Should He Bind Her?

Nebula Kotetsu: "..."

Uzuki Yugao pressed on. "Or, to put it plainly, how about being my boyfriend?"

Nebula Kotetsu: "...No!"

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He was deliberately keeping the number of his girlfriends under control. He only wanted it to go down, not up. He needed to conserve his energy.

"Why?" Uzuki Yugao asked without backing down. "When it comes to my figure and my looks, do you really think I'm that bad?"

Nebula Kotetsu answered bluntly, "That has nothing to do with it. I don't plan on getting a girlfriend."

With that, he started to step around her and leave.

"Wait!" Seeing him turn to go, Uzuki Yugao hurried forward and grabbed one of his hands.

In an instant,

a powerful rush of stimulation and pleasure surged upward from their joined fingers!

Through his palm, elbow, shoulder... all the way to his brain!

"Hsss~"

Uzuki Yugao drew in a sharp breath.

"Hsss... Wonderful..."

"Is this what a handsome guy's hand feels like?"

The next second, he pulled his hand away.

The wonderful sensation abruptly vanished.

Uzuki Yugao came back to her senses, feeling bereft.

But soon, a fighting spirit lit up in her eyes again.

Her alluring eyes fixed on the man before her, as if she were staring at prey she was determined to claim.

"Anko was right! I can't let a man like this slip away, no matter what!"

A thought flashed through her mind. Looking at Nebula Kotetsu's displeased expression, she said,

"Kotetsu, how about we spar with swords?"

"Not interested," Nebula Kotetsu replied coldly.

It wasn't that he disliked her. He just hoped she'd take the hint and back off.

"Come on, just a spar~ I noticed you're really good at Taijutsu and close combat. We can practice together and improve together."

Nebula Kotetsu still looked indifferent.

Just as he was about to walk around her and leave, a voice suddenly rang out nearby.

"Yugao! I finally found you!"

A pale-faced boy with faint dark circles came running over, panting.

He stopped in front of Uzuki Yugao.

"Yugao, why didn't you go practice at our usual spot today? What brought you here?" As he spoke, he glanced at Nebula Kotetsu without making it obvious.

Uzuki Yugao faltered for a moment, then quickly resumed her usual expression. "Oh, it's nothing. Anko brought me here today, but she had something to do and left first."

"I'm about to leave, too."

"Really? That's perfect, then. How about we go get some dango?"

"Forget it. I'm going home."

"Kotetsu, I'm heading home. Think about what I said." As she spoke, she gave him a subtle wink where the dark-circled boy couldn't see.

Her eyes shimmered with an alluring charm.

Nebula Kotetsu was just about to refuse.

The dark-circled boy beside her suddenly said, "So you're the famous senior Kotetsu."

"I've heard so much about you at school!" He looked at Nebula Kotetsu and smiled brightly, but a flicker of barely concealed disdain and hostility passed through his eyes.

Nebula Kotetsu looked at the boy with dark circles.

Gekko Hayate.

A character who had been killed off early in his own story. He was used to the other man's looks by now, so he simply nodded without saying anything.

When he saw Nebula Kotetsu's lack of reaction, Gekko Hayate felt a little awkward. "Well, Senior Kotetsu, Yugao and I won't keep you any longer."

"Goodbye!"

"Come on, Yugao. I'll walk you home."

[Ping!~]

[Eligible binding target detected: Uzuki Yugao (widowed at a young age; save this woman's fate and fill the Shinobi World with love)]

[Bind?]

The system prompt rang out once again.

Looking at the panel that appeared before him, Nebula Kotetsu formed a big question mark in his mind.

"System, why didn't you give me a prompt just now?"

"Why are you only giving me one now?"

"Can you tell me why?"

"Is the connection lagging?"

The panel didn't answer. It simply popped up again.

[Bind?]

He sighed inwardly.

Nebula Kotetsu looked at Uzuki Yugao, who was being led away by Gekko Hayate with obvious reluctance.

The two of them probably weren't together yet. And even if they were, that wouldn't go against his principles.

Nearby, Uzuki Yugao listened listlessly as Gekko Hayate chatted about the latest happenings in their class. She was wondering when she could come back and have a proper chat with Nebula Kotetsu when his voice suddenly came from behind them.

"Wait!"

Uzuki Yugao stopped and turned around in confusion.

As she watched, Nebula Kotetsu gathered his thoughts, then spoke. "Tomorrow morning, I'll be training with my team leader."

Uzuki Yugao blinked.

When she saw Nebula Kotetsu turn and leave after saying that, she froze for a moment.

A little while later, she began to understand what he meant.

Training tomorrow morning.

So that meant... he was free in the afternoon?

But why had he been rejecting her just moments ago, only to change his mind so quickly?

Three seconds later, a vague thought flashed through Uzuki Yugao's mind. As if she'd suddenly figured something out, she glanced sharply at Gekko Hayate beside her.

When she looked back at Nebula Kotetsu, her gaze was full of suspicion.

"Yugao, what did he just say?"

"What did he mean by training tomorrow morning?" Gekko Hayate asked, puzzled as Uzuki Yugao stood frozen in place.

"Nothing." Uzuki Yugao shook her head. "We were just discussing whether we'd be busy after graduation."

"Really?" Gekko Hayate asked, confused.

Why did that not quite make sense?

While he was still puzzling over it, Uzuki Yugao had already started walking home. He quickly put the thought aside and hurried after her.

"Yugao, wait for me..."

[Bound target: Uzuki Yugao (instance—Gekko Hayate)]

[Current quest: Friendly Senior (How could you cruelly refuse a junior asking for guidance? Accept her request to spar, and spar until she's satisfied.)]

[Quest time limit: 10 days.]

[Quest reward (choose one): Gale Great Sword Technique Lv. 1, Assault Dagger Technique Lv. 1, Konoha Style Swordsmanship Lv. 1.]

At home, Nebula Kotetsu wore an apron and prepared dinner as he pondered the information on the panel.

Since the system activated, he had bound several people one after another, and each person had come with an instance.

But even now, he still hadn't figured out what the instances were for. He'd asked the system, but it never answered.

However, from Kurenai Yuhi to Asuma Sarutobi, Fugaku Uchiha, and now Gekko Hayate,

he had a vague, inexplicable feeling.

System, something's wrong with you.

Very wrong!

At one point, Nebula Kotetsu even wanted to confront the system and demand an explanation.

Are you really a legitimate system?

But after thinking it over, he abandoned the idea.

There was no point.

Whether the system had a problem or not, he had no choice.

The Uchiha clan's massacre, the Nine-Tails' rampage, Orochimaru visiting his teacher, Pain buying rice...

And the Otsutsuki who would come in the future.

Without the system, what could he do?

Train diligently like he had in his previous life, only to accomplish nothing in the end? Or settle down with a woman, never knowing whether she was human or something else?