Momoshiki let out a heart-wrenching wail, his face twisted beyond recognition, so terrifying that it might scare a timid person to death. His body emitted an eerie red light from the inside out, like a blazing fire. Within this red light, the tissues of Momoshiki's body gradually disintegrated and crumbled, falling away piece by piece into dust.
Finally, with a piercing scream, Momoshiki exploded, his body bursting apart like a mass of sparks, scattered into the air and carried away by the wind.
"Congratulations, you have completed the Naruto storyline and will now return to the main space," a metallic-sounding voice echoed in Kaguya's mind.
"Wait," Kaguya said hastily, "I still have some things to do, let me stay a bit longer."
"You have already exceeded the maximum stay time allowed by the system. Unless you upgrade to V10, you can't freely return or stay. If you forcibly stay, you will be deducted 10 Achievement Points per hour."
"What a scam," Kaguya muttered, her eyelid twitching and her mouth tightening. "Wasn't it 30 points per year? Since when did it become this much?"
"That's because you have exceeded the time limit allowed by the system. Within the allowed time, it's 30 points, but once you exceed the limit, the cost is doubled," the system's voice remained emotionless and metallic, making it hard to discern whether it was male or female.
"Will I be able to return in the future?" Kaguya asked anxiously.
"Yes, but you will need to upgrade to V10 to unlock this feature."
"What level am I now?"
"You are currently V1."
"…"
Kaguya sighed. Well, she knew completing a world's task wouldn't give too many points. Being level one is just how it is, but she wondered how long it would take to reach V10.
"In addition, as a friendly reminder, once you leave the current world, the time flow in this world will slow down to one percent of normal speed. This means that if you leave for one hundred days, only one day will pass in this world."
Kaguya, who had been feeling disheartened, was suddenly taken aback by this news. Her beautiful eyes brightened immediately, and she asked eagerly, "Is this true?"
Isn't this just like the mythical 'one day in heaven equals a year on Earth'?
"Can I say it's false?"
"No, you cannot."
"Well then, there it is. Please don't doubt the system's accuracy."
"Sorry, I'm just so happy."
A look of excitement appeared on Kaguya's flawless, porcelain-like face. Her previous moodiness was due to this very reason. She had been worried that if she stayed in other worlds for too long, everything she knew would change. The people she knew would be gone, and life would have lost its meaning.
But now it seems the system is quite humane, removing her worries.
"You are about to leave the Naruto world. Do you want to continue purchasing additional time?" the system asked dryly, devoid of any emotion.
"That sounded just like the reminder when you run out of internet credit at an internet cafe."
However, Kaguya didn't have time to waste, so she quickly said, "Of course I need it, just give me one hour."
The mission rewards totaled only 100 points, she had spent 30 points over the year, and this hour cost another 10 points, meaning she had used about 40 points, nearly half. Kaguya felt a pang of distress, as if her heart was bleeding.
"Timing starts now. Please act quickly, as you will be forcibly summoned back when the time is up."
The conversation between Kaguya and the system took place in her mind. Although it seemed like a long dialogue, to outsiders, it happened in the blink of an eye.
When she returned to her senses, Kaguya noticed that Hanabi's small hand was tightly holding hers, her face beaming with a smile and looking up at her with admiration. Kaguya smiled gently and patted her head. Hanabi's face was delicate, clearly the makings of a beauty. She would definitely grow into a great beauty. This reminded Kaguya of Hinata when she was young, who was just as adorable and charming.
Suddenly, several figures appeared on the horizon in the distance, rushing swiftly towards them, and in a few bounds, they reached Kaguya.
"Sister, you are alright, that's great."
A slender figure leaped toward Kaguya, who embraced the soft body with her arm; it could only be the Black Zetsu loli.
"It's all my fault for not noticing." The Black Zetsu loli had a look of guilt on her face, her eyes filled with tears as her fingers anxiously twisted the corner of her clothes.
Because of the drinking party yesterday, most were completely drunk, and the Black Zetsu loli was especially out cold. You wouldn't guess, but the Black Zetsu loli is quite fond of drinking, clutching a jug of wine and not letting go. Unfortunately, even though she likes to drink, her alcohol tolerance is pretty poor, passing out after just one drink, as people often say.
And last night, it wasn't just one drink; she had drunk half a bottle. After drinking, her body went limp, her beautiful eyes were hazy, and she slumped onto the sofa unconscious.
"It was nothing, just a small fry."
If Momoshiki knew that Kaguya considered him a small fry, he would probably have vomited blood in anger.
"Are you okay?"
The remaining few also came to Kaguya, including Mei Terumi, Yugao, Konan, Hinata, and the cat-eared loli. It seemed that the commotion of the battle here was significant, and they had all rushed over after hearing about it.
"I felt a powerful chakra just now, so we all came over. How are you? Are you hurt?" Konan walked over, took Kaguya's fair hand, and looked her over, relieved to see there were no injuries.
"It's nothing, don't worry," Kaguya replied confidently, raising her brows. "It's all a piece of cake."
"A piece of cake? You're probably exaggerating again," Mei Terumi stepped forward, pinching Kaguya's soft cheek playfully and said, "Can a piece of cake create such a huge crater?"
"Really." Kaguya mumbled, her cheeks pinched.
"Don't do that in the future," Konan said, looking at Kaguya with her hands on her shoulders, seriously adding, "If something like this happens again, you must tell us. Even though we may not be able to help much, we don't want to be left clueless while you're fighting."
Looking at Konan's worried face, Kaguya felt a warm sensation flow through her heart, and she nodded lightly without refuting.