At a family restaurant not far from Shuchi'in Academy.
The four main heroines who had been sitting together chatting, Eriri, Utaha, and Megumi, all abruptly stood up at the same time and rushed out the door without a word.
"Huh? Wait a minute, where are you going?"
Tomoya, who had just recovered, was startled.
But none of the three girls looked back, nor did anyone respond to his words. They just dashed out of the restaurant without turning around and disappeared through the doorway.
Eriri was anxious, wanting nothing more than to rush home immediately to confirm that her mother, Sawamura Sayuri, was safe.
During the Konoha Crush Plan, she had done her best to protect her mother, but Sayuri was ultimately just an ordinary woman who couldn't use any Ninjutsu. What if she had been injured without Eriri realizing it?
Utaha and Megumi, unlike Eriri who had her mother by her side in the Naruto World, had not seen their families in the real world for four years.
At this moment, they were eager to return and throw themselves into their families' arms.
Only Tomoya didn't care about this at all.
He had long been accustomed to his parents being away from home for extended periods. In fact, he vaguely felt that when his parents weren't home, he could have more free time to enjoy playing games and watching anime.
On the other side, Ran, who had been holding a broom to do housework before the crossing, let it clatter to the floor.
Without hesitation, she rushed out the door and raced toward the Western-style house where her childhood friend, Kudo Shinichi, lived.
Recalling the terrifying, god-like power Makoto had displayed that seemed to look down upon the world, she had only one thought… she must immediately go and warn her beloved Shinichi, absolutely, positively not to provoke Makoto!
And Eri had the same idea as her daughter.
However, her destination was the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. She knew that her estranged husband, Mouri Kogoro, was a member of the investigation team. She also needed to hurry and warn him not to provoke Makoto under any circumstances.
None of these players who had just narrowly escaped death in the Naruto World and returned to reality were idle.
Like this.
Dududu...
In an empty restroom at Shuchi'in Academy, Katsura Kotonoha held her phone, her fingertips trembling slightly as she dialed Ito Makotou's number over and over again, her heart filled with hope that he would come to get her.
However, no matter how many times she called, the only thing that came through the receiver was the cold, monotonous busy signal.
In the end, there was only the mechanical voice prompt:
"The number you have dialed is powered off."
At this moment, Kotonoha's eyes were red, filled with barely concealed panic and helplessness.
She had been maliciously bullied by several girls from the neighboring class, who had forcibly locked her in this dark restroom.
It was laughable to say… she was a Pure Student, the daughter of a food company president, yet she was being bullied by students from Impure Student, commoner backgrounds.
If any other Pure Student found out, they would probably laugh their heads off.
But this also precisely illustrated just how timid Kotonoha's personality truly was.
And it further highlighted just how foolish those idiots at school really were.
Everyone knew that in a closed, confined space, the fear in one's heart would be infinitely magnified, let alone when the restroom was pitch black, without even a glimmer of light.
The night temperature plummeted, and the cold air enveloped her, causing Kotonoha's body to tremble uncontrollably.
"What should I do... what should I do..."
Kotonoha curled up in the corner, her heart in turmoil, completely unsure of how to proceed.
Her boyfriend's phone wouldn't go through, her parents were overseas right now, and her younger sister had mentioned earlier that she would be staying at a classmate's house tonight to play.
After racking her brain... she realized she didn't have the numbers of anyone else she could turn to for help.
At this moment, she was completely trapped in a hopeless, isolated predicament.
"The last time I was walking around school at night was when I snuck over the wall to go to the internet café."
Just as Kotonoha was completely enveloped in despair, on the verge of breaking down, a boy's voice suddenly came from outside the restroom.
Kotonoha was so startled she shuddered violently, almost falling off the toilet.
'A, a boy?'
'Why would someone still be at school this late?'
For Kotonoha, who suffered from severe androphobia, she would never dare to proactively speak to any boy on a normal day.
The reason she had agreed to date Ito Makotou some time ago was entirely thanks to her new friend, Saionji Sekai, constantly encouraging and assisting her, which led her to reluctantly nod.
Yet even so, there had never been any physical contact between her and Ito Makotou. In fact, if he even came a little too close when speaking, she would tremble with fear.
Listening to the footsteps gradually fade away, Kotonoha's heart sank bit by bit.
But finally, driven by the dual stimuli of extreme fear and despair, she gritted her teeth, summoned the greatest courage of her life, and called out loudly toward the door:
"Is, is anyone there? Help me!"
Kotonoha thought she had shouted very loudly, but her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, no different from normal conversation.
If it weren't for Makoto's body having been strengthened by the system after traveling through the Naruto World, he might not have heard this weak cry for help.
"Huh?"
Makoto paused slightly, turning his head to look toward the women's restroom.
Bang—!
Two minutes later, the door to the women's restroom was wrenched open with tremendous force. The iron lock on the door was twisted and deformed, hanging grotesquely askew. It was hard to imagine just how terrifyingly strong the person who opened the door must be.
Kotonoha looked up tremblingly.
There stood a young man in a white shirt at the doorway, his expression defiant, his gaze languid yet carrying an undeniable sense of pressure.
The cool moonlight poured down behind him, casting a faint halo around his upright figure, adding an indescribable charm.
"Heh~ even after crossing over, I still run into this kind of thing?"
Makoto chuckled softly, his tone carrying a hint of amusement.
At that moment, Kotonoha felt her heart tighten abruptly. A warm current surged from deep within her, instantly spreading throughout her entire body.
"I, I'm Katsura Kotonoha from Class 1-A. Th, thank you for saving me."
After coming out of the restroom, Kotonoha lowered her head and bowed repeatedly to Makoto, expressing her gratitude.
"Katsura Kotonoha?"
Upon hearing this name, Makoto raised an eyebrow meaningfully. His gaze fell on this timid, cowardly girl who had even been bullied and locked in the restroom.
He simply couldn't reconcile her with the formidable woman who would one day dare to slice open her romantic rival's abdomen with a knife.
"Class 1-F, Nishikawa Makoto."
Makoto said calmly.
"Th, thank you, Nishikawa... huh?!"
Kotonoha instinctively continued her thanks, but halfway through, she suddenly looked up and finally got a clear look at Makoto's face.
The next second, her expression dramatically changed!
'Th, that student who dared to kill a classmate at school… Nishikawa Makoto!?'
An overwhelming wave of fear instantly engulfed her like a tidal wave. Compounded by her sudden onset of androphobia, Kotonoha was so terrified she instinctively retreated two steps, her face turning deathly pale.
"What? Is this how you treat your savior?"
Makoto chuckled softly at her frightened appearance.
"I, I'm sorry, th, that, I, I..."
Kotonoha was so frightened she became incoherent. Her tongue seemed to be tied, and she couldn't utter a complete sentence.
"Alright, go home."
Makoto waved his hand dismissively, turning to leave.
"Uh, um!"
But just as he had taken two steps, Kotonoha suddenly mustered her courage again and called out to stop him.
Makoto half-turned his head and looked at her calmly. "What else is it?"
"Wh, why did Nishikawa-kun come back to school?"
Kotonoha herself didn't know why, even though she knew he was an extremely dangerous person, she still felt the need to ask this question.
It would be safest for her to just let him leave like this.
Makoto replied casually, "I haven't been back for too long. Coming back to take a look is normal, isn't it?"
Ever since he first enrolled in Shuchi'in Academy, a series of events had occurred one after another, and he hadn't even had a chance to properly look around his own school.
Kotonoha was momentarily stunned.
Although this reasoning seemed somewhat logical, she felt that something was subtly off.