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Just as Toshi Ikeno was about to fall asleep, the system notification appeared.
[Ding! Host, please proceed to the tailor shop for a sign-in and customize a set of clothing within the next four days.]
Three days later.
Ikeno went to the tailor shop to retrieve his customized outfit.
Ever since his time travel, he'd been stuck wearing the same Hokage-themed T-shirt. The clothes in his space inventory were also all part of the Hokage collection, with images of Naruto and Sasuke printed on them. Both Naruto and Sasuke had asked him more than once why he had their faces on his clothes, and if he had a crush on them...
This time, however, he designed an outfit that better fit into the world of Hokage.
The inner layer was a white shirt.
For the upper body, he wore a black haori with intricate patterns.
The lower half consisted of wide-legged black pants, tight around the ankles.
Draped over his shoulders was a long white feather coat.
On the back of the coat, a black circle surrounded a large pink character for "Chi"!
"Haha, not bad!"
Ikeno immediately tried it on.
The inspiration for the outfit came from the "Death Boss" uniform in Bleach, and more specifically, from the leader of the Zero Division.
It looked fierce!
Full of Haki!
Awesome!!!
The only thing missing was a Zanpakutō…
And just as he thought of it, the system rewarded him for completing his sign-in.
Ikeno took a look.
Holy cow! It was none other than Orochimaru's Kusanagi sword~~~
After a lot of research, he didn't find any special abilities to the blade.
But hanging it on his waist, it looked incredibly cool and impressive when paired with his outfit…
He made three sets of these clothes and rotated through them.
The total cost was 500 ryo.
The cheeky Ikeno even took out four thick picture books from his space inventory:
"Appreciation of World Statues - Naked Men (Volumes 1 & 2)," "Urology and Andrology Illustrated Guide"...
Arriving in the classroom.
The moment Ikeno entered, there was a chorus of exclamations.
"Wow, so cool!"
"Yes! That outfit is amazing!"
"The black-and-white combo looks so calm and dashing, and the pink character on the back adds a playful touch."
"And that katana, it's too awesome!"
Coincidentally, Sasuke also walked in.
Compared to Toshi Ikeno's black-and-white Shinigami-inspired outfit, Sasuke's blue outfit didn't seem as cool anymore.
Ino and Sakura's eyes darted over to Toshi Ikeno.
They realized Ikeno had a more intriguing charm than Sasuke.
He was both carefree and undeniably cool.
Especially the slight smirk at the corner of his lips—it was irresistible...
Sakura quickly shook off the thought and turned her attention back to Sasuke.
Ino, on the other hand, brazenly walked over, grabbed Ikeno's sleeve, and started to inspect it.
She was charming and bold!
Hinata, witnessing this scene, felt a wave of jealousy, like she had swallowed something sour.
During class, she found herself distracted by Ikeno's handsomeness, sneaking glances at him whenever she could...
After class, Naruto kept pestering Ikeno to get him an outfit like that too.
Ikeno imagined how Naruto would look in the outfit and thought it would ruin Naruto's image, so he gave up on the idea...
Though Toshi Ikeno wasn't chasing rewards for style, he'd rather receive something with practical value.
Thankfully, a few days later, the system popped up again.
This time it issued a task for sign-in:
[Establish a social circle in the class, make friends, and create your own small organization.]
"Hehe, now this is a worthwhile mission. Having no friends would make an empty wedding reception rather embarrassing."
As for who to make friends with?
Of course!
The Konoha 12!
His universal space inventory was amazing. Ikeno took out a bunch of snacks from it.
White peach-flavored iced bread, triple cheese, crispy potato wedges, Yumiz, barrel barbecue...
He also didn't forget to grab a pack of dog food.
The next morning.
Carrying a large bag of snacks, he went straight to the classroom.
Walking up to Chōji, who was munching on potato chips, Ikeno opened up a big bucket of cumin-spiced barbecue. As soon as he lifted the lid, the aroma of grilled meat filled the air.
"Chōji, this is for you!"
"Really…?" Chōji couldn't believe his luck.
"It smells so good..."
Chōji put the roasted meat into his mouth and looked as if he'd ascended to heaven!
"This is delicious! I've never tasted anything so amazing!"
He tossed aside the potato chips and started wolfing it down.
Chōji had a natural talent for eating, and soon the other students were salivating over his meal.
Even Shikamaru, who was usually slouched over on the table, perked up.
"Toshi Ikeno, I'm officially your friend!" Chōji declared.
Barbecue beats potato chips any day!
"Wooo..." a cute whimper echoed from beside him.
Looking down, Ikeno saw Akamaru eyeing the food hungrily. He took out the pack of dog food.
Akamaru eagerly devoured it and wagged his tail at him.
Kiba grinned and held out his hand.
"My name is Inuzuka Kiba, I'm your friend too!"
Food diplomacy was a success!
Ikeno had made two new friends.
Kiba's personality was similar to Naruto's, so he suggested they throw a celebration dinner to commemorate their new friendships.
When Chōji heard the words "dinner," he readily agreed and called Shikamaru to join.
Naruto excitedly invited Sakura and even dragged Sasuke along.
Sasuke was reluctant to join, but when he heard that Toshi Ikeno would be attending, he nodded and agreed.
Sakura then pulled Ino along.
Kiba called Shino.
Lastly, Toshi Ikeno invited the shy Hinata.
And thus, nine of Konoha's twelve young heroes were gathered!
The dinner party was held at Kiba's place.
Barbecue was on the menu!
The gathering was lively, and Ikeno began forging bonds with the group, slowly integrating himself.
It was time to rename them the Konoha 9.
"By the way, I think we should give our group a name!" Naruto suggested eagerly.
He hadn't been invited to such a lively dinner in a long time.
"Yeah, make it loud!"
"Full of swagger!"
"Something cool!"
Ikeno thought for a moment. "How about we call ourselves the Nights Gang?"
"Nights Gang! That's an awesome name! From now on, we'll be called the Nights Gang!"
And so, the name for the small organization was decided.
The system rewarded him as well.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have completed the mission and signed in, earning super perception skills, allowing you to sense people and objects within a 500-meter radius.]
Super perception?
That's amazing!
"Let me give it a try!"
Ikeno immediately activated his new perception technique.
…
A vivid image popped up in his mind, like an upgraded version of the Byakugan. He quickly stopped the technique, his heart racing from excitement.
That night, as he lay in bed, the room felt a bit stuffy.
He opened the window and enjoyed the cool night breeze.
"Hmm?"
A faint scent of blood drifted in on the wind.
Ikeno activated his super perception technique again, heightening his senses.
"The source of the smell seems to be not far away..."
He quickly put on his clothes and leaped out of the window.
As he approached the area, the smell of blood became stronger.
After several leaps through the trees, Ikeno finally found the source of the blood.
Two corpses lay silently beneath a large tree.
Blood had soaked into the soil.
Ikeno took a mask from his inventory and put it on before crouching down to inspect.
The bodies were dressed in patterned masks.
Both wore identical black uniforms.
Root members!
Both men had holes the size of a finger through their necks, leaving gory wounds that were terrifying to look at.
"This doesn't look like shuriken or kunai... nor senbon... what kind of weapon caused this?"
Suddenly!
A gust of sinister wind swept in from behind Ikeno.
The fallen leaves rustled, the sound particularly jarring in the quiet night.
There was a faint thud!
Ikeno shouted sharply, "Who's there? Show yourself, I can see you!"
But the sound vanished.
At that moment, beneath the dark sky, a pair of faintly glowing eyes appeared in the distance.
They were like the eyes of a ghost!
Ikeno's 's heart pounded as their gazes locked...
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