilge in a while. Let’s go.”

  He took Karin’s hand and headed to Kakuzu’s room.

  Knock, knock, knock!

  When Kakuzu heard the knocks, the ers of his mouth curled into a faint, fident smirk.

  Heh heh. Senshi, this time you’re the one off-guard. As soon as I got back, I immediately rested. Now you’re here knog, so I’m fully recovered and ready for another multi-day mission grind. I bet you haven’t rested yet, so you’re definitely going to lose this time!

  The door creaked open before Senshi could barge in, and Kakuzu spoke in an ione:

  “Missioails?”

  He was sure that if Senshi came looking for him, it must be for a mission, so he cut straight to the point.

  Senshi sighed, shaking his head as if disappointed:

  “Kakuzu, don’t you know we have to bance work a properly? Why are you always thinking about missions? That’s not good. You might have five hearts, but Karin and I ’t keep up with that pace.”

  Kakuzu: “???”

  All five of his hearts trembled at that remark. If he could beat Senshi in a fight, he might have already punched him. Talk about bme-shifting! It was obviously Senshi who was the tireless workaholic, running tinuous missions back-to-back without rest. Kakuzu took a deep breath and asked:

  “If it’s not about a mission, then what do you want?”

  Senshi shrugged.

  “We’re going out for a walk. Karin’s treating. Wanna e?”

  Kakuzu suddenly felt all his enthusiasm vanish, looking like he’d lost the will to live.

  “You two go. I’m tired…”

  Senshi blinked.

  “But didn’t you just finish resting?”

  “Scram!” Kakuzu snapped.

  Bleam