Chapter 58: I'm Done. Logging Off.
As for why Observation Haki and Armament Haki cost so much more than the Six Powers, Ryū honestly had no idea. Maybe because Haki was just… special? Hmm. Probably something like that.
Perhaps Haki's growth ceiling was far higher than the Six Powers'.
Or maybe it was because the Six Powers had so many individual techniques that the price per move got a volume discount.
When you thought about it that way, the pricing was almost considerate.
All of the above was pure speculation on Ryū's part. He had no real clue how the system priced things, and knowing wouldn't change anything anyway.
"If I bring the full Six Powers straight to Perfection, that's 9,000 Points. Physical Enhancement: 6,000. Low-tier Observation Haki and Low-tier Armament Haki: 2,000…"
After running the numbers in his head, Ryū arrived at a total of 17,000 Points.
His current balance was 18,100. Subtract 17,000 from that—
And he'd have about 1,100 Points left over.
"I'll put the last thousand or so toward developing the Paramecia-type Decompose-Decompose Fruit's abilities… or maybe toward removing the Devil Fruit's weakness. It's not ability development per se, but at least I won't be standing still. Points exist to be spent."
Decision made, Ryū followed his plan to the letter.
He dumped the Points without a second thought. The final 1,000 went straight into removing his Devil Fruit weakness—zero hesitation.
If that traverser hadn't come with a System attached, reaching this level of power would've taken ten times as long—possibly twenty or thirty times longer.
And by then, if he hadn't gone into hiding, the Nine-Tails might well have stomped him flat.
Meyu Inkyo: the legendary money-delivery child.
One big payday.
Life was good.
Probably because the Point expenditure was so massive and the upgrades so numerous, this round of enhancement took a full ten minutes.
Ryū's eyes, which had been gently closed, slowly opened.
He could feel the staggering amount of power coursing through his body.
He had no real sense of what tier he'd reached.
Before this Group Quest, he'd figured he could take down certain chūnin, maybe even some of the weaker tokubetsu jōnin.
Now, after a comprehensive upgrade across the board—
He genuinely had no accurate read on his own strength.
Maybe I should find time to spar with Whitebeard?
On second thought… never mind. Setting aside the fact that the group members had probably imagined him to be far more powerful than he actually was—
The 1,000 Points needed for a Dimensional Transfer alone—
He couldn't afford it.
Because Ryū was down to his last 100 Points.
"A hundred Points wouldn't even get a single Six Powers technique to Beginner tier, let alone crossing dimensions to spar with Whitebeard. Forget the 'air of mystery' excuse—the real issue is I'm flat broke!"
Ryū sighed helplessly. Spending was fun while it lasted. Spending more was—*cough*—also fun. But once the spending was done, you had nothing.
As for maintaining his mysterious image? Ryū had stopped caring.
The group members auto-generated their own headcanon about how powerful he was anyway.
Some of them had probably convinced themselves he wasn't even human—more like a yōkai.
Others might have decided he was some kind of god.
Ryū couldn't be bothered to correct them. Even if he tried, it probably wouldn't do any good.
Their imaginations were too powerful. The mere thought of trying to explain himself gave Ryū a headache—it'd be more trouble than just staying mysterious.
"Forget it. Why overthink this? Just go with the flow. As long as I'm having fun, that's what matters. Once my actual strength catches up to whatever they've imagined… none of it will matter anyway."
Ryū tossed the worry aside in an instant.
His Points might not be enough for a Dimensional Transfer, but with his current level of strength—
He could probably slip out of Konohagakure undetected.
Then find somewhere outside the village.
And test his abilities for real.
For instance, he could pick a fight with someone from another Hidden Village. Or borrow one of Wolffy's inventions—a voice-and-face-changer gadget—and just start a scrap with someone strong right here in Konoha.
* * *
Just as he was about to grab a rag and clean the house—
Three notification chimes rang out from the Dimensional Chat Group in rapid succession, freezing him mid-reach.
[Member "Green Grasslands Wolf King" sent a Keyword Gift Package!
Enter the correct text: "The Great Wolf King's Gift Package has arrived~"]
[Member "Kaguya-sama" sent a Keyword Gift Package!
Enter the correct text: "Rode some coattails, so here's a little something!"]
[Member "The Eternally Seventeen-Year-Old Maiden" sent a Keyword Gift Package!
Enter the correct text: "FI! NAL! LY! FREE! OF! THE! BAD! LUCK! CURSE!"]
Ryū deployed the god-tier finger speed honed through who-knew-how-many years of being single.
He tapped each of the three glowing Keyword Gift Packages in rapid succession.
All three senders had set the package count to around eight—enough for every member, including themselves.
[Member "Green Grasslands Wolf King's" Gift Package has been claimed! "Kaguya-sama" got the best prize!]
[Member "Kaguya-sama's" Gift Package has been claimed! "RawrSoFierce" got the best prize!]
[Member "The Eternally Seventeen-Year-Old Maiden's" Gift Package has been claimed! "RawrSoFierce" got the best prize!]
Ryū's expression turned distinctly odd. He hadn't been the fastest to open any of the three packages—yet somehow, he'd come out as the lucky winner on two of them.
His haul: 12 Points, 39 Points, and 49 Points. Grand total… exactly 100 Points.
* * *
The Little Wandering Planet: "Whoa! Three Gift Packages at once—you bosses are incredible!"
Crazy Diamond: "Grabbed 43 Points total. Nice~"
Kaguya-sama: "Sigh… sent out a 100-Point Gift Package, only clawed back 34."
Green Grasslands Wolf King: "Same—sent 100, got back 51."
The Eternally Seventeen-Year-Old Maiden: "…I. Am. Going. To. @#$%&! *unintelligible string of profanity*"
The Eternally Seventeen-Year-Old Maiden: "[Image] [Image] [Image] Sent a 100-Point Gift Package and only got back 4?! Pfft! 'Luck turning around' my foot! It was all lies! LIES! I'm done. Going into hibernation!!"
[Admin "RawrSoFierce" sent a Keyword Gift Package!
Enter the correct text: "Jumping on the bandwagon with a Gift Package—and claiming my own share~"]
RawrSoFierce: "Jumping on the bandwagon with a Gift Package—and claiming my own share~"
Kaguya-sama: "Jumping on the bandwagon with a Gift Package—and claiming my own share~"
Edward Newgate: "Jumping on the bandwagon with a Gift Package—and claiming my own share~"
The Eternally Seventeen-Year-Old Maiden: "Jumping on the bandwagon with a Gift Package—and claiming my own share~"
☆☆☆
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