The Boundless King: Anime Mania

Aki lay stretched out on his couch, arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling.

For the past few days, he had refined his control to an absurd degree. No longer did his mere existence cause weird distortions in space, nor did every casual flex of his fingers threaten to break the environment around him.

He was finally stable.

And in the grand scheme of things?

He was absolutely busted.

If Madara were to crawl out of the grave and pull out Sage of Six Paths mode, Aki wouldn't even need to try. He'd just slap him back into the afterlife like a misbehaving child.

There were no real threats.

"…Damn. What do I even do now?"

Aki sighed, running a hand through his blood-red hair. The gentle rotation of his cross-shaped pupils reflected in the mirror across the room, shifting colors in slow, mesmerizing patterns.

"I mean… I guess I could take over the world?" he muttered jokingly.

The System chimed in immediately. [Ooh, now that sounds fun, Dear~]

Aki snorted. "Chill. I was kidding. No way I'm dealing with all that paperwork."

[Laaaame. Absolute power and you choose to be lazy?]

Ael yawned in his mind. "Honestly? I respect it."

Aki grinned. "Finally, someone who gets me."

Ael chuckled. "Look, kid, you've been grinding like crazy. You deserve to enjoy the regular parts of life for once."

Aki nodded to himself. "Yeah… You know what? I'm gonna take the day off. No training, no fighting, no bullshit. Just… vibes."

A notification pinged.

[Side Quest Unlocked: "Touch Some Grass"]

Objective: Hang out with a friend.Reward: A good time.

Aki deadpanned. "Seriously?"

[What? You need incentives or you'd just laze around forever.]

Aki rolled his eyes but pushed himself up. "Alright, fine. If I'm chilling, I might as well do it with someone fun."

His mind immediately landed on Ino.

After all—

She was bold, confident, and fun to talk to. She never took things too seriously. And honestly… she was kinda cute.

"…Yeah, hanging with Ino sounds good."

Aki found Ino at her family's flower shop, lazily tending to some plants. The moment she saw him, her signature smirk slid onto her face.

"Well, well, if it isn't Konoha's new mystery heartthrob," she teased, placing a hand on her hip. "Didn't think you'd actually come visit me, Aki-kun."

Aki grinned. "What can I say? I missed you."

Ino blinked. Then—

Her cheeks turned slightly pink.

"…Huh." She tilted her head. "Not bad, you almost got me there."

Aki chuckled. "Almost? Damn, I must be losing my touch."

'[Pathetic,] the System sighed. [A real ladies' man would've had her swooning by now.]'

'''Ael snickered. "Give him a break. He's rusty."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Whatever. What do you want?"

Aki shrugged. "Nothing much. Just wanted to hang out."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "You? Just hanging out?"

Aki playfully raises his hand "Swear on my overpowered existence."

She snickered. "Alright, fine. You get the honor of spending the day with me. Hope you can keep up."

Aki smirked. "Oh, I know I can."

The day passed in a blur of casual fun.

They wandered through Konoha, snacking on street food, teasing each other, and just enjoying life.

Aki quickly realized something—

Ino was actually really easy to be around.

She wasn't the shy type like Hinata. She wasn't annoyingly loud like Naruto. And she wasn't super serious like Sasuke.

She was just chill and fun.

At one point, they ended up sitting on a bench, watching the sunset.

Ino stretched her arms over her head. "Man, today was actually fun. Didn't expect you to be such good company."

Aki smirked. "What, thought I'd be boring?"

Ino grinned. "Nah. Just figured you'd be too cool to relax."

Aki chuckled. "You think I'm cool?"

Ino paused. Then—

She realized what she said.

Her eyes widened. "…Wait—"

Aki leaned closer, smirking. "Damn, Ino. Didn't know you liked me that much."

Ino's face exploded in red.

"W-WHAT?! I DIDN'T SAY THAT!!"

Aki just laughed. "Relax, I'm messing with you."

Ino pouted, crossing her arms. "You're so annoying."

Aki just grinned. "And yet, you're still sitting here with me."

She glared. Then—

She huffed and looked away. "Tch. Whatever."

[She's totally into you,] the System whispered smugly.

Ael snorted. "Kid's got game when he tries."

Aki just leaned back, watching the sky.

For the first time in a while, he actually felt normal. No overwhelming power, no stress, no training.

Just good company and a beautiful view.

And honestly?

It felt pretty damn nice.

Ino glanced at him from the corner of her eye, lips twitching into a small smile. "Hey, Aki?"

"Hm?"

"…Thanks for today."

Aki turned to her, surprised by her sudden sincerity. Then, he grinned softly.

"Anytime, Ino."

And as the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in shades of gold and crimson, Aki realized—

Maybe, just maybe, chilling wasn't so bad after all.