Naruto : Crimson wood

Renji Takahashi was afraid his dad would change his mind, so he immediately agreed and followed Ryoji Takahashi toward the monster core storage.

Although the ten second-level monster cores and three third-level monster cores were far fewer than he had hoped for, they were still better than nothing. He was curious to see how much energy those cores could give him.

Since monster cores were highly valuable, they were naturally stored in a secure warehouse.

On the way there, Ryoji gave him some more knowledge about monster cores.

"Monster cores are the energy nuclei that condense a beast's spiritual energy—basically the same as the energy cores humans have inside us.

But the biggest difference is this: when a human dies, our core's energy dissipates along with us. But when a monster dies, its core still contains spiritual power, preserved for a long time."

"That's why monster cores are such useful energy sources. You can embed them into weapons, shields, or energy barriers. Some people try to absorb them directly to boost their power... but that's crazy dangerous. I don't recommend it."

Renji nodded thoughtfully. "Got it."

When they reached the warehouse, Ryoji stopped at the door, turned to face Renji seriously, and said:

"Son, tell me clearly—what exactly do you want these monster cores for? If you're not honest with me, you're not getting them."

Renji knew his dad wouldn't hand them over easily without a straight answer. So, he decided to tell a version of the truth:

"To be honest, Dad, I plan to use the cores to research new abilities. Not to absorb them, don't worry. My new Wood Release techniques use a lot of energy during development, and I thought the cores could help with testing."

He made sure to sound as serious and professional as possible, partly to explain how he'd developed his Wood abilities in the first place and conceal the truth about the system.

Sure enough, Ryoji was visibly relieved when he heard this explanation.

"My son really is a genius. You're using monster cores to develop new abilities? As expected of the Takahashi family!" he laughed heartily.

Ryoji unlocked the warehouse and opened a hidden compartment in the wall. Inside were transparent jars filled with red liquid, with colorful monster cores floating inside them.

Renji recognized the setup. The red liquid was a preservation agent to keep the cores from decaying.

There were five jars in total, and each one contained five monster cores.

Ryoji waved grandly. "Originally, I was only going to give you ten second-level cores and three third-level cores... but since you're using them for research, fine, take them all!"

"Seriously?! Thanks, Dad!" Renji couldn't contain his excitement as he rushed over.

Each jar had a label:

Second-level Storm Eagle — Wind Element

Second-level Flame Hawk — Fire Element

Second-level Mountain Tiger — Earth Element

Second-level Thunder Leopard — Lightning Element

Second-level River Serpent — Water Element

For the third-level cores:

Third-level Corrupt Python

Third-level Wild Falcon

Third-level Amethyst Lion

Third-level Prism Snake

Third-level Titan Beetle

Renji quickly skimmed through them. There were no duplicates in a jar—each monster represented a different elemental power. Unlike humans, who had many unique supernatural abilities, most monsters only controlled the basic five elements or a few rare types.

"All together, that's twenty second-level cores and five third-level cores. Take 'em," Ryoji said.

"But Dad... where are the fourth- and fifth-level cores?" Renji asked hopefully.

Ryoji's eyes bulged. "Kid, do you think I'm some kind of genie?! Fourth- and fifth-level monster cores don't grow on trees!"

"Come on, Dad, you're a fifth-level psychic. Even if you don't have fifth-level cores, you should at least have a few fourth-level ones stashed away somewhere," Renji teased.

Ryoji looked like he wanted to smack him upside the head. "Listen, even a fifth-level psychic can't just collect high-level cores like candy. The few fourth-level cores I have are national-level strategic resources—I've already donated most of them to Azure Dragon Academy!"

Renji pouted. "Fine, but if you ever get your hands on more fourth- and fifth-level cores, save a few for your loving son, alright?"

"You brat!" Ryoji growled. "You'd better show me some results with these. If you waste them, I'll turn your butt into a hexagon, and you can forget about seeing another high-level core in your lifetime!"

"Got it, got it!" Renji laughed, grabbing all the jars in one swoop and dashing off before his dad could change his mind.

As he ran down the stairs, he called back: "Oh right, Dad—tonight I want sweet and sour ribs, braised pork belly, and fish tofu!"

"You little punk!!" Ryoji roared.

Renji grinned and quickly shut himself inside his room, clutching the precious monster cores.

"We've got plenty this time... this should last a while, right?" he said excitedly.

"System, convert all these monster cores into energy points!"

[Ding! Calculating...]

20 second-level cores:

10 basic Storm Eagles — 200 points each → 2000 points

5 mid-grade Flame Hawks — 240 points each → 1200 points

5 advanced Thunder Leopards — 280 points each → 1400 points

5 third-level cores:

5 basic Corrupt Pythons — 300 points each → 1500 points

Total: 6,100 energy points. Confirm conversion?

"Confirm!" Renji said without hesitation.

[Ding! Conversion complete!]

The monster cores disappeared from his hands in a flash of light, and his energy point balance skyrocketed to 6,300, including the 200 points he had left over from before.

Renji almost screamed from excitement.

"I'm rich! R-I-C-H rich!"

Without wasting time, he opened the system shop and prepared for a full-on spending spree. His body was still weak, but his excitement completely drowned out the soreness.

But... looking at his realm, he decided to be practical. He was still only an Intermediate Level 1, and his spiritual energy cap wasn't very high. Buying powerful techniques would be pointless if he didn't have the energy to use them.

He focused on the discounted items in the Mystery Shop first:

Flying Thunder God Technique (500 spiritual energy per use): 5000 energy points

Wood Style: Wood Golem Technique (1000 spiritual energy per use): 1000 energy points

Mangekyō Sharingan (Susanoo) (500 spiritual energy per activation, plus 10 spiritual energy per second): 3000 energy points

Multi-Shadow Clone Technique (10 spiritual energy per clone): 500 energy points

Illusion: Shackling Chains: 80 energy points (Already owned)

Spirit Insight Technique: 80 energy points (Already owned)

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