"I encountered a strange merchant who gave me an invitation, and then I ended up in this game."
Tsunade had no intention of hiding the truth.
The others had clearly been in the game longer than she had and likely knew more about it.
Asuma's expression grew serious. "Lady Tsunade, could you tell me what this mysterious merchant looked like and where you met him?"
Nearby, Naruto Uzumaki tilted his head in confusion and shouted, "Asuma-sensei, who is she?"
He had never seen this stranger before, yet Asuma, a respected Jonin, was treating her with such respect.
Neji Hyuga's mouth twitched slightly as he replied, "Idiot, her photo is in the Ninja Academy's Hall of Fame. She's one of the Legendary Sannin."
Although Neji hadn't been teammates with Naruto for long, he had already figured out his personality.
To put it nicely, Naruto was thick-skinned. To put it bluntly, he was just plain dense.
Kabuto Yakushi adjusted his glasses, keeping his head down as he played the role of an unnoticed background character. Internally, he thought, Even Tsunade has logged into the game? I must report this to Lord Orochimaru immediately.
Naruto's eyes widened in shock. "Iruka-sensei mentioned in class that all the Sannin are really old ninjas. But she…"
His gaze unconsciously drifted toward her well-endowed figure and fair, flawless skin. A mature beauty like this was particularly lethal to a young boy.
Bang!
A vein bulged on Tsunade's forehead as she smashed her fist onto Naruto's head.
With a cold expression, she asked, "Is this how the new generation of ninjas treats their elders?"
Asuma quickly stepped forward. "Apologies, Lady Tsunade, Naruto, he…"
But he didn't finish his sentence.
After all, Tsunade had left the village suddenly years ago. Now, she was technically no longer a Konoha ninja. The matter of the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki was top-secret and couldn't be disclosed to outsiders.
Changing the subject, Asuma asked, "Lady Tsunade, will you be joining us?"
"You've just logged into the game, so your level is very low. The outer areas of the Death Soul Mountains have already been cleared of ghosts by other players, while the deeper areas are guarded by powerful wraiths. If you go alone, leveling up will be difficult."
Naruto narrowed his eyes and pouted. "Asuma-sensei, are you really going to bring along this mysterious old lady from the Sannin?"
"You brat, you really don't know how to respect your elders."
Tsunade swung her fist again, but this time, Naruto dodged.
Naruto Uzumaki, Warrior, Level 6.
Tsunade, No Class, Level 1.
Even though Naruto didn't specialize in agility, the level difference was too great. He effortlessly avoided her attack.
Asuma held Naruto's head down, stopping his antics, and then turned to Tsunade. "The Third Hokage has been searching everywhere for you and Lord Jiraiya, hoping that you'll return to the village. He's getting old…"
Some things couldn't be said openly.
The truth was, Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted either Jiraiya or Tsunade to become the Fifth Hokage of Konoha.
"Enough!"
Tsunade's face turned cold as she waved her hand dismissively. "I don't want to be a ninja. Let that fool Jiraiya handle it."
Asuma didn't press the issue. Instead, he said, "Lady Tsunade, if you join us, you'll be able to level up faster. In the Reincarnation Game, it's best to stick together. Otherwise, other player teams will steal your kills."
"Fine."
Tsunade was still unfamiliar with the game mechanics, so having experienced players guide her was the best option.
Asuma nodded. "We're heading to hunt a Wraith Guardian hiding in the ruins of an underground cellar. Along with it, there are plenty of regular wraiths in the area, which will be perfect for Lady Tsunade to level up."
Wraith Guardians were once skilled warriors in life, clad in armor and wielding spears. After death, they were transformed into powerful wraiths by ghostly mages.
Naruto snorted, tilting his head up. "Granny Tsunade, I'll lend you this piece of equipment. You're too weak, don't get yourself killed by a wraith."
Clearly, he still held a grudge over the punch to his head.
But since even Asuma-sensei respected her, Naruto reluctantly used his points to redeem a weapon for her.
It cost him fifty reward points.
A spiked club, which granted +2 Strength when equipped.
Tsunade took the weapon and swung it a few times, immediately feeling her strength increase. She was amazed.
In the ninja world, even the famed swords of the Mist Village didn't enhance physical attributes. Yet, in this game, even a common piece of equipment could have such an effect.
She casually tossed the club back to Naruto and asked, "Have you tried the redemption function in the shop?"
She was referring to the feature that allowed players to exchange valuable items for reward points.
Asuma shook his head. "No. We tested it, ordinary valuables require 100,000 currency to exchange for a single reward point. However, ninjutsu and metals that conduct chakra are much more valuable, but…"
As Konoha ninjas, they couldn't trade ninjutsu without the Hokage's approval.
Looking through the extensive exchange list, Tsunade didn't hesitate to redeem ninjutsu.
"Submitting C-rank ninjutsu: Fire Style - Great Fireball Jutsu, 100 reward points."
"Submitting Mystical Palm Technique, 300 reward points."
"Submitting Chakra Scalpel, 500 reward points."
"Submitting…"
As expected of one of the Sannin, she had reserved a few exclusive jutsu, like the Hundred Healings Technique and Slug Summoning. However, just from submitting her basic ninjutsu, she earned 8,000 reward points.
These submissions didn't erase the jutsu from her memory.
That was because what Fang Yi needed wasn't the jutsu itself, but the essence within them.
Different worlds had different essence-containing objects.
In the ninja world, essence was concentrated in anything related to ninjutsu, even within ninjas themselves.
For example, in the Shinigami world, essence resided within Hollows and Shinigami.
The world's consciousness eliminated corrupted entities to obtain essence, while invading forces sought to claim it for themselves.
"Is that all?"
Tsunade opened her eyes as a green light enveloped her entire body.
Weapon, upper armor, lower armor, boots, shoulder guards, belt.
She had fully equipped herself with a five-piece gear set and a weapon, all of green quality. Even though it was just level 1 gear, it had cost her a total of 3,000 reward points.
In an instant
Tsunade vanished from her spot and reappeared behind Naruto, slamming her fist onto his head with a smirk.
"You've got a pretty hard head, brat."
"Damn it!"
Naruto clutched his head, glaring enviously at Tsunade's full green equipment set.
Even Asuma sucked in a sharp breath.
The Konoha team had struggled to earn enough points to buy just a few pieces of gear. Game time, reviving after death, and purchasing healing items had drained most of their points.
Now, watching Lady Tsunade, who had just logged in, spend points so lavishly, Asuma couldn't help but consider trading his own ninjutsu for points.
"Ghost Wraith Set… and a Wraith Bone Club."
A logistics ninja drooled enviously and said, "Equipping five pieces of the Wraith set activates the set bonus, boosting Agility by ten points and allowing the user to unleash a Wraith Shockwave every thirty seconds without consuming any resources."
No wonder she was able to challenge opponents above her level and ambush a Level 6 warrior.
"Lady Tsunade, you were too reckless," Asuma said with a wry smile. "We've studied the game's shop carefully. Even if you have plenty of reward points, most items remain locked until you reach the required level."
Behind the screen…
Watching Tsunade's extravagant actions, Fang Yi nodded in satisfaction.
"Well done."
It was clear that Tsunade had deeper intentions, she was testing the authenticity of the Reincarnation Game, which was why she had spent such a fortune on in-game equipment.
Coincidentally, her actions unintentionally helped Fang Yi shift the mindset of the other players.