Plus, Lee had just unleashed such a fierce attack, leaving his physical energy massively depleted.
Shiki knew this was the moment to end the battle with one final strike.
Once again, the hand seals were practically imprinted into Shiki's mind. His fingers moved simultaneously with mechanical precision and lightning speed.
[Fire Release! Great Fireball Jutsu!]
The same Great Fireball technique erupted once more, instantly engulfing Lee.
At this point, even those who had previously misjudged the situation twice dared not declare the outcome so easily anymore.
But Shiki himself had no strength left to continue fighting. Except for hiding certain techniques from Danzo, this battle had nearly squeezed out every ounce of his abilities.
With no regrets remaining, he quickly collapsed onto the ground under gravity's pull.
Exhausted, Shiki wanted to praise Lee for his improvement. However, surprisingly, Lee spoke first:
"Shiki, I never thought that despite my hard work, I still couldn't defeat a genius like you!"
Turning his head, Shiki saw Lee lying on the ground panting heavily too.
He must think I won.
Amused, Shiki shook his head and said, "Lee, look at me."
When Lee turned over and saw Shiki lying just like him, after a brief shock, the two exchanged smiles.
This match ended in a draw.
"Hey! What exactly did you two do here?"
Tenten arrived carrying two delicate lunch boxes, only to find both Shiki and Lee completely drained, lying on the ground.
Looking around, she noticed unburnt flames still lingering on nearby trees. Many others had been uprooted or snapped in half.
The ground was littered with craters, like it had been bombarded by meteors.
"What exactly happened here? Did an upper-level Jonin battle occur here?"
Tenten exclaimed in amazement.
Almost no one would believe that two academy students had caused such destruction unless they'd witnessed the whole thing themselves.
"Oh, Tenten, you're finally here!" Lee beamed when he saw her. "I'm starving!"
"Lee, can't you act slightly calmer? You look like someone who hasn't seen food for days. Look at Shiki."
Before Tenten finished speaking, Shiki added, "Tenten, I'm also starving!"
"Honestly, you two!" Tenten frowned, annoyed.
Chapter 32: Someone I Can't Forget
"You should eat slower. Why do you look like you haven't eaten in days?" Tenten sighed helplessly.
But neither Shiki nor Lee listened to her words. They continued wolfing down their rice with big bites.
This time was different — Tenten hadn't brought Ichiraku Ramen. Instead, she'd prepared homemade rice balls, sashimi, and meat soup.
Though the food was simple, both Shiki and Lee devoured it happily. Among all their classmates, the three of them had the strongest bond.
Truth be told, sharing dinner under the stars each night with the two of them was actually pretty amazing.
But Shiki didn't know how much longer this lifestyle could last. There was only a month left until the end of the year.
Besides, he had no intention of waiting until the very last moment to carry out his plan.
That would be too passive. The odds of success would drop way too low.
So Shiki's actual plan was to make his move on the Hokage Office ten days before New Year's.
This way, there'd be an element of surprise. After all, even Root couldn't possibly guard him every single moment and prevent him from contacting the Third.
"Shiki, Lee," Tenten suddenly said, gazing up at the night sky, "do you think it'd be great if we could always stay like this?"
Hearing that, Shiki couldn't help but reply sincerely, "Of course. Being with you two is the happiest time I've ever had."
Indeed, that's exactly how he felt.
For Shiki Uzumaki, Sena Hoshino, Tenten, Rock Lee, and Naruto had almost become his entire emotional support system in Konoha.
As for Naruto himself, in his current state, he hadn't yet learned Talk-no-jutsu from Iruka, so it was usually Shiki who went to comfort him. The still rather thick-skinned Naruto didn't have much interaction with Shiki other than living under the same roof.
Still, Shiki knew that someday Naruto would become someone truly admirable.
Rock Lee didn't respond to Tenten's words with the same relaxed, satisfied look as Shiki did. Instead, with his trademark bushy eyebrows raised firmly, he seriously replied, "No, I want to be with Sakura."
Suddenly, Shiki thought—how could he forget something like that?
Rock Lee had decided to pursue Sakura the very first time he saw her. And in this world, thanks to Shiki's influence, Lee had met Sakura much earlier than expected.
But—
Kid, why say that right now?
The affectionate atmosphere had been instantly ruined by Rock Lee's straightforwardness.
Sure enough, hearing this, Tenten angrily turned to Shiki and said, "Then let's just forget about Lee. From now on, it'll just be the two of us coming here!"
While saying this, she naturally hooked her arm into Shiki's, making a motion to walk away from Lee.
Lee hadn't reacted much to it yet, but Shiki found himself thinking things he probably shouldn't.
Alright alright, they're just kids. My thoughts are straying into weird places again.
Shiki secretly apologized to himself, then calmed down and started joking around with Lee and Tenten again.
However, for the rest of the night until they parted ways, Tenten never once removed her hand from Shiki's arm.
So Shiki kept telling himself over and over—she's just trying to stay warm, she's just trying to stay warm...
It really was quite cold tonight.
Now approaching December, though Tenten was dressed warmly enough. Even her cheeks were slightly flushed red.
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