"Holy crap, what kind of monster battle is that…" Linton wiped the cold sweat from his forehead as he watched the massive battle unfolding not far from him. He wasn't too far from the action, having followed the Sand Ninja forces to this place. Along the way, he had taken down about ten people, which had been exhausting enough. Those Sand Ninjas just wouldn't stop causing trouble—he chased them, and instead of running, they kept throwing shurikens back at him. After one too many, Linton had no choice but to pursue them until they were dead.
"This system is like a mad dog," Linton muttered, rubbing his forehead. "At least I've finally finished. Time to retreat before things get out of hand…"
Yes, the last guy had just been dealt with, and Linton felt like he had regained control of his body. Since the battle hadn't reached him yet, it was best to get out before one of those three monsters accidentally got too close for comfort.
"System notification: Important specimen detected. Upload to receive reward points."
At that moment, a sudden system prompt stopped him. Linton froze, then looked around, especially at the Sand Ninja corpse he had just killed. "Specimen? Where? This guy?"
"Fifty meters ahead on your left, Host. We recommend acquiring it to boost your abilities." This time, it was the auto-combat system speaking.
"Damn, now you decide to speak up! When you needed my help, you were all quiet! I called you earlier, and you acted dead?" Linton grumbled angrily.
"We recommend Host proceed to acquire the specimen." Of course, the battle assistant completely ignored his complaints and repeated the instruction.
"I…" As much as he was annoyed, he calmed down and thought it over. Points were a good thing, after all. His only way to power up was through this system since he hadn't found any other way to level up. Last time he uploaded a specimen, he had gotten 30,000 points. This thing was obviously a point jackpot—too tempting to pass up.
"Well, it's not like I can die... Fortune favors the bold." After weighing the pros and cons, Linton decided to go for it.
Following the system's guidance, Linton moved forward and soon came across a giant crater. He had no idea what had caused it, but with three monsters battling nearby, it wasn't surprising. In the middle of the crater, he spotted several pools of blood and chunks of what might have once been flesh.
"So... is it this mess?" Linton scanned the area. There had clearly been a lot of deaths—definitely more than one. If the previous uploads came from corpses, this was most likely the remains of one.
Reluctantly, Linton approached, holding back his disgust, and placed his hand on the pile of... whatever it was, attempting an upload.
"Specimen uploaded successfully. Reward: 50,000 points."
"What? What?" Linton was dumbfounded. "That's it? It worked? What did I even upload? And 50,000 points?"
He couldn't tell what was missing from the ground—who could with such a mess? But it had earned him 50,000 points, far exceeding his expectations. Checking his points page, sure enough, he had a whopping 50,000 points. It was a huge windfall.
Feeling ecstatic, Linton couldn't help but laugh. But after glancing back at the battlefield, he decided it was time to leave before something went wrong. Just as he was about to go, another system prompt rang out: "System notification: Important specimen detected. Upload to receive reward points."
"Again?" Linton paused.
"We recommend Host..."
"Alright, alright! I get it. You're more eager than I am. Where is it this time?" Linton interrupted the battle assistant.
"Approximately 120 meters ahead to your right."
"Hey, why is the detection range getting farther? Are you trying to lead me into danger?" Linton complained.
"…"
"Fine, I'll go."
Even knowing the danger, the allure of more points was irresistible. After all, 120 meters wasn't too far, so Linton headed in that direction.
This time, he came across several corpses. He was now in the heart of the battlefield, and most of the bodies were Sand Ninjas, though a few were from the Leaf Village. Following the battle assistant's directions, Linton found himself standing before a corpse. One glance, and he knew what the system wanted him to upload.
"The Byakugan?" Sure enough, the body in front of him belonged to someone from the Hyuga Clan. Judging by the fresh blood, the person hadn't been dead for long. Considering the Hyuga Clan's Caged Bird Seal, the Byakugan would be destroyed after death to prevent it from being stolen. But this person had only just died, so the Byakugan should still be intact.
Linton didn't waste any time. He pressed down on the body and uploaded the specimen. Sure enough, he was rewarded with 30,000 points.
Seeing his points skyrocket, Linton was reluctant to leave. This battlefield was like a treasure trove of points—no effort required, just collect the loot!
Just as he was reveling in his success, another prompt sounded in his ear: "Important specimen detected…"
Without hesitation, Linton followed the battle assistant to the next target. It was similar to the first—a pile of unidentifiable flesh. He placed his hands on it and was rewarded with another 25,000 points, though he had no idea what he had just uploaded.
Just as he finished collecting, the sky darkened. Linton looked up, and a massive shadow flew over him. Before he could react, the ground shook violently, nearly knocking him over.
Upon closer inspection, he saw that the thing flying overhead was Manda. Linton recognized the giant snake, but he had never seen it in such a sorry state—it had been sent flying by Shukaku. Then again, Linton remembered that even Gamabunta admitted he couldn't take on a Tailed Beast, and Manda was on the same level as Gamabunta.
Looking back, Shukaku was wreaking havoc. Not only had it sent Manda flying, but even Choza Akimichi was struggling against it. By the time Linton turned around, Choza had already been knocked to the ground, his body shrinking. It was clear the Akimichi Clan's full-body expansion technique couldn't be maintained for long. If stopping a Tailed Beast were that easy, the Nine-Tails incident wouldn't have caused so much destruction.
As Linton observed the battlefield, Shukaku suddenly erupted in rage. After being suppressed for so long, it was furious. It slapped its stomach and fired a Tailed Beast Bomb at Manda.
Sensing danger, Manda shed its skin and escaped, leaving only an outer shell behind. But the real problem lay beneath—no one had noticed what was happening there.
Linton had been watching the fight when Shukaku unexpectedly fired the Tailed Beast Bomb. Before he could react, a powerful gust of wind blasted him, along with a pile of trees, sending him flying. He slammed into a tree and tumbled several meters before finally coming to a stop.
It didn't hurt much, but Linton immediately sat up, panicked. "No… don't…"
"Enemy target detected. Activating auto-combat mode."
"Damn it!" Linton cursed. Of all the things he was worried about, a forced battle was at the top of the list. "Hey, this doesn't count! It wasn't even attacking me; it was just collateral damage! Do I really have to fight over this?"
The system offered no explanation as Linton's body stood up on its own and started moving toward Shukaku.
"Wait, no! This is ridiculous! Look at the size difference! It could kill me with a sneeze! Do you really think I can take on a Tailed Beast?" Linton protested.
"Please provide combat intel," the battle assistant responded.
"What intel? You tell me how we're supposed to win this!" Linton shouted.
No matter how much he complained, his body continued to charge toward Shukaku.
Meanwhile, after taking a direct hit from the Tailed Beast Bomb, Manda managed to escape by shedding its skin, but it was weakened. Glaring at Orochimaru, Manda hissed, "You fool! I gave you all this time, and you still haven't found the caster. I'm leaving!"
"Wait!" Orochimaru tried to stop Manda, but the giant snake didn't give him a chance and vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Damn it!" Orochimaru cursed, but there was nothing he could do. The situation on the battlefield was dire. Both Manda and Choza had been defeated by Shukaku, who had also expended a lot of energy and was visibly fatigued. However, there was nothing left to contain it. On top of that, Minato Namikaze was nowhere to be found, and Orochimaru was left to deal with Shukaku alone.
Retreating crossed his mind, but the problem was that Shukaku wouldn't let them retreat without a fight. The Sand Village had likely anticipated this and was waiting for them to make a move.
As Orochimaru hesitated, someone shouted, "Look! What's happening? Someone's charging at Shukaku!"
Orochimaru's first thought was that it was Minato, signaling that the ambush team had finally arrived. But when he looked up, he was stunned. Sure enough, someone was charging at Shukaku, but it wasn't Min
ato. Instead, it was someone he never expected.
"Why is it that Uchiha kid?" Orochimaru muttered in disbelief.
(End of chapter)