With Teacher Sato Ichiro's announcement that class was over, the morning lessons ended.
The students scattered, leaving only Kushina Uzumaki and Uchiha Lei in the back row.
Kushina Uzumaki, who had been lying across her desk, braced her right arm against it and sat up. Feeling the heat of the hand holding her left hand, two faint blushes appeared on her fair cheeks.
Feeling discomfort in her body, she pulled her hand out of Uchiha Lei's, turned to glance at him, and left him with three sentences before leaving:
"Lei, I'm going to the bathroom to pee! Then I'm going out to eat... see you this afternoon."
Watching Kushina Uzumaki walk away, Uchiha Lei raised his right hand, waved, and called back:
"See you this afternoon, Kushina."
Having run to the classroom doorway, Kushina Uzumaki heard Lei's reply. She held both hands tightly over her lower abdomen, turned around, and gave a slight nod before quickly leaving the classroom.
Seeing how cute Kushina Uzumaki was, the corners of Uchiha Lei's mouth lifted into a smile on his otherwise calm face.
[Ding, the host has held hands with story character Kushina Uzumaki for 2 hours. Basic Uzumaki sage body progress: 2%. Gained 1 ka of chakra.]
System, 2% only gives me 1 ka of chakra, so a complete basic Uzumaki sage body would give me 50 ka of chakra?
The same as my basic Senju sage body?
[Yes, host. The Uzumaki/Senju sage bodies belong to the bloodline descendants of the Asura sage body, which split in two. A basic Uzumaki/Senju sage body provides 50 ka of chakra, an intermediate Uzumaki/Senju sage body provides 100 ka of chakra, and an Uzumaki/Senju sage body provides 200 ka of chakra.]
Then, system, how much chakra do the Asura sage body and sage of six paths body provide?
[The Asura sage body provides 400 ka of chakra, and the sage of six paths body provides 1,000 ka of chakra, respectively twice and five times that of the Uzumaki/Senju sage body.]
Understood. Looks like I'll have to take this one step at a time!
While making contact with Kushina and Mikoto...
I'll make contact with people who have a Senju sage body to complete my own constitution.
Right, Nawaki hasn't died yet at this point. If I get the chance, I can plunder his!
In the long run, the main thing is still to plunder Tsunade's sage body.
A smack rang out.
Someone patted his shoulder. Uchiha Lei came back to his senses and turned to look. Only when he saw that it was his childhood friend, Uchiha Mikoto, did he relax.
Uchiha Mikoto was one grade above Uchiha Lei and also one year older, at eight years old. She was now a third-year upperclassman.
Two locks of Mikoto's beautiful black hair parted to either side of the widow's peak above her forehead and swayed gently. Her hair hung below her shoulders behind her, and slender, willow-leaf eyebrows set off her lovely black, peach-blossom eyes.
Her nose turned up slightly, small and delicate, and her pearly white teeth set off her soft red lips. Her skin was fair with a rosy tint, and her face had a little baby fat, lending a touch of cuteness to her beauty.
Her top matched Uchiha Lei's as a couple's outfit. Her small chest had already begun to rise slightly, and the hem fluttered beside her waist, slender enough to encircle with one hand.
Her white shorts ended above her knees. Her fair, long, straight legs had begun to take shape, and she wore blue ninja sandals!
She was a beauty widely recognized as one of the Ninja Academy's school beauties!
[Story character Uchiha Mikoto detected. Would the host like to plunder this character?]
Wait... go ahead and plunder her, system.
[Ding, holding hands with story character Uchiha Mikoto. One-tomoe Sharingan plunder: 1%. Countdown: 59 minutes, 59 seconds.]
Uchiha Mikoto's sweet voice reached his ears.
"Lei, what's wrong?
"Are you feeling unwell again?"
He watched Uchiha Mikoto frown slightly, looking anxious. She raised her right hand to his forehead, then placed it back against her own before breathing a sigh of relief.
"Lei, you don't have a fever! Why did you suddenly take my hand? Did you miss your big sister?"
Uchiha Lei gave a soft "Mm" and reached out to wrap his arms around Uchiha Mikoto's lower back.
[Ding, an embrace with Uchiha Mikoto detected. One-tomoe Sharingan plunder increased to 2%.]
Standing before him, Uchiha Mikoto's fair cheeks flushed slightly. She wrapped both arms around Uchiha Lei's head, stroked his hair, and asked softly:
"Lei, you're suddenly being so affectionate with your big sister. Did the people in your class bully you again?"
Uchiha Lei shook his head slightly in Uchiha Mikoto's arms. Blinking two pairs of watery eyes, he acted cute and wheedled:
"Nobody bullied me! I just missed you, Mikoto! Can we stay like this... hugging?"
Hearing Lei's quiet request, Uchiha Mikoto really wanted to agree. But she knew his health was very poor and he needed to eat properly, so she hardened her heart and refused in a slightly angry tone:
"No! Lei, it's lunchtime! You have to eat a proper lunch."
Uchiha Lei's eyes rolled around. He tightened his arms around Uchiha Mikoto's waist, refusing to let go, and pleaded softly:
"Then promise me, Mikoto! If we can keep hugging after lunch, I'll let you go."
Uchiha Mikoto could do nothing about Uchiha Lei's stubbornness. She could only sigh helplessly and reply:
"Ah, all right. Your big sister agrees to your request.
"But, Lei, let's go eat lunch on the rooftop! Can you hug me afterward?"
"Thank you, Mikoto! No time to waste. Let's go!"
Before Uchiha Mikoto could react, Uchiha Lei quickly scooped her up with one arm, picked up the five-tier lunch box with his other hand, and ran out of the classroom.
"Hey... Lei, I can walk myself!"
Uchiha Mikoto realized they were already in the hallway. A crimson flush spread from her cheeks to behind her ears. She wrapped both hands around Lei's neck and buried her face against his chest, afraid that someone she knew would see them.
In the hallway~
Seeing Uchiha Lei hurry away carrying a girl, people began discussing it in hushed voices:
"Huh, isn't that the sickly Uchiha Lei? Why is he running down the hallway carrying a girl from school?"
"That lunch box looks familiar! It looks like upperclassman Uchiha Mikoto's lunch box."
"The only person who comes to see Uchiha Lei at lunchtime is the school beauty, Uchiha Mikoto."
"..."
Uchiha Lei paid no attention to their chatter. He quickly climbed from the second floor to the sixth-floor rooftop and swiftly shut the door.
Carrying Uchiha Mikoto, he walked to a wooden bench near the outer edge of the rooftop, gently set her down, and sat on the bench himself.
By then, the blush on Uchiha Mikoto's face had spread to her neck. She turned to examine Uchiha Lei carefully and only then noticed that his body was no longer thin. He had even grown somewhat sturdy.
After seeing that Uchiha Lei's body had recovered, the blush on Uchiha Mikoto's face gradually faded. She reached out and squeezed Lei's arm. Once she confirmed that there was nothing wrong with his body, she asked with excitement in her eyes:
"Lei, has your body recovered?"
Uchiha Lei nodded naturally and replied:
"Yes, Mikoto! My body has completely recovered."
"That's wonderful, Lei! You're finally healthy again."
Uchiha Mikoto reached out and wrapped her arms around Uchiha Lei's lower back. Her face had been smiling happily, but as she recalled the hardships Lei had suffered before, tears slowly spilled from her eyes, and she began crying softly.
"Sob... Lei, as long as you're all right..."
"Mikoto, don't cry! You won't look pretty if you cry."
Uchiha Lei cupped Uchiha Mikoto's face in both hands and wiped the tears and tear tracks from her cheeks. Then he nodded and praised her:
"Mikoto, now you look pretty."
Uchiha Mikoto's heart pounded fiercely, and her cheeks flushed again!
She suddenly recalled her mother Uchiha Miko's words: "Mikoto, only someone you like and love can make your heart pound. Is there someone you like? Is it Lei?"
Uchiha Mikoto thought to herself, Yes, Mother. Now I'm sure!
The one I like is Lei, the childhood friend and little brother who grew up with me.
"Lei, be good!
"Even if you've recovered, you still have to eat."
Uchiha Mikoto moved Uchiha Lei's hands away and put a little distance between them. With her right hand, she brought the lunch box over and placed it between them.
After hearing the system notification that the plunder rate had returned to 1%,
Uchiha Lei snatched the lunch box with his right hand and placed it on Uchiha Mikoto's right. He wrapped his right arm around her waist again, looked at her expectantly, and puckered his lips as he pleaded:
"Mikoto, can we eat lunch like this?"
Uchiha Mikoto raised her right hand and pinched Uchiha Lei's cheek. The corners of her mouth lifted into a smile as she replied:
"All right! Everyone already saw my little brother carrying me in the hallway anyway, so your big sister can only marry you now.
"It's only feeding you a meal... of course I don't mind."
After speaking, Uchiha Mikoto released Uchiha Lei's cheek, separated the lunch box into five sections, and picked up a shrimp ball with her chopsticks, bringing it to Lei's mouth.
Uchiha Lei opened his mouth and took the shrimp inside, savoring it carefully. A smile appeared on his face as he praised her softly:
"Your cooking is really good, Mikoto! You'll definitely be a good wife and mother someday. I'm the lucky one."
"Such a smooth talker, Lei. There's still plenty of food!
"Let's finish all the food in this lunch box together."
"All right, Mikoto."
And so Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Lei happily finished their lunch on the rooftop.
Remembering that Kushina Uzumaki might be cornered and bullied that afternoon, Uchiha Lei also deliberately begged Mikoto to teach him the Three Basic Techniques, the Body Flicker Technique, and the Uchiha's signature Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.
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