Chapter 10 — The Meaning of UU's Existence
Accepting the money returned by the shop owner, Raizen slipped it back into his pocket before asking casually,
"Madam, may I ask how far it is from here to Konoha?"
The shop owner paused, clearly surprised by the question.
"You're not from the Land of Fire?" she asked, looking at him with mild curiosity. "Konoha Ninja Village is still quite far from here."
Her reaction was perfectly reasonable. After all, Konoha's location within the Land of Fire was common knowledge. Even people from neighboring countries were aware of where the famous Hidden Leaf Village was located.
Raizen, however, had already prepared an explanation for situations like this.
With a calm and slightly embarrassed smile, he replied, "Our village is very remote. Hardly anyone ever leaves. I snuck out recently, and along the way I kept hearing people talk about 'Konoha.' I got curious, so I thought I'd go take a look myself."
"Oh, I see," the shop owner said with a nod of understanding.
"Well, you still have quite a journey ahead of you. But fortunately, our town handles a lot of goods transport. If you're willing to pay a little, you might be able to ride along with one of the caravans."
She thought for a moment before adding,
"In fact, I believe there's a cart heading toward Konoha today. It should depart soon. If you hurry, you might catch it—otherwise you'll probably have to wait a few more days."
"Thank you," Raizen said sincerely.
Without wasting any more time, he quickly left the clothing store. Once outside, he paused for a moment and looked down the bustling street stretching into the distance.
Konoha was still far away.
Strangely enough, that was actually a relief.
Right now, Raizen's greatest concern was not Konoha—it was becoming stronger. Specifically, he needed to learn how to refine chakra.
That was the most urgent task before him. If he could refine chakra, his strength would increase rapidly. Compared to the slow progress of physical training, chakra cultivation offered a much faster path to power.
Simply relying on physical training might take years before he reached a meaningful level of strength. He might even die long before that happened. In this world, patience alone could not guarantee survival.
Just as Raizen was thinking about his next move, a strange sensation suddenly crept over him.
It was subtle… But unmistakable.
Someone was watching him.
The feeling prickled at the back of his neck. In truth, this was a natural human instinct. Most people could sense, at least faintly, when they were being observed.
Raizen turned his head slowly and looked toward a nearby street corner. But the streets were crowded with people moving in every direction. Merchants shouted about their goods, travelers passed by carrying luggage, and children ran through the crowds.
There was no way to tell who had been watching him. Still, Raizen trusted his instincts. To be safe, he decided to leave the area immediately.
He quickened his pace and moved deeper into the town. But halfway down the street, a chilling realization struck him.
The person watching him had probably hesitated only because the streets were crowded.
If he left the safety of the crowds… He would become an easy target. Cold sweat began to slide down Raizen's forehead.
"What should I do…?"
Without a Heroic Spirit by his side, he had almost no chance of fighting a Konoha ninja—or even a skilled bounty hunter. For now, the crowds provided some protection.
But once night fell…
"Damn it."
Raizen clenched his teeth. The first thing he needed was a weapon. Even if it didn't make him much stronger, simply having something for self-defense would bring him some peace of mind.
Fortunately, since this town served as a transportation hub, it contained several weapon shops. Raizen had already noticed them earlier when he first entered town.
After pushing his way through the busy streets, he stepped inside one of them. The shop owner, a middle-aged man with sharp eyes, immediately looked him up and down.
"Hey," the man said impatiently.
"This isn't a place for ordinary people to wander into."
Raizen ignored the remark. His gaze had already landed on a long spear displayed against the wall.
"Hey, kid!" the shop owner snapped. "Didn't you hear me?"
"Do you even have a weapons purchase certificate?"
Raizen froze slightly. He hadn't expected that buying weapons required official certification.
After thinking for a moment, he guessed what the certificate probably was—something like a ninja license, a bodyguard permit, or another form of legal authorization.
But then another thought crossed his mind.
How had bounty hunters like Kakuzu bought their weapons?
A faint smile appeared on Raizen's lips.
The answer was simple.
Money.
Trying to seize weapons by force would be suicidal. Even if he ignored the shop owner's abilities, the bodyguards employed by weapon dealers were rarely ordinary people.
Raizen stepped forward and lifted the spear from its stand. The tip gleamed with a cold metallic sheen. The iron shaft felt icy in his hands. Instinctively, he ran his fingers along its length.
The surface was smooth and perfectly polished. It was clear that the owner took great care of his merchandise.
"How much for this spear?" Raizen asked calmly.
The shop owner squinted at him for a moment. After a brief pause, he replied,
"Thirty thousand ryō."
In truth, long spears weren't particularly popular weapons in the ninja world, so the price should not have been this high.
But Raizen had no certificate. That meant he was probably a bounty hunter or some other shady figure. In the weapons trade, there was an unspoken rule—when selling to bounty hunters, the price went up by at least ten percent.
And because the shop owner didn't like Raizen's attitude, he added another twenty percent on top of that.
Raizen didn't hesitate.
He pulled out 30,000 ryō and handed it over immediately.
"Wrap it up for me," he said. "It's too long to carry openly."
The shop owner raised an eyebrow in surprise. He hadn't expected the young man to agree so easily. For a brief moment, he even regretted not raising the price further.
Still, since the customer had paid without complaint, there was no reason to cause trouble. Doing business like this actually felt rather satisfying.
Before long, the spear was wrapped neatly in cloth. Raizen took it and left the shop. Afterward, he searched for a crowded inn and rented a room.
Inside the small room, he sat quietly by the window, holding the spear across his lap. His eyes remained fixed on the dimming sky outside.
Time passed slowly. Eventually, the sun disappeared below the horizon.
Night fell.
Raizen rose to his feet. He tightened his grip on the spear and waited silently.
He knew the danger would arrive soon.
Suddenly—
"Master!"
UU's voice echoed inside his mind.
"You have triggered a mission. Eliminate the invading enemies."
"Reward: Chakra Refinement Method."
Raizen froze for a moment.
Then a slow smile spread across his face.
"I didn't expect a mission… And the reward is certainly tempting."
A fierce gleam flashed in his eyes. Ever since he had ordered Artoria to attack during their escape, Raizen had already accepted a brutal truth.
In this world—It was kill or be killed.
And he was mentally prepared for that reality.
"UU," he asked quietly, "do you know how many enemies there are?"
"Master," UU replied, "The system will not provide hints before the mission is completed."
Raizen grimaced slightly. It seemed he could only rely on himself. After a moment, he asked another question silently.
"What happens if I fail the mission?"
UU answered immediately.
"Mission failure means you have already been killed."
There was a faint hint of disdain in her voice.
Raizen was speechless. All he could do now was conserve his strength and wait for whatever was coming.
Then UU suddenly spoke again, her tone cheerful.
"Master, do you know the meaning of my existence?"
Before Raizen could respond—A figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
It was a girl.
She had silver hair that shimmered like moonlight and equally silver eyes that seemed almost unreal. She wore a short blue skirt, and her delicate appearance made her look like an angel who had stepped out of a dream.
The girl lifted the edge of her skirt gracefully and gave Raizen a polite bow.
"You can manifest yourself too?" Raizen asked in surprise.
UU smiled brightly.
"Yes. But only Master can see me."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Master… do you know why I exist?"
Raizen shook his head.
UU continued smiling sweetly. But the words she spoke next made Raizen instinctively step backward.
"My purpose… is to erase you."
Raizen's eyes widened.
"When a system mission appears and the Master fails to complete it," UU continued calmly,
"I will erase your existence."
"Every world has main missions, although some have not been activated yet."
"There are also side missions, which appear randomly—like the one you just received. Whether it is a main mission or a side mission… if Master fails, I will erase you."
Her tone remained gentle. Almost cheerful.
"So please work hard to survive."
Raizen's expression slowly turned serious.
He stared directly at the silver-haired girl before him.
"So your purpose is to monitor me," he said quietly.
UU nodded.
"Yes. You are my eighth Master. All of my previous Masters were erased. They simply didn't survive long enough."
She sighed softly.
"I actually dislike killing my own Master personally. So please…"
Her silver eyes looked at him earnestly.
"Survive."