The night was deep, and the moon is half-hidden.
Logan, having done his good deed anonymously, left the alley and entered another one. With a few steps on the walls on either side, his body lifted to the top, leaping toward home.
Don't take the usual path, that's how willful he is.
As he neared home, with a few tall buildings just tens of meters away, Logan slowed down and decided to walk on the street. The dark long street was devoid of pedestrians, with only the crisp sound of footsteps breaking the silence, which had its own unique charm.
Logan thought about school tomorrow. Classes were mostly a waste of time; maybe he should send a shadow clone instead. Approaching his neighborhood, he could hear a couple arguing in a lit apartment.
'But that is not appropriate. Having two identical people in the same city... it could be troublesome if I slip up.' Logan secretly thought. Although he could use a Transformation Technique to change his appearance, it would consume a lot of Chakra to maintain two techniques for a whole day.
'I need to keep some Chakra for emergencies... Ah, let's just see how things go first.'
Freeing up time might not necessarily lead to doing anything meaningful, so using a shadow clone to avoid school seemed like a luxury.
'Oh, that's right.' Logan took out a business card from his pocket, thinking about the man who had been beaten extremely miserably just now. The man was in his thirties, with only a bloodied face remaining in Logan's memory...
'Deputy Manager of Lost Soul Nightclub...' The meticulously crafted font on the gold-edged business card left Logan stunned, 'Nightclub?'
Logan rubbed his chin, and the things he didn't understand at first became clear, 'I was wondering why those thugs were so ruthless. It turned out that it was an internal conflict.'
Logan had no interest in delving into internal strife or underground power struggles. The rules among Rogue Ninjas in the black market were even more brutal. Although he encountered the legendary underworld for the first time tonight, there was no wave of emotion in his heart.
With his neighborhood in sight, Logan sneaked back to his room by using his usual method to avoid the security cameras, and lay down on bed to wait for the next day.
…
"Hey, Logan, did you see the latest Naruto chapter?"
As soon as Logan entered the classroom and took his seat, he heard a sudden shout from the back door, and his body froze.
High school meant getting up by 6:30 AM. Despite being strong and fit, and not needing as much sleep as ordinary people, Logan still felt like breaking a seal every time he got up. But his mother's considerate and loud wake-up calls were unstoppable. Any fantasy of sleeping in and casually arriving at the last minute was shattered. He could only sit obediently on the bus, heading slowly to school.
Most of the students in the class were in a half-asleep state, listless during the morning reading session, so David's enthusiastic chatter stood out.
"What's up?" Logan put his bag down, and David came over, draping an arm over his shoulder.
With empty eyes, Logan silently pushed away the other party's friendly hand and said, "Can you stop being so Gay so early in the morning?"
They were both tall, and David was chubby, slightly taller than Logan. Logan, on the other hand, looked a bit skinny. Normally, they would chat and discuss 2D topics together, self-absorbed in their interests. It was unclear if their two-person group had been paired up as a couple by any hidden fujoshis in the class.
"You." David was rejected and retracted his hand in displeasure. Then, he wiped his hand on his clothes in disgust, "I'm completely straight. Anyway, did you read the latest chapter?"
"The one about stealing the Scroll of Seals? Yeah, I saw it." Logan replied lightly. He had naturally read it several times the previous day to make sure he didn't miss anything.
"That's the one! Hey Logan, let me tell you, I made a new discovery..." David also sat down. After hearing what Logan said, he slapped his thigh, his expression moved slightly, and he seemed to be eager to have a chat.
"Why are your voices so quiet during morning reading?" The homeroom teacher suddenly entered through the front door, hands behind his back, frowning and commanding with authority. Seeing the homeroom teacher appear, the group of high school sophomores straightened up and began reading the text with renewed vigor.
The loud recitations instantly suppressed David's voice. Logan quickly picked up his book and adopted an appearance of diligent study. He knew that David would definitely talk about the fox-masked Ninja in the last scene. Seeing there has been enough discussion on the forum, he really doesn't want to listen anymore.
David felt disappointed and glanced at the homeroom teacher who was scanning the class on the podium. He also gave up his thoughts and picked up a book to read.
Morning reading didn't last long. As soon as it ended, the girl sitting in front of Logan went to the restroom, and David sat on her seat eagerly.
"Hey, Logan, that fox-masked Ninja at the end of the latest chapter..." David said this matter as expected.
"What's wrong with the fox-masked Ninja? Doesn't he look so cool when he falls on the tree trunk?" Logan knew he had no choice but to be dragged into the rhythm of his best friend.
"Cool?" David was stunned, "Cool what? I wasn't even talking about that. That fox mask is so ugly, weirdly shaped. Even wearing a clown mask would be more stylish. What's so special about him falling from the tree trunk? Let me see..."
As he spoke, David took out his cell phone in a truly diligent fashion and started looking it up.
Logan's face darkened as he watched him search. Half a minute later, David said doubtfully: "There's nothing special about it. It's just a normal descent from a height. No special effects, no wind effects, just very ordinary."
'The lightning effect from the Lightning Release had already dissipated at the highest point. Maintaining the electric light all the way to the tree trunk is a waste of Chakra! No wind effects? That's impossible. When I fell, the wind blew so hard that I could hardly open my eyes. That was definitely the author being lazy and skimped on the details!'
Logan was complaining crazily in his heart, but unfortunately, he still had to keep smiling on the outside, "What you said makes sense, David. Leave me alone and continue..."
"Oh." David put away his phone, " What I wanted to say is, the protagonist stealing the Scroll of Seals is like when there's an incident here, the police come out to maintain order. The sudden appearance of this fox-masked Ninja who stole the spotlight at the end is suspicious. There are also some shadowy figures in the background, probably special personnel sent by Konoha."
"Uh-huh." Logan's face was expressionless, and he was thinking about having fried chicken for lunch. After all, he had only had a piece of bread for breakfast. David was casually mentioning him stealing the spotlight, 'Damn it... Alright, I did steal the spotlight.'
"But I don't think it's that simple." David lo said, lowering his voice dramatically, pausing for effect.
Logan looked at him with a lifeless expression, and stared at him unmovingly.
With an awkward cough, David could only add to the drama himself, "Wearing a mask is completely unnecessary. This is what sets him apart from ordinary Ninjas. I guess this should be a special department that handles major incidents."
Logan didn't know what to say. On one hand, he admired David's dedication to analyzing the manga, but on the other hand, he also felt that his friend had way too much free time.
Little did they know that Logan used to watch anime with the same pure, unadulterated enthusiasm. Finally, David finished his analysis, and Logan praised his friend's insights. Just then, the class started and David, satisfied with the conversation, returned to his seat, suggesting they hang out at noon.