With You Here, Everything Tastes Good.

Do not over-mythologize Sasuke Uchiha!

A Jonin is already the pinnacle of combat power in any village. Whether it is practical combat experience, the application of ninjutsu, or chakra control, they have all been honed through countless life-and-death struggles.

Even for a gifted genius, crushing a Jonin completely is no easy feat unless one possesses abilities on the level of the Sharingan, Cursed Seal, or Super Strength, or is a talent like Minato Namikaze who can successfully master the Flying Thunder God.

Bai Lin carefully reviewed the details of this battle and found it difficult to come up with a better optimization plan.

First and foremost, his chakra reserves were a core issue. Even though his chakra volume far exceeded that of an average Jonin, he was, after all, facing an entire unit of Amegakure ninja.

With the enemy coordinating against him, it was difficult to achieve a quick victory.

He used the majority of his chakra to maintain his Lightning Release chakra to boost his base speed, while in terms of offense, he relied on taijutsu, the Kusanagi Sword, Chidori Blade, and Chidori Sharp Spear—methods with immense lethality—to slay his foes.

He never once used conventional ninjutsu like Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, Shadow Clones, or Summoning Technique, as they were pure wastes of chakra; let alone the Lightning Release: Kirin, a massive drain that he would never use unless absolutely forced to.

The Cursed Seal state was not exactly easy to use either. Aside from being ugly, it granted powerful strength when activated, but the longer it was used, the greater the damage it inflicted upon the user.

It was not suitable for prolonged combat, making it best suited for bullying the weak or one-on-one duels.

"All in all, most of my strength is restricted by my chakra volume." Bai Lin lay back with his hands behind his head, his fingertips sliding over the consumption amount on the

System Panel

, a glimmer of anticipation flashing in his eyes.

"If I can draw the Kisame Hoshigaki template in the next lottery, my chakra volume will soar directly to Tailed Beast level. At the very least, I won't have to be so stingy with my mana."

He opened the

System Lottery

and looked at the 100 million ryo total required for the "Kage-level Ten-pull," a smile curling at the corners of his mouth: "I've already gathered 6.8 million ryo, with 93.2 million left to go.

Once the troubles of the Second Shinobi World War are over, perhaps I'll be able to scrape together enough for a Beyond-Kage-level Ten-pull.

I just don't know which ninja template the Beyond-Kage-level draw will yield—if I could draw Senju Hashirama or Madara, who in the ninja world could stop me?"

Just as Bai Lin was letting his imagination run wild, Uchiha Mikoto noticed he had regained consciousness and threw herself into his arms, wrapping her hands tightly around his waist and pressing her cheek against his chest.

Uchiha Mikoto's voice was choked with lingering fear: "You're finally awake! You scared me to death. You are not allowed to risk your life like that again!"

The warm sensation coming from his embrace, carrying Mikoto's unique scent, caused Bai Lin's body to stiffen before he relaxed. He raised a hand to gently pat her back, his arrogant eyes softening slightly: "Don't worry, I'm not that easy to kill."

"Before us, there are no enemies."

He paused, his tone returning to its habitual arrogance, "I will surely stand above the millions, and the entire ninja world will hear my name!"

Mikoto looked up, her eyes slightly red, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan swirling in her pupils with a hint of stubbornness, "We are lovers, and we are also teammates—people who can entrust their backs to one another. You cannot carry all the risks by yourself.

Next time you encounter a situation like this, remember to call for me and Nawaki. We will face it together."

Seeing this, Nawaki chimed in from the side: "That's right, Bai Lin! Mikoto is right! We are a three-man squad now; we should shoulder dangers together. Don't always go rushing in alone."

"If we hadn't followed your orders to stay nearby and come to your aid the moment we saw lightning, who knows what would have happened..."

Bai Lin had previously used the Summoning Technique to send a message to Uchiha Mikoto and Nawaki, telling them to provide support the moment they saw lightning, which was why they had appeared so promptly.

"Nawaki, did you forget what I told you?"

Bai Lin squinted, eyeing Nawaki dangerously, his tone calm and seemingly devoid of threat.

The smile on Nawaki's face stiffened, and he subconsciously straightened his back, sensing danger.

"Forget what?"

"I am your brother-in-law. Outside of missions, you are not to address me by my name!"

The smile on Nawaki's face froze completely, but he immediately retorted: "So what if you're strong and handsome?"

"You're so young; my sister would never take a fancy to you."

"Besides, you already have Mikoto. Don't think I can't see the relationship between you two."

Bai Lin had not hidden his relationship with Mikoto these past few days. During the time Bai Lin was unconscious, Mikoto had stayed by his side almost every moment, and the worry in her eyes was plain for all to see.

Uchiha Mikoto's face flushed red, and she glared fiercely at Nawaki.

"Mikoto, it's not convenient for me to move right now. Go and beat this disrespectful brat up. Remember to aim for his face."

"I don't want to see him come back with that face intact," Bai Lin said, squinting with a smile.

"Bastard! Don't hit the face! Don't go too far, Bai Lin!" Nawaki clenched his fists, his face turning bright red.

As the future Hokage (in his own mind), he was dragged into high-intensity training by Bai Lin every day. There was never a moment he wasn't in pain, and being bruised and battered was a daily occurrence. He had never suffered such indignity before.

He felt aggrieved inwardly: If I couldn't beat Bai Lin, I would have already pinned him to the ground and rubbed his face in the dirt! Brother-in-law? Wanting to woo my sister? Dream on!

Nawaki swore he would become stronger and beat the brat who called himself his brother-in-law to a pulp.

Wooing Tsunade was not simple; it still required a great deal of preparation.

It would be best to spread the word through Nawaki so that everyone in Konoha knew about it.

By then, he could influence Tsunade silently and invisibly; that would be the time to truly make his move.

Romance was all about strategy, regardless of strength.

He, Bai Lin, was handsome, powerful, and the founder of the Will of Phosphorus. If a woman still required him to use force after he became powerful, wouldn't that be beneath him?

Once Nawaki returned, bruised and battered, Bai Lin took out a fair amount of food from the

System Space

.

He had stockpiled plenty of food in his

System Space

before leaving the village. Time within the space remained frozen; whatever was put in remained exactly as it was when taken out.

These past few days, Bai Lin and the others had been eating proper food. With such conditions, who would want to eat flavorless Military Ration Pill?

"Here, pad your stomach; we have to hit the road tomorrow." Bai Lin tossed a roasted chicken and a bottle of water to Nawaki, his tone indifferent, as if he weren't the one who had just threatened to "smash his face in."

Nawaki caught the food, his stomach growling instantly.

Between the high-intensity "training" and the earlier "outrage," he was already starving to the point of collapse.

He glared at Bai Lin, yet he didn't stand on ceremony, tearing into the food with large bites.

Uchiha Mikoto sat to the side, watching the two of them "bickering like lovers," and couldn't help but smile as she picked up a rice ball and began to eat in small bites.

She picked up a fried shrimp and gently held it to Bai Lin's lips. "If I had known Lin possessed such a convenient ability, I should have prepared some of your favorite foods before we left."

Bai Lin opened his mouth to take a bite, then wrapped his arm around Uchiha Mikoto's waist and laughed. "Everything was too rushed; there wasn't time to prepare."

"Besides, we won't be able to return to Konoha for a long time, so there's no need for you to go out of your way, Mikoto." Bai Lin bit into the shrimp, savoring the fresh, savory flavor, and looked down at the woman in his arms, his unruly eyes filled with tenderness. "As long as you're here, anything I eat is fine."

Uchiha Mikoto's cheeks flushed a light red, and she gave him a playful tap, yet she leaned obediently against his shoulder and picked up a pastry to savor slowly.