This Warsaw City operation didn't bring Ryosuke many soul fragments.
Signing the agreement and altering the worldline gave him 1,000 points.
Turning the rebel army to stone and stopping the senseless slaughter earned him 500 points.
Killing Kurosaki gave him 100 points.
A total income of 1,600 points.
Killing Kurosaki only gave 100 points… honestly, that was something Ryosuke hadn't expected at all.
After all, he was one of the main instigators behind the Warsaw City riots, yet his actual combat ability turned out to be weaker than that of an ordinary warrior.
It showed that what Kurosaki relied on was nothing more than the trust the rats and students had in him, yet Kurosaki had treated that precious trust as a bargaining chip to climb upward.
Ryosuke thought of the vultures circling in the desert sky.
'The current Kurosaki should've already achieved his dream of 'soaring across the heavens,' right?'
Even though the Warsaw City mission hadn't yielded many soul fragments, it did grant Ryosuke the most precious resource, a Dimensional Ascension Star Core.
'When I reclaimed control of the Hidden Mist Village and announced the Awakening Thought Project, I got one.'
'When I pulled Oda Ieyasu into my faction and gained control over the Land of Water, I got the second.'
'When I forced Tokugawa Shingen to sign an unequal treaty and gained the opportunity to slowly devour the Land of Wind, I got the third.'
Ryosuke recalled the hardships of his journey.
Each Dimensional Ascension Star Core symbolized a chapter of history worth recording.
Judging from this pattern, the fourth one might not appear until he fully took control of the Land of Wind.
That would be a long process.
So this one…
How should he use it?
'The Star Core only has two uses, to evolve an existing Stand or open a limited-time draw and try to pull a six-star Stand directly.'
As for evolving an existing Stand, so far, he only knew from the story that Whitesnake could evolve into C-Moon.
Unless it was absolutely necessary, Ryosuke didn't want to risk Whitesnake.
As for his other Stands, he didn't know what they could evolve into, it was pure luck. But then again…
'If it's going to be luck anyway, I might as well gamble on the limited-time draw.'
'After all, every six-star Stand that comes from the limited draws appears in the main story, and none of them are weak.'
Ryosuke held his glass and pondered for a long while before finally deciding.
He'd wait.
'When the account balance reaches between 25,000 and 30,000 soul fragments, that's about 250 to 300 pulls.'
'Even if my luck's bad and I end up with a five-star Stand, the remaining fragments should still be enough to guarantee one six-star Stand.'
That was the safest and most profitable way to draw.
This time, with 1,600 soul fragments gained, plus the leftovers from his previous draws for Golden Youth and Stone Mask, and some scattered income from the past few days, his system account currently had 5,133 fragments.
With the spread of the Awakening Thought movement, and the Research Institute's improvements in agriculture and industrial productivity, Ryosuke was now earning an average of 70–80 soul fragments per day from various nations.
And if he occasionally encountered some "core parasites" to kill…
Four months?
If more core parasites appeared, maybe three months would be enough.
'If only more enemies like that 'Whitesnake Sage', the kind that gives 3,000 fragments per kill, showed up, that'd be great.'
Ryosuke shook his head.
That kind of situation was rare and unpredictable.
Since he'd decided to lay low for a while, he needed to find other ways to increase his combat power.
After what happened in the Lands of Water and Wind, the remaining corporate syndicates of Fire, Lightning, and Earth would no longer harbor any wishful thinking. They knew that within Ryosuke's territory, they had only two options,
Be destroyed immediately, or become fattened pigs.
From here on, the corporations' attacks would only grow more ruthless.
And then, there was the Akatsuki Organization.
As Ryosuke's influence expanded, the delicate balance between the two sides had already been broken.
The Water Garden Festival once, the Ruins of Roran once, they'd already formed a grudge.
They would eventually fight.
One-on-one, Ryosuke had nothing to fear.
But if the entire Akatsuki came at him at once… Ryosuke couldn't guarantee victory.
Besides, the current Ryosuke was no longer the same as when he first arrived in this world.
Back then, Ryosuke was a man who could eat his fill and not worry about anyone else. If someone pissed him off, he could just disappear into the mountains, occasionally raiding enemy bases.
A Ryosuke without attachments was the deadliest kind of assassin.
But now, it was the opposite.
From Gorin City, to Warsaw City, to the cities within the Land of Water, and the research institute recently attacked by Yakushi Kabuto, Orochimaru, and Hidan, the number of people standing beside Ryosuke was increasing, and so were the vulnerabilities.
It was an inevitable path.
Relying on Ryosuke alone would never be enough to change the world, he needed companions. And they had to grow stronger too.
'So, the next objectives are,'
'First, save up for draws. Once I hit 30,000 fragments, go for a six-star Stand.'
'Second, continue training in the Golden Spin and break through to Lesson 3.'
Ripple Energy had reached its bottleneck after advancing to the third stage. To go further, he might really need the Red Stone of Aja.
So for now, he'd focus on the Golden Spin.
'Third, strengthen the Extinction Army's combat capabilities.'
With the heavy flow of resources from the Lands of Water and Wind, and the research materials Ryosuke occasionally shipped to them, the Institute was making new progress nearly every day. It was almost time for the test subjects to walk out of the lab.
'All of this has to be completed within three months. After that...'
Ryosuke carefully took out a small wooden box from his waist pouch. Inside was a broken, charred hairpin.
There was no killing intent in his eyes, only a pure, unwavering resolve.
'To crush the Akatsuki Organization.'
'To shatter the 'hard bones' the corporations and daimyos place their hopes on.'
Ryosuke drained his last glass of sake, picked up the wooden box, and walked out of the izakaya.
———
Konan turned off the TV.
Since it was a live relay broadcast, the Land of Wind's residents saw it about half an hour earlier than she did.
After finishing the whole trial, Konan sat in her chair, unable to shake off the emotions stirring inside her.
As one of the first to study the Awakening Thought movement, she understood better than anyone that this broadcast had planted a seed, deep within the hearts of every commoner not only in the Land of Wind… but across the entire world.
In the past, when people faced despair, all they could do was pray to the gods.
But from this day onward, when people fell into the abyss of despair, they would think of another possibility,
So what if they're conglomerates or bureaucrats?
If the people of the Land of Wind can kill, why can't we?
Even if only one in a hundred dared to resist, it would still make those in power hesitate before passing a law, perhaps giving civilians a bit more welfare, a bit more breathing room, to avoid being the next ones sent to the gallows.
The most remarkable part was that those six men hadn't died by Ryosuke's hand. They'd died under the law.
Centuries later, people might forget Ryosuke, but the law would still remain.
The plant-bodied Zetsu observed Konan's expression. "Konan, aren't you showing a bit too much respect for our enemy?"
"He's not an enemy. Just… someone walking a different path." Konan said seriously.
Zetsu chuckled and didn't press further. He turned toward Uchiha Itachi. "So, how's the new weapon feel?"
Itachi held a slender stick-like object, with glass lenses at both ends, it was a monocular telescope.
He lifted it, one of his spinning Sharingan eyes peering through the lens at Zetsu.
"Interesting."
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