"Creak." As the door lock turned, Nohara Rin—peeking out through the bathroom door—hadn't yet figured out what was happening before she saw Ishikawa suddenly collapse at the doorway with a thud.
"Ishikawa!" Alarmed, Nohara Rin rushed over and dragged Ishikawa back into the room. As she pulled him inside, she caught sight of Hyuga Neji lying unconscious in the corridor through the gap in the door.
But out of caution, Nohara Rin hesitated for a moment—then ignored Neji and kicked the door shut with her foot.
"Quick, help me charge first." Seeing this, Ishikawa smiled and panted, silently affirming Rin's judgment and priorities.
As long as she wasn't the type to naively try saving everyone she saw, their safety was still within grasp.
At the very least, he'd confirmed that even the Byakugan couldn't see through the reality of this time and space room—it could only perceive the regular black-and-white layout of the apartment building.
No sound from inside could be transmitted out, and no one but him could open the door. Well, he figured the situation on Rin's side should be about the same!
"Charging? What kind of metaphor is that? Do you think you're a human battery or something…" Nohara Rin giggled at his words, but still obediently helped Ishikawa to the inner door.
With a click, electric currents intertwined.
Five minutes later—
"Thank you very much, Miss Rin." Fully recovered, Ishikawa gave his thanks. Without waiting for her reply, he quickly stepped out and dragged the unconscious Neji into the room.
"Who is he? Why'd you bring him in?" Nohara Rin asked, surprised. She hadn't expected Ishikawa to be so reckless.
Wasn't he worried the guy might wake up and discover something?
"He's Guy-sensei's student, Hyuga Neji—the top genius of our class. Don't worry, this guy won't be waking up even by tomorrow morning." Ishikawa grinned confidently, eyes landing on Neji's unconscious form.
He'd anticipated this might happen, which was why he planned to bring Neji in after the Time-Space Room connection ended. But after possessing him via the Spiritualization Jutsu, Ishikawa had clearly sensed the overwhelming exhaustion etched into Neji's soul.
After all, the Spiritualization Jutsu was soul-based. If you couldn't even sense your target's soul state, how could you expect to assassinate, control, or collapse it?
And beyond that, Ishikawa had discovered something he hadn't expected—
So…
'Sorry, Neji, but I still need your help to verify one final experiment.' Ishikawa sighed inwardly as he looked at the unconscious Neji.
"This is Might Guy's student?" Rin gasped in surprise, then stared curiously at Neji. But she didn't press for answers.
Time was running short, and they couldn't afford to waste any on small matters. Soon, Ishikawa and Rin returned to their training in the Mystical Palm Technique…
As time passed quickly, the moment for the time and space connection to end arrived in the blink of an eye.
"Now." Seeing the furniture and Nohara Rin gradually becoming transparent, Ishikawa immediately turned toward the unconscious Neji.
Under Rin's astonished gaze, Ishikawa grabbed Neji's right hand and pressed it against the door handle at lightning speed.
Click. A familiar surge of electricity instantly coursed through Neji's body—causing him to pass out again.
"Just as I thought—no one else can open the Rin side door." Watching as Nohara Rin and the room around him faded from view, Ishikawa finally let out a breath of relief.
This experiment was extremely important to him! If an unavoidable accident ever occurred and someone managed to enter the time and space room, then this door would be his final trump card—his last safeguard.
"Heaven help me… I hope I never actually have to use that trick." With a quiet sigh, Ishikawa immediately began pretending to be weak, lying in wait for Neji to regain consciousness.
---
Three minutes later.
"Ugh… where am I?" Still groggy, Neji slowly woke up, blinking at the unfamiliar ceiling above him in confusion.
"Wait… my body?" As if suddenly sensing something, Neji sat up abruptly, shock spreading across his face. Was this the result of that extreme training method? His physical condition felt dramatically improved—his strength had increased by at least ten percent! That was astonishing.
"You noticed, huh? Saving you nearly killed me, you know." Just as Neji was still processing it all, a bitter voice came from behind him, startling him into alertness.
Turning quickly, Neji saw Ishikawa leaning weakly against the sofa, his complexion so pale it looked like the slightest breeze might blow him over. He didn't look pleased.
"Ishikawa? Why you??"
"Why not me?" Ishikawa huffed. "Who were you trying to scare, collapsing in front of my house in the middle of the night? If I didn't know a bit of medical ninjutsu, you'd be dead!" he snapped, voice full of mock outrage.
Neji's pupils contracted slightly. Rubbing his temple as his headache settled in, he finally remembered what had happened before he blacked out.
He had been desperate to gather intel on the Raikage and get to the bottom of his suspicions about Ishikawa. So, after exhausting himself during laps, he'd slipped away from his squad, popped a soldier pill, and headed out to confront Ishikawa for answers.
He didn't expect to faint before he even opened his mouth. So embarrassing… unbelievably embarrassing.
"Sorry for the trouble." Looking at the pale, weak-looking Ishikawa—and recalling how he'd said he used his chakra to save him—Neji felt an overwhelming sense of shame.
He hadn't expected Ishikawa to be skilled in medical ninjutsu. A hidden talent, clearly. It explained Ishikawa's unusual condition—he must've been using medical chakra to restore himself this whole time.
"Forget it. Just help me keep it a secret that I know medical ninjutsu." Ishikawa waved a hand dismissively, pretending to act helpless. "That's my trump card—my ace in the hole."
He said it to conceal the real secret: the trick involving the door handle. But this once should be fine. Neji had been unconscious, so he likely hadn't noticed anything strange.
"Not a problem." Neji nodded without hesitation, his eyes softening. The coldness and suspicion he'd once held toward Ishikawa had vanished. Ishikawa had even revealed his personal secret to save him—how could Neji stay indifferent in the face of such trust?
"You're… an orphan?" After a brief pause, Neji, sensing the silence becoming awkward, glanced around and asked to keep the conversation going.
"Obviously. Do I really look like someone living here with their family?" Ishikawa rolled his eyes. "This is a single-unit apartment assigned by Konoha—use your brain."
Neji's face twitched with embarrassment again. But when he looked at Ishikawa, his gaze softened with a trace of understanding. Maybe this guy… also knew what loneliness felt like.
"Earlier, you said that as long as our enemy is Kumogakure, we're allies. Why? I want to know the reason." After a brief silence, Neji asked again, this time more seriously.
To him, this was even more important than the information about the Raikage.
"Hmm…" Ishikawa lifted his eyes and looked straight at Neji. The moment their gazes locked, his own grew sharp. "Because I blackmailed the Raikage."
In that instant, Ishikawa's words hit like an explosion. Neji's entire body stiffened, a chill running down his spine.
"Blackmail?! That's insane! He's the Fourth Raikage of the Hidden Cloud Village! How could someone like you—a Genin—possibly blackmail him?!"