Chapter 12: A Son in the House
Hiiro Rinko, of course, refused to call Chiyo "Mom," but that didn't stop the adoption.
The Village had already decided: he would be Chiyo's adopted son. His refusal was useless.
Of course, he had no reason to refuse, either.
Going from 'Student' to 'Adopted Son' was a step up. The closer relationship made it more convenient for him to learn various techniques from Chiyo, and it would allow him to navigate Sunagakure much more smoothly.
It was all good.
However, just as he was moving into Chiyo's house, he happened to run into the son she had mentioned so often over the past month.
The moment Rinko saw the fiery red hair on the boy, who was more than twice his age, he finally understood where Chiyo's baffling kindness toward him came from.
This child, whom he would have to call "Nii-san" (Big Brother) from now on, was named Yūsa. He was already a fully-fledged Chūnin. As for Chiyo's husband, he was out on a mission and wouldn't be back for some time.
This was the main drawback of having a family full of shinobi: getting everyone together for a family dinner was difficult.
Yūsa's attitude toward Rinko, this new 'little brother' who had appeared from nowhere, was a bit subtle. It wasn't welcoming, but it wasn't hostile, either.
And Rinko, given his 'persona,' was not about to proactively strike up a conversation. It was clear that their future relationship would be rather 'awkward.'
After a stiff greeting, Rinko followed Chiyo to deal with his 'luggage.'
It wasn't much.
The pendant, which seemed to hold a solidified 'Binding Vow,' was still around his neck. The crate of kunai commissioned by goodness-knows-who, along with the scattered forging tools, had been brought back by Chiyo.
Rinko was initially confused—didn't the kunai need to be returned to the shinobi who ordered them? He learned from Chiyo that the kunai were just another part of the order used to placate his parents.
The customized blade shape was another smokescreen. If a shinobi from another village saw them, it might lead them to misjudge Suna's forces, believing they had an operative who used such special kunai.
Sometimes, it was these ambiguous, minor details that could sway a battle.
This was the norm for shinobi: scheming and being schemed against, deception and counter-deception. The name of the game was being insidious and cunning.
That was, until two demigods showed up piloting giant avatars, kicking everyone else to the curb like stray dogs. Now that those two were gone, everyone had returned to the original dark and gloomy atmosphere.
What else could they do? Could you just pilot an avatar just because you want to?
Rinko could only lament that Sunagakure was truly meticulous in its penny-pinching. Customized kunai were not cheap, but they were nothing compared to Suna's total military budget.
To squeeze two uses out of a single expense—Suna was clearly just used to being poor.
Rinko had already tried the kunai on the day he met Chiyo. The specific style didn't suit his hand, so he planned to re-forge them into a weapon he could use once the forge was set up.
Speaking of the forge, which had been dismantled whole, the base just needed to be anchored to the ground. The chimney and water pipes, however, had to be completely rerouted. The chimney, in particular, needed a proper redesign to adapt to the Land of Wind's hellish weather, or it would be clogged with sand in no time.
Fortunately, Chiyo was on post-mission leave. If Rinko had to do it himself, the project would have taken at least twice as long.
During this time, Yūsa would occasionally stop by to watch.
After all, a massive piece of equipment had just appeared in his house. As a shinobi who had inherited Chiyo's Puppet Technique, he was naturally a bit curious.
"What is this part for?"
When Yūsa appeared for the eighth time, his curiosity finally got the better of him. And with that, the first conversation between the two 'brothers'—who shared no blood—finally began.
"That? That's a power hammer. See, you can swap out the different heads and molds here. It makes it easy to forge different styles."
"Wow… you know a lot."
"I learned it specifically. Back then, I thought I'd inherit the... hmm, the blacksmith shop. Be a blacksmith for the rest of my life."
Rinko's words paused for a moment, but he continued as if nothing had happened.
"...And now?"
Recalling what his mother had told him about Rinko's past, Yūsa felt he had brought up a taboo subject. His voice hitched, and he asked tentatively.
"Now I'm going to use this thing to forge weapons and kill everyone who won't let me live in peace."
"Ah. Good. That's good."
Sensing the pure, unadulterated killing intent in Rinko's words, Yūsa pursed his lips and began to slowly shuffle backward. "You keep busy, I'm... I'm gonna go see if there are any missions I can take."
With Yūsa's panicked retreat, the 'ice-breaking operation' was officially declared a failure.
"Sigh… still a long way to go."
Chiyo, who had been observing from a hidden spot, slapped a hand to her forehead and let out a quiet lament.
Her son had always been easy to manage, but he was a bit awkward, spoke bluntly, and lacked confidence. She had no idea where he got that personality from—ah, was it because he couldn't fully master her Puppet Jutsu and felt unworthy as her successor?
Suddenly recalling a rumor she had heard but dismissed, Chiyo's expression grew serious.
Whether it was just gossip or someone trying to stir up trouble, Yūsa's current insecure mindset, combined with Rinko's obvious talent, was not a good combination.
"Maybe I should wait a bit before teaching the brat Puppet Jutsu…"
Muttering to herself, Chiyo—who was truly inept at this sort of thing—silently retreated, deciding to go find her brother, Ebizō, to discuss it.
Unlike Chiyo, who was obsessed with puppet research, her brother was in charge of Suna's intelligence and espionage network. Whether it was digging up information or reading people's hearts, he was definitely better at it than she was.
Unaware of what Chiyo was thinking about in those few seconds, Rinko just felt that Yūsa's sudden departure was baffling.
Nani… Nani-i-i-i?
Did I say something weird?
What's wrong with wanting to kill everyone who bothers me so I can research in peace?
The Cursed User Rinko, with the appearance of a child but an abnormal mental state, was genuinely confused—even if he couldn't use his Cursed Techniques anymore.
He raised a hand to scratch his fluffy red hair, then turned and threw himself back into the work of setting up the forge.
He had to get it running soon. He still needed to test how much of his Cursed Tool forging skill remained in this new world.