Chapter 41: Undercurrents Surging

"I can already smell the scent of an Experience Capsule; it's truly alluring."

Tsunade pressed her palms together, praying with a mutter.

Five Skill Jars.

Even with the worst luck, she should be able to open at least one Experience Capsule, right?

Of course, if she could open a top-tier skill, that would be an even bigger profit.

She had purchased Intermediate Skill Jars, which had a high probability of yielding a Green skill, a low probability of a Blue one, and almost no chance of a Purple skill.

"Hoo!"

Her fair palm reached into the jar, groping about nervously.

Under Tsunade's expectant gaze, a flash of purple light bloomed.

【Experience Capsule (Purple)】: Increases skill Experience Value by 500 points after use.

"Excellent!"

Tsunade took a deep breath, her fists clenched tight.

She hadn't even expected to open a Purple item on her first jar, and it was the very Experience Capsule she wanted.

Strike while the iron is hot.

The mysterious game merchant had told her that luck is like a surging tide, with peaks and troughs.

She was at the peak right now.

Purple and Blue lights flickered incessantly.

From the remaining four jars, she actually opened two more Purple items and two Blue items.

【Hammer of Repentance (Purple)】, 【Heavenly Blessing (Purple)】, 【Experience Capsule (Blue)】 *2

At the city wall mission point,

The surrounding players were dumbfounded, unable to believe their eyes.

"Is she crazy? The purple light keeps flashing; did she buy top-tier jars?"

"Who can afford top-tier jars that cost five thousand Merit Points? I saw it clearly; she opened Intermediate Jars!"

"Wait, how is it her?!"

"Who is she?"

The players who witnessed Tsunade opening the grand prizes couldn't help but exclaim.

Among them were "gambler" players who frequently bought jars; after seeing Tsunade's face clearly, they wore strange expressions and said, "I don't know who she is either. It's said that in reality, she's a ninja, and she seems to be close to Konohagakure. The most important thing is..."

The rest of the words wouldn't come out.

He often saw Tsunade squeezed under the bulletin board, spending money to accept daily missions in exchange for jars.

But the results were always terrible.

For Low-level Jars that had a high probability of yielding white items, Tsunade could only pull out inferior gray materials.

For Intermediate Jars that had a high probability of yielding green items, she could only pull out white items.

Her luck was explosively bad, almost rivaling that "fat sheep" who often roamed Tanzaku Town.

Who would have thought she would turn the tables and hit the jackpot now?

The continuously flickering blue and purple lights seemed to possess some unspeakable magic, stimulating the nerves of the players present.

"I want to buy some too!"

"Go find the merchant quickly and buy two hundred Merit Points' worth of city wall materials!"

While ordinary players were still hesitating,

The wealthy Noble players had already ordered their subordinates to find the merchant and purchase materials.

Even the merchants who resold materials were stunned after suddenly receiving large orders.

"What's going on? Are the Five Great Ninja Villages about to go to war?"

Some small merchants who didn't have enough stock jumped in anxiety as they watched the orders slip away before their eyes.

Those big merchants who had purchased warehouses were all smiles after receiving the large orders.

Inventory slots were limited,

And to hoard large amounts of materials, one needed to purchase a warehouse; a Level 1 warehouse alone cost five thousand Reward Points.

Some merchants had regretted buying warehouses, but now, feeling lucky, they were suddenly flooded with large material orders.

The merchants speculated, "Whose faction is training Life Players?"

When they learned that a player with heaven-defying luck had opened three Purples and two Blues, triggering a craze for Merit Points, they looked at each other in dismay.

Even they, who were always cautious, couldn't help but feel envious.

Calculated by price, that was over a hundred thousand Reward Points!

No wonder it caused such a sensation.

"How could it be like this?"

Tsunade's expression was very grim; there was no joy after opening the grand prizes.

Her luck was too good...

Whenever this kind of situation happened, it always signaled that something bad was about to happen to her.

The deaths of Nawaki and Dan, the decline of the Senju Clan...

After a long silence,

Tsunade pondered: could the source of the impending misfortune be the village?

Although she had long since left Konohagakure and was no longer a ninja, it was, after all, the lifeblood of Grandfather Hashirama and her clansmen; it was impossible to say she had completely let go.

Leaving the game, she returned to reality.

The place where Tsunade and the others were staying was a luxuriously decorated hotel.

Ever since becoming a Reincarnation Game Player, although all their assets had been emptied out and invested into the game, they were not short on money in reality.

Casually taking out some materials and low-level equipment to sell was enough to equal the consultation fees Shizune used to earn treating Nobles.

"Lady Tsunade."

Shizune, carrying Tonton, returned to the hotel with dinner in hand and saw Tsunade sitting cross-legged on the bed.

Usually, Tsunade would fight in the game until the early hours of the morning; could something have happened?

"Shizune, the tender chicken from this place doesn't taste good."

Tasting the smooth and refreshing chicken, Tsunade suddenly said.

Shizune said helplessly: "That is because you, Lady Tsunade, are addicted to the game and missed mealtime; the tender chicken definitely won't taste good after being out of the pot for so long!"

"Indeed, food shouldn't stay out of the pot for too long, and people are the same."

Tsunade ate the last piece of tender chicken and sighed: "Shizune, come back to Konoha with me; I'm feeling a bit like drinking the wine from the village."

Land of Earth, Iwagakure.

The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, sat at the head of the council chamber with a serious expression.

Sitting on the two rows of seats under his command were all the high-ranking officials of the village, including Clan Heads of various families and Elite Jonin with outstanding strength.

Everyone looked toward the head seat with nervous expressions, yet also a hint of anticipation.

The short, stout old man before them wore a samurai topknot left over from the Sengoku era, was plain-looking, and had a rather comical-looking large, bulbous nose.

But the eyes with which everyone looked at him were mixed with expressions of worship.

This warrior, who had served the longest term and had experienced both the era of war and the era of the Ninja Village, possessed terrifying power that surpassed Bloodline Elimination.

A hero who had personally cultivated countless Iwagakure Elite Ninja and ushered in the golden age of Iwagakure, he still possessed admirable ambition even though his body was aged.

Onoki spoke slowly: "Have you been in contact with Kumogakure?"

Sitting at the end of the row, a ninja with a resolute face, Huangtu, nodded and said: "I have already communicated with the Fourth Raikage's secretary; the other party conveyed the Raikage's decision that they are willing to join forces with us to probe Konohagakure."

He was a player chosen by the Samsara Game, a level 13 monk following a defensive build.

In reality, he mastered powerful Earth Release Ninjutsu capable of tearing the earth apart.

Combining the two, he had already stepped into the ranks of the Shadow-level, and even his father, Onoki, found it difficult to suppress him.

"What about Kirigakure and Sunagakure?"

Onoki nodded; Kumogakure's agreement was within his expectations.

Those muscle-headed combatants must have been itching to move against Konoha for a long time.

At the end of the row, a ninja wearing a red undershirt and a yellow vest spoke up: "Kirigakure has not stated their position."

"Sunagakure's attitude is very strange; it seems there is a disagreement among their high-ranking officials, but they also have the intention to probe Konoha."

He was an Jonin cultivated by Onoki himself, Wenga.

He was also the player who had spent a large sum of Iwagakure's funds to exchange for Wood Release, and his strength was not inferior to Huangtu.

"Chitu, lead your ninja troops and stand by at the border of the Land of Lightning; if the other party makes any unusual moves, you are permitted to take the initiative."

"Han, you lead the surprise attack unit and station yourselves at the secret outpost on the border of the Land of Wind..."

Onoki's expression was firm, and he made his decisions without the slightest hesitation.

Two newly minted Shadow-level powerhouses were the source of his confidence to probe Konohagakure.

Leading Iwagakure toward a golden age—this was his ambition.

Even if he were spurned by the ninja of enemy nations and condemned by the Nobles, so what?

This is... my, Onoki's, Will of Stone!

(End of this chapter)