AM N. NOT.(っ－＿－)っ
The countdown continued ticking down as Maki read the warning notification.
Three hours?
So he needed to spend his points now.
"Kinda pushy when I think about it," he muttered to himself.
Still, he pressed on the newly updated obsidian-golden dragon-eye chest. He spent 1,000 points to make a single draw.
Then—
The obsidian chest suddenly shook.
The dragon eye slowly lowered its eyelid.
Then—
Creeeaaak.
The lid slowly opened.
When the chest fully opened, something floated out.
An obsidian orb.
It was a crystallized obsidian sphere, wrapped with a golden serpent dragon coiling across its surface like a living seal. The orb hovered above the opened chest.
Just like the first time he had drawn from this new chest, the orb carried strange carvings across its surface. But this time there was no skull.
Instead, it looked like a fox.
Its triangular face had been carved with precise craftsmanship. Sharp eyes, visible fangs, and whiskers etched across its surface clearly formed the face of a wolf—or more accurately, a fox.
Maki mentally pressed on the orb.
But unlike before, when the orb integrated directly into his mind, this one simply cracked open like an egg.
From within, a massive shuriken appeared—four large blades extending outward.
Then it disappeared and reappeared inside the system storage.
A basic reward.
[ NARUTO ITEMS ]
Fūma Shuriken — Demon Wind Shuriken (added).
Maki simply nodded at the reward he had drawn.
Then he swiped to another page of the system, where the three categories were displayed.
He mentally maneuvered through the interface.
The points required for a draw were 600 points, and he hadn't touched the second panel at all. The price remained unchanged.
He selected the One Piece category.
A chest appeared, and beneath it the words read:
600 points for 1 draw.
He drew once.
The chest shook violently again before cracking and shattering apart. From the fragments, another orb emerged and hovered in the air.
He pressed it.
The orb cracked from the center point. Lines spread across its surface like fractures until the entire sphere was swallowed by glowing cracks. Then it shattered piece by piece.
From within, an item appeared.
A sword.
It hovered briefly before disappearing.
Maki knew where it had gone—the system storage, where weapons were automatically stored.
The One Piece chest entered cooldown once again, and the next draw would now cost 700 points.
He didn't check the sword yet.
He would inspect all the rewards later after finishing his draws from the remaining categories.
Next, he moved to the Naruto category.
He pressed it.
A chest appeared again, and beneath it the price remained 600 points.
Maki pressed the button to perform a draw.
The chest shook violently before shattering apart once again, leaving behind a hovering orb.
Maki's eyes lingered on the orb.
He didn't know why, but something about it gave him the feeling that this was a good catch.
Then—
Swoooooooosh.
The hovering orb suddenly flew toward him.
Straight into his mind.
Maki found himself in that black consciousness space again, the strange void where everything felt like a silent cinema waiting for a film to begin.
Naturally, when an orb entered his consciousness, it would play something like a movie.
"Hmmm… another movie?"
"What's the play this time?" he wondered aloud.
His awareness drifted through the endless void.
Then it began.
Mirrors cracked open across the darkness, spreading until the entire void was covered in fractured reflections.
Fragments of memories started playing across them.
"What's this… a turtle?"
"I've never seen this kind of turtle before."
"And those spikes… is this some kind of rare species? I've never seen a turtle like this."
"Is this the turtle island they were talking about?"
"So it really e—exists…"
Maki watched the creature swimming freely through the ocean.
The turtle's massive body was covered in jagged spikes. One eye was barely visible beneath its armored head, but its entire body looked like a gigantic armored turtle.
And it had three tails.
They resembled the tails of large shrimp.
Maki couldn't believe what he was seeing.
This thing…
This creature…
He gulped.
Back in his hometown, there had been an old story about a turtle as large as an island—a turtle their ancestors once lived on. According to the legend, it had carried them to safety through storms and typhoons.
And now…
He was actually seeing one.
To him, it felt like discovering that a fairytale was real.
Maki's consciousness was completely absorbed in the vision, which severed his awareness from the real world.
Suddenly, Tsunade felt something strange.
Her eyes turned toward Maki.
He sat there silently, his hands still covering his ears.
"What is happening?" she exclaimed.
(っ－＿－)っAM N. NOT.