Chapter 79: A Proposal to Live Together!
[Ding! Congratulations on completing the Main Mission. Your team's rewards are now being calculated.]
[You have obtained: Fate Value +20, Mission Points +36,550, Kaito Kid's Disguise Cloak, Surrender Letter x5, Temporary Team Agreement x1, C-rank Forced Escape Card x5, Six Powers Training Manual, One Piece World Designation Card x1, Garb-Garb Fruit x1, assorted non-supernatural items, S-rank Item: Scroll of Seals, and assorted ninjutsu and chakra books.]
[Your personal rewards: C-rank Main Mission Token x1, Mission Points +10,000, hidden unawakened Talent: Six Paths Bloodline, unnamed chakra pet, Three-Tomoe Sharingan, Uchiha-style elite jonin-level strength, complete intangibility, Basic Sage Mode, low-ranking seated officer-level Shinigami power...]
[The rewards in your Shared Reward Pool will be divided equally between you and your teammate.]
[Items that cannot be divided equally will enter Bidding Mode. Bidding will begin in five minutes.]
As the long series of notifications flashed before him, Makoto stretched lazily. His arm extended without thinking and accidentally brushed against Yukinoshita, who was also reviewing the rewards.
Yukinoshita jolted upright as if she'd been shocked. Her face immediately flushed, and she stole a glance at Makoto with an expression that was wary but far more embarrassed.
"There's something I have to make clear to you."
"What is it?"
Makoto already had a good idea, but he wasn't particularly bothered. Judging by Yukinoshita's expression, she was far more nervous than he was.
Yukinoshita took a deep breath.
"Even though we revealed our true selves to each other during Jinzen, those were rules established by my Zanpakuto. It wasn't something I personally chose to happen!"
"After this mission, I've confirmed that you're a teammate I can trust. But please don't misunderstand."
"Our relationship... isn't as intimate as it appeared during Jinzen."
Yukinoshita delivered the speech she'd clearly prepared in one breath, completely losing the powerful, aloof presence she'd displayed after awakening Bankai.
Makoto couldn't help smiling.
After all, there probably wasn't anyone else who could see Yukinoshita Yukino acting like this.
He wasn't disappointed, but he did feel like teasing her a little. Makoto lowered his head and deliberately put on a wounded expression.
He remained silent for several seconds.
Only when Yukinoshita began looking nervous did he speak.
"But we're not simply ordinary friends anymore either, are we?"
"You trusted me enough to leave your weakness and your true self in my care. And I'll protect that true self until the day I die in some Mission World."
"So what exactly are we?"
Makoto raised his gaze toward the ceiling as though seriously contemplating the question, or perhaps not wanting his nonexistent tears to fall.
In truth, the image of Yukinoshita as she had been inside the inner world couldn't help but surface in his mind.
Pure, perfect, adorable, powerful.
Having witnessed such a beautiful sight, Makoto had no reason to want to forget her. He even wanted to find opportunities to see it again and again.
Yukinoshita became embarrassed again, but Makoto's question also forced her to seriously consider the answer.
She was the senior between them and the one who had asked Makoto to become her witness.
In her mind, that meant she had some responsibility to define their relationship.
Yukinoshita took a deep breath.
"Kitano-kun, inside the Main God Space, we're constantly facing trials where we could die."
"Trying to pursue an ordinary relationship in that kind of environment feels far too luxurious. So I can't promise you the sort of everyday closeness people normally expect."
She hesitated before continuing.
"But... I do acknowledge that you're the most suitable teammate I've found. I want us to keep forming a team together."
"When we have free time, we can train together, relax together, and... live together."
Yukinoshita lowered her gaze.
"For now, that's the furthest I'm comfortable going."
She bowed slightly toward Makoto before raising her head again.
"If that's disappointing to you, I'm sorry."
Makoto had listened calmly until she reached the words *live together*.
His eyes immediately sharpened with interest.
"By 'live together,' you mean?"
Yukinoshita twirled a strand of hair around one slightly trembling finger.
"If we form a permanent team later, we can establish a shared team dormitory."
"Normally, a team would have more than two members, but our situation is unusual."
"Once I complete my Professional Qualification, we could connect our two rooms together... Let me clarify in advance, it's just living together, not..."
By the end, Yukinoshita's voice had dropped as low as a mosquito's whisper.
Yukinoshita knew perfectly well that her explanation lacked conviction.
Members of a fixed team living together to improve their coordination was perfectly normal.
But that wasn't her only reason.
She also wanted Makoto to witness more of her true self.
Because of that, she couldn't present the idea in the completely businesslike tone such an arrangement would normally deserve.
And unless Makoto was completely oblivious, she was sure he could understand there was more behind the suggestion.
Seeing Yukinoshita practically trying to bury her head between her shoulders, Makoto decided not to press her any further.
Their Jinzen had forcibly pushed their relationship beyond the level of ordinary friends.
But that didn't mean everything between them would progress smoothly from this point onward.
Training and living together would let them understand each other naturally. If their closeness grew with time, then eventually reaching that same openness outside the inner world would no longer feel strange.
"All right. I agree."
Makoto smiled.
"From today onward, you're my partner."
Yukinoshita looked up in delight, only to find Makoto watching her with an amused smile.
Their eyes met.
Both could see a quiet sense of anticipation in the other's gaze.
Yukinoshita immediately felt the urge to flee, but Makoto's next words stopped her.
"Sit down. You still need to teach me how we're supposed to divide the loot."
Yukinoshita exhaled softly and sat beside him again.
She had never entertained visitors before, so there was only one sofa in her living room.
Now she suddenly felt that perhaps it was time to start preparing for two people to spend more time here.
"There isn't much to explain. Rewards that can be divided are usually split evenly by headcount."
"For anything that can't be divided, teammates normally discuss who needs it more first. Otherwise, unnecessary bidding can damage the team's relationship."
"Works for me."
Makoto had no objections.
Yukinoshita had unquestionably contributed a great deal during the previous mission.
Without her, Makoto alone wouldn't have been able to deal with the five-person fused Player while simultaneously handling Uchiha Obito's interference.
Forget collecting so many rewards. Whether Makoto could have completed the Main Mission at all would have been uncertain.
With Makoto's agreement, the 20 Fate Value and 36,550 Mission Points were divided evenly between them.
That was the easy part.
The physical rewards had to be discussed one by one.
Makoto first examined Kaito Kid's Disguise Cloak.
Its description was extremely straightforward.
[After use, you may transform into any appearance you desire, preventing anyone from confirming your true name.]
[No other special effects.]
Makoto immediately understood.
'So that's how the black-robed Player kept his identity hidden.'
He hadn't expected the Detective Conan world to produce something this useful.
'Maybe I'll eventually see Conan's shoes or that watch tranquilizer gadget too.'
The Surrender Letters, Temporary Team Agreement, C-rank Forced Escape Cards, and Six Powers Training Manual were all self-explanatory.
Makoto focused on the remaining two items.
[One Piece World Designation Card x1: After use, your next Mission World will be designated as the One Piece world. Priority: C-rank.]
[Garb-Garb Fruit x1: A Devil Fruit originating from the One Piece world. Eating it grants the corresponding ability.]
Makoto immediately remembered what the Garb-Garb Fruit could do.
Its user could place a leaf or stone on a chosen person's head and transform their clothing according to the user's imagination.
In Makoto's memory, it easily ranked among the most useless Devil Fruits in One Piece.
The main reason was simple.
It offered almost no direct increase in combat ability.
Of course, that might also have been because its original user, Kin'emon, hadn't even understood what Devil Fruits were. He'd believed he'd eaten some kind of mystical fruit and learned sorcery.
The ability had never been properly developed, so its true potential remained uncertain.
Makoto now understood why the black-robed team had never eaten it.
'The answer could only be that it was too useless.'
Makoto himself wasn't particularly interested in Devil Fruits either.
Their abilities varied enormously, but Devil Fruit users could still be countered by Haki, seawater, and Seastone.
That greatly lowered the ceiling on what these powers could achieve.
Besides, if Makoto wanted a particular ability, he could simply find a way to manifest it.
There was little reason for him to eat a Devil Fruit himself.
Still, another idea occurred to him.
'Maybe I could modify this fruit into something actually useful.'
The question was who would use it afterward.
Yukinoshita would obviously continue specializing in her Shinigami abilities.
As for Togawa Sakiko, Makoto still didn't even know what condition she was currently in.
Makoto shifted his attention toward the World Designation Card.
"What does C-rank priority mean?"
Yukinoshita immediately understood what he wanted to know.
"Simply put, if several forces or items try to influence which world you enter at the same time, whichever effect has the higher priority takes precedence."
Makoto understood.
In other words, even if he used the card, there was still no absolute guarantee his next destination would be One Piece.
Yukinoshita added, "Normally, nobody should be trying to interfere with your item right now, so you can use it without worrying."
"Actually, I'd recommend completing your Veteran Qualification in the One Piece world."
Makoto's eyes brightened.
He had already hit his attribute limit during the Naruto mission. There was no question about that.
Just to confirm, Makoto opened his status panel.
Aside from Adaptability, every one of his attributes had now reached the maximum value of 20.
Clearly, that was the result of everything he'd gained in the Naruto world.
It also meant he absolutely had to take the Veteran Qualification.
Makoto hadn't been particularly interested in visiting One Piece before, but Yukinoshita's suggestion suddenly made a familiar world sound extremely appealing.
To make absolutely certain, Makoto deliberately put on an ignorant expression.
"Is there something special about this One Piece world?"
"Its abilities vary enormously, but as long as you develop powerful enough Haki, you can defeat all enemies through the same underlying principle."
Yukinoshita continued, "The world's overall energy ceiling is also relatively low."
"With your current strength, Kitano-kun, I believe you should have no trouble clearing the qualification there and becoming a newly promoted Veteran."
Makoto's expression shifted slightly.
"You mean you're not joining me for my next Mission World?"
A bitter smile appeared on Yukinoshita's face.
"I originally planned to help you through your Veteran Qualification."
"But my next mission has to be my Professional Qualification too. My Energy Attribute has reached its maximum."
Makoto immediately understood.
Considering the terrifying boost Yukinoshita's Bankai had given her, it wasn't surprising that she'd already pushed her Energy Attribute to the next threshold.
"Can't we take our qualifications together?"
Yukinoshita shook her head seriously.
"In theory, yes. In practice, I don't recommend it."
"Even qualification missions can contain other Players. If we encounter several Professionals, then even at full strength I may not be able to protect you with complete certainty."
Seeing how genuinely worried Yukinoshita looked, Makoto felt warmth rise in his chest.
"Maybe those Professionals wouldn't be my opponents either."
He smiled.
"It's not impossible that the two of us could defeat a few Professionals together."
Yukinoshita still shook her head.
"It's too dangerous. I can't let you take that kind of risk."
"Besides, going alone will make it easier for me to use certain items."
"What you should do is finish your own qualification as quickly as possible."
Makoto didn't insist.
If things really went as Yukinoshita described and they encountered several Professionals with Bankai-level combat strength, Makoto genuinely wasn't confident enough to guarantee victory.
Yukinoshita herself was already an excellent example.
Her speed had reached the point where she could potentially pierce Makoto's chest before he could cast his Domain Expansion.
After another round of discussion, the two finally settled the distribution.
Makoto took Kaito Kid's Disguise Cloak, the One Piece World Designation Card, the Garb-Garb Fruit, two Surrender Letters, and two C-rank Forced Escape Cards.
Everything else went to Yukinoshita.
She had originally intended to leave the Scroll of Seals with Makoto.
His response was simple.
"If we're going to live together anyway, I can read and study it whenever I want."
Yukinoshita nodded.
Yet those words also stirred a faint, unfamiliar feeling inside her.
With the rewards finally divided, Makoto asked the question that had been bothering him ever since the previous mission.
"Yukino, what exactly does Fate Burn mean?"
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