"Hey, everyone! Long time no see!"
Mo Chen jumped down from the Earth-Flow Wall with Tsubaki and greeted everyone in turn.
Kiba was still unconscious from his severe injuries, but Ino and Choji had both woken up.
"Mo Chen? What a surprise. You really did join Anbu!" Shikamaru high-fived Mo Chen. "But thanks for earlier. You showed up just in time!"
"Mo Chen, you've gotten so strong!" Choji high-fived him too, then opened a bag of chips and offered him one. "Want a chip? It's a thank-you gift!"
"Thanks!" Mo Chen smiled and popped it into his mouth without hesitation.
He knew that when Choji offered him food, it meant Choji genuinely accepted him.
Shino stood there with his hands in his pockets, looking cool as ever, seemingly waiting for something.
"Um..." Mo Chen scratched his head.
"My name is Shino!" Shino said, his tone tinged with dissatisfaction, as if he were suppressing some kind of emotion.
"Ah, I know!" Mo Chen quickly assured him he hadn't forgotten. After hesitating for a long moment, he finally waved a hand and said, "You don't need to thank me. We're all comrades."
It wasn't that he didn't want to say something to get closer to Shino. Before he'd transmigrated, he'd only found it funny watching the anime on a screen. But standing right in front of Shino, he finally understood what it meant to have nothing to say. The awkwardness was palpable.
"Hey, Mo Chen!"
Thankfully, Ino helped him out of the awkward situation. She threw herself onto his back, wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, and hung off him.
"You came all this way just to save me, didn't you? You definitely did! I'm so happy and touched!" Ino hugged Mo Chen tightly, pressing her cheek against his and