world.
Right, the perks.
Everyone knows that transmigration comes with perks.
Like a Devil Fruit, or some kind of leveling-up gift package.
What perk did I get?
Thinking of perks, Shao Feng's gaze swept over his body, landing on the electronic watch on his wrist.
If there's a perk, it must be this mysterious watch.
The watch's buttons were simple: up, down, left, right for navigation, a confirm button in the center, and a green power button at the top. Pressing the power button, the screen lit up with Chinese text: "Dream Virtual Machine. Startup confirmed. Access granted: Naruto skill exchange system."
Beep beep… User verified. DNA confirmed.
Beep beep… Database loading.
Beep beep… Character database loaded successfully.
Beep beep… Shop database loaded successfully.
Beep beep… System startup successful.
The screen switched to a menu: 1. Character Stats, 2. Character Skills, 3. Shop.
Clicking on Character Stats, Shao Feng's attributes appeared:
Level: 0 (No level cap.)
Experience: 0/100 (Experience replaced by gold; 1 gram of gold = 1 experience. Experience needed per level: Level × 100.)
Health: 200/500
Affects physical condition.
Based on health percentage, the body reflects corresponding states:
100%–80%: Healthy
79%–60%: Poor condition (attributes reduced to 80%)
49%–30%: Weakened (attributes reduced to 50%)
29%–10%: Critical injury (attributes reduced to 30%)
Below 10%: Near death (attributes reduced to 5%)
Health below 0: Death
Chakra: 450/450 (Affects skill usage. Recovers at Spirit/10 per second.)
Base Attributes: (Each level-up increases all attributes by 1 point, plus 4 free attribute points.)
Constitution: 3 (Affects strength, health. Each point adds 1 strength, 100 health.)
Agility: 3 (Affects speed, reflexes. Each point adds 0.3 strength. Agility cannot be less than half of Constitution.)
Spirit: 4 (Affects chakra, endurance, willpower. Each point adds 0.3 strength, 50 chakra.)
Base Strength: 5.1
As expected, I'm just a weakling with 5.1 strength.
Shao Feng gave a bitter smile.
But at level 0, as long as I get gold to exchange for experience, I can level up.
Next, Shao Feng opened the Shop system, divided into categories: Ninja Tools & Items, Basic Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Wind Release, Water Release, Fire Release, Lightning Release, Earth Release, Summoning Beasts, Sealing Ninjutsu, Non-Attribute Ninjutsu, Bloodline Limits & Secret Techniques. Scanning the shop, he saw that ninjutsu was also purchased and upgraded with experience.
Ninjutsu prices:
SSS: 100 million experience
SS: 10 million experience
S: 1 million experience
A: 100,000 experience
B: 10,000 experience
C: 1,000 experience
D: 100 experience
Even the cheapest D-rank ninjutsu required 100 experience—100 grams of gold. Where am I supposed to find that much gold?
Then, Shao Feng noticed a balance at the bottom of the screen: 10,000.
Could this be the perk?
Ecstatic, Shao Feng danced with excitement.
"Hey, Shao Feng, are you okay?" An asked, worried by his odd behavior.
"I'm fine. Thanks, and sorry for scaring you earlier," Shao Feng said apologetically.
"Are you sure you're okay?" An pointed at him, still making strange poses.
"My body? Uh…" Mentioning his body, Shao Feng felt a wave of soreness and grimaced.
"Hehe…" His weird expression made An giggle, but her stomach growled, and she blushed with embarrassment.
"Sorry, An," Shao Feng said, then grinned. "I have an idea. Are you free to go out right now?"
"What idea?" An asked, intrigued. Hunger wasn't pleasant. She glanced at the diner, then nodded slightly.
Using his 10,000 experience balance, Shao Feng leveled up to 10, leaving 4,500 experience.
He allocated the free attribute points to Constitution and Agility:
Constitution: 50
Agility: 26
Strength: 59
Then, in the Shop's Basic Skills, he selected:
Ninja Tool Throwing: D-rank skill.
Cost: 100 experience to learn.
After learning it, the skill lit up, marked as usable, with a description:
Ninja Tool Throwing: D-rank
Hit rate: Beginner (10%), Proficient (50%), Expert (80%), Legendary (95%), Mythical (100%)
(Static hit rate, assuming a stationary target.)
Upgrade cost: 10 times the previous level's experience.
Using 1,000 experience, he upgraded Ninja Tool Throwing to Proficient (50% hit rate).
Then, from the Ninja Tools section, he bought:
Shuriken: 1 experience each.
A pretty cheap price.
(1 gram of gold for a shuriken is hardly cheap.)
After upgrading, Shao Feng's body felt restored, his injuries fully healed. With An in tow, they headed to the beach. An followed, puzzled.
At the shore, Shao Feng waded into the sea, holding the shuriken, his eyes fixed on the water.
Suddenly, a shadow darted between his legs. He threw the shuriken, and with a burst of red blood, a 10-pound fish floated to the surface.
Shao Feng excitedly lifted the fish, waving at An on the beach.
Seeing the fish, An let out an excited squeal and rushed over. "Wow! What a big fish! Leave it to me." She took the fish, expertly cleaning it with the shuriken.
She lit a bonfire on the beach, skewered the fish with branches, and began roasting it.
"Will this be okay? It's turning black," Shao Feng said, swallowing hard as he eyed the smoke-darkened fish.
"No problem. Don't underestimate me—I'm a chef. Cooking's my specialty," An said, pouting at his doubt.
She wiped sweat from her face.
The 10-pound fish was heavy for a teenage girl like An.
"Haha!" Seeing her smudge her face with soot, Shao Feng burst out laughing.
Ignoring his teasing, An focused on the roasting fish, her eyes full of anticipation.
Her reaction surprised Shao Feng. He studied the slim, pale-skinned girl with short black hair, dressed in a patched, worn cloth skirt.
"Who's the boss who hit you today?" Shao Feng asked suddenly.
His words made An tremble slightly. She lowered her head but didn't respond.
"Forget it, you don't have to say," Shao Feng said awkwardly.
"He's my husband," An said quietly, her head still down.
"Hus—band? Cough, cough, cough…" Shao Feng choked, stunned.
"I'm a pirate's daughter. Two years ago, my father died in a raid. As his orphan, the captain exiled me to this island when I was 10. Alone and helpless, the diner's boss took me in. I'm to become his concubine when I turn 16," An said calmly, slowly turning the roasting fish.
"I'm sorry," Shao Feng apologized softly, lying back on the sand, his mood growing complex.
"No need to apologize. That's just how it is in this era. He's not bad—he's kept me alive," An said with a faint smile.
But her smile carried a hint of helplessness, and silence fell between them, broken only by the crackling of the fire.
"How about you escape with me? I can take care of you," Shao Feng blurted out impulsively.
"You…" An paused, then giggled. "Your fish is ready." She divided the fish, wrapping each portion in leaves and handing one to Shao Feng.
She began eating hers happily.
"I'm serious," Shao Feng said, his voice earnest.
"I know. You're a good person," An said with a casual smile. "But I'm content with my life now. He may have a bad temper, but he's looked after me for two years."
"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that," Shao Feng said, wishing he could hide.
"Ah! I'm full!" An stretched, standing up.
"I should head back. Thanks for the dinner—it was delicious," she said, smiling and waving the fish.
"No, I should thank you. You cooked it," Shao Feng said quickly.
"Either way, thank you. Goodbye," An said, waving as she ran toward the town. As she turned, tears streamed down her face.