Evening.
Konoha Street.
After washing up, Sasuke, with his wet, shaggy hair, began to wander around… Staying at home wouldn't trigger any missions!
[Tree climbing training is complete; next up is water walking… However, both tree climbing and water walking are just applications of chakra control.
For now, tree climbing is enough!
Instead of wasting time on water walking, I should first learn the B-rank Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire… After all, Haku, with his Ice Style, will be a troublesome opponent soon!]
Sasuke's eyes flickered as he looked at the bustling crowd, thinking to himself.
With his current chakra, quality over quantity is key… With Great Fireball and Swift Lightning Arrow, and a B-rank Fire Style as a trump card, that's temporarily enough!
Besides, Kakashi is going to teach him an unknown ninjutsu tomorrow.
"Sasuke~~"
Suddenly, a charming yet innocent voice, laced with a hint of playful coquetry, came from a nearby street.
This made Sasuke pause, then turn his head… "Sasuke-kun, it really is you! Do you want to go on a date, just the two of us?"
A slender girl with blonde hair and a purple dress suddenly hugged Sasuke's arm, extending an enthusiastic and open invitation.
Her light yellow ponytail swayed in the wind, and a faint, sweet girlish scent instantly wafted into Sasuke's nostrils… "You're still as enthusiastic as ever, Ino…"
Sasuke felt the touch on his arm and responded with a faint smile.
However, his heart skipped a beat… It seems a simple invitation doesn't equal a suggestion; Sakura's time must have been due to discussing a strategy.
It had a practical core suggestion!
As he spoke, Sasuke's gaze shifted to the two boys beside them.
"I didn't expect to see you guys here… Shikamaru, Choji."
Sasuke's eyes showed a hint of a smile as he greeted them.
If he can't subjectively induce rewards, then making friends should be fine, right?
"Sasuke, you actually initiated a greeting with us…"
Shikamaru looked at Sasuke in surprise, while Choji, chewing on food, nodded repeatedly.
Sasuke, during his time at the Ninja Academy, was always a loner… a very aloof presence!
"Sasuke, ignore those two… How about we go eat together? I'm hungry!"
Seeing Sasuke's good attitude today, Ino immediately took advantage of the situation and called out sweetly.
"In that case… Shikamaru, Choji, you two come along too."
Sasuke's heart stirred at the words, and he used the opportunity to invite Shikamaru and Choji.
There's no harm in interacting with more friends, and he doesn't have to pay anyway… "Eat?
Okay, where should we eat…?"
Before Ino and Shikamaru could speak, the foodie Choji yelled excitedly, his eyes burning.
Never refusing an invitation to eat is a principle deeply ingrained in the Akimichi clan… "This is troublesome; it's piqued his appetite!
Well then, I'll leave it to you… Ino."
Shikamaru, knowing Choji's personality, scratched his head helplessly and gave Ino a look that said, "You're on your own."
Choji's appetite is no joke!
"Ah??
Seriously, how did it come to this…?"
Ino immediately felt a headache coming on, holding her head in annoyance.
But she couldn't scold Sasuke, nor did she want to miss this first opportunity to eat with Sasuke!
So… "Let's go, Sasuke-kun… And you two, Shikamaru, Choji."
Suppressing her inner displeasure, Ino forced a smile and held Sasuke's arm, feigning happiness.
However, when she mentioned Shikamaru and Choji's names, it was through gritted teeth… Soon, the group of four walked into a nearby restaurant.
"Sasuke, I now acknowledge your existence!"
Choji said sincerely, sitting across from Sasuke, and quickly took the menu to hand to the shop owner.
"Please bring me a full set of the menu, boss…"
Sasuke?
Ino??
"Sasuke, I don't know what caused your change… Perhaps it's because you've become a ninja and grown up!
However, this version of you makes me feel more like you're a comrade.
I hope you continue to maintain this, and don't be as solitary and aloof as before…"
Shikamaru looked deeply at Sasuke and said seriously, then began to look down at the menu to order.
"Shikamaru, what are you doing lecturing him… Sasuke-kun, please don't get angry!"
Seeing this, Ino quickly spoke up nervously, afraid of displeasing Sasuke and causing him to leave in anger.
If that happened, she would lose both her husband and her army; Sasuke would leave, and she'd still have to treat Choji to calm him down… How tragic!!
"Not at all, Ino.
On the contrary, I think Shikamaru is right!
If you can contact Shino, Hinata, and Kiba's team, it would be great if our class could have a reunion dinner."
Sasuke smiled and spoke eloquently, making Ino and Shikamaru look at him again.
They hadn't expected Sasuke to have such an idea… "Are you serious, Sasuke?"
Ino saw that Sasuke didn't seem to be faking it, so she opened her mouth to confirm.
"Of course…"
Sasuke smiled and nodded in confirmation; he certainly wasn't joking.
The moment Shikamaru suggested it, a system prompt sounded in his ear:
[Detected Shikamaru's suggestion, triggering a D-rank reward.
Mission: Change Teammate's Impression; Reward: 10,000 Ryo…]
Sasuke didn't care about the 10,000 Ryo reward!
What he cared about was using this opportunity to make more friends and increase the chances of triggering rewards.
He would accept any reward that came his way!
"Then it's decided!
I'll contact Hinata and the others to see if tomorrow night works.
After all, we graduated and passed the exams at the same time, so we really should have a class reunion."
Ino immediately patted her small chest, also very interested in the idea.
"Only the nine of us from Class Three successfully graduated at the same time, so I also support this suggestion!"
Shikamaru also nodded in agreement; even though he disliked trouble, he didn't find this to be troublesome.
"Great! Another big meal tomorrow…"
Choji slapped the table and shouted excitedly again, leaving the other three speechless for a moment.
Especially Sasuke, who was planning to treat them, secretly worried if the 10,000 Ryo reward would be enough… The next day.
In yesterday's small forest.
"Sasuke, you have now mastered Fire Style: Great Fireball.
We won't consider Fire Style for now… Today, I will teach you a Lightning Style ninjutsu: Lightning Snake… Although this is a C-rank Lightning Style, it has two attack methods.
You can condense lightning chakra in your hand for close-range attacks, or transform the lightning nature into a lightning snake for short-range attacks.
The hand seal sequence is Snake, Rooster, Monkey…"
Kakashi stood in front of Sasuke, meticulously explaining the training experience.
This C-rank Lightning Style was a ninjutsu he had carefully selected.
Learning this ninjutsu would make it easier to learn the advanced Lightning Style: Chidori later… It would also allow Sasuke to adapt to this attack method in advance.
He had truly put a lot of thought into it… "Activate your Sharingan, and I will demonstrate it once.
Although the single-tomoe Sharingan cannot copy ninjutsu, its enhanced perception can still aid in training…"
Kakashi said after finishing his theoretical explanation, and his hands immediately began to form seals.
[Kakashi is quite a reliable teacher!
He truly is second only to Orochimaru in how much he pours his heart out for Sasuke.
With this, developing Chidori Stream will be much simpler in the future… It perfectly complements the long-range Lightning Style: Swift Lightning Arrow, covering all distances: close, mid, and long.]
Looking at Kakashi, who was already unleashing Lightning Style, Sasuke thought to himself, and his eyes turned crimson… "Sharingan: Activate…"