Seeing that he had recruited a B-rank ninja—and specifically the Gate of View (Dumen) state of Rock Lee—Hayate's mood soared.
This was his first B-rank ninja, and the leap from C-rank was monumental. In this state, Lee's standard attacks were powerful enough to create sonic booms.
Hayate's joy wasn't just about raw power; because this version of Lee could be fused with the existing C-rank version, it wouldn't take up an extra deployment slot. This meant he could essentially upgrade a current soldier while keeping a slot open for another summon.
Praying to those higher entities pays off after all, he thought.
He clicked into the details to confirm the skill set:
Rock Lee [The Gate of View]
- Rank: B
- Skill 1: Meteor Smash: A rapid series of zig-zagging strikes followed by a mid-air punch that drives the enemy into the ground.
- Skill 2: Leaf Gale: A low-to-the-ground spinning sweep followed by a quick rise and a second high-level horizontal sweep.
- Hidden Technique (Ouchi): Hidden Lotus: Attacking the opponent at supersonic speeds. After a barrage of kicks, the user wraps the opponent in bandages, hauls them upward, and delivers a massive punch that craters them into the earth.
Seeing the description of the Hidden Lotus, Hayate realized that once he activated the Gate of View, his speed would exceed the speed of sound. At that point, he would move faster than a bullet.
In the world of martial arts, all is destroyed by strength, but only speed remains invincible.
This recruitment significantly bolstered both Hayate and Lee. While Hayate might not yet be on par with an elite veteran Jōnin like Kakashi, he was now substantially stronger than a standard Jōnin.
As he finalized the recruitment, the chakra in Hayate's body doubled. A B-rank ninja provided five times the chakra growth of a C-rank. He was well on his way to becoming a "Chakra Ton" (Chakra-heavy) ninja.
Under the nourishment of this vast energy, his physical attributes—stamina, strength, and recovery—would slowly evolve. Furthermore, the knowledge of the first five of the Eight Inner Gates and Lee's new techniques were seared into his brain. He was now officially a Taijutsu specialist.
He then turned his attention to the shards. The "explosive" drop rate from his ritual had yielded four shards each for Hidan, Kakashi, and Boruto-era Kurotsuchi.
If I keep this up, the first member of the Akatsuki will be born soon, he mused.
The total haul from this ten-pull: 27 shards (8 A-rank, 8 B-rank, 11 C-rank) and one full B-rank ninja. A massive win.
Out of consideration for Lee and Shizune, who were still busy exchanging intel downstairs, Hayate decided not to perform the fusion immediately. He was, after all, a "humanitarian" boss.
Returning to the recruitment menu, he looked for the post-60-pull changes.
[Ding! 60 recruitments completed. Update available. Update now?]
He clicked "Yes." The interface closed for a moment of processing. When it reopened, the single recruitment screen had split into two: Ninja Recruitment and Privilege Recruitment.
He clicked Privilege Recruitment and his lip twitched.
Displayed prominently was Gaara [Sand Bound], labeled as a VIP 10 Exclusive Ninja. A notice next to it read: Insufficient VIP level. Please upgrade your V-Privileges.
Classic corporate greed, Hayate thought. He wasn't even VIP 4 yet, let alone 10.
He switched back to the standard Ninja Recruitment page. The background had changed from the Uzumaki swirl to a specific featured ninja:
Tsunade [Legendary Sannin].
The artwork featured Tsunade in her Second Shinobi World War battle armor, carrying the title of the Sannin—the very period where she and her teammates survived the fight against Hanzo the Salamander.
Hayate did the math. Born in year 12 of the Leaf, she gained the Sannin title in year 36, making her roughly 24 years old in this depiction.
He noticed two new options for the ten-pull rewards:
1. Recruit 10 times: Guaranteed Ninja.
2. Recruit 10 times: Guaranteed S-Rank Ninja Shard.
The game was changing, and the stakes were getting much higher.