A Special Gift for Sasuke

When Chiye Jun opened it, he found a heart-shaped bento.

A sausage lay atop the soft rice.

A cute little mushroom sat at the top.

And a soft-boiled egg rested on each side at the bottom.

Such an adorable design!

He happily dug in, finding every bite sweeter than the last.

After the meal, Chiye Jun pulled a sunflower hair clip from his inventory. (What an awesome inventory—it's got everything...)

He then found Hinata, gently took her hand, and said, "Hinata, thank you. It was delicious. Here, a little flower for you."

Then he clipped it into her hair.

Hinata felt as though she'd been struck by lightning!

It was the first time a boy had held her hand.

After pulling free, she covered her face and ran away.

She ultimately fainted in the girls' restroom...

Sakura and Ino witnessed the whole scene.

Sakura couldn't help thinking, If only Sasuke would treat me like that...

Ino didn't find Chiye Jun all that annoying. She even felt that he had Naruto's sunny enthusiasm as well as Sasuke's maturity and steadiness.

More importantly!

He was pretty handsome, too.

He radiated a masculine charm far beyond his age.

"Sakura, maybe I'll give Sasuke to you someday!"

Ino laughed heartily.

Sakura looked utterly confused...

By evening, the final bell finally rang.

Almost in a flash, several figures dashed out of the classroom, with Naruto in the lead.

"See you! Let's catch loaches together tomorrow!"

What the hell did he mean, catch loaches?

The next day was Sasuke's birthday.

Chiye Jun planned to give him a special gift:

Awaken the two-tomoe Sharingan in his right eye!

The Sharingan was a special ocular technique unique to the Uchiha clan, but it required certain conditions to awaken. The more tomoe it had, the stronger its abilities became.

Although Sasuke would awaken the two-tomoe Sharingan in his right eye during his battle against Haku three months later, helping him awaken it early on his birthday would be the best possible birthday gift.

More importantly, it could deepen their friendship and complete the mission.

And Chiye Jun silently prayed:

Since I helped Sasuke awaken his Sharingan, may the reward I receive also be a Sharingan...

After school, Chiye Jun invited Sasuke to the Konoha Training Ground.

Sasuke had been wanting to ask him for guidance anyway, so he readily agreed.

Along the way, Chiye Jun pondered, Only under special circumstances can stimulation unleash extraordinary strength—anger, fear, hatred... just like the night of the clan massacre, when the one-tomoe Sharingan awakened...

He quickly figured out how to provoke him...

Once they arrived at the training ground, the two took their stances and began sparring.

Even though Sasuke gave it his all, he was still no match for Chiye Jun.

Twenty minutes passed...

Sasuke hadn't won a single round.

Yet he wasn't discouraged in the slightest. He stubbornly climbed back to his feet and continued fighting.

This time, Chiye Jun was even harsher. He wanted to draw out the bloody spirit buried in Sasuke's bones.

"Heh, aren't you the academy's top student? Aren't you Konoha Village's genius? Oh, right—you're also some kind of handsome genius. So why do your moves look like a girl dancing?"

Chiye Jun mocked him.

Sasuke remained completely unmoved and charged forward again.

Chiye Jun punched him in the chest and sent him flying.

"Sasuke, is this all you've got?" Chiye Jun continued pulling aggro with his powerful verbal attacks.

After being taunted again and again, Sasuke finally snapped. "Damn it!"

He once again unleashed one hundred percent of his strength.

"Come on! Use Fireball Jutsu, shuriken, kunai—everything! You're still trash!"

Taunt +1

By now, Sasuke's stamina was nearly exhausted. He crouched on the ground, panting heavily.

"What a weakling. You're not even as good as Sakura and Ino!"

Taunt +10

"Heh, is this really the measure of your capacity?"

When the clan had been massacred, Itachi had said that he killed the entire clan just to test the measure of his own capacity...

The moment Sasuke heard the word "capacity," a scene from before the bloodshed suddenly flashed through his mind. With an enraged roar, he charged at Chiye Jun.

Taunt +50

After holding on for another five minutes.

Chiye Jun easily evaded Sasuke's attacks again and again before finally driving a brutal kick into his knee.

Sasuke crashed to the ground.

Chiye Jun walked over and looked down at him.

After hesitating inwardly for a moment, he gritted his teeth and stepped on Sasuke's head.

Then, in the most cocky tone possible, he said disdainfully:

"Every cause has its effect, and I'm your retribution. Remember to double-tap, mwah..."

Ahem, wrong script. Han Meijuan had brainwashed him...

"Is this the strength of the Uchiha clan? Even an Uchiha descendant is still being trampled beneath my foot!"

Taunt +100!

This was Chiye Jun's final move.

If Sasuke still didn't explode in fury, there was nothing more he could do...

At that moment, Sasuke...

His reason was finally swallowed by rage!

Using the last shred of his strength, he pressed both hands to the ground and slowly staggered to his feet.

Veins bulged across his forehead. His fists clenched tight, and his teeth ground together with a crackling sound.

Chiye Jun stared fixedly into his eyes, longing for a miracle!

"Do! Not! Insult! The! Uchiha!"

Sasuke growled, one word at a time.

He suddenly raised his head.

Then slowly opened his eyes.

He stared coldly at Chiye Jun, exuding a chillingly intimidating aura.

A flash of red light appeared.

Two black tomoe in his right eye, one black tomoe in his left!

"It awakened! The two-tomoe Sharingan finally awakened!"

Looking at those scarlet Sharingan eyes, red as blood, Chiye Jun was even more excited than Sasuke!

"As expected of Indra's cheat-body. This Sharingan really awakens whenever it wants..."

Empowered by the Sharingan, and with his reason short-circuited, Sasuke erupted.

Chiye Jun dodged while shouting, "STOP! Sasuke! Your Sharingan awakened!"

But Sasuke seemed unable to hear him and continued his outburst.

Chiye Jun kept dodging, even feeling as though he was being completely suppressed.

He couldn't help marveling at the Sharingan's power.

"The Naruto world has three great illnesses. I've already got bone spurs—when will I be rewarded with pinkeye and cataracts too..."

A few minutes later.

Sasuke finally collapsed to the ground from exhaustion.

He panted heavily as his reason gradually returned.

"I didn't mean what I said about you earlier..."

Chiye Jun sat beside him and explained for ten minutes.

Once Sasuke understood his intentions, he finally said flatly:

"Thank you."

Although Chiye Jun had stepped on his head and insulted his clan, his Sharingan had awakened its second tomoe!

Besides, Chiye Jun had meant well.

The moon shone bright amid sparse stars.

Their stomachs began growling as well.

"Come to my place. Tonight, I'll make you so happy you won't be able to close your... ahem, mouth."

Sasuke glanced at him.

Something's off about you...

After what happened at the training ground today, Sasuke not only didn't blame him, but instead developed a strange sense of trust in him.

So, for the first time ever, he nodded and agreed.

It was his first time visiting a classmate's home...

After they arrived, Chiye Jun began preparing dinner.

"Game console, karaoke, treadmill, and anime. Make yourself at home."

Chiye Jun had hidden everything related to Naruto in advance ≥Ö‿Ö≤

Sasuke wasn't interested in the game console. He turned on the anime and watched Attack on Titan with great interest.

Not until the fragrant dishes were laid out on the table.

The sight before him left Sasuke utterly dumbfounded...

Meat floss rice balls, kudzu dumplings, blueberry egg tarts, tomato pizza, sushi, black pepper steak, curry rice, pork miso char siu ramen, grilled fish, red bean soup...

After taking a bite of a rice ball, Sasuke looked up in astonishment. "You... made all of this?"

Chiye Jun smiled and nodded. "What else? There isn't any delivery around here..."

After staring blankly for a moment, Sasuke finally abandoned all concern for his image and began wolfing it down.

"Haha, this master chef skill really is awesome!"

But hadn't our friendship been established already?

Why was the reward taking so long to appear?

Could it be that I still needed to use my trump card...