He's Playing You Like a CPU!

Splash!

Water sprayed everywhere.

The casually thrown pebble skipped across the river in a long series of ripples, flying from one bank to the other before striking a tree trunk head-on.

"Mizu?"

Uchiha Yayoi seemed to notice something slightly off about the young man beside her and turned to look in his direction.

Then she saw Sahara Mizu casually pat his hands together and smile easily.

"It's nothing."

"I just suddenly felt like letting off some steam."

"Sorry. Was waiting boring?"

"Mhm."

Uchiha Yayoi shook her head, her hands clasped behind her back as the high ponytail behind her head swayed slightly with the motion.

She merely quietly watched his profile.

Although they had known each other for a long time, Uchiha Yayoi realized that she had rarely had the chance to be alone with Sahara Mizu since their days at the ninja academy.

And she did not know as much about him as she had imagined.

Thinking that, the girl stepped forward and followed alongside him, jokingly saying:

"I really didn't expect it. The even-tempered Lord Mizu's first time getting so angry was actually in front of the Hokage."

"To be honest, I was so scared my jaw nearly dropped."

"I was the one whose legs went weak from fear." Sahara Mizu chuckled self-deprecatingly, completely unconcerned. "At first, I was only standing up for the child of a former neighbor. By the time I realized what I was doing, I'd already said everything."

"That makes sense, considering your past."

Uchiha Yayoi turned to look at him, as if recalling their time at the ninja academy. "Back then, when I saw that your lunch was plum rice balls every day, I knew something was wrong. I just didn't expect things to be that difficult."

"It was even harder than you imagined."

"My old clothes and shoes were donated by the neighborhood. I used cheap soapberry powder to wash clothes. Occasionally, I bought vegetables for dinner, while meat was something I only ate during the New Year." Sahara Mizu counted on his fingers, recounting the circumstances of those days in detail.

"And that was considered pretty good, since every day had to be carefully budgeted."

"Luckily, I managed to hold on until graduation."

Uchiha Yayoi's lips pressed together as she walked slowly.

Just hearing him describe his childhood, she could imagine how difficult that life must have been for a child carrying such a burden.

"No wonder."

"You've always been strong, Mizu."

"Have I?" Sahara Mizu seemed somewhat surprised.

"Of course. I've always paid attention to you." Uchiha Yayoi spoke with a touch of pride. "When we were in the ninja academy, you secretly went to train at the Sambongi River training grounds every day after school, right? When you came to class the next day, even the bandages on your hands had torn."

"And when we first graduated and formed a team, during our first fight against other ninja, weren't you the first one to react?"

The girl knew his affairs just as well. "I was so scared I nearly cried then. The moment we clashed, Teacher Megure, who was leading us, got a huge gash cut into his shoulder."

"If Mizu hadn't rushed in front of me, I really thought I was going to die."

"And after every mission, I never saw you spend recklessly. You only ever cared a great deal about ninja tools."

Sahara Mizu listened quietly.

The young man and woman strolled slowly beneath the faint morning light of dawn.

In the corner of Sahara Mizu's vision, the pale white halo above the girl's head became clearer and clearer.

"Sahara's Book of Friends"

"Uchiha Yayoi's Heart Knot"

"I want Mizu to understand my feelings better."

This was the second Shallow Heart Knot Sahara Mizu had encountered.

The affection of youth, a girl's feelings.

It was actually easy enough to understand. Even during their days at the ninja academy, Sahara Mizu had turned down two or three girls.

Being good-looking was, after all, quite an advantage.

But that was not what Sahara Mizu cared about now.

His Limitless Technique had already reached the "second stage." To advance further, he needed to spend at least two Heart Points.

Yet so far, only Yukie and Yayoi had appeared in Sahara Mizu's field of vision as people with "Heart Knots."

During the time he had been luring Ash Soil and the others into taking the bait, he had been thinking about how to dig out more Heart Points from them.

Only in the end did he notice the word "Shallow" in "Shallow Heart Knot."

Since there were shallow Heart Knots, there were presumably qualifiers like mid-level, deep-level, and ultra-deep-level ones as well, right?

Then how to turn a shallow one into a Mid-Level Heart Knot became something Sahara Mizu had to consider.

Just like Miss Yayoi's wish.

"Understand a girl's feelings."

For an entire relationship, that was only the beginning.

But how could he make Miss Yayoi develop an even stronger wish after the stage of "understanding her feelings"?

A more advanced Heart Knot?

Suddenly, Sahara Mizu seemed to think of something and casually spoke:

"Yayoi."

"You've always cared a lot about me."

"..."

Uchiha Yayoi's words abruptly stopped.

Only then did she realize that she might have revealed a little too much today.

"Ah, sorry!"

The girl turned her face slightly aside and tucked the hair at her temples behind her ear, accidentally revealing ears flushed white and red. Her formerly smooth tone suddenly became unnatural.

Her usually cool voice sounded slightly hoarse as it emerged from her dry throat, but she still seemed to be trying hard to explain something.

"Actually, what I meant was—"

However, Sahara Mizu's voice suddenly sounded very close to her, interrupting her explanation.

Even his warm breath lightly brushed against the girl's increasingly burning ear.

"I know all of Yayoi's feelings."

Almost the instant those words sounded, after her brain wildly translated them, Uchiha Yayoi's footsteps suddenly halted.

She did not dare raise her head to look into Sahara Mizu's eyes. She only lowered her head, looking at his shoes and the toes exposed beneath his ninja sandals.

Without realizing it, her heartbeat grew faster and faster, while her mind became completely blank.

The impulses continuously bursting forth from the bottom of her heart made her almost instinctively want to pour out all her immature feelings.

But before she could speak, she heard an extremely sharp and abrupt word of transition.

"But."

Just that one word made Uchiha Yayoi's entire body stiffen.

The body temperature that had been rising rapidly a second ago, turning her cheeks and earlobes bright red, plummeted as though ice had been applied to them. The permanent silence after that brief transition word made Uchiha Yayoi's rapidly beating heart involuntarily miss half a beat.

Then it slowed, slowed.

Until everything turned cold.

Chaotic thoughts instantly flooded her mind, leaving her unable to make a sound.

What did that mean?

Was he, was he rejecting her?

Was her first romance, one that had not even begun yet, going to end like this?

He was clearly the first boy she had liked, the first person she had wanted to confess to. Two happy things had come together, and those two joys had brought her even more joy. What she should have received was time as happy as a dream... But why had it become like this?

Uchiha Yayoi's Sharingan spun rapidly. Faintly, it was even possible to see the third tomoe flickering into view.

Gloomy chakra seemed ready to overflow from the girl's body.

Until—

Sahara Mizu suddenly took her hand.

Uchiha Yayoi could not help but freeze, slowly raising her head to meet those curved azure eyes.

Mizu's voice was clear and bright.

"I'm very happy."

Thump!

At that moment, her heart began beating again, and sunlight gained warmth.

The black-and-white world before Miss Yayoi's eyes abruptly turned into a brilliantly colorful scene, and everything became clear.

Her previous gloomy emotions were completely dispelled in an instant.

—Poor Miss Yayoi, being played in the palm of that damn scumbag's hand.

Still, the girl retained some rationality.

Had he actually agreed or not?

That question instinctively came to her mind.

"Mizu?"

The girl seemed to want to ask something else.

But Sahara Mizu glanced toward the courtyard not far ahead. A lonely little figure stood at the entrance, staring fixedly in their direction.

The young man seemed to sigh helplessly, then smiled as gently as usual. "Sorry, let's talk about the rest tomorrow."

"It looks like Yukie didn't sleep all night."

"Oh, right. If you have time tomorrow evening, do you want to go eat barbecue? My treat."

Her abruptly interrupted question was immediately bitten off in her mouth.

But Sahara Mizu's sudden change of subject rekindled hope in the girl's heart.

Uchiha Yayoi first glanced toward Sahara Yukie, then immediately nodded hard.

"I'll go!"

Seeing her looking both a little happy and a little sulky, Sahara Mizu said with amusement:

"Then see you tomorrow?"

Facing Sahara Mizu's gentle smile, Uchiha Yayoi felt that something was strange, but she still put on a soft smile and waved to him.

Yet as the girl watched Sahara Mizu's retreating back, her feelings became inexplicably complicated.

Something felt wrong.

That situation just now should have counted as a confession, right?

And if his answer was "I'm very happy"...

Then he had agreed, right?

But why did it still feel so strange?

At the same time.

Sahara Mizu turned around, and the expression on his face had already become calm.

On the panel before his eyes—

"Uchiha Yayoi's Shallow Heart Knot (Completed)"

"Heart Points +1"

"Sahara's Book of Friends: Character 'Uchiha Yayoi' Added"

"Bond Level Increased ↑"

"Uchiha Yayoi Bond Level: Three → Four"

However, aside from those standard Heart Knot completion notifications, a brand-new blue prompt had appeared at the bottom of the panel.

"Mid-Level Heart Knot (Not Unlocked)"

The instant he saw that prompt, Sahara Mizu's heart shook.

Sure enough! You had to keep pulling back and forth.

As for dating?

Why date when you were working undercover? Just watch him manipulate her.

At this moment, Mr. Sahara had no idea what kind of bitter consequences awaited him in the future.