He's CPUing You!

"Splash!"

Water sprayed everywhere.

The casually tossed pebble skipped across the river's surface in a long chain of ripples, flying from one bank all the way to the other before smacking straight into a tree trunk.

"Mizu?"

Uchiha Yayoi seemed to sense a slight shift in the young man beside her, turning her head to look in his direction.

Then she saw Sahara Mizu pat his palms together as if nothing had happened, smiling easily.

"It's nothing."

"Just felt like letting off some steam."

"Sorry, getting bored waiting?"

"Mmm."

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

She simply watched his profile in silence.

Though they had known each other for a long time, Yayoi realized that ever since their academy days, she'd rarely had the chance to be alone with Sahara Mizu.

And that her understanding of him wasn't as deep as she'd thought.

The girl mused to herself, stepping forward to walk alongside the young man, speaking in a teasing tone: "I never would've guessed. The easygoing Lord Mizu, losing his temper for the first time like that, right in front of the Hokage."

"Honestly, my jaw nearly dropped."

"I was the one whose legs went weak." Sahara Mizu let out a self-deprecating chuckle, completely unbothered. "At first, I was just speaking up for my old neighbor's kid. By the time I realized what I was doing, I'd already said everything I needed to."

"Yeah, with a past like that, it makes sense."

Uchiha Yayoi turned to look at him, as if recalling their academy days: "Back then, when I saw that your lunch was always a plum rice ball, I felt something was off. I never imagined things were that hard."

"Harder than you think, Yayoi."

"Old clothes and shoes came from street donations. Laundry was done with cheap soap powder. Occasionally I'd buy some vegetables for dinner, and meat was saved for New Year's." Sahara Mizu counted on his fingers, rattling off the details of those days like a well-worn list.

"That's still pretty decent, considering I was pinching every penny."

"Anyway, I made it to graduation."

Uchiha Yayoi pressed her lips together, walking slowly.

Just hearing him describe his childhood circumstances, she could imagine how tough that life must have been for a kid saddled with a burden.

"No wonder."

"You've always been strong, Mizu."

"Have I?" Sahara Mizu seemed a little surprised.

"Of course. I've always been paying attention to you." Uchiha Yayoi said with a hint of pride. "Back in the academy, you'd sneak off to the training grounds by the Sambongi River every day after school, right? The next day in class, the bandages on your hands would already be torn."

"And when we first graduated and formed a team, when we fought other ninja for the first time, you were the first to react, weren't you?"

The girl rattled off his details just as easily: "Back then, I was so scared I almost cried. The moment we engaged, Megure-sensei's shoulder got a gash that big."

"If you hadn't rushed in front of me, I really thought I was done for."

"And after every mission, I never saw you waste money. Only on ninja tools did you really care..."

Sahara Mizu listened quietly.

This young man and woman strolled leisurely under the dawning sky, the first light of morning spreading around them.

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

"Sahara's Book of Friends"

"Uchiha Yayoi's Heart Knot"

"I want Mizu to understand my feelings more."

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

Youthful affection, a maiden's heart.

It was easy enough to understand. Even back in the academy, two or three girls had confessed to him and been turned away.

Being good-looking had its advantages.

But that wasn't what Sahara Mizu was focused on now.

At present, his "Limitless Technique" had reached the "Second Stage." To advance further, he needed at least two Heart Points.

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

During the time he'd been baiting Ash Soil and the others, he'd been thinking about how to squeeze as many Heart Points as possible from them.

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

Since there were shallow knots, there must be middle, deep, and ultra-deep ones too, right?

So, how to turn the shallow into the deep became a problem Sahara Mizu had to consider.

Just like Miss Yayoi's wish.

"Understanding a maiden's heart."

For an entire relationship, this was merely a beginning.

But how could he make Miss Yayoi develop a stronger desire after the "understanding the heart" stage?

A deeper knot in her heart?

Suddenly, as if struck by an idea, Sahara Mizu spoke as though casually:

"Yayoi."

"You've been concerned about me for a long time, haven't you."

"."

Uchiha Yayoi's words came to an abrupt halt.

Only at this moment did she realize she had confessed a bit too much today.

"Ah, sorry!"

The girl slightly turned her face, smoothing the long hair at her temples behind her ear, inadvertently revealing ears flushed with a pinkish white, and her originally smooth tone suddenly became unnatural.

Her usually cool voice, forced from a dry throat, came out slightly hoarse, yet she still seemed to be trying hard to explain something:

"Actually, what I meant was—"

However, Sahara Mizu's voice suddenly rang out from extremely close, cutting off her explanation.

Even his warm breath sprayed finely onto the girl's ever-burning earlobe.

"Yayoi's feelings, I know them all."

Almost the moment the sound rang out, after a jumbled translation by her brain, Uchiha Yayoi's steps froze.

She dared not lift her head to look into Sahara Mizu's eyes, only lowering her gaze to his shoes and the toes peeking out from his ninja sandals.

Unconsciously, her heartbeat grew faster and faster, while her mind went completely blank.

The impulses surging from the depths of her heart made her almost instinctively want to pour out all her budding feelings.

But just as she was about to speak, she heard a sharp and abrupt turning word.

"But."

Just that single word made Uchiha Yayoi's body go completely rigid.

The girl's temperature, which had been rising just a second ago, turning her cheeks and earlobes a flushed red, now cooled rapidly as if ice had been applied. The prolonged silence after that short turning word, like being turned to stone, made Uchiha Yayoi's originally racing heart skip half a beat involuntarily.

Then it slowed, slowed.

Until it was ice-cold.

Chaotic thoughts instantly flooded her entire mind, rendering her speechless.

What does this mean?

Re, rejection?

Was her first romance, which hadn't even started, going to end like this?

Clearly, he was the first boy she ever liked, the first person she wanted to confess to—two happy things overlapping. And those two joys brought her even more happiness. What she should have gotten was a time as blissful as a dream... but why did it turn out like this?

Uchiha Yayoi's Sharingan spun rapidly, faintly, even a third tomoe seemed to flicker in and out of sight.

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

Until.

Sahara Mizu suddenly grasped her hand.

Uchiha Yayoi was startled, slowly lifting 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 to beat, and the sunlight had warmth.

Miss Yayoi's black-and-white world suddenly turned into a bright, colorful array, everything becoming clear.

The gloomy emotions from before were also shattered in an instant.

—Poor Miss Yayoi, toyed with in the palm of that damn scumbag.

However, the girl still retained some rationality.

Did he agree or not?

She subconsciously thought of this question.

"Mizu?"

The girl seemed to want to continue asking something.

But Sahara Mizu glanced toward the courtyard not far ahead, where a lone, petite figure stood at the entrance, staring fixedly in their direction.

The boy let out what seemed like a helpless sigh, then smiled as gently as ever. "Sorry, let's save the rest for tomorrow."

"That child, Yukie, looks like she hasn't slept all night."

"Oh, and if you have time tomorrow evening, want to go eat grilled meat? My treat."

The abruptly interrupted question was bitten off mid-sentence.

But Sahara Mizu's sudden shift in topic rekindled hope in the girl's heart.

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

"I'll go!"

Seeing her look both a little happy and a little puffed up, Sahara Mizu found it amusing. "See you tomorrow, then?"

Meeting Sahara Mizu's gentle smile, Uchiha Yayoi, though feeling a bit strange, still put on a soft smile and waved at him.

Yet, as she watched Sahara Mizu's gradually receding back, her mood was inexplicably complicated.

Something felt off somehow.

That situation just now—should it count as a confession?

And if the answer was 'very happy'—

That should mean he agreed, right?

But why did it feel so strange?

Meanwhile.

Sahara Mizu turned around, his expression already settling into calm.

On the panel before him:

Uchiha Yayoi's Shallow Heart Knot (Completed)
Heart Points +1
Sahara's Book of Friends: Character 'Uchiha Yayoi' Registered
Bond Level Up ↑
Uchiha Yayoi Bond Level: Three → Four

But besides this routine heart knot completion notification, at the very bottom of the panel, a new blue prompt had appeared.

Mid-Level Heart Knot (Unlocked)

The moment he saw this prompt, Sahara Mizu's heart jolted.

As expected—it's all about the push and pull.

As for romance?

Who talks about love when you're playing the undercover game? Just CPU her and be done with it.

At this moment, Mr. Sahara had absolutely no idea what dire consequences his future self would face.