At this moment, Kakashi was quite happy, not just because he managed to summon two Ninjas with only 150 draws. He had originally thought it would cost at least 100,000 gold coins, but unexpectedly, it was so cheap!
But what made him even more excited was... having five Ninjas meant he could finally play ranked matches!
This was simply too satisfying!
Kakashi had been eyeing that Chakra Proficiency Book in the ranked store that Yuto had placed there for a long time.
So, Kakashi eagerly clicked on the ranked matchmaking.
1 second passed, 2 seconds passed, 3 seconds passed... 5 minutes passed... 12 minutes passed.
---
"Sasuke! Who allowed you to ambush me?"
"Hehe, the game doesn't have any strict rules on how to play. And that wasn't an ambush, you were just careless."
Naruto and Sasuke had already finished two matches.
In both matches, Sasuke had the upper hand.
It wasn't that Naruto was inferior to Sasuke... it was just that Sasuke was cheating by using his Sharingan.
Several times, Naruto felt that his skills should have hit, but Sasuke dodged them at the last moment.
This made Naruto grit his teeth in frustration, insisting on a rematch.
But Sasuke couldn't stand such exhaustion and directly refused.
"Hmph, come fight me again when you've got some real strength."
"If there's nothing else, I'm going to go train. See ya~"
Having completed the mission in the Land of Waves, and such a high-difficulty one at that, Team 7 was granted a few days off.
So, what they did next was entirely up to them.
Seeing this, Kakashi didn't stop them.
Instead, he went to ask Yuto, "Manager, why can't I find any opponents?"
Although Kakashi had considered that there might be very few people who met the condition of having five Ninjas, or perhaps even none at all, but at least before... he could still match against AIs. He wondered where had all those AIs gone now?
'Was Manager really not allowing AIs anymore?'
Seeing Kakashi's desire to improve, Yuto smiled and said, "What are you thinking? Ranked matches are meant to be against real players..."
"Sigh... alright."
Kakashi was a bit disheartened. He wondered how long would it take for others to gather five Ninjas.
"If you think it's too slow, you could help me urge them to collect five Ninjas as soon as possible, so they can play ranked with you."
Kakashi thought about it and realized this wasn't a bad idea.
'If the others knew the game could help them become stronger, they would surely be willing to spend some money.'
But for Naruto and Sakura, Kakashi didn't have high hopes yet and decided to observe them for a while.
As for Tenzo and the others... Kakashi thought they were good candidates to persuade (or trick) into collecting Ninjas. Once they had enough, he could bring them over to play ranked matches. It was a perfect plan!
"Okay, Manager. I know what to do."
---
After that, the group fell silent, each diving into the Arena to start their battles.
Under Yuto's observation, Sakura seemed a bit restless and impatient.
Clearly, she wasn't very invested in the game, or perhaps she wasn't having much luck against AIs or real players...
As for Haku, Yuto couldn't read much emotion from him, but judging by the speed at which he tapped the screen, it was clear he was also actively playing.
Zabuza, on the other hand, looked completely focused, his fingers moving rapidly across the screen.
Yuto felt like the phone in Zabuza's hands might not survive the next second...
But the most serious of them all was undoubtedly Naruto.
Naruto was the epitome of a gaming addict, practically wishing he could dive into the game and fight.
Just as Yuto was observing each of them, he suddenly noticed Kakashi was also watching the group.
Their eyes met, and Kakashi gave an embarrassed smile.
It was simple. Kakashi was scouting to see if any of the four newcomers seemed like potential recruits.
However, after meeting Yuto's gaze, Kakashi lowered his head and prepared to start a match to hone his skills.
This time, he changed up his usual lineup.
He brought two new Ninjas: Haku and Zabuza.
Meanwhile, his most reliable [Hatake Kakashi] was placed in the third slot as a 'safety net.'
Although he intended to practice his skills, Kakashi believed, without boasting, that his skills were currently the best around... aside from Yuto, of course.
That's why he dared to bring two completely new Ninjas into the match!
It was also a chance to familiarize himself with their skills.
The matchmaking didn't take long.
Although there were some real players now, the total number was still only around ten.
Instant matches were mostly possible in face-to-face arranged battles.
Of course, Naruto and Sasuke's first duel was purely an accident.
After about ten seconds of matchmaking, the game loaded.
While waiting, Kakashi glanced around the room.
The others were clearly busy with their own matches, so it didn't seem like any of them were his current opponent.
And Kakashi also made sure to check on Yuto.
He noticed Yuto sitting in front of the large 'scientific ninja tool', fiddling with some strange device.
That's right, the large 'scientific ninja tool' in Kakashi's eyes was actually a computer Yuto had invested a significant amount of money in.
Once the loading screen appeared, Kakashi took note of his opponent's username.
'The Strongest Uchiha?'
---
Meanwhile, on the other side, Sasuke had retreated to his home. After making sure no one was following him, he finally pulled out his phone.
"Phew... That was a close call. I almost lost to Naruto."
Unable to handle the strain of using his Sharingan and not wanting to be exposed for pretending to be cool, Sasuke had no choice but to rush back home.
"Hmph... as if that guy could ever be my match. I'll prove with my strength that a loser can never surpass a genius."
---
[Matchmaking Started]
[Searching for an Opponent of Similar Skill]
[Enter the Match]
---
Then... the loading screen appeared. Sasuke looked at his opponent's Ninjas and found it a bit strange.
'Momochi Zabuza, Haku, and Hatake Kakashi.'
'Wait, why were these characters different from the ones I'd seen before?'
Sasuke was confused and looked at the name across from him again.
[White Fang]
'What is this name?'
Sasuke was puzzled but quickly brushed it off.
"Hmph... no matter who you are, facing me is your bad luck..."