Chapter 77: A Precious Game Qualification
This was the first time Fang Yi, as the game merchant, met the players face-to-face in the real world.
"Oh, so you're the esteemed player, sir. I'm just a bit interested in the Chunin Joint Exams, so I came to Konoha to take a look."
Fang Yi glanced at Naruto Uzumaki.
His equipment panel showed two level-15 purple-grade items (soul-bound), the rest were blue-tier. He had two class skills leveled up to 15.
Level 19 Shield Warrior.
With equipment bonuses, his four main attributes were already at jonin level.
His core skill, [Judgment of Justice], enhanced damage dealt to dark-aligned targets by 30%.
Which meant that any dark-type class fighting Naruto would receive increased damage from him.
Originally, Naruto had relied on his talk-no-jutsu to convert fallen shinobi. But now, he could actually beat them down with raw damage.
"Awesome! As expected of the merchant-uncle—already found the best ramen in the village!"
Naruto laughed heartily and ordered a bowl of ramen from Teuchi.
The rest of the group was far more tense.
Asuma bowed slightly and said, "Thank you for visiting. If anything happens in Konoha, you can come to me directly. I'll do my best to assist you."
"Thanks."
Fang Yi nodded politely and continued eating his ramen.
"Yakumo."
Yūhi Kurenai looked worriedly at Kurama Yakumo and lightly tugged her sleeve.
But Yakumo acted like she didn't notice, ignoring Kurenai entirely.
The atmosphere at the table grew a little awkward.
Sakura Haruno, the pink-haired genin, didn't notice and asked curiously, "Naruto, do you know this man?"
He clearly wasn't from Konoha, and he looked like a noble—but everyone was treating him with such familiarity and respect.
Weren't they all in the same Team 7? Had something happened she didn't know about?
Naruto scratched his head. "This is the merchant-uncle! He sells the game that helps us get stronger!"
The restriction on disclosing the game merchant's identity had been lifted.
Most of the major clans had players under their wing. Only genin like Sakura, who lacked a powerful background, or low-level gatekeeping chunin were still in the dark.
So Naruto had no reservations in saying it now.
Sakura had asked countless times why they had suddenly become so strong, and he'd been dying to spill the truth. Finally, he could.
"Game… merchant?"
At first, Sakura thought Naruto was joking.
But when she looked at Sasuke—who didn't laugh—and then at Kakashi-sensei's silent expression, she stopped.
This was real?
Sakura looked toward the game merchant, heart pounding with anticipation.
She also wanted to become stronger.
Once upon a time, she had been a girl who only cared about appearances. But now, watching her teammates grow by leaps and bounds while she remained stagnant—it was painful. The sense of isolation was hard to describe.
"Yes. A merchant who sells the game. Becoming a player gives you the chance to change your fate."
Fang Yi nodded, his gaze sweeping over Sakura.
[Haruno Sakura (Purple)]
Purple soul potential.
If she progressed steadily, she could become a jonin through effort. With the right mentor, she might reach elite jonin.
And if luck favored her—if someone like Tsunade personally took her under their wing—she could potentially break into kage-level.
But during the Fourth War, when Sakura thought she had finally caught up with Team 7...
It turned out to be a delusion.
To be clear,
it wasn't that Sakura had low potential. Reaching jonin level was already considered elite in any ninja village.
She just couldn't compare to the "Fated Twins" with golden potential.
Sakura asked hopefully, "Mr. Merchant... could I become a player too?"
"Just call me Fang Yi."
Fang Yi looked at the hopeful pink-haired girl and replied gently, "You don't meet the requirements. I won't be giving you a game invitation."
Game Invitations.
Fang Yi had made up his mind long ago: only players with at least silver-level potential would be invited.
While the invitation meant little to him, to others, it was a ticket to becoming a player.
That ticket couldn't be given out carelessly.
Otherwise, players might lose their motivation to hunt Corruption Sources. The identity of "player" would lose its weight.
Only those who met the criteria could receive an invitation.
By establishing this iron rule, players would value their status more, and non-players would crave it enough to sacrifice anything.
Just like beta keys in an MMORPG.
There were no bonuses—just early access—yet they sold for outrageous prices.
Because they were rare.
"I see…"
Sakura lowered her head, emotions swirling.
Even the game merchant didn't think she was worthy of standing alongside the others in Team 7. She didn't even qualify to be a player.
Naruto saw the disappointment on her face and cried out, "Merchant-uncle, didn't I get picked as a player from the start? Can't you let Sakura be one too?"
"Naruto."
Kakashi placed a hand on the boy's head, gently pressing it down.
Even the Hokage treated the game merchant with extreme care, and Naruto hadn't yet realized how serious this was.
"It's fine."
Fang Yi smiled. "Explaining the rules to those interested in the Reincarnation Game is part of my duty as its merchant."
He lifted the curtain slightly, pointing toward the massive black game tower that could be seen from any point in Konoha.
"Each month, the five game towers in the ninja world randomly select 500 people to become players. No conditions. No qualifications. Pure luck gives them the chance to change their fate."
"Civilians use luck to become nobles.
Nobles use luck to expand their territory.
Unknown shinobi leap to the top of their village."
"The ninja world is changing because of it."
Fang Yi paused, then looked at Yakumo.
"There's also the method of receiving a game invitation directly from the merchant—but only those with enough potential qualify."
"So far, it's only been Tsunade, Orochimaru, Uchiha Itachi, and a handful of others."
Yakumo clutched her black envelope a little tighter, eyes filled with gratitude.
She hadn't realized the game invitation was such a rare and valuable thing.
"Uchiha Itachi?"
Sasuke, who had remained silent until now, suddenly widened his eyes at the familiar name.
That maniac who slaughtered the entire clan had also become a player?
During their recent encounter, Itachi hadn't shown any signs of possessing powers related to the game. So he must have received the invitation after fleeing Konoha.
Sasuke felt a bit relieved at the thought.
He didn't want his revenge getting harder. If Itachi had become a player, killing him would become a far greater challenge.
Once back in the game world, Sasuke would launch a full-scale search.
Track down Itachi while his level was still low—
Spawn camp him at the resurrection point.
Kill him the moment he stepped out of the safe zone.
Make him lose so many reward points he couldn't even afford to respawn.
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