Naruto was sweating profusely from eating, fighting Saitama for the last piece of meat in the pot.
Saitama looked at the scene before him, listened to the chirping laughter, and smelled the fragrant hot pot. Although his heart was still crying over being single, the corners of his mouth involuntarily lifted slightly.
It seems—celebrating the New Year like this—isn't so bad after all?
Ever since he took Naruto as his master, his life had indeed changed.
===
After the New Year, with the arrival of spring, the three-year period finally concluded successfully.
"Hidden Quest 'Apprentice Saitama' has been completed!"
"You have gained 100,000 experience points, 20,000 exchange tickets, and successfully removed the human limiter!"
As the pop-up window appeared before his eyes, Naruto, who was playing video games with Saitama in the apartment, suddenly widened his eyes, feeling a faint electric current instantly course through his entire body.
A certain invisible "shackle" that had always existed deep within the origin of life seemed to shatter like glass.
It wasn't that his power instantly surged to infinity, but rather a "restriction" had been removed.
His body seemed to have transformed into a "container" capable of infinite capacity, infinite evolution, and infinite adaptation.
This was a complete leap in the level of life!
"So this is—the feeling of breaking the limiter?"
"It's truly marvelous."
Naruto clenched his fists, feeling that his strength, speed, and perception didn't seem to have improved much, yet at the same time, it felt like a tremendous improvement.
He could even clearly "hear" the cheering and exultant "voices" of every cell in his body.
"So, what exactly is the purpose of removing the human limiter?"
After Naruto silently asked in his mind, a pop-up window appeared before his eyes.
"Removing the Human Limiter: 1. You can break through the level cap. Even without becoming a god or undergoing the third job advancement, you can continue to level up. From now on, there are no shackles, no barriers, and no level cap. 2. Your body will no longer instinctively restrict power due to self-preservation mechanisms, allowing you to unleash all your potential at will. 3. Increase the bonus free attribute points gained after leveling up, adding 40 points to the original base."
After reading the content of the pop-up window, Naruto took a deep breath.
Not to mention breaking the level cap, he actually gained an additional 40 free attribute points?!
In other words, the 10 free attribute points he originally received per level after advancing to Shadow Monarch had now become 50 points!
Now, one level up was equivalent to five levels up before.
If he successfully completed the "third advancement" later and successfully ascended to godhood, it was estimated that the free attribute points gained per level would increase even further.
However, his removal of the human limiter was clearly different from the cheat Saitama had.
Saitama's situation was less about removing a human limiter and more about activating an invincibility cheat.
"K-O-!!!"
While Naruto was momentarily stunned, Saitama seized the opportunity to launch a heavy punch, defeating Naruto's game character, and then cheered, "I won! Finally—I won! After 10 rounds, it's finally 9 losses and 1 win!!!"
"Winning is good."
Naruto snapped out of it and smiled indifferently.
"No more playing, no more playing, let's rest for a while."
The overjoyed Saitama, as if burnt out, turned off the game and casually watched TV.
Just then, an emergency news flash interrupted the broadcast:
"Emergency broadcast! A giant unidentified creature has appeared in City A! It is violently destroying the city! Its power far exceeds any previous monster, and the disaster level is initially assessed as Dragon! Citizens, please evacuate to shelters immediately! Repeat, disaster level Dragon! Please evacuate immediately!"
On screen, a monster, Vaccine Man, entirely dark blue with exaggerated muscles and pointed ears, resembling a demon from mythology, was wreaking havoc in City A, cackling as he unleashed massive energy blasts that effortlessly destroyed rows of tall buildings like building blocks!
The sounds of explosions and cries were incessant.
"Foolish humans! The cancer cells of this planet! I, Vaccine Man, shall completely eradicate you!" Vaccine Man's arrogant declaration blared through the TV.
"Dragon-level?"
Naruto frowned and instantly stood up.
According to the original setting, monsters' threat levels, from highest to lowest, were: God, Dragon, Demon, Tiger, Wolf!
God: A crisis that could lead to the extinction of humanity.
Dragon: A crisis that could lead to the destruction of several towns.
Demon: A crisis that could lead to the paralysis or even destruction of a town's functions.
Tiger: A crisis that could cause casualties.
Wolf: The appearance of a dangerous factor.
The Vaccine Man appearing on TV was indeed a Dragon-level disaster!
"Side Quest: Save City A"
"Quest Content: Eliminate Vaccine Man who is wreaking havoc in City A"
"Quest Reward: 1,000,000 experience points, 100,000 exchange tickets"
"Teacher!"
Saitama, scratching his nose, with his bald, stick-figure-like appearance, looked up at the standing Naruto.
"Why don't I go?"
"No need."
Naruto waved his hand.
Are you kidding? These were huge amounts of experience points!
Before he removed the human limiter, his level had reached the limit for the human race, preventing him from leveling up further. Therefore, Naruto had left the task of eliminating monsters to Saitama for his training.
Now that the level cap had been broken, Naruto, of course, had to take action himself.
"Saitama, this Vaccine Man is a Dragon-level monster, quite strong. Watch closely how I defeat him."
Naruto grinned, his figure instantly blurred as he went directly to the balcony, transforming into a golden streak of light. With terrifying speed far exceeding his past, he tore through the air, heading straight for City A!
After breaking the limiter, he didn't even need to consciously use Take-Mikazuchi Mode; his pure physical speed had already reached an unbelievable realm.
He wanted to fully experience his newfound power, so he didn't use Shadow Instant Kill Array to teleport.
Above City A.
Vaccine Man was reveling in the pleasure of destruction. Another massive energy blast condensed in his hand, aimed at the entrance of the shelter below.
A little girl hadn't managed to hide in the shelter in time, standing pitifully in place and crying.
"Disappear, you pests!"
Just as the energy blast was about to be unleashed, a cold voice sounded above him:
"Hey, blue guy, your opponent is me."
Vaccine Man suddenly looked up, only to see a blond youth floating directly above him, looking at him with calm eyes. There were no powerful energy fluctuations emanating from him, yet Vaccine Man instinctively felt a hint of—danger?
"Where did this bug come from? Get lost!"
Vaccine Man casually hurled the energy blast at Naruto.
Naruto neither dodged nor defended. The energy blast, capable of leveling a city block, struck him, but a pitch-black circular hole appeared out of thin air in front of him, swallowing Vaccine Man's energy blast without even a ripple.
"What?!"
Vaccine Man's pupils contracted, showing surprise for the first time.
His attack was actually ineffective?
"Is this all you've got?"
"A Dragon-level monster is nothing special."
Naruto said indifferently.