Nighttime.
Lying in a soft, fluffy bed, Shiratori took a refreshing deep breath.
Now this is a life worth looking forward to.
Starting tomorrow, he would work even harder to earn emotional points.
The days of using the sky as a blanket and the earth as a bed were finally over.
Only when you were well-fed, warmly clothed, and comfortably housed could you truly have the energy to work hard.
Is there a music function? Play a song for me, he called out to the system in his mind.
[Query: Audio playback capability]
[Status: Function not available]
"Not available?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Even the cheapest electronic products can do this. Are you saying a high-level system like you can't?"
He shut his eyes.
"Never mind."
---
The next morning, Shiratori woke up feeling refreshed.
Konan was folding the blanket nearby. When she saw him get up from bed, she gave him a sweet smile.
[Affection detected: Konan +2 points]
His eyes lit up immediately.
Konan!
An angel, for sure!
[Total accumulated: 2 points]
[Feed cursed spirit Rika?]
[Yes/No]
Even just 2 affection points can be used to feed?
1,000 affection points would raise Rika's level by 1%, so how much would 2 points increase it?
He mentally confirmed the transfer.
[Energy transferred to Rika]
[Development progress: 35.002%]
[Rika's feedback: Did Yuta just feed me? I really liked it~]
"..."
Well, even the smallest mosquito is still meat.
It just looked a little pitiful, that was all.
He left the room and happened to run into Nagato carrying a basket and Yahiko with a backpack.
"Hey, you're awake."
Yahiko's eyes lit up. "Perfect timing, we're about to go gather some fruit. Want to come?"
Shiratori glanced at Konan, who had just come out of the room.
She smiled sweetly at him. "I'm going too. Since Jiraiya-sensei went off to slack again, gathering fruit is up to us!"
He nodded. "Alright!"
Eating seafood every meal really wasn't healthy; some dietary fiber and vitamins were definitely needed.
Jiraiya was right.
He followed them out of the wooden house and toward a nearby hill. Beyond the hill was a forest.
Yahiko's eyes sparkled with excitement. He pointed at the forest and shouted to the group, "There's definitely fruit in there!"
Konan nodded. Ever since Jiraiya had arrived, her smile had never left her face.
"Let's go quickly!"
Yahiko sprinted up the hill and ran toward the woods.
For some reason, as Shiratori looked at the dense forest, he felt a heavy pressure in his chest, like a stone had been placed there.
"Hey!"
"What are you spacing out for?"
"Hurry up!"
His thoughts were abruptly cut off. He looked toward the top of the hill. Yahiko was beaming as he waved him over.
Nagato and Konan were also waving.
He gathered his thoughts and followed them up the slope.
"Jiraiya-sensei said he wanted red fruit..." Konan lifted her head, eyes scanning between the tree branches, afraid to miss even a single fruit.
Shiratori looked around. Honestly, he had no experience finding wild fruit.
"What's that?"
Yahiko suddenly pointed at a patch of grass ahead. A hint of red was visible through it.
Konan lit up with joy and ran in that direction. Shiratori and the others hurried after her. It really was red fruit, but only about the size of a fingernail.
"They're raspberries."
Shiratori actually recognized the small fruit. Thanks to the experience he had growing up in the countryside.
"So sweet!"
Konan ate one and squinted her eyes in delight.
Shiratori picked one for Yahiko and Nagato each.
"Delicious!"
Yahiko exclaimed excitedly.
Nagato smiled faintly.
They squatted in front of the bushes, carefully picking the raspberries.
"There are more over here!"
Yahiko ran over to a nearby bush and turned back to call out to the others.
Shiratori looked over and saw irregular red spots among the lush green leaves. His pupils shrank, and he dashed toward Yahiko.
"Run!"
Yahiko widened his eyes in confusion. Not understanding, he turned to take a closer look at the bush.
The red wasn't raspberries, it was... fresh blood!
His pupils dilated, a fist suddenly slammed into his chest.
Boom!
With a loud crash, his body was sent flying and collapsed to the ground, instantly unconscious.
"Nagato!"
"Konan!"
"Run!"
Shiratori immediately shouted toward the stunned Nagato and Konan.
Nagato instantly came to his senses and pushed Konan, "Go find Jiraiya-sensei!"
Konan bit her lip, glanced at them, then quickly ran toward the slope.
"Stop that girl!"
A deep voice came from within the bushes. In the blink of an eye, a figure appeared behind Konan.
Shiratori's fingers touched his ring. "Rika, help me! Protect Konan, please?"
"She's a girl!"
"Yuta..."
"You're not allowed to..."
Black mist swirled around the ring.
Rika's voice abruptly stopped.
He didn't care about anything else anymore, completely immersed in his own act. His lips touched the ring as he solemnly promised, "She's my family, and you will always be my fiancée. My one and only fiancée!"
He was different from Yuta, who had complicated relationships.
He didn't talk nonsense. If he said she was his only fiancée, then she was the only one.
"Yuta!"
Boom!!
The ground exploded into a massive crater. Rika's fist emerged from the hole.
A cloud of dust rose.
The ninja chasing Konan had already turned into a pile of bloody mush within the crater.
Konan looked back.
"Thank you, Rika."
A film of tears clouded her eyes as she sniffled and seized the chance to flee into the distance.
"What is that monster?"
"Looks like that's the thing that killed Yusuke and the others!"
"Kill that kid!"
"That monster is under his control!"
The two remaining ninjas snapped out of their shock from what they had just witnessed. Their vicious glares locked onto Shiratori.
[Killing Intent detected: +4000 points]
[Total accumulated: 4000 points]
.
.
.
[Host unresponsive - Auto-feeding protocol initiated]
[Energy transferred to Sukuna]
[Development progress: 15%]
The ninjas were lightning fast, in a flash, they had surrounded him from front and back, completely cutting off his escape.
Their blades swung simultaneously at his neck.
"Yuta!!"
Rika let out a violent, furious roar.
Through his red hair, Nagato's deep purple pupils dilated further.
---
Boom!
The front door of the cabin was flung open.
Jiraiya, who had been cleaning fish, looked up to see Konan bursting in, face streaked with tears.
"Huh?"
"Konan?"
"What happened?"
Jiraiya's expression immediately turned serious as he saw her in such a panicked state.
"Jiraiya-sensei!"
Konan's eyes were filled with fear. She shouted, trembling, "Yahiko and the others ran into ninjas!"
"What?!"
Jiraiya's gaze turned sharp.
He dropped what he was holding and, led by Konan, charged out of the wooden house.