Amegakure - Land of Rain - Elemental Nations
"Do you want another Rinnegan?"
The question hung in the damp, heavy air of the throne room, sounding so incredibly absurd that for a moment, the universe itself seemed to pause.
Nagato sat frozen in his wooden chair, the very concept failing to compute in a mind that had spent decades viewing the Rinnegan as a singular, irreplaceable divine artifact. Slowly, he turned his head toward the direction of Alaric's voice. His sightless face shifted through a rapid, complex sequence of emotions… profound shock, intense skepticism, and finally, a quiet, almost defeated amusement.
He opened his mouth, trying to formulate a response that matched the sheer impossibility of the offer, but the words withered on his tongue. Instead, a soft, raspy sigh escaped his lips, and he smiled… a genuine, tired expression.
"If you possess the ability to track down the masked man and pry those eyes back from his skull, then sure," Nagato replied, his tone laced with a dry, self-deprecating humor. "Other than that, I haven't the faintest idea how you would miraculously produce a new pair. And even if you could... why would you ever give them to me? The Rinnegan is the pinnacle of ocular prowess. There is absolutely no logical reason why you wouldn't simply claim that power for yourself."
Alaric chuckled, a rich, rolling sound that echoed against the metallic walls. He leaned casually against the window frame, taking a slow drag from his cigar.
"Oh, I can grant you a completely new pair," Alaric corrected smoothly, blowing a ring of smoke into the mist. "Fresh out of the box. And who knows, maybe this new set will come without the crippling, parasitic drawbacks that Madara's transplanted eyes forced upon your biology. Although I can't guarantee it won't have any drawbacks... it is still the Rinnegan, after all. But it will be yours."
Shock violently resurrected itself in Nagato's posture. His hands gripped the armrests of his chair, his empty eye sockets widening as his heart rate spiked.
"Do you... do you actually have another Rinnegan!?" Nagato demanded, his voice cracking, the sheer impossibility of the statement tearing away his calm.
"I can get it if I want to," Alaric replied effortlessly, a predatory smirk curving his lips. "And to answer your second question: I fully intend to get a pair for myself soon enough. Actually, I plan to couple it with a few other ridiculous power-ups as well... because why not? But as for you, Nagato... I can hand you a brand-new pair of god-eyes right now. However... it comes with a price."
Nagato paused, the sudden spike of adrenaline cooling into a tense, heavily guarded hesitation. He tilted his head, his mind instantly racing to calculate the geopolitical or moral cost this anomaly was about to demand.
But before Nagato could even open his mouth to ask what the toll would be, Alaric was already outlining the contract.
"For you to receive a new pair of Rinnegan," Alaric declared, his voice dropping into the cold, authoritative register of a sovereign drafting a treaty, "I will become your employer and master. You will be bound to follow my explicit commands for the next twenty years."
He took another puff, the cherry of his cigar glowing fiercely.
"And of course, because I don't believe in slave labor, you will be formally employed. I'll pay you a highly competitive monthly salary. It will be entirely up to you whether you eventually want to integrate as an official shinobi of Konohagakure or not; I really don't care about your headband. But for now, you must remain here in Ame. You will sever all ties with any enemies of Konoha, and under my guidance, Amegakure will be rebuilt into a thriving, economically powerful village despite its minor status."
"Woah, woah, woah," Nagato stammered, raising both his hands in a frantic, defensive gesture. The barrage of conditions and capitalist logic was entirely overwhelming. "Hold on a second, Alaric. That is... that is an immense amount of information to take in."
Nagato lowered his hands, his sightless face turning dead serious. "How can you possibly trust me with eyes that powerful? After everything I've done? After the atrocities I've committed under the guise of Pein? I can't wrap my mind around your logic. You are handing the ultimate weapon back to a proven monster."
Alaric smiled. He pushed himself off the window frame and walked over to the seated Uzumaki. With a firm, surprisingly gentle motion, Alaric clamped his large, calloused hand securely onto Nagato's shoulder.
"Because I have an ability to perfectly judge a person's heart and emotions," Alaric stated softly, the undeniable truth of the Mind's Eye of the Kagura vibrating in his tone. "I don't rely on blind faith, Nagato. I know, down to your very core, that your resentment toward this world has finally been eclipsed by your clarity. You aren't a monster anymore. You're just a man who wants to protect his home."
Nagato was completely silenced. He sat rigidly in his chair, a profound, suffocating lump forming in his throat. He was still incredibly hesitant, his mind reeling so violently from the sheer shock of absolute forgiveness that he completely forgot the stipulations of the twenty-year servitude Alaric had just laid out.
Seeing the man completely lost for words, drowning in the implications of his second chance, Alaric gave his shoulder one final, reassuring squeeze.
"Just wait for me here for a couple of hours," Alaric instructed casually, stepping backward and retreating from the emotional weight of the room. "I need to run a quick errand."
Nagato raised a confused brow, turning his head to ask what kind of errand required a couple of hours when the man could traverse continents in a heartbeat.
FLASH.
The air displaced with a sharp, concussive crack.
Although Nagato couldn't see the blinding, golden-platinum light of the Hiraishin, his sensory perception immediately registered the absolute, instantaneous absence of Alaric's towering chakra signature.
Nagato was left entirely alone in the quiet, echoing throne room... profoundly, undeniably confused.
Philadelphia - Pennsylvania - Holy Commonwealth of Pennmere
High above the sprawling, industrialized grid of Philadelphia, the morning air was thick with a dense, clinging fog that rolled off the Delaware River.
Alaric materialized silently within the cloud layer, suspending his physical form thousands of feet above the awakening city. The frigid, damp air washed over his face, a stark contrast to the relentless, weeping sorrow of Amegakure. He looked down through the shifting white mist, catching brief, fragmented glimpses of the red-brick avenues and the majestic, white-stone spires of the royal palace he had helped build.
Without a second thought, floating comfortably in the ether, Alaric mentally commanded the interface to manifest.
[System Interface Loading...]
"Oh?" Alaric's brows rose toward his hairline.
A shimmering, translucent blue screen flickered into existence before his eyes, casting a faint, unnatural glow across his sharp features. In all the years he had utilized the cosmic storefront, relying on its vast, unchanging inventory to build his empire and secure his survival, he had never once encountered a loading prompt. It had always been instantaneous.
"Interesting..." Alaric murmured, his curiosity piqued as he crossed his arms over his chest.
A moment later, lines of crisp, white text began to scroll rapidly across the center of the blue display.
[Update added...]
[Price Adjustment & Inflation Applied...]
[Inflation ???%↑]
"..."
Alaric's eyes narrowed into a dangerous, razor-thin squint. The initial curiosity evaporated, replaced instantly by a cold, sinking feeling of economic dread.
"Wait... no, fuck," Alaric cursed softly, a vein beginning to throb at his temple.
The screen transitioned smoothly to the main menu.
[Buy] [Sell]
[Balance Remaining: $657,768,331.31]
"..."
"..."
Alaric stared at the stagnant number at the bottom of his screen. His wealth was astronomical, yes, but if the system had forcefully introduced hyper-inflation to balance his localized market manipulation, his purchasing power had just been violently gutted without his consent.
"Since there's an update, can you at least communicate with me?" Alaric questioned aloud, his voice tight with irritation, addressing the void as if expecting a sentient AI to materialize.
He waited. He listened to the whistling wind. However, he didn't receive a single whisper of a reply. The system remained a cold, unfeeling algorithm of zeroes and ones.
"Whatever..." Alaric sighed heavily, dragging a hand down his face. "Let's test the spread."
Mentally clicking the [Sell] button, Alaric opened his dimensional storage. He isolated the massive, bandaged form of Samehada… the legendary, sentient shark-skin sword he had casually looted from Kisame's corpse... and immediately initiated the transaction.
[+ $18,000]
[Balance Remaining: $657,786,331.31]
"...Damn, that's entirely too cheap," Alaric sighed, an immediate, profound wave of seller's remorse washing over him. He had just fenced one of the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist, a mythical artifact capable of shaving tailed-beast chakra, for the price of a mid-tier luxury carriage.
Gritting his teeth, he pressed the [Buy] tab, utilizing the search function to locate the exact item he had just liquidated.
[Samehada - A sentient mystical sword that absorbs chakra, shreds targets with scales instead of cutting, and can merge with its wielder to heal injuries or provide vast chakra reserves, ultimately enabling a "Tailless Tailed Beast" state. - $18,750]
"Fucking bitch ass..." Alaric cursed vehemently, scratching the back of his head so profusely he nearly messed up his platinum hair.
A margin loss of $750 was absolutely nothing to a man with six hundred million dollars in the bank, but the principle of the extortion deeply offended his merchant soul. That margin alone was a substantial, life-changing fortune that could easily feed forty average families in Philadelphia for a decade. The System was robbing him on the exchange rate.
Paranoia fully taking hold, he immediately navigated to his transaction history, checking the current market prices of the foundational items and abilities he had purchased in the past.
[Otsutsuki Clan's Lifespan (Pure) - Grants 10000% Increase in User's Lifespan. User's physical appearance will stop at 25 years old. Can be passed to descendants but will dilute by 5% onwards if mixed bloodline. - $3,125,000.00]
[Mind's Eye of the Kagura (Karin Uzumaki) - Grants Chakra Sense of 20km, distinguish chakra types and track specific individuals, detect lies, analyze one's mental state, hide one's own chakra, instant battlefield awareness. - $6,250.00]
[Chakra Control lvl 5 - Chakra Efficiency (x100) e.g., Hagoromo Otsutsuki, Kaguya Otsutsuki - $7,812,500.00]
[Madara Uchiha's Visionary Tactics - Unlocks the potential to train students in long-term planning and adaptive combat. Emphasizes unconventional strategies, raw power merged with precision, and the art of turning unpredictable situations to one's advantage. - $1,410.00]
[Phoenix Sage - +CHK 500%, +STR 500%, +AGI 500%, +SPD 500%, +END 500%, +Regen 2000%. User cheats death through rebirth, heals others of any wounds and diseases. Each Rebirth grants +200% in all stats. Rebirth lasts 24 Hours. (Requires Phoenix Summoning) - $156,300,000.50]
[Fuinjutsu: Ascendant - Can create seals that manipulate time and space far beyond previous levels. Capable of reversing or accelerating the aging process, and restoring damaged organs instantly. Can place powerful buffs with extended durations, e.g., Stamina buff lasting up to ten years. - $781,250.00]
"Oh, shit," Alaric gasped, his blue eyes widening as he read the zeroes. "That's fuckin' expensive...!"
The inflation was staggering. Abilities that he had previously acquired for relatively reasonable sums had skyrocketed into the stratosphere. He continued to scroll frantically down the list of items he had bought in the past, seeking a baseline, until he saw the very first item that had secured his initial wealth in Bristol.
[Hyuga Clan Secret Ointment - Ointment created by the Hyuga clan. - $0.03]
'Hmm... I can still make do with it,' Alaric thought, cupping his chin as his business acumen rapidly recalculated his profit margins. 'At three cents a jar, the markup is still incredibly lucrative. But if I want to maximize the effects and totally circumvent this ridiculous systemic inflation, I better get the raw ingredients and the recipe from Hiashi quick... it seems I can't find the actual blueprint in the shop.'
He could only sigh in heavy, exasperated defeat at how exorbitant the high-tier items had become. Shaking off the annoyance, he mentally searched for the specific items he needed to fulfill his promise to Nagato and elevate his own existence.
[Rinnegan - Grants access to the Six Paths Techniques, including control over attraction/repulsion (Deva Path), soul extraction, chakra absorption, summoning, mechanization, and revival. It also allows shared vision, mastery over all chakra natures, and the ability to perceive chakra at an extremely advanced level. Certain users gain unique abilities (e.g., Limbo, Amenotejikara). Some Rinnegan users can access space-time ninjutsu, but this is not universal to all wielders. - $1,000,000.00]
'Okay, let's add that to car—' Alaric paused, his mental cursor hovering almost dangerously over the 'Add to Cart' button.
'Wait...' Alaric's eyes narrowed sharply. 'If I buy that specific ability listing, the System will automatically apply it directly to my biology.'
He didn't want to accidentally overwrite his own eyes just to hand them to Nagato. 'Doesn't the system have something like just a physical pair of Rinnegan eyes in a jar? With no owner attached?'
He hummed thoughtfully and immediately refined his search parameters, filtering for physical objects rather than genetic integrations.
Thankfully, the ruthless cosmic marketplace delivered.
[Rinnegan Eyes - Grants access to the Six Paths Techniques, including control over attraction/repulsion (Deva Path), soul extraction, chakra absorption, summoning, mechanization, and revival. It also allows shared vision, mastery over all chakra natures, and the ability to perceive chakra at an extremely advanced level. Certain users gain unique abilities (e.g., Limbo, Amenotejikara). Some Rinnegan users can access space-time ninjutsu, but this is not universal to all wielders. Needs to manually be transplanted. - $1,500,000.00]
"Wait, what the actual fuck?" Alaric's brows crashed together in sheer, unadulterated indignation. "Ain't that too expensive? Shouldn't a physical item be a little cheaper than the normal ability integration since it explicitly requires a manual, bloody transplant!?"
He glared at the price tag, shaking his head in profound disgust at the digital extortion before finally pressing the [Add to Cart] button.
"Shit, don't forget Alaric, you're rich... you're rich... you're really fucking rich," he chanted under his breath, utilizing a mantra of positive financial reinforcement to soothe his wounded pride.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
He hovered there in the clouds, staring blankly at the screen. A sudden, terrifyingly ambitious thought blossomed in the darkest, most overpowered corner of his mind.
'Wait... if I just buy the ultimate ocular prowess for myself… the Rinne-Sharingan…' Alaric reasoned, his pulse quickening as he mapped out the divine loophole. 'Then I deliberately let myself die multiple times to trigger the Phoenix Rebirth stacking multiplier… gaining enough raw, unfathomable chakra density to effectively become a deity... I can legitimately use the Creation of All Things technique to literally manifest the Hyuga ointment, or basically anything else in the universe, purely from my imagination. As long as I understand their foundational structure... yes... let's buy it!'
It was the ultimate shortcut to omnipotence.
Proceeding to look at a few other minor things, Alaric sighed and just continued to throw a few supplementary items into the cart, preparing for the inevitable future, and finally navigated to the checkout screen.
[Checkout:]
[Rinnegan Eyes - $1,500,000.00]
[Rinne-Sharingan - $10,000,000.00]
[Total Deduction - $11,500,000.00]
[Balance Remaining: $646,286,331.31]
He authorized the purchase.
As soon as Alaric confirmed the monumental transaction, he stood suspended in the fog, waiting for the familiar, comforting hum of the System applying a new ability.
He raised a confused brow. He didn't feel anything. His eyes didn't itch, his chakra didn't spike, and his body remained perfectly still.
He proceeded to mentally close the system interface, the blue screen dissolving into the mist.
'Oh, I actually thought something dramatic was going to ha—'
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
The scream tore from Alaric's throat with a primal, horrific violence that shattered the tranquility of the morning sky.
It was not a shout of surprise; it was the raw, unrestrained agony of a mortal vessel being forcefully, biologically rewritten by the absolute genetic pinnacle of the Otsutsuki clan. Deep within his skull, his optic nerves ignited as if injected with liquid magma. The pain was blinding, white-hot, and absolute, severing his concentration and sending the anomaly of two worlds plummeting blindly toward the city below, screaming into the void.
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