You Will Surely Become a Great Ninja

Mitarashi Natsuki, Mitarashi Shixiao's wife and the mistress of the household. Her long black hair was pinned up, and she had delicate features and a Yamato Nadeshiko-like smile. She was a very charming woman. Her housewife's attire did not diminish her beauty in the slightest; if anything, it added to it. Duke was stunned by her beauty and secretly thought, All the good cabbages have been rooted up by pigs.

"I'm already much gentler than you," Mitarashi Shixiao muttered in a low voice, sounding somewhat aggrieved. He remembered the night he brought Duke home. His smiling wife had immediately turned dark, nine streams of black energy shooting into the sky as she transformed into the Nine-Tails and unleashed a lioness's roar. "Which little bitch did you have this child with? If you don't explain yourself today, I'll cut off your manhood..." Only after Shixiao produced the S-rank Mission Scroll containing the Hokage's Personal Letter did the storm finally subside. Mitarashi Shixiao, the innocent victim of this disaster, was deeply depressed. When he went out the next day, the looks his neighbors gave him—as if he were trash—made him even more depressed.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. I was saying it was all my fault for not explaining things clearly beforehand and making the neighbors misunderstand. That's all."

Duke stood nearby, dumbfounded. This scene felt so familiar. I feel like I've seen this somewhere before. But where?

"Good that you know. Until this day next year, you'll be washing all the dishes at home." Natsuki looked utterly disgusted. He had ruined her image before the neighbors. Punishing him with only a year of dishwashing was letting him off easy. Having said that, she resumed her Yamato Nadeshiko smile and patted Duke on the head. "My name is Mitarashi Natsuki. Please take care of me from now on."

"Ah... ah! Hello, Sister. I'm Du... Mitarashi Duke. Please take care of me from now on." Duke hurriedly got to his feet and flattered the woman who held the real authority in this household. He put on an adorable act before this household ruler. Having trained a pair of Fiery Golden Eyes, he was preparing to pay his respects to the right boss. He firmly believed that in any world, no woman could possibly not care about her age.

"Oh my, what a sensible child!" Natsuki covered her mouth as she smiled. This child had such good taste.

Mitarashi Shixiao was practically furious at Duke's shamelessly adorable act. He called him Uncle but called his wife Sister. Do I really look that old? This little brat is clearly doing it on purpose! Rage rose in his heart, and evil sprang from his courage. Mitarashi Shixiao raised his loving Iron Fist and erupted. However...

"Why are you standing up?" Natsuki turned around and asked coldly. "Are you going to serve the food?"

"Yes."

"It's in the usual place. Go on!"

"I'll go right away."

Mitarashi Shixiao bent and scraped as he let out a wistful sigh. Seeing Duke out of the corner of his eye, his eyes shining as he showered Natsuki with compliments, he could not help sighing again. He knew that from now on, this little brat would have him completely figured out.

After chatting and laughing with Duke for a little longer, Natsuki gracefully left. Once Mitarashi Shixiao had served the food, he came over carrying a little girl around two years old. She had short dark-purple hair and bright gray eyes. The moment she entered, the little girl noticed a stranger at the table and curiously studied him.

"Duke, this is the daughter Shixiao and I have, Mitarashi Anko. You two should get along well from now on!" Natsuki said happily as she held Anko. Mitarashi Shixiao also curled his lips into a faint smile. Killing and death were a ninja's fate. Only home was his sole harbor, his final piece of pure land, something he would protect even at the cost of his life.

"Anko, Duke will be your big brother from now on, so be good."

"Bwother!"

Natsuki did not need to introduce her. From such distinctive features as her hair and eyes, Duke could already guess that she was their daughter. But the name Mitarashi Anko made his eyes widen.

Who was Mitarashi Anko? Her own strength was average, and she was not particularly famous. But her teacher, Orochimaru, was a legendary figure in Naruto and an important character who ran through the entire story. As the only BOSS in Naruto to survive until the ending, Orochimaru was praised as someone who could still be jumping around alive and well even if the protagonist dropped dead. His survival skills were MAX.

Orochimaru. Gender: maybe male. Preference: maybe female. He was not a noble person, not a pure person, not a moral person, and not a person beneficial to the people. Yet this BOSS, who should have been taken down, had somehow been forcibly redeemed in the later stages of the story—though he was pretty pale to begin with. Being a bad guy was not difficult, but being a bad guy who could get redeemed was not easy. Orochimaru was precisely that kind of bad guy.

Because Orochimaru was her teacher, Anko's background immediately became staggeringly impressive. Grandmasters: the First Hokage and Second Hokage. Grandteacher: the Third Hokage. Senior fellow disciple: the Fifth Hokage. Fellow disciple: the Fourth Hokage. Junior fellow disciple: the Seventh Hokage. Disciple-nephew: the Sixth Hokage. From the first to the seventh, she had them all covered. Such an insane résumé was so extravagant it had no friends.

This wasn't some little loli at all. She was practically a glowing super second-generation heir! With this Golden Thigh to rely on, he could get some cushy position in Konoha in the future and spend the rest of his life eating and drinking well. Then he would be a big shot too!

Duke's eyes widened further and further. Anko, as though competing with him, widened her own eyes more and more. Mitarashi Shixiao's eyes widened as well. Brat, why are you staring at my daughter like that? What are you trying to do?!

"Hehe!" Seeing that the two were getting along so well, Natsuki was very happy. She interrupted their passionate eye contact and called everyone to start eating.

The food was delicious, but Duke was full after only a few bites, which struck Mitarashi Shixiao as very strange. People were made of iron and food was steel; miss one meal and you would feel hungry. Ever since he brought Duke home, Duke had slept for two whole days. Including the time it took to bring him back to Konoha, he had gone at least three days without eating. Though he had been fed some liquid food during that time, it was hardly filling. Did the Yuki Clan not need to eat? Mitarashi Shixiao decided to record this strange matter in his mission report. If he encountered Yuki Clan ninja on the Land of Water front lines, cutting off their supplies would not change the battle situation. Those people could survive just by drinking water.

Natsuki, meanwhile, lamented Duke's miserable life before this and told him it was fine to eat more. This was his home now, and no one would blame him for eating a lot. During the meal, Duke received one sweet red bean bun from Anko, one hug from the suddenly maternal Natsuki, and Mitarashi Shixiao received a heap of Byakugan from Natsuki. It's all because of you. You scared the child!

"..." Mitarashi Shixiao.

Amid the cheerful atmosphere, the four finished their meal. Mitarashi Shixiao miserably took on the chores of a househusband, while Natsuki coaxed Anko to sleep. Duke watched the family with envy. Everything that had happened today was too sudden. He did not know how to fit into this family, nor did he know what this outsider might bring to it.

"Kid, I'll take you out for a walk!" Once he had finished cleaning up, Mitarashi Shixiao saw Duke's helpless expression and quietly sighed. No matter how mature he was, he was still just a child. During the two days Duke had remained unconscious, nightmares had constantly plagued him, accompanied by sobs. Most of his sleep-talking included words like father and mother. Though he acted as though he did not care after waking up, Shixiao had noticed his deliberate avoidance.

This was a strong child. He understood pain and could endure it alone. One day, he would surely become a great ninja... a ninja of Konoha.

If Duke had heard Mitarashi Shixiao's inner monologue, his jaw would have dropped. Uncle, who exactly are you talking about? I was just complaining about life on a planet called Earth, got smacked in the face, and then woke up, washed my face, and ate. I have no idea what you're talking about!

That was how misunderstandings worked. Every unreasonable thing was perfectly explained without anyone even noticing!

On Konoha Main Street, one large and one small figure strolled along at an unhurried pace. Duke was full of curiosity about this unfamiliar yet real world, carefully observing everything from top to bottom, while Mitarashi Shixiao patiently explained Konoha's circumstances beside him.

"This world is divided into the Five Great Nations. Among them, the centrally located Land of Fire is the most prosperous. The Land of Fire sits at a vital transportation hub connecting north and south, with the most developed economy. Its national strength is the greatest among the Five Great Nations. As the ninja village of the Land of Fire, Konoha represents the Land of Fire's military power and is therefore one of the strongest ninja villages." Mitarashi Shixiao spoke at length, extremely proud of being a Konoha ninja. Duke nodded as he listened, agreeing wholeheartedly. He even felt that the words "one of" could be removed. Anyone who had watched Naruto knew that during the Third Great Ninja War, Konoha had faced the combined siege of the other four great ninja villages alone—and won. Its strength was far beyond anything the other ninja villages could compare to. In a one-on-one fight, it could easily crush any of them in countless ways. Combined with its endless stream of geniuses, one could only lament that this world favored Konoha far too much, while the other four great ninja villages had probably collectively cried themselves unconscious in the bathroom.

"The First Hokage and the Second Hokage pacified the chaotic era and founded Konoha together. Under the Third Hokage, it reached an age of peace and prosperity. They were all great ninja." Seeing Duke's attention drawn to Hokage Rock, Mitarashi Shixiao began explaining the lives of the past Hokage. He declared that generation after generation of ninja inheriting the Will of Fire had endured wind and rain, blazed trails through hardship, and achieved one dream after another under the Hokage's wise leadership. Practice had shown that only under the Hokage's correct leadership could they unite as one, work together, take solid steps along the great road of ninja village construction, and continue advancing.

Oh, come on, aren't those the lines from the evening broadcast every night at seven-thirty? I've read enough books that you can't fool me. Did you eat Uchiha Madara, the other great contributor who pacified the chaotic era and founded Konoha? And while these Hokage were indeed exceptionally strong, as for their leadership abilities... Hehe.

The First Hokage's intelligence was often offline; everyone knew that. Pass. The Second Hokage was too scheming. He was skilled at conspiracies and dividing power, but his methods lacked grandeur, and his personal charisma could not compare to the First Hokage's. Pass. The Third Hokage... let's mention him after he stops peeping. Pass. The Fourth Hokage had not taken office yet, but he was clearly in the terminal stages of being controlled by his wife. Pass. The Fifth Hokage... let's wait until she pays off her debts. Pass. The Sixth Hokage got lost and hasn't arrived yet. Pass. The Seventh Hokage... his intelligence was probably offline about as often as the First Hokage's. Pass.

With so many wise leaders leading the way, all I can say about Konoha getting this far is... the other four great ninja villages, did you choose your Kage by lottery?