Chapter 12: The Price
Boom!
A dull thunderclap echoed across the sky, lightning splitting the pitch-black heavens as if the apocalypse had arrived.
Freezing rain pelted against the cabin exterior with a sharp patter. Su Xiao sat inside the slightly warm cabin, a stark contrast to the stormy scene outside.
His luck wasn’t great. On the very first night at sea, he encountered a storm, though fortunately, it wasn’t severe.
Stripping off his soaked clothes, Su Xiao sat on the bed. Having only been at sea for a day, the bedding was still dry, without any dampness.
The Naruto World offered little in the way of entertainment. With nothing else to do, Su Xiao took out two treasure chests from his storage space.
One blue chest and one purple chest. The Destiny Redemption lighter appeared in his hand as Su Xiao prepared to open them, hoping to gamble on getting a ninjutsu.
Even if he got a C-rank or B-rank ninjutsu, its value wouldn’t be low. An A-rank ninjutsu would mean a huge fortune. As for S-rank ninjutsu, Su Xiao hadn’t even considered it.
Lighting a cigarette, he exhaled a puff of pale golden smoke, activating his Lucky King state.
[Yes/No to open treasure chest (Blue).]
He decisively opened it. He didn’t hold much hope for this blue chest; he just wanted to warm up his hands.
A sapphire-like glow flashed, and Su Xiao was taken aback.
It flashed! This chest he had no expectations for gave him a pleasant surprise.
[You receive 5000 Paradise Coins.]
[You receive Chakra Cultivation Method (Basic).]
…
A scroll appeared in his hand. Holding it, Su Xiao’s first thought was that he had struck it rich.
The [Chakra Cultivation Method] was a special item. Every ninja mastered the method of cultivating chakra, so it had a chance to drop from any ninja’s treasure chest, but the probability was extremely low. Him getting it was a rare event.
Su Xiao had seen this item once in the Trade Market, priced at 200,000 Paradise Coins, and it sold out in less than half an hour.
[Chakra Cultivation Method (Basic)]
Quality: Blue
Type: Consumable
Effect: After use, the physique will change, allowing the combination of physical energy and mental energy to generate chakra.
Rating: 70
Introduction: A basic method for fusing physical energy and mental energy, with slightly low efficiency.
…
This was the first treasure chest Su Xiao had opened in the Naruto World. Perhaps it was a sign—his luck was about to turn.
He had faced countless setbacks in the Mist Ninja Village: imprisoned, used, hunted. But after leaving the Land of Water, Su Xiao’s fortune began to shift, starting with a bang.
In high spirits, Su Xiao turned his gaze to the purple chest.
“Hoo-ooo~”
A snoring sound came from Bubu Wang, who was sleeping on the bed, drool dripping from his mouth.
Picking up the purple chest, Su Xiao thought: if a blue chest could yield something worth 200,000 Paradise Coins, what about a purple one?
Recalling a certain “big health care first” person’s words: ‘If 98 is like this, then 298 must be soaring!’
Opening the purple chest, the smile on Su Xiao’s face instantly vanished.
[You receive 1000 Paradise Coins.]
…
“That’s it?”
Su Xiao picked up the purple chest and tipped it upside down. This was the first time he had opened an “empty chest.”
That’s right, an empty chest—one that only gave 1000 Paradise Coins. In Reincarnation Paradise, this was commonly called an empty chest, a situation even rarer than a flash.
Su Xiao had “luckily” opened an empty chest, and in his Lucky King state at that…
Though somewhat speechless, facts were facts, and he had to accept reality.
Putting away the [Chakra Cultivation Method (Basic)], Su Xiao found himself with nothing to do in the cabin.
With time to spare, he began pondering an idea he’d had for a long time.
His Blade Master skill had already reached [Mastery], and in his spare time, he also practiced his blade techniques.
Su Xiao had been using a blade for a long time, during which he had developed many moves.
Admittedly, developing moves was an incredibly difficult task. He had created over thirty techniques, but only one was practical: “Ring Break.” The others were unreliable, and some could even cause a back injury if used poorly—utterly disappointing.
With only “Ring Break” being useful, Su Xiao decided to perfect it.
The power of Ring Break was undeniable, proven many times over. It was practical whether facing a single enemy or multiple foes.
Ring Break was somewhat similar to a quick-draw slash, but unlike a quick-draw, it incorporated blade aura, allowing it to spread outward and form a circular killing zone with a diameter of over ten meters.
A quick-draw slash could only cut a small area in front, while Ring Break was a 360-degree slash.
Su Xiao had once used Ring Break to instantly kill a contractor, but he always felt its attack power wasn’t strong enough, leaving it somewhat weak against formidable enemies.
He had thought of a solution to the insufficient cutting power: infusing Cyan Steel Shadow energy into the blade aura to enhance the strike.
However, blade aura and Cyan Steel Shadow energy were two different natures. If Cyan Steel Shadow was energy, then blade aura was a combination of spirit, blade technique insight, and perception—not an energy entity. This made fusing the two extremely difficult.
Su Xiao stood up from the bed, and Dragon-Slaying Flash appeared in his hand. He slashed forward in the air, and a thin blade aura flew from the edge, disappearing before it could strike the cabin wall.
By now, Su Xiao could unleash blade aura effortlessly, almost instinctively.
Sheathing Dragon-Slaying Flash, Su Xiao took a deep breath.
“Ring Break.”
Clang.
Su Xiao slashed forward, and a ring of pale blue blade aura expanded outward, spreading a meter or two before vanishing.
He had deliberately suppressed the technique’s power; otherwise, this ship would be cut in half, and he still needed it to reach the Land of Fire.
When he used “Ring Break” just now, Su Xiao tried to infuse Cyan Steel Shadow energy into the blade aura, but failed. The two couldn’t merge, and large-scale contact made them highly unstable.
Cyan Steel Shadow energy was defined as energy consumed in close combat, and it had a repulsive nature toward most energies and substances, making it normal that it couldn’t integrate into the blade aura.
A bit disappointed, Su Xiao didn’t give up easily. He had failed countless times in similar experiments.
“Can’t fuse… then what about wrapping?”
A new idea struck Su Xiao. Since they couldn’t merge, what if he wrapped the Cyan Steel Shadow energy around the blade aura? That seemed like a decent option.
Acting on the thought, Su Xiao sheathed Dragon-Slashing Flash and focused his mind.
“Wrap… wrap…”
He slashed forward with Dragon-Slashing Flash. Before the Ring Break blade aura could expand, he immediately mobilized his Cyan Steel Shadow energy, wrapping it around the aura about to spread.
At that moment, a sudden change occurred!
Crack, crack, crack~
A sharp explosion sounded. The Ring Break blade aura didn’t spread outward but instead changed form entirely. The circular blade aura sprouted numerous pale blue spikes.
Since the Ring Break blade aura had just formed around Su Xiao, the half-meter-long spikes rapidly stabbed toward him.
Pfft. Pfft…
In less than a second, Su Xiao became a pincushion. Those pale blue spikes were incredibly sharp, piercing his skin and muscles as easily as tearing through paper.
Blood dripped onto the floor. The circular blade aura and spikes around Su Xiao vanished, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
He had nearly died while developing a technique. Though it might sound ridiculous, more than one-tenth of all powerhouses died this way.
Techniques meant to kill enemies were dangerous and unstable during development. This was the price of developing techniques, the cost of becoming stronger.