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Ding!
[System World Announcement]:
A player has successfully slain the Bandit Leader (Bronze Boss). A clue regarding a Dungeon Quest has been discovered. The Level 8 Dungeon will be opening soon.
Ding!
[System World Announcement]:
A player has successfully slain the Bandit Leader...
Ding!
[System World Announcement]:
A player has successfully slain the Bandit Leader...
The system broadcast blasted across the server three times in a row.
Instantly, the players grinding away at wild boars in the starter zone lost their minds.
"Holy crap! The server just opened! How is someone killing a Boss already?"
"Are you kidding me? I'm still struggling to kill a pig, and this guy is soloing bosses? Is this game broken?"
"It has to be a full party. Most people are barely Level 2. There's no way someone soloed a Bronze Boss."
"LFG! Anyone want to team up and hunt the Boss?"
"Forget it, bro. I saw that Boss earlier. It's a Level 6 Humanoid. We wouldn't even scratch his armor."
While the rest of the server was drowning in envy, jealousy, and confusion, Harper scooped up the remaining silver coins from the ground and checked his stats.
Character: Harper the Great
Faction: Hidden Leaf Village
Level: 3 (40%)
HP: 140
Chakra: 0
Strength: 14
Agility: 14
Constitution: 14
Ninjutsu: 14
Status: Normal
Even though he was only Level 3, his stats were already equal to a standard Level 4 player.
If every "Server First" boss kill gave bonus stats like this, the advantage might not look huge now, but in the late game? He would be absolutely broken. A god among men.
Harper glanced at his XP bar—only 40%. He shook his head.
"Leveling in this game is a nightmare. I killed a boss four levels above me and I only got one level out of it."
Suddenly, the Bandit Leader's corpse dissolved into a stream of light and vanished. At the same time, the map refreshed. The exploded rock face and the terrain bug Harper had created repaired themselves instantly, returning the canyon to its original state.
Clutching the [Unopened Letter], Harper jogged back toward the Hidden Leaf Village.
As he emerged from the deep forest, the players grinding on the edge of the safe zone spotted him. Seeing the huge grin on his face and the direction he was coming from, anyone with half a brain realized he was the guy mentioned in the system announcement.
Whoosh!
A crowd instantly swarmed him.
"Big bro! Do you need a sidekick? I can tank, I can heal, I can do whatever you want!"
"Get lost, weirdo! Hey, Pro! Do you need a girl to game with? I can be your pocket healer! My voice is super cute!"
"Ignore them, carry me!"
The sudden wave of aggressive friendliness caught Harper off guard. He politely declined the offers, elbowed his way through the mosh pit, and sprinted toward the village center.
He arrived at the Hokage's Office.
Inside, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat at his desk. He was smoking his pipe, his brows furrowed in deep concern. His withered hands trembled slightly, his expression a mix of gravity and anger.
Harper handed the letter to Hiruzen. No system prompt appeared, so he stood there awkwardly, waiting for the NPC to finish reading.
"Harper..."
After a long silence, Hiruzen exhaled a plume of smoke. He looked up at the young ninja.
"To think you were able to defeat the Bandit Leader... You have surprised me. This is your reward."
Ding!
[System]: Quest Completed: [The Unopened Letter].
Reward: 1,000 XP, 10 Silver Coins.
"Not bad."
Harper was satisfied. For a simple delivery quest, 10 Silver and a chunk of XP was generous. He wished he could spam quests like this all day.
He checked his inventory. He now had 26 Silver Coins.
If there was a "Richest Player" leaderboard right now, he would definitely be sitting at #1.
Harper looked at the Hokage. Seeing that the old man still looked troubled, he decided to fish for more work.
"Lord Hokage, is there anything else I can help you with?"
He asked out of habit—standard gamer protocol—but to his surprise, Hiruzen's eyes lit up.
"Harper, the fact that you killed the Bandit Leader proves your strength is... adequate."
Adequate? Harper thought. Give me a break, old man. I'm not even a Genin yet.
"Read this letter."
Hiruzen handed the paper back to him.
Bingo. Harper grabbed the letter.
It was written by a Rogue Ninja named Kenta to the Bandit Leader. The gist of it was terrifying: Kenta was hiding near the village, developing a new type of Explosive Weapon.
Kenta wanted to partner with the bandits. His plan was to have the bandits smuggle the explosives into the village during the upcoming Genin Exams to cause mass chaos.
"Most of our Jonin and Chunin are currently away on missions," Hiruzen said, puffing on his pipe. "And the current Genin are too inexperienced for a threat of this magnitude. Are you willing to investigate this matter?"
Ding!
[System]: Triggered Dungeon Pre-Quest. Do you accept?
Harper nodded immediately. "Of course. I am willing."
Are you kidding? Who turns down a quest? Especially a Dungeon Pre-Quest. The rewards would be insane.
Ding!
[System]: Quest Accepted: [The Explosive Threat].
Objective: Search the canyons near the Hidden Leaf for Kenta's hideout. Eliminate him, retrieve the experimental weapon, and return it to the Third Hokage.
A bright red exclamation mark appeared next to the quest in his log.
[Danger Level: High]
Harper knew he couldn't do this yet. Trying to kill a Dungeon Boss with just a kunai and shuriken was suicide.
In Naruto World, Level 5 was the turning point. Before Level 5, everyone was just throwing sharp metal at each other. After Level 5, you unlocked Ninjutsu. That's when the real game started.
He did some mental math. Most players were Level 1 or 2. There might be some pro gamers or exploiters like ShadowSlayer who were higher, but Harper wasn't worried. He had the advantage of being an "insider."
But he also knew that in this game, stats meant nothing without gear and Jutsu.
He decided to put the quest on hold. His new goal: grind to Level 5, learn some actual Ninjutsu, and then tackle Kenta.
He set his sights on a new target: Rogue Scouts.
[Rogue Scout]
Level: 6
Attack: 25
Defense: 15
HP: 400
On paper, the Rogue Scout looked weak for a Level 6 mob. Its stats were actually worse than the Level 4 Bandits, except for the HP.
But the danger wasn't in their stats—it was their AI.
These mobs were "Aggressive." They attacked on sight. Worse, they traveled in packs. You never fought just one; you fought two or three at a time. If you messed up your positioning, you could accidentally pull the whole camp and get focused down instantly.
Individually weak, but tactically annoying.
Harper left the village and dove back into the forest.
He was so focused on his route that he didn't notice the shadows moving behind him.
Someone was tailing him.