Rasa's thoughts stirred.
"Draw."
This time, he had no reason to hesitate.
The points had already reached the cap for this rumor, which meant they would no longer increase.
There was no point waiting.
An invisible roulette wheel began to spin.
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained an F-rank item: One tael of gold.]
...
[Congratulations, Host. You have completed your 100th draw and triggered the grand pity reward, obtaining an S-rank item: Otsutsuki Bloodline 5%.]
[Pity system activated.]
[1. Perform 30 consecutive draws to obtain a minor pity reward.]
[2. Perform 100 draws to obtain a grand pity reward.]
"Pity reward?"
Rasa's gaze fixed on the reward item.
Otsutsuki Bloodline 5%.
At once, his heart heated up.
Naruto.
Also known as The Legend of Eyes.
Also known as The Otsutsuki Family Story.
No matter how strong a person was, no matter how talented, it still could not compare to Otsutsuki blood.
Just like Rasa himself.
Even after obtaining the S-rank ninjutsu Sand Soldier Manifestation through the lottery and greatly increasing his strength, Rasa knew very clearly that he still had a ceiling.
That was the pain of a non-bloodline shinobi.
Take Orochimaru, for example. After decades of hard training, all it took was one glance from thirteen-year-old Uchiha Itachi to shatter his confidence completely—after which he threw himself into trying to obtain Uchiha Sasuke's body.
The body's natural limits.
The upper limit of chakra reserves.
The quality of chakra itself.
Those were all like chains locked around one's potential.
But now, things were different.
Through the lottery, he could obtain Otsutsuki blood.
"Use it."
In the next instant, Rasa clearly felt a foreign power surge into his body.
Immediately afterward, his body began to change at high speed.
His physique was being strengthened.
His chakra was rising.
And his eyes...
Expectation appeared in Rasa's gaze.
"So every hundred draws grants a grand pity reward. And that grand pity reward is clearly this S-rank item—Otsutsuki bloodline. At two hundred draws, my Otsutsuki bloodline will reach ten percent."
"At two thousand draws, it'll reach one hundred percent."
"That is... twenty rumors."
Rasa's eyes lit up.
Once his Otsutsuki bloodline reached one hundred percent, he would become a genuine Otsutsuki.
Not only would his strength far surpass that of ordinary shinobi—
He would also possess an extraordinarily long lifespan.
He might even transcend dimensions and travel between worlds.
Comparable to a true god.
"I can't stop spreading rumors."
"And I can't spread them casually anymore. If I'm going to do it, then I need the kind that earn points fast."
Rasa could feel his heart pounding violently.
Even obtaining Sand Soldier Manifestation had not left him this excited.
A while later, Rasa gradually calmed down and carefully felt the changes in himself.
"My body has been strengthened to a degree."
"My chakra reserves have increased by a full thirty percent."
The more chakra one had, the stronger Sand Soldier Manifestation became.
Before, Rasa could manifest three hundred mid-level sand soldiers.
Now, the number of mid-level sand soldiers he could summon would approach four hundred.
"And my eyes..."
Rasa felt the changes there most clearly.
As if some special stimulus was awakening them.
He hurried to look in a mirror.
Then he saw it—
The color in one of his eyes was fading away.
It gradually turned white.
And the contents of the world in that eye's field of vision changed as well.
He could see farther.
He could see through objects.
He could see behind himself.
"Byakugan!"
Rasa's brow lifted.
"The Otsutsuki Clan are born with the Byakugan. Now that I possess Otsutsuki blood—though only a little, so by definition I'm still in a mixed-blood state—my own strength is already there."
"Hyuga shinobi can awaken the Byakugan through training."
"And with my current strength, plus five percent Otsutsuki bloodline, I've already reached the condition for awakening the Byakugan."
"But why only one eye?"
"Because the blood concentration still isn't enough?"
"The other eye hasn't changed yet..."
"It looks a little strange."
Still, one Byakugan was still a Byakugan.
And it would be of enormous help to him.
Rasa's gaze returned to the system panel.
"One hundred draws grants a grand pity reward."
"Thirty consecutive draws grant a minor pity reward."
"In that case, my most efficient draw pattern from now on should be 30, 30, 30, and then 10. One rumor's point cap can earn me three minor pity rewards and one grand pity reward."
Right at that moment, an urgent letter arrived.
Rasa opened it, and his expression changed slightly.
In the next instant, his figure flashed.
When he reappeared, he was already standing atop Yatagarasu's back.
Yatagarasu beat its wings and sped forward with astonishing speed.
The urgent letter Rasa had received was none other than a distress call from Baki.
Earlier, Rasa had dispatched Baki to try and establish contact with Kakuzu, with the intention of hiring him to attack Kirigakure or Konoha shinobi and reduce the pressure on Sunagakure.
Now, Baki had finally made progress.
But just after Baki had made contact with Kakuzu and, through great effort, earned a sliver of his trust, a squad of Kirigakure shinobi had suddenly appeared from nowhere.
The moment they recognized Baki, they gave relentless chase and launched a desperate assault.
Baki had only narrowly defeated them.
But then, Kirigakure had actually sent members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in person.
At the border of the Land of Wind, Baki had never expected the battlefield to shift so close to this place.
The moment Jinin Akebino heard the news, his interest had been stirred.
Originally, everything had been going perfectly well.
But because of various setbacks, the situation had worsened again and again.
From standing on the verge of crushing Sunagakure, to having several offensives broken apart, to now being forced back under Sunagakure's pressure—
Jinin Akebino felt only humiliation.
So when he heard of Baki, he could not hold himself back.
Jinin knew Baki was Rasa's disciple.
"If I can't beat Sunagakure, and I can't kill Rasa... then surely I can kill you, Baki?"
He resolved to pour all of his anger onto Baki.
As for whether others would mock him for bullying the weak and tarnishing the reputation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?
Jinin Akebino did not care in the slightest.
Kirigakure had never been the sort to care about that.
At this stage, Baki was completely outmatched by Jinin Akebino.
Faced with him, all Baki could do was run.
And he could not even escape.
At the critical moment, Baki had no choice but to hand over all the funds Rasa had given him and hire Kakuzu to intervene.
Only that had bought him a little breathing room.
Only that had allowed his distress letter to be sent successfully back to Sunagakure.
Yatagarasu flew incredibly fast.
Using his Byakugan, Rasa looked down below and took in everything within his vision.
Until at last—
Four figures entered his sight.
One of them was Baki.
The other three were Jinin Akebino, Kushimaru Kuriarare, and Raiga Kurosuki.
At that moment, Baki had already fallen into despair.
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