Be My Son?

Chapter 15: Become My Son?

No words were spoken that night. Shimiya Aoba slept extremely comfortably. He had always preferred sleeping in environments of absolute quiet and darkness, because that way he couldn't feel the passage of time—it was the best feeling on days off.

The only flaw was that this crappy place didn't even have a pillow. It was hard and uncomfortable.

He didn't know how long he'd slept. When he opened his eyes, a tall ninja wearing a Konoha Headband stood before him, scrutinizing him.

Aoba was startled, but before he could say anything, the man in front of him slowly spoke: "You are Shimiya Aoba?"

Aoba nodded, thinking to himself, "Aren't you asking what you already know?"

"You're young, but your methods are vicious. You retaliate for the slightest grievance. Your nature is unruly... Forget it. Come with me."

Aoba knew this meant the people sent to investigate his past had likely reported back. His every move during this time had indeed been watched by those in the shadows. He just didn't know how they would arrange things for him now.

As he followed the tall ninja out, Aoba could see many fearful gazes. The events of last night must have already spread. Seeing him taken away now, they were probably relieved.

He couldn't care less about that. He wasn't here to make friends anyway. He kept firmly in mind that he was a spy—he was here to cause trouble. If he got tangled up in emotions and failed his mission, even if Obito didn't deal with him, that damn system would drag him into self-destruction!

"Little master's life is too hard, sigh."

"I'll take him away."

The middle-aged woman's eyes were sharp, her nose wrinkled in disgust as she glared at Shimiya Aoba. She said curtly, "Take this troublemaker away quickly."

The tall ninja said nothing, simply walking forward.

But after following him, Aoba turned around and raised his middle finger at the middle-aged woman who had confined him, as a sign of respect.

If that damn system hadn't issued a mission this time, he would have rushed up and spat on her twice!

Using confinement as punishment in an orphanage was really going too far. It seemed Konoha wasn't as righteous and glorious as it appeared. Even without people like Danzo, these kinds of dirty deeds were definitely plentiful!

"Although Lord Hokage hopes I will adopt you and raise you into a capable person, I want to hear your thoughts."

The tall ninja suddenly stopped walking, turned around, and looked at Aoba.

Aoba was stunned. He hadn't expected the other to say that, nor had he expected someone to have already arranged his future life.

Maybe someone else would have agreed. After all, no child doesn't long for the warmth of a family—especially one who had suddenly arrived in a strange place.

But he was different. He had come with other purposes. Being adopted would only drag more innocent people into it. Besides, suddenly having a father figure felt deeply awkward to him.

So he refused without hesitation.

"I can live well on my own. So let's forget it. You're probably not satisfied with this decision either, which is why you asked me."

A flicker of surprise passed through the tall ninja's eyes. He hadn't expected a five-year-old child to see through his thoughts.

But he had to admit the kid was right. Although his own child had died on the battlefield, he didn't want to continue his bloodline this way. Even if he was just an ordinary Special Jonin, and this kid seemed to have some special talent.

"You're right. I don't want to adopt you—I just found it hard to refuse. But I still have to warn you: do you know what your choice means? I can give you one more chance to decide."

"No need. I don't want to call a complete stranger 'Dad' either. But since I did you such a big favor, can you do me one in return?"

"Oh? Tell me first."

"I don't want to go back to the orphanage, and I don't want to be adopted. Can you help me find a place to live?"

The tall ninja paused, suddenly recalling his experience meeting Aoba in the confinement room. He sighed. Although these matters weren't his responsibility, some people had gone too far. It seemed necessary to bring this up to Lord Hokage.

"Are you sure you want to live alone? I can actually find you a family willing to adopt you, one that will treat you well."

"No, absolutely not. You said it yourself—my personality is too nasty. Whoever adopts me would be the one getting the bad luck."

Thinking of this kid's violent tendencies, the tall ninja was speechless and a bit troubled. It seemed this was the only way.

"Come with me."

Before long, the two arrived at a house in the civilian district.

The tall ninja opened the door and walked in. "Stay here for now. I'll report your situation to my superiors, but I can't guarantee the outcome. Also, here's some money for living expenses over the next few days—consider it compensation."

With that, the tall ninja left the money and keys, then turned to leave.

It seemed everything here stirred up memories he didn't want to linger on.

"Wait—I still don't know who you are."

Aoba suddenly realized that throughout this whole journey, he still didn't know the other's identity or name.

"Just call me Jonin Mikawa. I'll come back when the results are out. Don't run around during this time, and don't cause trouble."

Mikawa?

A Jonin?

After the man left, Aoba was a bit confused. The name rang no bells at all. He must be a background ninja—the unknown kind.

After all, there were so many ninjas in the Naruto world. The only ones whose names he could remember were those familiar faces.

Besides, since arriving in this world, aside from running into Madara, Obito, White Zetsu, and Black Zetsu—those well-known villain characters—he hadn't met a single person in Konoha whose name he could recall. It seemed ninjas and ordinary civilians really were from two different worlds.

But once he sorted out his identity, this kind of thing shouldn't happen again.

As he thought, he looked around the place. It was a cramped private space of about thirty square meters—small, but not messy. It seemed no one had lived here for a long time; a layer of dust had settled over everything.

"Looks like today's main job is to give this place a good cleaning."

After deciding what to do next, he casually opened the wallet left behind by Jonin Mikawa and counted the living expenses inside.

A full one thousand ryo!

EMMMMMMM... What was the price level in the Naruto world again?

He vaguely recalled that the Book of Soldiers recorded one ryo as roughly equal to ten yen, with the cost of living about the same as the Japan he'd crossed over from. As for Ichiraku Ramen, he remembered a single bowl cost only a few dozen ryo—definitely no more than a hundred.

Calculating it that way, this thousand ryo had some serious purchasing power!

Aoba silently gave Jonin Mikawa a thumbs-up!

(PS: Uh, I was just complaining yesterday, and today I got a contract notification. The ramen editor also replied to me—weren't they supposed to start work on the tenth? Did it come early? I feel like such a fool! I really hope everyone can comfort poor Old Faceless with recommendation tickets, collections, and investments~)