In the quiet courtyard, Kizaru sat by the edge of the pond at its center.
A simple bamboo fishing rod rested in one hand, while the other held a cup of hot tea. Sitting cross-legged on the smooth bluestone, he looked completely at ease.
It was the backyard of the Great Elder's residence, and the pond in the center was packed with ornamental fish the old man doted on like priceless treasures.
Kizaru wasn't fishing because he wanted to eat them.
He was just bored, wanted some peace and quiet, and needed a way to pass the time.
Lately, he had become far too well-known in the village. Every time he stepped outside, he attracted stares, whispers, and endless discussion from the villagers. There was no room to breathe, let alone relax.
And since Kizaru liked peace and hated noise, he had no choice but to stay home as much as possible and rot away in boredom.
So naturally, fishing in the Great Elder's pond had become his newest pastime.
He lightly blew across the steam rising from his teacup, took a slow sip, then set it down with a satisfied look.
After placing the cup aside, Kizaru closed his eyes.
A very improper-looking three-dimensional Template System Character appeared in his mind.
The progress bar beneath it had risen from 10% before he entered the Academy to 17% now.
Honestly, the progress was pretty satisfying.
Kizaru remembered it clearly. From the day he entered school up until the monthly exam, that progress bar had only climbed to 12%.
That meant an entire month of effort had earned him just 2%.
But in the single week after the monthly exam, it had jumped from 12% to 17%.
A full 5% increase.
That kind of explosive growth was obviously thanks to his ridiculous performance in the exam, along with the huge wave of reputation Danzō had stirred up for him with his aggressive publicity campaign.
Being famous really was comfortable.
And getting stronger from it felt even better.
Thinking of that, Kizaru couldn't help showing a lazy, satisfied smile.
"Kizaru-nii! Kizaru-nii! This is bad! Something happened! Yoshihiko got into a fight with some Uchiha!"
An urgent, familiar shout suddenly shattered the quiet of the courtyard.
Kizaru set down the fishing rod and turned toward the entrance.
A panting Shimura Tanin came running in from outside, clearly having sprinted the whole way back.
The moment Tanin spotted Kizaru, relief flooded his face, like he had finally found the one person who could fix everything. His panicked heart seemed to settle at once.
"Kizaru-nii, hurry! Yoshihiko's fighting with the Uchiha! Come with me!"
He ran all the way up to Kizaru's side, still breathing hard.
"Where?" Kizaru asked immediately. "And how did it start?"
"On Tea Street," Tanin answered at once. "We were out shopping when we ran into two Uchiha kids around our age. They started talking bad about you. Yoshihiko got mad the moment he heard them and started arguing with them. Then the argument turned into a fight."
Tea Street was one of the busiest places in the village center, lined mostly with tea houses and dessert shops.
After hearing the explanation, Kizaru rose to his feet at once.
"Where's Yoshihiko now?"
"Yoshihiko told me to come back and get help," Tanin said quickly. "On the way back, I ran into Yuki and Shintarō. They already rushed over first."
As Kizaru took Tanin's hand and led him out of the courtyard, the boy's anxious mood settled even further. Just holding onto Kizaru's warm hand made him feel like everything would be fine.
After only a few steps, though, Kizaru frowned slightly.
Too slow.
He bent down, scooped Tanin up with one arm, and immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to rush forward.
"Hold on tight."
"Okay!"
Tanin grabbed tightly onto Kizaru's clothes with both hands.
In just a few moments, Kizaru arrived outside the main gate of the clan residence.
Then, holding Tanin in his arms, he stopped and looked toward Tea Street instead of going any farther.
"Kizaru-nii?" Tanin looked up at him, confused.
"They're coming back," Kizaru said.
Then he set the boy down.
Hearing that, Tanin quickly stretched his neck and looked in the same direction.
Sure enough, farther down the street, Yuki and Shintarō were dragging Yoshihiko back with them.
"Yoshihiko! Yuki! Shintarō!" Tanin shouted, jumping up and waving.
The three children heard him and saw Kizaru standing there.
Smiles appeared on their faces immediately, and they instinctively quickened their pace, jogging the rest of the way over.
The moment Yoshihiko reached Kizaru, all the toughness he had been forcing himself to maintain in front of Yuki and Shintarō instantly collapsed.
His eyes turned red, and he threw himself straight at Kizaru.
"Kizaru-nii! Waaaah!"
Kizaru gently patted the boy's head and quickly noticed the dirt on his clothes, along with the torn fabric.
His brows drew together slightly.
"Did you lose?"
Yoshihiko hugged his leg tightly, then raised his head, revealing a pair of bruised panda eyes.
"The Uchiha played dirty…" he said pitifully.
"There were more of them?" Kizaru asked.
"Kizaru-nii, when we got there, an older kid from the Uchiha side showed up first. His name was Uchiha Fugaku," Yuki explained from the side. "He acted like he was breaking it up, but he kept restraining Yoshihiko the whole time."
"That bastard held me in place and let the others hit me!" Yoshihiko shouted furiously. "I couldn't even fight back!"
Kizaru nodded. He could already picture the scene well enough.
"Let's head back first. I'll help treat your injuries."
With that, he picked Yoshihiko up and started walking back inside.
"Those Uchiha bastards are shameless," Yoshihiko fumed in Kizaru's arms. "When I get the chance later, I'm definitely hitting them back."
"Relax," Kizaru said evenly. "I'm here."
"Kizaru-nii, are you going to teach them a lesson?" Yoshihiko looked up at him with bright, expectant eyes.
After stepping through the gate with the other kids following behind, Kizaru didn't answer right away.
He remembered what Danzō had told him recently—that some Uchiha in the village had already started questioning him in public.
And of course, just when he was planning to spend the remaining year lazing around in peace, this kind of worn-out cliché dropped right onto his head.
Kizaru was absolutely certain of one thing—if their positions were reversed, and he'd been born an Uchiha instead, the Shimura clan would be the ones coming after him now.
Root would be glued to his back like flies to syrup.
"…How troublesome."
A thought quietly formed in his mind.
"They're not worth me dealing with personally," Kizaru said at last.
"Ah…" Yoshihiko let out a disappointed groan.
Yuki, following behind, looked disappointed too after hearing that answer.
Only Shintarō seemed to understand at once.
He looked at Yoshihiko and said in the tone of someone educating an idiot,
"Yoshihiko, you moron. With Kizaru-nii's reputation now, if he personally went and beat up Academy students, people would just laugh at him."
"You're the moron!" Yoshihiko snapped back immediately, even though he knew Shintarō was right.
"Tch." Shintarō clicked his tongue in disdain and didn't bother continuing the childish argument.
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