No one knew what exactly happened that day in the men's bath.
People only knew that from that day on, the Demon of the Mist, Zabuza, never again said anything like "I'm not convinced" or "Ryosuke is nothing special."
Konan vaguely heard angry curses and miserable screams coming from the other side of the wall, but after a while, it quieted down.
When she walked out of the bath wearing a yukata, drying her hair, she happened to run into Ryosuke, who was also just coming out.
"Want a drink?"
Ryosuke handed over a bottle of cold milk.
"Thanks."
Konan took it, twisted open the cap, and gulped down more than half the bottle. A drop of milk slid down from the corner of her mouth, continuing downward, disappearing into the deep shadow beneath her collar.
Feeling the slight coldness at her chest, Konan finally reacted, wiped away the dripping milk, tightened her collar again, and looked at Ryosuke with caution.
She didn't expect that Ryosuke had already turned away, not even glancing at her.
He was quietly drinking his cold milk, the cool night breeze mixed with mist brushing against his face, stirring his hair, matched with the hazy moonlight…
It was quite captivating.
Konan had to admit, what Terumi Mei said about Ryosuke being able to make money in the red-light district was correct.
However, Konan noticed that Ryosuke's mood was a bit off.
She walked over and asked, "You told Terumi Mei during the day, 'If your heart is confused, don't pull the trigger.' But now you seem confused yourself?"
Ryosuke looked at Konan in surprise.
He didn't expect this woman to take the initiative to start a conversation out of nowhere, and even more didn't expect Konan to see through his thoughts.
"What's with that look?"
Konan lightly clicked her tongue and said, "After all, I've run the Akatsuki Organization for so many years. I still have an eye for people… Are you worried about the battle in three days?"
Ryosuke shook his head.
The battle in three days was indeed very important. However, since the goals and plans were already set, he wouldn't hesitate anymore.
Whether they would win or not, it all depended on fate.
What Ryosuke was thinking about was something else.
He took the milk bottle cap, placed it on his thumb, and flicked it lightly.
Under Konan's gaze, the bottle cap flew up high.
"Star Platinum!"
In that moment, the world froze.
Star Platinum suddenly appeared and caught the bottle cap, placing it back in Ryosuke's hand.
The frozen world resumed movement.
"Huh?"
Konan maintained her head-tilted posture. Half a second later, she saw the bottle cap back in Ryosuke's hand.
"Eh?!!"
Konan picked up the cap and looked at it carefully. "What kind of trick is this?"
Ryosuke sighed softly and said, "I also want to know, what exactly this 'trick' is."
[Star Platinum: Level 5]
After spending a full 4000 soul fragments to level Star Platinum to max, the entire world appeared in slow motion through Star Platinum's eyes.
Absolute and unmatched power, speed, and precision.
You could say, anyone who stepped within two meters of Ryosuke would, in less than half a second, be blown apart by thousands of punches.
If Ryosuke focused his mind to the extreme, the "slow motion" effect would reach its limit, like,
Time Stop.
But only for a brief instant.
Because it was too short, at most it allowed Star Platinum to throw a single punch. After that punch, the sense of frozen time would vanish.
'After reaching full level, Star Platinum indeed touched the threshold of time stop. But to truly stop time, it still lacks one extremely important opportunity.'
In the original series, Jotaro only developed his time stop ability after clashing heart-to-heart with DIO, through repeated hands-on guidance.
'In the world of Naruto, where am I supposed to find a DIO to copy abilities from?'
This was Ryosuke's current dilemma.
He opened Star Platinum's Stand description again and looked at the notes section.
'…Since it's specially marked as 'non-time-stop version,' could it be that this is the evil gacha system's card rotation limit? Do I still have to pull a 'Star Platinum: Time Stop version' next?'
So-called card rotation meant the same character would be released in different versions based on different time periods, later versions would always be stronger than the original ones. This was a strategy to trick players into spending money.
Ryosuke thought about it for a moment and rejected the idea.
Although Star Platinum wasn't like White Snake, constantly nagging, chatting all day for a bag of sunflower seeds, Ryosuke could sense that Star Platinum had a unique and dazzling soul.
Ryosuke then thought of many other Stands that hadn't appeared yet.
Weather Report.
D4C.
Made in Heaven.
King Crimson… and so on.
These Stands clearly surpassed five-star level, possessing a power that leapt across tiers, also known as, unreleased six-star Stands.
'If my summon interface is marked as 'Normal Gacha'...'
Ryosuke sipped his milk and muttered, "If Star Platinum gains time stop and becomes 'Star Platinum: The World,' exceeding five-star level, and if the system interface shows a 'Special Gacha' option… could it be the same trigger?"
As for the system, up to now, Ryosuke had mortgaged his soul, had slain and defeated many powerful enemies.
The only thing he hadn't done yet, was to change the direction of the world.
Ryosuke looked toward the hazy moonlight, finished the last sip of his milk, and his gaze gradually returned to firmness.
Three days later, the answer would be revealed.
Konan noticed the change in Ryosuke's expression.
'He figured it out that fast? What a decisive man… but what exactly did you figure out?!'
———
The next two days were still shrouded in mist, but the village became even more lively.
Tourists walked by loudly discussing which graduate they bet on. In some corners, whispers could be heard of people contacting Kirigakure ninjas in secret, asking them to sabotage the high-odds contestants.
There were also socialites from all over, publicly wrapping their arms around different oiran from various shops, swaggering through the streets with attendants, throwing coins from time to time, causing many people to rush forward and grab them.
They weren't after anything else, just the envy in others' eyes.
This behavior looked very familiar to Ryosuke. After thinking for a bit, he realized, it was just like when some gangster bosses strolled through the streets with tight yoga pants girls from five counties, yelling in the bar, "Everyone's tab is on Ace of Spades!"
As expected, no matter what world it was in, showing off was always a topic many men could never avoid.
Another wad of bills was thrown out. Ryosuke smiled and casually caught one, shouting along, "Thanks, big bro!" Then he bought a skewer of fried dumplings from the grandma at the side stall and munched as he walked.
Ryosuke wasn't just wandering around.
Tomorrow was the graduation ceremony.
The Daimyo of the Land of Water had already arrived in Kirigakure that afternoon. Under the escort of many samurai guards, he entered a specially prepared courtyard in the village to rest.
But saying "rest" was just lip service, Ryosuke noticed that there were fewer oiran on the streets, probably summoned to the Daimyo's palace to share the blessings.
Aerosmith was hiding above in the mist, scanning the city below, recording the map, and gaining a pre-understanding of the battlefield layout.
Suddenly, the mini-plane locked onto a patch of carbon dioxide.
Judging by the figures, it was two people in a fierce fight.
'Someone made a move early?'
Ryosuke followed the location tracking and headed that way.
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