“Was that really your first time refining chakra?” The moment Hanekawa finished his training, Kurenai leaned in close, unable to contain herself.
“Yes, my very first time,” Hanekawa said, blinking innocently.
“Ah!
Damn it!” Kurenai clenched her tiny fists, her competitive streak flaring up.
“But don’t think it’ll be that easy to surpass me!” “I’ll work hard,” Hanekawa replied with a smile.
“You…
don’t have to be that serious.” Looking at his handsome smile, Kurenai suddenly became a bit dazed.
It was a proven fact that good looks could warp a person’s perception.
A boy as attractive as Hanekawa was bound to be a hit with everyone, from older women to cute loli peers.
“Hanekawa.” Shinku walked out of the house and handed him an enrollment notice.
Hanekawa opened it and scanned the text.
The contents were straightforward: he had passed the evaluation and was officially admitted into the Academy as a student of Class 1-A.
He didn’t recall taking any evaluation, meaning Hiruzen Sarutobi had pulled some strings behind the scenes.
“Kurenai, take him to meet your homeroom teacher tomorrow,” Shinku instructed.
“No problem!” Kurenai perked up, saluting playfully.
“Mission guaranteed to be a success!” “I’m heading out to buy the daily essentials Hanekawa will need,” Shinku paused, asking, “Is there anything you two want me to bring back?” “I want three-color dango!” Kurenai said, not holding back at all.
“What about you?” Shinku looked at Hanekawa.
“We’re family now, no need to be formal.” “I’ll have the same,” Hanekawa said casually, not knowing what else to ask for.
Three-color dango was a famous snack in Konoha, wildly popular among shinobi like Itachi Uchiha and Anko Mitarashi.
Now that he had the chance, he wanted to see what the hype was about.
“If you have any questions about training, just ask Kurenai.” Shinku waved his hand and turned to leave.
“Hmph!” Kurenai crossed her arms, tilting her chin up proudly as she stared at him.
She might as well have written ‘Hurry up and ask me for help’ on her forehead.
Seeing her like this, Hanekawa couldn’t help but laugh.
“What are you laughing at?” Kurenai asked, pouting.
“I just thought of something funny,” Hanekawa cleared his throat.
“What funny thing?” Kurenai felt slightly slighted and instinctively tried to look stern.
“When is your birthday?” Hanekawa suddenly shifted the topic.
“June eleventh,” Kurenai blinked, confused.
“Why are you asking?” “Then I’m older.” A smirk played on Hanekawa’s lips.
“You should be calling me big brother.” “Wait a minute!” Kurenai caught on and immediately shot the idea down.
“No way!
I’m the older sister here!” “But your age is smaller than mine,” Hanekawa spouted nonsense with a perfectly straight face.
As a war orphan, he actually had no idea what his real age or birthday was.
“No means no!” Kurenai had a sudden stroke of genius.
“What’s the point of being older in age?
The one with the bigger fist gets to be the boss!” “So you’re saying once I beat you in a fight, you’ll become my little sister?” Hanekawa raised an eyebrow, smiling.
Kurenai was about to agree instantly, but remembering how insanely fast he had refined chakra, she hesitated.
She bit her lip, her confidence wavering slightly.
“We’ll talk about it after you actually manage to beat me.” The smile on Hanekawa’s face widened.
Teasing a pretty little loli was honestly quite entertaining.
To be absolutely clear, he wasn’t a lolicon; he personally preferred mature, well-endowed older women.
Just then, footsteps approached.
Back so soon?
Hanekawa instinctively turned his head, and his expression instantly froze.
It wasn’t Shinku.
It was a woman who was a stranger to his current eyes but deeply familiar to his memories—Nonō Yakushi.
However, the woman who was always renowned for her gentleness wore a profoundly heavy expression.
Hanekawa didn’t even need to guess to know what was going on.
This had Danzo Shimura’s fingerprints all over it.
The man just wouldn’t give up on him.
“Director.” Hanekawa excused himself from Kurenai and walked forward.
In the original series, Nonō Yakushi was an absolute tragedy of a side character.
Out of sheer kindness, she had tried to leave Root.
But Danzo used the orphanage to blackmail her back into doing their dirty work, and she ultimately died because she knew too much—orchestrated by the shadow-Kage to kill and be killed by her own adopted son, Kabuto Yakushi.
“Hanekawa, I’m glad you’re safe,” Nonō said softly, reaching out to gently pat his head.
“Thank you for worrying, Director.” Hanekawa caught the hesitation on her face.
“Is something wrong?” “…” Nonō fell into a somber silence.
Not long ago, Danzo had cornered her at the orphanage to explain Hanekawa’s situation.
He wanted the boy in Root.
If Hanekawa joined willingly, Hiruzen would have no right to stop it.
“What are the Hokage-sama’s arrangements for you?” Nonō asked after a moment of thought.
“He wants me to attend the Academy,” Hanekawa replied.
Nonō’s eyes brightened slightly.
Danzo valued her precisely because she was incredibly capable, earning the moniker ‘The Walking Shrine Maiden’.
The moment she heard about the Academy, she instantly saw a way to buy some time.
“Hanekawa, no matter what happens, you must graduate normally,” Nonō said in a low, serious voice.
“Understood.” Hanekawa caught her hidden meaning.
As long as he remained a student at the Academy, Danzo wouldn’t be able to touch him easily.
But that old cyclops was still a massive ticking time bomb.
Should he just give up and join Root?
Absolutely not.
Danzo didn’t just want your loyalty; he wanted to scrape out your brain and seal your tongue.
Besides, if he kept switching sides, he’d end up like a triple-crossing mercenary.
He wanted to be pampered by a wealthy, mature kunoichi, not get ordered around by a creepy old man.
If Danzo were replaced by Tsunade, he might actually consider it.
Sure, she was drowning in gambling debts, but size is justice.
Hanekawa recalled that Kabuto wasn’t at the orphanage yet.
By his estimates, he still had at least ten years before the tragedy struck.
The Evil—no, the Righteous Gardenia Project was officially a go!
A lot can change in ten years.
Saving Nonō within a decade shouldn’t be an issue once he got strong enough.
Although he had only ended up at the orphanage because of Kumogakure’s espionage plot, the Director had been genuinely wonderful to him.
“Come back and visit the orphanage when you have time,” Nonō offered a warm, maternal smile.
“I will,” Hanekawa nodded heavily.
Nonō reached out and patted his head once more before turning to leave.
Watch her walk away, Hanekawa’s lips twitched slightly.
Seriously, why does everyone keep patting my head on day one?
“Kurenai.” Hanekawa turned back to the girl.
“Can you teach me shurikenjutsu?” The looming threat of Danzo gave him a massive surge of motivation.
He needed to step on the gas.
Weapon Tool Throwing was a mandatory trait required to synthesize Genius Genin.
Although the system hadn’t specified how to trigger it, based on his experience with chakra, he clearly needed to practice the action itself.
“Of course!” Kurenai huffed proudly, puffing out her chest.
“I happen to be pretty confident in my shurikenjutsu!”