The Dimensional Ascension Star Core hovered in Ryosuke's hand.
It was a standard six-sided crystal, its surface carrying a deep blue-purple halo, and through its outer shell one could see stardust flowing inside like a galaxy.
[Effect 1: Unlock the "Special Draw" interface, limited to 10 minutes.]
[Effect 2: Grants a max-level Stand another chance to evolve.]
In the past, Ryosuke had always used "Effect 2" to upgrade Star Platinum, Killer Queen, and White Snake to six stars.
'Today I can finally try Effect One.'
Ryosuke clenched his fist hard and crushed the Dimensional Ascension Star Core with a bang.
Countless blue-purple fragments escaped from between his fingers, and then under a force that seemed to come from another dimension, suddenly gathered in midair.
The next moment, Ryosuke's physical body was still on the rooftop, wrapped in a blanket with Mei Terumi, but his consciousness arrived in a starry sky.
This was a "flowing" starry sky.
Stars brushed past Ryosuke's side, leaving long thin trails behind, as if the evolution of the universe, the change of worlds, and the birth, growth, and destruction of galaxies and celestial bodies were all displayed before his eyes.
Ryosuke floated in the cosmos. In front of him was a deep, pitch-black "cave" with a ring of red light around its edges.
He stared blankly for a few seconds before reacting to what it was...
A black hole.
Ryosuke felt a weight in his hand. At some unknown moment, a net-like, oval "bag" had appeared. He raised it to check, only to realize this was no bag at all, it was clearly a galaxy.
One star after another was trapped inside the galaxy.
This was the currency he would use to draw cards. The constantly spiraling black hole in front of him was the limited-time draw interface.
'It really is…'
'Overly flashy.'
As soon as Ryosuke's gaze locked onto the black hole, a system message naturally popped up.
[One hundred Soul Fragments can be exchanged for one star. Throw stars into the black hole to feed it, and there is a certain probability of drawing a five-star or six-star Stand.]
Ryosuke nodded.
So fancy and flashy for nothing, and in the end the system still just shrugged and said, 'Give Soul Fragments.'
The limited-time draw lasted ten minutes. He didn't rush to activate the black hole. Instead, he turned around and looked behind him.
Opposite the black hole draw, at the far edge of Ryosuke's vision, there was another constantly rotating white hole.
The system prompt sounded again.
[Ninety-nine stars will activate the White Hole Lottery.]
[Inside the white hole, countless star-lights will circulate. Activate the white hole at the right moment, and one star will be spit out.]
[If three stars of the same color are obtained, you can acquire a five-star or six-star Stand.]
After hearing the system's explanation, Ryosuke fell silent.
'Good, very good.'
One draw interface was a black hole that only swallowed and never returned, its meaning went without saying.
And the other didn't even bother pretending.
'White Hole Lottery?'
'Isn't that just an arcade slot machine?!'
'Ninety-nine draws per spin, expensive and a scam.'
Ryosuke hated gambling and drugs most in his life.
White Hole Lottery?
Not even a dog would pull that.
He took a deep breath, grabbed a handful of stars from the galaxy, and threw them toward the black hole.
Ten draws… twenty… thirty…
One hundred… one hundred twenty…
One hundred fifty...
Ryosuke's vision turned pitch-black.
'It came!'
A brilliant golden star shot out from the core of the black hole, tracing a golden spiral arc across the universe and stopping before him,
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
'Five stars!'
Ryosuke's heart skipped a beat.
The golden light of the star slowly faded.
When he clearly saw a Stand that looked like a small tomato, all of the disappointment in Ryosuke's eyes instantly vanished.
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[Stand Name: Pearl Jam]
[Five Stars]
[Level: 1]
[Owner: Tonio Trussardi]
[Ability: After entering a person's body, the Stand treats illnesses by destroying and regenerating the body.]
[Pearl Jam must be fused into dishes in order to activate its healing effects. Each healing effect must be applied through the corresponding dish.]
[If there is no illness matching the dish, or no dish matching the illness, the healing effect will not activate.]
[After eating dishes infused with Pearl Jam, there may be side effects such as excessive tears, peeling skin, muscles bursting open, etc., but don't worry, everything will be fine.]
[Note 1: The deliciousness of a dish has nothing to do with Pearl Jam and depends on the chef's skill.]
[Note 2: "Cooking is meant to bring happiness to people!"]
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Pearl Jam's Stand User, Tonio Trussardi, was extremely rare, he obtained his Stand ability by pushing his cooking skills to their limits.
In other words, his cooking level was on the same tier as Lesson-5 Gyro.
Based on this, Pearl Jam's ability was extremely powerful and could amplify the healing ability of food to an exaggerated extent, as long as two conditions were met.
[Condition 1: The Stand user can see the customer's illness.]
[Condition 2: There are ingredients beneficial for treating the corresponding illness.]
With those, Pearl Jam can be used to make a dish that heals the eater instantly.
For Ryosuke, who possessed Ripple, as long as he lightly placed his hand on someone, he could sense all of that person's physical conditions.
Meaning, "Condition 1" wasn't a restriction for Ryosuke.
As for the corresponding ingredients, the Naruto world was different from the JoJo world or the real world.
There were too many miraculous animals and plants here. As long as he searched with purpose, found ingredients that promote flesh regeneration, bone recovery, and chakra restoration, Ryosuke could brew a huge pot every ten days or so.
From now on, everyone in their camp would no longer need to worry about blood loss, severed limbs, or ruptured organs on the battlefield.
One dose of potion, and the body would be fully restored, including chakra.
Kakashi would never again need to worry about lacking chakra for Kamui.
Although Pearl Jam was only a five-star Stand, in terms of overall strategic value, its usefulness was no less than that of a six-star.
"One hundred fifty draws for a five-star with extremely high strategic value."
"Not a loss, not a gain."
Ryosuke took a deep breath to calm his excitement.
'Continue'
One hundred sixty… one hundred eighty… two hundred...
Still nothing.
'Continue.'
Two hundred ten… two hundred thirty… two hundred fifty…
Two hundred eighty...
His vision once again turned pitch-black, and in the next moment, another golden star shot straight out of the black hole.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
Five stars...
"F*ck!"
Ryosuke couldn't help but curse.
Two hundred eighty draws thrown in, that was twenty-eight thousand Soul Fragments, yet he only got two five-stars?
'No wonder it's called a black hole, so f**king hungry!'
Before Ryosuke finished speaking, the golden light faded, revealing an irregular "small knife."
Seeing this knife, Ryosuke froze.
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[Stand Name: Ticket to Ride (Tear Blade)]
[Five Stars]
[Level: 1]
[Owner: Lucy Steel]
[Ability: Forms a blade from tears. Whoever is slashed by the blade will encounter misfortune, causing the situation to develop in a direction favorable to the Stand user.]
[Each swing consumes life force.]
[Note: Tears are a woman's weapon, then… what about men?]
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In the original, Tears Train Ticket was a temporary Stand obtained by Lucy Steel under the influence of the Corpse Parts' power.
Relying on this ability, and her own courage and quick wits, 14-year-old Lucy became the strongest Valkyrie in JoJo's Steel Ball Run.
A tear blade controlling "misfortune and fortune" was already extremely powerful, comparable to a mini "Made in Heaven."
Adding its side effect of "consuming life force", for Ryosuke, who had mastered Ripple and Nature Energy and was gradually moving toward the Ultimate Lifeform, the drawback would be greatly reduced.
It could be said that the Tear Blade was an extremely compatible weapon for Ryosuke.
Even if the Tear Blade's life-force consumption was so strong that even Ryosuke found it hard to endure.
Didn't he just pull Pearl Jam?
Tear Blade+Ripple+Pearl Jam.
After eating Pearl Jam dishes, one would cry, replenishing the Tear Blade's tears.
A perfect closed loop.
Ryosuke looked at "Tears Train Ticket," then at "Pearl Jam," then helplessly at the black hole, feeling complicated.
Although it wasn't a six-star, he had to admit, these two five-star Stands were extremely useful whether for Ryosuke or for the team.
Especially compared to stuff like Youthful Days, Cheap Trick, the Stone Mask, treasures that could only be locked away collecting dust.
But…
Ryosuke activated the limited-time draw for a six-star.
He had used 280 draws so far, and now his balance still had 140 draws left, including the 6,000 fragments originally intended to upgrade New Moon to six-star.
Judging from the current luck, he would have no choice but to let New Moon suffer first and upgrade it later.
'One hundred forty draws… can it produce a six-star?'
Ryosuke looked at the black hole in front of him, unsure.
Suddenly, he felt a call from the void. He turned his head toward the White Hole, slot machine.
Ryosuke stared silently for a long time, then walked toward it.