Setting aside the shock and surprise of the Hokages, even Aoki himself felt quite shaken.
He was shocked by his own results!
Tobirama's words had truly served as a reminder.
A million points!
The rewards he had earned from a single mission had unconsciously reached such a level. This was something he could never have imagined before.
After all, before the first Multiverse Task, everyone's points were only in the thousands. It wasn't much at all!
However, after completing this mission, with the combined boost from rewards, collections, and several other factors, the points he earned finally broke the million mark.
Adding the points he had acquired previously, he now had over 1.8 million!
He was approaching the two-million mark.
With this many points, even in the mall, he could exchange them for some truly explosive items.
However, Aoki was in no rush to exchange them. He knew very well that the more points an item required, the more exaggerated its value would be. For example, items in the tens of millions could grant something as absurd as the Saiyan Bloodline.
And at the level of several hundred million, one could obtain powerful cultivation techniques for immortality.
A Super Saiyan was certainly powerful, but compared to the supreme techniques cultivated by the likes of Sun Wukong and Yang Jian, it still fell short.
Aoki understood clearly that his current strength was entirely sufficient. He was in no hurry to exchange for more powerful abilities to raise his level. It was better to save the rewards for now and use them when necessary.
While everyone was discussing, the Chat Group notification sounded again.
[Second Place: Second Hokage Tobirama Senju!]
[Tobirama's Collection: Zanpakutō, 22 in total!!]
[Total Value: 150,000 points!]
As expected, second place went to Tobirama Senju.
Tobirama wasn't particularly surprised when he saw the ranking. Given how hard he had worked, this rank was only natural. He had originally aimed for first place, but compared to that ambition, second place was still acceptable.
However, this time, the other Hokages wore expressions of great surprise.
"Strange!"
"Yeah, why are there only twenty-some weapons this time?"
"Tobirama, I didn't expect you to have regressed!"
The Hokages spoke with curiosity. It wasn't that they looked down on Tobirama, but rather that the number of Zanpakutō he had collected this time was truly low. It didn't meet their psychological expectations. In fact, several other Hokages had collected nearly as many Zanpakutō as Tobirama!
Given Tobirama's speed and strength, he shouldn't have collected so few. After all, in the previous Pirate World, Tobirama had collected 30 Devil Fruits. This meant that in the Soul Reaper World, he had collected fewer items than last time. If this wasn't regression, what was?
Hearing their comments, Tobirama didn't panic. Instead, he revealed a mysterious smile.
"You really underestimate me. Did you think these Zanpakutō were all I had?"
He laughed. Seeing that smile, everyone's heart tightened. Hashirama, in particular, knew his younger brother all too well. Whenever Tobirama made that expression, it meant he was hiding something else!
Sure enough, before anyone could say another word, the system continued its prompt!
[Various gold, silver, treasures, weapons, and other valuables: Total value 230,000 points!]
"Two hundred and thirty thousand points?"
"Did you rob the entire Soul Reaper World!?"
"So the big prize was waiting for us here!"
The Hokages exclaimed in shock. They finally understood why Tobirama hadn't collected many Zanpakutō. This cunning Second Hokage had shifted his focus.
Tobirama gave a confident smile. "I told you not to underestimate me."
He had actually earned 230,000 points from other treasures. Even Aoki hadn't harvested that many miscellaneous items!
Aoki was slightly surprised. He realized that when he asked the others to help him collect things, he had told them to focus on the Zanpakutō, with treasures being a secondary addition. Tobirama had done the exact opposite.
His thinking was different from all the other Hokages. He had planned it from the start: if all twelve Hokages scrambled for the same Zanpakutō, it would lead to a situation where no one got very many—a state of extreme internal competition.
Rather than that, he decided to focus elsewhere. Tobirama had seen many valuable treasures in the nobles' rooms, so he decided to focus on collecting various odds and ends. This also aligned with his research style, as the materials he needed for his studies fell under the category of miscellaneous treasures. It was like killing two birds with one stone.
Consequently, Tobirama's plan was a great success. Aside from Aoki, he successfully secured the second-place spot.
Everyone could only express their admiration for Tobirama's strategy. Hashirama couldn't help but speak with respect.
"In this regard, I have to rely on my little brother. No one can beat him at collecting treasures."
Amidst the conversation of the Hokages, the Chat Group notification sounded once more.
[Reward for Second Place!]
[Reward: 50,000 points!]
The mission rewards had indeed been increased across the board. First place had been raised from 50,000 to 100,000, and second place had increased from 30,000 to 50,000 points.
With this, Tobirama's total points reached nearly 500,000. Of course, this was still far behind Aoki, but he was very satisfied. He had gained a lot this time—both treasures and research materials were maximized.
In particular, the 12th Division had a specialized technological research department. The various things researched there provided Tobirama with immense inspiration.
Tobirama was extremely pleased! Once he returned, he would hurry to research these findings. He felt that even the unification of the Ninja World could take a backseat to the creation of entirely new Ninjutsu.
At this moment, everyone instinctively fell silent. Two of the top three rewards had been revealed. Only one person remained.
Who would it be?
The notification of the Chat Group rang out once more!