Uchiha Kazuhiko's golden finger was a system-type cheat called the
[Ten Thousand Realms Mercenary System]
The system interface contained three main sections:
[Basic Information], [Mercenary Missions], and [Multiverse Mall]
Among these, the [Mercenary Missions] section was further divided into [Mission Board] and [Post Mission], while the [Multiverse Mall] was split into [Purchase] and [Recycle] sub-sections.
Uchiha Kazuhiko used his intent to open [Basic Information], and the system immediately displayed his status.
Host: Uchiha Kazuhiko
Mercenary Rank: Black Iron
Combat Rank: Black Iron Low-Tier Lower Grade
Mission Points: 0/100
System Gold Coins: 0
The Basic Information section was somewhat unexpected for Uchiha Kazuhiko.
He had expected complicated entries like attributes, skills, items, pets, or combat power, as seen in some novels, but never imagined his own system's info panel would be so simple with just these few items.
Following the system's prompts, Uchiha Kazuhiko checked each section one by one and basically understood the function of the Ten Thousand Realms Mercenary System.
Mercenary Rank, as the name implied, represented his current mercenary level.
The Mercenary Rank was divided into six levels.
Above his current Black Iron rank were Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, and the highest, King rank.
Different ranks came with different permissions.
For example, the Black Iron rank provided 10 cubic meters of system storage space, only allowed accepting missions below Silver rank, charged a 30% commission in System Gold Coins upon mission completion, and levied a 20% handling fee when recycling items.
The Bronze rank above Black Iron offered 20 cubic meters of system storage space, allowed accepting missions below Gold rank, and reduced the commission and handling fee to 25% and 15% respectively.
This pattern continued up to the highest King rank, which provided 500 cubic meters of storage space, could accept missions of all ranks, and had commissions and handling fees as low as 5% and 3%.
Combat Rank was the system's basic evaluation based on a comprehensive assessment of the host's abilities, excluding burst strength under special conditions.
It was for the host's reference only, to facilitate choosing missions suited to one's own strength.
Mission Points were points awarded by the system upon completing a mission, in addition to the monetary reward.
Points could be used to raise the mercenary rank. Completing different missions awarded different point values.
Upon reaching a certain amount, the mercenary rank could be promoted to the next level.
System Gold Coins were the bounty obtained after completing missions.
They could be used to purchase items from the Multiverse Mall or to post missions, serving as the system's basic currency.
The Mission Board would refresh randomly based on connected space-times, at irregular intervals.
Each time, a varying number and rank of missions would appear. After accepting a mission, one could travel to the mission's time, complete it, return, and receive the corresponding reward.
Post Mission was an option for the host to publish tasks, using System Gold Coins or items as commission to hire characters from across the myriad worlds to carry out missions.
The Multiverse Mall was a place to purchase items from all realms using System Gold Coins. One could also sell acquired items through the Recycle option.
However, with Uchiha Kazuhiko's System Gold Coins at 0, he couldn't open the Multiverse Mall yet. He could only check what specific items were inside after completing his first mission.
In simple terms, the Ten Thousand Realms Mercenary System was a golden finger that involved going to myriad worlds to complete missions, then obtaining rewards to enhance one's own strength.
After figuring out his golden finger, Uchiha Kazuhiko finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was very self-aware; all the efforts he had made before were merely a desperate struggle to numb himself.
After all, given his body's aptitude and previous environment, wanting to possess strength capable of resisting Uchiha Itachi within a year was practically a fantasy, an utterly impossible feat.
But now, the appearance of the Ten Thousand Realms Mercenary System gave Uchiha Kazuhiko tremendous confidence, allowing him to truly see the possibility of surviving the night of the clan's massacre.
For this, he would exert his utmost effort, solely for the sake of survival.
Uchiha Kazuhiko calmed his excited mood and opened the Mission Board to check the three tasks currently refreshed by the system.
[Eliminate the Golden Horned Beast]: Slay the Bronze Low-Tier Lower Grade monster, Golden Horned Beast.
Publisher: Hong
Mission Space-Time: Swallowed Star
Mission Commission: 850 Gold Coins, Spear Technique "World Annihilation"
Mission Points: 120
Mission Rank: Bronze Grade
[Protect the Employer]: Protect the target, Dr. Jack Byron, on his journey to the Satan Basin to pick Blood Orchids.
Publisher: Jack Byron
Mission Space-Time: Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid
Mission Commission: 6 Gold Coins, $50,000 USD
Mission Points: 7
Mission Rank: Black Iron Grade
[Eliminate King Kong]: Kill the mutated giant ape destroying New York.
Publisher: The White House
Mission Space-Time: King Kong
Mission Commission: 18 Gold Coins, $500,000 USD
Mission Points: 17
Mission Rank: Black Iron Grade
All three mercenary missions were within Uchiha Kazuhiko's authority to accept.
The mission space-times were also worlds from movies and novels he had seen or read before.
Comparing based on information from his memories, although Bronze and Black Iron were only one rank apart, the strength required to complete the tasks differed greatly.
The Bronze Low-Tier Lower Grade Golden Horned Beast was at the Star 7th stage in the original work.
Judging by strength levels in Naruto, it was nearly on par with the final boss, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
With only genin-level strength, Uchiha Kazuhiko couldn't even harm the beast let alone slay it.
Although the giant ape King Kong had no supernatural powers, its mutated, super-strong physical qualities were enough to match Elite Jōnin or even quasi-Kage level experts in Naruto.
Clearly, this was also a mission Uchiha Kazuhiko could not complete.
The most powerful creatures in Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid were the group of giant pythons that had broken their physical growth limits by consuming the Blood Orchids.
Although their individual abilities were stronger than ordinary humans, their intelligence hadn't grown much.
As long as he wasn't surrounded by a large group of giant snakes, Uchiha Kazuhiko was confident he could eliminate them one by one.
Without the slightest hesitation, Uchiha Kazuhiko decisively chose to accept the second mission.
Immediately afterward, the system's prompt sounded in his mind.
"Host has accepted mission [Protect the Employer]."
"Linking space-time"
"... Link completed."
"Initiate transmission immediately?"
"Wait."
Uchiha Kazuhiko did not choose to go to the mission world immediately but instead made some preparations before crossing over.
He took out his few remaining soldier pills and a dozen small ninja tools, stuffing them into his tool pouch.
He then retrieved the fine steel katana left by his parents and sharpened it.
Finally, he stored the most precious items in his home one B-rank and two C-rank jutsu training scrolls into the system's space.
Only then did Uchiha Kazuhiko silently think, "Transmit."
"Transmission beginning."
Uchiha Kazuhiko's body vanished from his home.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a modern-style reception room.
Simultaneously, a stream of information flooded into Uchiha Kazuhiko's mind.