Chapter 11: A King's Empty Vault
The system remained silent, a vast, unfeeling void.
"I don't care. I demand compensation for this," Shinra insisted, though he realized with a surge of frustration that he had absolutely no leverage over the silent, omnipotent program. "This was your error. You have to make it right!"
After a year of observation, he knew his system was rigid, devoid of intelligence or emotion. Pleading or reasoning was useless. The only approach was to state the facts of its failure plainly.
[Host's claim is valid. Issuing compensation: One Reward Package, 100,000 Exchange Points, One Lottery Draw.]
Shinra nodded, the tension leaving his shoulders. It was pointless to push for more. This was a generous settlement, and he was wise enough to know when to be satisfied. If the system had given nothing, he would have been powerless.
"Let's draw again."
The wheel reappeared, its prizes unchanged. The pointer spun, a blur of potential, before slowing to a definitive stop. This time, there was no malfunction. It landed squarely on Gate of Babylon.
A heavy, ornate golden key materialized in his hand. Curious, he willed the "gate" open. A shimmering, golden portal briefly flared to life, radiating a majestic light that promised untold riches. But when Shinra peered inside, he found only an infinite, empty expanse.
"Useless," he muttered, closing the portal. "It's just an empty storage room." And with the system's backpack function, he didn't even need it for that. "I'll keep it. Maybe it'll have a use someday."
He stored the key and moved on to the compensation lottery draw. The wheel refreshed, now displaying six new prizes:
Pupil Art: Tsukuyomi
Divine Weapon: Senbonzakura (Fate Series)
Swordsmanship: Sword Mastery
Kinjutsu: Impure World Reincarnation
Pupil Art: Limbo: Border Jail
Zanpakutō: Senbonzakura (Bleach)
His mood lifted. Even the "worst" prize, the general Sword Mastery, would be immensely useful. He initiated the draw.
The pointer whirled and then halted, landing on Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack.
A stream of knowledge flooded his mind—the intricate chakra control and release method for the technique. He had "learned" it, but actually performing it was another matter entirely. The chakra cost was astronomical, and it was a kinjutsu of the highest order, far beyond his current means.
Still, he thought, the sheer destructive power is staggering. I wonder if Might Guy's Eight Gates, at their peak, could even compare.
Exiting the lottery space, he turned his attention to the Compensation Package. Remembering the last one, his hopes were high. This time, he was smarter; he closed his eyes before opening it, avoiding the blinding golden flash.
When he opened them, three items sat in his inventory: a vial of injectable serum, the knowledge of Armament Haki, and a single, non-descript box of canned beef.
Ignoring the canned beef and the now-familiar Armament Haki, he focused on the serum.
[Super-Soldier Serum (System Modified): Increases all physical attributes tenfold. No side effects.]
The description was brief, and Shinra immediately recognized it. Captain America's serum? A flicker of disappointment went through him. Powerful, yes, but it fell short of the world-breaking potential he had glimpsed with the Hōgyoku.
[Host, be advised: This system-modified serum provides a tenfold multiplier to the user's base physical stats, regardless of power level, up to the threshold of the Six Paths tier.]
Shinra's eyes widened. That changes everything. That wasn't just powerful; it was monstrous. It meant that at the peak of Kage-level strength, he could, through physical prowess alone, trade blows with entities like Madara. He carefully stored the serum away. He would not use it now. Its value would be incalculable once his base physical stats were already monstrous.
Next, he visited the system mall, spending his new wealth of 100,000 points. He purchased the Shadow Clone Technique (30,000 points) and the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique (50,000 points). The remaining 20,000 points felt insignificant.
"This mall is practically a decoration," he complained. "The prices are absurd for the tiny drip-feed of points we get."
With his new techniques and Armament Haki knowledge integrated, he withdrew from the system space and surrendered to a deep, dreamless sleep.
The sun was high in the sky, its warm rays falling across Hyuga Shinra's face, when he finally stirred. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up. It was past nine o'clock.
"This is why you can't get complacent," he chided himself. "One day of relaxation and you turn lazy." During his intense training periods, he was always up before dawn.
He moved quickly, washing up and forgoing cooking. He retrieved the canned beef from the system package and devoured five cans in succession, the rich protein fueling his body. After changing into his training clothes and strapping on his custom-made lead weights, he grabbed a pouch of kunai and shuriken and headed out.
The bright sunlight made him squint, a faint, unwelcome laziness clinging to him.
"Sometimes, I really wish I could just rest," he sighed to the empty air.
"Well, well. Look who finally decided to wake up, Hyuga Shinra. A real ninja wouldn't be so lazy!"
In the courtyard, Hyuga Teppanyi and a group of other Hyuga children, who had been playing a mock game of ninja, spotted him. Teppanyi broke from the group and trotted over.
"Hey, where do you always go? I wanted to find you to play, but you're never around!" Teppanyi complained.
One of the other boys piped up, "We're not supposed to play with him! My mom said he's trash!"
Teppanyi looked caught, his eyes darting between his friends and Shinra. After an awkward moment, he shuffled back to the group, choosing conformity over his self-proclaimed "little brother."
Shinra merely smiled. Their childish opinions were irrelevant. His mind was on the calendar. It was now Konoha Year 26. The Second Great Shinobi War would erupt in Konoha Year 32. He had six years.
These kids will be fresh graduates then, he thought. If the war is brutal, they might be sent to the front lines. Survival will be a question mark for them.
His own path was clear. He needed to grow stronger, fast. In the meat grinder of a world war, the strength of an elite Jonin was only enough for self-preservation. Only a Kage-level shinobi could truly influence the tide of battle.
His goal was to break through to that echelon before the war began. A ten-year-old Kage. It sounded absurd, but for Hyuga Shinra, with his Sage Body and system-enhanced talents, it was not an impossible dream. Uchiha Itachi had been a prodigy of similar scale. Shinra was confident he could match, and even surpass, that legend.