"Hahaha! Aoi Ren, I finally caught you!"
Under the faint starlight, after finally managing to send Kurenai home — who had practically clung to him the whole way — Ren had just rounded a corner when he found himself blocked by Asuma and his little gang.
Ren's mouth twitched. These dumb kids... He and Kurenai had been glued to each other on the playground after the exam for at least five or six hours.
Which meant poor Asuma and his little lackeys had been squatting here waiting for him that whole time too.
Behind him, Izumo Kamizuki's knees were visibly trembling, though he still forced a fierce look. Pitiful, really.
"Asuma, out of respect for your dad, I don't want to hurt you..."
[Ding-dong! Host has encountered danger. Mission activated: Campus Overlord.]
Campus Overlord: As a student of the Ninja Academy, you must become a figure all students fear and admire.
Mission 1: Defeat all male ninja peers. Reward: 1 God-Tier Lottery Point.
Mission 2: Have at least three girlfriends at school. Reward: 1 God-Tier Lottery Point.
"Your dad's the Third Hokage, right? If you've got the guts, come fight me!"
As the system prompt echoed in his ears, Ren's tone changed in an instant. He spoke with open provocation.
"You! Aoi Ren! For stealing the girl I like and... uh... dishonoring my father, I'm going to teach you a lesson!"
"Get him!"
Asuma yelled, and his followers charged with him.
"Take this!"
With a loud shout, Asuma swung his fist straight at Ren's head.
"Sigh... It's not like I want to hit you guys..."
Ren let out a soft sigh. Faced with Asuma's punch, he didn't even bother dodging.
"Typical loser. Can't even dodge my punch. Let me just..."
Thump!
Just as Asuma's fist was about to hit that face he hated so much, it missed entirely.
He staggered, almost falling flat on his face.
"What the..."
Smack!
"Argh!"
Smack!
And not just Asuma. His sidekicks Izumo, Kotetsu, and Hayate all swung and missed too, their attacks striking nothing but air.
One by one, they tumbled to the ground in a heap.
[Ding-dong! Mission 1 progress: 5/21.]
Ren's eyes brightened. So completing Mission 1 was going to be this easy.
"What kind of jutsu is that?!"
Asuma pushed his buddies off and shouted, his eyes wide as saucers.
What the heck was going on? How had all their attacks hit nothing?
"You all know too much..."
Ren shook his head. After thinking for a moment, he set his power to the lowest setting. Pointing at a tree not far away, he said,
"Hey. Don't mess with me again, or else..."
A blinding light shot out from his right index finger.
Laser Beam!
Zzzap!
With a soft crack, the thick trunk of that tree, big enough for two to hug was pierced clean through, leaving a hole as wide as a finger.
Wisps of smoke curled from the scorched edges.
Without sparing another glance at the dumbstruck boys on the ground, Ren strolled leisurely toward home.
It was late. Tomorrow was team assignment day for the new Genin. He had no time to waste on these brats.
What they thought didn't matter.
The power of the Glint-Glint Fruit would be revealed sooner or later anyway. Better to show it bit by bit himself.
At most, people would just assume it was some special bloodline limit.
After all, this was a world where someone could pull their bones out of their body as weapons.
Compared to that, his light powers were pretty normal.
"B-boss... what do we do now..."
Izumo struggled to his feet, staring at the hole in the tree. He gulped and asked nervously.
"Hmph! Aoi Ren! Just you wait! I'm going to tell my dad and have him teach me powerful jutsu!"
"I won't give up! Kurenai will be mine!"
Asuma yelled at the top of his lungs.
...
"Interesting. He noticed me?"
After they left, a cold voice came from atop that tree.
From the branches dropped a figure with long black hair and a strangely soft gaze — Orochimaru.
He looked in the direction Ren had gone, his eyes full of interest.
"I didn't expect to find such a unique little kid on this trip back to the village."
"Physical attacks don't work on him? Similar to the Hozuki Clan's Hydrification Technique, but clearly superior..."
"Light, huh... If I could study that properly..."
Orochimaru murmured, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.
He had returned to Konoha for other reasons, but this had turned out to be an unexpected surprise.
That attack — was it just a coincidence, or had the boy truly sensed his presence?
"And that other kid... Asuma, was it? The Third Hokage's son. Compared to his older brother, the gap is enormous..."
"Looks like I'll be staying in Konoha a little longer."
"The Third Hokage..."
With a chilling smile, Orochimaru turned and began walking slowly toward the Hokage's office.
[ 250 - 1 Extra Chapter ]