Shiki suddenly understood — the way she was acting was just an act to make things easier on him. In reality, though, she was still deeply worried.
Shiki could only say, "If I'm still here in three months, maybe we can relax a little."
From his own words, Shiki already knew — he'd made up his mind. It was going to be a fight to the death.
Chapter 25: [Medical Ninjutsu?]
After parting with Tenten, Shiki returned home and went to sleep. Yet heavy thoughts weighed on him, tossing him about in bed, unable to fall asleep.
Suddenly seeing Naruto lying beside him, an idea arose in his mind.
"If I could transfer the Nine-Tails into my own body, would I stand a better chance?"
Before his thoughts could go any further, Shiki realized this was a completely impossible idea.
Firstly, the Dead Demon Consuming Seal that bound the Nine-Tails inside Naruto was a secret technique of the Uzumaki clan. The problem was, he didn't know how to use it himself, nor did he have any way to break through it. There was absolutely no way he could transfer the Nine-Tails into his own body.
Plus, even if Shiki somehow had the opportunity, he wouldn't want to do it anyway — because extracting a tailed beast would kill its host.
Sighing helplessly, Shiki could only drift into slumber while thinking.
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window and woke Shiki up.
In fact, he had never felt more awake than right now. The moment he opened his eyes, his mind was already turning toward how he should face the upcoming threat.
Shiki clearly knew there was only one path left — to rush toward the Hokage Office before Danzo's Anbu could prepare themselves.
As long as he reached there, the Third would definitely offer protection.
Otherwise, Shiki knew that if Danzo captured him, the Third wouldn't get another shot at saving him.
Because Danzo would surely claim Shiki came willingly.
Even if the Third knew Danzo was lying, for the stability of Konoha, he'd have no choice but to let it go.
After all, how many terrible things had Danzo done — even tried to assassinate the Third? And yet the Third still forgave him.
Shiki knew that once he fell into Danzo's hands, he would have zero chances left.
As for fleeing and becoming a rogue ninja, with his current strength, Danzo would easily capture him again.
Even Sasuke had only managed to escape Konoha so smoothly with Orochimaru's support.
What if he directly confronted Danzo at Root headquarters instead? Maybe...? Like hell it is! That's basically suicide!
After eliminating the few options he had, Shiki finally knew — he had no choice but to break through Root's defenses and head straight for the Hokage Office to seek direct help from the Third.
Of course, Shiki had considered telling other Jonin about everything too. Yet he knew first, the Anbu tailing him would never allow such a thing to happen.
Moreover, most Jonin were always preoccupied with their own missions, only occasionally meeting by chance. Even if he did tell them, unless they were elite Jonin like Kakashi or Guy who even possessed Kage-level strength, they would simply be inviting death upon themselves.
"Guess I've really got no choice but to storm into the Hokage Office."
Shiki declared decisively, "Although we're planning a surprise attack, these three months are crucial for improvement. I should at least open the fourth of the Eight Gates, or even forcefully push to the fifth despite the resulting severe injuries."
But deep down, he knew that wouldn't be enough. Stronger methods were necessary, which was exactly why he had decided to infiltrate Konoha Hospital for its secrets.
Because hidden inside that hospital was a powerful and secret jutsu!
Otherwise, why else would he keep bugging Sena Hoshino? Did he look like some guy who was trying to seduce girls?
Shiki gave a self-mocking smile, though he did recall that Sena Hoshino was genuinely beautiful. And kind too—being her younger brother figure felt quite fitting.
When it came to women, Shiki believed himself to be traditionally loyal and emotionally committed.
Of course, this last point had yet to be tested—it was just Shiki's personal belief. But the former was true indeed; at the very least, Shiki knew he couldn't accept being in a relationship with an older woman.
Especially with a large age gap—Shiki believed the woman would inevitably see him only as her younger brother, her affection more like family than romantic.
In that case, why not simply remain good siblings?
Just thinking about how lovely Sena Hoshino looked, she must already have many men chasing after her, right?
Suddenly, Shiki realized that whenever he thought about Sena, he'd unintentionally relax.
It seemed that the sense of protection she'd left him yesterday had already deeply imprinted itself in his heart.
Especially when she carefully bandaged his wounds.
"Naruto! Wake up! We've got school today!"
Shiki woke Naruto up. Although Shiki planned not to attend the Ninja Academy for the next three months, at the very least he should say something to Iruka-sensei before taking that time off.
He needed to ask for a really long break—like three months long.
Naturally, Naruto wasn't happy being woken up so early by Shiki. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he asked, "Shiki, why'd you wake me up so early? You just sleep through class anyway. But I have to become Hokage, so I can't afford to do that. That means you really should let me sleep a bit longer."
Grumbling under his breath, Naruto kept trying to find ways to sneak back into bed.
Knowing every moment was precious, Shiki dragged Naruto up regardless, forced him to wash up, change clothes, and then walked out with him.
This time, Shiki and Naruto ate breakfast outside. Usually, if Naruto went alone to buy food, the shop owner would find various reasons to refuse serving him.
But now that Shiki accompanied him, everything changed. After all, no matter what, the shopkeeper wouldn't dare refuse to sell meals to Shiki.
After breakfast, Shiki and Naruto reached the school grounds earlier than usual.
"What!" Iruka slammed his hand hard onto the table—the three-month sick leave slip lying there particularly noticeable.
Iruka almost glared straight into Shiki's face, furious as he exclaimed, "Ever since I started teaching, I've never seen a student like you before! Previously, I tolerated your sleeping in class because you needed training! But now you actually want to take a three-month break? There's absolutely no way this is acceptable!"
Shiki hadn't expected Iruka's reaction to be this intense. Upon reflection, though, he could understand the reason.
After all, he was Iruka's student, and a good teacher would never joke about a student's future.
And himself...
Hadn't he performed terribly over the past two years on purpose, just to hide his real strength?
No wonder Iruka was so angry.
Thus, Shiki said, "Teacher, please believe me. This time after my training journey, when I return, I promise I'll shock you. All my actions these last few years were nothing but an act."
An act?
Iruka frowned. Ever since that fight with Qing Mu, Shiki indeed seemed to have regressed a lot in speed, as if something was holding him back.
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