Chapter Six: A Request
At the entrance to the clan's compound, Ryūya leaned against the wall, quietly waiting.
On the street not far away, several figures came into his view.
There were four of them in total, all powerfully built, middle-aged men. Their massive frames walking together gave off a faint but oppressive presence.
Among the four, the man in the lead was the most imposing. His bulging muscles stretched his clothes taut.
This man was none other than Akimichi Ryōta, the current head of the Akimichi clan.
At this time, the Third Great Ninja War was already nearing its end, and the new generation of the Ino–Shika–Chō trio had begun to make a name for themselves in the ninja world.
In Ryūya's memories, it would only be a few more years before Akimichi Chōza, Nara Shikaku, and Yamanaka Inoichi would succeed their respective fathers as clan heads.
Although Akimichi Ryōta's physique was frightening, his face always carried a faintly simple and honest smile, making him seem rather approachable.
Yet this seemingly good-natured giant was in fact a killing god who had only recently returned from the battlefields of the ninja war.
In several major campaigns, the Ino–Shika–Chō combination had been the backbone of Konoha's ninja forces, and countless enemy ninja from rival villages had fallen at their hands.
"Ryūya, you've finally recovered!"
The four stopped in front of him. Seeing Ryūya waiting there, Ryōta smiled sincerely.
"Clan Head!"
Ryūya quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"Uncle Shize, Uncle Rōu, Uncle Akizuki."
As he spoke, he greeted the other three one by one.
"Ryūya, you brat, you're finally lively again!"
Akimichi Shize, Akimichi Rōu, and Akimichi Akizuki all replied with smiles.
All three were Konoha jōnin, the top combat strength of the Akimichi clan.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ryūya turned his gaze back to Akimichi Ryōta.
He had always held a favorable impression of Ryōta.
From the remnants of the original owner's memories, Ryūya knew that this clan head treated his clansmen very well, and orphans like Ryūya received especially attentive care.
Although Ryūya's limited talent meant that the resources he could obtain within the clan were restricted, he was never treated unfairly in the slightest.
For a large clan with several hundred members, being able to achieve this was already no small feat.
Even among the great families of the ninja world, resources were limited—it was impossible to provide unrestricted support for every clansman's cultivation.
Thus, following an elite-focused path was an inevitable choice.
This was a universal rule among all ninja clans and factions.
"Clan Head, I have a request!"
Meeting Akimichi Ryōta's assessing gaze, Ryūya spoke in a deep voice.
"Oh? Go on."
Ryōta's eyes flickered slightly, an interested expression appearing on his face.
As he carefully observed Ryūya, Ryōta noticed the change in him.
Compared to before, Akimichi Ryūya was clearly much more steady and confident.
In the past, the former Ryūya would never have faced the clan head with such composure.
At the side, Shize, Rōu, and Akizuki also showed traces of surprise.
They, too, had noticed Ryūya's change.
"Clan Head, after experiencing this ninja war, I've realized that my strength is truly lacking. I want to enter the clan's library to properly make up for my weak foundations."
Ryūya lowered his head, his voice somewhat subdued.
You'll never believe why I moved to… Recife
As Ryūya finished speaking, the brows of the four men immediately furrowed.
Among them, Akimichi Rōu's expression turned stern at once, and there was a hint of reproach in the way he looked at Ryūya.
Akimichi Rōu had been a contemporary of Ryūya's late father. After his father died in battle, Rōu had always treated Ryūya like his own nephew.
For a ninja clan like the Akimichi, the clan library was not a place just anyone could enter. It was one of the clan's most critical secret locations. The books stored there recorded not only a large number of ninja techniques and cultivation insights, but also important clan secrets.
These were confidential matters tied directly to the clan's survival and future. Generally, only a small number of core clan members were permitted to enter.
Under normal circumstances, when a clan ninja wished to learn a particular technique, a designated person would bring it out and teach them. Some especially valuable or special techniques even required clan contribution points to exchange for.
Given Ryūya's current strength and status, making such a request was clearly inappropriate.
Seeing their expressions, Ryūya looked a little embarrassed.
"Uh… doesn't the clan have some kind of regular library or something? Like the school library—somewhere convenient for clan members to look things up. I'd be fine just being a librarian there."
"Ryūya, what are you thinking?! Do you think the clan library is somewhere anyone can enter? A librarian? With your strength, you're nowhere near qualified!"
Hearing this, all three—Ryōta included—wore strange expressions. Akimichi Rōu, however, was so angry he laughed, directly scolding Ryūya.
"Huh?"
Ryūya was completely dumbfounded.
The information about the library had come from Kyōko two days earlier, when Ryūya had been asking where he could access a large amount of ninja technique materials.
At the time, Kyōko had thought he was joking and had casually brushed him off.
She had never expected Ryūya to rashly go and make such a request directly to the clan head.
In the ninja world, people had a very strong sense of intellectual property protection when it came to ninja techniques.
Aside from the ninja academy, no one would casually make ninja technique materials public.
Even in the academy, the techniques taught were only the most basic and lowest-level ones, and only students who passed the village's selection process were allowed to learn them.
After leaving the academy, the vast majority of ninja obtained techniques through their clan or village, exchanging mission-earned contribution points for them.
Yet Ryūya had no clear understanding of these basic common-sense rules of the ninja world.
Seeing Ryūya standing there in a dazed, foolish state, Akimichi Rōu's anger flared even more—angry at him for failing to live up to expectations.
"That's enough! Rōu. Ryūya is eager to improve; don't be too harsh on him."
Just as Rōu was about to continue scolding, Akimichi Ryōta quickly spoke up to stop him.
However, the tone of his voice carried a teasing undertone no matter how Ryūya listened to it.
Shrinking his neck slightly, Ryūya obediently stood to the side without making a sound.
Seeing this, Ryōta, having teased him a bit, no longer took Ryūya's rash request to heart. He gave him a few words of advice:
"Ryūya, your Uncle Rōu is one of the most academically inclined people in our clan. If you want to make up for your weak foundations, why not ask your Uncle Rōu for guidance more often? As for the library—wait until your strength improves."
After saying this, the three clan elders left with hearty laughter.
Akimichi Rōu shot Ryūya a fierce glare before following them.
After the four departed, Ryūya could only head home dejectedly.
Still, he firmly kept in mind the words Akimichi Ryōta had spoken as he left.