Chapter 56: Future Plans.
"Kin-chan is really happy," Kirara Hoshi remarked, looking at Zenin Maki who had admitted defeat. They then turned to the juniors beside them and asked, "Kin-chan's passion hasn't faded yet. Anyone want to go up and experience it?"
"..."
Having heard Kirara Hoshi's earlier description of what it felt like to be hit, Tatsuro and Okkotsu Yuta immediately shut their mouths, pushing the thought of asking for taijutsu advice to the back of their minds.
Are you kidding? Even Maki, the top dog, lost. Are they supposed to go up and be served as cannon fodder?
Even if it were just being cannon fodder, wouldn't getting hit like that hurt like hell?
"Woof woof woof! (Master, was I quick?)"
Just then, Shura arrived, carrying the chilled watermelon, and placed it in front of Tatsuro, its erect tail wagging as if waiting for praise.
"..."
Tatsuro glanced at the already concluded match in the field and then at his dog's excited expression, not wanting to dampen its spirits. He patted its head and praised, "Shura, you run really fast."
Children always look happy when praised by their parents, and Shura was no different. If it were a normal family head, they might pick up the child, but Tatsuro was different; he couldn't lift Shura...
Looking at the lively Shura, Tatsuro picked up the watermelon from the ground and asked, "Anyone want some melon? It's chilled."
"I do!"
"Salmon!"
"Panda wants some too!"
Kirara Hoshi looked at the watermelon in Tatsuro's hand, still bearing traces of saliva, and thought to themselves, "Can you guys really stomach this melon?"
"Hahaha, eating watermelon? Count me in!" This hearty voice, even without looking, undoubtedly belonged to Kinji Hakari. After the fight, he was drenched in sweat, his pants soaked through.
"I want some too. Although it's a bit regrettable that I lost, it was very fulfilling," Zenin Maki said, tugging at her collar, her face flushed. She hadn't felt it much during the fight, but now that it was over, she realized how hot it was.
"..."
Kirara Hoshi was speechless. Seeing so many people eating, with only themselves left out, they stood up and said, "I'll have some too."
"Okay." Tatsuro handed the watermelon to Inumaki Toge and said, "Could you trouble yourself, Toge, to clean the melon and divide it into eight pieces?"
"Bonito flakes."
Inumaki Toge took the watermelon with one hand and tucked his neckwarmer, which was covering his mouth, into his collar. Holding the watermelon with both hands, he spoke, "Make the watermelon surface clean."
Swoosh—
The saliva on the watermelon's rind instantly vanished.
He continued, "Divide the watermelon into eight pieces."
The watermelon in his hands didn't move, but the others, already used to this, picked up their presumed slices.
Tatsuro, having returned after washing his hands, took two slices, handing one to his Shura.
"Cursed Speech, huh... What an interesting class this is."
Kinji Hakari looked at the watermelon in his hand, feeling it wasn't quite right to always be treated by his juniors. He said, "How about we eat out today? I know a restaurant with really delicious food. As your senior, it's my treat."
"Oh, there's no need for that," Panda said. "Why don't you seniors come over tonight and try Tatsuro-kun's cooking? He's a great cook, at least better than 95% of the restaurants outside, and it's food you can trust."
Okkotsu Yuta chimed in, "Yeah, and Tatsuro-kun is going out to buy groceries in a bit anyway. Why don't you seniors come over for dinner tonight?"
Hearing the juniors say this, both Kinji Hakari and Kirara Hoshi became interested.
Tatsuro was feeling quite flush at the moment. Hearing them praise his cooking skills, his nose was practically in the air. He patted his chest and guaranteed, "Tonight, the stomachs of you two clients are on me. I guarantee the food will be delicious."
After all, he hadn't spent much of the ten million yen he had earned previously, and then the school had paid him a salary, around three hundred thousand (author's estimate).
Although he couldn't afford ridiculously expensive cursed tools, it was more than enough for buying ingredients.
Cursed tools, like sorcerers, varied in quality. Anyway, he didn't know how to forge them. If he ever truly wanted to understand them, it would be after he reached Special Grade, at the earliest.
The most important thing now was to prepare for the battle with Kyoto Jujutsu High in four days. The training these few days probably wouldn't change much; it would likely involve more discussion of tactics.
Although there was a sure-win scenario, which was to let Okkotsu Yuta go berserk, that didn't feel quite right. After all, true strength was one's own strength. Other methods could be considered if they were losing...
He took out his phone from his pocket and checked the time. It was already two o'clock; time to go buy groceries. He gently patted Shura's head to signal it was time to go, then said to the others, "I'm going out to buy groceries, so I'll be leaving first."
After bidding farewell to everyone, he left the school directly. Looking at the lush green trees along the road, perhaps moved by the scenery, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion, "Ah~! Living is so tiring, but I don't want to die either. Before transmigrating, I studied medicine diligently. After transmigrating, I train every day. The only peaceful days were probably when I was in a coma."
"I really want to fall into a coma again for... uh, never mind. It's not like I'd get any benefits from it. Completing missions and getting rewards from a draw is more satisfying."
Having finished his reflections, Tatsuro opened the system panel and looked at it.
[Host: Tatsuro]
[Cursed Energy: 850, Semi-Second Grade Sorcerer]
[Stamina: 20]
[Dojutsu: One-Tomoe Sharingan]
[Ninjutsu: Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation, Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, Summoning Technique, Substitution Technique.]
[Taijutsu: Self-Defense Arts, Military Fist, Sanda, Jeet Kune Do, Maki's Sword Style (Renamable).]
"Semi-Second Grade Sorcerer, huh..." Tatsuro muttered, looking at the panel. He didn't usually like looking at this thing; sometimes, checking it once a month was quite normal. After all, if his points were zero, why bother looking?
Wasn't his heart anxious enough already?
His body was also pretty well-trained, nothing particularly surprising. Anyway, he felt it was all within expectations. With his life-risking training method, even a scrawny weakling could rise up.
As for this "Maki's Sword Style," it should mean he had learned the sword style Maki created herself...
Forget it, it doesn't sound good to say it out loud. Let's rename it.
"Let's call it... Two Months' Sky Sword Style. After all, I learned it for over two months."
Tatsuro looked at the renamed sword style and nodded with satisfaction. Although he didn't know if the name was "explosive" or not, he personally thought it had a lot of meaning.
Maybe in the future, every time he saw this name, he could recall his journey of getting beaten up, and then warn himself not to be arrogant, or more like, not to forget this dark history, warning himself to definitely get his own back in the future.
Anyway, whichever it was, Tatsuro felt it was quite meaningful.
He opened the ninjutsu purchasing page.
Tatsuro thought for a moment and decided to look at the Rasengan ninjutsu. After all, hand seals were really annoying. In a battle, who has time for hand seals? Late-stage Naruto was also ridiculous; they'd complete hand seals with just a clap.
After searching for a long time, Tatsuro clicked on the Rasengan's description.
[Rasengan: 200 points. Cursed Energy Cost: 200.]
[Rasengan: Formed by high-speed rotating and compressed cursed energy. It will crush whatever it touches, can easily break iron plates, and will cause an explosion upon contact. No hand seals required. Cursed Energy Cost: 200 points, no upper limit.]