"Gather everyone and have them all purchase Jars?" Hiruzen Sarutobi was visibly startled by the sheer audacity of Tsunade's proposal.
For days, his mind had been consumed by a single, cautious plan: centralize every last resource, Ryo, and asset from the entire village and funnel it into one or two chosen individuals—like Tsunade herself, or perhaps his most trusted ANBU—to maximize the capital for Tier Two or Tier Three Jar purchases. The goal was to create one or two overwhelmingly powerful deterrents, a single, decisive point of strength, similar to the original concept of the Hokage.
"Of course, we must recruit everyone," Tsunade stated, her voice ringing with absolute certainty. "The advent of the Stage of Destiny has fundamentally altered the battle environment among members. Since Konoha has the advantage of having the first members, we must capitalize on this lead and aggressively expand our roster."
She saw this as Konoha's inherent strategic advantage: the ability to quickly build a deep, powerful pool of augmented shinobi before other Hidden Villages could even process the news.
"Why not pool all resources to forge one or two overwhelmingly powerful individuals?" Sarutobi couldn't help but voice his outdated, yet deeply ingrained, philosophy of power concentration.
Tsunade's vibrant energy faltered, and she fixed Sarutobi with a look of profound, crushing disappointment. "Old man, that was your plan?"
She finally understood the reason for his agonizing inertia. He hadn't been waiting for the right moment; he had been attempting to justify a sweeping policy of mandatory resource redistribution—a system based on lies or veiled coercion to convince clans to sacrifice their future for the "greater good" of a single, unknown champion.
"Ignoring the practical issues of whether one supreme powerhouse is superior to a multitude of powerful individuals, or whether the Great Clans would actually surrender their entire legacy, I will show you one thing," Tsunade declared.
She raised her hand and executed a quick, complex flurry of hand seals. "Sacred Art: Holy Light Palm Profound Technique!"
A soft, golden radiance emanated from her palm, distinct from Chakra, yet perfectly integrated with the familiar medical ninjutsu posture.
"This..." Sarutobi's aging, slightly blurred eyes widened, recognizing the deliberate blending of disciplines.
"The power I obtained from the Jar is called Holy Light," Tsunade explained, presenting the glowing palm. "I've spent the past few days exploring its application, and this is one result: by incorporating Holy Light into the Palm Healing Technique, I can achieve a healing effect far exceeding anything standard Medical Ninjutsu can produce. Old man, this is an entirely new domain of power!"
The Holy Light she acquired was not overwhelmingly strong, but it was magical. It was a key to a new realm of power, constantly inspiring new jutsus and opening pathways for innovation. Crucially, these new techniques were valuable tradable information in Shen Mo's economy.
Sarutobi stared at Tsunade's confident smile and the vibrant light in her palm. For the first time in decades, he felt a crushing sense of his own obsolescence. The title of "Ninjutsu Master," a source of pride, now seemed hollow—when was the last time he had truly created something new?
"Teacher," Tsunade switched her tone, addressing him with absolute, professional seriousness. "You have seen Sasuke's swordsmanship, you have witnessed images of heroes from other worlds. No one knows the sheer variety of powers lurking in those Jars. Under these conditions, do you honestly believe a single, concentrated champion can guarantee invincibility?"
The war that had just concluded involved unpredictable, wide-ranging Tier Two skills, terrifying Tier Four spectators, magnificent equipment, and sudden, devastating counter-attacks. This new conflict would be far more intricate and perilous than any Shinobi World War. Tsunade's logic was irrefutable: concentrating resources at a single point was strategically reckless.
And the political reality: once the clans learned of the Jar's true potential, would they sacrifice their own chances for personal power and willingly become powerless dependents? Never.
Sarutobi fell silent. He still clung to his old fears—the risk of fragmentation, of rogue elements—but he knew he could not sway Tsunade. His authority was fading, and with Tsunade's return, the line of succession was clear. A clash now would only fracture Konoha further.
"Very well..."
Sarutobi let out a long, weary sigh. He looked suddenly frail, his gaze fixed on the desktop. "If your mind is made up, why did you even ask me? As you said, I am old. Konoha will inevitably pass into your hands."
He lacked the moral courage to undertake the high-risk, low-probability gambit of mass resource centralization. Just as he had endured the humiliation of the Hyuga-Cloud incident decades ago, he would endure this.
"Then I will take charge."
Tsunade had won the argument, but the victory brought her no joy. She looked at her teacher, recognizing the true depth of his age. Without another word, she turned and left. She needed to identify the trustworthy clans in Konoha, formulate the purchasing strategy, and locate Shen Mo immediately.
Unaware of the political coup that had just transpired, Shen Mo was immersed in optimizing his business model. The successful implementation of the Stage of Destiny meant a dramatic surge in customer volume was imminent. He knew he could no longer handle every transaction manually.
Up until now, he had personally stocked every Jar, one by one. This allowed for crucial, behind-the-scenes manipulation—controlling specific drops to lure customers like Tsunade, Sasuke, and Naruto deeper into the 'pay-to-win' cycle.
But with the entire world potentially lining up, his current method was hopelessly inefficient.
"I need to switch to a Salted Fish Style Canned Food Sales Plan," Shen Mo mused, glancing at the system interface. "The system already has a search function. I can set parameters—type in 'Kendo' and a price range, and a filtered list of Kendo-related products appears for customers."
The critical adjustment was the probability model.
"I need to automate the distribution of grand prizes."
Even if two rewards possessed the same trade value (e.g., 30,000 points cash vs. a 30,000 point Tier Two skill), the psychological impact was vastly different. Shen Mo was aiming for the standard gacha model.
The equivalent of telling players the drop rate for an ultra-rare SSR is only one percent. Some lucky players would hit it immediately; others would sink hundreds of attempts into the system.
From an official standpoint, as long as the 1% probability was mathematically honest, the total distribution of SSRs would balance the cost paid by the players.
However, a necessary modification was required: the sheer, insane luck demonstrated by players like Tsunade and Naruto—the equivalent of an in-game cheat code—had to be managed. Their 'luck' stat needed to be rendered less effective in skewing the overall distribution.
Shen Mo frowned, realizing the true randomness needed to be both preserved and rigorously controlled to maintain long-term balance and addiction.