Naruto returned to his small apartment in high spirits, eager to take a proper look at the system.
Pushing the door open, the room was simple but tidy. The blanket on the single bed was neatly folded, the ninja tools and books on the desk were arranged in perfect order, and even the floor had been wiped clean. It didn't look like the home of a child living alone at all.
He walked straight into the kitchen and took out a carton of milk from the refrigerator. Yes—a refrigerator.
Every time Naruto saw these modern appliances, he couldn't help but complain about the tech tree of the ninja world. In an era where people traveled by carriage and communication mostly relied on letters, there were refrigerators, induction stoves, even movies and vending machines.
Maybe it was some kind of alternative cyberpunk…
Shaking off the irrelevant thoughts, Naruto opened the system interface. The points displayed were 1100. Just before he left Ichiraku Ramen, the system notification had sounded again.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host: Bond with canon character "Teuchi (Old Man Ichiraku)" has reached Level 6!]
[Points gained: 100!]
Looks like the best way to raise a chef's affection is to praise his cooking.
Naruto casually set the half-finished milk on the bedside table and rubbed his hands together. Now came the moment to test his luck!
As someone who used to pull top-tier A-rank characters in mobile games with just 100 draws and a small starter pack, he had a fair amount of confidence in his luck.
"Here we go! Ten-pull!"
Without hesitation, Naruto pressed the ten-pull button on the system interface. His points dropped from 1100 to 100 in an instant. Then the system chimed again in his mind.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host: First ten-pull achieved!]
[Reward: System Storage!]
[Item Description: A storage space independent from the world, bound to this system and visible only to the host. Can be freely controlled with thought. Unlimited capacity, but can only store items produced by this system!]
Storage space? This system's pretty generous…
But it can only store system items, huh? Guess I can't use it like Obito's Kamui space.
For now, though, he was more interested in the items he'd just drawn. Sure enough, ten faintly glowing cards were neatly lined up on the system interface. But when he saw the design, the corner of his mouth twitched.
Wait… this design…
The card back had a familiar blue base with golden trim, and a strange stone in the center…
Isn't this a Hearthstone-style card?!
This thing is doing a full-on game crossover?!
Suppressing the urge to complain, Naruto tapped one of the cards.
[Congratulations: Chakra +5]
[Item Description: Quality—Common. The fundamental power source of the ninja world, extracted from the body's 130 trillion cells. Reference values: average Chūnin = 10, Kakashi Hatake = 50]
So it directly increases chakra capacity…
Naruto suddenly felt amused.
So this means I just gained 0.1 "Kakashi" worth of chakra?
Using Kakashi as a unit of measurement feels a bit wrong, doesn't it?
"If Kakashi is 50…" he muttered unconsciously, "then how much chakra do I have now?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the system responded.
[Host's current chakra amount: 205]
Oh? Pretty smart.
Naruto was slightly surprised. The system was simple, but it could answer questions. Pretty generous.
"200 chakra… so that's 4 Kakashis."
The number made him click his tongue. After all, Naruto hadn't even begun formal chakra training yet. Just his base chakra amount alone was already four times that of elite jōnin Kakashi.
And not to mention…
There was a giant fox made entirely of chakra living inside his body.
Naruto quickly tapped open the remaining cards.
[Congratulations: 500g Chakra Metal]
[Item Description: Special forging material that conducts chakra, commonly used for high-grade ninja tools]
[Congratulations: Taijutsu Training Weights (Rock Lee Model)]
[Item Description: Adjustable weights, up to 1 ton each]
[Congratulations: Soldier Pills ×10]
[Item Description: Each restores 10 chakra. Bitter taste]
[Congratulations: Basic Taijutsu Enhancement!]
[Item Description: Overall physical ability increased by 5%]
The moment the fifth card opened, the system suddenly made a familiar sound.
"Rare!"
A warm current surged through his body, spreading quickly from head to toe. Naruto moved his limbs in surprise, clearly feeling his muscles tighten and his joints become more flexible.
My body's been enhanced?! That fast?
It seemed the system rewards were more reliable than he'd expected. Encouraged, Naruto quickly opened the rest.
[Congratulations: 10,000 Ryō (standard currency)]
[Congratulations: Chakra +5]
[Congratulations: Fire-nature Chakra Affinity and Mastery!]
Another "Rare!" sound rang out. This time, Naruto felt a hot sensation rise inside him. Unlike the earlier warmth, this felt more like the awakening of a talent. He could clearly sense that his chakra had become more active, and his affinity with fire nature had increased significantly.
Looks like a talent-type reward.
Only two cards remained. Naruto stared at the system interface, his heartbeat quickening. He was very interested in the system's so-called "Legendary" rewards. If he pulled a pair of Rinnegan right now, wouldn't that be an instant power spike?
Taking a deep breath, he tapped the second-to-last card.
[Congratulations: 500g Chakra Metal]
Again?
Sure, chakra-conducting metal was a valuable material for high-grade ninja tools, but what was he supposed to do with it right now? He couldn't forge anything, nor did he have any advanced blades to use it on. Was he supposed to ask the Third Hokage for help?
"Ah, I found it on the road."
Would he even believe that?
Shaking off those pointless worries, Naruto turned to the final card. The moment his finger touched it, the system exploded with dazzling purple light, and a deep, dramatic voice boomed in his mind.
"Epic!"
[Congratulations: Naruto Movie Selection Chest!]
[Item Description: Choose one of the following:]
1. One-tenth Dark Chakra of the Zero-Tails
2. Uzumaki Menma (Template Trial Card ×3)
3. Special Summon Beast: Jackal
---
Chapter 9: A Treasure That Changes the Future
"Purple pull?!"
Naruto's eyes widened. The selection chest was exactly like those pick-your-own rewards in games, and the options were exactly as the name suggested—all special items from Naruto movies.
His gaze locked onto the second option.
[Uzumaki Menma (Template Trial Card ×3)]
[Usage: Grants all abilities and power of Boss Uzumaki Menma from Road to Ninja for 1 hour. Can be used three times.]
Uzumaki Menma…!
Naruto was very familiar with this character—the "dark version" of himself from the Infinite Tsukuyomi world. Menma's personality and life were the complete opposite of his own. But what was most tempting was his terrifying power.
Nine Mask Suzaku… Massive Rasengan Ring…
From what Naruto remembered, Menma's summoning technique could call forth nine different creatures, and his ultimate technique had enough destructive power to wipe out the entire Hidden Leaf Village. On top of that, he also hosted the Nine-Tails and could perfectly control full Tailed Beast transformation.
His strength was definitely far beyond ordinary Kage level.
Judging by the anime, Menma was at least as strong as Naruto in Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, or Mangekyō Sharingan Sasuke—possibly even stronger.
Rather than a simple template card, this was more like the ultimate trump card for his still-growing self. Most importantly, it came with no risks of rampaging like Nine-Tails chakra leakage. No side effects at all.
As for the other two options?
Naruto frowned as he tried to recall. That so-called "Zero-Tails dark chakra" came from the movie Bonds, created by some guy named Shinno as an artificial Tailed Beast. It sounded powerful, but for him, it would just be unnecessary clutter.
Dark chakra… didn't it trigger negative emotions?
Give me a break! There's already the strongest Tailed Beast living inside me!
Ignoring the tsundere giant fox at home and instead messing with artificial dark chakra? That would be like—
Ignoring a top-tier gaming PC at home just to go play on some old junk computer at a retro shop.
And the last option left him even more speechless.
A jackal? Wasn't that just some minor summon from The Will of Fire movie?
Naruto even suspected the system had added it just to fill the slot. It wasn't even the main summon of the final boss, Hiruko—just some underling's chimera.
Besides… if he chose the Menma template cards, he might be able to do something that was originally impossible. For someone whose past life had been painfully ordinary, this was a chance to change certain tragedies.
Hiashi's death.
The thought flashed through his mind. It would likely happen soon—definitely within the year. Neji Hyuga's father, Hyuga Hizashi, one of the most tragic fathers among the Konoha Twelve, was about to meet his end.
The Third Great Ninja War had only just ended. The Hidden Cloud Village, under the pretense of signing a peace treaty, sent envoys to Konoha—but secretly planned to steal the Byakugan.
They even tried to kidnap the three-year-old Hinata. Fortunately, the clan head Hiashi discovered them in time and killed the kidnapper.
But the most infuriating part came afterward. The Cloud Village turned the tables, accusing Konoha of killing their envoy and threatening war. They demanded the body of Hiashi, the one who killed the kidnapper.
Konoha, still weakened by the Nine-Tails incident and the recent war, chose to compromise.
To protect the secret of the Byakugan, the Hyuga main family suggested that Hiashi's twin brother, Hizashi, take his place.
And Hizashi… accepted his fate. He even said he was dying to protect his brother, turning his sacrifice into some noble act of defiance against destiny.
…No justice. No fairness.
A living person was swallowed whole by this world.
Young Neji would lose his father forever.
As for the so-called excuses—"for the greater good," "to avoid war"—the calculations of the higher-ups?
Naruto didn't want to understand them. He only knew one thing.
He didn't want to watch another living person get devoured by this world.
Especially considering Neji's later tragic fate…
If the Cloud Village really dared to start a war after he saved Hizashi, and the Raikage suspected it was all staged by Konoha…
Naruto wouldn't mind using a template card to fight him.
"System, I choose the Uzumaki Menma trial cards."
[Congratulations: Uzumaki Menma (Template Trial Card ×3) obtained!]
This was a precious item that could temporarily push someone to the peak of Kage level. Naruto couldn't wait to see it.
With a thought, a purple-glowing card materialized in front of him.
He picked it up and studied the illustration.
…Isn't this just the character art from that tapping game?!
With another thought, the card turned into a streak of light and disappeared into his palm, returning to the system storage.