The moment Ryan realized what these guys had just planned, a wave of satisfaction washed over him. Picking up a reward without spending more than fifty thousand? Now that was a free show he would love to watch.
He had acquired an ability that, in a normal scenario, would cost tens of millions of points for free. No effort, no risk, just pure luck.
"This function is too good," he thought to himself, barely suppressing a smirk.
But before he could bask in his silent victory for too long, the rest of the group erupted in excitement. The time had come for the others to test their luck.
Hashirama, always one to take the initiative, was the first to act. He strode toward the mall interface, grinning from ear to ear. "Alright, let's do this!"
He scrolled through the options, selecting the Secondary World Prize Pool, then slammed the draw button with enthusiasm.
The moment he did, the entire chat group's virtual interface lit up with an explosion of colors.
A cascade of glowing objects, each radiating mystery and power, flooded the screen like a waterfall of light.
"Whoa…" Minato murmured, watching the dazzling display.
Kakashi's visible eye narrowed slightly. "That's… quite the show."
The system's mechanical voice echoed:
[Ding!]
The swirling lights abruptly froze, coalescing into a single colorful gift box at the center of the screen.
A tense silence fell over the group.
All eyes locked onto the prize as the gift box slowly began to open.
[Congratulations to First Hokage Senju Hashirama!]
[You have drawn the third prize!]
[Reward: Atomic Slash!]
A beat of silence.
"What?!" Hashirama stared at the notification, completely dumbfounded. "Third prize?!"
His disbelief quickly turned into exasperation. "Are you kidding me?! I finally get to draw something, and this is what I get?"
Tobirama, standing off to the side, smirked. "Well, brother, I think it's safe to say your ranking is going to be pretty low this time."
Hashirama groaned dramatically. "I spent all that time hyping myself up, and for what? A third-place prize? This has to be rigged!"
The chat group system, naturally, remained silent in the face of his complaints.
Meanwhile, curiosity was spreading through the rest of the group.
"Atomic Slash?" Naruto muttered, scratching his head. "What the hell is that?"
"Never heard of it," Obito said bluntly.
"Sounds weak," Tsunade remarked, arms crossed. "Probably just some flashy technique with no real power."
"Yeah," Minato nodded. "It's only a third-place reward. How strong could it be?"
The skepticism was almost unanimous.
Then, as if drawn by instinct, everyone's eyes shifted toward a single person, Ryan.
Sasuke was the first to speak. "Ryan, do you know what this technique is?"
"Yeah," Naruto chimed in. "If anyone knows, it's gotta be you."
All eyes were on him now, their expressions expectant.
Ryan let out a slow breath, rubbing his temple.
"You guys really have no idea what you're talking about, huh?"
The way he said it made everyone pause.
Hashirama, still sulking, perked up. "Wait… are you saying it's actually good?"
Ryan sighed, shaking his head. "You're all underestimating it just because it's a third prize… but let me tell you something. Atomic Slash isn't just strong. It's broken."
Silence.
"Oh, you'll see," Ryan smirked.
How were these guys so sure about this ability when they clearly had no idea what it was?
Just looking at their faces, he could tell they all believed in their own assumptions so much that there was almost no room for doubt.
Ryan let out a sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose. There's no point arguing with these people.
Still, he spoke up.
"Alright, listen up, everyone." He crossed his arms. "You all need to stop treating me like some kind of walking encyclopedia."
The others blinked at him.
"I don't know everything, alright? Sure, I had knowledge about the previous worlds we visited, but that doesn't mean I automatically understand every new thing that pops up."
There was a brief silence.
"Oh, c'mon, Ryan!" Hashirama waved a hand dismissively. "No need to be so humble! Just tell us, do you know what this ability is or not?"
The others immediately chimed in.
"Yeah, yeah! There's no way you don't know!" Naruto grinned.
"It's fine even if you don't," Minato added. "But… you do, right?"
Ryan stared at their expectant faces.
Unbelievable.
"…Fine," he sighed. "I'll explain."
The moment he said that, expressions of 'I knew you were just being modest!' appeared across the group.
Ryan decided to ignore them and got straight to the point.
"You guys have actually seen this ability before," he began.
That got their attention.
"It's from one of the worlds we've visited, One Punch Man."
Shock rippled through the group.
"Wait, what?!" Tobirama's brows furrowed. "From that world?"
"Didn't expect that…" Tsunade muttered.
Ryan continued. "Atomic Slash is actually the signature move of an S-Class hero from that world. Atomic Samurai."
Recognition dawned in their eyes.
"Ohhh, that guy," Kakashi murmured.
"Right." Ryan nodded. "It's his ultimate technique. He slashes at the enemy dozens, hundreds of times in a fraction of a second, cutting them into pieces before they even realize what happened."
Now that they understood, the group had mixed reactions.
Hashirama, arms folded, gave a thoughtful nod. "Now that you mention it, I did meet that guy…"
He paused, then grinned. "His strength was barely passable."
Ryan twitched. Barely passable? He just called one of the strongest swordsmen in the One Punch Man world 'barely passable'?!
"If I used a sword," Hashirama continued, "I might've actually considered keeping this ability. But…" He shrugged. "I don't, so this is kinda useless to me."
The others nodded in agreement.
Hashirama's fighting style was vastly different. He relied on massive-scale ninjutsu; his Wood Release could reshape entire landscapes. A technique meant for precision slashes? It didn't suit him at all.
"Then just recycle it," Tobirama suggested.
"Yeah," Obito added. "No point keeping something you won't use. Might as well get some points back."
The others voiced their agreement.
Hashirama considered for a moment before grinning. "Good point."
Without hesitation, he clicked the recycle button.
The mall interface flickered, and a large green trash can appeared on the screen.
A notification popped up:
[Are you sure you want to recycle this ability?]
[Recycling will refund a portion of the points spent!]
[Confirm? Yes/No]
Hashirama pressed 'Yes' without hesitation. And just like that, Atomic Slash was gone.
---
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