The blush on Scarlet Moon's flawless face deepened until she looked like a ripe autumn peach.
She gave a soft, sweet smile, her eyes glimmering as she replied gently,"Understood."
Then the two of them began chatting idly.
The setting sun streamed in through the window, casting two long, overlapping shadows that stretched across the room.
An hour later, Hayashi watched the stunning woman slowly disappear into the distance. Only when Scarlet Moon was completely out of sight did he close the door and stretch his arms with a satisfied sigh.
That one-hour conversation had been the most enjoyable exchange he'd ever had with a woman.
Before arriving here, whenever Hayashi spoke with the opposite sex, the most he could manage was a few polite greetings before things fizzled out. The incident with Yecana didn't count—he had barely spoken with her for a few minutes before that idiot Aoki had barged in.
Thinking about it now, Hayashi couldn't help recalling the supple, springy sensation that had pressed against the back of his head earlier. The memory brought a smile to his lips. Settling back into the same chair he'd sat in before, he opened the system's exchange interface.
It was time to push the favorability ratings of the nine individuals—already at eighty points—up to the maximum of one hundred.
After a series of precise operations, he exchanged for a high-quality fruit that would double their favorability instantly. That meant once midnight passed, all nine would hit two hundred points without him lifting another finger.
At the moment, Hayashi's skill points totaled a solid one thousand. Once doubled after midnight—and including Yecana and Yaksha Lane—he estimated he'd have around two thousand skill points by the following day.
With that in mind, he began browsing the exchange catalogue, searching for something that could rapidly boost his own power.
The first page went quickly—anything like the Mangekyō Sharingan or the Rinnegan was out of the question. They were absurdly expensive, required purchasing an Uchiha pure-blood body to wield properly, and worst of all, there was the problem of explaining how he'd suddenly acquired them. What was he supposed to say—that he was secretly half-Uchiha?
He flipped to the second page and noted the Uchiha Pure-Blood Body listed at one thousand skill points. He gave it a glance, then kept scrolling.
After a while, Hayashi stretched his back and glanced outside. The sky was now fully dark. Hunger stirred in his stomach, so he decided to eat first.
After a quick meal of dry rations, he returned to the master bedroom on the second floor, sitting cross-legged on the bed with a faint frown.
He was already seventy pages deep into the catalogue. There had been plenty of fascinating items, but the best ones were focused on women or economics—nothing that could directly enhance his combat strength.
Either they were ludicrously overpriced, or simply not worth the exchange.
His brows remained furrowed as his mind-controlled scrolling continued, his eyes scanning ten lines at a time.
Time passed.
"There it is."
Hayashi suddenly sprang up, clapping his hands in excitement. Fortunately, he restrained himself from blurting out anything ridiculous—just a few satisfied claps to vent his excitement.
Taking a few deep breaths to steady himself, he sat back down, legs apart, hands resting on his thighs, and fixed his gaze on the floating interface in front of him.
Exchange: Page 123 (123/900 billion)Perfect Replacement – 1,000 skill points. Can replace all the strength of a chosen character. Note: only works on characters whose complete memories you possess.
The grin faded from Hayashi's face. His initial excitement dimmed as he read the fine print.
If not for that last sentence, this would have been a bargain beyond belief. But the limitation made it far less practical—it could only be used on someone whose memories he possessed in full, from their earliest recollection to their final moments.
Expressionless, Hayashi stared at the entry. It was as if it had been crafted specifically for him. Narrowing his eyes, he felt ideas begin to stir—ideas he quickly forced back down, smothering them just as he used to suppress negativity while working the grind at his old job.
"Oh, come on," he muttered quietly in the stillness of the bedroom. "I finally make it here—this place I've always dreamed about—and I'm still doubting myself? Really?"
The words were barely above a whisper, meant for no ears but his own.
Rising, he stretched and let a smile return to his face.
Whether this skill was truly made for him or just a coincidence didn't matter. If a system could produce something like this, then sitting around overthinking was a waste of time. Better to focus on leading the Sand Village to victory in the looming war—and, along the way, fulfilling some long-cherished dreams.
"Exchange Perfect Replacement!"
Please choose a replacement. Current choice: Rasa.
"Rasa!"
Exchange successful. Three-minute transmission commencing. Please avoid strenuous activity.
Hayashi lay back on the bed, eyes on the ceiling, quietly focusing on the changes taking place inside him.
After only a few seconds, he felt it—an unfamiliar energy circulating through his organs, each loop through his heart making it stronger.
"Chakra?" he murmured.
Transmission complete. Total time: four minutes, thirty-nine seconds.
Silently, Hayashi rose from the bed. He could now feel every one of Rasa's techniques—the magnetic-style manipulation of gold sand, the bloodline limit etched into his very being—integrated seamlessly into his muscle memory.
Before, possessing Rasa's memories had been like watching a film in third-person: he knew the moves existed, but not how to perform them himself. Now, they were instinctive—like breathing, like a newborn knowing how to drink milk.
Crossing to the window, he unlatched it. The moment it swung open, the howling wind drove clouds of sand into the room.
He ignored the stinging grains on his face and extended his right hand outside, curling it into a slow, deliberate fist.
"Magnetic Style—Gold Sand."
With a soft command, the sand on the ground began to swirl upward, coalescing into a massive sword five meters long and a meter wide.
Hayashi squinted at it.
Not enough.
At his unspoken thought, the sand dissolved, breaking into a floating golden haze that glittered in the dim light—a scene both spectacular and eerie.
Gold sand, he mused, was still too limited. It couldn't match the iron sand of the Third Kazekage, and even Gaara's sand manipulation in the original work outclassed it. Its only notable advantage was in gold panning—useless for someone with more efficient ways to make money.
Relaxing his hand, he let the sand drift back to the ground in silence. He'd have to find something stronger to complement it.
Shutting the window, he sat back down and resumed scanning the catalogue.
His skill points were gone now, but in ten minutes—once midnight struck—he'd have nearly a thousand again. That should be enough to find something to counter Aoki.
Ding! Scarlet Moon, Jara, Leman, and others' favorability has reached 200, the limit for the top-tier doubling fruit!Yecana's favorability doubled to 58 points!Yaksha Lane's favorability doubled to 36 points!994 skill points obtained!
Exactly as predicted. Hayashi barely reacted, focusing instead on turning pages.
By page 200, he had marked a few interesting items, but nothing that directly improved his combat ability.
For all its power, the system couldn't manage basic conveniences like keyword or category searches—an annoyance he decided not to dwell on.
A few minutes later, as he was about to flip to the next page, his eyes caught on an entry halfway down. He froze, reading it twice before his breathing quickened.
Page 213 (213/900 billion)Bloodline Limit Upgrade (50 skill points. Each use upgrades your bloodline limit to the next tier. Cost doubles each time.)
He did the math in his head—risky, but worth it.
"Exchange!"
Successfully redeemed: Magnetic Style—Gold Sand upgraded. Can now control smaller volumes of dust more precisely and with reduced chakra cost.
Hayashi grinned. "Again!"
Redeemed for 100 points: Range of control expanded, chakra cost further reduced.
"Again!"
Redeemed for 200 points…
"Keep going!"
Redeemed for 400 points: Magnetic Style—Gold Sand upgraded to Magnetic Style!
The system's mechanical chime was music to his ears.
Though he didn't know how many upgrades it would take to reach his ideal form, he pushed on. Finally, just as his points were about to run dry, he reached the enhancement he wanted.
Wiping sweat from his brow, he sighed with a wry smile.
"It always comes through at the last moment—what a familiar routine."