"Hayate, the Brotherhood is gone. How do you plan on claiming the spoils?" Cross gestured toward the pile of ash on the floor and the surrounding factory complex.
Looking at the gray remains of the Loom, Shiranui Hayate thought to himself: I have already claimed my prize; you just don't know it.
"The Mill is yours, Cross," Hayate said aloud. "Since you were raised here, it's only right that you take over the grounds."
Cross blinked, stunned. He had assumed the facility would be Hayate's trophy, especially since their contract stated all spoils belonged to the Shiranui Agency.
Touched by the gesture, Cross nodded gratefully. "Thank you. I'll clear the place out, see if Sloan had any hidden caches of cash or valuables, and wire them to you."
Seeing Cross act so reasonably, Hayate nodded in satisfaction. "Fine, do as you see fit. The mission is over. Now, go get your son."
The two left the smoking ruins of the Textile Mill and returned to where the car was parked. Hayate tossed the keys to Cross. "Wesley is at my Agency. You drive on the way back."
Cross caught the keys without questioning why Hayate wanted him behind the wheel. He started the engine as Hayate climbed into the passenger seat. The lingering scent of sewer rats still clung to the upholstery; Hayate cracked the window, leaned back, and closed his eyes to rest.
As Cross drove steadily toward the Shiranui Agency on 71st Avenue in Forest Hills, Queens, Hayate's consciousness slipped into the system interface. His eyes went straight to the gold coin balance: 1730. He checked the top-up logs.
[Special Energy Detected: Top-up available.]
[Recharge successful: 840 Gold Coins. First-time Top-up Bonus: Double Rewards activated. Total: 1680 Gold Coins.]
Hayate finally understood. It wasn't that the Loom of Fate itself provided that much gold; it was the one-time system bonus for the first recharge that pushed the number so high.
Still, seeing that 840 gold only moved his VIP rank up by one was frustrating. Back when he was Feng Yi playing the mobile game, 840 gold was barely eighty-four bucks—enough for VIP 3. This golden finger was incredibly stingy with its ranking, despite taking such rare "special energy" instead of money.
Fortunately, even VIP 1 came with a privilege pack.
Opening the VIP 1 Reward Pack, Hayate received: 12,000 Copper Coins, 70 Reputation, and 1 Ninja Recruitment Scroll.
The scroll brought a smile to his face. A single recruitment was worth 168 gold coins—nearly a tenth of his current hoard.
Adding it to the five scrolls he already possessed, Hayate now had six. Feeling wealthy, he spent 672 Gold Coins to buy four more, rounding the count to ten. He was left with 1058 Gold Coins.
He didn't pull the trigger on the recruitment immediately. Instead, he began to ponder.
If the Loom of Fate can be converted into energy, what else works?
Dragon Bones? The Ten Rings? Heart-Shaped Herb? The Casket of Ancient Winters? The Eternal Flame? Or perhaps... the Infinity Stones?
He didn't have those items yet, nor did he know if the system would accept them, but the path forward was clear. Relying solely on natural growth was too slow. Stacking the attributes and skills of multiple ninjas was the true road to kingship.
With a clear goal in mind, Hayate's confidence reached new heights. He opened the Mission Hub, saw the "Extermination of the Brotherhood" task marked as complete, and claimed the rewards.
[Rewards: 5,000 Reputation, 500,000 Copper Coins, and one Exquisite Treasure Chest.]
He tapped the chest. After a flash of blinding light, a ninja shard popped out. It bore the image of a teenage boy with cold, piercing eyes: Uchiha Sasuke (Shippuden)—the version of Sasuke who had completed his training under Orochimaru.
Hayate was pleased, though a bit wary. A B-Rank ninja like Shippuden Sasuke required 40 identical shards to synthesize if he wasn't summoned whole.
The familiar dread of the "gacha grind" from his past life washed over him for a moment. Pushing aside thoughts of the cost and time it would take to complete Sasuke, he withdrew from the system space.
After a period of quiet driving, they reached the vicinity of the Shiranui Agency.
Even from a distance, Hayate spotted a familiar sight: Charlie's "cleaning" van parked right in front of the Agency doors.
Hayate's eyebrows arched. It seems some hitmen came knocking and got dealt with.
Cross noticed the anomaly as well. As soon as the car came to a halt, Hayate hopped out and strode toward the entrance.
Charlie, who was supervising his crew as they scrubbed the sidewalk, looked up. "Good evening, Mr. Shiranui."
"Evening, Charlie." Hayate greeted him briefly before looking inside. The lobby was a wreck—bullet holes riddled the walls, and the scorch marks from grenade blasts were everywhere.
Charlie's cleaners were busy sweeping up glass, scrubbing bloodstains, and bagging corpses.
Hayate's expression darkened. These hitmen were too bold. They had dared to assault his base of operations with grenades.
"Hayate, is the Brotherhood finished?" Hotaru asked as she descended from the second floor.
"Wiped out," Hayate replied. "Is everyone okay here?"
Charlie, who was nearby, stiffened. His pupils dilated in shock at Hayate's casual mention of destroying the Brotherhood, but he quickly regained his composure and went back to directing his men.
"We're fine. No injuries," Hotaru said. She looked past Hayate at Cross, who had just entered. "Cross, Wesley is upstairs. You can go up and take him."
"Thank you, Hotaru." Cross gave a short nod and went straight to the second floor. He was finally going to have his first face-to-face conversation with the son he had watched from afar for years.
Once Cross was gone, Hayate's voice was eerily calm. "Hotaru, give me the report."
Hotaru didn't hold back. "Since this morning, we've been hit by six waves of assassins. We've already spent thirty gold coins just on Charlie's cleaning fees, and that doesn't include the cost of remodeling the office."
"The hitters so far were weak—they didn't manage to hurt us. But they're getting more desperate. Someone used grenades in the last wave. At this rate, it's only a matter of time before someone tries to hit us with an RPG."
Hearing that everyone was safe didn't dampen Hayate's fury. The mention of an RPG only fanned the flames. Noticing that the rest of the team was missing, he asked, "Where are Iruka and the boys?"
Follow-up Question: Given the destruction of the Agency and the escalating bounties, would you like to see Hayate use his newly acquired gold coins for a "10-pull" recruitment immediately, or should he focus on relocating and fortifying his base first?