More than three years had passed since his "Golden Finger" awakened.
Every time he opened the system, the familiar Naruto Mobile interface would pop up with a flashing notification: Top up to V10 and instantly receive Gaara of the Desert!
Over the last three years, Shiranui Hayate had tried everything. He'd attempted to "recharge" using US Dollars, British Pounds, Russian Rubles, and even precious metals like gold and diamonds.
The result? Always the same: Recharge Failed.
He had eventually given up on the dream of upgrading his VIP level. He even went as far as exchanging currency for Renminbi from the East to try his luck, but the system remained stubbornly unresponsive.
When he opened the Naruto panel, he didn't see the default Uzumaki Naruto. Instead, he saw his own reflection standing before a hazy, ethereal night view of the Hidden Leaf Village.
For three years, he had meticulously explored every corner of this cheat system.
He could "Sign-in" once a day. A successful check-in rewarded him with Copper Coins, Prestige, Explosive Tags, Soul Jades, Reincarnation Stones, Delicious Ramen, Ninja Recruitment Scrolls, and the elusive Gold Coins usually reserved for paid players.
Copper Coins and Prestige were essential for training Summoning Jutsu and leveling up contracted beasts. Copper Coins, in particular, were a massive sink—they were required for everything from upgrading gear to refining Secret Scrolls.
Fortunately, the system allowed a 1:1 conversion between Copper Coins and US Dollars.
Consequently, Hayate had spent the last few years converting his hard-earned cash into game currency. He never went the other way around; Copper Coins were simply too scarce.
Items like Soul Jades and Reincarnation Stones were meant for strengthening Artifacts, though he still had no clue how to actually obtain an Artifact.
As for the Recruitment Scrolls, he wasn't sure if it was just terrible luck or a built-in mechanic, but they were incredibly rare. He'd get one or two a month through sign-ins—three if he was lucky, one if he wasn't.
Since he couldn't hit VIP 1-12, he was also locked out of the double sign-in rewards.
Gold Coins were even tighter, yielding only 50 per month. Considering a single Recruitment Scroll cost 168 Gold, things like "Limited Recruitment" or "Privilege Recruitment" were nothing more than pipe dreams.
Most of the game's features—Squad Raid, Trials, the Arena, Rankings, and the Ninja World Tournament—were greyed out and locked.
He wasn't sure what the "lighting up" condition was, but a few things had activated. Once he joined the Continental, the Organization building lit up.
The Mission Log (Task Assembly Hall) was also active. Any contract he took through the Continental was automatically tracked there.
However, the Mission Log had its limits. He could only take three missions at a time, preventing him from mindless grinding. Missions were ranked S, A, B, C, and D, with rewards scaling accordingly.
The Mission Log didn't just track assassinations; it recognized protection, escort, transport, and retrieval jobs.
Because of this, Hayate had opened a side business outside the Continental: The Shiranui Agency. He selectively accepted any job that the system's Mission Log would recognize as a valid task.
There was also a built-in Practice Field. This wasn't a digital arena for duels, but a physical space modeled after Training Ground 8 from the Naruto world.
Here, Hayate could hone his Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, and shuriken throwing. The only downside was the lack of a sparring partner to test his combat reflexes.
Still, the Practice Field was the cornerstone of his growth. Mastering Ninjutsu in a crowded city like New York without a private, secure, and massive training ground would have cost him a fortune.
In terms of recruitment, thirty-six months had yielded exactly 50 scrolls. Following the old habits of a gacha player, he always saved up for "10-pulls."
Recruitment wasn't a guarantee; a scroll could just as easily give him Copper Coins, materials, or shards.
In three years, he had successfully summoned three ninjas. The reason he didn't have more was the "Duplicate Rule": pulling a ninja you already owned converted them into fragments.
The fragment requirements were erratic:
C-Rank: 10 fragments to summon.
B & A-Rank: 40 fragments.
S-Rank: 100 fragments.
Ninjas could also be "Star-leveled" from one to five stars, but the shard requirements were astronomical. Going from four to five stars required 200 fragments—a terrifying prospect in this world.
Though the three ninjas he owned were all C-Rank—trash tier in the mobile game—they were god-tier assets in the early stages of the Marvel Universe.
His current roster consisted of:
Uchiha Sasuke (No Sharingan)
Skills: Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, Lion Barrage, Chidori.
Umino Iruka
Skills: Shuriken Toss, Binding Formations, Roar of Love.
Rock Lee
Skills: Infinite Flurry, Leaf Hurricane, Primary Lotus.
When he recruited a ninja, he gained the ability to use all their skills and received a "Standard C-Rank" amount of Chakra. He could also refine and train his own Chakra.
The only frustrating part was that this version of Sasuke could use Chidori but lacked the Sharingan. It was a classic "scam" move from the developers.
Until he recruited "Sharingan Sasuke," his dynamic vision wouldn't be able to keep up with the tunnel vision caused by the Chidori's lightning-fast charge.
His current power—one Chunin and two Genin—was more than enough for a pre-Avengers Marvel world. As long as he didn't take a bullet or a bomb to the face, his assassination capabilities were peerless.
After all, most ninjas were "glass cannons"—high attack, low defense.