While Hikaru's taunt had brought him a goldmine of material-farming targets, it also put a sour look on someone's face.
Someone whose fiery red hair and furrowed brows were hard to miss.
"Seriously?! He was so nice yesterday. What the hell's with him today?"
Uzumaki Kushina.
Hikaru's sweeping insult had triggered the entire class, and Kushina wasn't spared. She felt like she'd been lumped in with the rest of the "weaklings."
She was annoyed. No—pissed. Only slightly less so thanks to Hikaru standing up for her the day before.
Otherwise? She'd be first in line to beat his smug face into the roof tiles.
Class began.
And for the entire session, time crawled.
Everyone was itching for the break bell, eager to pay back Hikaru for his arrogance.
Finally, the bell rang.
Freedom.
Luckily, the teacher wasn't the type to drag class out.
"I'll be waiting on the rooftop," Hikaru announced to the room with a casual wave, then turned and left.
"Che! I'll go shut him up myself," someone growled, quickly following.
And they weren't alone.
One after another, students stormed after Hikaru, fists clenched and ready to brawl.
Even Kushina hesitated, then stood up with a worried frown.
Sure, she was mad—but Hikaru was still the first person to stand up for her since she arrived.
And if he got swarmed…
One guy can't take on that many! What if they beat him senseless?
After a pause, she hurried after the group.
Rooftop.
The wind blew strong over the school as Hikaru stood tall, already in place.
Soon, his classmates poured in behind him, their faces set with grim determination.
"Hikaru! Ready to get your face rearranged?!"
They weren't joking anymore.
"I'm going first!"
"No way, you'll just get wrecked. Let me go!"
"Enough—if you're all so eager, the weak ones can go first."
Silence.
The moment someone said that, the room froze.
No one wanted to be the weak one.
They glanced at each other awkwardly, silently asking, You first?
Hikaru sighed.
"Oh, forget it. How about all of you come at me together?"
"Whether it's one of you or ten, the result'll be the same."
The words hit like a slap to the face.
"You arrogant—!"
"You're dead, pretty boy!!"
"CHARGE!!"
With a roar of outrage, the students lunged all at once.
But Hikaru… was ready.
He surged forward into the chaos.
Fist, elbow, knee—his body moved like a machine built for combat. Techniques flowed one into the next, drilled into him by none other than Yakushi Ten, the orphanage director and retired jōnin.
He didn't have jutsu yet.
But raw taijutsu?
He had that in spades.
These were just kids who barely knew how to form seals. They didn't stand a chance.
In seconds, more than a dozen students lay sprawled across the rooftop, groaning and dazed.
DING! Defeated opponent — Material dropped: Chakra (White)
DING! Defeated opponent — Material dropped: Chakra (White)
DING! Defeated opponent — Material dropped: Chakra (White)
On and on the system chimed.
Each beat of victory brought a fresh drop.
And Hikaru was ecstatic.
This—this was exactly what he came for.
He threw his arms wide.
"ANYONE ELSE?!"
No one answered.
His defeated classmates lay moaning on the ground, unable to stand—let alone respond.
A group beatdown that ended in total failure.
If this ever got out, their reputation would be in shambles for the next five years.
Hikaru shook his head with mock disappointment.
"Told you. Too weak. You just had to make me prove it."
But beneath the fake sympathy was real frustration.
Now that they'd seen what he could do, no one else was going to challenge him. Not without a serious grudge or backup.
Which meant fewer chances to farm materials.
And he couldn't just force fights either—that'd draw way too much heat from higher-ups like Hiruzen Sarutobi.
No, this had to be played smart.
Still—
Fourteen Chakra (White) materials.
Out of the group, only three hadn't dropped anything. Not a bad haul at all.
"One white fruit takes two materials. That gives me seven chances to synthesize…"
He calculated in his head.
Green-tier fruits gave him three months' worth of chakra training. White ones wouldn't be that far off. Even if the success rate wasn't perfect, seven attempts might yield three fruits. Maybe more if luck was on his side.
If even one evolved into green… jackpot.
A little flutter of excitement welled up in his chest.
He was already thinking like a gambler.
"…Where's Minato?"
Hikaru scanned the few students who'd been watching but hadn't joined the fray.
He couldn't see the blond anywhere.
"Minato didn't come," one of the onlookers replied.
Disappointment crept in.
Damn it. I was really hoping to farm a special material off him…
No point dwelling on it now.
With a quiet sigh, Hikaru turned and left the rooftop—leaving behind a pile of groaning classmates in his wake.
Author's Note:
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