God knows! How can I be blamed when I didn't do anything at all?
Kirito raised his hands and explained, "The clone is the clone, and I am me! How can you confuse the two…"
Ino sneered and said disdainfully, "You created that clone yourself, and now you're saying it has nothing to do with you?"
Heaven and earth could bear witness! Even if three little girls around ten years old came up to him, Kirito wouldn't even look at them!
At this moment, the three girls who had been subdued came to their senses and immediately panicked.
Yumiko was the first to break down, screaming, "Ahhhhhh! Pervert!"
The atmosphere was contagious, and Natsuko also shouted in panic, "Someone come! Pervert! Waaaah!"
Chiki's eyes turned red, and though she didn't shout, she began to cry, "Wooo…"
The six shadow clones froze and looked at Kirito simultaneously, utterly confused.
Kirito shuddered and tried to explain again, "No… just listen to me for a second—"
At this point, Sakura couldn't take it anymore and pointed at him, whispering, "What are you even trying to explain? Let them go already! If someone sees this, how will you explain yourself?"
Just as Kirito was about to release the three girls, he suddenly felt a surge of chakra approaching fast.
Without time to explain, Kirito grabbed Ino and Sakura by their hands and said urgently, "Focus chakra on your feet!"
Ino and Sakura immediately complied, asking in confusion, "What's wrong?"
Kirito pulled them along as he ran, shouting, "What else? We're running away—someone's coming!"
"…"
Sakura: "…"
Kirito felt a wave of guilt. There was no way to explain this clearly—running away was definitely the best option!
But in his haste, Kirito didn't notice that his notebook had fallen from his backpack onto the ground.
After they fled, his shadow clones dissipated into white smoke one after another.
Natsuko, Chiki, and Yumiko collapsed on the ground in despair.
Chiki wiped her tears and warned the others, "Don't tell anyone about what happened today, got it?"
Natsuko clenched her fists and said, "No way! I have to tell the teacher—and my father! I won't be able to sleep otherwise!"
Yumiko frowned. "We lost three against one. Aren't you embarrassed to tell anyone?"
Chiki nodded. "There was only one boy on the other side, and he defeated the three of us… and, well, that happened. We can't let anyone find out."
Natsuko hesitated. As top students of Class A, not only did they lose three-on-one, but they were also…
Even though she was reluctant, she eventually agreed.
"What are you three doing here?"
Suddenly, a woman with purple hair, wearing a beige coat lined with fishnets, crouched in front of them.
"Ah…" Yumiko was startled and stammered, "Who… who are you?"
Mitarashi Anko stretched out her slender index finger, lifted Yumiko's chin, and teased, "What a pretty girl, but…"
"You… aah! Pervert lady!"
Yumiko snapped out of it and swung her arm, trying to hit Anko, trembling and glaring warily.
Kids at the Ninja Academy sure were entertaining.
Mitarashi Anko shrugged and smiled. "I'm Mitarashi Anko, the one responsible for maintaining order at the school festival. Were you the ones crying just now?"
Chiki, Yumiko, and Natsuko froze in silence.
Another perverted staff member?
Compared to Kirito, the woman in front of them seemed even more suspicious!
The three exchanged glances, stood up, and bowed in unison. Yumiko forced a smile and said, "Senior, you must've heard wrong. We'll be leaving now!"
"Hey! I'm talking to you—"
Anko called out, but the three girls scampered away in embarrassment. She could only sigh helplessly.
As a Jōnin, Mitarashi Anko had volunteered to help maintain school security simply because she was bored.
She thought the festival might be lively or interesting, but it was disappointingly dull.
While wandering around, she'd heard crying and shouting, rushed over to investigate—and was mistaken for a pervert.
Anko sighed softly, stretched her arms, and decided to keep walking.
"Hmm… who dropped this notebook? Those three girls?"
She spotted a notebook on the ground, picked it up, then leapt onto a nearby maple tree and lazily flipped it open to the first page.
Hidden Village Love Story.
Anko rubbed her chin and muttered, "What the heck? A romance novel?"
She had once been obsessed with romance novels, but she quickly got bored—they were all so cliché.
Still, she turned the next page out of curiosity.
The heat of the summer evening air had subsided, but the cicadas still cried noisily. The setting sun's afterglow tinted the leaves as if covered by a veil.
Akana Rika gazed into the distance, her long hair fluttering in the wind, as if blending into the golden scenery.
After reading this part, Anko became interested. The story took place in her own village—it felt oddly immersive.
"Rika, the clerk you're waiting for hasn't arrived yet?" Takaki, who was on duty, rested his chin on his hand and asked curiously.
"No, Takaki-kun." Akana Rika sighed softly. "The boss asked me to meet a new clerk named Nagao Kanji, but he never showed up. I have no idea what's going on."
Takaki glanced at the sky and reminded her, "I'm almost off duty. Why don't you come back tomorrow? The village gates will close soon."
Anko's brows rose slightly as she read. This wasn't some recycled tale about a princess or noble lady—it was surprisingly fresh.
"I'll wait a little longer!" Akana Rika smiled gently and didn't leave.
Finally, when the village gate was about to close, a young man came running, panting heavily.
However, he didn't seem to recognize Rika. He walked straight to Takaki's table and said apologetically, "Excuse me, I'm Nagao Kanji from Amaka Village. Could you help me register? I want to enter Konoha Village."
Upon reading this, Anko couldn't help but blurt out, "What an idiot! She's been waiting all this time, and he doesn't even notice her? Who could like such a clueless man?"
Takaki handed the registration form to Kanji, saying helplessly, "Brother, the one you should be apologizing to is Miss Akana, who's been waiting for you all evening."
'Huh?' Kanji blinked in confusion. "Miss Akana?"
Takaki pointed toward Rika. "Isn't she the clerk from the Konoha Ninja Tool Shop? She's been waiting for you for hours!"
Kanji followed his gaze and saw a young woman in her twenties with shoulder-length hair, a pink headband, a round face slightly flushed, thick eyebrows, and bright eyes—she looked like a wonderful girl.
End of the chapter.