Pakura felt a flicker of curiosity.
Had Rasa already known about the Third Kazekage's disappearance?
She almost asked, then stopped herself.
She knew him… technically.
But only in the way two high-ranking shinobi know each other professionally. Formally. At a distance.
Rasa rarely socialized. Unless there was a mission briefing or urgent matter, he kept to himself, training in near isolation.
Pakura had spent most of her career deployed on long assignments beyond the village borders. Their paths crossed, but they rarely lingered.
At best, they were colleagues who exchanged nods in the hallway.
After a brief hesitation, her cool, steady voice cut through the murmurs filling the chamber.
"Rasa. You seem unusually calm. Did you already suspect something like this?"
Ethan snapped out of the contingency plans running through his head when he heard his name.
He turned toward her.
He ignored the faint scent of sun-warmed fabric and desert air drifting from her direction.
A reflexive smile almost surfaced.
He suppressed it immediately.
Wrong setting.
His expression remained composed.
"No," he replied evenly. "I only reasoned that if Lady Chiyo bypassed the Kazekage's chain of command and summoned us directly, something serious must have happened."
A pause.
"I considered the possibility that the Third might be ill… but this is far worse."
He lowered his gaze afterward, careful to keep his expression unreadable.
Pakura studied him.
She assumed grief.
After all, the Kazekage's disappearance was catastrophic for the village.
But Ethan wasn't hiding sorrow.
He was hiding shock.
To everyone else, it looked as if he were staring at the stone floor.
In reality...
He was looking at something only he could see.
.
.
.
.
A translucent interface hovered at the edge of his vision.
[Super Affinity System]
Ethan's heartbeat spiked.
Excitement threatened to break through his composure, but years of corporate masking paid off. His breathing remained steady. His posture is unchanged.
In a room full of elite Jonin, assuming privacy was suicide.
He addressed it silently.
System?
No response.
He focused again.
The interface shifted.
A calm, neutral voice echoed inside his mind.
"Super Affinity System initializing
Activation requires one year of the host's lifespan
Do you consent?"
One year?
That was a bargain.
Accept.
A faint sensation passed through him, not pain, not dizziness. Just the subtle awareness that something intangible had been taken.
"Host consent confirmed within activation threshold.
One year of lifespan is deducted.
System fully activated."
Three icons materialized
[Host]
[Character Affinity]
[Redeem]
Ethan selected [Character Affinity].
"First-time access reward granted: Mid-Tier Affinity Amplifier."
Information flowed directly into his thoughts.
The item would double daily affinity growth for one target, up to a cap of one hundred points.
His pulse quickened.
This wasn't cheap emotional manipulation.
It enhanced genuine connection.
He also received one free affinity point.
A list appeared ranking every individual in the room who held even the faintest positive regard toward him.
Pakura: Age 19
[7 Affinity Points]
The system clarified:
[0 Points - Neutral Stranger]
[1 Point - Recognizes Your Name]
[5 Points - Casual Acquaintance]
[10 Points - Ordinary Friend]
[20 Points - Strong Trust]
[30 Points - Deep Emotional Bond]
[40 Points - Unshakable Loyalty]
Zero wasn't hostile.
It was baseline neutrality.
And once affinity rose, it decayed slowly if at all.
At 20+, people instinctively gave him the benefit of the doubt.
At 30+, they rationalized his actions on his behalf.
Not genjutsu.
Not chakra manipulation.
Authentic emotion accelerated.
Ethan assigned the free point to Pakura.
[+1 Affinity Point]
Pakura: 8
He activated the Affinity Amplifier.
[Amplifier Applied]
Pakura: 16
Notifications followed:
[First Allocation Bonus: +1 Skill Point]
[First Item Use Bonus: +30 Skill Points]
[Affinity Growth Bonus: +9 Skill Points]
Ethan kept his breathing even.
Skill Points.
The true currency of the system.
If the conversion efficiency scaled properly…
He might have just acquired a sustainable advantage in a world where raw power dictated survival.
A quiet voice pulled him back.
"Rasa… are you certain you're well?"
He looked up.
Pakura had leaned slightly toward him.
Her posture remained dignified, but her expression had softened.
Concern.
Genuine concern.
Sixteen affinity points were already influencing her instincts.
Ethan offered a restrained smile.
"I'm fine."
Pakura frowned faintly.
Why did he suddenly feel… closer?
They had barely spoken over the years.
Yet now, an inexplicable familiarity lingered.
As if they had trained together for months.
Shared hardships.
She brushed the thought aside and leaned back.
Unaware that her emotional recalibration had been gently accelerated by an unseen mechanism.
Ethan, meanwhile, had already shifted priorities.
The System was useful.
But it wouldn't stop a kunai.
The Sand Village was on the brink of catastrophic strategic mistakes, ones he remembered clearly from canon.
If the Third Kazekage was truly gone…
War was inevitable.
He needed time.
Time to build strength.
Time to ensure he wasn't the next political casualty.
Only after securing his survival could he even consider leveraging the System beyond practicality.
The chamber's noise swelled whispers, arguments, speculation rising toward chaos.
Lady Chiyo allowed it for several seconds.
Then she spoke.
Her voice wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be.
"Enough."
Silence fell instantly.
Even the desert wind outside seemed to pause.
---