Rie's "Fire"

By the time Rinto returned to the village, a faint glow had appeared on the horizon.

Dawn was about to break.

Looking at the rising sun, the gloom in Rinto's heart slowly faded.

Although that old scoundrel Hiruzen Sarutobi had cheated him out of nearly two hundred thousand Ryo, he had still made over four hundred thousand in the end!

Anyway, he did not need sleep, his stamina cost nothing, and he had barely used any Chakra. Only his clothes had been torn.

Damn, after calculating it all, didn't that mean he had gotten four hundred thousand for free?

At that thought, Rinto immediately cheered up.

He had made four hundred thousand in one night, and together with the four hundred thousand he had extorted from the Uchiha before, he now had eight hundred thousand?!

Didn't that mean he had taken a huge step toward his beloved three-bedroom apartment!

"Good man! Lord Hanzō really is a good man! Knowing how hard my life is, he sent me four hundred thousand for a house down payment. He's practically better than my own father!

When I have a son, I'll name him Northern Chili Fish! No, no, no! Northern Pickled Pepper Fish would be better!"

On a rooftop not far away, Earth Dog, who had come to keep an eye on Rinto, wore a profoundly strange expression.

Rinto had been wearing that sour face the entire way, yet in the blink of an eye, he was grinning again.

The moment he remembered that he still had to write an observation report on Rinto, Earth Dog immediately put on a mask of pain.

Please, I'm a normal person! Making me record an abnormal guy like him, wasn't that just making things difficult for me?!

Rinto casually glanced toward a certain corner and leisurely picked his nose.

Did Earth Dog not even get Saturdays off? The Anbu really was a corporate slave department!

Anyway, Rinto was not the one paying his wages, so he simply pretended not to see Earth Dog and strolled home.

At six in the morning, Rinto pushed open the bedroom door.

Rie, wearing bear pajamas, sat on her knees on the tatami, yawning repeatedly.

"Didn't sleep?"

"Mhm!" Rie nodded hard.

"Brother didn't come back, so Rie couldn't sleep."

Hearing that, warmth immediately filled Rinto's heart, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly.

"Then sleep for a while first. This afternoon, brother will take you to a barbecue restaurant and we'll eat our fill."

The moment she heard there would be barbecue, the exhaustion on Rie's little face vanished without a trace, and her big eyes sparkled brightly.

"As much as I want?"

"As much as you want." Rinto affectionately rubbed the little girl's head.

"Yay!" Rie happily jumped up.

"Then tell me a bedtime story, brother!"

Rinto nodded. He sat cross-legged in front of the little girl's bedding, pondered for a moment, then slowly began.

"Once upon a time, there was a boy in Konoha who loved to lie. His name was Pinocchio;

Pinocchio had a magical ability. Whenever he lied, his nose would grow longer.

One day, Pinocchio encountered a beautiful girl in the village. Her name was Snow White.

At that moment, Snow White was surrounded by three bad guys.

The bad guys wanted to capture Snow White and use her to threaten Konoha. As a Konoha genin, how could Pinocchio allow such a thing to happen?

So Pinocchio stepped forward and blocked the three bad guys.

After a fierce battle, the weaker Pinocchio was knocked to the ground. Seeing that Snow White was about to be captured, Pinocchio made a snap decision and roared, 'Chinese Football is Number One in the World!'

Hearing that, the three bad guys were furious and shouted, 'Refund!'

But just then, Pinocchio's nose suddenly stretched out and stabbed all three bad guys to death.

At the side, Snow White's eyes lit up, and she instantly fell in love with the lying boy.

And so, the two lived a sexually blissful and happy life."

After finishing the story, Rinto looked at Rie, who was already sleeping soundly, and smiled in satisfaction.

Time passed in a flash, and before long, the entire morning had gone by.

That afternoon, Rinto swiftly pulled Rie out of her bedding, changed the chubby little girl's clothes in a few quick movements, carried her on his back, and walked out of the room.

"Let's go, time for barbecue!"

Still half-asleep, Rie rubbed her eyes with one hand and wrapped the other around Rinto's neck as she mumbled sleepily:

"Brother, f-first let's buy Chakra test paper."

Rinto's eyes suddenly lit up. He turned to look at the bleary-eyed Rie.

"Has my little Rie already extracted Chakra?"

Rie nodded weakly.

After walking through the wooden corridor, Rinto carried Rie on his back and greeted Aunt Kyoko, who was watering the flowers.

Kyoko set down her watering can and smiled at the close brother and sister.

"Good afternoon, Rinto-kun, Rie-chan."

"Good afternoon, Aunt Kyoko. Thank you so much for taking care of Rie during this time. You've really worked hard!"

"No, no, no. I really enjoy spending time with Rie-chan~" Kyoko shook her head repeatedly, then looked at Rinto curiously. "Are you going out to have fun?"

Rinto nodded.

"We're going to buy Chakra test paper, and I'll take Rie out for barbecue while we're at it."

"You two really are close~" Kyoko covered her mouth with a smile, then sincerely praised, "Rie-chan is very talented and works hard at training. She'll definitely become an amazing kunoichi in the future~"

Seeing Aunt Kyoko praise Rie, Rinto smiled awkwardly.

He had given Rie the Chakra Extraction Technique not because he wanted the girl to enter the high-risk profession of being a ninja. He merely wanted her to have a little more ability to protect herself in this chaotic world.

Seeing Rinto merely scratch his head, Kyoko assumed he did not believe her and stubbornly insisted with a hint of girlish indignation:

"It's true. Rie's talent isn't inferior to Kawama's at all~"

"Kawama? Who's that? Your and Uncle Ippongi's child?" Rinto asked.

"No, he's Uncle Butsuma's child." Kyoko explained instinctively, then slapped her forehead and laughed.

"It's Kawama Senju."

Oh?

Rinto's eyes lit up. That was quite a lot of information!

Aunt Kyoko's uncle was Butsuma Senju? Could she also be from the Senju Clan?

Thinking of Aunt Kyoko's identity and her subtle connections with the Konoha High Council, Rinto decided not to beat around the bush and asked directly.

"Aunt Kyoko, are you a member of the Senju Clan?"

"I used to be, but not anymore." Aunt Kyoko's smile was somewhat forced.

Rinto immediately understood. Aunt Kyoko had married Uncle Ippongi, so she had probably taken his surname and become Kato.

But Kyoko, as if seeing through Rinto's thoughts, gently shook her head.

"Now, there is no longer such a thing as the Senju Clan."

Rinto's gaze shifted as countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

First, what exactly had happened to the Senju Clan, and why had they suddenly disappeared without a trace? Second, why had Kyoko, who had such deep ties with Konoha's upper ranks, brought up this subject?

Was she trying to convey something through him?

Or was it simply not a secret, and there was no harm in telling him?

His thoughts flashed like lightning. Rinto's smile faded as he asked in a low voice, "Why?"

Seeing Rinto ask, Kyoko slowly sighed.

"Hashirama and Tobirama abolished the clan surname."

"Why?" Rinto asked again.

"There were many reasons. The most important was for the peace of the village.

When Konoha was first founded, although the various clans joined Konoha, there were still deep prejudices between them, and there was very little interaction.

For the sake of preventing Konoha from becoming a village in name only, Hashirama resolutely decided to break apart the Senju Clan. From then on, newborn children were no longer allowed to bear the Senju surname."

At this point, Kyoko's expression became extremely complicated.

"I still remember what he said to Madara Uchiha: Since we have formed a village, let the village take over the role of the clans and continue protecting our bloodlines!

But Madara Uchiha did not accept Hashirama's suggestion."

"What about you? Were there voices of opposition within the Senju Clan?"

"There were!" Aunt Kyoko nodded heavily. "Everyone had reservations, but there was even more understanding.

After all, for the hard-won peace, Lord Hashirama had sacrificed too much. Kawama died in battle, and he nearly broke down;

The Senju Clan's feelings were no less deep than the Uchiha's."

After silently listening to everything, Rinto unconsciously drew in a sharp breath.

"Amazing!

An amazing First Hokage!

An amazing Senju Clan!

It's hard to imagine just how broad-minded and resolute someone would need to be to make such a decision."

Hearing Rinto's heartfelt praise, Kyoko broke into a brilliant smile and reached up to wipe the moisture from the corner of her eye.

"It's wonderful that you understand."

Aunt Kyoko definitely had her own purpose in telling him this, but Rinto did not care.

Words could be embellished and made flowery, but actions could never be faked.

Hashirama Senju was truly an incredible person!

Beneath his laughing, carefree exterior was an unbreakable determination to carry the entire village forward.

By comparison, Madara Uchiha was, uh... pretty amazing too.

After bidding farewell to the somewhat emotional Aunt Kyoko, Rinto took Rie out onto the street.

It was Saturday, and Konoha's streets were packed with people, bustling with activity.

Rinto took Rie into a random ninja tool shop and bought two sheets of Chakra test paper.

"Come on, Rie. Give it a try." Squatting by the roadside, Rinto placed the test paper in Rie's hand.

Rie nodded excitedly, then slowly closed her eyes and began humming incoherently.

Before long, Rie's little face turned bright red. She suddenly cried out and hurriedly threw the test paper in her hand away.

"Ahhh! It's on fire!"

Her adorable little-girl voice immediately drew the attention of nearby passersby.

Rinto stroked his chin and muttered, "Looks like it's 'fire.'

What a coincidence!"