"Probably Sasuke…"
Uchiha Shinji wasn't entirely sure.
To be honest, even he almost didn't recognize the figure at the gate with dark circles under their eyes, panting heavily while leaning against the school entrance. The contrast with Sasuke's usual cool, aloof, and handsome persona was stark.
Shion covered her mouth. "What in the world did he do last night?"
Shinji shrugged, feigning innocence. "Who knows what he was up to!"
At the School Gate.
"That bastard 'A' really drained my chakra all night! Damn it, my legs are jelly!"
Feeling the curious stares from other students, Sasuke was both embarrassed and irritated.
Chakra, at its core, was the product of a shinobi's mental and physical energies combined. When chakra was heavily depleted, it could, in severe cases, lead to death. So, Sasuke's current state of weakness and soreness was relatively mild.
Sakura rushed over, alarmed, supporting him. "Sasuke, are you okay?"
Naruto, ever curious, sidled up, winking at Sasuke. "Hey, Sasuke, did you do something naughty last night?"
Sakura looked puzzled. "Naughty?"
"You know, the kind of pervy stuff the Pervy Sage talks about—"
Mid-sentence, Naruto realized his mistake and clamped his mouth shut.
Thwack!
Sakura, outraged, punched Naruto. "Idiot, what are you blabbering about? Sasuke would never do something like that!"
Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Kiba, Shino, and Hinata gathered around, their voices overlapping with concern for Sasuke.
"Sasuke, those dark circles are intense. Did you train all night?"
"You look awful. Shouldn't you go to the hospital?"
"Yeah, you're scaring us. Get checked out. It'd suck if you dropped dead!"
"Woof!"
The outpouring of concern from his classmates didn't warm Sasuke's prideful heart—it only fueled his irritation.
"Hmph, I'm perfectly fine!"
He snorted, pushing through the crowd. Noticing Shinji watching him from a distance, he forced himself to stand straighter. Instead of staying to train on the field, he headed straight to the classroom.
Shikamaru said with certainty, "That guy's definitely rattled by Shinji and Yakumo again!"
Kiba nodded. "Yeah! But honestly, even a genius like Sasuke—heck, even me—would be crazy jealous hearing Shinji and Yakumo completed an S-rank mission!"
Choji's eyes sparkled. "Mhm, and all that reward money could buy so many barbecue feasts!"
Ino stepped away from Kiba and Choji, her expression one of disdain.
Naruto, hands behind his head, muttered, "So he trained all night? But I train all night sometimes, and I don't get that tired…"
"As if Sasuke's like you!" Sakura snapped, glaring at Naruto before gazing worriedly at Sasuke's retreating figure. "We need to get him to the hospital. If he's sick, Lady Tsunade and Shizune's medical ninjutsu can definitely fix him!"
After Sasuke's little episode, the training field returned to calm.
Shinji and Yakumo's performance in the Land of Grass war had inspired many academy students. The power of role models was sometimes boundless, spurring everyone to train harder during morning practice.
Shinji's gaze swept over Kimimaro and Neji, each occupying a corner of the field.
During the Land of Grass war, they had unleashed their 'biological exoskeletons,' depleting the chakra stored within. Shinji had since issued strict orders forbidding them from recklessly activating the exoskeletons again and urging them to replenish the chakra within.
Truthfully, this command wasn't particularly burdensome for Kimimaro or Neji.
Neji, for one, could infiltrate the moon with Shinji's help to siphon chakra from the giant Tenseigan there. If not for the need to balance Byakugan and Tenseigan chakra, storing chakra in the exoskeleton would be trivial for him.
Kimimaro's Bloodline Limit disease stemmed from his body's inability to withstand the erosion of his increasingly potent Corpse Bone Pulse chakra. Storing chakra in the exoskeleton was also a way to alleviate his condition.
According to Shinji's calculations, Kimimaro and Neji had only stored a few months' worth of chakra last time, yet it had serendipitously allowed Kimimaro to briefly enter a Tenseigan state. This time, a few months would likely suffice for a bold attempt at triggering the Tenseigan.
Discreetly withdrawing his gaze, Shinji mused, "With Karin's current state, if we push Sasuke a bit harder, her chances of awakening the Rinnegan are extremely high. Plus, All Creation Power is highly compatible with other chakras. In a pinch, I can open a Wazunagi channel to funnel everyone's chakra to Karin, giving her the final push!"
Having obtained the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, Shinji had analyzed the process.
Madara Uchiha only awakened the Rinnegan in his twilight years because, beyond needing to amass sufficient chakra, he was hindered by the loss of one Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan due to using Izanagi.
Shinji and Karin faced no such issue.
As long as All Creation Power could nourish their Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan to its peak and they amassed enough chakra to trigger the Rinnegan, theoretically, awakening it was assured.
As an inheritor of both Uzumaki and Senju sage bodies, Karin already possessed an immense chakra reserve. She had to seal her chakra daily to attend the academy undetected, lest her vast chakra volume draw attention.
If Karin's own chakra fell short, Shinji, wielding Jikibi and Wazunagi dojutsu, could open a multi-person Wazunagi channel at a critical moment, funneling the chakra of everyone marked by Jikibi—including himself—into Karin's body.
He'd done the headcount.
Excluding Kimimaro and Neji, who needed to conserve chakra, there was himself, White, Yakumo, Sasuke, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki Yugito under his genjutsu, and Deidara—all capable of contributing chakra at the crucial moment.
Especially his and Sasuke's high-quality Yin Release chakra, Yakumo's high-quality Yang Release chakra, and the Two-Tails' massive tailed beast chakra were all premium, high-volume sources.