Slash 198… Slash 199… Slash 200.
Haaah…
Sasuke lowered his sword, breath heavy, sweat trickling down his chin and staining the wood beneath him. His arms trembled slightly, the muscles screaming from hours of relentless motion.
A faint screen appeared in front of him, glowing softly in the dim light.
[Assimilation: Batman – 17%]
Click. His tongue pressed against his teeth in irritation. Seventeen percent… after two months?
The irritation in his thoughts was clear. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, eyes narrowing as he stared at the floating numbers.
If it takes this long for someone like Batman, what happens when I try to assimilate someone stronger?
The thought alone made his stomach twist. It wasn't that he wasn't trying, it was that he couldn't. Ever since that night, the village had eyes everywhere. Every move he made was being watched, monitored, judged.
If not for that, I'd already be past thirty percent by now.
He leaned against the wall, feeling the sweat cool on his skin. Dawn light spilled weakly through the window, brushing across the silent compound. It looked peaceful, almost disgustingly so.
Sixty days. Sixty days since the clan's laughter vanished.
He could still hear it sometimes, his mother's voice calling him for dinner, his father's quiet approval when he finished a jutsu. Then, that night.
Shhk. His jaw clenched. His eyes narrowed as the memory burned through him, his parents' bodies lying cold on the floor, and the blade in his brother's hand gleaming under the moonlight.
Haaah… The breath came out slow, almost trembling.
He didn't wake for an entire week.
The doctors said it was psychological shock. Maybe they were right, but when he finally opened his eyes again, something inside him had already died.
He didn't cry when he learned Itachi was branded a rogue ninja. He didn't cry when they said he was the last surviving Uchiha.
There was no point. Crying wouldn't bring anyone back. Begging for pity wouldn't change the past.
So instead, he decided to grow stronger, strong enough to make his brother pay, strong enough to make sure no one could ever control him again.
But what truly disgusted him were the villagers. The same people who sneered at the Uchiha Police now smiled at him with those disgusting, "sympathetic" eyes.
Heh. Hypocrites. All of them.
He exhaled slowly, forcing his face blank as he entered the house. The place reeked of false peace. He leaned his sword in the corner, washed the sweat from his body, and sat at the edge of the bed.
[Points: 30]
The faint glow flickered before his eyes, a cruel reminder of the strange system that had appeared to him. He stared at the number for a long moment. It better be someone useful, someone powerful. There were countless monsters in those memories, countless beings who could tear mountains apart or erase entire villages. He didn't need a god, just someone strong enough to let him walk away from this prison. Kage level, that would be enough.
The reason he hadn't broken down after waking up was simple. He already knew. Somehow, lying there in that hospital bed, something had awakened, memories that weren't his, or maybe were. They came flooding in, piece by piece, showing a world completely different from this one. He closed his eyes. He could still see those strange images that haunted his dreams, tall buildings, glowing machines, entire stories told through moving drawings. Anime, that's what they called them. Among them was one that stood out more than anything else, Naruto.
He had seen it all from an outside view. His life, rewritten as fiction. His clan's slaughter, turned into backstory. His hatred, his ambition, mere "character development" for someone else's story.
The dead last, the Demon Fox brat, Naruto Uzumaki.
He didn't know what it meant. Maybe I'm a reincarnator whose memories had been buried until now. Or maybe just a puppet in some higher being's game. Doesn't matter.
What mattered was the truth, the one who slaughtered his parents, his cousins, his entire clan, was still alive. The same brother who once smiled at him, who played god and decided everyone's fate like they were insects. He could almost see their faces, the elders who doted on him, the children he used to play with, the way the clan compound used to be filled with laughter. All gone.
Of course, he knew Itachi Uchiha, who thought his actions were for something his clan's trivial lives couldn't understand, was just a pawn. There were others too, like Obito Uchiha and those parasites in Konoha's shadow squads. Sasuke wouldn't forget anyone. Each one was going to pay with their life and death, the debt he was going to collect.
He opened his eyes. Hnn.
Let's start the spin.
The number hit zero. Ten cards appeared, drifting in a slow, ghostly circle.
Each card cost three points. One point per day of survival.
He pinched his arm just to be sure. Tch. Pain. Real enough.
He murmured under his breath, "Guess I'm not dreaming."
He flicked the first card open.
1. [Power Beyond Worlds (400CP) – Kiba the Animated Series Jumpchain]
Jumpchain huh ....the one in memories really like to read them. Let's see if this is useful like the one I got last month or not before deciding if I will be purchasing it or not.
[Like how Noah and Zed had Shard chains in Calm. You now have the inborn talents to use the powers of other settings. This means you will automatically have the potential to use the powers of the Setting. You have the potential only. No more no less. You will have to work for your power. You also have all your energy pools combined so that you can use your powers freely. Each pool will be added together granting you the shared reserves Any perk relating to one source will benefit them all. Finally, it grants the potential to use and mix your powers freely. You will need to practice and work on it but the results will be promising. Your output isn't increased but your Reserves and Utility are increased.]
Hmm… so it means every world I travel to, I can gain its native energy and even convert chakra into it and vice versa, Sasuke mused inwardly, a faint flicker of satisfaction crossing his face. That's… convenient. Extremely convenient.
The idea pleased him more than he expected. There was no shortage of supernatural energy across the Omniverse, mana, magicules, ki, haki, reiryoku, and countless types of chi from those Chinese cultivation worlds.
Heh, a low breath escaped his nose. So increasing one means increasing them all.
If he had four mana and six chakra, that would now become ten units of a universal energy, usable for either jutsu or spells. Hn. Efficient.
As his mana grew, so would his chakra, and vice versa. The longer he lived, the greater the reserves.
Seeing the first card was so beneficial in the long term made Sasuke quicken his pace in checking the rest.
2. Package: Roronoa Zoro (One Piece)
He read the name and froze for a moment. Zoro, huh… Guess I don't have to worry about going blind just to kill that bastard anymore.
Hn, his eyes narrowed slightly. Still, jokes aside, he is my ticket to reaching kage-level combat ability.
Though, there were some uncertainties. No details about when he's from, before or after the timeskip? He frowned slightly. And since it's a "package," that probably means I've got his related items too, swords.
He looked toward the corner of the room, where his own sword rested against the wall. I can't risk taking them out here. The Anbu are still watching, and Sarutobi would summon me to his office the moment something strange happens.
A quiet exhale escaped him. Patience.
The thought of being monitored gnawed at him, but it didn't matter. Not for long.
Because the next card had finally solved that problem...
**********
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