"You're not even participating in the finals, so what are you training for?" Mamoru asked, temporarily suppressing the doubts in his heart.
Naruto immediately recalled the scene of being easily crushed by Mamoru in the preliminaries. A trace of defiance flashed across his face, and he then clenched his fists, loudly declaring, "I definitely won't lose to you next time!"
"Then good luck with that." Mamoru said with a smile, his tone carrying a hint of perfunctoriness.
Naruto picked up the large bowl in front of him, gulping down the remaining noodle soup. Then, with a "clatter," he set down the empty bowl, patted his stomach with satisfaction, and said loudly, "I'm full!"
He stood up and reached out to pull out his wallet.
Shikamaru spoke up, his tone calm, "Naruto, this meal is on me."
"Eh?" Naruto froze for a moment, his hand reaching for his pocket pausing.
Then, a surprised and unbelievable smile broke out on his face. "Really?"
Shikamaru nodded, his expression still somewhat lazy.
"Shikamaru! You're actually a pretty good guy!"
Naruto was so happy he almost jumped up, slapping Shikamaru's shoulder with enough force to make him sway.
"Yes, yes... I get it." Shikamaru replied helplessly, grimacing from the slap.
Naruto, satisfied and smiling, waved goodbye to the others and left the restaurant cheerfully, lifting the curtain.
Watching Naruto's departing back, Mamoru thought to himself, 'He really is an easy guy to please.'
"What about you?"
Shikamaru turned his gaze to Mamoru, asking while stirring the remaining soup in his bowl with his chopsticks, "What have you been up to lately?"
"On a mission." Mamoru replied succinctly.
"A mission?" A look of surprise appeared on Shikamaru's face. "At a time like this?"
Everyone should be preparing for the upcoming Chunin Exam finals right now. Going on a mission seemed a bit out of place.
"That's right." Mamoru replied briefly, without further explanation.
"It seems you're quite confident about the finals a month from now." Shikamaru said thoughtfully, looking at Mamoru.
"What do you think?" Mamoru countered, the corners of his lips curling into a confident arc.
"Gaara is no pushover either." Shikamaru reminded him, his tone carrying a rare hint of seriousness. "If you face him, the outcome is hard to say."
He recalled Gaara's chilling appearance during the preliminaries.
Mamoru finished his last bite of ramen, unhurriedly set down his chopsticks, and turned his gaze to Shikamaru, saying with certainty, "The result for everyone in the finals will be the same. The final winner will only be me."
His words were calm but carried an unquestionable confidence, as if stating a foregone conclusion.
Shikamaru looked at him and didn't speak for a moment, silently evaluating the source of this confidence in his mind.
Mamoru suddenly changed the subject, breaking the brief silence, "Shikamaru, you've definitely studied my abilities, haven't you?"
Shikamaru didn't deny it, just watched him quietly, waiting for him to continue.
A faint smile appeared on the corners of Mamoru's lips as he leaned forward slightly. "Well then, as a return for the treat, I'll reveal a bit of personal intel to you."
As he spoke, not only did Shikamaru and Choji stop eating, but even Asuma, who seemed to be leisurely smoking nearby, and Yakumo, who had been sitting quietly, turned their eyes toward him.
Mamoru said slowly, every word crystal clear to ensure everyone heard, "All physical attacks cannot harm me in the slightest."
"All physical..."
Shikamaru immediately caught the keyword, his brow furrowing as his mind began to race.
"Is it that invisible barrier on your body?"
He recalled the anomaly he had observed during the preliminaries.
Mamoru didn't answer directly. Instead, he stretched out his arm toward Shikamaru, palm open, and said, "Come, try to shake my hand."
Though confused, Shikamaru complied and reached out toward Mamoru's palm, his movements somewhat hesitant. However, the moment their palms were about to touch, Shikamaru's hand stopped.
He clearly felt an invisible barrier. To the naked eye, there was nothing, but 'it' certainly existed.
The sensation was exceptionally eerie. No matter how much he secretly increased his strength, his palm could not advance even a fraction of a millimeter.
Shikamaru couldn't help but widen his eyes, his face full of shock. He subconsciously blurted out, "This is...?"
Mamoru explained calmly, "This is Infinity. It's not simply 'blocking' you. Rather, the closer you get to me, the greater the resistance you encounter. Theoretically, this distance can be extended infinitely, without end."
Shikamaru frowned deeply, quickly analyzing the characteristics and potential weaknesses of this ability in his mind.
Absolute defense? Energy consumption? Range limitations?
This intel was even more troublesome and inconceivable than he had expected.
Mamoru then deactivated Infinity, stepped forward, and easily grasped Shikamaru's hand which was still suspended in mid-air. He shook it up and down, his face returning to that previous frivolous smile. "So, is this intel good enough?"
Shikamaru finally snapped out of his thoughts, shook off Mamoru's hand, and complained with an expression of extreme annoyance, "Hey... are you kidding me? Isn't this ability too much of a cheat? Doesn't this mean that to hit you, one first has to break through this so-called Infinity? This is just..."
He couldn't find the right words to describe it for a moment.
Not to mention Shikamaru, Choji had already forgotten to chew the food in his mouth, his face wearing a blank expression.
As for Asuma, although he controlled his expression well, the gravity in his eyes deepened significantly.
They all understood what such a near-conceptual defensive ability meant in actual combat.
"That's for you to figure out." Mamoru withdrew his hand, his tone relaxed as he teased, "Finalist."
Under the warm lights of the small shop, the aroma of ramen still lingered, but the atmosphere had quietly changed.
—
Stepping out of the ramen shop, night had completely enveloped Konoha. Streetlights flickered on one by one, casting warm glows on the bluestone road, announcing the arrival of another peaceful night.
"It's nice to come out like this once in a while, isn't it?" Mamoru stretched lazily and turned to look at the girl beside him.
Yakumo didn't respond. She just kept her head slightly lowered, walking quietly half a step behind him, as if she didn't fit in with the surrounding warm glow.
Mamoru shrugged indifferently, crossed his hands behind his head, whistled a tune out of key, and continued to walk forward with a leisurely pace.
The night breeze blew past, bringing the lingering bustle of distant shops and a cold chill that swept through the quiet streets.
The two walked side by side, turning from the still-lively streets into a gradually quiet path, eventually arriving at a stone bridge spanning a branch of the Naka River. The bridge had a gentle slope, and every stone slab on its surface had been worn smooth and warm by years of traffic and weather, emitting a faint blue glow under the bright moonlight.
As they passed the foot of the bridge, Yakumo suddenly stopped without warning. She looked up, her clear eyes staring blankly at the cold crescent moon in the sky.
Noticing her stop, Mamoru paused and looked back. The girl under the moonlight seemed to be shrouded in a thin veil, possessing an indescribable fragility.
"What's wrong?" He asked softly, his voice exceptionally clear in the quiet night.
Yakumo remained silent, as if she wanted to exile herself into that coldness.
After a long while, she finally spoke in a barely audible whisper, "When do you plan to make your move?"
Mamoru's eyebrows shot up, he didn't understand her meaning at first. But after just a few seconds of contemplation, he realized, and his expression gradually darkened, the previous relaxed demeanor vanishing instantly.
He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he began to walk, unhurriedly, step by step toward Yakumo, who was standing at the bridge.
Tap... Tap...
The sound of footsteps was exceptionally clear in the silent night.