"When is Orochimaru-sensei coming back…" Hyūga Akira muttered, staring longingly from inside his house.
He had heard that Orochimaru's three-man squad was currently engaged in intense battles with the Iwa ninja. The latest news was that they had wiped out an Iwa squad.
As for anything beyond that, it was no longer information he had access to.
"So this Orochimaru you keep talking about—what kind of person is he?" Machi asked curiously from the side.
Recently, Akira had been mentioning this name quite often.
Akira fell into thought for a moment. His impression of Orochimaru at this point wasn't very deep—most of what he knew came from the future version of "Snake Lady."
But explaining that would only lead to even more questions.
"He's someone who can solve your identity problem," Akira finally said.
As long as he could obtain partial command authority within Root, resolving Machi's identity would be easy. Root members in Konoha essentially had their official identities erased—strictly speaking, they were all unregistered.
If retirement from Root was possible, the organization could also create a new identity for them.
Machi's eyes lit up.
Right now, she was essentially a blacklisted individual in Konoha. The Uchiha Police Force was strict with inspections, and she constantly had to avoid them carefully.
If her identity could be resolved, she could finally move around openly.
Now, two people were eagerly waiting for Orochimaru to return.
"Machi-nee, you're actually undocumented?!" Hyūga Natsuna stopped wiping the table, shocked. She wore an apron, with a white cloth tied around her head.
At such a young age, she was already shouldering the entire household.
Who was going to deal with these two irresponsible "adults"… well, technically Akira was only fourteen, so he didn't count.
Clearly, the most wicked one here was still Machi.
Akira shot her a look of disdain.
Not doing housework, making a child laborer handle everything, not earning money, and even making that same child laborer support the household.
So when exactly had he stopped storing her in the [Machi Hospitality Ticket]?
Was it really just to summon her here and entertain her?
Machi narrowed her eyes at Akira. Her instincts told her he was cursing her in his heart.
At least that meant she occupied a place in his mind.
Still—
Machi cast a dangerous glance at Natsuna. "If you tell anyone, you're dead."
Natsuna immediately shut her mouth.
That was absolutely something Machi would do.
"I'm really good at work… and I cook well too…" she muttered, trying to prove her worth.
Even though life here was tiring, difficult, and dangerous—
Going back home and getting married didn't seem that bad anymore.
She quietly wiped away her tears.
Something she had started herself—she would finish it, even if she had to cry through it.
"Speaking of which… it's been a while. Why hasn't my mission come yet?" Akira muttered.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had said that once he became a jōnin, his mission would be assigned immediately.
But so far, there had been no movement.
Instead, he was just sitting here, peacefully waiting for Orochimaru.
"Big bro!! Open the door!! I know you're home!!"
Nawaki's voice suddenly rang out from outside.
Akira walked over helplessly and opened the door.
A grinning Nawaki stood there, with Aburame Mushihime beside him. Behind them were two familiar faces—
Namikaze Minato and Kushina.
"What are you all doing here?"
Ever since Nawaki returned to the village, he had been nowhere to be seen. Mushihime, on the other hand, came by frequently—though Akira had no idea what she was looking for.
"I heard you became a jōnin, big bro! I came to give you a congratulatory gift!" Nawaki said with a wide grin, pulling out a finely crafted kunai.
Akira's mouth twitched.
"You really couldn't find anything better, could you?"
Nawaki scratched his head awkwardly.
"And me," Mushihime added, her eyes somehow sparkling like stars. "I'm giving myself to you, Akira-nii."
"No thanks," Akira rejected immediately.
Kushina and Minato, on the other hand, had pooled their money to buy a short sword. It was probably the only thing that actually looked like a proper gift.
Akira invited everyone inside.
Machi and Natsuna had already retreated to their rooms after hearing the noise.
Until Machi's identity issue was resolved, it was best for her not to appear in front of too many people. Although Konoha seemed to be celebrating victory, it was still under subtle martial control—any unknown individual could be treated as an enemy ninja.
As for Natsuna, she simply didn't want to be found by the Hyūga clan.
This had always puzzled Akira.
Just how incompetent was the Hyūga clan that Natsuna could completely evade them?
At the very least, he hadn't seen a single Hyūga clan member near his house.
Even though he had already revealed his ability to remove the Caged Bird Seal, the branch family hadn't come looking for him at all.
It didn't make sense.
Hyūga Hikaru was still on the front lines and hadn't returned yet.
…
The group gathered around a low table, drinking tea and eating snacks.
"Recently, all the jōnin seem really busy. Why does Akira-nii look so free?" Kushina asked first, eyeing him suspiciously. She wondered if he had actually failed the jōnin exam.
She had no way to confirm his rank.
"How would I know?" Akira replied leisurely, blowing on his tea.
"Maybe the Hokage has his own considerations."
Nawaki muttered from the side, "I feel like the Third just doesn't want you going to the front lines and killing so many people that it restarts the war."
In the current situation, the major villages could tolerate some losses—but not excessive casualties.
With Akira's destructive capability, it wouldn't be surprising if he pushed the other villages to the point of desperation, where they'd rather die than not kill him.
Honestly, that did sound like something Akira would do.
Nawaki was already starting to think like a Hokage.
Akira shot him a glare.
"If you can't talk properly, don't talk."
"By the way," Akira continued, "what have you been doing lately, Nawaki? Haven't seen you in ages."
Since returning to the village, Nawaki had been incredibly busy.
"Hehe." Nawaki grinned mysteriously. "I've been undergoing hell training. I'm not the same person I used to be."
That line sounded strangely familiar.
Akira scratched his head.
"So why are you here today?"
"Big bro—I'm here to challenge you!!"
Flames seemed to burn around Nawaki's body. Aside from delivering the gift, his real purpose was to challenge Akira again.
"Nawaki-nii will definitely win!!"
Kushina and Minato unfurled a banner that read: Nawaki-nii Must Win.
Since when did you two become Nawaki's fan club!?
Not to be outdone, Mushihime also pulled out a banner.
It read:
Akira-nii—Invincible!!
Mushihime locked eyes with Kushina and Minato. Sparks seemed to fly between them as the air filled with tension.
So who exactly is fighting here!?
Akira and Nawaki stared at the three of them speechlessly.
Why did it feel like they were the odd ones out?
Akira looked at Nawaki.
"Perfect. Let me see how much you've improved."
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/KuroTL