The middle-parted youth's muttering to himself was clearly unnatural—
Naruto had been watching from a distance the entire time.
This suspicious behavior was all too obvious.
A faint smile curved Naruto's lips.
"Found you."
"So this is the guy with the system? And that's all he's got?"
At that moment, Naruto's system—rarely one to speak unless it involved a mission—chimed in:
"Even among systems, there is a hierarchy. You should be grateful you were bound to me."
Naruto didn't argue.
After all, his rise in strength had come with almost laughable ease.
Sometimes, even Naruto himself felt the gains didn't match the effort—
But since the one benefitting was him, he didn't overthink it.
He didn't strike immediately.
Waiting to defeat the system host in the arena would fulfill the mission more cleanly.
That Night.
Since the rest area had been obliterated, the contestants were moved to a luxury hotel.
Lu Bingran herself escorted Naruto to his room—
The top floor, a premium private suite with its own rooftop pool, training area, and… even a "recreation" zone.
The entire top floor belonged to this one room, several hundred square meters in size.
As they entered, Lu Bingran let out a long sigh, voice tinged with exasperation:
"Please, big bro, can you stop causing trouble?
I seriously can't keep this tournament together if this keeps up—upper management is all over me!"
This was her first time organizing a nationwide tournament—
Originally a way to boost her resume.
But with Naruto around? It had become a nightmare.
"Don't worry," Naruto waved it off. "I want the tournament to go smoothly too."
Lu Bingran rolled her eyes so subtly it was barely noticeable.
"Anyway, just finish the tournament, get your prize, and we'll go our separate ways."
After spending a few days with him, she'd more or less gotten used to his personality.
Naruto shrugged and let her go.
She headed off to continue handling the endless logistics of the competition.
Rooftop Reflections.
On the balcony, the pool glowed like sapphire under the moonlight.
Naruto stripped off his outerwear and dove in.
His body was flawless—
Not a blemish or wasted contour in sight, every muscle sculpted as though handcrafted by Hagoromo himself.
Floating on the water, gazing at the cyberpunk-esque cityscape…
Even Naruto had to admit the view was impressive.
Until several black dots suddenly appeared in the sky.
They rapidly closed in.
Soon, a middle-aged man with two young adults—a woman and a man—landed on the edge of Naruto's balcony.
The purple-haired woman locked eyes on Naruto's body and couldn't help but bite her lip, swallowing hard.
She'd never seen a man that physically perfect.
Naruto didn't react.
He lay in the pool, watching the moonlight ripple across the surface.
After a moment of silence, the middle-aged man finally spoke, voice low and condescending:
"Uzumaki Naruto. Let's talk."
Naruto paused his backstroke and climbed out of the pool, drying himself with chakra.
"Talk about what?"
"The national tournament, of course," the man said directly.
"If you're willing to lose in the final, we'll make it very worth your while."
Naruto shook his head, unimpressed.
"Not interested."
The man's smile remained, but his eyes were cold:
"Perhaps you should hear what we're offering before making such a hasty decision."
"Leave."
Naruto's tone dropped, cold and final.
The man's expression darkened.
"Don't be arrogant just because you're talented.
Genius doesn't make you strong. I've seen many promising kids like you die halfway through their climb."
Naruto tilted his head slightly.
"Are you threatening me?"
"You could call it that. You have no choice."
Naruto nodded slowly.
The man smirked—thinking Naruto had accepted reality.
But then—Naruto's crimson pupils flashed.
Mystic Eyes of Death Perception—Activated.
This man was probably another Eighth-Tier martial artist, similar to Lu Bingran.
On this planet, that made him a top-tier powerhouse.
But to Naruto?
He wasn't even qualified to fight.
The Mystic Eyes instantly registered a kill line.
And in the blink of an eye, the man disintegrated into blood-colored dust, absorbed into Naruto's pupils.
A fraction of the man's strength was converted into pure energy and devoured.
The purple-haired woman and the black-haired youth stood frozen in shock.
To them, this teacher was untouchable—
And he had just… vanished.
Without sound. Without struggle. Without leaving a body.
Naruto's glowing eyes turned toward them, and the temperature seemed to drop several degrees.
"S-Spare us, senior! We'll do anything!"
The black-haired youth immediately fell to his knees, groveling with trained efficiency.
The purple-haired woman quickly followed suit.
Naruto extended his hand, using the Human Path technique.
"Human Path – Memory Extraction."
He dove into their minds to see what organization or forces these three belonged to...