The night deepened, and the wind and snow over Konoha gradually died down.
Cold, clear moonlight spilled across the uneven rooftops, and the world fell so silent that only the distant cries of a few winter crows remained.
The office in the Hokage’s building was still lit.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, pipe pinched between his fingers, listening to the live report from the ANBU ninja as wisps of pale smoke drifted up from his fingertips.
“Lord Hokage, this evening Lady Tsunade tested the strength of Uzumaki Genshin.
According to Lord Jiraiya’s confirmation, Lady Tsunade has formally taken Genshin as her disciple.”
At those words, a smile surfaced in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s clouded eyes.
Little Genshin’s temperament and talent were both one in a million, yet in the end he was simply too young.
Without someone to guide him carefully, such talent could easily be buried—or worse, swept up in the village’s undercurrents.
For Tsunade to be willing to take him on personally was, without question, the best possible outcome.
“Very good.” Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly exhaled a ring of smoke, his tone brimming with relief.
Tsunade was a master of Yang Release and Fūinjutsu, and thanks to her Medical Ninjutsu and her connection to the First Hokage, her research into life force ran deep.
If little Genshin’s talent proved great enough, there was even a chance he might learn Senjutsu.
Only under Tsunade’s tutelage could this child’s gifts bloom in full.
Most importantly, Tsunade’s status was exalted and her temperament fiercely protective.
With her shielding him, no one in the village would dare carelessly scheme after Genshin.
As his thoughts reached this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s gaze darkened, remembering that there was still one crafty old serpent lying dormant within the village…
Root.
Danzo.
From the very moment Genshin had revealed his talent, Danzo’s eyes had locked onto the boy and refused to let go.
He had probed and tested in secret several times, hoping to bring Genshin under Root’s control.
Until now, lacking a suitable opportunity, he had only been able to lie in wait in the shadows.
“Convey my order.” Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke in a low voice, his tone carrying an authority that brooked no dispute.
“The matter of Tsunade taking Uzumaki Genshin as her personal disciple—there’s no need to conceal it.
Spread it in full, let it reach every corner of Konoha.”
“Make it clear to the entire village that Genshin is under Tsunade’s exclusive instruction—a core member of the next generation whom Konoha is placing its focus on cultivating.”
It was precisely this fanfare that he wanted.
Hiruzen Sarutobi meant to use this affair to strike hard at the Danzo lurking in the darkness, telling him plainly—Genshin had the backing of one of the Sannin and the endorsement of the Hokage.
Anyone who dared entertain crooked thoughts about him behind closed doors had best not blame Hiruzen Sarutobi for turning against them.
“Yes!” The ANBU ninja bowed to receive the command, then vanished into the night in an instant.
At that same moment, in Root’s dungeon-like underground office, the light was dim and oppressive, the air deathly cold and still.
Danzo stood with one hand behind his back, a cold glint flashing in his single eye as he listened to his subordinate’s report, his aged face terrifyingly grim.
The document on his desk crumpled slightly in his grip, the malice about him growing ever thicker.
“Tsunade… has taken that Uzumaki brat as her disciple?”
“Yes, Lord Danzo.
The news has already spread through the entire village.
Everyone now knows that Uzumaki Genshin is Lady Tsunade’s personal disciple, sheltered by the Hokage himself.”
“Heh.” Danzo let out a low, cold laugh, his tone thick with resentment and anger.
“Hiruzen Sarutobi—so this is you deliberately putting me in my place?”
He knew perfectly well that the Third’s fanfare in spreading the news was aimed squarely at him.
That Uzumaki brat’s special constitution, and the Chakra brimming with life force like the First Hokage’s own, were things he was determined to obtain.
If he could get his hands on the child, then arrange for Orochimaru to transplant the First’s cells into him, Danzo was all but certain the boy would be able to command Wood Release.
But now, with Tsunade… the Hokage’s warning, Tsunade’s protection, and the village-wide public opinion were enough to seal off every avenue for his covert maneuvering.
“Withdraw.” Danzo waved his hand coldly, the gloom churning in his eyes.
“Keep watching that brat.
Do nothing—just report the situation at regular intervals.”
He would not give up.
He was merely enduring, lying dormant for now…
The night passed in the blink of an eye.
Early the next morning, as the sky was just beginning to lighten, gentle dawn light poured over the streets of Konoha, slowly melting the thin remnants of snow on the roads.
The air was both crisp and fresh.
Thud, thud, thud…
Two small figures were running at a steady pace along the village’s main thoroughfare—none other than Genshin and Naruto.
By now, the discipline of training had long since been carved into Genshin’s bones; before the sky had even fully brightened, he had risen early and dragged Naruto along to exercise with him.
Genshin ran in front, Naruto close behind, his tiny frame pumping his legs with all his might, his whole face set in earnest concentration.
The two were three years apart in age, and their physical conditioning was worlds apart as well.
Genshin’s persistence with Hamon Breathing training had given him a physique, endurance, and explosive power far surpassing ninja his own age.
Even when he deliberately slowed his pace, the young Naruto gradually fell behind.
Some time ago, Genshin had considered teaching the Hamon Breathing Method to Naruto, but strangely enough, even when Naruto followed the correct Breathing Method—breathing so hard he was practically gasping for oxygen—he still couldn’t cultivate any Hamon.
Before long, the distance between them widened.
Naruto’s little face flushed bright red, his breathing growing more and more ragged, his little legs sore and weak, until he could only slowly drop behind.
Genshin ran on ahead for a stretch, and sensing the sounds behind him gradually fade away, he simply picked up speed and finished his lap around Konoha, planning to catch up to Naruto from behind as usual.
He spotted Naruto from a distance, but… something seemed off.
In the corner of an empty alley, three older children had surrounded Naruto, their faces full of mockery and malice, shoving and jeering at the lone boy.
“It’s that orphan nobody wants!”
“I heard his parents died ages ago—he doesn’t even have any family!”
“Monster, demon fox monster!”
Naruto was shoved to the ground, his thin little body trembling faintly, yet he bit down hard on his lip and refused to bow his head.
He wanted to fight back, but his strength was no match for theirs, and he could only let them pin him down as fists, feet, and filthy words rained down on him.
Watching this scene, the veins at Genshin’s temples bulged.
From what he remembered of his past life, there was hardly a single named character in Konoha who hadn’t been bullied at some point.
Just among the Rookie Twelve, Naruto, Sakura Haruno, Hinata, Chōji Akimichi, and Rock Lee had all been bullied.
The ones with fathers got bullied, the ones without fathers got bullied, the fathers themselves got bullied.
Family, looks, grades, talent, personality—there was always some category to pick out and bully you for.
What the hell kind of village is this?
Huh?
Do you people bully every stray dog that wanders past too?
No wonder the Sage of Six Paths, who grew up in an environment like this, wanted to link everyone together with Chakra.
If it were Genshin, he might just launch a Human Instrumentality Project himself.
Genshin suddenly put strength into his legs and closed the distance in a few bounding strides.
He reached out, grabbed the ringleader by the back of his collar, and yanked him away with a savage heave, hurling him to one side.
The force was so great that the brat knocked the other two down as he fell.
The brat had just been about to get up and start cursing when he realized his body wouldn’t obey him—he couldn’t even move.
Pulling Naruto to his feet, Genshin asked in a seemingly calm voice, “Naruto, are you all right?” But undisguised menace churned in the depths of his eyes.
What he hated most were exactly these bullying types.
Back when he’d wandered the Land of Bears, he’d beaten up plenty of little punks like these.
Naruto shook his head but said nothing.
“Just now—how many times did they curse at you?”
Naruto shook his head again, his small hand tugging at Genshin, wanting to leave.
“Mm, let’s just call it ten, then.”
Sitting Naruto down to the side, Genshin gave a slight motion of his hand.
Through that single yank earlier, faint, invisible Hamon Chakra had already been injected into all three of the little bullies.
Unlike the technique he used to lay out ninja bosses, this move was like the way Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli and Joseph Joestar used Hamon to manipulate passersby: it only worked on opponents whose strength gap was overwhelming.
The Hamon Chakra Genshin injected forcibly rewrote the movement commands of the cells and muscles inside their bodies, leaving these little bullies entirely at Genshin’s mercy.
The next second, a bizarre scene unfolded.
The three children, who had been so brazen and arrogant moments before, now found their bodies moving against their will—standing in a circle facing one another, raising their hands, and slapping the companion across from them with all their might!
Smack!
Smack!
Smack!
Crisp, ringing slaps rang out one after another.
They wanted to stop, but their bodies were completely beyond their control.
They could only stiffly raise and lower their hands, punishing one another over and over.
Their cheeks quickly swelled into a puffy ring, pig-headed and bloated, tears and snot smeared across their faces—yet not a single sound could escape their mouths.
After all, they were still fellow villagers, so this was about as far as the lesson would go.
Standing off to the side watching them, Genshin spoke softly, laying down the rules: “Keep going, until you’ve slapped ten times each.
Remember what I said today—you are never to bully your fellow villagers.
Dare to pull this kind of despicable stunt again, and I’ll thrash you once more.”
“Naruto, you did really well today.”
Naruto lifted his head in confusion.
“Refusing to admit defeat is a victory.
Losing to them isn’t your fault.
For people like them, until they feel pain themselves, they’ll never understand others.”
Oh… Naruto nodded, half-understanding.
In any case, just like his big brother Genshin said—next time he ran into someone bullying others, thrashing them was sure to be the right call!
A full ten slaps had landed, yet the Hamon binding still hadn’t been released.
That beating had felt great, sure—but how was he supposed to wrap this up now?
If parents or someone came around looking to make trouble later, it’d be a real headache.
He needed a way to shut them up.
Got it!
Genshin snapped his fingers, and the three little bullies shifted from their circle into a single-file line.
Then their legs began to move, and they started running.
As they ran, the first child wailed at the top of his lungs, “I bully my comrades!”
The second went on, straining his throat, “I’ve failed the village!”
The third followed, “I’ve betrayed the Will of Fire!”
And so the three of them ran laps around the village like that, shouting and crying all the while.
The commotion of their weeping and shouting drew out the surrounding residents; even the ninja leaping across the rooftops watched the children with amusement.
Over all these years, so many people in the village had been bullied, but most cases simply fizzled out with nothing done—so seeing bullies actually being punished was a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle for them too.
Done!
Genshin clapped his hands, cheerfully preparing to wrap up his morning workout.
This way, even if he had to explain himself later, there was nothing to fear—with them shouting like that while running two laps around the village, everyone would naturally understand the whole story: the children who bullied others had their wrongs corrected by the naturally righteous little Uzumaki cub.
No matter how you sliced it, the reason was on his side.
Even if the brats dared to go complaining, once their parents heard what happened, they’d most likely give them another thrashing.
Utterly humiliating.
“Is it really all right to let them run like that?” A gentle voice came—it was Uchiha Shisui.
Had he just happened to be patrolling here?
“Relax, I’ve got it figured out.
Two laps around the village or so should be enough to burn off the Chakra I injected.”
“For what it’s worth…” Genshin bit down hard on those words, clearly displeased, “these guys count as comrades of the village too, I suppose.”
“Ahaha… seems I asked a needless question.” Shisui could only smile awkwardly.
“They’ve been spoiled rotten!
Fellow villagers are fellow villagers—what’s with all this bullying and discrimination, what a rotten habit!”
“Let’s go, Naruto!
I need to go train with Lady Tsunade.
See you later, Shisui!”
His anger not yet spent, Genshin bid Shisui farewell and prepared to take Naruto home before heading off to train with Tsunade.
“Shouldn’t fellow villagers not discriminate against one another…”
Shisui stood where he was, watching the two figures—one big, one small—gradually recede into the distance.
His fingertips unconsciously stroked the buckle of the ninja tool pouch at his waist as he softly repeated that line to himself, deep in thought.
As a young man of the Uchiha Clan, he could in fact grasp the weight of those words better than most.
Between the Uchiha in the village and everyone else, there had always been an invisible, thick barrier.
This systemic, veiled exclusion and those strange, wary looks—he’d seen far too much of it growing up.
It was just that no one had ever spoken it as plainly as Genshin had, nor dared to stand up for the bullied in such a direct way.
The wind swept past the street, kicking up flecks of unmelted snow from the ground.
Shisui gently shook his head, a faint smile spreading in his eyes.
He turned and set back off on his patrol route—only, deep down, he quietly committed those words just spoken to memory.
____
👻🔥+40 ch: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Path of Elation in Warhammer 40K
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