Konoha Orphanage

Rinto took the cheerful Rie out for a delicious barbecue meal, then led the little girl, her belly round as a ball, out of the barbecue restaurant under the astonished stares of the other diners.

Casually tossing aside his toothpick, Rinto rolled his eyes at the restaurant's patrons and muttered disdainfully, "It was only a hundred plates. What's the big deal? It's not like I didn't pay."

Beside him, Rie laughed and raised her fist.

"What a fuss! What a fuss!"

Hearing that, Rinto nodded in wholehearted agreement. His gaze swept across the bustling street as he asked, "Where does Rie want to go now?"

"Hmm." Rie pursed her little lips and scratched her head. Then her eyes suddenly lit up. "Konoha Orphanage! I want to see Meiko!"

Heh. So the little girl still hadn't forgotten her underlings from before.

"Then let's go!"

"Brother, carry me!"

"Fine, fine..."

Amid his lazy reply, the siblings' figures gradually disappeared at the end of the road.

Konoha Orphanage had been founded by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. At first, it had been used to take in homeless children from the village, but it had gradually developed into a place that also housed War Orphans from the areas around Konoha.

Unlike the Konoha Ninja School, Konoha Orphanage was far from the village center, right beside the outer edge of the village.

Konoha as a whole was roughly divided into four sections. Above Hokage Rock were Konoha's various research facilities.

Directly below Hokage Rock was the inner residential district centered around the Hokage Building. Right next to the Hokage Building were the homes of the successive Hokage. Further out were the properties of Konoha's major clans, while the outermost part of this area contained various residential neighborhoods. The Konoha Ninja School was located here.

Beyond the residential district was the middle commercial district. Uncle Ippongi's Kato Ninja Tool Shop was located there, along with quite a few apartment buildings.

The outermost area of the entire village was much more cluttered, with all kinds of buildings packed closely together.

To the south of the village ran a long river called the Naka River. In the past, the Uchiha Clan's territory had been right beside this river.

Rinto and Rie's destination was Konoha Orphanage, located at the very edge of Konoha.

Following the direction he remembered, Rinto led Rie to the somewhat dilapidated orphanage.

There was no wall around it. A patch of open land covered in green grass surrounded an old little building.

On the open ground, a group of children around Rie's age were diligently pulling weeds.

In the middle of the clearing, the older children were grunting as they pounded mochi.

Wooden mallets struck the stone mortar, producing dull, booming thuds.

At the entrance to the little building, a white-haired old woman stood bent at the waist. Holding a long ladle, she continuously stirred a waist-deep cauldron.

Watching the children sweat and toil, Rinto expressionlessly scratched his temple.

Judging from their complexions, they were doing all right. But they were merely surviving.

On the nearby grass, a child about Rie's age happened to look up and spot Rinto and Rie.

"B-Big Sister!!!"

The clear cry of a child startled quite a few children nearby.

From the crowded group, several children Rinto found familiar tossed aside the weeds in their hands and rushed out.

"Big Sister!"

"Big Sister Rie!"

"Leader of the Sakuta Group!"

The chattering children ran across the grass at top speed, charging toward Rinto and Rie under the bewildered gazes of the other children.

"Big Sister, you finally came to see us!" A boy looked at Rie with tears in his eyes.

However, all of them kept a uniform distance of three meters from Rie.

There was no other reason. They were all afraid of Rinto.

Seeing her underlings noisily calling out all sorts of strange titles, Rie nervously glanced at her brother, whose face was gradually darkening. She hurriedly waved her hands at them and lowered her voice. "Don't! Don't call me Big Sister, and definitely don't call me group leader. I'm not the leader of the Sakuta Corporation Rie Group!"

Well, that little girl had exposed herself.

Rinto's face turned dark.

What the hell was this? A chubby four- or five-year-old girl had formed a gangster group with a bunch of orphans using his surname? And she'd even appointed herself its leader?!

Good heavens! Was this world still going to be okay?

The commotion soon caught the attention of the older children. Their reactions were just as intense. They dropped their work and strode toward Rie.

"Big Sister! What are you doing here? Quick, Big Guy, bring the sesame dumplings I hid away to treat Big Sister!"

"Wait, Big Guy! His dumplings have grown mold. Bring mine instead! I stole some tea leaves from the park just last week. I'll make tea for Big Sister!"

"And bring the dumpling shop voucher under my pillow too! I want to show filial respect to the group leader!"

The noisy shouting rose again, making Rinto's head twitch.

Rie shrank her head down and timidly glanced at Rinto, her backside going numb.

Oh no, my underlings are too enthusiastic. What do I do if I can't stop them?!

"Ahem!" A light cough rang out.

Big Guy, who had truly been about to offer something to Big Sister, stiffened abruptly.

That cough sounded so familiar.

Rinto cleared his throat and waved at the children around him.

The children immediately wilted like frost-bitten eggplants, lowering their heads as they gathered closer to Rinto, ready to receive a scolding.

After all, back when they had been traveling to Konoha, whenever they ran around everywhere with Rie, Rinto would scold them.

"Ahem." Seeing the children shrinking back one by one, Rinto swallowed the words that had reached his lips. "Uh... where's the bathroom?"

The children surrounding him gradually broke into smiles. In unison, they pointed toward the entrance of the old little building.

"President! Over there!"

"Don't call me President." Rinto dropped those words and fled in embarrassment.

Behind him, chirping laughter rose once more, mixed with Rie's unusually mature-sounding shouts.

That brat. I'll deal with her when we get home!

Passing the old woman, Rinto entered the rundown little building.

Taking advantage of his search for the bathroom, Rinto roughly memorized the layout of the building. Then he walked back out through the front door with a somewhat heavy expression.

Finding an open spot at random, Rinto sat down and silently surveyed everything before him.

Not far away, the white-haired old woman was calling to the children, telling them to put the pounded mochi into the pot in front of her.

At the same time, she arranged for the children to sit down and rest.

Then the old woman picked up her long ladle and began stirring again.

Before long, the sweet fragrance of red beans mixed with the aroma of glutinous rice spread through the air.

The children pulled out their own bowls and formed a neat line.

Rie somehow found herself a small bowl, mixed in among the children, and craned her neck to peer into the cauldron.

Soon, it was her turn. The old woman smiled kindly at Rie and served her a bowl of red bean mochi soup.

Holding the small bowl, Rie cautiously moved closer to Rinto.

"Here, brother! It smells so good!"

Seeing Rie's large eyes blinking nonstop, Rinto was both annoyed and amused. He took the red bean mochi soup, sipped it, and handed it back to the eagerly waiting little girl.

"Tell me. What do you want?"

After living together for so long, if Rinto still couldn't see through what Rie was thinking, he might as well have lived for nothing.

Hearing her brother's question, Rie pursed her lips and giggled.

"Brother, it's nothing. I just wanted to show you some filial respect."

As if I'd believe that.

Rinto grumbled inwardly and rolled his eyes without mercy.

"You said it. If you ask me for anything later, I won't agree."

"Don't, brother!" Rie immediately cried out, forgetting all about drinking the sweet red bean mochi soup in her hands.

"Um... um... can I teach the Chakra Extraction Technique to Meiko and the others?"

Rinto raised an eyebrow at that and began calculating inwardly.

He had been in Konoha for so long, yet he had never contacted the group of orphans he had brought with him. The purpose was to avoid suspicion.

After all, as an outsider, gathering a group of other outsiders around himself would genuinely make the Konoha High Council uneasy.

Especially after he had demonstrated his strong ability to scheme and plan, that unease would become suspicion.

Everything Rinto had done since arriving in Konoha had been to reduce that unease.

Thinking this, Rinto lifted his head, ready to refuse.

The next second, he saw the longing looks in the eyes of those children in the distance, each holding a bowl.

That was right. After experiencing war and being separated from loved ones by death, what child wouldn't long for strength?

At that thought, Rinto's brows furrowed deeply.

"Mm... no!" His voice was loud, and the distant children heard him clearly. In an instant, the light in their eyes went out.

If even the path through Rie and Rinto was blocked, what other path did they have?

Konoha Ninja School?

That was meant for Konoha residents, not outsiders like them.

Perhaps after ten or twenty years, once they had put down roots in Konoha, their children might become students of the Konoha Ninja School.

After saying that, Rinto's eyes shifted, and he casually added, "But brother might be very busy for a while, so have Aunt Kyoko accompany you.

"Remember! Don't cause trouble for Aunt Kyoko. If there's nothing important, don't go running off to places that spend money like Senso-ji Temple.

"I think this place is quite good. The environment is nice, and it's peaceful too."

At those words, Rie, who had been somewhat dejected, suddenly lit up with understanding.

If she still couldn't understand what Rinto meant, she truly didn't deserve to be her brother's sister!

Rinto's meaning was simple: remove himself from the matter.

And Rie, the clever little girl that she was, had accurately grasped her brother's intent.

"Heh, brother, you're really sneaky!"

"Hm? What did you say?" Rinto glared.

Rie had long gotten used to her brother's tsundere behavior. She stuck out her little tongue, held her red bean soup, and ran back to her friends.

Before long, laughter rang out again.

On the grass, the children sat in neat rows. Those who had finished their red bean soup chatted in relaxed voices.

"Hey, Big Guy, why are you all so afraid of that guy?" A child who had originally grown up in the orphanage pointed at Rinto and asked curiously.

In his eyes, Rinto was just a child. In front of Big Guy, who was as tall as an adult, he looked utterly incapable of putting up a fight.

Big Guy scratched his head with a foolish grin.

"I'm only tall. I'm no match for Rinto-kun at all."

"Really?" The child beside him was extremely surprised.

Although Big Guy ate a lot, his strength was terrifying. When pounding mochi, he alone could do the work of ten people.

Though he was only ten years old, he was stronger than many adult men.

Yet even he couldn't beat that guy named Rinto.

A child with a scar on his cheek leaned in and spoke quietly.

"Bufei, don't make things difficult for Big Guy. He was beaten up long ago."

After saying that, he smiled and patted Big Guy's leg. "Big Guy, can I tell him?"

Big Guy grinned foolishly and nodded somewhat awkwardly.

"Bufei, you know Big Guy and I are War Orphans from the Land of Hot Water.

"With no homes and no parents, we would either starve to death or die in the war.

"But Rinto-kun saved all of us. He had us follow him and the Merchant Caravan he was with, saying he would bring us to Konoha.

"You know how we were back then. We were half-starved and barely alive. How could we possibly have had the strength to follow a caravan? Later, Rinto-kun had Big Sister give us Ration Pills.

"If it hadn't been for him and Big Sister, we would have starved to death on the road long ago, or been casually killed."

"What about Big Guy? What does that have to do with why you're afraid of him?" Bufei asked curiously.

Hearing that, Big Guy scratched his head and explained, "Um... um... I joined the group halfway through. At first, I wanted to steal Big Sister's food, so Rinto-kun beat me up.

"But Rinto-kun didn't chase me away. He even let me stay with the group." Big Guy stammered through his explanation.

"Then! What does that have to do with why you're all afraid of him?!" Bufei emphasized the main point of his question.

"It's not fear, it's... it's... it's reverence! Right! Reverence! Respect! Rinto-kun is very magnanimous. How could we possibly be afraid of him!"

"That's enough, Big Guy!" The scar-faced child interrupted him.

"I'll explain. We all respect Big Sister Rie, but Big Sister Rie often gets harshly scolded by Rinto-kun because of her studies. After a while, we all came to fear Rinto-kun too."