Since the bond had been established, Haruto Saito didn't have time to ask more questions before he felt a heavy impact on his back, causing him to spit out another mouthful of blood onto the ground.
It was Tsunade. She had thrown a pillow at him. Although the pillow was soft, the force with which Tsunade hurled it made it feel like a rock hitting him. Tsunade seemed to have gone mad, grabbing whatever was on the bed and throwing it all at Haruto.
"Get out! Why aren't you leaving yet? Stop pretending to be a dead dog!" Tsunade screamed, clearly furious.
Two pillows and a cushion hit Haruto's back in quick succession. Haruto felt like he was about to be beaten to death. Tsunade then grabbed the blanket and whipped it fiercely at his back.
Haruto scrambled away, rolling and crawling to avoid the blows. He finally managed to get up and bolted toward the window, crashing through it and fleeing outside.
He needed to get away first!
"You little brat, if you dare breathe a word of this, I'll cut you!" Haruto faintly heard Tsunade's final angry shout as he escaped.
Haruto felt a chill between his legs and instinctively ran even faster, sprinting as if his life depended on it. He wished he could have taken a car, but there was none available.
He ran like a madman through the mansion's courtyard, climbed over the wall, and finally returned to his own yard. But he didn't stop there. He kept running until he reached the entrance of his main house, where he finally paused, panting heavily.
It wasn't actually that far, but he was terrified, his heart still racing from the ordeal.
Haruto stood at the door, gasping for breath.
Suddenly, the door creaked open. A mysterious ninja dressed in black robes and wearing a mask stood inside. Seeing Haruto's state, the ninja's eyes immediately turned extremely strange.
"Huh?" Haruto turned around and was momentarily stunned. Then he said, "Captain, what are you doing at my house?"
The person who had opened the door was none other than White Fang!
"You haven't shown up for training for two days, so I came to check on you," White Fang said in a strange tone, pointing inside the house and then outside. "I went inside, didn't see you, so I came out, and then…" White Fang looked Haruto up and down, his tone growing even more peculiar.
Haruto felt like something was off.
He looked down at himself.
Oh no, he wasn't wearing any clothes!
Of course, Haruto wasn't wearing any clothes. After what had happened with Tsunade the previous night, he had been knocked out, tied up, and naturally, Tsunade hadn't been kind enough to dress him. When he had broken free and run out of Tsunade's house, he had been completely naked.
"Did you go… streaking?" White Fang asked in an incredulous tone, then pointed at Haruto. "Why are you bleeding? Did you get beaten up for… being a pervert?"
"White Fang, you'd make a great comedian!" Haruto quickly retorted, then clasped his hands together and formed a hand seal.
"Secret Technique: Instant Change Jutsu!"
A puff of smoke rose, and Haruto was now fully dressed. The clothes had come from his inventory space. For those without an inventory space, the Instant Change Jutsu required having clothes prepared nearby, either at home or in a storage scroll.
Haruto quickly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"What happened to you?" White Fang asked again. "You seem pretty badly hurt." White Fang could sense that Haruto's chakra flow was unstable, a sign of injury.
"I got beaten up for being a pervert!" Haruto said, rolling his eyes at White Fang.
He was actually telling the truth, but since White Fang had said it first, it sounded like Haruto was just throwing White Fang's words back at him.
"Hmph!" White Fang snorted, deciding not to press further about Haruto's injuries. Haruto was the type who couldn't go a day without getting into trouble, so getting hurt wasn't unusual. After a pause, White Fang added, "Anyway, you haven't shown up for training for two days, so I just came by to check on you. Oh, and Sadou wants to see you. He didn't even eat dinner last night because you didn't show up."
Mentioning Sadou, White Fang's tone grew slightly strange again.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had assigned Haruto full responsibility for interrogating Sadou, and White Fang was well aware of this. However, Haruto didn't seem to have gotten much out of Sadou—or perhaps he hadn't even tried. Instead, Haruto often went to chat with Sadou about life and even shared meals with him.
This didn't seem like something one would do with an enemy.
"Sadou… I was supposed to see him yesterday, but something came up. I'll go see him!" Haruto said.
"Alright, then," White Fang replied. "Make sure you show up for training today. You need to complete the required hours. If you miss two days, you'll have to make up for them. Got it?"
Haruto nodded.
White Fang didn't say anything more. In a flash, he turned into a blur and disappeared.
His speed was incredible—pure, high-speed movement. Within two breaths, he was completely out of Haruto's sensory range.
"Phew…" Haruto let out a long sigh of relief. Thankfully, White Fang hadn't noticed anything unusual. What had happened last night had to remain a secret, or Tsunade might really cut him into pieces.
"System, what's this 'Rivalry Bond' about?" Haruto asked in his mind as he walked into the house.
"Ding! The Rivalry Bond is a special relationship that goes beyond ordinary friendship. The term 'rivalry' refers to a situation where one party has caused pain or resentment to the other, yet both find it difficult to sever their connection. They harbor a grudging affection, neither fully hating nor fully letting go. This bond has a certain probability of evolving into a Lover's Bond or a Fated Enemy Bond," the System explained in a complex manner.
"Oh…" Haruto drew out the word, thinking for a moment before asking, "So, with a bond level of 60 points, are there any special effects? What kind of effects does the Rivalry Bond have? Are they the same as the Master-Disciple Bond?"
"The Master-Disciple Bond is a neutral relationship, and its effects are entirely different from the Rivalry Bond," the System replied. "At 10 points, the effect 'Grudge Reduction' is activated. At 30 points, 'United Effort' is activated. At 50 points, 'Telepathic Connection' is activated. At 80 points, 'Dreamlike Longing' is activated. At 100 points, 'Fated Love or Hate' is activated."
"Wait, what? Can you explain those in detail?" Haruto quickly asked.
"Grudge Reduction: Both parties in the Rivalry Bond will not hold grudges over minor conflicts. Even if they occasionally feel displeased with each other, they will quickly forget their grievances.
United Effort: When both parties in the Rivalry Bond work together on a task, the likelihood of success increases.
Telepathic Connection: Under special circumstances, both parties in the Rivalry Bond can sense each other's state or thoughts.
Dreamlike Longing: The bond between the two parties has reached a deep level. They will occasionally think of each other, even dreaming about one another.
Fated Love or Hate: The ultimate effect of the Rivalry Bond. The relationship between the two parties reaches its peak. If they do not fall in love, they will become bitter enemies, locked in a life-or-death struggle."
"That sounds complicated," Haruto said, frowning slightly. "So, with our bond at 60 points, the first three effects are active, right?"
"Correct!"
"We have a telepathic connection! Heh." Haruto chuckled, then suddenly blew a kiss and said, "Tsunade, mwah! Can you feel it? Love you!"
"Sensei, what are you doing?" A puzzled voice suddenly came from behind.
Haruto jumped in fright and turned around.
In the distance, the door to the training ground was slightly ajar. Minato Namikaze peeked out, his young face looking strangely at Haruto.