Shin-chan lowered his head and thought for a while.
"I've got it! A few days ago, I came up with a super-cool move. Its name is something like 'Secret Technique, Final Ultimate Art: Giant Sphere, Galactic Explosion, Super-Ultimate Invincible—'"
"Try it," Orochimaru interrupted before the technique's name could grow any longer.
Kazahana Dotō subconsciously retreated another two steps.
He had already seen what the boy looked like when he fought seriously. That experience had given him quite a few nightmares.
Shin-chan stood in the center of the field and began forming hand seals.
Chakra started surging out of his body. Faint blue particles of chakra could be seen dancing between the strands of his hair.
The patterns on the surface of the armor instantly lit up. The internal circuits began operating frantically, emitting a low humming sound.
Kazahana Dotō's expression changed.
He understood his own design better than anyone. That humming meant the chakra armor was already in a state of overload.
"Lord Orochimaru, j-just how much chakra does he have?"
"I'm not entirely sure either." Orochimaru stared at Shin-chan in the center of the field. "Because he has never run out before."
The armor on Shin-chan's body began violently trembling.
Then came a crack.
The first fracture appeared in the center of the chest plate.
Then came the second, the third...
Kazahana Dotō opened his mouth to tell him to stop, but before any sound came out, the armor exploded.
Shin-chan remained standing in place, with only a single lonely piece of armor hanging from one shoulder.
"Teacher Orochimaru, the quality of this thing isn't very good."
Orochimaru continued writing something on the clipboard without looking up. "You simply have too much chakra."
"But I haven't even used that technique with the super-long name yet." Shin-chan scratched his head. "I was only charging it up, and the armor already couldn't take it."
Kazahana Dotō's expression changed again and again.
The charging stage.
The ninjutsu had not even been properly released. Merely the portion of chakra that escaped while he was charging had completely blown apart his chakra armor.
This was not a ninja-tool test.
This was humiliation.
"Lord Kazahana."
Orochimaru's voice pulled him out of his daze.
"Y-yes!"
"Gather these fragments and send them to Laboratory Three." Orochimaru closed the clipboard. "I need to analyze the fracture data and examine how the amplification circuits collapse under extreme overload."
"U-understood."
Orochimaru turned toward the exit. After walking two steps, he stopped again.
"By the way, give me the design proposal for the second version by tomorrow morning."
"The second version?"
"A specialized model for users with enormous chakra reserves." Orochimaru looked back at him. "Since he burst the first version, make him one that he can't burst."
Kazahana Dotō opened his mouth. In the end, he could only squeeze out one sentence.
"I... I'll do my best."
Orochimaru nodded and pushed open the door, leaving the testing ground.
It was still early when Shin-chan left Orochimaru's research facility.
He strolled leisurely through the streets of Konoha toward home.
When he turned a corner, he saw a pretty big sister standing beneath a cherry-blossom tree outside a hot-spring inn.
Shin-chan's eyes lit up with a flash.
He immediately straightened his collar.
"Nohara Shinnosuke, twelve years old, single, S-rank mission operative, and I didn't eat garlic today."
He walked toward her with what he believed were his most dashing steps.
"Excuse me, pretty big sister."
Hearing his voice, the woman turned around.
"Hello."
"May I ask..." Shin-chan placed one hand against the trunk of the cherry tree, trying hard to appear mature and composed. "Do you know how to get to a place where adults should go?"
The woman looked somewhat confused. "A place where adults should go?"
"You know... a place where we can drink tea and chat together, get to know each other, and slowly develop feelings."
"Ah." The woman's eyes curved into crescents. "Are you trying to pick me up?"
"Completely correct." Shin-chan nodded seriously. "My name is Nohara Shinnosuke. I'm twelve years old, and my favorite food is—"
"Twelve years old?"
"Age isn't a problem," Shin-chan said. "What matters is the distance between two hearts."
The woman reached out and stroked Shin-chan's head. "You certainly say amusing things. You sound like a little adult."
"I'm not a little adult. I'm a real adult."
"My name is Yakushi Nono." The woman smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Shinnosuke."
"Are you married?"
Yakushi Nono froze for a moment. "Not yet."
"Then do you like chocolate sticks, or do you prefer ramen? I have lots of chocolate sticks at home. I hid them so well that even Hima can't find them."
"I like both." Nono smiled. "But right now, I have to deliver some snacks to the children at the orphanage. If I'm any later, they'll grow impatient waiting for me."
"An orphanage?"
Yakushi Nono nodded. "I run an orphanage in Konoha. It's on the eastern side of the village, and we take care of several children who don't have families."
"Wait here."
After saying that, Shin-chan turned and ran toward the snack shop at the corner.
Soon, Shin-chan's voice came from inside the shop.
"Boss, give me twenty dorayaki!"
"Why are you buying so many today? Aren't you afraid Misae will say you're wasting money?"
"It's not wasting money!"
Before long, Shin-chan came out of the snack shop carrying several large paper bags.
"Let's go."
"Thank you, Shinnosuke," Yakushi Nono said. "But your flirting technique could use some improvement."
"Huh? What needs improving?"
"In the future, don't say 'a place where adults should go' outside a hot-spring inn. It makes you sound like a suspicious person."
"Then what should I say?"
"You could say..." Nono thought for a moment. "'The weather is lovely today. Would you like to take a walk with me?'"
Shin-chan carefully committed it to memory.
"The weather is lovely today. Would you like to take a walk with me?"
"Yes, just like that."
"Then the weather is lovely today. Would you like to go to the orphanage with me?"
Yakushi Nono laughed. "We're already on our way."
The orphanage was an old house that appeared to have stood for many years, with signs of repairs in several places.
However, the courtyard had been kept very clean, and several sunflowers grew in one corner.
The moment Shin-chan and Yakushi Nono pushed open the courtyard gate, a rush of footsteps came from inside.
"Big Sister Director is back!"
"Did you bring snacks?"
"Wow, it smells so good!"
Several children ran out of the house and crowded around Nono, chattering noisily.
Shin-chan stood beside them holding the paper bags and, surprisingly, did not interrupt.
A young boy with silver-white hair was the first to notice him.
"Who are you?"
Shin-chan crouched down, took a dorayaki from one of the paper bags, and handed it to him.
"I'm Nohara Shinnosuke, twelve years old, unmarried, and an S-rank mission operative."
The boy accepted the dorayaki. "What does S-rank mean?"
"It means super powerful."
"How powerful?"
"Powerful enough to defeat several bad guys in one go."
"Can you use ninjutsu?"
Shin-chan extended a finger. A tiny flame appeared at its tip, danced briefly in the air, and then disappeared.
~~~
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