Night.
Sleeping in a soft, fluffy bed, Haruki took a deep, comfortable breath.
Life finally had something to look forward to. Starting tomorrow, he would work even harder to earn emotional value.
The days of sleeping under the sky and on the ground were finally over. Only when one is well-fed, warmly clothed, and comfortably housed can they have the drive to work hard.
'Do you have a lullaby? Play one for me.' Haruki called out to the system in his mind.
[…]
[You really know how to make things difficult for the system.]
'Is this considered difficult?'
Haruki raised an eyebrow. 'Something the most basic electronic product can do, and you, an advanced intelligence, can't?'
[…]
[The system currently does not have the function to play lullabies, but if you really need it, the system is willing to sing it for you.]
"…"
The system's cutesy voice echoed in Haruki's mind.
He quickly closed his eyes. 'Never mind then.'
He was afraid of having nightmares.
A dreamless night.
The next morning, Haruki woke up feeling refreshed.
Konan was folding blankets nearby, and seeing him get out of bed, she gave him a sweet smile.
[Ding!]
[System detected Konan's affection value + 2]
Haruki's eyes immediately lit up.
Konan! She was an angel!
[You have now collected 2 affection value. Would you like to feed your companion Cursed Spirit, Rika?]
[Yes][No]
Can a value of 2 also be fed?
If one thousand affection value increased Rika's rank by 1%, how much would two affection value increase her rank?
Haruki hesitated and clicked [Yes].
[Ding!]
[Your companion Cursed Spirit, Rika's rank has increased to 35.002%]
[Your companion Cursed Spirit, Rika, sent feedback: Did Yuta just feed me? I really like it.]
Haruki: "…"
Well, no matter how small, it is still a gain. It just looked a bit shabby.
Haruki walked out of the room and happened to encounter Nagato, who was carrying a bamboo basket, and Yahiko, who was carrying a back basket.
"Haruki, you're awake."
Yahiko's eyes lit up and he said, "We're about to go pick fruit, are you coming?"
Haruki glanced at Konan, who had just walked out of the room.
Konan looked at him and said "I'm going too. Jiraiya-sensei went fishing, so let's go pick some fruits."
Haruki nodded. "Okay."
Eating seafood for every meal was unhealthy, he needed to supplement with dietary fiber and vitamins.
Haruki followed them out of the wooden house and climbed up the nearby hillside. Beyond the small hillside was a jungle.
Yahiko's eyes lit up, and he pointed to the forest, shouting to Haruki and the others, "There must be fruits in there!"
Konan nodded. Since Jiraiya arrived, the smile on her face had never disappeared.
"Let's go quickly." Yahiko rushed down the hillside and ran towards the forest.
For some reason, as Haruki looked at the lush forest, his chest felt heavy, as if a stone was pressing down on it.
"Haruki!"
"What are you spacing out for?"
"Come down quickly."
Haruki's thoughts were suddenly interrupted. He looked down the hillside, where Yahiko, with a brilliant smile, was waving at him. Nagato and Konan were also waving at him.
Haruki composed himself and followed in their footsteps.
"Jiraiya-sensei said he wanted red fruit…"
Konan looked up, her gaze constantly moving between the branches, afraid of missing a single fruit.
Haruki looked around, he really had no experience finding wild fruits.
"What's that?" Yahiko suddenly pointed to a patch of grass ahead. Specks of red could be seen on it.
Konan's eyes lit up, and she ran in that direction. Haruki and the others quickly followed.
They were red berries, but only the size of a fingernail.
"They're raspberries." Haruki actually recognized these small berries. This was thanks to his childhood experience of living in the countryside.
"So sweet!" Konan ate one and narrowed her eyes.
Haruki picked one each for Yahiko and Nagato.
"Delicious!" Yahiko said excitedly.
Nagato smiled faintly.
They squatted in front of the bushes, carefully picking the raspberries.
"There are some here too."
Yahiko ran to a nearby bush, pointed at it, and turned back to Haruki and the others.
Haruki's gaze swept over, and he saw that on the green leaves hung a few irregular red spots. His pupils constricted, and he ran towards Yahiko.
"Yahiko! Run!"
Yahiko's eyes widened in confusion, not understanding why. He turned back to look closely at the bush. The red spots were not raspberries, but… blood!
Yahiko's pupils dilated, and a fist suddenly struck his chest.
Bang!
Yahiko flew backward, immediately falling unconscious to the ground.
"Nagato!"
"Konan!"
"Run!"
Haruki immediately shouted at Nagato and Konan, who were frozen in place.
Nagato reacted instantly, he pushed Konan and said, "Go find Jiraiya-sensei!"
Konan gritted her teeth, glanced at Haruki and Nagato, then quickly ran towards the hillside.
"Stop that girl!"
A low voice came from the bushes.
In the blink of an eye, a figure had already appeared behind Konan.
Haruki touched the ring on his finger and said, "Rika, help me. Protect Konan, okay?"
"She's a girl!"
"Yuta…"
"Not allowed…"
Black mist swirled around the ring. Rika's words stopped before she could finish.
Haruki didn't care about anything else, completely immersed in his persona.
His lips touched the ring, and he promised, "She is my friend, and you will always be my fiancée. My only fiancée!"
He was different from Yuta, that guy who toyed with women's feelings. He wouldn't talk nonsense. If he said she was his only fiancée, then she was his only fiancée.
"Yuta!"
Along with a loud noise, the ground was torn open, creating a huge deep hole. Rika raised her fist from within the deep hole.
A cloud of dust rose. The ninja chasing Konan had already turned into a puddle of minced meat in the hole.
Konan looked back and said, "Thank you, Rika."
Her pupils were covered with a film of tears, and she sniffled, taking the opportunity to quickly run away.
"What is that monster?"
"It seems that monster killed Yusuke and the others."
"Kill this child!"
"That monster is controlled by him!"
The two ninjas who remained quickly recovered from the previous scene. Their fierce gazes shot towards Haruki.
[Ding!]
[System detected Ninja A's killing intent value + 2000]
[Ding!]
[System detected Ninja B's killing intent value + 2000]
[You have now collected 4000 killing intent value. Would you like to feed your Cursed Spirit, Sukuna?]
[Ding!]
[Your Cursed Spirit, Sukuna, has actively devoured killing intent value. Sukuna's rank has increased to 15%]
The ninjas were extremely fast, and they quickly rushed in front of Haruki. One in front and one behind, completely trapping Haruki in their encirclement. The two blades simultaneously slashed towards Haruki's neck.
"Yuta!" Rika let out a furious roar.
Beneath the cover of his red hair, Nagato's violet pupils constantly dilated.
...
Bang!
The wooden house door was violently crashed open by Konan.
Jiraiya, who was processing fish guts, looked up and saw Konan, her face full of tears.
"Hmm?"
"Konan?"
"What happened?"
Jiraiya looked at the disheveled Konan in front of him, his expression immediately becoming serious.
"Jiraiya-sensei!"
Konan's eyes were filled with panic.
She trembled and shouted, "Yahiko and the others encountered ninjas."
"What?!"
Jiraiya's expression was grave. He abruptly put down what was in his hands and, led by Konan, rushed out of the wooden house.