Chapter 42: The Value of Kumo's Gratitude: Danzo's 'Invitation'

Later that day, at 9:31 PM.

While I was lying in bed, reaching my hand toward the ceiling where the relationship book was, on Yakumo's page, I started reflecting.

What happened with Kumo was basically what I had predicted. However, thinking about it now, I didn't expect her talent to increase a bit as well. Well, the existence of the Asauchi itself can be considered an improvement in her talent, so I should have anticipated that...

Upon opening the book and seeing that I still had 511 coins to spend before the reset, I went to the store and bought another Asauchi, sending it to the inventory. With the remaining 11 coins, I bought two green nutritional pills.

'Just as I expected, the next Asauchi will cost me a thousand weekly coins.' I briefly closed my eyes but did not waver.

If everything goes as planned, despite the astronomical cost, I believe it will be worth it.

As for the reason, I will have to wait until tomorrow to see if I am right.

Unable to sleep, I got out of bed, created some clones, and started meditating.

━━━━

A familiar sound echoed in my mind. When I woke up, I saw the book open in front of me and read:

[3,928 Weekly Coins Credited]

"..." I was speechless, completely awake with that impressive amount.

Although I expected a generous reward because of Kumo – after all, it's basically five years of accumulated gratitude, plus the value of the trust I placed in her and the Asauchi – all of this together generated an absurd amount of coins, much more than I expected. Despite imagining it could generate quite a few coins, I thought it would be at most two thousand weekly coins.

'Really, I didn't love this little girl for nothing.' I smiled a bit.

It was something I always thought and carried with me. Not everyone is grateful for the help you gave. Even if you helped a person a hundred times and refused once, that person will only remember the time you didn't help.

In fact, I always thought that few people could distinguish this. Even among family, with parents and siblings, wives and husbands.

However, in Kumo's case, even though I refused some of her requests over the years, and even knowing that it made her sad, she never forgot the times I was good to her.

And the amount of weekly coins I received now proved once again how good her character was, even being so young...

Grabbing a set of clothes, I left my room and went to the bathroom.

Opening the bathroom door, I kept thinking about how to use this amount of coins.

However, I still had an entire week to think, even with the low odds of a new mission appearing and something new happening. But, as if my thoughts triggered something new, the book appeared and glowed – unusually – and then the pages began to move rapidly, stopping on a new page.

━━━━

[You achieved a great feat!]

Details: Yakumo Kurama felt immense gratitude towards you, generating over a thousand weekly coins in a single day.]

Reward available for selection (Warning: You can only choose one of the options): [Option 1: 100% Chance of Creating a New Jutsu], [Option 2: A Random S-Rank Jutsu], [Option 3: A Random Doujutsu], [Option 4: Basic Shinigami Abilities].

━━━━

To say I wasn't surprised by this would be a big lie. Taking a deep breath, I closed the door behind me and sat on the toilet, analyzing my choices.

Honestly, only two left me undecided: option 3 and option 4.

Although option 3 was tempting, I knew what I needed and wanted most was option 4.

Without hesitating any longer, I clicked on option 4.

[Are you sure you want to choose the option: <Basic Shinigami Abilities>?]

Clicking 'yes,' the page disconnected from the book, transforming into a blinding light that forced me to close my eyes. Then I felt something penetrating my chest and, shortly after, a warm sensation spread throughout my body as a flood of information surged into my mind.

It was all the knowledge of the Basic Shinigami Abilities. It was more information than I expected, even better than I could have imagined.

Seconds turned into minutes, and even after more than ten minutes, I continued to receive information, accompanied by a severe headache.

Groaning, I stood up, supporting myself against the wall as I walked to the shower. I turned it on, undressed, and let the water fall over me. Closing my eyes, I hoped the pain would be relieved under the shower, but even if it eased a little, it was almost nothing.

In the end, I had to wait patiently while trying to comprehend every bit of information being transferred directly to my brain.

I don't know exactly how much time passed, but certainly a long time, just by looking at my hands, which were now wrinkled.

Taking a deep breath, I could feel the pain subsiding. Muttering "Book," I went to my page and let out a long sigh upon seeing the new classification that appeared...

━━━━

Abilities: [Zanpakutou Manipulation: 1%], [Reiatsu (Spiritual Pressure): 1%], [Shunpo (Flash Step): 1%], [Kido (Demon Art): 1%], [Spiritual Senses: 1%], [Hollow Purification: 1%], [Soul Communication: 1%], [Enhanced Strength and Endurance: 1%]

━━━━

Although all the abilities were at 1%, this alone made a significant difference to me, especially seeing that my Asauchi reached 98%, just short of possibly achieving Shikai release (the initial release form that reveals the true form and basic abilities of the Zanpakutou).

Moreover, the maximum potential of the following attributes increased:

━━━━

Strength: 210/210 -> 210/215

Endurance: 232/232 -> 232/237

Mental Strength: 169/169 -> 169/174

Skill: 188/188 -> 188/193

Aura: 169/169 -> 169/174

Spiritual Power: 20/20 -> 20/30

━━━━

'It's not a very large increase, but considering it comes from just 1% of these abilities, it's significant,' I thought.

In any case, I was satisfied with my choice. In fact, it proved to be better than I expected.

━━━━

While returning home late at night after training with Hinata, I felt the presence of someone following me. When I realized I was on a more isolated street, three masked ninjas appeared, two in front of me and one behind me.

I observed them calmly.

"Aizen Kurama, come with us," said one of them, wearing a white mask with a bird-like appearance and a large nose, in a neutral tone. "Lord Danzo wishes to see you."