Chapter 4

  0.2. Mom, Grandpa, and a little politics. 

- Aki, get dressed, I need your help today! - I heard my mom shouting at me from the first floor. 

I habitually minimize the next task notification. I get a couple of such tasks a day, and they bring just a little bit of experience. I wish I could get at least one E-rank mission. Dream on. 

I quickly crawl out of bed. As usual, I do a hundred push-ups on one hand, a hundred squats, a hundred abs, the only thing left is to run ten kilometers, but it looks like today will not work. Why am I reminded of that ancient anime? I've never liked them, but for some reason, when I was thinking about starting to train (to impress my mom) when I was a young child (3 years old), I remembered this bald guy from the classic. 

Stretching was difficult, my body was still sore from last night's adventures with my friends. They're not really in my head, but I like it that way. 

Dad's been gone three days, he's gone on a mission with his team, so it's just me and my mom. Maybe I can talk her into the equipment. Although it's unlikely, she spoils me immensely, but she obeys my father unconditionally. If he said it was too early for me to learn techniques, I'd have to wait two years for the shinobi academy. 

When I'm done stretching, I go to my private shower room and clean myself up. The contrasting shower washes away any remnants of sleep. I can't shave yet, but I should brush my teeth. I take out the lion toothbrush I bought with the money I earned.

A few minutes later, I go down to the first floor. In the kitchen, my mom is rattling the dishes. Leopold (I made up his name!) raises his red face to greet me. This cat is smart, sometimes I think he's too smart. 

- Sleep, robber, if there is fish for breakfast, I promise to share it with you," I whispered to the furry beast. 

The cat's green eyes gleamed slyly, he squeezed his eyes shut, and rumbled. I stroked the family favorite.

- Aki! Are you up? - Mom's coming out of the kitchen. 

Her red, unruly hair tied behind her back, a kind smile on her face that makes me feel warm in my chest, a warm feeling that has been denigrated in my past world beyond repair. 

My mom is still young, she just turned 23 a couple of months ago, and she doesn't even look 18. How did her frowning father manage to get her? Even I, just a baby, understand her beauty, both inside and out. Oh, and how she smiles, the world is filled with colors from her laughter ... I do not even know how to choose a wife? I'm afraid under my criteria of ideal beauty, created in the image of my mother, I will not find anyone. 

What's also surprising is that not only is she a great mother and a good and faithful wife, but she's also a strong kunoichi. 

  Name: Kumagai Hotaru 

  Rank: Tokubetsu-Jonin (Specialization: Ninjutsu - A rank)

  General level: 22

  Attitude: Loves. Excited. Spoiled. Alarmed by outside thought. Harmony of outlook. 

  Class: 

-Shinobi  - Taijutsu 6ur.

-Shinobi  - Bukijutsu 3ur. 

-Shinobi  - Ninjutsu 10ur.

-Shinobi  - Genjutsu 3rd level.

Worldview: Chaotic-Good.

My mom, according to my grandfather's story, got a Jonin when she was 17. She's even got an achievement on her profile-- Youngest Jonin of the Second Fire Generation. 

In Konoha, that giant city of thousands of shinobi, mom is one of the most talented kunoichi of her generation. Definitely need to take a closer look at his father, there's obviously a secret. Well, no ordinary shinobi could win over someone like mom. He's moody, rule-crazed, and has an orderly worldview! How could he win Mom over? Why didn't she marry a clannish man when I'm sure there were offers. This isn't a 25 year old shinobi with only four shinobi ancestors, Mom's family has a much deeper tree rooted in the soil of ancient times. 

Why did she marry her father? This question has been on my mind for a long time (as long as 4 months), but I can't understand the reasons. Maybe when I'm older, they'll tell me. Although it's quite possible "love is evil". 

By the way, could the reason be selection? It's quite normal to look for a mate based on things like gene compatibility. My grandfather told me that. According to him, mom and dad have a lot of bodily chakra (Yang), but mom doesn't have as much as spiritual chakra (Yin). You might even say she has a slight imbalance. 

If we talk in numbers, my dad has 22 stamina with 12 intelligence, while my mom has 18 stamina with 24 intelligence. And yes, don't be intimidated by such large characteristics, it's just that mom has 8 charisma and dad has 1... I screwed up by bringing charisma up to 16, I should have reduced it to 6. Of all those whose characteristics I saw, no one had more than 10 points in this characteristic, and clansmen with an active genome had charisma replaced by another characteristic. When I attended my grandfather's examinations of other children and adults at his request, I was able to check out such characteristics as Sharingan, Byakugan, White Chakra, Beast, and so on. These substitutes also gave their user a bit of attractiveness (8% per characteristic point). By the way, the clansmen have their kekkei developed by 5-6 units on average, only one Uzumaki I saw Heavy Yang developed to 20. But that guy was just handsome! All the nurses were staring at the guy. He was also the local Casanova.  Looking at the predatory women and girls made me feel a little sick. I shouldn't have invested so much in Charisma, I shouldn't have-- 

I'm taking my seat at the table. Today we have rice and fish pancakes. Leopold's lucky, though. 

- Aki, eat it all," my mom tried to be stern, but she failed.  I didn't believe her stern face. Right now, if I say "I don't want to", there's no way she'll make me eat the hated fish. But we will not take the easy way out, especially using the shield in the form of Charisma often not worth it, or else the family will get used to my manipulations, and how will I insist on doing really important things? 

- Sure, Mom! I'll eat it all," I said happily. The cat understood everything correctly, he got up, pulled himself up and walked towards me in a pathetic gait. 

I quickly scarfed down all the pancakes, picked up the fish sticks, and completely accidentally, while my mom was busy washing dishes, dropped them. 

A cat in a shinobi family, it's not a flea in the regular population. Leopold worked clearly - quietly and stealthily picked up the fish on the fly and swallowed it. 

By the time my mom turned around, my plate was empty and I pretended to be struggling to keep from gargling water out of my mouth. 

- Good for you. I'm proud of you, son," my mom hugged me. It feels good, but it's also a little nasty from lying, but what can you do. I hate fish. 

- Mom, stop it, I'm an adult! Stop it," I was pressed against myself, my head was mussed, and I was squeezed in my arms. But I stoically endured all this abuse. 

- Ah, how lucky your chosen one will be..." mom smiled at something. 

- When will there ever be one, the chosen one? You know I've been put-" I was covered with a pen. Mom said softly: 

- You shouldn't say that out loud, even at home. Fukui-san took a huge risk, and we're all taking risks by hiding our secret. Let everyone think that your father and I took a risk and lost, okay? 

- I'm not saying anything. But mom, I can't lie forever. Sooner or later, I'm gonna have to have kids--

- Oh, you're so independent, Aki! 

I was cradled by my mom again. Stroked my head:

- That's why, son, you must become so strong that no one will even think of messing with you. 

I look seriously at my mom and say confidently:

- I promise. I will become the strongest, stronger than the Hokage, stronger than all the Kage combined! No one will dare touch me or my family! 

Mom smiles slyly and, catching me off guard, asks:

- And in order to do what? Aki, do what? That's right, kid. Eat fish! Here, I made you some more, eat up, and I'll make sure Leo doesn't steal from my son. 

A sad meow sounded from under the table. 

  *** 

The smell of the forest, it's everywhere in Konoha. Even when you eat at Akimichi's famous eateries, where they like to serve dishes with a lot of spices, you can't escape it, and even in the darkest morgue of Konoha, even in the clinic, you can smell the scent of the forest. 

I, a city dweller in my former life, had no idea that the forest had so many shades of odor. For example, our neighborhood, which is next to the most eerie forest for many thousands of miles, smells of bark and resin; the north of the village smells of pine needles, but the greatest concentration of forest scents is undoubtedly focused in the Senju clan quarter. 

The most controversial clan in the village, and by far the strongest. In the past, they were rivaled only by the Uchiha, but after the First World War, the Sharingan dojutsu holders were gently removed from intensive combat missions, leaving the internal security of the village in their hands. I've read about these guys. Their existence and strength is tied to combat, if an Uchiha doesn't fight and kill, if he doesn't spill his own and others' blood, he withers, becomes soft and useless.  The reasoning behind the decision to cut the village's combat potential is something that a five-year-old boy like me can't know, all he can understand is the simple truth that it's better to stay out of politics. 

My mom and I walked past the Senju neighborhood, being passed by people rushing around. There were shinobi jumping on rooftops, and we walked slowly, just enjoying the bustle of the city. There were a lot of Senju here, and not all of them were shinobi, not all of them. A shopkeeper selling juicy looking apples that would make you drool, smiled and offered me a treat, he was a Senju, but he was only a level 4 shinobi, the rest of his classes were peaceful, and there were many like him. Senju is generally considered the most peaceful of all the clans, and that's why they are losing influence. Even I can see that. More and more red-haired men are showing up in the village, more and more often the current Hokage is enacting regulations and laws that are disadvantageous to this clan. I wouldn't be surprised if my children see this clan give up its position and go from being a ruling clan to just another noble clan. 

Mom squeezed my shoulder a little, hinting that I shouldn't get out of my simple little boy persona. I guess I'd lost control of my facial expressions in my reasoning. 

(Har) Acting: ??% vs. 24% - Fail.  Next move - 10 min. 

That's right, now within ten minutes all my attempts to deceive others will fail. As far as I know, it's counting on the opposition of the one with the most eyes, the one who can spot my acting. 

"And where are you?" 

I look around at the people around me. 

Two policemen with the Uchiha clan crest are talking to a cute flower girl. 

- Mom, let's go quickly, I want to see my grandfather!  - I whimpered. 

Soon we were walking straight toward the hospital. I remembered to look around at the Clansmen I saw, to check their knowledge and memorize their characteristics.

  (Int) Knowledge: ??% vs. 18% - Fail. Next turn - 10 min. 

The skill rarely worked, but sometimes I was lucky, a chance happened and the characteristic of another shinobi was revealed to me. I memorized it, so I could write it down in special folders at home, which would be sealed in scrolls and hidden in a secluded place.  Once a month, my father and mother would check all the information and make notes. This is how we build up family secrets. Every self-respecting shinobi family should have something stashed away, and we will have information on shinobi and statistics based on characteristics and classes of clans and hereditary shinobi. 

Today, under the guise of another examination, I will be present at the reception of patients grandfather. Thus, we kill two, and I three, birds with one stone: we work on my legend, collect information, and I will also get experience at the end of the day! It's a win-win. 

I walked to the Hospital holding my mom's hand. I'd put so many points into Charisma, and I'd taken Charm, too. From every angle, from every corner, I was stared at by such cute-looking, but at heart beast-like nurses. Once foolishly I moved away from my mom and was immediately punished by other people's hugs.  If my body belonged to the clan breed, they wouldn't even dare to look in my direction, but I'm just a simple hereditary still-no-shinobi, with an unusual appearance and pumped up Charisma! 

When we entered my grandfather's office, I was able to exhale a sigh of relief. 

Kaioshi-Ojisan was writing on the parchment with a frayed brush, his movements smooth and light, the brush hovering over the paper as if it were creating an elegant word. Or a wordy construction, intended for the Hokage, who was lambasting the hospital's funding, or rather his team. As it was explained to me, the director of the hospital and the heads of the departments are part of the party of Uzumaki and Senju (only on vassalage, which is on paper, so they were all poached by the red-haired), and Sarutobi Hizuren and those clans that lead him, want to take a strategically important object under themselves. And the main thing is that no one is afraid of another world war, believing that it won't be soon, well my mom told me so, I believe her. 

- Aki-chan! Come in, don't be shy," Grandpa beckoned me over. He took my hand and put something small in it.

- Here you go, these are coupons for ten large servings of dango, a full set for each of the assemblages of seasons (Dango is a sweet whose composition changes depending on the month in which it is made)," my grandfather stunned me with the pleasant news. 

Quickly tucking the coupons into the pocket of my bronze-colored sweatshirt, I immediately and sincerely thanked this wonderful man. And I don't care that his worldview is labeled as Orderly Evil, the main thing is that he is a good grandfather, the rest is nothing. 

- Are you ready for your weekly checkup? - He asked me seriously, playing his part.

- I'm sick of these exams, but if grandpa asks..." the answer escaped my lips. 

- I'll leave Aki to you Fukui-sensei," Mom bowed to her grandfather, then, with a stern look on her face, asked me:

- Aki, behave yourself and tomorrow breakfast will be your favorite meat tortillas instead of fish. 

After saying goodbye to me, she left. She was now going to the Hokage Tower to fill out the forms for my condition. 

The thing is, for fear of revealing my secret, the adults were wise to hide the truth behind a drop of a lie. A couple of months ago a woman came to our house hiding her face with a mask, I remember being surprised by her precise and aristocratic movements and the fact that she wore a hat hiding her hair. That night a seal was placed below my belly that would show anyone interested that I was infertile and could not have children. I don't know how it works, I just don't have enough knowledge of fuin (I have it limited to simply copying the drawing), but now on all examinations analyzing fuin show that children should not be expected from me. Of course, if I get sloppy after puberty and make someone happy, the truth will be revealed, but as it is, I'm useless to everyone right now. I'm just a strong shinobi in the long run, of which there are many. I don't care if I have a strange genome, I won't be able to pass it on to my descendants, and therefore I won't be able to create a subordinate clan. 

Everything was arranged so that my parents dared to experiment with conception, used special herbs and drugs, but failed. The child was born with the gene, but defective. This did not add to the points of my father and mother, but they did not care about the opinion of strangers, and those who turned away from them because of such things.  By the way my paternal and maternal grandfathers turned their backs on both me and my parents. That's just the way it is.