<[New Fanfic Is Coming Tomorrow: [Naruto: I Have A Gravity Training Room]>
After chatting with Naomi for the entire morning, Kirito and Asuna had finally grasped the basic situation of this world. (TL: Sorry for the mistranslation, it's Naomi)
Originally, they had wanted to continue talking, but Naomi mentioned that there would be more customers in the afternoon, making it impossible for her to chat. So, the two of them had no choice but to leave the café and take a stroll outside.
The morning had been full of shocks—too many to count.
"If both Arceus and Mr. Madara are here, then Mr. Izuna must be here too. That's great! Kirito, you'll be able to see your master again."
"Yeah!"
Kirito nodded firmly, his steps light, clearly in a great mood.
"Lisbeth doesn't know about this yet. Ever since we got out of SAO, she was so upset that she ended up with a fever and a cold, and she hasn't been able to get out of bed. I'll send her a message later—she'll definitely recover instantly."
Asuna waved her hand excitedly.
"Asuna, now that we're here, is there anything specific you want to do?"
Kirito took a deep breath of the fresh air in his chest and looked up at the towering World Tree ahead. "This different world feels like an open-world game, without a main storyline… or rather, we need to find the main story ourselves."
"I want to explore first—Angel City in the sky, Fishman City under the sea… I want to see them with my own eyes."
Asuna clasped her hands behind her back, thinking about her next steps. "But first, we need to earn some money. Otherwise, we won't even be able to leave Yggdrasil City. What about you, Kirito? What's your plan?"
"I plan to participate in the Pokémon Battle Tournament with Sneasel. This competition will allow me to earn a lot of money and fame."
Kirito had already made up his mind. He turned his head toward Asuna. "I want to save up money as quickly as possible, buy a house for us in this world, and… marry you."
"Marry?!"
Asuna froze, and then her face instantly turned bright red.
"Yes. Back in Japan, getting married would still have many obstacles. But here, it's different. On Pokémon Island, there's no legal marriage age, probably because it's difficult to set a universal standard due to the varying lifespans of different races. But that also means… we can get married here."
Kirito nodded with a determined gaze.
His thoughts were simple. Just like how they "got married" in Aincrad, he wanted to do the same on Pokémon Island.
"Alright. I'll support Kirito's decision. I'll take on some part-time jobs to earn money, so you can buy some 'items.'"
Asuna looked at Kirito's serious expression. The blush on her face gradually faded, and she responded just as seriously.
She was two years older than Kirito, so she felt she should contribute more.
"No need. Asuna, you should just do whatever you want. I'll figure out the money part myself, so you don't have to worry about it."
Kirito shook his head and placed a hand on Asuna's head.
"No way! How can I just let you be the only one working hard for our future?"
Asuna was just as firm in her stance. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I may not be too interested in the Pokémon Battle Tournament, but the Pokémon Contest seems pretty fun. Maybe I should enter that instead—it probably has good prize money too."
"We can think about that later. Right now, we should focus on finding jobs and earning some startup funds."
"You're right!"
Gurgle.
Suddenly, the sound of a stomach growling echoed beside them.
The two of them turned their heads.
"Heh-la~"
Heracross scratched his head awkwardly, giving them an embarrassed smile.
"Snea."
Sneasel rolled his eyes at his clueless buddy.
"Wait a second… If this world is real, then that means both we and our Pokémon need to eat, right?"
Asuna finally realized the problem.
In SAO, players didn't actually need to eat three meals a day. The game didn't have a Hunger Bar or anything similar.
They only ate when they felt hungry or wanted to maintain their old habits. Even then, the hunger was more of a mental effect tricking their bodies—technically, they could go without eating indefinitely without any consequences.
But here, on Pokémon Island, things were clearly different.
"Oh, right! I forgot about that. I'm actually feeling real hunger. I need to eat."
Kirito rubbed his stomach.
"What should we do? We don't have any money right now…"
Asuna furrowed her brows in frustration.
Skipping a meal wasn't a big deal for herself, but she didn't want the Pokémon to go hungry—especially her little Sprigatito, who was still growing.
"Snea."
Sneasel, who had been quietly observing everything, suddenly spoke up.
He gestured for Kirito and Asuna to follow him.
"Huh? Sneasel, where are you taking us?"
Asuna asked.
"Snea."
Sneasel waved his hand dismissively, but didn't answer.
The other small Pokémon seemed to know where Sneasel was heading, walking alongside him.
Kirito and Asuna exchanged glances, both looking puzzled, but they still followed.
Led by Sneasel and his Pokémon companions, they walked for a long time—at least an hour—until they arrived at the area closest to the World Tree, which was also the very center of Yggdrasil City.
"Sneasel, are we there yet?"
Kirito and Asuna were starting to feel the ache in their feet.
"Snea."
Sneasel raised a claw and pointed at a massive mansion ahead before boldly pushing the door open.
The other Pokémon followed behind Sneasel, swarming inside as if they were returning home.
"Wait! You can't just barge into someone else's house!"
Kirito and Asuna were both startled by Sneasel's reckless action.
They were well aware that this world had laws, and trespassing was illegal.
"You're back? You were out quite a while today."
A calm and unfamiliar female voice rang out.
"Snea."
Sneasel responded briefly, then turned to Kirito and Asuna with a mischievous grin.
"Hm? Who are you two?"
Standing in the courtyard of the mansion, a woman looked at the boy and girl at the entrance, raising an eyebrow.
Her family rarely had visitors. Even if there were guests, they were usually people well-acquainted with her father or Uncle Izuna.
"Ah! Sorry, sorry! Our Pokémon were so hungry that they barged in without permission. We truly apologize for this."
"We're really sorry!"
Seeing the elegant young woman before them, Kirito and Asuna panicked and quickly bowed in apology.
They could tell at a glance that this woman must be from a wealthy family. Her demeanor reminded them of Lisbeth from SAO.
Not to mention, the mansion itself was enormous—easily over 500 square meters. That alone was proof of her family's status.
After all, this was the city beneath the World Tree. The real estate here might not be as expensive as in League City, but it was still prime real estate, even pricier than Fishman City and Angel City.
Owning such a massive mansion in this place meant this family was far from ordinary.
"Your Pokémon?"
The woman frowned deeply upon hearing that.
These Pokémon had been brought back by Uncle Izuna. How could they belong to these two?
Was there something she wasn't aware of?
"Wait… May I ask your name?"
At that moment, Kirito's sharp eyes caught sight of an emblem on the left side of the woman's martial arts uniform—a fan symbol.
He had seen this symbol on Izuna's clothing before. Izuna had even sought out a tailor specializing in crafting professions to embroider it.
At the time, Kirito hadn't thought much of it, assuming it was just a decorative pattern.
But now, seeing the same emblem here, combined with the familiarity Sneasel and the other Pokémon showed toward this place, he had a strong suspicion about something.
"Uchiha Mai."
The woman lifted her chin slightly.
She had been quite famous in the ninja world—as the daughter of the first Akatsukage, Uchiha Madara. Her status was equivalent to that of Tsunade in Konoha.
But here on Pokémon Island, she wasn't well-known.
Mai had no interest in becoming a Pokémon Trainer or a Coordinator.
She had originally wanted to sail the seas and gather a crew to become the Pirate King.
However, the very day she shared this dream, she was relentlessly beaten by Madara, Dak, and Izuna. The so-called Pirate King dream was completely obliterated.
She, Uchiha Mai, was destined to become the Admiral King—sworn enemies of pirates.
"Uchiha?!"
Asuna was taken aback. She had just read about this earlier in a book.
Mr. Madara's surname was also Uchiha.
"May I ask… what is your relationship with Uchiha Izuna?"
Kirito cautiously asked.
But in truth, he already had a guess—and he was 90% sure of it.
Mai looked like she was in her twenties, but her mature aura made Kirito estimate her to be around thirty.
Back in SAO, he had estimated that Madara and Izuna appeared to be in their thirties or forties.
So, in Kirito's mind, he had come to a conclusion.
He assumed Uchiha Mai was either Madara's wife or Izuna's wife.
I think I have to call this lady Master.
"He's my uncle."
"…"
Kirito fell silent for two seconds before his eyes widened in shock.
He had guessed wrong—completely, utterly wrong.
"Uncle, as in…?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. My father is Uchiha Madara, and Izuna is his younger brother."
Mai spread her hands, feeling like these two weren't the sharpest tools in the shed.
"Oh, oh! Nice to meet you! I'm Asuna, and this is Kirito. Kirito was taken in as a disciple by Mr. Izuna back in Aincrad."
Seeing Kirito still stunned into silence, Asuna quickly stepped in to explain.
"Is that so? I've never heard him mention it before. But judging by how these little guys act around you, it seems legit. Come on in—it's almost time for lunch."
(End of Chapter)
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