“Wait! Hold up!”

  “Hm?”

  Just as Orochimaru was about to strike, he paused, puzzled.

  “I mean, sure, we can duel. No problem. But... there’s a condition.”

  “What kind of condition?”

  “Please pay 100 ryō first.”

  “...What?”

  Orochimaru blinked at Kaya Shihōin, visibly confused.

  Kaya cleared his throat. “You know how it is—people line up to challenge me every day. If I fought them all, I’d never have time to train. That’s why I need to set some limits.”

  “Uh...” Orochimaru looked genuinely lost. It was probably the first time in his life he’d heard someone charge for a fight.

  Kaya pressed on, voice slick with salesman charm. “Think about it—me sacrificing my personal training time to spar with you guys? It’s basically the same as a ninja being hired for a mission. Charging a small fee just makes sense. A hundred ryō isn't even much. It cuts down on the endless daily challenges and compensates me fairly for my time.”

  “That... kind of makes sense?”

  Orochimaru scratched his head, still unsure. Kaya’s logic felt off, but he couldn’t quite find the fw.

  “Whatever. Just 100 ryō, right?”

  With a casual flick, Orochimaru tossed over a 100-ryō note and raised his hands into an attack stance again.

  “Happy now?”

  Kaya caught the bill with a grin. “Very happy. We’re good to go.”

  No doubt about it—this was the test scheme cooked up by the broke-as-hell Kaya to make some fast cash.

  At this point, Kaya had become something of a celebrity among his peers. Sure, Orochimaru always topped the academic rankings, but in a world where strength spoke louder than grades, Kaya’s overwhelming combat ability had earned him the unspoken title of “true number one.”

  To make things spicier, rumors had spread that both the First and Second Hokage were personally mentoring Kaya. No one knew exactly why, but the word was out—and it drove the other students nuts with envy. Every kid wanted to beat Kaya and, in doing so, maybe catch the attention of the Second Hokage.

  The result? A steady stream of challengers knocking on Kaya’s door every single day.

  Desperate for money, Kaya suddenly had a stroke of entrepreneurial genius.

  A hundred ryō wasn’t much. Konoha had been at peace for nearly twenty years, and most kids had some allowance to burn—especially the ones backed by cns and noble families. A hundred ryō? Pocket change.

  But still, with three or four challengers showing up daily, that added up. In a month, he could rake in over ten thousand ryō.

  That was enough for a full ten-pull in the regur character recruitment banner. Kaya’s entire monthly allowance from his parents didn’t even reach that.

  So naturally, he started treating this like a proper business. During duels, he’d intentionally go easy, making it look like his opponents almost had him. That way, they’d leave unsatisfied and eager for a rematch.

  Kaya firmly believed that with consistent effort, his “business” would only continue to grow.

  Moments ter, the match between Kaya and Orochimaru began.

  Bang! Smack!

  Though still kids, their battle was far beyond the average academy brawl. The two of them blurred back and forth in a flurry of swift strikes and perfectly timed dodges.

  “Orochimaru’s... really gotten strong.”

  Trading blows, Kaya began to feel the pressure mounting.

  In terms of taijutsu, he still held the advantage—both his physical strength and his training with the First and Second Hokage gave him a clear edge. But when it came to ninjutsu, Orochimaru was proving to be shockingly adept.

  He was turning even the basic Clone Jutsu into something unpredictable. Kaya could use it too, of course—while he had doubled his experience gains for taijutsu, he hadn’t neglected ninjutsu or genjutsu. He’d even accumuted half a bar of experience. Still, compared to Orochimaru, he was a step behind in that department.

  Eventually, seeing no clean way to win, Kaya decided it was time to go all in.

  “Leaf Shadow Dance!”

  In an instant, he burst forward, unching a series of rapid attacks around Orochimaru before ducking low and sweeping a powerful kick toward his opponent’s chin.

  But to Kaya’s surprise, his usually reliable move whiffed.

  At the st second, Orochimaru dropped into a crouch and rolled aside in an awkward, clumsy tumble. Dirt clung to his robes, but he had cleanly dodged the finishing blow.

  “Ha!”

  For the first time, Orochimaru’s usually bnk face broke into a grin.

  “I’ve been studying that move of yours for a while now. It’s powerful, yeah—but not unstoppable.”

  Across from him, Kaya’s expression had grown grim.

  So even that technique had been countered...

  He’d known it was only a matter of time. The Leaf Shadow Dance was just a C-rank move, after all. But he hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.

  “You really are something else, Orochimaru...”

  The fight resumed, and after a long, hard-fought exchange, Kaya eventually came out on top, winning by sheer endurance.

  “Next time, I will win.”

  Without looking back, Orochimaru walked off into the distance.

  “Hmph. What’s he so smug about? He still lost,” Jiraiya muttered with a pout as he watched Orochimaru leave.

  But Kaya’s gaze stayed locked on his retreating opponent, unusually serious.

  If Orochimaru said he’d win next time... he just might.

  The ninja world had never been short on geniuses.

  Monsters like Kakashi, who made Chūnin at six and Jōnin by twelve, weren’t exactly common—but they weren’t unheard of either.

  The only reason Kaya could reign supreme right now was because most kids were too young to fully develop their physical skills, and hadn’t yet learned advanced jutsu.

  But that would change.

  Soon, they’d be mastering family techniques, awakening bloodline limits... and at that point, Kaya’s current strength might not be enough.

  “I’ve gotta level up—fast.”

  If someone managed to defeat him, he’d lose his reputation, and with it, his steady flow of duel income. That was unacceptable.

  So, after carefully bathing, burning incense, and scrubbing his hands like he was prepping a sacred ritual, Kaya dove into the system space.

  Time to roll big.

  When it came to power-ups, what was better than pulling new characters?

  According to the system, C-rank ninja had a decent chance of drawing full-character cards. The odds weren’t bad.

  Whether it’d be a jackpot or a dud... all depended on today’s luck.

  <><><><><>

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