Everyone once again set out on the journey toward the royal capital.
Ryosuke rode on horseback, holding in his hand Hiruko's memory disc.
He hadn't expected Hiruko to be Jiraiya and Tsunade's friend, and even more unexpected, this unlucky Akatsuki member actually mastered a completely unreasonable fusion ninjutsu, "Chimera Technique."
Don't be fooled into thinking it looked easy for Ryosuke to deal with Hiruko, but his Dark Release could absorb chakra and ninjutsu, making him a natural counter to shinobi.
On the contrary, samurai or Ripple warriors like Ryosuke were easier for Hiruko to handle.
"…Joining Akatsuki, trying to use its members as pawns against me, fishing in troubled waters, and seizing my body."
Ryosuke turned back to glance at Hiruko lying in the carriage.
Whether Hiruko could fight or not, Ryosuke couldn't say.
But if he really had the ability to toy with one after another of Akatsuki's cunning members in the palm of his hand, then he wouldn't have been chased out of Konoha by the Third Old Man's "keen perception."
Hiruko wanted to "eat" Ryosuke, so naturally Ryosuke wouldn't be polite with him either.
Ryosuke originally planned to extract, kill, and bury the body, but after checking his memories, he found that Hiruko had already fused the kekkei genkai of four people, and just one more would achieve "immortality."
Ryosuke wanted to help Hiruko a little.
After the negotiations with the Wind Country's Daimyo were over, he would send Hiruko back to the research institute, help him fuse the fifth kekkei genkai, and see what difference there was between his immortality and Hidan's undying.
Perhaps in some time…
"Mass-produced: Combat-type, Hiruko."
"Mass-produced: Reconnaissance-type, Hidan."
Ryosuke shook his head. The details would have to be left for the institute's experts to judge.
He opened the system interface after a long time.
Last time, he wiped out Shinnō and the Sky Ninja Armt and obtained 3400 fragments.
With the Awakening Ideology spreading, during this period he had gathered 780 fragments from scattered income.
This time, killing Deidara, defeating Obito, and capturing Hiruko, in total gave 3100 soul fragments. A bit less than Ryosuke had estimated.
The main shortage lay with Deidara. From start to finish, Ryosuke never fought Deidara head-on. In the end, Deidara self-destructed, so Ryosuke only received 900 soul fragments.
Though victory was achieved in the end, this battle still served as a warning to Ryosuke.
"Can't underestimate the heroes of the world." Ryosuke sighed softly.
Illusions, clay bombs, taken separately, Ryosuke could easily handle them with his methods.
But with the combination of two abilities, plus their knowledge of all his information, they were able to suppress him in turn.
"If not for the ruined Dragon Vein being here today, I might have had to retreat with everyone first."
Retreat meant not finding a solution.
It meant Ryosuke turning from the active side to the passive.
Now with the Awakening Ideology spreading across the ninja world, workers everywhere under harsh labor pressure were thinking about a different future. This was an extremely difficult road, and Ryosuke's existence was their backbone.
If Ryosuke were to lose, to flee, that backbone would be shaken.
Looking at the system interface's 7280 soul fragments, Ryosuke originally wanted to save them, wait for the next Dimension Ascension Star Core, and use them to draw a six-star stand. But…
He lowered his head and looked at Stone Transformation on both legs and his left arm.
This kind of petrification couldn't be solved by cutting off the limbs and regenerating; he could only gradually dissolve it using Ripple energy.
During this time, his combat ability would decrease.
Thinking of the upcoming Warsaw City battle, Ryosuke decided it was better to draw some new stands to expand his arsenal.
He took a deep breath.
"More than 7000 fragments, 700 draws, today's goal is to pull a stand that can serve as a trump card."
"Then… let's begin."
Clatter! Clatter!
The sound of countless coins falling rang in his ears.
Ten draws… twenty draws… thirty draws…
One hundred forty draws, still only fragment experience packs.
Ryosuke licked his dry lips. The word "damn" reached his mouth, but he held it back.
One hundred fifty draws.
His vision dimmed, stars fell from the sky.
'It came!'
Ryosuke held his breath, quietly listening.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
It was four-star.
Ryosuke's heart sank halfway down. He quickly comforted himself, right now he was strong enough in every aspect, he didn't necessarily have to chase after an all-around five- or six-star stand. If this four-star stand's ability was suitable, it could still help greatly.
Starlight condensed into a half-meter-tall, earth-yellow, big-headed, short-bodied, ugly little man.
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[Stand name: Cheap Trick]
[Four-star]
[Stand User: Masazo Kinoto]
[Ability: The stand attaches to the back of its host. The host must hide their back. Once it is observed by others, a fatal piercing attack will trigger through the back, then transfer to the new host who saw it.]
[Current level: Level 1]
[Note, "Hey friend~ Free stand, want it or not?"]
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Ryosuke really wanted to drag Obito over and beat him up again to vent the hatred in his heart.
One hundred fifty draws, and this piece of trash came out?
'Give me back my blood and sweat!'
Ryosuke was so angry his Sharingan nearly activated.
He took a deep breath, calmed himself, and was about to throw in more soul fragments for another draw when suddenly he froze.
'No… wait?'
Ryosuke stared at Cheap Trick's description.
'A fatal piercing attack through the back… can this attack be fatal to me?'
With Ryosuke's current recovery, even if his heart, liver, spleen, and lungs were pierced, he wouldn't die. Given some time, he would naturally recover.
'Doesn't that mean, I can summon Cheap Trick, deliberately let the enemy see my back…'
'…and then Cheap Trick jumps over, attaching to the enemy's back?'
'I won't die from a pierced heart, but others won't be so lucky.'
'Even if the enemy has recovery methods or a strong body, most likely they won't recover as fast as I do. Calculated like this… I've directly gained a first-strike advantage!'
Ryosuke thought it through.
Later, in battle with an enemy, first use Cheap Trick. When the enemy gets their heart pierced, if they're still alive, follow up with a time stop headshot, heart strike.
Even thinking from another angle, after Cheap Trick switches hosts, the opponent effectively becomes its stand user. Cheap Trick becomes their stand, a part of them.
'Does that mean its attack…'
'…can ignore intangibility?'
After all, intangibility only applied outwardly. For Obito, he could still touch his own body.
Since Obito "possessed" Cheap Trick, naturally he could also touch it.
Pulling such a suitable stand at the start, Ryosuke felt "good luck" had come.
He continued drawing.
One hundred sixty… two hundred… two hundred thirty…
His vision darkened again.
After one hundred fifty draws gave a four-star stand, now it should be a five-star stand. Though he had experienced it many times, at this moment he still instinctively clenched his fists, waiting quietly.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
Five crisp sounds, five shining stars appeared.
When Ryosuke saw the new stand's form, his smile gradually faded, turning into…
Seriousness.
Appearing before him was a humanoid stand, whole body green, crimson pupils, burly physique.
"It's actually this one."
Ryosuke's eyes grew complicated.
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[Stand name: Green Day]
[Five-star]
[Stand User: Cioccolata]
[Ability: Can release mold. Any living creature within the range of this ability, as long as they move from a higher position to somewhere lower than their body, will be attacked by the mold, causing bodily destruction.]
[The mold spreads at high speed, but has no effect on corpses.]
[Current level: Level 1.]
[Note: "Yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi!"]
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