The Warsaw operation didn't bring Linto many soul fragments.
Signing the agreement and changing the worldline earned him 1,000 points.
Petrifying the rebels and preventing the mindless slaughter gained him 500 points.
Taking out Kurosaki yielded 100 points.
A total income of 1,600 points.
Killing Kurosaki only gave him 100 points... Honestly, Linto hadn't expected that at all.
He was supposedly one of the masterminds behind the Warsaw riots, and yet his actual combat power was less than that of an ordinary samurai.
It was clear that Kurosaki's strength relied solely on the trust of the rats and his students. Kurosaki, in turn, had used that precious trust as a stepping stone.
Linto thought of vultures circling the desert sky.
"Kurosaki has probably achieved his dream of 'soaring through the heavens' by now, hasn't he?"
While the Warsaw operation hadn't yielded many soul fragments, it had given Linto a most valuable resource:
An Ascendancy Star Nucleus.
"I obtained one when I retook the Kirigakure government and announced the Awakening Ideology plan."
"I got the second one when I brought Oda Ieyasu into my camp and gained control of the Land of Water."
"I obtained the third one when I forced Tokugawa Nobuyasu to sign an unequal treaty, giving me the opportunity to slowly encroach upon the Land of Wind."
Linto recalled the hardships he'd faced.
Each Ascendancy Star Nucleus represented a story worthy of being written into history.
Estimating based on this pattern, the fourth Ascendancy Star Nucleus might not appear until Linto had completely conquered the Land of Wind.
That would be a long process.
So, this one...
How should he use it?
"Ascendancy Star Nuclei have only two effects: upgrading an existing Stand or opening a limited-time gacha. I'll try to directly draw a six-star Stand."
As for upgrading an existing Stand, based on what he knew from the story, White Snake could evolve into New Moon.
Unless absolutely necessary, Linto didn't want to lose White Snake.
He didn't know what the evolved forms of his other Stands would be. It would be pure luck, but…
"If I'm going to rely on luck, I might as well bet on the limited-time gacha. After all, all the six-star Stands that can come from the limited-time gacha are related to Stands from the story, and none of them are weak."
Linto, holding his wine glass, pondered for a long time before finally making a decision.
He'd wait.
"Once my account has 25,000 to 30,000 soul fragments, which translates to 250 to 300 draws in the limited-time gacha. Even if my luck is bad and I get a five-star Stand, the rest should be enough for me to draw a six-star Stand."
This was the safest and most profitable way to draw.
With the 1,600 soul fragments from this operation, plus the remaining from drawing Youthful Years and Stone Mask, and the scattered income from the past few days, his system account held 5,133 fragments.
Due to the spread of the Awakening Ideology and the research institute's improvements in agricultural and industrial productivity, Linto received an average of 70 to 80 soul fragments from various countries daily.
Add in the occasional good Samaritan for Linto to kill, and it might take...
Four months?
If there were more good Samaritans, he might be able to save enough in three months.
"If only there were more enemies like White Snake Sage, who give 3,000 fragments for a single kill."
Linto shook his head.
Such things were rare and unpredictable.
Since he'd decided to be a hoarder for the time being, Linto had to think of other ways to improve his combat power.
After the incidents in the Land of Water and the Land of Wind, the remaining financial groups in the Fire, Lightning, and Earth nations would no longer harbor any illusions. They knew that within Linto's domain, financial groups had only two options:
Immediate destruction, or becoming fattened pigs.
From now on, the attacks from financial groups would become increasingly frantic.
And then there was the Akatsuki organization.
As Linto's power grew, the previously unrelated relationship between them had been shattered.
One time at the Kyoto Water Festival, another time at the Roran ruins.
Both sides had incurred each other's wrath.
There would inevitably be a battle between them.
In a one-on-one fight, Linto had no worries.
But if the Akatsuki organization attacked him all at once… Linto wasn't certain of victory.
Furthermore, Linto now was different from when he first arrived in this world.
In the beginning, Linto was a lone wolf with no dependents. If anyone bothered him, he could just hide in the deep mountains and forests, occasionally emerging to sneak attack enemy bases.
A Linto with nothing to lose was undoubtedly the most terrifying assassin.
But now it was the opposite.
Golin City, Wangmi City, then cities within the Land of Water, and the research institute that was recently attacked by Yakushi Kabuto, White Snake, and Hidan working together.
The number of people standing by Linto's side was increasing, and correspondingly, so were his vulnerabilities.
This was an inevitable path.
He couldn't change the world alone; he had to rely on his companions and make them stronger as well.
"So, the next tasks are:"
"First, accumulate gacha resources and spend them on a six-star Stand when I reach 30,000 fragments."
"Second, continue practicing Golden Rotation and break through to lesson-3."
His Ripple ability had reached a bottleneck after entering the third stage. To break through, he might really need the Aja Diamond.
He could only set it aside for now and focus on Golden Rotation.
"Third, enhance the combat power of the Annihilation Army."
With significant resources poured in from the Water and Wind nations, and Linto occasionally sending them experimental materials, the research institute was making new progress almost daily. Their research results should be ready to emerge from the labs soon.
"All of this must be completed within three months. After that—"
Linto carefully took out a wooden box from the small pouch at his waist. Inside was a broken, charred hairpin.
There was no killing intent in his eyes, only the purest, most absolute determination.
"I will crush the Akatsuki organization."
"I will shatter the 'tough bones' that the financial groups and Daimyo expect."
Linto finished his last drink, picked up the wooden box, and left the izakaya.
...
Konan turned off the television.
Since it was a rebroadcast signal, she had watched the entire trial nearly half an hour later than the residents of the Land of Wind.
After finishing, Konan sat in her chair, unable to shake off her emotions for a long time.
As one of the first people to learn the Awakening Ideology, she knew better than anyone that this broadcast would become a seed, deeply planted in the hearts of all in the Land of Wind… no, not just the Land of Wind, but in the hearts of all commoners in the world.
In the past, when people were in despair, they could only pray to the gods.
From today onward, in the abyss of despair, people would think of another possibility:
What about the conglomerates and bureaucrats?
If the Land of Wind could be conquered, why couldn't we?
Even if only one out of a hundred people dared to resist, it would make those in power think twice when enacting policies, giving commoners more benefits and breathing room, preventing them from being sent to the gallows one day.
What was even more impressive was that those six men did not die at Linto's hands, but under the law.
A thousand years from now, people might forget Linto, but the law will always be there.
Zetsu, the vegetative being, observed Konan's expression: "Konan, are you showing too much respect for our enemy?"
"He is not an enemy, just... walking a different path," Konan said seriously.
Zetsu chuckled and didn't retort further. He turned to Uchiha Itachi: "How does the new weapon feel?"
Uchiha Itachi held a slender "stick" in his hand, with glass pieces installed at both ends. It was clearly a monocular telescope.
He raised the telescope, and a rotating Sharingan peered at Zetsu through it.
"Interesting."