Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his eyes, savoring the subtle, invigorating sensation of the Talent Energy. It was unlike Chakra—gentler, seamlessly integrated into his being, capable of being used instantly, and possessing the incredible, warm property of automatically repairing cellular vitality.
This is true Talent.
A surge of potent excitement coursed through the aging Hokage. He realized that with enough of this energy, he could potentially reverse the ravages of time and regain his youth!
"Talent possesses a powerful nourishing effect on the physical form," Shen Mo confirmed, his calm voice carrying a strange, compelling resonance that seemed to validate Sarutobi's thoughts.
"Great scholars and masters of this path have extended their natural lifespans by centuries. Moreover, you only managed to absorb half of the Talent contained in that single examination paper."
"Only half?" Hiruzen Sarutobi opened his eyes, genuine surprise etched onto his face. He had assumed that writing the correct interpretation would grant him the full skill set.
"Such a simple transcribed answer is insufficient for a perfect absorption score," Shen Mo explained, smiling.
"Furthermore, you didn't deeply internalize the Sage's profound meaning when you penned the response. To achieve full absorption, one would require the supplementary notes of the greatest scholars, whose interpretations are far more complete."
From Shen Mo's strategic perspective: the Talent Jar system was designed to create an unavoidable loop. The customer must either purchase more Jars to gain the necessary knowledge, or remain perpetually stuck, staring at unsolvable exam papers.
Hiruzen Sarutobi instinctively grasped the inherent difficulty.
Shen Mo, however, held his peace. The Merchant knew that no matter the challenges, Sarutobi was now locked onto this path. The moment one invests heavily in a specialized power system, returning to the old world becomes psychologically impossible.
"Let me clear out these Jars first," Sarutobi declared, deciding to open all his initial purchases.
He accelerated his pace. Just as Shen Mo had predicted, Assessment Papers were the most common reward. Within the first hundred Jars, over fifty were assessment strips, forty of which contained sophisticated philosophical questions that left Sarutobi entirely baffled.
However, the remaining Jars yielded a scattering of Light Clusters—small infusions of direct, usable power—and a variety of Common Learning Texts and Direct Experience Packets, which offered basic foundational knowledge.
This tempered Sarutobi's frustration. The tiered system made sense: The more you invest, the more background knowledge you gain, making the harder questions easier to answer.
Then, on the 128th Jar...
The moment he opened it, a striking, deep golden light radiated outward. Even Shen Mo's calm expression flickered with surprise. He hadn't assigned any special effects to the Tier One Jars beyond the standard rewards.
Did he really pull a jackpot?
Hiruzen Sarutobi noticed the change in the Merchant's demeanor and leaned forward, excitement bubbling over. "Did I find something valuable?"
"This is genuinely a premium item, and it is perfectly suited for you," Shen Mo confirmed, sighing lightly. He already knew the contents: a Literary Treasure containing a single, powerful line of poetry.
Shen Mo manifested a piece of shimmering golden silk. "This is a fragment of a Martial Poem. Utilize your newly acquired ability, read it aloud, and observe the effect."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took the silk, his Talent Energy instinctively flowing. He cleared his throat and read the ancient Chinese characters with resonant authority:
"Even an old horse lying in the stable can still desire to run a thousand miles."
As the words left his lips, a powerful, faint golden light enveloped his body, mirroring the silk. His naturally hunched back instantly straightened, his blurred, aged eyes snapped back to their original keen, brown color, and his skin seemed to tighten.
In that accelerated moment, the gathered Jonin were looking not at the Sandaime Hokage, but at the legendary God of Shinobi from decades past.
Sarutobi's body trembled. He stared at his wrinkled hands, which felt infused with long-lost strength. The surge of vitality, combined with a thrilling, almost forgotten sense of raw ambition, had resurfaced within him. When he closed his eyes, he was briefly, absolutely, young again.
"This is a strengthening item within the Martial Poem category," Shen Mo explained, impressed. "Its primary effect is to dramatically increase physical fitness, bolster the internal fighting spirit, and grant immense courage."
The poem, one of Cao Cao's most famous, was clearly a top-tier Literary Treasure, even in a Tier One Jar.
"With your current, rudimentary knowledge, you are not yet qualified to write poetry of this caliber," Shen Mo added. "However, this scroll is a complete Literary Treasure, its profound meaning accessible to anyone with nascent Talent Energy. Such items are exceedingly rare in Tier One Jars. Perhaps the strength of your suppressed desire was sufficient to pull it."
Considering its immediate impact and quality, the scroll ranked among the most valuable rewards available in the Tier One pool, which only had a 0.5% chance of dropping a premium item.
"A Martial Poem..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a heartbreaking sense of loss as the strength gradually receded from his body. He clutched the silk, fighting the urge to read it again, knowing that the first activation had already exhausted most of his current, meager Talent reserve.
The surrounding Konoha elite were wide-eyed. Though they couldn't feel the power directly, the transformation of their Hokage spoke volumes.
Hiruzen Sarutobi made his decision instantly. "My own accumulated strength, coupled with the nourishment from the Talent system, will allow me to wield this power with maximum effect." Suppressing his remaining excitement, he looked at Shen Mo. "Lord Shen Mo, having decided on this series, I shall purchase another five hundred Tier Two Jars immediately."
"As long as you are certain, the purchase is valid," Shen Mo confirmed, hiding a pleased smirk.
Sarutobi's action was reckless. A cautious person would have opened all the remaining Tier One Jars first. But this surge of ambition was exactly the kind of impulsive spending that fueled the Chamber of Commerce.
Shen Mo waved his hand, and five hundred significantly larger, Tier Two Jars materialized before them. 15 million points vanished from the Hokage's trade account.
Hiruzen Sarutobi could now distinctly feel the immense subtraction of knowledge from his mind—the forbidden techniques and high-level ninjutsu were truly gone. But as he looked at the massive, new Jars, his eyes flashed with a burning, addictive desire.
He hesitated no longer, reaching out to open the first Tier Two Jar.
After activating only a dozen or so, a powerful realization hit him: his heart began to pound with profound understanding.
Many of the unsolvable questions left behind by the Tier One Assessment Papers were now having their answers easily found and explained within the new Tier Two Jars!