[Kill the giant 'evil ghost' and achieve a high-level achievement.
Get a high-level achievement lottery once!]
Now,
It seemed like the sun was just rising, and dawn was breaking.
Leo, with his blood-red Sharingan, glanced at the system prompt interface in the void that only he could see. Then, with indifference, he looked away.
As rays of sunlight fell upon the earth, Leo stood tall in front of the crowd with his back to the rising sun.
He turned slightly to glance at the sisters, Fu Qingfeng and Fu Yuechi, along with others who were still clutching their bows and crossbows. Behind Leo, nine Truth-Seeking Balls lined with golden patterns floated silently. They emanated a mysterious, divine aura.
Leo, standing against the light, exuded an overwhelming presence that stunned everyone at the scene.
Beside him lay the corpse of the giant evil ghost. Its head had been separated from its massive body. As the first light of dawn touched it, the grotesque corpse turned into a foul-smelling black mist and vanished into the air.
Suddenly, a golden light descended from the sky, resembling stardust falling from the heavens.
Under Leo's slightly confused gaze, the golden starlight flowed down like a small section of the Milky Way, cascading directly onto him. In that moment, Leo—already awe-inspiring—appeared even more divine and untouchable.
"What is this?"
Leo looked at the many golden strands of light swirling around him, his expression caught between astonishment and curiosity.
[The Merits of Heaven and Earth!]
[This precious gift is bestowed upon you by the world for eliminating a monstrous evil ghost who committed countless atrocities. You have earned ten thousand merit points!]
The system's prompt sounded right on cue.
"Merits?" Leo muttered, his eyes shining with realization.
His surprise slowly turned into delight. He hadn't expected that killing the giant evil ghost would yield such an incredible reward.
He remembered from reading ancient texts and novels that "merits" were extremely rare and potent. A treasure of the heavens, encountered only through fate.
To gain such merit here—Leo began to suspect that this world he found himself in was far more complex than it seemed.
Not far away:
"Is he... a god?"
Fu Qingfeng and Fu Yuechi were awestruck as they watched Leo's figure. The golden light of merit surrounding him, combined with the majestic Truth-Seeking Balls, cast a divine glow that made the sisters feel an overwhelming reverence and longing.
...
An hour later.
At a dilapidated building known as Zhengqi Villa, Leo stood atop the crumbled roof, dressed in a black robe. With two fingers extended in a seal and his eyes closed, he appeared to be sensing something profound.
Leo had arrived at this location, which he remembered being part of the original story's setting.
He had leapt onto the roof to continue absorbing the world's spiritual energy.
Quickly, he noticed a difference.
The natural energy in this world was vastly different from the one in the Hokage World. In his original world, too much natural energy could upset the delicate balance with chakra—turning one into stone.
But here? The natural energy didn't just mix with his chakra—it enhanced it. The quality of his chakra improved significantly.
Even more shockingly, Leo realized that he could maintain Sage Mode indefinitely!
Unlike in the Hokage World, where activating Sage Mode was a temporary transformation, here it could become his permanent state.
With this discovery, Leo started working on a new goal: to integrate this world's spiritual energy with all of his chakra and store that new power in every cell of his body.
An hour passed.
Whoosh—
The golden mask symbolizing Sage Mode disappeared from Leo's face.
He had done it.
Sage Mode had become his natural state.
No longer was it something he had to activate. It was now a part of him.
Zheng—
Opening his Three Tomoe Sharingan, Leo allowed a satisfied smile to spread across his face.
His current power level felt overwhelming.
He believed that if he were to face three versions of his past self simultaneously, he could defeat them all with ease.
The power that had remained stagnant in the Hokage World had finally taken a leap forward in this new world.
The thought alone brought a deeper smile to Leo's face, hidden beneath his long, windswept bangs.
"Brother Leo, it's time for breakfast!"
A cheerful voice rang out from below.
Leo looked down to see Fu Yuechi standing outside Zhengqi Villa. She held two hot steamed buns in one hand and a bowl of rice soup in the other, her face glowing with a friendly smile.
"No need. I don't need to eat," Leo said calmly, standing motionless atop the roof.
He closed his eyes again, trying to continue absorbing more spiritual energy.
But something was off.
It seemed that the spiritual energy in this area had been depleted. Leo had already absorbed most of it, and nature needed time to replenish.
Just then, a faint noise caught his attention.
Leo opened his crimson Sharingan and glanced toward the left wall.
He saw Fu Yuechi climbing a ladder she had somehow found, making her way up to the roof.
"What are you doing up here?" Leo asked, slightly annoyed.
"Brother Leo, my sister told me to bring you breakfast."
Fu Yuechi's light steps barely made a sound as she walked across the roof. She held out the bowl and buns toward Leo with a warm, sincere smile.
Leo studied her carefully. Her lightness of foot—was it possible she had trained in some form of Qinggong?
But instead of speaking that thought aloud, he furrowed his brow.
"I told you—I don't need to eat. Don't do anything unnecessary."
A gentle breeze blew through Leo's long, waist-length hair. The wind lifted his bangs slightly, revealing his sharp, handsome features and the strange yet captivating red glow of his Sharingan.
Fu Yuechi stopped in her tracks, stunned.
Seeing Leo's face at such close range, she could only stare, entranced by his otherworldly appearance.
Ten seconds passed before Leo's frown deepened slightly.
Fu Yuechi blinked and snapped out of her daze.
"But—but my sister insisted I bring it to you, so I..."
Still holding the food, she extended it once more toward him.
Leo met her gaze, his blood-red eyes locking onto hers.
But to his surprise, Fu Yuechi didn't flinch.
Unlike earlier, when darkness made his Sharingan terrifying to her, now she simply stared back, fascinated.
She even leaned in slightly, inspecting the number of tomoe in each of his Sharingan.
This boldness almost made Leo lose control of his powers—his Sharingan flared briefly with energy.
But just before releasing it, he took a deep breath.
This girl... really didn't know fear.
And yet, perhaps that curiosity and sincerity was why her presence didn't feel like a burden.
Perhaps... Leo thought, a small piece of his once-cold heart warming unexpectedly.