Shigure smiled helplessly.
After Hayate left, Ino's face flushed slightly.
"Why does your brother say such nonsense..."
She glanced at Shigure, who said nothing in return. The silence between them grew increasingly awkward.
But then, a thought struck her—Did I make it sound like I didn't like him?
Ugh! I should've just stayed quiet. Quiet is good... right?
Then again...
Should I say something to clear up the misunderstanding? What if Shigure-kun thinks I'm rejecting him?
While Ino was stuck in her own whirlwind of thoughts, Shigure reached out and gently took her hand.
"Why? You don't want to be my girlfriend?"
"Ah! No—I mean—yes—I mean... it's not like that!"
Shigure smirked and said, "Well, whether you like it or not, since my brother already misunderstood, let's make it real for your reputation."
W-What are you saying?!
Wait... is this a confession? Is Shigure-kun actually confessing to me?!
Before Ino could process what was happening, Shigure suddenly leaned in and kissed her—quick as lightning.
Ino froze, completely stunned.
It wasn't until five or six seconds later that she finally shoved him away, her face beet red and her hands waving frantically as she stumbled backward.
After hesitating for a moment, she spun around and ran off in a panic.
Shigure leaned back on the bed, clasped his hands behind his head, and grinned.
"Very sweet."
Just then, a familiar voice called out.
"Shigure-kun! What happened to Ino? I heard you fainted. Are you okay now?"
A head popped in through the door—Hinata!
Shigure's expression immediately changed.
"H-Hinata..."
And she wasn't alone.
Right behind her were Shikamaru, Choji, Naruto, Sasuke, and the rest of their friends.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. He'd already guessed something was off based on Ino's flustered exit earlier, and now with Shigure looking like a deer caught in headlights...
Meanwhile, Hinata quietly poured tea for Shigure with a gentle smile.
Shikamaru clicked his tongue.
"Tch... scumbag."
It took Shigure quite a while to finally send everyone off.
Even though things had gotten a little chaotic, he couldn't dwell on it now—there were more pressing concerns.
From what Naruto and Sasuke told him, the Third Hokage and Kakashi had led a team—likely from the Anbu—and brought him back from outside the village the day before.
So I was found outside the village, huh?
Given the current atmosphere, it didn't seem like there had been any fallout.
But... what exactly did the Third see?
At that time, his body had been under the control of the Great Sage.
Once his friends were gone, Shigure immediately started interrogating the Great Sage.
"Hey, yesterday—when the Third Hokage and the others found me—you didn't do anything outrageous, right?!"
[Great Sage: Negative.]
[At the time, data was being collected. The host only displayed some ninjutsu and a portion of overall strength.]
Phew... that's a relief.
Revealing some ninjutsu was fine—it's part of the plan to gradually show strength. Like slowly boiling a frog in warm water... the Third should be able to accept that much.
After all, he was already considered a prodigy in kenjutsu. Suddenly revealing talent in ninjutsu and elemental manipulation wouldn't be too unbelievable.
What Shigure didn't know was that the Great Sage had also exposed his Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.
"Alright, never mind that! What's the current status?"
[Great Sage: Kekkei Genkai fusion completed.]
[Calculation efficiency restored to 60%.]
Oh!
So just fusing two bloodline limits restored another 20%? That's a huge leap!
If this pattern continues, developing three or four more bloodline limits might fully restore the Great Sage!
The thought made Shigure feel quite pleased.
[Now that calculation efficiency has reached 60%...]
[Parallel Function Unlocked]
→ Parallel Computation: Allows simultaneous calculation of multiple techniques. Note: More techniques mean slower individual calculation speed.
→ Parallel Analysis: Enables the analysis of multiple abilities or enemies at once. Consumes a portion of total computation power depending on target strength.
Parallel Function Unlocked!
Did the Great Sage just unlock a new feature?
Nice!
Until now, I could only analyze one jutsu at a time. But with this parallel function, I can run multiple analyses simultaneously! Even if it's not fully explained, just this alone will significantly boost my processing speed and efficiency.
No wonder the fused kekkei genkai this time required so much effort—just the activation of this new parallel processing ability is a huge gain on its own.
[Thinking Acceleration Function Enhanced: Current Multiplier – 200x]
The original was just 100 times faster. Now it's doubled!
With my mind now operating at 200x speed, I'll be terrifying in actual combat—and even more efficient during training.
Algorithm improvements, a brand-new function, and boosted cognitive acceleration—these three upgrades alone were enough to make me grin ear to ear.
And that's not even all.
Back when the Great Sage temporarily took over my body—probably because it hadn't fully repaired itself yet—my consciousness came into contact with its core processes.
Or perhaps… I tapped into its calculation space.
Whatever it was, I gained something incredible from it.
Combat intuition. Advanced chakra control. It's as if I've inherited the battle experience of a seasoned shinobi who's fought in hundreds of life-or-death encounters.
A massive leap forward.
But the most striking change?
Now, when I glance at something—anything—an overwhelming stream of information flashes across my mind.
It's like I've installed some kind of high-speed scanner or analysis module in my head.
Almost like the analytical precision of a Sharingan…
I can read parts of the enemy's movements.
Predict their next step.
Adapt before they even make a move.
And I've got a feeling I haven't even scratched the surface of what this ability can do.
But why did this happen?
"Great Sage, what's going on with me? Is this your doing too?"
[Great Sage: No. It's possible that the host's brain developed further while linked to me.]
Brain development?
Wait, does that mean if I link with you again, I can evolve even further?
[Great Sage: Linking with me doesn't inherently cause that. It may have been a rare anomaly triggered by the system.]
"A bug again?"
[Great Sage: That's a valid hypothesis.]
"…And if I try again?"
[Great Sage: Host is free to experiment.]
…
I tried again.
All-in-zero-one-five-seven.
But… nothing happened.
Just as the Great Sage said—it was like a momentary blackout, and then I was back.
No changes. No upgrades.
Looks like I got lucky once. Bugs don't fix themselves—or repeat—so easily.
Fine. Let's focus on what did work.
Let's see the new ninjutsu the Great Sage managed to fully integrate…
...
TN:
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