"One hundred Basic Treasure Chests, twenty Intermediate Chests, and one Advanced Chest!"
Over the past year or so, even though Aoi himself hadn't been completing many missions, his followers — Orochimaru and Hinata Masutomo — had certainly kept busy.
While there were no more Advanced Chests, he had accumulated a massive stockpile of Basic and Intermediate ones...
"Open them all!"
One hundred and twenty-one chests opened at once. Glowing light flooded out, filling the system space: 100 Energy Potions, 30 Chakra Potions, 5 Random Basic Summoning Scrolls, 3 Low-Grade Ninja Tools, and 1 Random Training Scroll!
Nothing exceptionally rare, but it replenished his supply of potions and weapons, so the result was decent enough. As for that training scroll... well, there was only one thing to do with it.
A change of world, a change of pace!
Aoi tore open the scroll. Thick mist swirled across the plain parchment, obscuring everything — yet within the fog, it looked as if a single, crystal-clear red flower was in full bloom.
"Fog? Am I going to face Zabuza again?"
In the last moment before his consciousness faded, a thought flickered through his mind, then vanished just as quickly: That crystal flower...
Drip... drop...
Cold water splashed against his face. Aoi slowly opened his eyes and realized he was lying directly beneath a waterfall.
"Damned System... the drop-off points are getting worse and worse." Aoi stood up with a sigh, seeing that he was deep within a forest.
There was nothing distinctive about the area to tell him exactly where he was...
He looked around. Nothing but darkness and trees; not a single sign of life anywhere...
"Come on! Couldn't you just drop me right in the middle of the action?" Aoi complained bitterly to the System. The teleportation service had been cutting corners lately.
Ding. Location selected is the safest point in proximity to the main storyline. Arriving in water or on high ground is standard procedure.
Although the System provided an explanation, Aoi couldn't help but feel that it sounded exactly like the nonsense he used to trick Shinki...
But before he could question it further, a strange noise echoed from the woods in the distance, startling countless roosting birds into flight.
"What's going on?"
Aoi waded up out of the water and climbed the falls, where he witnessed a breathtaking and beautiful sight.
Amidst the dark forest, birds scattered in panic. Rising in the center stood a massive pillar of red crystal, glowing with a magnificent radiance like a gem belonging to the gods.
"A crystal this big..." Aoi grinned. "As far as I know, there is only one person in the entire Naruto world capable of this!"
Guren, user of the Crystal Release!
That beautiful woman who was herself like a crystal flower!
She was a very popular character among the cast, and Aoi was quite fond of her too — that hard, unyielding, yet noble beauty.
However, this particular story arc was notoriously messy...
Aoi shook his head helplessly. Simply put, the plot revolved around Akatsuki and Orochimaru competing against Konoha for control of the Three-Tails.
But almost every major character ended up gathering in this one place.
Not only were the Twelve Guardian Ninja there, but many Jonin including Kakashi had also arrived.
On Akatsuki's side, Deidara, Guren, and a large group of subordinates like Gosui were not to be underestimated either.
With so many powerful forces working together, Aoi knew he wouldn't gain any advantage unless he went all out and unleashed his full power...
For now though, Aoi had no interest in jumping straight into the plot. The early stages of this arc — whether it was the capture of the Three-Tails or Guren's story — were incredibly boring.
It was just the two sides constantly probing each other, clashing briefly, then pulling back again...
Until the Three-Tails actually appeared, anything he did would only reveal his presence and make an already chaotic situation even more confusing.
So...
Time to go find Orochimaru!
That guy... his whole body is practically made of treasure!
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