Akashō instantly flared up.
"What kind of trash system are you? You didn't clearly explain the reputation rules before, and now you're not explaining the template levels or reputation requirements either. You expect me to figure everything out myself? What kind of cheat is this? You're basically a useless tool—everything has to be done by me. What's the point of having you?"
"Ding. The host may choose to uninstall this system."
This time the system responded quickly, its cold voice sounding as if it was certain Akashō wouldn't uninstall it.
Akashō was so angry he actually laughed.
Oh, so it thinks it's got him cornered?
He irritably slapped his head. Fine—he had no choice but to swallow this loss. Same as always, he'd deal with it once he became invincible.
He didn't know whether this system was just artificial intelligence or had some kind of self-awareness. But if he ever got the chance, he'd definitely manifest it into a physical form and tear it apart.
"Then at least tell me how much reputation is needed for the next template level."
"Ding. The reputation required to unlock an S-rank template ranges from two million to 2.2 million."
Akashō waited a moment before asking gloomily, "Go on. What about higher levels?"
"Higher levels require the host to first unlock an S-rank template."
"Damn it!"
Furious, Akashō shut the system off and sat down cross-legged on the ground, sulking.
After quite a while, the anger in his chest finally subsided.
"Two million… still short by eight hundred thousand. With two templates, farming one battlefield should be about enough."
"I just hope saving up this much reputation wasn't a waste… It shouldn't be, right? Even if the system's a bit unreliable, judging from these two lowest-level templates, it probably won't screw me over."
He muttered to himself for a while. Once the anger faded, exhaustion came rushing in. He took out some food, filled his stomach, reverted to his original form, and had a good sleep.
...
The next day, Akashō groggily opened his eyes, stood up, and walked out of the cave while untying his pants.
"Haa—"
After relieving himself, he immediately felt a wave of relief.
After shaking twice, he pulled his pants back up and leisurely turned around, planning to go back into the cave, eat something, and get a bit more sleep before setting out.
But at that moment, a somewhat familiar, cold voice suddenly entered his ears.
"Uzumaki Akashō?"
His body stiffened. Turning his head, he saw Orochimaru parting the grass and walking out.
What the hell—why is Orochimaru here?
Akashō's pupils shrank as he instantly woke up, instinctively taking a step back.
Right now, he was in his original form. Against Orochimaru, he had absolutely no ability to resist.
Then again… in a one-on-one situation like this, especially early in the morning with the sun just rising, he couldn't transform into Kokushibo. And even if he used Bertholdt Hoover, he probably wouldn't be able to beat Orochimaru in a solo fight.
Besides, transforming now would expose his identity, and then he wouldn't be able to farm reputation anymore.
What should he do? Should he gamble and activate the third template to see if he could escape—or even counterkill?
But even if the third template worked, it would still expose him.
Why does this situation feel so familiar? Oh right—when he ran into Jiraiya before, it was kind of like this. Back then, he didn't know how strong Jiraiya was, so he wasn't afraid.
And the reason Jiraiya didn't attack him was because he didn't know Akashō was Kokushibo, nor that he had Uzumaki bloodline. But Orochimaru…
Wait—didn't Orochimaru just call him Uzumaki Akashō? He knows his identity?
Sigh… what kind of constitution is this? Going to the bathroom always triggers a side quest?
While Akashō's just-woken brain wandered with random thoughts, Orochimaru's gaze was fixed firmly on him.
The reason Orochimaru knew Akashō's identity was because after today's battle, when he returned to the Leaf Village camp, he met the messenger sent by Minato Namikaze.
From that letter, Orochimaru learned about Akashō. As for Minato asking him to keep an eye out for information about the boy, he treated it as nothing more than a passing note.
This kid has an unclear connection with Kokushibo. And Kokushibo has an unclear connection with Bertholdt Hoover. So it's possible this kid also has ties to Bertholdt Hoover.
No wonder he followed the traces left by Bertholdt Hoover and ended up encountering this kid.
A flash of cold light passed. Just as Akashō was thinking that Orochimaru probably wouldn't attack him even if he knew his identity, a kunai had already stopped right in front of his eye.
"Where are Kokushibo and Bertholdt Hoover?"
Orochimaru stared at him coldly as he asked.
"W-what Kokushibo and Bertholdt Hoover? I… I've never heard of them…"
Akashō's pupils shrank instinctively. He put on a clueless, frightened expression and took a step back.
Was Orochimaru really going to attack a five-year-old child?
Wait… why does Orochimaru think he knows where Kokushibo and Bertholdt Hoover are?
There's only one possibility—he must have heard the lies Akashō made up when he spoke to Jiraiya and that Uchiha.
In that case, pretending not to know Kokushibo was no longer realistic. He needed another approach.
"Stop pretending. If you've never heard of Kokushibo, then who took you away from the Leaf Village?"
Orochimaru moved the kunai even closer.
"Don't waste my time. Where are they?"
What does that mean? Does Orochimaru think he was taken from the Leaf Village by Kokushibo?
Akashō narrowed his eyes. "Alright, alright, I'll tell you. Just put that thing down first—it's pretty scary, you know."
Orochimaru let out a hoarse chuckle and withdrew the kunai.
...
Check out my new interesting story "Naruto: Starting by Possessing Kimimaro." A transmigrator appears in Kimimaro's body, inheriting a powerful bloodline limit.