Chapter 3: There's Actually Something This Good?
"Mabui, you're here too? And Omoi, that little brat as well."
Samui turned her head to glance at her companions.
Omoi, dark-skinned and chewing on a toothpick, scowled. "Don't call me a brat. I'm already a full-fledged genin of the Hidden Cloud. And talk about bad luck—what a way to meet."
Mabui, secretary to the Raikage, was known for her analytical mind—just like the Nara clan from Konoha. Though she wasn't known for brute strength, her intelligence stood out.
"I can't detect any chakra. It's probably not genjutsu," she said, frowning. "Most likely some form of space-time ninjutsu. But for it to bypass the Hidden Cloud's barrier squad and pull me out right under the Raikage's nose…"
Such terrifying jutsu—she had never heard of anything like it.
The Hidden Cloud also had access to space-time techniques. The Heavenly Transport Technique could deliver items to any location.
But regular shinobi couldn't withstand the strain that came with teleportation. Only someone with a body as tough as the Raikage could survive that. Yet just now, she'd seen ordinary civilians—people who weren't even shinobi—get transported here without issue.
"It's not just us. Along with Hidden Cloud shinobi, we've got villagers, merchants from nearby towns here to post missions, and even their samurai escorts."
"And, shinobi from other nations."
Samui, agile and graceful, grabbed the edge of a rooftop and vaulted up to a higher point.
Mabui rubbed her temples and said, "Check the surroundings for any of our village's ninja. Get everyone to regroup. Avoid direct conflict with foreign shinobi. Our top priority is gathering intel."
...
"I'm Sarutobi Asuma, jōnin from the Hidden Leaf."
"This mission is under my supervision and is hereby classified as an S-rank mission. All shinobi present, regardless of your rank, are to treat intelligence gathering as the highest priority!"
Asuma's expression was grim as he addressed the gathered Konoha shinobi.
"I understand," said Hyūga Neji with a nod.
He had already graduated two years prior. His squad leader was Might Guy, a close ally of the Hokage. Naturally, he recognized Asuma.
Kabuto Yakushi lowered his head in feigned deference. "Understood."
Gathering intel was important, of course. But his intel wasn't for Konoha—it was for Lord Orochimaru.
Especially the words that mysterious man spoke—"eternal life." Even a tiny shred of information on that subject would be enough to earn great praise from Orochimaru.
"Alright!"
Uzumaki Naruto still hadn't fully wrapped his head around the situation, but hearing that it was an S-rank mission lit a fire in him. "I, Uzumaki Naruto, will definitely complete the mission!"
Asuma glanced at him. "Stay close to me. We'll move as a team."
The mysterious man said that dying in-game would return them to the real world.
But no one had tested that claim, and without proof, no one would dare risk the life of the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki.
...
After sensing the remaining players, the silver-haired loli said, "Three hundred civilians exited the game. The two hundred remaining include nobles, their bodyguards, merchants, and some hired samurai."
Fang Yi nodded. "Although the game qualification spread outward from the Hidden Villages, it was never going to be just ninja."
There were plenty of ordinary people in the Hidden Villages, and in fact, they made up the majority.
Even during the major Shinobi World Wars, the Allied Shinobi Forces numbered only in the tens of thousands. The standing armies of each village weren't that large.
At this point, the players who chose to stay had already stepped into the Corruption Zones and begun encountering corrupted creatures.
Led by Sarutobi Asuma, this batch of players had a very mixed composition.
There were two support-oriented chūnin, Hyūga Neji—a bloodline user from a prestigious clan, Naruto—the Nine-Tails' host, and Kabuto—an undercover spy in disguise.
"What a huge building!"
Naruto exclaimed in awe.
They had entered the Wraith Sorceress Sarina's Corruption Zone: the Death Soul Mountain Range.
Within the zone were the ruins of destroyed towns and villages—massive castles of marble, gothic cathedrals, rib-like wide boulevards, beast-headed statues, and endless stone walls.
This was once a magical world of knights and mages, rich in manpower and development.
Even its ruined cities looked more majestic and vibrant than real medieval towns—like the kind of special areas found in fantasy games.
These buildings were vastly different from anything in the Land of Fire. More magnificent. More imposing.
"Did we really get transported to another world?"
Even Asuma couldn't hide his shock as he reached out to touch the ruined architecture steeped in religious symbolism.
Just then—
A shadowy figure in shades of gray and black slithered out from a crack in the structure.
It was a soul corrupted and slain by Sarina—now fallen into a wraith-like state, driven by her will, serving as her minion.
"Enemy spotted!"
Hyūga Neji reacted instantly. Though his Byakugan was inactive in this game world, his training had instilled sharp awareness. He was the first to spot the wraith.
A crude short sword appeared in Asuma's hand.
They had discovered it in their inventory panel while studying the player interface—a complimentary beginner's weapon.
It had no stats.
Of course, Fang Yi would never let players face enemies bare-handed. That would be suicide.
Issuing five hundred weapons had cost him 500 reward points.
The silver-haired loli winced. "Why waste points on arming them?"
Fang Yi chuckled and explained, "Never skimp on early investment. One weapon can significantly speed up monster-killing. Why not?"
A glowing screen appeared in front of them, like a wall of security monitors, each square projecting the players' activities.
Asuma and Neji worked together to kill the wraith.
When it died, a faint trace of Origin energy floated out and merged into Neji—the one who had delivered the final blow.
The loli's voice was tinged with concern. "In the past, other World Wills also recruited humans to fight corruption. But there's a major flaw in this system."
"Origin is a special substance—purest of its kind."
"After a corrupted creature dies, the Origin naturally flows into the being that killed it. Even the World Will can forcibly extract only about a quarter of it. The rest stays in the player's body, resulting in massive waste."
Fang Yi's eyes lit up. "So the players kill the monsters, and we get a free 25% cut of the loot?"
The silver-haired loli nodded reluctantly. "That's why the gu-raising model was developed. By using mission failure penalties and threats of death, the system forces Reincarnators to hand over their reward points. Should we do that too?"
"Of course not."
Fang Yi shook his head, grinning. "That free cut of Origin is our pure profit!"
"As for the Origin that stays in the player's body—half of it accumulates as experience points. Once they reach a certain threshold, they get a prompt asking if they want to level up. If they choose to level up, I can extract that Origin and convert it into stat boosts for their bodies."
"The rest goes into reward points they can use to buy equipment and skills from the store. And I can make anything for one point and sell it in the shop for ten."
If they were going to use a game system to fight the Corruption, it wasn't just some impulsive decision.
Fang Yi had plenty of tricks to make players willingly hand over their reward points.
The silver-haired loli was dizzy from all the explanations. "But if shop prices are too high, won't that slow down monster clearing?"
"You clearly don't understand how players work."
Fang Yi sneered. "It has to be expensive. If not everyone can get it, then when one player finally crafts a Dragon Slayer Sword after grinding for months—or sells their house and car just to buy a pet egg—do you think they'll stop there?"
"If it's too easy, no one will feel driven to kill monsters."
"Plus, everything from this world—bloodline limits, ninjutsu, ninja tools—can be exchanged for Origin, right?"
"If you don't want to grind, then pay up! Be a proud pay-to-win whale and hand me all your valuable items!"
Fang Yi looked at the glowing monitor, eyes gleaming with satisfaction. He looked at the players like a farmer admiring a healthy crop of chives.
Especially in the shinobi world, where peace was brief and each village was desperate for advantage...
Once these players got a taste of the game's benefits, they would go absolutely crazy—plunging into the game world with everything they had, willingly letting him harvest them.
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