The Game Merchant Who Started from the Ninja World

Chapter 41: Underlying Currents

"I can already smell the experience capsule. So tempting…"

Tsunade pressed her palms together and muttered a prayer.

She had five Skill Jars.

Even with bad luck, she should at least get one experience capsule, right?

Of course, pulling a high-grade skill would be just as much of a win.

She had bought mid-tier Skill Jars, which had a decent chance of yielding green-grade skills, a small chance of blue, and almost zero chance of purple.

"Phew…"

Her fair hand reached into the jar, nervously feeling around.

Under Tsunade's expectant gaze, a flash of purple light burst forth.

[Experience Capsule (Purple)]: Grants 500 skill experience upon use.

"Excellent!"

She exhaled deeply, clenching her fist.

Even she hadn't expected her first jar to yield a purple item—and the exact one she had wanted.

Encouraged, she went for the rest.

The mysterious game merchant had once told her luck was like a rising and falling tide—there were highs and lows.

She was at the high point now.

Flashes of violet and blue followed.

From the remaining four jars, she drew two more purple items and two blue.

[Hammer of Repentance (Purple)], [Blessing of Heaven (Purple)], [Experience Capsule (Blue)] ×2

Back at the wall repair site,

the surrounding players were stunned, their eyes wide in disbelief.

"Is she insane?! Two purples in a row? Is she using premium jars?"

"Top-tier jars cost 5,000 merit each. Who could afford that? I saw it clearly—she opened mid-tier jars!"

"Wait, isn't that her?!"

"Who is she?"

The players who saw Tsunade pulling jackpots couldn't help but exclaim.

One of the frequent jar buyers—a well-known gambler—recognized her and looked confused. "I don't know her name, but I heard she's a ninja in real life, someone connected to Konoha. The key thing is..."

He trailed off.

He had often seen Tsunade squeezed under the announcement board, spending all her merit on daily missions to earn jars.

And the results were always tragic.

With low-tier jars that should've had a high chance of yielding white items, all she ever got was cheap gray junk.

With mid-tier jars expected to give green items, she only got whites.

Her luck was so bad it rivaled the infamous moneybags who roamed Tanzaku Street.

No one expected this deadbeat to suddenly flip the tables.

The constant flashes of blue and purple had an unspeakable allure, rattling every player's nerves.

"I want some too!"

"Hurry, go find a merchant and buy materials worth 200 merit!"

While average players hesitated,

wealthy nobles had already ordered their attendants to purchase materials.

Even the merchants who had been flipping materials were caught off guard by the surge of orders.

"What's going on? Are the Five Great Nations going to war?"

Some small-time merchants who hadn't stocked enough materials watched helplessly as orders slipped away, stomping in frustration.

The big merchants who had invested in warehouses grinned from ear to ear.

Inventory space was limited.

To hoard materials, you needed storage. A Level 1 warehouse cost 5,000 reward points.

Some merchants had regretted buying them.

Now, with huge orders pouring in, they were feeling smug.

They began speculating: "Is some faction training life-skill players?"

When word spread that one player's god-tier luck had triggered a merit-based frenzy, they all exchanged looks of disbelief.

Even the cautious among them were secretly jealous.

In terms of value, she had pulled over 100,000 reward points worth of items!

No wonder it caused a commotion.

"How did this happen…"

Tsunade didn't look thrilled. In fact, her face darkened.

This wasn't joy from a lucky streak.

It was too lucky.

And in her experience, outrageous luck was always followed by disaster.

The death of Nawaki and Dan.

The fall of the Senju clan...

After a long silence,

Tsunade began to suspect—was this coming misfortune tied to the village?

Though she had long left Konoha and given up being a ninja, it had been her grandfather Hashirama's legacy. She couldn't fully let go.

She logged out and returned to reality.

Tsunade and her companions lived in a lavish hotel suite.

Ever since becoming a Reincarnation Game player, her assets had been drained and poured into the game—but she wasn't short on cash in the real world.

Selling a few basic materials and low-tier gear fetched more than Shizune used to earn treating nobles.

"Tsunade-sama."

Shizune returned to the hotel, arms full of dinner, with Tonton in tow. She was surprised to see Tsunade sitting cross-legged on the bed.

Usually, Tsunade would grind in-game until midnight. Did something happen?

"Shizune, this place's chicken isn't very good."

Tsunade took a bite and frowned.

Shizune sighed. "That's because you're always gaming and miss dinner. Of course it won't taste good once it's cold!"

"True. Food isn't good when it sits too long. People are the same."

Finishing the last bite, Tsunade said, "Shizune, let's go back to Konoha for a bit. I kind of miss the sake there."

…

Land of Earth – Iwagakure.

Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki sat sternly at the head of the council chamber.

On either side sat Iwa's highest-ranking officials: clan leaders and elite jōnin.

Tension filled the air, but also anticipation.

Despite being short and unimpressive in appearance—with an old-fashioned samurai topknot and a comically bulbous red nose—

they looked at him with deep respect.

He was the longest-serving Kage, a veteran of both the Warring States and Ninja Village eras, and possessed power surpassing most bloodline limits.

He had personally trained countless elite Iwa ninja and led the village into its golden age. Though old, his ambition remained undiminished.

Ōnoki asked slowly, "Have you made contact with Kumo?"

At the far end of the hall, a stoic ninja named Kurotsuchi nodded. "I've spoken with the Fourth Raikage's secretary. The Raikage has agreed to cooperate and test Konoha's strength."

He was a Reincarnation Game player—Level 13 Monk on a defense path.

In the real world, he wielded powerful Earth Release jutsu that could rend the ground.

Combined, he had reached Kage-level. Even his father Ōnoki struggled to contain him.

"And Kirigakure? Sunagakure?"

Ōnoki nodded. Kumo's agreement had been expected.

Those muscle-brained warmongers had probably been itching to move on Konoha.

A red-clad, yellow-vested ninja at the table replied, "Kirigakure hasn't responded."

"As for Sunagakure… their leadership seems divided. But they also appear interested in probing Konoha."

He was Bun'ya, a jōnin personally trained by Ōnoki.

The one who had spent a fortune on a Wood Release skill from the game shop. His strength rivaled Kurotsuchi's.

"Akatsuchi, take your ninja corps to the border of the Land of Lightning. If they move, you're cleared to strike."

"Han, lead the raid team to the secret post on the Wind Country's frontier…"

Ōnoki gave his orders with resolve, no hesitation in his voice.

These two newly-minted Kage-level powerhouses gave him the confidence to test Konoha.

Leading Iwagakure to a new golden age—that was his ambition.

So what if enemy nations hated him? So what if nobles denounced him?

This was… the Will of Stone.

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