"Possessing a treasure is already a crime," Shin muttered under his breath. "Even if I don't know exactly what happened… my strength suddenly surged. I might lose control. No one can know about this. If they did, they'd probably think I'm some kind of monster, right?"
With that, he immediately suppressed his aura, returning to his usual harmless appearance.
"—Tsk!"
The moment he moved even a little, pain flared through his body, sharp enough to make him hiss between his teeth.
Damn, that hurt!
That fat bastard and his goons had landed at least a few dozen punches and kicks. His bones weren't broken, thankfully, but he could already feel the bruises forming beneath his clothes. At least he'd managed to protect his head—and his face, modest as it was, but decent enough. He'd definitely have to find a way to get revenge.
[Yamanaka Ino: Told you! Shin's not some schemer-he just thinks fast. Smart guy.]
[Haruno Sakura: Are you sure he's not just... used to being invisible?]
[Yamanaka Ino: Why the pause? What were you trying to say, huh? Just spit it out!]
[Haruno Sakura: Buzz off.]
[Tenten: That's three shocks for Sakura already. And still no lesson learned, huh?]
[Haruno Sakura: Tenten-senpai, not you too! Why is everyone picking on me?!]
[Tenten: Haha, sorry, sorry! I was just teasing.]
[Hyūga Hinata: So… am I safe now?]
[Yamanaka Ino: Hinata, come on! Didn't you want a power-up? The rules clearly say: the stronger your loyalty to the Administrator, the greater the effect.]
[Hyūga Hinata: Um… well… But loyalty doesn't have to mean… that, right? I think just being friends is enough.]
[Haruno Sakura: Don't listen to her, Hinata! She's just trying to get you to be the test subject. Look, she talks a big game, but she's too chicken to actually do anything.]
[Yamanaka Ino: Who's chicken?! I'll go right now!]
Before anyone could stop her, Ino stepped out of hiding and headed straight for Shin.
Her sudden move caught the others completely off guard. Tenten's eyes lit up-and in the next second, she darted after her. Ino shot her a quick look, and the two exchanged a knowing smile.
Sakura watched them go with barely concealed disdain. She knew exactly what they were doing-trying to cozy up to Shin.
The connection between the chat and Shin was still unclear, but everything-this strange chat system, the future videos, the mysterious power-ups—seemed to revolve around him. Making friends with Shin was clearly advantageous, and now that the videos had been proven authentic, it was even more important to get on his good side. That much was obvious to all four girls.
But Sakura couldn't stomach the idea of becoming part of "Shin's harem." Just the thought made her want to puke. She still intended to leave the chat eventually, but not before settling the score for those electric shocks first.
As for Hinata, she'd wanted to follow Ino and Tenten, but her timid nature held her back. Jumping in now would just be awkward. She silently scolded herself for hesitating, hoping she'd get another chance later.
In any case, the situation here had played itself out. Staying any longer would just risk drawing unnecessary attention. Hinata and Sakura quietly slipped away, heading for the Academy by a more roundabout path.
Meanwhile, Shin had calmed down a bit. Feigning nonchalance, he walked out of the alley-and came face-to-face with Ino and Tenten.
"Oh? Shin? What are you doing here?" Ino greeted him with a surprised look.
Shin smirked inwardly. If he hadn't seen her chat messages, he would've never guessed that Ino didn't even remember his name until recently.
"Ah, oh-hey, Ino!" Shin faked a flustered expression and stammered, "Uh… I, um… suddenly really had to go."
"…"
"…"
Ino. Tenten. Both stunned into silence.
Conversation: dead on arrival.
Ino had been trying to strike up a casual chat-something light, just to get to know him. Instead, his words caught her so off guard that she had no idea how to respond.
Tenten was equally speechless. She quickly grabbed Ino by the arm and tugged her away. They barely knew this guy-and now he'd dropped a line like that? It would've been wildly inappropriate to keep talking.
Shin watched their retreating backs with a faint smirk. Little brats, trying to play games with him? Please. The tables had turned. Now they were the ones figuring out how to get close to him, not the other way around.
The unattainable always draws people in. He'd keep them dangling-just out of reach.
His mood improved, and even the pain in his body seemed to fade.
Once they were out of sight, Ino let out a quiet curse. "Damn that guy-"
Before she could finish, Tenten clamped a hand over her mouth.
"You want to find out what getting shocked feels like again?" she warned in a low voice.
Ino's eyes widened. She immediately shut up and shook her head vigorously. Tenten sighed and removed her hand.
"I think he did it on purpose," Tenten said thoughtfully.
Ino blinked. "Huh?"
"Did you see what just happened to him? He's probably worried we'd notice something and start asking questions. So he made up an excuse-one we couldn't possibly respond to-and made it too awkward to keep talking."
Ino mulled it over… and nodded slowly. "You're right. I underestimated him. He really is quick on the uptake. At school, he was always just some average nobody. Was he hiding his skills this whole time? But… why?"
"Who knows." Tenten gave her a friendly tap on the arm. "Anyway, we'll stop here for now. We'll get to know him better eventually. As for the second future video… I probably shouldn't watch it in public. I'll head out-fill me in later, okay?"
"Got it. But hey-don't tell Forehead Girl about this. If she finds out I tried to talk to Shin and he sent me packing with one line, she'll laugh herself sick."
Tenten grinned and nodded. She wasn't planning on telling anyone either. It was embarrassing enough as it was-no need to give Sakura more ammunition.
---
By the time Shin entered the classroom, all four girls were already there. The place was buzzing with excitement-no surprise, really. Starting today, they were officially becoming ninja.
Of course, none of them knew about the upcoming 67% dropout rate.
Shin let his eyes scan the classroom and quickly settled on the figure sitting by the window in the front row.
Uchiha Sasuke.
At this point in the story? The textbook tryhard.
Not that Shin cared about him personally-but this was a scene he didn't want to miss. The classic moment when Sakura fawned over Sasuke like a lovesick puppy… and Naruto lost his damn mind with jealousy.
Right on cue, Shin looked over and saw Naruto jump onto a desk, marching right up to Sasuke. He glared at him with righteous fury, their faces just inches apart.
"Get lost," Sasuke snarled, equally annoyed. What the hell did this loser want now?
"Dammit, Naruto! Don't talk to Sasuke like that!"
"Yeah! Kick his ass, Sasuke!"
The girls in the class erupted into angry shouts.
And then it happened.
A guy in the front row, caught up in a heated conversation, swung his arm a bit too hard-his elbow jabbed Naruto squarely in the lower back.
Naruto stumbled forward
And in the next second, every girl in the room froze in shock.
Their lips collided in a kiss so full-on, so indisputable, that for a moment, it seemed like they were glued together.