Uchiha Chiri paused in surprise, her face flushing crimson a moment later.
This condition still held a strong temptation for her.
Hoshiryu Uchiha belonged to the same clan as her, so perhaps this secret to growing stronger suited her quite well.
Therefore, despite the overwhelming shyness, Uchiha Chiri nodded after thinking for a moment.
She then shifted her feet and slowly walked toward the podium.
Tsunade watched from the side; although she knew he was bullying Uchiha Chiri, she felt very interested in the secret to growing stronger that he spoke of.
"If she does it, will you really tell her the secret?"
Hoshiryu Uchiha nodded and said affirmatively:
"Of course, my defining trait is honesty."
What secret could Hoshiryu Uchiha possibly have for growing stronger? It was nothing more than the system's automatic AFK.
Nothing else differed from anyone else either.
His bullying of Uchiha Chiri this time actually served to verify an experiment.
Uchiha Chiri grew so shy just talking to people.
Now, having her sing in front of a large crowd undoubtedly meant making things difficult for her.
After she endured the shyness and completed the task, giving her a reply that failed to satisfy her.
Even a reply that teased her somewhat—the emotional shift in between would prove enormous.
At that point, he would see whether Uchiha Chiri could awaken the Sharingan.
If so, it would prove that the Sharingan did not necessarily require the loss of love to awaken.
Powerful mental fluctuations could also trigger the awakening of the Sharingan.
Of course, Hoshiryu Uchiha would sincerely apologize to Uchiha Chiri afterward.
After all, for a prank to truly be a prank, both sides had to find it funny.
As for why Hoshiryu Uchiha did not treat Tsunade this way?
That came down to the fact that Tsunade needed to change bad habits and hobbies, rather than just enduring a simple prank.
Just then, Uchiha Chiri overcame the shyness and fear in her heart and walked up to the podium.
Looking at the people below who stared at her with curiosity, she simply closed her eyes and began to sing.
"You said that if you spread your wings, you would never return again."
"What you gaze upon is that blue, blue sky."
"..."
Contrary to Uchiha Chiri's shy exterior, her singing sounded wonderful and melodious.
The noisy classroom gradually quieted down as everyone began to listen to her song.
When Uchiha Chiri finished singing and opened her eyes again, the entire class was looking at her.
This array of attention caused her natural social anxiety to directly crash her brain.
Yet moments later, thunderous applause awakened her.
Uchiha Chiri opened her eyes, and the scene before her made her smile involuntarily.
Before her, every single person was applauding her recent performance.
This stirred courage within her heart, helping her somewhat flustered self regain confidence.
Uchiha Chiri took a bow before walking back to Hoshiryu Uchiha's side.
"I've done it, now it's your turn to keep your promise."
Hoshiryu Uchiha felt somewhat emotional; he had not expected Uchiha Chiri to sing so well.
This directly bankrupted his plan.
Because right now, not only did she lack shyness, she brimmed with confidence instead.
Still, he had to try anyway.
"My trick to getting stronger is very simple."
As he spoke, he paused, causing the surrounding people who wanted to listen to perk up their ears.
"That is, to neither smoke nor drink, go to bed at 11 p.m., and get a full eight hours of sleep every day."
"Before bed, I always drink a glass of warm milk, then do 20 minutes of stretching exercises, get into bed, and fall fast asleep."
"Sleeping soundly until dawn, never carrying fatigue and stress over to the next day. That's my secret to getting stronger!"
Hoshiryu Uchiha's so-called trick to getting stronger sent the eavesdropping crowd tumbling head over heels.
Uchiha Chiri felt all the more that he was toying with her, her eyes widening in anger.
The mere thought that she had felt a trace of yearning for Hoshiryu Uchiha just moments ago made Chiri's heart ache terribly.
How could someone who bullied classmates and possessed such a vile personality deserve her yearning?
For a time, Uchiha Chiri's mind held only this single thought.
A good saying went: if you endure, the more you endure the angrier you get; if you take a step back, the more you think about it the more cheated you feel.
Uchiha Chiri's blood rushed to her head, and chakra involuntarily began to flow through her body.
Just as she prepared to hit Hoshiryu Uchiha with a big move, she noticed the people around her staring at her in shock.
Meanwhile, Hoshiryu Uchiha, the very cause of her towering rage, looked at her with appreciation before speaking to her:
"Congratulations, Classmate Chiri, your Sharingan has awakened."
Uchiha Chiri touched her eyes in astonishment, then took the small mirror handed over by Tsunade to look.
Seeing a single tomoe spinning around inside her eyes, she broke into a cheerful, silly smile.
Hoshiryu Uchiha felt deeply emotional.
As expected of Uchiha Chiri; even without a massive emotional contrast, she still awakened the Sharingan.
With such innate talent, no wonder she could unlock the Mangekyo.
Moreover, this verified Hoshiryu Uchiha's hypothesis.
The awakening of the Uchiha eye did not strictly require the loss of love; sufficient emotional fluctuation sufficed.
Taking it a step further in speculation, if spiritual power grew strong enough, the Sharingan might awaken naturally.
Naturally, the probability of this hypothesis remained low.
Indra, the ancestor of the Uchihas, only unlocked the Mangekyo under intense stimulation.
Therefore, spiritual energy more likely served as a prerequisite for eye-awakening rather than the condition for it.
As for why Hoshiryu Uchiha's own Mangekyo awakened naturally, the AFK System did not care about the basic laws of the Ninja World.
The verification of this hypothesis also provided Hoshiryu Uchiha with better leverage for taking control of the Uchiha Clan in the future.
Of course, now was not the time for that.
Hoshiryu Uchiha still owed an apology to Uchiha Chiri.
Watching Uchiha Chiri foolishly smiling while holding the mirror, Hoshiryu Uchiha smiled, walked up to her, and removed the mirror.
"Classmate Chiri, I am very sorry about what happened just now."
"Actually, my method of getting stronger is just like yours, with no difference at all."
"The only difference is probably that I worked a little harder."
Uchiha Chiri actually still cared a little about what happened just now.
Yet seeing Hoshiryu Uchiha apologize so sincerely, and having suffered a blessing in disguise by awakening her Sharingan, she decided not to blame him anymore.
Furthermore, although Uchiha Chiri remained young, her wisdom was far from small.
She felt that what Hoshiryu Uchiha did went beyond a mere joke.
Yet with her shallow experience, she could not figure out why, so she decided to speak with her grandfather after school.
"It's fine, but classmate Hoshiryu cannot pull a prank like that next time."
Hoshiryu Uchiha, who had somewhat underestimated Uchiha Chiri, naturally remained unaware that she possessed a move called calling for backup.
At this moment, having completely achieved his goal, he felt quite upbeat.
Subsequently, Orochimaru and Tsunade also joined the conversation; the emotions among children faded fast and came just as quickly.
Beneath Hoshiryu Uchiha's mature mindset, even Orochimaru forgot his parents' admonitions and began to view Hoshiryu Uchiha in a serious light.
Having had no friends since childhood, he already subconsciously regarded Hoshiryu Uchiha as a friend in his heart.
Before you continue