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Toshi Ikeno opened it and saw that it was a love bento.
There was a ham sausage on top of the fluffy rice.
A cute little mushroom sat on top.
A soft-boiled egg rested on the bottom.
It looked so adorable!
He happily ate it, and the more he ate, the sweeter it became.
After the meal, Ikeno pulled out a sunflower hairpin from his space. (His space is so amazing—it has everything...)
He then found Hinata, gently took her hand, and said, "Hinata, thank you, it was delicious. I'll give you a little flower."
He placed the hairpin on her head.
Hinata felt like her entire body had been shocked!
This was the first time a boy had held her hand.
After breaking free, she covered her face and ran off.
Finally, she fainted in the women's restroom...
This scene was witnessed by Sakura and Ino.
Sakura couldn't help but think: "It would be great if Sasuke did the same to me..."
Ino wasn't bothered by Ikeno. In fact, she even felt that he had Naruto's cheerful enthusiasm and Sasuke's maturity and stability.
The key thing was!
He was pretty handsome too.
He exuded a charm beyond his years.
"Sakura-chan, maybe I'll give Sasuke to you in the future!"
Ino laughed.
Sakura was confused...
In the evening, the bell finally rang.
Almost like lightning, several figures rushed out of the classroom, led by Naruto.
"Let's go, let's catch loaches together tomorrow!"
Seriously, loaches?
The next day was Sasuke's birthday.
Ikeno planned to give him a special gift:
Awaken the double magatama in his eye!
The Sharingan is a unique dojutsu of the Uchiha clan, but it requires specific conditions to activate, and the more magatama it has, the stronger the Sharingan's power.
Though Sasuke was supposed to unlock the double magatama in his right eye during his fight with Haku three months later, Ikeno thought doing it early for Sasuke's birthday would be the perfect gift.
It would deepen their bond and accomplish his goal.
Ikeno even prayed silently:
"Since I helped Sasuke unlock his Sharingan, maybe the system will reward me with Sharingan too..."
After school, Ikeno asked Sasuke to join him at the Konoha training ground.
Sasuke, wanting to ask for some advice, agreed readily.
On the way there, Ikeno thought: "To trigger the unlocking of his Sharingan, I need to create a special environment—anger, fear, or hatred. Just like when Sasuke awakened his powers on the night of the massacre..."
Soon, he came up with a way to stimulate Sasuke...
When they arrived at the training ground, they got into position and started sparring.
Even though Sasuke gave it his all, he couldn't win against Ikeno.
Twenty minutes passed...
Sasuke hadn't won a single round.
But he wasn't discouraged and kept getting back up to fight.
Ikeno became more ruthless, intent on bringing out Sasuke's latent power.
"Haha, aren't you the top student in school? A genius of Konoha Village? And a handsome genius at that. Why do your moves look like you're just dancing?"
Ikeno mocked.
Sasuke remained unfazed and kept charging forward.
Ikeno hit him square in the chest and sent him flying.
"Is this all the strength you've got, Sasuke?" Ikeno continued to taunt him.
Despite repeated insults, Sasuke finally yelled, "Damn it!"
He gave it his all once again.
"Come on! Use all your Great Fireball, shuriken, and kunai—you're still a loser!"
The taunting intensified.
Now, Sasuke was out of breath, crouching on the ground, panting heavily.
"What a weakling, even worse than Sakura and Ino!"
The mockery piled on.
"Haha, is this really your measure of strength?"
The word "measure" struck a nerve. Sasuke recalled the moment before his clan's massacre. He roared and charged at Ikeno again.
Taunt +50.
After five more minutes of enduring, Ikeno easily dodged all of Sasuke's attacks and landed a hard kick to his knee.
Sasuke collapsed to the ground.
Ikeno walked up, hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and stepped on Sasuke's head.
With disdain, he said in a condescending tone:
"Is this the strength of the Uchiha clan? Uchiha descendants are nothing more than people I can step on!"
Taunt +100!
This was Ikeno's final provocation.
If Sasuke didn't react now, he wouldn't know what else to do...
At that moment, Sasuke's reason was overwhelmed by pure rage.
Using his last bit of strength, he struggled to his feet, veins bulging on his forehead, fists clenched tight.
Ikeno stared at Sasuke's eyes, waiting for the miracle to happen.
"No! One! Insults! Uchiha!" Sasuke growled, word by word.
He raised his head and opened his eyes slowly.
A cold, intimidating aura radiated from him.
A flash of red light.
Two black tomoe appeared in his right eye, one in his left.
"It worked! He finally unlocked the double magatama!"
Looking at the blood-red Sharingan, Ikeno was even more excited than Sasuke.
"As expected of Indra's reincarnation—ask and the Sharingan awakens..."
Now, Sasuke, blinded by rage and empowered by his newly awakened Sharingan, exploded with chakra.
Ikeno Jun dodged while yelling, "STOP! Sasuke! You've unlocked your Sharingan!"
But Sasuke seemed deaf to his words and continued attacking with full force.
Ikeno Jun dodged frantically, feeling the pressure of being hit.
He couldn't help but marvel at the power of the Sharingan.
"Amazing! Just a glimpse of its power and I'm being forced to dodge like this..."
After a few more minutes of frenzied attacks, Sasuke finally collapsed from exhaustion.
Breathing heavily, his mind slowly returned to clarity.
"I didn't mean what I said before..." Ikeno sat beside Sasuke, explaining for ten minutes.
After understanding his intentions, Sasuke calmly said, "Thank you."
Despite having his pride trampled and his family insulted, he had unlocked the double magatama in his Sharingan.
Ikeno had good intentions after all.
Under the bright moon and stars, their stomachs growled in unison.
"Come to my place, I'll make you something delicious..." Ikeno said with a grin.
Sasuke looked at him suspiciously.
But, surprisingly, he agreed.
This was the first time he had ever gone to a classmate's house.
Once they arrived, Ikeno immediately started preparing dinner.
"There are game consoles, karaoke, a treadmill, anime—whatever you like."
Ikeno had hidden anything related to Hokage in advance. ≥Ö‿Ö≤
Sasuke wasn't interested in game consoles, so he turned on the TV and started watching "Attack on Titan" with great interest.
Soon, the delicious food was ready.
When Sasuke saw the spread in front of him, he was stunned...
Meat floss rice balls, arrowroot dumplings, blueberry egg tarts, tomato pizza, sushi, black pepper steak, curry rice, pork miso ramen, grilled fish, Anko soup...
Taking a bite of a rice ball, Sasuke looked up in surprise.
"You... made all of this?"
Ikeno smiled and nodded. "Of course, no takeout here..."
Sasuke was silent for a moment, then started devouring the food, completely forgetting his image.
"Haha, this chef's skills are truly incredible!"
But despite their growing friendship, Ikeno noticed there was no sign of a reward yet.
"Do I need to use my final trump card...?"
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