However, the system splashed cold water on him, pulling him back from his fantasies.
"Sorry, host."
"First, your balance is insufficient to redeem."
"Second, your current authority is insufficient to redeem high-level items."
Mo Yu calmed down.
"Right, it's called the 'Krypton System,' so of course, I need to spend money. No money, no way to redeem anything."
Mo Yu asked, "System, what's my current balance?"
"Zero."
"…"
What an awkward number.
"System, how do I recharge?"
"You can use real-world currency to recharge or exchange valuable items."
Mo Yu didn't have any money, but valuable items…
He glanced at the wooden bed beneath him.
"System, how much can I exchange for this bed?"
"Sorry, you do not have ownership of this bed, so it cannot be redeemed."
Well, that makes sense. If he could redeem anything at will, he'd be pressing his hand on the ground, and the whole planet would be his.
"Then, what does the second condition mean, 'insufficient authority'?"
"Only after you become a Genin can you unlock the lowest level of authority and redeem some items. The stronger your power, the higher your authority, and the more advanced items you can redeem."
Mo Yu felt a little regretful after hearing this.
"Looks like I can only follow the usual path and become a Genin first. Otherwise, everything's just talk."
But he immediately cheered up, imagining himself becoming a Genin, then redeeming all kinds of powerful jutsu and bloodline limits from the system, becoming a terror in the ninja world, and gaining fame.
The system's reminder pulled him back again:
"Friendly reminder, host, you only need to recharge 10 gold coins to become a Genin."
Mo Yu froze for a moment, then asked, "10 gold coins? That's not much, right? How much does 10 gold coins cost in real-world currency?"
The system answered, "1000 silver taels = 1 gold coin."
"…"
Mo Yu barely managed to suppress the curse that was about to slip out. He nearly injured himself holding it back.
If 1000 silver taels equals 1 gold coin, then 10 gold coins would cost 10,000 taels!
Although Mo Yu had just arrived in this world, he understood the value of money here.
10,000 taels is a significant amount, even for a normal family. As an orphan, where was he going to get that?
While Mo Yu was mentally cursing the system for being a shady merchant, a soft voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Um, hello..."
Mo Yu temporarily set aside the system matter, looked up, and saw a cute girl with a single ponytail standing in front of him.
She had the same dazed look from earlier in the day, her eyes wandering as if she didn't care about anything.
"Is something the matter?" Mo Yu asked.
The girl finally focused her gaze on him and sweetly said, "We're going to the ninja school tomorrow… So, I guess we're classmates... I wanted to—"
She trailed off, getting a little shy at the end.
Mo Yu immediately understood and smiled.
"I'm Mo Yu. What's your name?"
The girl visibly relaxed and looked at him gratefully. She bowed and said, "My name is Mizuki Tamako. You can just call me Tamako. Please take care of me."
Mo Yu chuckled. "No need to be so formal. We'll all be classmates."
Mizuki Tamako nodded happily.
"Mm-hmm!"
Mo Yu gave a pat on the shoulder to his friend beside him.
"This is my friend, Ichirou."
Mizuki Tamako bowed again.
"Hello, Ichiraku."
Ichiraku just scratched his head and smiled foolishly, making Mo Yu roll his eyes. What a fool.
"By the way, Tamako, why didn't you go talk to him?"
Mo Yu gestured with his chin towards a corner.
There, a solitary figure stood, completely apart from the others.
The boy was like a devout worshiper, carefully and solemnly polishing a short white blade, as if performing some sacred ritual.
For a moment, the three of them stared, mesmerized.
When they snapped out of it, Tamako whispered, "I'm afraid he won't talk to me. That would be too awkward."
Mo Yu chuckled inwardly. This girl sure didn't beat around the bush and said things so directly.
"Come on, we're all classmates now. We'll meet sooner or later."
The three of them walked toward the boy.
The silver-haired boy, however, continued polishing his blade, oblivious to their approach.
Tamako glanced at Mo Yu, as if saying, See, he won't even acknowledge us.
Mo Yu gave Tamako a reassuring look.
He didn't believe that he could handle a kid. He cleared his throat and said,
"Hello, my name is Mo Yu, this is Mizuki Tamako, and Ichiraku. We'll be classmates from now on. Let's get to know each other?"
With that, he extended his hand.
The silver-haired boy hesitated for a second but seemed to ignore him and continued polishing his blade.
Mo Yu kept his expression calm and retracted his hand, though a hint of awkwardness crept up inside.
But it was fine. He didn't need to be upset with a kid.
If the boy didn't want to meet him, he couldn't force him.
Mo Yu shrugged at Tamako helplessly. I've tried.
"Let's go."
Just as he was about to turn, a very quiet voice came from behind.
"I… I'm called…"
The voice was so soft that Mo Yu couldn't make it out.
Mo Yu turned back, looking at the silver-haired boy, still diligently polishing his short blade. He wondered if he had heard it wrong.
Mo Yu looked at Tamako, who shook her head.
"It wasn't me," she said.
Mo Yu turned to Ichirou, who also shook his head.
Mo Yu turned back to the silver-haired boy and asked, "Did you just say something?"
The silver-haired boy gave the slightest nod, then whispered,
"My name is..."
Mo Yu still couldn't hear clearly. His voice was too soft.
Mo Yu, Tamako, and Ichirou leaned forward, straining to hear.
"Can you speak a little louder?"
To their surprise, under their intense gaze, the silver-haired boy's face turned red. After a long pause, he stammered,
"I… I'm called, I'm called Hatake Satsuki..."
Although his voice was still small, it was finally loud enough to be heard.
Mo Yu stared at the silver-haired boy, trying not to laugh.
This guy… he was probably so introverted that he didn't know how to chat with others, so he ended up acting cold and aloof without realizing it. Looking at him blushing and speaking in a voice barely louder than a mosquito, it was hard to link that to his cold appearance.
But to avoid embarrassing him, Mo Yu held back his laugh.
Unexpectedly, Tamako, who was always a bit off, directly said,
"Why do you speak so softly? Are you shy?"
The silver-haired boy's face turned even redder, and he stopped polishing his precious short blade, arguing,
"Y-you shouldn't say that! It's just that I've only spoken to my dad, so I'm not used to talking to others. It's not because I'm shy!"
But the way he avoided eye contact completely undermined his words.
Ichiraku, ever the loud one, slapped the boy on the shoulder and said, "Hey, what's there to be shy about? Doesn't look like a man at all."
The silver-haired boy shot Ichiraku a glare, his face turning even redder.
Mo Yu, fearing the boy would get upset, quickly intervened,
"Alright, everyone, calm down. From now on, we're all friends."
The silver-haired boy huffed, finally returning to his impassive expression.
Mo Yu smiled and said,
"Let's have a proper introduction. I'm Mo Yu."
"I'm Mizuki Tamako."
"I'm Ichiraku. Sorry about earlier. Next time, I'll treat you to some ramen I make myself."
Ichiraku scratched his head and grinned sheepishly.
The silver-haired boy's anger cooled a lot, and his voice was now much louder than before as he said,
"I'm Hatake Satsuki."
Mo Yu nodded with a smile.
Wait a minute… Hatake Satsuki?
That name…
Mo Yu suddenly realized who the silver-haired boy in front of him was.
Hatake Satsuki might not be a name everyone recognizes, but his future alias is well-known.
Konoha's White Fang!
"My goodness, I can't believe I ran into Kakashi's dad when he was younger. In the original story, Konoha's White Fang had a fearsome reputation. He could make babies stop crying and send enemies running in terror. I can't be meeting a fake White Fang, right?"