Inside the cozy, slightly cluttered apartment, the flickering glow of a movie screen illuminated Shen Mo's face. He was halfway through a tub of popcorn, leaning back as if he didn't have a care in the multiverse. Beside him, Ikaros sat perched on the edge of her seat, still clad in the oversized, fluffy yellow hamster kigurumi.
The contrast was absurd: a man who could rewrite reality and a legendary tactical weapon of mass destruction, both captivated by a romantic comedy.
Suddenly, the membership badge sitting on the coffee table began to vibrate, emitting a sharp, impatient pulse of light. Tsunade's voice, distorted by the transmission but still booming with its characteristic authority, filled the room.
"Shen Mo! Get out here and sell some damn jars!"
Ikaros's pink-tinged wings gave a small, nervous flutter beneath the yellow fleece. She turned her glass-like blue eyes toward her master, seeking guidance. Shen Mo didn't look away from the screen, but a playful smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Go on, Ikaros," he encouraged softly. "This is what we practiced. You're the face of the company today. Show them what a top-tier assistant looks like."
Ikaros took a deep, steadying breath. She stood up, and in a shimmer of light that defied physical laws, the fluffy hamster suit was gone. In its place was a sleek, high-collared black dress—a garment that managed to be both noble and intimidatingly elegant. It clung to her frame with the precision of a second skin, giving her the air of a gothic queen from a world long forgotten.
She pressed her hand to the badge and spoke into the link. Her voice was no longer the quiet whisper of a servant; it was a crystalline, ethereal melody that seemed to resonate with a strange, calming frequency.
"Greetings, valued customer. This is Assistant Ikaros of the Myriad World Merchant Association. How may I facilitate your transaction today?"
Even through the badge, the effect was immediate. On the other end, the bustling noise of Konoha's elite seemed to drop an octave. Tsunade, who had been ready to bark another demand, found herself clearing her throat, her tone shifting from irritation to a forced, professional politeness.
"Ahem. Right. Hello, Miss Icarus. We've got a group here—high-ranking shinobi. We were... uh, scheduled with Shen Mo, but I suppose an assistant will do."
"Please hold for arrival," Ikaros replied.
She looked at Shen Mo one last time. He gave her a thumbs-up, his attention finally shifting from the movie. "I'll be right behind you. Give them a show."
Ikaros closed her eyes. Her pink wings unfurled, glowing with a soft, bioluminescent light that began to tear at the fabric of the room's space.
"Fixed-point coordinates: Konoha Training Ground Zero. Teleportation sequence: Initiate."
Back at the training grounds, the air was thick with expectation. Hiruzen Sarutobi, Tsunade, Kakashi, and Might Guy stood in a loose semi-circle, surrounded by stacks of currency and crates of raw materials.
Suddenly, a kaleidoscopic pillar of light erupted in the center of the field. It wasn't the silent, effortless displacement Shen Mo used; this was a spectacle. The light didn't just appear; it carved itself into the air, smelling of ozone and stardust.
As the light faded, Ikaros descended. She didn't land. True to Shen Mo's "marketing instructions," she hovered exactly ten centimeters above the grass. Her black dress billowed slightly in a wind that didn't exist, and her pink wings shimmered with a fantasy-like luster that made the seasoned ninjas squint.
Hiruzen Sarutobi tightened his grip on his pipe, his eyes narrowing to slits. She isn't human, he thought instantly. The energy she was leaking wasn't chakra; it was something denser, more mechanical, yet profoundly ancient. If Shen Mo was a calm ocean, this girl was a hovering lightning bolt.
Ikaros scanned the group. She didn't have Shen Mo's telepathy, but she had a massive database of human psychology and the Jar-selling manual he had uploaded into her core. She focused on the loudest presence in the room.
"Who wishes to initiate the purchase of fate?" she asked, her voice echoing with a slight, haunting reverb.
"ME! I AM THE FIRST!"
Might Guy practically teleported to the front, his green spandex suit shimmering in the sun. Flames of pure, unadulterated passion seemed to dance in his pupils.
"I have seen my disciple Neji achieve greatness through these jars! My youth demands that I do not fall behind! I want the Fighting Series!"
Guy had been restless. Neji had been challenging him to daily spars, and while Guy was still the master, the gap was closing at a terrifying rate. The "Gentle Fist" was becoming something Guy could no longer call 'gentle.' If he didn't upgrade his power soon, his "Eternal Rival" Kakashi would be the least of his worries—his own student would surpass him before the next full moon.
"Do you possess a Membership Badge?" Ikaros asked. She kept her gaze perfectly level with Guy's, maintaining the "noble" distance Shen Mo had insisted upon.
"Not yet! But I have the capital!" Guy gestured wildly to a mountain of ryo stacked behind him. "Two hundred Tier 1 jars to get the badge! Five hundred Tier 2s to find my path! And if the heavens are kind, ten Tier 3s to seal my destiny!"
This was the "Leaf's Strategic Plan." Hiruzen had decided to spread the initial jars across several key Jōnin to see who would hit a "Job Change" first.
Ikaros looked at the mountain of cash, then tilted her head. Her eyes flickered with a faint blue light—the internal link to Shen Mo's system. After a second, she shook her head.
"This sum is insufficient for the requested quantity," she stated flatly.
The Leaf ninjas froze. Tsunade stepped forward, her brow furrowing. "What? That's the exact exchange rate Shen Mo gave us! Are you hiking the prices?"
"No," Ikaros replied, her tone remaining perfectly neutral, like a machine reading a ledger. "Money is a representative of value, not value itself. In the past week, the nations of your world have increased their currency print rates by 12%. This has diluted the 'Labor Value' of your paper money. As a result, the Merchant Association has adjusted the exchange rate to reflect the true worth of the currency."
She paused, then added a detail from her manual. "Specifically, you are experiencing a value loss of approximately 0.89% per unit of paper currency compared to raw materials."
Hiruzen felt a cold shiver run down his spine. The Merchant Association didn't just sell jars; they were an economic god. They could see the inflation the Daimyos were causing and they simply... adjusted.
"So, if we want to buy later, we're going to get screwed by the economy?" Tsunade asked, her eyes wide.
"I would suggest trading in raw ores, high-quality fabrics, or preserved food in the future," Ikaros suggested. "Paper is fragile. Value is permanent."
"Well, damn," Guy muttered, then immediately brightened. "No matter! A true shinobi works through the hardship! I'll make up the difference! Take it all!"
Ikaros blinked. He is very happy, she thought, recalling her conversation with her master. I must ensure his happiness remains high.
She straightened her posture, striving for that "elegant yet authoritative" vibe. "Confirmed. Fighting Series: 200 Tier 1, 500 Tier 2. Initiating delivery."
She pressed her palm to her chest, and her internal "Universal Card" logic kicked in.
BOOM.
Hundreds of terracotta jars began to materialize in the air, falling in neat, organized rows in front of Might Guy. The sheer volume of the delivery was breathtaking—a literal sea of potential.
"OH! THE SMELL OF CERAMIC IN THE MORNING!" Guy shouted, lunging at the first jar with a fist of pure fire. "YOUTH! EXPLODE!"
As Guy began a whirlwind of jar-smashing that sent shards flying like shrapnel, Tsunade turned to Ikaros.
"Miss Ikaros, some of the others here haven't quite decided on a series yet. Kakashi is... well, he's Kakashi. And we have others waiting. Can you give us a recommendation? What fits a 'Leaf Shinobi' best?"
Ikaros tilted her head. Her database had thousands of combat styles, but "recommendation" required a nuance of human desire she hadn't quite mastered yet.
"I... I am an assistant," she began tentatively. "The choice of fate is—"
"I'll take over the consultations from here," a familiar, relaxed voice interrupted.
In a soft swirl of white light, Shen Mo appeared beside Ikaros. He was no longer in his lounging clothes; he wore his merchant robes, looking every bit the mysterious traveler. He placed a gentle hand on Ikaros's head, a silent signal that she had done well.
"Recommendations are a bit tricky for Ikaros," Shen Mo said, smiling at the gathered elite. "She sees the world in terms of power and efficiency. But you lot... you're far more complicated than that."
He looked at Kakashi, who was currently trying to look invisible behind a tree, and then at Hiruzen, who looked like he was aged ten years by the "inflation" news.
"Let's see," Shen Mo said, his eyes glinting. "Who wants to be the next to find their destiny? Or are we just going to watch Guy break his hands on these Tier 2s?"
Guy, currently surrounded by a pile of shattered clay and holding a glowing red headband, let out a primal scream of joy. "I CAN FEEL IT! THE POWER OF THE SIXTH GATE IS NO LONGER MY LIMIT!"