Naruto: Power in Play

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

[You have slept in your bed! HP and CP fully restored!]

Ando opened his eyes, read the notification, and dismissed it.

For once, he did not feel like getting out of bed. He just lied there, thinking about what had happened to him. The events of the previous day replayed vividly in his mind, and he involuntarily let out a tired sigh. Under the sheets, his clenched fists shook with frustration.

How had he managed to get his ass whooped by children, twice in a row?

One had to know that, despite his looks, he was still a grown man. Yes, he had crossed over into a new world and started over, but technically, with his knowledge and wisdom, he should be leagues above his peers. And yet...

Ando felt angry and humiliated. The first time, he could attribute it to a surprise attack. It happened out of nowhere, and he naturally lost the advantage. It didn't help that his opponent was almost twice his level. Even though it was frustrating, he could accept it.

But in his second fight... Ando had seized the opportunity. He had learned from his first fight and moved ahead of his opponent to direct the flow of the battle. But he still lost as soon as the other started fighting back. A toddler, the same age as him, and without the support of the gaming system, had owned him.

Sure, he could argue that the kid had the backing of a clan, was probably trained since the day he was born, and was level 11. But still, he was not a gamer. He was not a reincarnated soul, and even worse, he was hit in the back.

All in all, Ando thought that their respective advantages would even out, which was why he dared to fight the other kid in the first place.

He should have known better...

For all his trouble, all that Ando got from those two fights was a meager sum of 10XP and a bad beating.

An ugly frown made its way onto his now-healed face. Ando took a deep breath and decided to stop mulling over his defeat. It only served to further sour his mood. What he needed to do now was to train and find a way to get stronger quickly.

He got out of bed and did not forget to fold his blankets, despite his mood. He took a sniff at his clothes and wrinkled his nose; the stench of his clothes was getting unbearable. Still, he opted against changing them. He would first train and then find a way to take care of the hygiene problem later.

Ando glanced outside the glass windows and saw that it was still dark outside. The scene was shrouded in deep, inky darkness, with only the faintest hints of light beginning to emerge. It was right before dawn. His roommates were still snoring like babies. Looking at them, his frown eased up a little. It was probably thanks to those two that he made it back into his room the previous day. He could not think of anyone else who would have had the generosity to drag him back to his room.

Ando would remember it.

He walked out and headed towards the training yard. He glanced at the place where the Inuzukas usually trained and saw that it was empty. Still, he decided against heading there. Even though getting beat up would award him some XP, he was afraid of getting knocked out and missing a day at the academy.

Ando headed towards the orphans' place and started his daily exercise. He was the first one there, but gradually, the others started showing up. Still, he did not pay them any heed and kept going. It was only when Chika showed up that he stopped.

"Hello, Chika!" he greeted the young girl, doing his best to smile. The brunette nodded at him and was about to go on and do her own thing when she stopped. She looked at him once again with a surprised expression.