Riku woke up in a sprawl of limbs, his face mashed into the Pillow of Supreme Comfort like a man half-suffocated by heaven. Sunlight burned through the window cracks of his shitty little shed, dragging him back to reality.
He blinked once, yawned, then sat up.
"Draw time, baby."
A swipe of the hand summoned the system panel into view.
[Daily Draw Replenished!][Bonus Draws: 5 — Reward for cursed spirit extermination.][Grade 1 Bonus Active: One draw has been upgraded for high-quality potential.]
Riku cracked his knuckles and grinned.
"Alright, RNG gods, don't fuck me again."
[Draw 1: Acquired — Chakra Threads (Naruto) (C-tier Skill)]Fine chakra strings that can manipulate or attach to objects and limbs. Good for subtle control or puppet-style movement.
"Ooh. Fuckin' Sasori vibes."
[Draw 2: Acquired — Self-Tying Shoelaces (D-tier Item)]Shoes now tie themselves. Convenient. But seriously?
"…I swear to god."
[Draw 3: Acquired — Reactive Guard (C-tier Passive)]When in combat, your body subtly shifts or tightens muscles in anticipation of incoming strikes, slightly improving your reflexive defense.
"Okay, that's actually kinda sick."
[Draw 4: Acquired — Flame Detergent (D-tier Item)]Cleans blood, soot, and demonic ichor from clothes. Lavender scent.
"…No notes."
[Draw 5: Acquired — Glide Boots (C-tier Item)]Boots that allow controlled, short-distance gliding. Think Batman's cape, but feet-first.
"Now we're cooking."
Then the final one.
His heart thumped. This was the one boosted from killing a Grade 1. A guaranteed upgrade from the usual crapshoot.
[Boosted Draw Activated!][Congratulations! You have acquired: Kaioken (Up to x5) (B-tier Active Skill)!]
[Kaioken]: Temporarily boosts your physical power, speed, and agility by a multiplier (x2–x5). The greater the multiplier, the more severe the strain on the body. Effects include muscle tearing, internal damage, exhaustion, and post-use vulnerability. Regeneration does not recover stamina or prevent fatigue.
There was a beat of silence.
Then—
"OH MY FUCKING GOD—LET'S GOOOOOOOOOO!"
He practically suplexed his own mattress in celebration. Kaioken. Kaioken. One of the most iconic, power-boosting techniques in anime history. And it was his. Up to x5. Not capped at x2 like Goku's early days. He could actually fry someone if he used it right.
But the system's warning echoed in his mind.
Fatigue. Muscle strain. No regen.
It wasn't a free win card. It was a double-edged nuke.
Still… worth it.
"Alright," he muttered, tugging on his hoodie and grabbing the Glide Boots, "time to get serious."
He picked an abandoned warehouse on the edge of town. No cameras. No squatters. Plenty of empty space to go wild.
By mid-afternoon, he was drenched in sweat, gloved hands shaking slightly as he wrapped another layer of cursed energy around his forearms. Armament Haki coated his skin in obsidian black as he delivered punch after punch into the dented steel wall.
He was testing his limits. Trying x2 Kaioken in short bursts. The power-up hit like a shot of adrenaline mixed with lightning. His punches became blurs. His dodges were instantaneous.
But five seconds later, it was like crashing from a high. He'd nearly vomited after his third burst.
"I'm gonna need way more cardio," he muttered, panting.
That was part one of today's goal. Build up his body to handle Kaioken without imploding.
Part two?
Refining his cursed technique.
Distorted Reflection was stable. If a curse tried to punch him, and he timed it right, he could twist their attack mid-air and send it back like a mirrored blast from hell.
But now he was onto the next piece.
Echo Delay.A five-second delayed reflection of a move the enemy already made.
The issue?
There were no enemies right now.
He paced in the warehouse, frowning hard.
"How the hell do I simulate something that already happened?"
He couldn't just "decide" to replay an enemy's strike. Cursed techniques were emotional, conceptual. They worked because of intention, intuition, and timing.
But this one required memory. Precision. And anchoring something in the cursed energy field without immediate input.
He stood still.
Then launched a punch at the air. Hard. Hook to the right.
"Five seconds," he muttered.
One.Two.Three.Four.Five.
Nothing.
No echo. No afterimage. No weird cursed-energy flicker. Just his own dumb fist hanging there like an idiot.
"Fuck."
He tried again. This time, a kick.
Same result.
Again.
Again.
Nothing.
After a dozen failed attempts to trigger Echo Delay, Riku stood in the center of the warehouse, staring at the cracked wall he'd been punching for the last half hour.
"This is so fucking dumb."
He knew the technique wasn't about his attack. It had to come from someone else. But without enemies or allies to fight, how the hell was he supposed to replicate the condition?
His eyes scanned the room. Then his expression slowly shifted.
"...Wait."
He picked up a long steel pipe from the ground. Then, walking to a concrete column, he wedged the pipe between a hanging support beam and a metal cabinet shelf until it sat on a tilted angle—barely stable, ready to fall if jostled.
Then he walked in front of it.
And smacked the shelf hard.
CLANG.
The pipe slipped.
It swung down like a pendulum and cracked him across the back.
"FUCK—okay, okay, yep, that works."
He reset the setup. Did it again.
This time, he didn't move immediately. He focused. Tried to lock in the cursed energy imprint of the moment it hit.
Then counted.
One.Two.Three.Four.Five—
A faint ripple in the air. His breath caught.
Then—snap—something brushed his back again. Not nearly as hard. Just a light tap. Like a phantom echo.
He shivered.
He felt it. A hint. An afterimage. He was close.
It wasn't enough. Not yet. But the blueprint was there now. He just had to keep tuning it.
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Okay this was the best I could do his second move for his cursed technique is basically a delayed reflection. Basically he returns a move his opponent fired 5 seconds ago maybe I'll make it the timer longer later but right now its 5 seconds.