At this moment, their thoughts were clear: once they became Sharly's girlfriend, they would have to correct her bad habit of not caring about dressing up.
Now, many girls had gathered around Sharly. They exchanged hostile glances for a moment before starting to greet her.
Sharly remained silent, quickly regaining her composure. She put on a nonchalant expression and walked straight to her seat, ignoring everything around her.
Ino was sitting at her desk. She had considered walking over to greet Sharly but abandoned the idea when she saw how many people were nearby. As expected, she soon saw Sharly coldly emerging from the crowd.
At first, Ino felt a bit petty. After all, they had held hands during the winter break, yet Sharly hadn't spent all her time with her.
"Good morning."
Suddenly, Ino heard Sharly greet her as she passed by.
"Good morning, Sharly."
In that instant, Ino's anger dissipated. Feeling the other girls' jealous and hostile stares, she couldn't help but smile proudly.
Hmm, she thought, you see? This girl is truly extraordinary!
Chapter 47 – Achievements and Borrowed Items
"Why do you think you're so popular?" Shikamaru asked, lying on his desk as he looked at Sharly beside him.
"I don't know either," Sharly sighed.
Shikamaru believed her. Judging by Sharly's behavior, she wasn't truly cold; her act of indifference was simply to avoid trouble from overly intrusive girls.
Sure enough, he thought, even with such behavior, truly exceptional people still attract attention.
"By the way, do you think that guy Naruto will be late on the first day of school?" Shikamaru glanced at the empty seat beside Sharly.
"Not impossible," Sharly replied thoughtfully.
Suddenly, both Shikamaru and Sharly felt a sense of helplessness.
Sure enough, after the school bell rang for a while, Naruto arrived late.
Iruka, standing at the podium, had a noticeable tic on his forehead—a clear sign that he was annoyed by Naruto's tardiness on the first day.
"Sharly, long time no see!" After a long while, Naruto returned to his seat and greeted her.
"Long time no see," Sharly replied.
After that, Sharly's face returned to its usual neutral expression. Naruto gradually got used to it, realizing she treated everyone the same, sometimes even slightly better toward him.
At this time, Sharly was reviewing some information on sealing techniques. Although her understanding seemed unusual, it was clear that a caster needed sufficient power for the technique to work; otherwise, others would naturally resist.
Yet, in some special situations, sealing techniques were extremely useful. For instance, Jiraiya had used it to seal Itachi's Amaterasu black flames. Otherwise, it would have been very difficult. While the records in the original story were sparse, the technique's potential was high.
Thus, mastering sealing techniques remained important. As for illusion techniques, only a few masters were skilled in them, and they had little practical use later, though Sharly could study how to break them in the future.
Sharly reflected on what she had gained during the winter break.
First, with the Flying Thunder God technique, she could summon the kunai directly without relying on perception in the Void state—achieving a significant goal.
Next, the Kongming Realm was progressing further. She could control some chakra but not yet change its form. Patience was key.
However, Sharly was surprised when she noticed faint energies she couldn't see in the Void state.
She suspected these were natural energies. After so long, she finally witnessed them firsthand. Of course, she had no intention of absorbing them.
Firstly, her chakra reserves weren't sufficient to suppress natural energy. Secondly, even if she could control absorption, a miscalculation might turn her into stone—suicide, essentially.
Still, being able to sense natural energy was beneficial. Currently, her perception was vague but could be strengthened over time. Sharly was not in a hurry. After all, mastering Sage Mode required sufficient chakra to maintain the minimum energy threshold.
Even with constant training, reaching that chakra level would take time. Why rush?
It was best to continue deepening her Void and Darkness states. Then, once her chakra reached the target, she would already be highly advanced, making Sage Mode easier to learn.
Regarding simplified hand seals for jutsu, she still needed to perform three out of five seals for standing techniques. She felt she was just two seals away from her goal. The later the simplification, the more difficult it became. Replacing two seals with a single technique would double the difficulty.
For Gale Palm, many seals initially made simplification straightforward.
As for Rasengan, she practiced the wind-nature variant. It was slightly more difficult than expected but manageable, and didn't hinder her progress. Its power was stronger than a neutral Rasengan, though mini-Rasengan consumed less chakra and no one was attacking her, so conserving energy made sense. Moreover, the smaller size required higher control.
Ultimately, the essence of wind-nature had changed. She could cut through blades but needed more chakra. Her goal was to cut through all types of blades with chakra.
In summary, her progress was impressive, and Sharly was very satisfied.
During class, Sharly also approached Ino.
"What's wrong, Sharly?" Ino asked, slightly surprised, then smiled.
Sharly didn't intend to hide anything; she told Ino she wanted to borrow a chakra transmission device.
"That's it? I probably have plenty at home. Want me to bring a kunai for you too?" Ino said without hesitation.
"Thank you so much. By the way, Ino, make sure to tell your dad before taking it," Sharly said, worried Ino might take it without permission. "I'll return it as soon as possible."
"Ino's dad probably wouldn't mind the kunai. I can give it to you, but I should ask him first." Ino paused, then curiously asked, "Why do you need it, Sharly?"
"Probably for training," Sharly said, sparks of lightning flickering in her palm. "Good equipment makes training easier."
Ino's eyes widened in admiration as she watched the lightning. She didn't know how Sharly did it, but the power was undeniable.
Ino nodded seriously. Training was crucial for every ninja, so she promised to deliver the kunai properly.
"Thank you," Sharly said earnestly.
"No need to thank me. It's the right thing to do…" Ino blushed as she spoke softly, watching Sharly's serious expression.
Sharly didn't hear clearly and asked, "What?"
"Nothing," Ino quickly waved it off. "Class is about to start. Sharly, please return to your seat."
"Okay." Sharly glanced at the time—it wasn't long after break ended—but she nodded and returned to her desk.
Other students noticed Sharly's actions. Girls envied Ino; she was progressing faster than them. How could they catch up?
Shikamaru looked between Sharly and Ino, clicked his tongue, and lay back down.
Chapter 48 – Agreement
"Dad, do we still have any kunai that conduct chakra?"
After a busy day, Yamanaka Kuro returned home, dragging his tired body. He had barely sat on the sofa when his daughter spoke.
"Yes, we do. But why is Ino asking? These aren't usually used in class, especially not this type," Kuro replied, slightly puzzled.
"Oh, Sharly borrowed one from me. She said she needed it for training," Ino said matter-of-factly.
"What kind of training requires that?" Kuro frowned, feeling slightly uneasy about being asked for something for someone else's private matter.
"I don't know, but Sharly seems to be showing off. She had so many lightning arcs—it looked amazing," Ino said, her eyes sparkling.
Kuro paused, momentarily distracted from his dinner. Ino's words made him widen his eyes. Considering she had requested to borrow the ninja tool, the situation was now clear: his daughter's classmate was already working with lightning-based techniques at a young age.
Though Kuro didn't have lightning nature himself, as a Jonin and intelligence officer, he had seen plenty of elite ninjas in action.
Now, he realized that his daughter was interacting with an elite ninja classmate—a prodigy. Though he felt a little uneasy, he also believed it was good for his daughter. After all, such talent was extraordinary.
Kuro had only one daughter. He wouldn't exploit her, but if she liked it, that was her choice. As for custody or future claims, that was up to them. Perhaps later, he could show Shikamaru as well, he mused.
"Do we have it?" Ino asked, noticing her father's distraction, pouting slightly.
"Of course. I'll get it for you. Anything else?" Kuro replied, snapping back to reality. He wouldn't give away the kunai casually—it wasn't a loan, it was a gift.
"Sharly didn't specify, but I think we should give her the best one. It'll help her train!" Ino said, eyes bright.
Kuro was momentarily speechless. His daughter's elbow nudged outward unexpectedly, but he still picked a good kunai from the unused batch and handed it to Ino.
Ino didn't fully understand the quality differences, but she happily accepted it, thanked her father, and returned to her room, carefully packing it.
The Next Day
Sharly attempted to infuse chakra into the kunai Ino had given her and was pleasantly surprised. She had only wanted a usable kunai, but this one was of high quality.
Though she had no other benchmarks, Sharly's chakra transmission efficiency could distinguish quality.
"How's it going?" Ino asked, expecting a satisfactory answer.
"Good, thank you very much," Sharly replied sincerely.
"As long as it works, that's enough. My dad helped me pick it out," Ino said, finally smiling.
Sharly gazed at Ino's smile. It was so cute that she momentarily didn't know what to think.
Ino, meanwhile, noticed Sharly watching her. Though expressionless, she felt a quiet thrill—this time, it worked perfectly!
"Ino," Sharly suddenly called.
"Hmm? Yes?" Ino responded, puzzled.
"After school, don't waste time on the way home. Go straight home, and don't go out at night either," Sharly instructed.
"Hmm? Oh," Ino nodded, slightly confused but thinking Sharly was looking out for her.
Sharly didn't dwell on it. She simply sensed that the days of the Uchiha clan's downfall were approaching. Last year, relations between villagers and the Uchiha guards were extremely tense.
Though the year had just ended, tensions were likely to worsen. Sharly didn't know the exact date of the clan's annihilation or how long it would last, but she knew it was best not to wander the village recently.
After all, she didn't believe that one Itachi could destroy the Uchiha, even with Obito's help. Could they really guarantee it?
Destroying a wealthy ninja clan in a powerful village?
The situation was undoubtedly complex. Who else was involved? Obito? White Fang? Or… the village itself?
The Third Hokage usually allowed events to unfold without interference. In practice, as long as he knew and didn't stop it, it was essentially adding fuel to the fire. Naruto's experiences were proof.
However, the Third Hokage would still mobilize forces just in case. If Itachi failed, there would be no mercy.
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