The blinding white light of the screening room still lingered on his retinas.
With a sudden jolt, Ethan shot up from the creaky wooden bed.
His chest heaved violently, as if his heart was about to leap out of his throat. His whole body trembled faintly, overcome with an uncontrollable rush of ecstasy.
"Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!"
He nearly shouted, but instead quickly summoned the system panel—visible only to him.
[Emotional Points Balance: 48,800!]
"Forty-eight thousand... eight hundred?!"
Ethan stared at the number, eyes bulging. He rubbed them in disbelief, convinced he must be seeing things.
But no—it was real.
A tidal wave of joy crashed over him.
"I'm rich! I'm seriously, seriously rich now!"
The haul from his second dream far exceeded anything he'd expected.
He had initially estimated that, even with the dream's upgraded content, anything above ten thousand would already be generous.
After all, the first dream had only yielded a little over six thousand.
But what he hadn't anticipated was just how powerful the emotional shockwaves would be from Minato and Kushina's appearance—an emotional explosion that sent his earnings skyrocketing.
And then there was Kakashi.
That guy was like a walking, talking emotional-point ATM.
Not to mention Naruto.
Sure, the kid had mostly just grinned like an idiot through most of the dream, but in the end, he triggered a Perfect Dream Fulfillment bonus—netting a cool ten thousand points in one go.
Sasuke and Sakura's contributions were modest, but hey, every little bit counts. Even mosquito legs are still meat.
Hehehe…
He was now one step closer to unlocking the Rinnegan, obtaining Ōtsutsuki bloodlines, and—most importantly—helping Old Man Ichiraku turn his ramen shop into a franchise spanning the entire ninja world.
"Focus! Stay calm!"
Ethan shook his head, trying to snap himself out of the high.
"It's not time for champagne yet!"
"Doesn't matter how many points I've stacked up—if I don't convert them into raw power, they're just numbers. And if I die, those numbers vanish into thin air!"
No one understood better than he did just how dangerous this version of the Shinobi World truly was.
This place would rank top-tier on the list of Deadliest Universes Across All Dimensions.
Without real power, there was no safety. None.
Forget protecting his little corner of the world—he'd be lucky to survive the week.
"I need to convert these points into combat strength—ASAP."
A fierce determination lit up his eyes. With a thought, he opened the dazzling, overflowing system store once again.
Rows of options unfolded before him: bloodline limits, ninjutsu scrolls, taijutsu secrets, gear and weapons, special abilities…
He skipped right past the absurdly expensive Kekkei Genkai section and went straight for the Ninjutsu and Special Abilities tabs.
"Last time I got lucky and rolled Water, Lightning, and Yang chakra affinities..."
Ethan stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Yang is more support-based—good for healing and recovery—but it lacks offensive capabilities. For now, I should focus on Water and Lightning."
Just as he was about to dig through the ninjutsu list the way he had before—
A shimmering new icon popped up in the top-right corner of the screen.
It flashed with bold, animated lettering: "Weekly Sale! Limited-Time Discounts! Don't Miss Out!"
"No way… There's a sale?!"
Ethan's eyes lit up, and without a second thought, he tapped the sparkling icon.
Whoosh!
A brand-new page opened.
Displayed before him were several alluring discounted bundles, each marked with attention-grabbing labels like "Insane Deal" and "Buy Now or Cry Later."
He eagerly scanned the page.
[Wood Release Starter Pack – Channel the Power of the Forest God!]
Includes Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence (Trial), Wood Clone Technique (LV1), Four Pillar House Technique (LV1), and a slight boost to Wood affinity.
Limited-Time Offer: 88,888 Emotional Points
"Holy crap! Wood Style?! Wait—eighty-eight thousand?!"
Ethan nearly drooled.
"But I don't have the Wood Release bloodline... even if I buy it, I can't use it... damn it, this is torture! Stupid system, always dangling the goods in front of me!"
Forcing himself to look away, he scrolled down.
[Uchiha Fire Mastery Pack – Let the World Feel the Heat!]
Includes Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu (LV1), Phoenix Fire (LV1), Dragon Flame (LV1), plus bonus Uchiha-Style Shuriken Throwing (LV1) (best used with Sharingan).
Limited-Time Offer: 50,000 Points
"Fire Style? Uchiha stuff? Nope. Can't use that either. Next!"
[Wind Release: Gale Fury Pack – Feel the Storm!]
Includes Great Breakthrough (LV1), Vacuum Sphere (LV1), Wind Blade (LV1) – enhances wind chakra cutting power.
Limited-Time Offer: 30,000 Points
"Wind Style? PASS."
[Earth Release: Mountain's Endurance Pack – Unshakable Defense!]
Includes Earth Wall (LV1), Hardening Technique (LV1), Earth Spear (LV1) – doubles earth chakra defense effects.
Limited-Time Offer: 35,000 Points
"Meh… not for me either."
He sighed, about to close the promo page and return to hand-picking individual techniques—when he noticed a button at the bottom.
Page 2.
His heart skipped a beat. Quickly, he flipped to the next page.
And there it was.
His gaze locked onto the very first bundle.
[Water Style: Hidden Mist Executioner's Special Set – Silent Death from the Bloody Mist!]
Control water. Become the reaper in the night.
Includes Water Prison (LV1), Water Clone (LV1), Hidden Mist Jutsu (LV1), Water Dragon Bullet (LV1), Great Waterfall (LV1).
Bonus: Silent Killing Technique (LV1)
Limited-Time Price: Only 8,000 Emotional Points!
Hidden Mist Executioner...? Zabuza?!
The man who nearly cornered the future Sixth Hokage early in the original plot?!
And now, all of his signature water techniques… right here?!
Water Prison—imprison and dominate, pure control.
Water Clone—deception at its finest.
Hidden Mist—complete concealment; pair it with assassination, and it's unbeatable.
And then Water Dragon and Great Waterfall—high-impact, destructive water-based ninjutsu.
But the real gem… Silent Killing.
Zabuza may have fallen early, but his assassination style was the purest form of shinobi combat.
If Ethan could master this whole skillset—maybe even elevate it to something on Tobirama's level...
Damn. This bundle felt like it had been crafted just for him.
And the price?
Easily worth over twenty thousand if bought separately. But now?
Only 8,000?!
Only an idiot would pass that up!
"Sold. Instantly!"
With barely contained excitement, Ethan hit Confirm Purchase.
[Ding! Successfully purchased "Water Style: Hidden Mist Executioner's Special Set" – 8,000 Points deducted.]
WMMM—
A deep hum reverberated in his mind.
Instantly, a surge of knowledge poured into his consciousness—principles of Water Prison formation, chakra flow control for Water Clones, the silent grace of the Hidden Mist, the intricate hand seals and impact modulation of Water Dragon and Great Waterfall…
It all fused into instinct.
But more than that—something inside him shifted.
A predatory awareness coiled through his limbs. His senses sharpened—sound, movement, even flickers of shadow felt more vivid.
How to vanish into silence.
How to kill in the dark.
Even at just level 1, he'd grasped the foundation of Silent Killing—a lethal presence cloaked in nothingness.
And he wasn't done yet.
He turned to the Lightning Release discount pack.
[Lightning Style: Flashstrike Entry Set – Strike Before They Blink!]
Includes Lightning Style: Ground Shock (LV1), Static Discharge (LV1), Chakra Flow – Lightning (LV1)
Limited-Time Price: 3,000 Points
"Definitely getting this too," Ethan grinned. "Ground Shock stuns at mid-range, Static Discharge is great for close-range ambushes, and Chakra Flow—perfect for enhancing weapons or taijutsu. Not bad for a starter set. Three thousand's a bargain."
[Ding! Successfully purchased "Lightning Style: Flashstrike Entry Set" – 3,000 Points deducted.]