Slowly, Kakashi removed the forehead protector from his head and placed it beside the last fallen enemy.
"Sorry about that," he murmured, stating the obvious, "but you made the first move."
With those words, a Great Fireball Technique incinerated all the corpses, turning them to ash.
Having already prepared his resolve, Kakashi, who had tasted death once before, found his fear of war diminished to its lowest point.
After confirming no other enemies lingered nearby, Kakashi popped a soldier pill into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully as he summoned his system.
"Is there some kind of instruction manual?"
The system didn't answer verbally, but the hue of its UI deepened slightly.
The silver-haired young man crouched down. The chakra slowly replenishing within him thanks to the soldier pill began to take effect, easing the fatigue in his weary body.
"Lifestyle, Combat, Characters, Worlds..."
Muttering the names of the main exchange categories, Kakashi navigated to the 'Characters' section with a flicker of curiosity.
「Current Host Chakra Level: 3 Daka. Minimum Requirement for Character Exchange Zone: 20 Daka. Proceed?」
Daka? Kakashi paused, his mind instantly jumping to concepts like Tailed Beasts, Jinchuriki, and Sealing techniques. He tapped 'Proceed'.
The menu shifted, displaying an array of character portraits arranged by their required Daka cost, from lowest to highest.
「Ordinary Elementary School Girl」20 Daka
「Ordinary Middle School Girl」40 Daka
「Ordinary High School Girl」80 Daka
「Relatively Strong University Girl」130 Daka
「Shizuka Hiratsuka」200 Daka
Even with Kakashi's considerable composure, he couldn't help but feel this system was spouting nonsense.
What is this? Why are they all female? And why is Shizuka Hiratsuka so expensive? Is she some kind of combat powerhouse?
He continued scrolling down. Finally, recognizable names began to appear.
「Joan of Arc」1200 - 20000 Daka
「Misaki Shokuhō」2000 Daka
「Misaka Mikoto」2500 Daka
「Bismarck, Tirpitz, Prinz Eugen」5000 Daka
「Artoria」5000 - 35000 Daka
「Scáthach」30000 - 50000 Daka
Kakashi didn't bother looking further down... Why do some have such massive summoning cost ranges? And why are three names listed together? Is it random, or buy one get two free?
Ultimately, it didn't matter. Kakashi checked his current chakra level again.
「3.6 Daka」
He couldn't even summon an elementary schooler...
Forget it...
What about Lifestyle?
Unappetizing Ingredients
Ordinary Ingredients
Delicious Ingredients
「Each ingredient possesses various functions, unlocked upon exchange.」
This category seemed relatively normal...
Kakashi had little interest in the Combat category. He believed only in the strength honed through his own training; he couldn't yet entrust his power to this mysterious, unknown entity.
Worlds category...
「High-Tier to Low-Tier Martial Worlds, Chakra required from low to high」
「Mythic Age (Honghuang)」0.1 - 5 Daka
「Dragon Ball」1 - 3 Daka
「One-Punch Man」10 Daka
「Bleach」12 Daka
「Type-Moon」13 Daka
...
What the hell?! Why?!
When Kakashi saw Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend and My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected demanding a staggering 500,000 Daka, a curse escaped his lips.
All of this felt far too impractical.
Slowly rising to his feet, Kakashi dismissed the interface, its very presence clashing with the gritty reality around him. He decided not to open it again until he became a Jinchuriki or acquired Hashirama Cells.
Considering that fifteen-year-old Naruto's chakra reserves were calculated to be a hundred times greater than his own at thirty-one, then conservatively, Naruto's base chakra must be over 100 Daka, and that's not even counting the Nine-Tails' portion.
His physical condition and chakra capacity remained his biggest weaknesses.
After the fleeting thrill of defying fate and the lingering despair from his failed suicide attempt, Kakashi stared down at his own hands. He then leaped agilely towards a nearby lake.
Fish swam clearly visible in the water below. He snatched one, swiftly gutted and scaled it, skewered it on a branch, and roasted it with a simple Fire Release technique.
In the distance, the great bridge still stood.
A faint, cool breeze rustled through the trees. Leaves spiraled down, landing gently on the water's surface, sending ripples spreading outwards.
Kakashi glanced at his reflection. The scar over his left eye was stark and visible, terrifying and grotesque. The eyeball beneath still throbbed with phantom pain; it would likely never open again.
He pressed his fingers gently against the closed eyelid, and a tear of blood dripped onto the ground once more.
Without the Sharingan, this eye is just a vulnerability.
The crimson drop disturbed his reflection, the image wavering for a moment before settling back into stillness. Kakashi seemed to melt into the surrounding environment, becoming one with the tranquil scene.
His distant observation went unnoticed. After a moment of hesitation, he unfastened the three-pronged kunai from his belt. Infusing it with Lightning Release, he sliced it cleanly in half and hurled the pieces far out into the lake.
Plunk... Plunk...
The metal fragments sank slowly to the bottom.
The absence of the forehead protector felt strange, leaving his forehead bare and exposed, yet the sense of mental liberation it brought was deeply comforting.
He waited quietly, anticipating the fall of that distant bridge.
That annoying brat who never seems to grow up... perhaps he will become a pillar for Konoha.
About an hour later, Kakashi spotted two familiar figures in the distance.
It's almost time to leave.
BOOM!
An unprecedented, deafening explosion, the roar of displaced water, and the fading screams of Iwagakure shinobi were all silenced as the bridge finally collapsed into the chasm below.
The wheels of history rolled relentlessly forward, destined to crush those who could not adapt.
So it was for the Land of Fire, so it was for the Land of Earth. So it was for Konoha, and so it was for Iwagakure.
Victors write their triumphs; losers lament their failures.
Kakashi walked through the forests of this remote region, the path ahead uncertain, its destination unknown.
The silver-haired young man paused abruptly. A figure resembling a strange, two-toned carnivorous plant suddenly emerged from the earth before him, causing Kakashi to instantly draw a weapon.
Wait... right now, at least, I have no quarrel with him.
Kakashi's heart sank. How could I forget about this guy?
Does this mean... I've been watched from the very beginning?
Feeling he'd made a grave error, Kakashi felt an overwhelming urge to strike himself with his own Chidori.
"You seem quite skilled, boy," the figure rasped, its voice grating.
"How about coming over to our side?"
"Who are you?" Kakashi demanded, maintaining a defensive stance.
"Zetsu."
Kakashi tensed, ready for combat.
"Why should I go with you?!"
Black Zetsu let out a chilling, dry chuckle.
"You don't really have a choice. If Konoha finds out you're still alive, they'd be quite eager to have you back, wouldn't they? Are you willing to return?"
Kakashi feigned contemplation, then slowly lowered his weapon.
"...Alright."
"It will be a good place," Zetsu hissed.
Fully emerging from the ground, Zetsu moved beside Kakashi, gesturing for him to follow as they headed off in a different direction.
By disrupting destiny, have I now become its replacement?
His right hand secretly tightened its grip on a concealed kunai. Kakashi resolved that if the situation took an irreversible turn for the worse, he would escape the place they were heading, no matter what else he might have to lose.
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