Chapter 14 — The Prototype
...
Akimichi Barbecue Restaurant.
At this moment—
Auntie Akimichi wore a beaming smile. Ever since she'd gotten to know this brat half a year ago—aside from the one free meal each month—Kinoshita Hikaru had become the most honored customer in the shop.
Not only that, Hikaru even brought in more customers for the restaurant. If it weren't for the fact that he ate far too much, Auntie Akimichi would have promised him free meals for life.
A single straw hat had forged a bond between them, and the group now shared the beginnings of friendship. Laughter and cheerful chatter filled the table.
But right now, the main characters were Kinoshita Hikaru and Hyuga Hiashi.
The two locked eyes. The air crackled with tension.
Suddenly, Hikaru said, "Do you guys want to join in?"
"Join how?"
Hikaru smiled like a little fox. Let me defeat Hiashi first.
There was no suspense—Hiashi suffered a crushing defeat.
"I want to challenge all of you. If you lose, you'll have to train with me from now on. Deal?" Hikaru said.
He didn't say anything like "If you lose, you have to make me your leader." That would leave a bad impression. As long as they spent more time together, taking them in as little brothers would be easy.
"Just so you know, my training is brutal," he added, deliberately provoking them.
Everyone exchanged glances, feeling vaguely offended.
In the end, only Namikaze Minato, Senju Nawaki, Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Choza, Yamanaka Inoichi, Uchiha Shigeru, and Uchiha Mikoto agreed to participate.
Some refused to admit defeat. Some wanted to be friends with Hikaru. Some were just stubborn.
The rest simply laughed and watched the show.
Hikaru didn't mind. A thousand people have a thousand faces—there was no way everyone would like him. Besides, too many people would only complicate things.
He wanted like-minded companions—people who could grow stronger together and one day roam the ninja world.
Ninja squads were traditionally formed in teams of three, but Hikaru thought the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had the better model—tight coordination, fierce offense.
Each with their own strengths, complementing one another.
"Begin!"
At the command, everyone started devouring meat.
Every single person stuffed their mouths full—even Uchiha Mikoto.
"So troublesome," muttered Nara Shikaku.
Kinoshita Muraichi stood to the side with a cheerful smile, taking out a camera to capture the moment.
...
Inside a room—
Kinoshita Hikaru lay on the tatami mat, cultivating chakra and rapidly extracting physical energy.
Ever since advancing the Chakra Extraction Technique to the intermediate level, his extraction speed had increased tenfold. His round belly was slowly shrinking.
Once his body could move normally again, he got up and started doing push-ups, sit-ups, and squats—none omitted.
Thinking about the disbelief in Hiashi and Hizashi's eyes made him want to laugh.
This time, he had completely traumatized the two brothers. No matter how desperately they ate, they couldn't even reach one-tenth of his amount.
He went on to defeat several others in a row. Only Akimichi Choza was a worthy opponent.
Perhaps because of the Rubber Fruit, his energy was exceptionally abundant. He kept going for another two hours before finally feeling sleepy.
The next day—
Nine of them gathered at the back mountain of Konoha.
"Minato and I are still young. We'll mainly focus on taijutsu and tempering our bodies. Let's train together for three months first. If anyone feels it's useless—or if your family doesn't allow it—you can withdraw anytime."
"Bring it on! I'll definitely be first!" Senju Nawaki declared.
With Kinoshita Hikaru leading, the group began running laps around Konoha.
This time, everyone wore weights. Not only that—they weren't allowed to use chakra.
They sprinted at full speed, pushing themselves to their limits without hesitation.
They didn't worry about injuries. Every one of them was wealthy in their own way. Their families had secret medicines. Even Namikaze Minato had Kinoshita Muraichi backing him.
They all had resources supporting them.
Everyone—except Kinoshita Hikaru and Minato.
It truly fit that saying: the rich rely on technology, the poor rely on mutation.
After a while—
Hikaru picked up his pace, gradually increasing the intensity.
Akimichi Choza was already starting to regret this—but he had been forced to come by his father.
The moment he got home yesterday, his father had pressed him with one question: had he made friends with Kinoshita Hikaru?
After hearing a definite yes, the Akimichi clan head finally relaxed. Then, upon learning they would be training together, his attitude turned firm—Choza was required to participate.
His exact words had been:
"Son, Kinoshita Hikaru possesses a first-generation kekkei genkai, and it's very similar to the Akimichi clan's abilities. I've already decided to betroth your little sister to him. So make sure you protect your future brother-in-law～(￣▽￣～)~"
And it wasn't just the Akimichi household. The Nara and Yamanaka clans had staged almost identical scenes.
For secret-technique clans, possessing a kekkei genkai of their own was a long-cherished dream. And someone like Kinoshita Hikaru—a first-generation kekkei genkai user without a clan—was incredibly valuable.
The three of them had essentially come under orders.
As for Uchiha Shigeru, he was just stubborn—unwilling to accept Hikaru's superiority.
Senju Nawaki had been talked into it.
Uchiha Mikoto joined willingly, thinking Hikaru was cool.
And Hyuga Hiashi—the "Byakugan boy"—was here to honor his promise.
Just like that, a nine-person squad was formed.
At this moment—
"Strive to surpass who you were today—only then will you be stronger tomorrow!"
Along the way, Kinoshita Hikaru kept encouraging everyone. Even though his throat burned with pain, he increased his pace once again.
No one succeeds casually. Without sharing hardship, how could they ever earn each other's recognition?
Though it was nothing more than a simple run, Hikaru treated it with absolute seriousness.
"When your body feels like it's reached its limit, you have only two choices: grit your teeth and endure—or drop to your knees and wail. Tell me now… which will you choose? Endure?"
"Endure!"
Everyone shouted with all their strength.
Namikaze Minato refused to fail.
Senju Nawaki wanted to protect Konoha in his grandfather's stead.
Uchiha Shigeru wanted to defeat Kinoshita Hikaru.
Hyuga Hiashi sought to defend the glory of the Hyuga clan.
Each of them carried their own conviction. And when exhaustion and despair struck, that conviction would erupt with boundless strength.
Today, Konoha gained a little more noise.
And in a simple run, several children came to acknowledge one another.
All because of Kinoshita Hikaru.
Uchiha Mikoto looked at that small, slender figure ahead of her.
At this moment, he seemed to shine.
Since childhood, she had been sensitive and perceptive. The first time she met Kinoshita Hikaru and Namikaze Minato, she had felt a warm power from them.
The scarred Uchiha could not help but want to draw closer.
Closer to sunlight.
Closer to warmth.
Right now—
Uchiha Mikoto's eyes were unfocused. Her body had long since reached its limit. Yet a voice inside her kept whispering:
Don't give up.
Don't give up this chance to truly belong in Konoha.
When their ancestor Uchiha Madara defected from Konoha and fought the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, at the Valley of the End, a seed of suspicion had been planted.
Under the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama's influence, that seed gradually grew.
The Uchiha longed for equal treatment.
They longed for trust.
Elsewhere—
Senju Tsunade, known as Konoha's princess, stared ahead. Beside her stood Orochimaru and Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Old man, do you really think this can erase the rift?" Tsunade asked.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, in his prime both mentally and physically, wanted the Uchiha to truly integrate into Konoha—instead of erecting walls in the village center and becoming a village within a village.
"Of course," he said with a gentle smile. "They're all comrades. There's no rift that can't be erased. That incident happened over twenty years ago. It's time to let it pass."
He thought to himself:
These two children are extraordinary. Their hearts are pure—without a trace of darkness. If even they can't succeed… then perhaps I will have failed Kagami.
"I have great confidence in that boy. He's different," Orochimaru said, unable to resist flicking his tongue across his lips.
Every event that seemed like coincidence carried deeper meaning—just like this one.
Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to see whether the Uchiha could step forward.
And whether they were willing to.