After the two left, the mess hall instantly erupted.
"That Uchiha Chiga is a monster! Smoker looked like a child in front of him!"
"What exactly is his ability? It's both wind and shockwaves?"
"Did you notice his eyes? They're so eerie. Just looking at them made me feel completely powerless."
"No matter what, Uchiha Chiga is now the undisputed number one in the training camp!"
Ain and a group of her roommates stood rooted to the spot, somewhat stunned.
It wasn't that they hadn't expected Chiga to win, but they never imagined he would win so easily.
"He's not in the same world as us at all," one roommate said, looking at the silent Ain and sighing softly.
It was good for the person you liked to be excellent, but being too excellent was another matter.
Ain bit her lip, didn't call her roommates, and turned to leave the mess hall by herself.
Meanwhile,
Chiga was supporting Smoker, who kept his head down the entire way, his expression unreadable.
"What I said and did just now was a bit much. Actually, your last few sentences made me think you're not a bad guy."
Chiga tried to break the awkward silence.
"No, you weren't wrong. This was mainly on me."
Smoker finally raised his head and looked forward.
"I didn't stop Barton in time at the beginning, and later I had no right to stop you from teaching him a lesson. Besides, it was my own skill that was lacking. I have no complaints about being beaten like this."
Chiga found Smoker increasingly interesting. He extended a hand to him. Smoker looked at him strangely. Chiga smiled and said,
"Let's be friends. Let's reintroduce ourselves. My name is Uchiha Chiga. Please guide me in the future."
Smoker was taken aback, then quickly grasped Chiga's outstretched hand.
"Smoker! I wouldn't dare to guide you. Next time we face off, just go easy on me."
After speaking, the two exchanged smiles, and all their previous grievances vanished like smoke. Sometimes, the way men forge friendships is just that peculiar and simple.
After dropping Smoker off at the infirmary, Chiga returned to his dorm. The three roommates rushed over to him, surrounding him. Even Graves, who usually looked down on people, and the dull Bins eagerly joined the crowd.
"Boss Chiga! You were so cool today! You're truly the one I, Bridge, acknowledge!"
"Indeed, I'm truly convinced by you. From now on, you're my boss too!"
"M-me too!"
Chiga looked at his more excited roommates with a wry smile, feeling a bit nostalgic. The three jokers reminded him of his dorm life back on Earth.
Just as the four of them were chatting and joking, an officer knocked on the door and entered.
He surveyed the four for a moment, finally settling his gaze on Chiga. There was no helping it; those distinctive purple Rinnegan eyes were simply too unforgettable.
The officer politely confirmed,
"Are you Cadet Chiga? Chief Instructor Zephyr is looking for you. He wants you to go to his office."
"Instructor Zephyr wants to see me? Alright, I'll go right away."
Chiga followed the officer out. The remaining three in the dorm were a bit worried. Bridge was the first to speak.
"Boss Chiga isn't going to be punished, is he? No, part of this was my fault too. I have to go and see."
"Possibly. Boss Chiga's fight with Smoker caused quite a bit of damage. Instructor Zephyr is probably going to settle accounts now."
Graves didn't argue with Bridge this time.
"No, he won't. If Instructor Zephyr wanted to punish Boss Chiga, he would have done it in the mess hall. He's calling him over now for something else important. We'd best not cause him any trouble!"
When Bins spoke, Bridge and Graves looked at him in shock. They never expected this usually silent, unopinionated plant-man to speak, and what he said actually seemed to make sense?
Bins looked a bit shy from being stared at and got up to help Chiga tidy his bed.
Bridge and Graves stared at each other, sitting dumbfounded on their respective beds, unsure what to do.
After a long while, Bridge shouted,
"Bins! How did you do my job! Get out of the way, making a bed has its own techniques!"
"What a character!"
Graves once again expressed his disdain for Bridge, then pulled out a box of cigars from who-knows-where and went to the bathroom to smoke.
Bridge, who had finished making the bed, twitched his nose, knowing Graves had definitely gone to smoke cigars again. He felt a little itch himself; he was quite fond of them, and ever since he arrived here, he found that the ones he "took" from Graves were even more satisfying!
Secretly activating his Hook-Hook Fruit ability, Bridge's left hand transformed into a yellow hook, which then detached from his wrist, connected by a thick iron chain.
Bridge's Hook-Hook Fruit was a Paramecia type, allowing him to transform any part of his body into a hook and extend the iron chain he manifested indefinitely.
Objects he touched would be left with an invisible mark, allowing him to track and 100% grasp the target the next time he activated his ability. Graves's cigar box had already been secretly touched by him.
Bridge sniffed the air, chuckled, and slowly extended the hook formed by his left hand into the bathroom through the wall.
A moment later, Graves, feeling content, pulled up his pants with one hand and reached for the cigar box on the floor with the other. He only felt the cold floor, making him so angry that he hadn't even pulled up his pants before letting out a loud shout,
"Damn it! Where's my whole box of cigars!?"