SWNOVELXO Chapter 459: Chapter 104. Banned
[V2] - Chapter 104. Banned
---
The weather was getting colder and colder.
On this rare day off, Tanaka got up a bit later than usual. So, not wanting to cook for himself today, he simply ordered takeout.
"I'll go with Ichiraku Ramen. Perfect for winter—a hot, rich broth! And it's pretty close to me. Should arrive in about twenty minutes."
As for anything within ten minutes...
That would require the God of Delivery—Duy-san and his son, Guy-san—to deliver it. Other than them… most deliveries took around thirty minutes or less.
After placing the order, Tanaka tossed his phone aside, lazily settled under the kotatsu, turned on the TV, and prepared to watch for a while.
It was a rare day off!
He had to enjoy it properly~
So he decided to spend the whole day at home. Just a couple of days ago, Yuto Group's virtual reality game had gone on sale, and as a thirty-year single veteran otaku gamer who stayed home all the time, of course, he had bought it.
Though, since he ordered it a bit late, by the looks of it…
"It should arrive this afternoon!" Tanaka murmured with anticipation in his eyes. "In that case, I'll definitely be able to play it this afternoon. I can't wait~"
The past few days, the internet had been abuzz with news about this game. He heard that the game was incredibly realistic—fully immersive, deeply engaging—and it was based on the previous Ninja World Online game, revamped for a more experiential focus, now featuring two highly intelligent ultimate bosses.
Of course, all of that was just information for now. Most players were still low-level and hadn't encountered the bosses yet. The only glimpse came from a livestream by a blond-haired teen streamer.
Even so—
It was still something to be excited about.
A fully immersive game!
"Only eight minutes have passed?" Tanaka grabbed his phone and sighed. "I'm already feeling hungry!"
Still—
It would probably take another ten minutes to arrive.
Just as he was about to lazily curl up and rest his head on the table to wait…
His phone rang.
"Hello?"
Who could it be?
Just as he wondered—
A deep voice came from the other end: "Your food has arrived."
"?!" Tanaka was stunned. He glanced at the phone—only nine minutes had passed?
Why did it get here so fast today?
Could it be…
He was lucky enough to get a delivery from the God of Delivery?!
Thinking this, excited, he sprang up from under the kotatsu.
Feeling the chill outside, he couldn't help but shiver before quickly heading to the entrance.
But—
Why didn't the God of Delivery ring the doorbell today?
He thought about it but didn't dwell on it and opened the door. "Thanks, my foo—"
Before he finished speaking—
He blinked, staring at the empty corridor.
Since this was the Konoha Singles Apartment Complex, it was five stories high, and he lived on the fifth floor.
Still confused, he stuck his head out and looked around.
However—
There was no sign of anyone.
A cold wind blew by.
"Whew~"
Tanaka shivered again and quickly closed the door, muttering in irritation, "Why is there no one here?!"
Don't tell me… I have to go downstairs to get it today?
Thinking this, he dialed the delivery number. "Please! Could you bring it up?"
"You want me to bring it up?"
"Isn't that obvious? What, is this your first day as a delivery man?"
"This is my first day as a delivery man!"
"…"
Tanaka paused at that, but his anger faded a little.
A newbie, huh?
Still—
To deliver so quickly?!
He sighed with awe. "It looks like a new superstar is rising in the delivery world!"
Just as he was about to politely ask the delivery guy to bring it up—
The voice on the other end said, "Got it." After a slight pause, the deep voice continued: "Open your balcony door."
"???"
Why would he need to open the balcony door at this point?
Was this guy planning to throw it up here?!
Still confused, Tanaka went to the balcony and slid the door open. "I've already open—"
Before he could finish—
"Susanoo!!!"
The deep voice came again from the phone.
"?!"
Tanaka stared in shock at the giant purple figure before him, trembling all over. The phone in his hand slipped and fell to the ground.
"Wha-wha-wha…"
He was still trying to say his earlier sentence.
What...
What is this?!
Before he could react—
A massive purple hand reached out, delicately pinching a well-packaged takeout order between thumb and forefinger. On the packaging: Ichiraku Ramen!
The meal looked incredibly tiny in that giant hand.
"Your food has been delivered. Be sure to leave a five-star review!"
"Alri… alright!"
Tanaka dumbly took the ramen and stared blankly at the disappearing giant before him—until all that remained was a cool silhouette leaping into the air, vanishing from sight.
That was—
"The Shura of the Ninja World—Uchiha Madara?!"
Hiiissss!!!
Delivering takeout like that?!
It's truly terrifying!
As he gasped uncontrollably—
At that moment—
The ramen in his hand slipped and fell straight down.
"Crap!"
…
At the same time.
Countless Uchiha Madara deliverymen were active in the skies above Konoha.
"Here's your takeout! Don't forget a good review! Otherwise, I'll kill you!"
"The soup spilled? What's that got to do with me? Hurry up and sign!"
"So young and already this lazy! Five-star review!"
Coming and going like ghosts. Every now and then, they'd activate Susanoo—with their dashing backs fading into the sky, leaving many people completely dumbfounded.
However.
Fast was fast!
But the food spilled way too easily.
Yet—
On his first day as a deliveryman, Uchiha Madara didn't know any of that. He only knew that as long as he got the takeout to the customer and reminded them to "Leave a five-star review," that was enough.
Unfortunately—
He didn't realize that food delivery wasn't so simple. Even the God of Delivery, Might Duy, had once trained bitterly in order to achieve high-speed, spill-free deliveries.
Eventually, he mastered… delivering food upside-down with the Eight Gates open—without spilling a drop!
But Madara, who had just returned and kept bickering with Hashirama, had no idea about any of that.
Still—
His performance data was downright terrifying.
Yuto Delivery – Konoha Branch.
At this moment—
Countless deliverymen on break were staring in shock at the delivery ranking leaderboard on their phones.
A certain name was shooting up the chart like a runaway horse—rising crazily from beyond the top 100, suddenly surging into the top 100, and still climbing without pause.
Top 50!
Top 30!
Top 10!
Top 5!
"This guy…"
Everyone widened their eyes, staring at the leaderboard in utter disbelief.
"Is he delivering takeout with his life on the line?"
Hope he's not earning just enough to pay for his own hospital bills!
"He's catching up! So close now! Just in one day—can he surpass the reigning God of Delivery, Duy-san, in total deliveries?!"
"I thought Duy-san was already unbeatable in the delivery world, but someone even more fierce has appeared!"
"This is youth!" Even Might Duy, who had just returned to rest before heading back out for another round of deliveries, noticed it.
But he wasn't nervous, nor anxious. On the contrary, he looked at the ever-climbing ranking with burning fighting spirit.
"I can't wait any longer! Come! Let's have a duel of youth!"
With that, he took a deep breath, eyes full of determination.
"It looks like I can't rest today!"
Might Duy, who had originally planned to rest for a bit, stood up again. Just as he was about to open the Eight Gates and head out amidst the admiration of everyone around him—
Suddenly.
"Huh? His ranking disappeared?"
"Same here!"
"Did it drop?"
"No! It's not even outside the top 100!"
"What happened?!"
Everyone began discussing it again, confused looks on their faces as they stared at the leaderboard. But sure enough… they couldn't find that name anymore!
At that moment—
"No need to look anymore," the branch manager said with a strange expression as he set his phone down. He glanced at the puzzled Might Duy and said, "Duy-san, no need for a duel of youth anymore!"
"Huh? Why not?!"
"That guy… got too many bad reviews. Tons of customer complaints, refund requests—he's already been banned and is no longer allowed to deliver food!"
"???"