Ten pulls.
No result.
Twenty pulls.
No result.
Thirty pulls.
No result.
Forty pulls.
No result.
The corner of Ryosuke's eye twitched slightly, a surge of anger rose.
'What damn system, not even a guaranteed pity.'
'Normally shouldn't it be ten pulls guaranteed four-star Stand, eighty pulls guaranteed five-star Stand?!'
'Even if it's an off-banner permanent, it's still something!'
Forty pulls down, and he only got some Stand experience books, all thrown onto Star Platinum, only made it go from level 2 at 7% to level 2 at 13%.
It was like throwing a cup of water on a burning cart.
Ryosuke invested another 100 soul fragments.
'Fifty pulls!'
Ten streaks of starlight once again fell from the sky.
The crisp ding-ding sound finally appeared.
Ryosuke calculated. 'One two three four… four-star?'
He comforted himself, 'Four-star is still something.'
Four-star Stand, usually combat power is average, possessing one to two individually outstanding abilities, mainly with support ability, tactical position equivalent to the support slot, off-tank, sub-DPS in a game.
Five-star Stand, combat power is relatively outstanding, abilities more comprehensive, possessing multiple combined abilities, combat, defense, support, at least in one aspect has extremely strong advantage.
If it is a four-star Stand with long-range attack power, or quick assault ability, it can relieve Ryosuke's urgent need.
While thinking, the starlight brilliance dissipated.
A book floated in front of Ryosuke.
"… 'Ripple Breathing Method'?"
Ryosuke all the way escaping, still had not had time to read JOJO series manga.
He vaguely remembered Ripple Breathing Method was mentioned in JOJO's first part Phantom Blood.
Picking out places mentioning Ripple to carefully look, Ryosuke roughly understood what kind of power "Ripple" is.
Ripple, was created in order to train and pursue longevity as a breathing cultivation method.
Just like throwing a stone into water will cause ripples, making a special breathing method inside the body produce ripples, thereby producing many wondrous effects. Strength, heat, physical enhancement, resistance to aging, etc.
Ryosuke looked left and right, no matter how he saw it, Ripple had a sense of a beginner immortal cultivation method.
Ripple Breathing Method for Ryosuke indeed had great significance, even more useful than having one more five-star Stand.
No matter how many Stands, the weakness of the main body is always a fatal flaw.
With many Stands at his side, Ryosuke can resist attacks coming from any angle.
But he cannot withstand someone smiling while handing him poisoned wine, and he cannot withstand fatigue from consecutive battles.
The strength of the body, the thickness of the health bar, can give Ryosuke more margin for error.
A reverse example is Uchiha Itachi.
No matter how many ninjutsu, no matter how powerful the development of Sharingan, what use?
He still had a frail body.
'However, why would the system draw out Ripple Breathing?'
'This thing doesn't count as a Stand, it should be a kind of skill book, right?'
Ryosuke searched through the system description.
[Normal gacha pool, can produce 4~5 star Stands, Stand upgrade materials, special items, etc.]
Skill books, are a kind of special item.
Besides Ripple Breathing Method, what also belongs to special items are Stone Mask, Arrow, firearms, Aja Stone, etc.
Although only four stars, but applied to Ryosuke's body, it is truly a life-saving measure.
From this perspective, it is even more precious than a six-star Stand.
There were still 15 pulls left, but Ryosuke did not plan to continue.
Instinct told him, today's luck after pulling Ripple Breathing Method has already been used up, continuing to pull would only be wasting soul fragments.
He closed the system interface, enjoying a brief rest.
———
Ryosuke and Sasuke walked and stopped along the way. When thirsty, they drank river water. When hungry, they ate wild animals and wild vegetables. When sleepy, they found a clean spot, using the ground as bed and sky as blanket, and slept casually.
In the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed, and they'd pretty much left the jurisdiction of Konoha.
The two of them found a small town, sold the animal pelts they'd hunted along the way, used the money they exchanged to find a hot spring inn, took a nice bath, and had a big meal, finally relaxing a little.
After that, they hitched a ride on a merchant caravan's wagon, slowly heading toward the Land of Water.
They couldn't stay in the Land of Fire anymore.
The Land of Lightning had management that was too strict, outsiders like them could easily be discovered once they entered.
The Land of Earth was too far.
The Land of Wind was mostly desert, with harsh survival conditions.
The Land of Water's management, high EQ said it was relaxed, low EQ said it was chaotic.
As for the road ahead, Ryosuke now had a clear goal, keep hunting fugitives, accumulate pulls, draw Stands to make up for his shortcomings, and then upgrade those Stands.
Due to Kirigakure's "Blood Mist Policy," there were many internal conflicts.
On one hand, it made it easy for Ryosuke to hide.
On the other hand, it meant the place was crawling with fugitives and rogue ninja, providing Ryosuke with plenty of hunting targets, a good source for earning Soul Fragments and bounty.
For Ryosuke, no other country was more suitable than the Land of Water.
All along the way, Ryosuke had been gathering intel on each country and ninja village.
When he learned that Konoha was already considered well-governed, Ryosuke understood just how messed up this world was.
He needed power.
To protect himself, and more importantly, to protect the principles he held onto.
Another ten-plus days of travel, and they arrived at the Land of Waves with the merchant caravan.
The Land of Waves was the caravan's destination. From here on out, Ryosuke would have to travel on his own.
"Young man, once you pass the Land of Waves and go a bit further, you'll reach the Land of Water. This is where we part." The caravan leader said, handing over a letter.
Recently, the Land of Water had closed its ports, allowing only a few ships to pass. The caravan leader, being familiar with the rules, understood the inner workings.
With this letter of recommendation, one could board the Land of Waves' official ships heading to the Land of Water.
Ryosuke didn't refuse. He said thank you and took the recommendation letter.
Sasuke looked at the departing back of the caravan leader, "He's really a good guy."
"A good guy…"
Ryosuke thought of the wad of money he'd stuffed to the caravan leader last night and smiled without explaining.
With the recommendation letter in hand, Ryosuke approached the Land of Waves official at the port.
The man was a samurai, traditional topknot, kimono hakama, straw sandals, exposing foul-smelling toes, with two swords at his waist, one katana and one wakizashi.
The bald samurai sized up Ryosuke and Sasuke, then tilted his chin toward a gently rocking cargo ship on the water.
"Count yourselves lucky. The ship's about to depart. Miss it, and you'll be waiting half a month."
They followed the bald samurai onto the ship.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Ryosuke kept feeling that the crew's gaze toward them wasn't right, some welcoming, some happy, and also a hint of.... Desire.
Ryosuke frowned slightly. 'What's wrong with these crew members?'
But Ryosuke didn't have a scruffy beard, black-rimmed glasses, or white socks.
Whoosh~
The bald samurai opened the sealed cargo hold, and a faint musty, moldy stench wafted out.
In the dim cargo compartment, about a dozen people, men and women, were sitting. They seemed to have not seen light for a while, shielding their eyes one after another.
Seeing the people inside, Ryosuke realized:
"Illegal immigrants?"
Since there was a recommendation letter and it was official from the Land of Waves, Ryosuke thought it'd be a legal ship crossing.
A crew member pushed Ryosuke and glared at him: "Are you getting in or not? If not, get lost!"
Ryosuke smiled.
"Of course we're getting in."
He pulled Sasuke, who was about to draw his sword, and entered the cargo hold.
The cargo hold was closed again. At the top, a light glowed faintly, with a fan blowing, bringing in thin air to prevent the "passengers" from suffocating.
They found a corner and sat down.
Sasuke whispered, "Why didn't you let me beat him up? With your strength, one punch could knock him out, right?"
"I'm not some kind of demon. I'm not gonna yell 'you have a death wish' and chop people up just because they gave me a glare."
Ryosuke leaned against a crate, took out an orange from his backpack, and handed it to Sasuke.
"As long as he gets us safely to the Land of Water, that's enough."
Sasuke waved his little fist, "Then when do we beat people up?"
"When you think it's necessary."
Sasuke rolled his eyes, took the orange from Ryosuke, then suddenly felt a gaze.
It was from a little girl sitting opposite them.
Her name was Rei. She looked about the same age as Sasuke. Pink shoulder-length hair tied in a bun, with big, round eyes staring longingly at the orange in Sasuke's hand.
There was no hostility in Rei's eyes, only desire for the orange.
Sasuke looked at her, then at the orange, snorted, and turned his head.
Pa!
Ryosuke gently patted Sasuke's little head.
"Go socialize a bit. Don't always put on that cold little face."
If it were anyone else saying that, Sasuke wouldn't bother listening. But when it was Ryosuke, he couldn't ignore it.
Reluctantly, Sasuke walked over.
"Here!"
He turned his head away and handed over half of the orange.
Rei's eyes lit up instantly. She turned back to look at her mom. After getting a nod, "Thank you, big brother!"
She took the orange and leaned over to plant a quick kiss on Sasuke's cheek.
Sasuke's little face turned bright red.
No one knew who started laughing first, but laughter spread throughout the dim, musty, stuffy cargo hold.
At that moment, the ship gently trembled.
It had set sail.
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