『 System Store 』
Yusuke sat upright in his chair and began searching through the system's exchange store.
Although the previous Golden (Tier IV) Physical Enhancement Potion could barely elevate a ninja to Half-Kage level, that was just the initial step into the rank. What he needed was at least the peak of this level of combat power!
This would live up to the reputation of the Half-Kage Ninja Corps! It wasn't even impossible that he could directly create a Kage Ninja Corps in the future!
However, to advance to Kage-level strength, there were only two methods: either crazy hard training — accumulating power over years and years, slowly rising to true Kage level — or purchasing the Diamond Enhancement Potions himself. But those cost 1.5 million each!
Up until now, Yusuke had only bought one for Mei.
Finally, his gaze fell on a better enhancement potion.
『 Peak Tier IV Physical Enhancement Potion: 50,000 Villain Points 』
『 Description: After use, can permanently increase a Jonin ninja's strength to peak Half-Kage level! If the ninja's talent is extremely strong, they may advance to Kage level soon after! 』
Fifty thousand points per bottle? The price was still acceptable to him.
Moreover, Yusuke's initial plan was to expand the current Kiri ANBU Half-Kage Ninja Corps tenfold! That is, from fifty ninjas to five hundred!
All of them — these five hundred Half-Kage corps members — would make the ninja world truly feel what fear is!!
The three allied nations of Konoha, Suna, and Iwa were frantically stockpiling their own power. As for himself, how could he not do the same? So, the power he needed to grasp had to be even more, even stronger, even more overwhelming than theirs!!
When the time comes, Kirigakure will thoroughly let the entire ninja world know who the real boss is!
"Need five hundred Half-Kage... Currently, I only have over twenty million. At fifty thousand points each, I can only exchange for four hundred potions. Rough estimate, I still need three million Villain Points…" He smiled a little bit, "Now, from whom should I take?…"
Yusuke's x-ray vision continuously scanned the surrounding rooms.
In Mabui's room, she was diligently handling official business. After all, under his pressure, she didn't dare slack off even a bit. And even so, she wouldn't stop, because she needed to prove her worth to him again!
After passing over her, Yusuke looked towards Mikoto's room.
She seemed to be knitting something at the moment. And she had apparently given him a knitted gift before as well. This woman… Her heart had probably completely taken his shape. Mikoto was truly a very gentle woman.
Yusuke smiled lightly, then continued his visual inspection.
His gaze soon fell on Pakura's room, where she was currently bathing. He paused for a few seconds, observing meticulously, before moving on. She had grown too accustomed to the situation and wouldn't provide the amount of points he truly desired.
Forcibly shifting his gaze elsewhere, he continued his survey, eventually landing on Tsunade's room.
"Three fives! Three fives!! Ah! Lost again!! Damn it! Shizune, were you cheating?"
Sitting opposite, Shizune immediately replied innocently, "No, Lady Tsunade."
Yugao, beside them, raised her hand in assurance. "Lady Tsunade, I can guarantee that big sister Shizune wasn't cheating just now."
"Hmph..." Tsunade snorted lightly, then resumed shaking the dice cup.
After observing for a moment, Yusuke shook his head.
"This woman... no matter when, she never abandons this habit..."
Finally, he turned his attention to Kushina's room.
"Hm? She's not here?" Yusuke was momentarily surprised, then quickly scanned the surroundings.
He discovered her busy figure in the kitchen. It was indeed Kushina, apparently contemplating some dubious culinary creation again.
He raised an eyebrow. After all, he had sampled her cooking before and nearly vomited. He'd even suspected she might be secretly trying to poison him.
Yusuke had even conducted a special investigation. He discovered she was indeed using normal ingredients and seasonings. To transform those ingredients and delicious seasonings into a lethal concoction — even he had to admire this woman's peculiar talent.
However, he was still far short of the Villain Points needed to complete his five hundred Half-Kage Ninja Corps!
"Kushina. You can finally fulfill your destined role." Yusuke smiled lightly, "And this time, Minato will have some well-deserved nightmares."
Then he rose from his seat. Stretching his body, he walked purposefully towards the kitchen.
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This floor's kitchen, though called a kitchen, was actually an extremely high-spec, super-luxurious suite. You couldn't find another kitchen of this scale in the entire ninja world.
After all, Yusuke had said from the beginning: he wanted something unique! He wanted high-end luxury!
At this moment, he slowly entered the kitchen and locked the door behind him.
Not far away, Kushina, busy at the stove, heard the sound behind her.
She didn't think much of it and said directly, "Is that you, Sister Mikoto? Don't worry, this time my cooking will definitely taste good! Besides..."
Kushina reached out, searching for something on the seasoning rack in front of her. Finally, she found the seasoning she wanted. After unscrewing the cap, she started pouring it into the pot in front of her.
Yusuke stared wide-eyed as more than half of the seasoning from the bottle went straight in. Is this even meant for human consumption?
"Ah haha... Sorry, Sister Mikoto. I added too much..." Kushina put the cap back on, then stared at the blackened iron pot in front of her, "Hehehe... Anyway, this is for that Yusuke! This time, I don't believe it! If he doesn't have diarrhea for three days and nights after eating this, my name isn't Kushina!"
She said viciously! She couldn't wait to send this "poison" into his stomach the next second.
"Sister Mikoto? Hm? Why aren't you saying anything?" She suddenly realized that the person who had come in behind her hadn't spoken at all.
Could it not be Sister Mikoto? Was it Lady Tsunade? Or Mabui and the others?
Kushina turned her head and saw Yusuke just five meters away from her.
Her pupils suddenly contracted! Her body also started trembling.
"Yu... Yu... Yusuke?!! Y-y-y-you... how did you get in..." She instinctively took two steps back. Then she looked at him with extreme vigilance.
Typically, Yusuke never entered the kitchen, so Kushina had let her guard down, assuming it was Mikoto who had come in.
Suddenly, she froze. If it was him... Had he heard everything she'd just said?
"What was it you wanted me to have?" Yusuke's soft voice made her tremble anew.
'Oh no, I'm in trouble now...' Kushina bit her lip and stammered, "Um... Master, I... I was just joking. I didn't mean to speak ill of you. I... I just..."
She struggled to explain herself.
"I have to admit, that was quite amusing, Kushina." Yusuke approached her, suppressing a laugh. It was rather funny to hear someone wished him digestive issues. Eyeing the black, lumpy substance in the pot, he added, "Though I don't doubt your ability to deliver your wishes."
"Ahem..." Kushina's face flushed crimson.
She really had wanted to poison him! If she could actually make him sick with this concoction, she'd be elated for days.
"When you misbehave, you must face consequences." Yusuke said, lowering his head to look at her with a smile.
"What... what consequences?" Kushina's heart raced as she met his gaze.
After all, Mikoto had already enlightened her about certain intimate topics. Kushina knew full well what kind of "punishment" he might have in mind.
Still, she clung to a shred of hope.
"Your punishment is, of course..." Yusuke leaned in close to her ear, "You're going to prepare me a proper meal now. And do it with love, please."
"What?" Kushina froze, bewildered by the unexpected turn of events.
She had braced herself for the worst, despite Mikoto's repeated assurances that surrendering wouldn't be so bad — that it might even improve her life. But Kushina's heart remained steadfast in its refusal.
That was just who she was. No meant no, period.
Yet Yusuke's words caught her completely off guard.
"Toss that mess and grab a fresh pot. We're going to prepare a proper meal together." He said, draping his ninja coat over a chair and rolling up his sleeves, "And make it snappy."
"Uh... o-okay..." Kushina stared at him, dumbfounded. His final command snapped her back to reality, and she scrambled to comply.
Her hands still shaking, she kept stealing glances at him, half-convinced she was hallucinating. After all, the scenario playing out before her was worlds apart from what she'd feared would transpire.
❆
"The key to enhancing an onion's flavor is dicing it into small cubes. While slicing it into strips might look prettier when frying, we're aiming for something different here."
"I see..."
Yusuke handed Kushina an onion, then picked up a nearby knife and placed another onion on the cutting board.
"Watch closely. I'll only demonstrate this once." He said, positioning the knife's tip on the table, "Are you paying attention?"
"Yes..." Kushina nodded slightly, her eyes fixed on his hands, 'His voice is so calm... I've never noticed that before…'
Seconds later, Yusuke set the knife aside, leaving the onion seemingly untouched on the table.
"There. Now that you've seen it, you can do the same." He said with a smile before turning to fetch something else.
'But he didn't do anything—WHAT THE HELL?'
Kushina was about to protest mentally when she glanced at the onion again and saw it perfectly diced!
When it was her turn to try, all she managed was a teary-eyed mess that sent Yusuke into fits of laughter.
Fuming, she washed her face, her anger boiling over!
[ Ding! Kushina is furious, feeling humiliated by your laughter! Congratulations, host, you've gained 10,000 Villain Points! ]
❆❆
"Come on, try it. It's delicious." Yusuke said, offering a pepper to Kushina. The pepper was fiercely spicy, but he kept that detail to himself.
"I-I don't want to. It'll burn." She protested, stepping back fearfully.
He'd already laughed when she cried earlier. What if the pepper turned her face red? Would he double over with laughter?
She couldn't bear such humiliation.
"To prove I'm not lying." Yusuke said, popping the entire pepper into his mouth. After swallowing, he continued casually, "See? No burn at all."
'It really doesn't burn? But what if...' Kushina studied his face, noting no signs of discomfort, and decided to give it a try.
Little did she know that Yusuke's ice-cold body rendered such spices ineffective. For her, with the constitution of an ordinary woman, however...
"IT BURNS! IT BURNS!"
Her screams echoed through the kitchen as Yusuke watched her frantically rinse her mouth at the sink. Though he desperately wanted to laugh, he limited himself to a light chuckle.
"Haha, very good." Enduring her irritated look, he raised his hands, "I had to do it. I heard you like to play pranks, so..."
He'd turned her own trick against her.
After a few moments of suffering, he handed her a glass of milk. She drank it without hesitation, not even considering it might be another prank.
Bang!
Slamming the glass on the sink, she glared at him angrily.
'How could I fall for that?'
[ Ding! Kushina wants to strangle you now for making her eat an extremely spicy pepper! Congratulations, host, you've gained 20,000 Villain Points! ]
❆❆❆
After about two hours of cooking, Yusuke had employed various tricks to deceive Kushina in the kitchen while simultaneously preparing a meal he desired.
[ Ding! Kushina is utterly irritated by your pranks and vows to one day kill you with her own! Congratulations, host, you've gained 20,000 Villain Points! ]
Once they finished eating, Kushina stood at the sink washing dishes, her gaze occasionally drifting to Yusuke.
Though reluctant to admit it, she found spending time with him less hellish than anticipated. She'd expected to fall into a pit of despair, but they'd merely cooked together.
In comparison, it wasn't so bad.
Mikoto's words echoed in her mind. To her disbelief, she recalled her friend describing how Yusuke wasn't actually a bad man, revealing his true nature in intimate moments. That perhaps his brutish facade protected what mattered most to him.
'Or maybe he's just evil, and this is his true face...' She mused, still conflicted. After all, she vividly remembered everything she'd endured until now.
As these thoughts swirled in her mind, an arm suddenly appeared beside her head, startling her. When she tried to step back, she collided with a solid body.
"Y-Yusuke!" Kushina whirled around, finding herself face-to-face with his gaze — more vibrant and intense than she'd ever seen. His eyes seemed to devour her, "W-What are you doing?"
"Heh..." Yusuke's lips curled into a sly smile as he spoke deliberately, "You're a fascinating woman, Kushina. That enchanting red hair, an explosive personality that can be endearing at times, and an unbreakable will. Truly splendid."
"What are you saying?" Kushina tried to retreat, but found no escape. She could only stare into his piercing blue eyes.
"Have you ever imagined your life being different? In another reality?" His gaze lingered on her hair, stirring memories of the simulation.
"Different? Please, Master, don't—"
She attempted to speak further, but the inevitable loomed. With him so close, their lips were a breath apart.
He claimed her mouth without asking, driven by desire. He would kiss Kushina here and now — and do much more.
She clutched at his clothes, struggling to push him away. But her efforts only wrinkled the fabric; her strength would never suffice, not now, not ever.
'You bastard! I swear I'll kill you when I—' Her eyes flew wide as his tongue invaded her mouth.
That proved to be one of her mistakes.
A purple light flashed in her eyes, plunging her into a state between wakefulness and illusion. In reality, she felt Yusuke's kiss intensify. In her mind's eye, she glimpsed an alternate life — a wedding, eight children playing nearby, herself kissing him, the "husband". She seemed to be sinking into this unfamiliar reality.
Suddenly, everything stopped. She snapped back to the present: kissing a man who wasn't her boyfriend.
Kushina pushed him away, and he allowed it. They separated.
"No!" Kushina cried out, her eyes welling up, "Please, Yusuke..."
"I know what — and who — you're thinking about." Yusuke said, gazing into her eyes as he moved closer again. He gently wiped away a tear from her cheek, "But I want to show you that you don't need to worry about that."
"Please..."
Ignoring her plea, Yusuke captured her lips once more. Kushina continued to resist, but it seemed futile. Her worst nightmare had become reality.
As they moved toward the sofa, tears fell and clothes were shed before a drop of blood was spilled.
For Kushina, a new world was about to unfold.
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T/N: If you want more chapters like this, check out my Patreon! I'm constantly translating and the difference will keep getting bigger!
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