[Main Branch Quest Complete!]
[Quest Name]: Blood Inheritance of Asura and Indra
[Quest Evaluation]: Perfect
[Reward Calculating…]
In Ryota's ears, the system's voice was as cold and clear as ever, like the toll of an invisible bell reverberating deep in his consciousness.
By now, he was used to it.
But this time, the "reward" wasn't the usual pile of complicated bonuses. Instead, it was unusually simple:
[Reward Dispensed…]
[Golden Gate Authority Upgraded]
[Current Cross-World Carry Limit: 2 → 8]
[Note]: Other rewards have been canceled due to resource reallocation toward Gate reinforcement.
"…Just this?"
Ryota's gaze flickered, surprise glinting for a moment before giving way to calm analysis.
The Golden Gate—one of his greatest and most central powers.
The ability to freely traverse between worlds, even bringing others with him, was already a force that broke the rules of existence.
Originally, he could only carry two people. Now, that limit had been raised directly to eight.
That was a squad-sized cross-world authority.
But the price was clear: every other reward had been stripped away.
"The system is… making a choice."
Ryota immediately understood.
This was a tilted empowerment.
To ensure the Golden Gate's massive upgrade, the system had stripped away all additional rewards. Even with his "perfect rating" for the quest, there would be no second prize.
"Interesting."
Ryota chuckled softly, without the slightest trace of disappointment in his eyes.
For most people, this outcome would be bitterly disappointing. But to him, it proved something else:
The system was starting to take this restructuring of fate seriously.
Eight companions meant he could finally build a proper cross-world squad. No longer fighting alone, no longer limited to just two allies.
"…Wait. Eight?"
He murmured, his expression tightening slightly in thought.
Eight.
Not five, not six, not ten. Exactly eight slots.
A number far too deliberate.
"Eight people… just enough to bring the entire Loki Familia's core force."
Images flickered through his mind:
The Three Captains, the Hiryute sisters, Bete, and the two already here—Ais and Lefiya.
Not more, not less. Exactly eight.
What did that mean?
It meant he could literally migrate Orario's strongest combat force into the Naruto world.
And that wasn't even the most crucial point.
"If it were just eight, I could dismiss it… but…" Ryota's eyes narrowed.
"The number eight… has special meaning in the shinobi world too."
A familiar roster surfaced in his mind—
Akatsuki.
"In other words…"
A faintly mocking smile crept onto Ryota's face.
"The system gave me an eight-man squad. Is this coincidence… or am I meant to form a team to rival Akatsuki?"
It was just a numerical adjustment to cross-world permissions, and yet this exact number felt like the hand of fate itself, quietly nudging the board.
And still—that wasn't all.
Ryota's focus sank inward.
That overwhelming chakra within him churned like molten lava, scorching and heavy.
——Kurama.
"At this point… I'm basically a Tailed Beast myself."
He muttered, heat flashing in his eyes.
"If I capture them one by one…"
"Then…"
"I'll have a Tailed Beast army."
"A force that, in every sense, could crush the DanMachi world flat."
The shinobi world's Tailed Beasts were scattered across the lands.
But he had what no one else ever did: cross-world authority, the system's support, and most crucial of all—the freedom to rewrite destiny after breaking its chain.
He was no longer fated to be a pawn. No longer a sacrificial witness to tragedy.
He was the one holding the reins. The hidden hand behind the curtain.
"When I gather them all…"
"I'll bring them with me—back to Orario."
"Back to the world of Gods and the Dungeon."
And then—
No matter how the Dungeon rampaged, no matter how the labyrinth twisted, even if Gods went berserk or Familias rose in rebellion…
As long as Ryota stood there, with nine Tailed Beasts behind him—
Everything would fall silent.
With them at his back, every uncontrollable factor would vanish.
Suddenly, Ryota laughed out loud.
That laugh carried absurd irony, but also undeniable excitement and battle-thirst.
"Who would've thought…"
"The job of collecting Tailed Beasts—"
"Would fall to me instead of Akatsuki?"
The thought itself was comical, even to him.
"Fate… what a joke."
He was a man from another world, yet now inheriting the shinobi world's heaviest storyline.
He should've been rejected by the world, and instead he now commanded the "Tailed Beast Project."
"Pain, Obito, Madara… all that scheming of yours to seize this power… and in the end, it fell into my lap."
"Not even the Gods themselves could've predicted that script."
He muttered, then raised his head toward the heavens.
As if he could already see that lonely figure, slowly stirring awake within her prison—
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
The woman once sealed away by her own sons.
"When the time comes, resurrecting Kaguya… making her warm my bed? That'll be fun."
Ryota turned, amusement still lingering on his lips.
Behind him, Sasuke stood frozen, his Three Tomoe Sharingan still active, his expression dazed as he grappled with his sudden awakening.
Naruto, on the other hand, was circling Sasuke like a hyperactive puppy, peering this way and that, as if his friend had turned into some bizarre new toy.
"You two, go back first."
Ryota's calm voice cut through, snapping them out of their daze.
"Sasuke, take Naruto with you. From now on, he'll live in the Uchiha Clan Grounds."
Sasuke blinked, eyes flickering—but quickly nodded.
"Yes, Clan Head."
Naruto hesitated, scratching his cheek, his voice small.
"Uh… really? I've always lived alone. Nobody ever wanted—"
Ryota cut him off.
"No one here will throw you out."
"Besides, you and Sasuke are partners."
Naruto froze. Then his eyes lit up, as if those words were the most reassuring thing he had ever heard. He nodded hard—once, twice.
After one last glance at Ryota, he scrambled to chase after Sasuke.
"Hey, hey, Sasuke, wait up! You got ramen at your place? I'm starving!"
"…Don't touch me."
Sasuke's face darkened, but his stride didn't slow in the slightest.
Ryota watched the two boys vanish into the distance, chuckling softly.
Then he raised his right hand and tapped the empty air before him.
Clack—
Like a hidden mechanism had been triggered, ripples spread through the space. A massive golden portal shimmered into existence, gleaming with divine radiance.
"…Why do I feel like a damn taxi driver, always shuttling people back and forth?"
Ryota muttered dryly at the glowing door.
Behind him lay the storm about to engulf the shinobi world. Ahead of him—the stage of his true world.
With that, Ryota stepped through the gate.