Only a tenth?
Hyuga Hiashi and the others didn't know what expression to wear.
Knowing cans made you stronger was one thing—seeing it was another.
Instant, no hand signs, no warning.
Most terrifyingly, their Byakugan couldn't even trace how the holy light appeared above Neji's head.
Inside the light…
Neji's pained voice emerged.
"…Can't hold it."
He leapt out, Nen surging from his aura nodes, barely shielding him. His flushed skin made him look like he'd just left a sauna.
A tenth of her power, and he could barely defend?
Yet Neji wasn't too discouraged.
He felt his Nen defense was crude, so this result was already surprising.
"This Holy Light Baptism is a skill I got from a Level 3 can," Shen Mo said, shaking his head. "Nen, a power foreign to this world, is new to you. You need practice, thought, exploration—and more cans."
Shen Mo designed job changes to grant otherworldly powers.
One main goal…
Was to sell cans for profit.
Otherworldly powers sparked clashes between systems, yielding exponential results for the talented.
But truly mastering these powers?
Opening cans was the fastest—maybe only—way.
Neji realized this.
He spread Nen across his body. Without guidance, he'd stumbled into a basic Nen technique—"Ten," in its infancy.
Then—
He charged at Tsunade!
Whether from Nen's explosive force or his enhanced body, Neji's burst was near-teleportation speed.
"So fast!" Hiashi exclaimed.
The Hyuga combined ninjutsu and taijutsu into unique ninja-taijutsu.
Speed was their forte.
But Neji's ferocity surpassed even Hiashi.
"Bring it!" Tsunade clenched her fist, meeting Neji's charge head-on with a punch!
Before they even connected…
The air between them roiled.
Tsunade's fist compressed the air into white mist, while Neji's Nen-focused fist sizzled like red-hot iron in water, boiling the air.
Everyone's eyes widened.
No one wanted to miss the clash.
Boom—!
A thunderous roar erupted, echoing across the Hyuga estate, followed by a fierce shockwave that staggered Hinata and Hanabi.
Faces changed.
The outcome was unclear…
But this spectacle alone showed Neji's strength exceeded expectations.
As the white mist—condensed water vapor—cleared, Tsunade stood firm.
Her state was slightly disheveled.
Her blonde hair's tie had snapped, flowing longer than usual. Her right arm was red, likely from shockwave friction, but she seemed otherwise unscathed.
And Neji?
Eyes turned to a figure struggling to rise further off.
Neji looked far worse.
His upper clothes were shredded, lower ones tattered, his body scraped by shockwaves, blood at his lips.
Yet…
"Too light," an elder murmured.
Indeed, the injuries were minor.
Ninja bodies weren't durable; such indiscriminate shockwaves were hard to block.
If any elder had been at the blast's center, surviving would've been tough.
They realized…
Opening cans and job changes didn't just boost strength—they addressed ninja weaknesses in combat.
This was the cans' power?
Their gazes on Shen Mo burned with suppressed fervor.
No words could sway hearts like witnessing this.
"Lord Shen Mo," an elder said, overcoming fear, voice respectful yet eager, "can we buy cans too?"
"Of course," Shen Mo said, glancing at him with a smile. "I'm a merchant. Anyone who buys cans properly is my customer."
He read their minds.
The elders planned to buy cans under the clan's name, distributing items to members, including themselves.
Boring…
But practical for a clan.
Grand Prizes for key figures, lesser items for others, pooling wealth.
However…
"Note: members and non-members differ greatly," Shen Mo said, eyes narrowing. "I don't forbid members gifting items, but only members get member privileges."
Like the Fate-Witnessing Stage.
Only members could buy higher-level cans early.
"Exactly," Tsunade said, treating Neji's injuries, glancing over. "Hiashi must become a member and grow stronger through cans! That's the Hokage's and my decision."
For combat sense or loyalty…
Even without destiny items, Hiashi had to open cans.
The elders nodded solemnly. Despite differences with Hiashi, their goal was the clan's strength.
"Lord Shen Mo," Hiashi said, saluting, "I'd like to buy Fighter Series cans like Neji's, plus some from other series. Is that possible?"
He wanted to test series combinations.
Only a large clan could afford this, with enough members to use diverse items without waste.
"Fine by me," Shen Mo said.
This suited his profit motive, so he set few limits.
Though…
Shen Mo's urgency for profit had lessened, it remained a key goal.
He believed earning money and enjoying game-planning should go hand-in-hand.
Hiashi conferred with the elders, then said, "I'll start with a few hundred Level 1 cans and… two thousand Level 2 cans."