I've Reached Uncle Age

"It's time for me to show what I can do." Asuma strode up to the throwing line without the slightest modesty, brimming with adolescent edginess. Well, beards made men mature, so a beardless Asuma was still pretty childish.

Without waiting for Aida-sensei's signal, Asuma used both hands and threw ten kunai in two seconds. Not one missed; every single one struck the bullseye.

"Excellent! Sarutobi Asuma, ten bullseyes, a 100% hit rate, completed in 1.5 seconds. Your assessment result is excellent, with an A-Class rating." Aida-sensei praised him. Every teacher liked outstanding students. If only... he were not quite so full of himself.

"Ugh, I didn't even make it under one second. What a mistake. The kunai must not have felt right in my hands. The ones I use at home are all Hokage-exclusive kunai." Beaming with pride, Asuma returned to the line with the gait of a victor, his words dripping with the aura of a rich kid.

Excellent assessment result, A-Class rating—this was the best score of the day. As the Hokage's son, Asuma's starting point was higher than everyone else's. Excellence was only natural. This was his pressure, but also his motivation. Of course, he did not understand that yet.

Obito gagged repeatedly beside him, making his disdain clear.

"Damn it, you dead last, what kind of expression is that?"

"Ah, my stomach just feels bad. The instant noodles I had this morning must have expired!" Obito said as he picked his nose.

"Instant noodles don't expire even after a hundred years! Don't tell me your breakfast was instant noodles from a hundred years ago!" Asuma roared.

"Yeah! They're instant noodles passed down through generations of the Uchiha clan. The Uchiha clan head even had them blessed at a shrine!" Obito picked both nostrils with his fingers, looking utterly punchable.

It was hard to imagine that this goofball would one day stir up boundless turmoil, force the Five Great Nations into an alliance, and ignite the Fourth Great Ninja War. Duke really wanted to ask Uchiha Madara why he had chosen Obito as the most important executor of his plan. Before Obito went mad with love, he was just too... childish. And besides, he was clearly just a well—two no matter how you looked at it—so why did he become so powerful after going mad for love?

"Ahhh—I'm going to kill you!"

Having suffered a crushing defeat in their verbal sparring match against the Uchiha mud-leg, Asuma angrily declared that if the teacher were not present, he would definitely teach Obito a harsh lesson and let him know that the gap between an honor student and dead last was not to be challenged. Asuma made his threat, and Obito answered with a raised middle finger.

"Quiet!" Aida-sensei snapped, pointing at the two of them. "If you keep arguing, all of today's scores will be counted as zero."

"Yes, Aida-sensei!" The two bickering boys jolted and hurriedly stood at attention.

"Hmph! Next... Mitarashi Duke!"

At the same time, in Konoha's Hokage's Office.

"Sharp-tongued, lazy, afraid of trouble, and lacking ambition. Other than eating far less than others, he is no different from an ordinary person..." The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, tossed aside the mission report in his hand and looked at Mitarashi Shixiao curiously. "What is this, a personality assessment? And is the person in this report really a four-year-old child? Without the age listed, I would have thought he was a frustrated middle-aged man."

"Hokage-sama, I know this report is inadequate, but that boy really is like this." Mitarashi Shixiao nodded solemnly. "He is an extremely precocious child. He already knows about his parents' deaths, but he has not become depressed because of it, nor does he show others the pain in his heart. He is optimistic in the way he handles people and things—a fellow who can bring others happiness and... trouble."

"Trouble? What kind of trouble could a four-year-old child cause you?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked in confusion. Then, seeming to think of something, he smiled. "If you mean the rumors in the village, you need not take them so seriously. Rumors end with the wise, and not too many people will take them seriously. Besides, after so long, they should have settled down by now."

Rumors did end with the wise, that was true. The problem was that all the smart people were pretending to be fools. Hokage-sama, you could never wake someone pretending to sleep! Mitarashi Shixiao felt helpless. It had nearly been a year, yet that shameless bunch still mocked him about it every day, bringing it up every three sentences. Wouldn't they ever get tired of it? He really wanted to take a knife and shoot them all one by one.

"Hokage-sama, he is not the only one causing me trouble..." Mitarashi Shixiao looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with considerable sympathy. "The person Asuma confessed to on the first day of school was him!"

"Uh..." Hiruzen Sarutobi instantly looked like a chicken being strangled by the neck. Embarrassed, he said, "That should only have been a coincidence. Asuma is still young, after all. It is easy for him to do things out of line."

"Let's hope so!" Seeing Hiruzen's displeased expression, Mitarashi Shixiao did not say any more about the matter.

"What is his impression of Konoha? He is Hōzuki blood, after all, and his clan still exists. I do not want to go through all this trouble only to benefit Kirigakure in the end."

"That will not be a problem. From my observations, he still likes Konoha very much. As for the Hōzuki side, he does not know about his bloodline at all. He should be from a collateral branch that was left to wander outside, and I have not told him about his origins."

"You have done well. But simply liking it is not enough; we must make him fall in love with this village... Let him make more friends in daily life. As long as he forms bonds, he will surely become an outstanding Konoha ninja." Hiruzen Sarutobi was very satisfied. He rose and walked to the window, gazing at the prosperous Konoha before him. After a moment of silence, he said, "The Will of Fire should grow strong beneath the sunlight. That is also why I did not hand that child over to Danzo. Danzo's mindset is too extreme. Root's ninjas live for missions and die for missions. They have only code names, no real names; neither past nor future. Konoha's ninjas should not be like that. It is a pity about Sakumo... He was an outstanding Konoha ninja. He should have died carrying a ninja's honor."

Mitarashi Shixiao remained silent. As Hatake Sakumo's friend, the Hokage's words made him feel a little better, but the dead were beyond all help. Whatever was said now was too late. Konoha needed someone to take the blame for its losses, and Hatake Sakumo had been the most suitable one. His fame and influence were enough to shoulder that burden. That was why, even though many people admired him as a hero, very few truly stepped forward to speak for him—especially when the Third Hokage said nothing.

"I will clear Sakumo's name in the future. Now is not the time. His son Kakashi has already become a Genin. A tiger father has no dog son. When he is old enough, send him to work in the Anbu. If possible, look after him more."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama!" Mitarashi Shixiao said gratefully on behalf of his friend.

"Enough, there is no need to keep saying such sad things." After comforting his subordinate, Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer discussed the depressing topic. He continued, "Has that child not awakened his talent? After learning of his parents' deaths?"

"There are no signs of awakening at all... unless he concealed it."

Mitarashi Shixiao did not sound confident, but Hiruzen Sarutobi was not displeased. Since Mitarashi Shixiao said there was nothing, then there was nothing. Concealment was simply impossible. Not even an Actor Emperor could fool a ninja skilled in intelligence work, much less a five-year-old child—and this ninja was also the Anbu Captain.

"There are countless ways to awaken a bloodline limit; it does not necessarily rely on suffering. It does not matter if he has not awakened one. Konoha does not lack for one more bloodline ninja." Hiruzen Sarutobi turned back and nodded. Unless it was a bloodline limit that could produce a Kage-level expert after awakening, mighty Konoha would not care about one or two bloodline ninjas. Clearly, Hōzuki was not that level of bloodline limit. One more made no difference, and one less did not matter either.

There was a difference between one bloodline ninja and a clan of bloodline ninjas. Any normal person would make the correct choice. Hiruzen Sarutobi was no exception. He cared more about this bloodline branching out in Konoha and taking root there as a clan. As for whether there would be copyright disputes with Kirigakure later on, Hiruzen Sarutobi's response was, Oh dear, I'm terribly sorry, but things have already come to this, and there's nothing I can do. If you don't like it, come fight me!

"Although he has not awakened a bloodline limit, this child is still very talented. Calling him a genius would not be excessive. Perhaps because of his personality, he has not performed very outstandingly," Mitarashi Shixiao hurriedly added upon seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's lack of interest. Boss, I've been carrying out the task you gave me properly. I've also put a great deal of effort into raising this child, but mud cannot be molded into a wall. There's nothing I can do either! If there's blame to be assigned in the future, please don't make me carry it!

"?"

"He has no competitive spirit... perhaps because he is too mature."

"Mitarashi Duke, eight bullseyes, an 80% hit rate, completed in three seconds. Assessment result: good, B-Class rating."

Seeing his score, Duke nodded in satisfaction and quickly returned to the line.

"What a shame! Two of them were only slightly off the bullseye!" Obito consoled him. The cool Uchiha clan members did not like his personality, so he treasured the few friends in class who could get along with him.

"You are still quite a ways behind me. Keep working hard. I'll be waiting for you up ahead," Asuma continued showing off. His score was still first place for now.

"Tch, you think that score is worth being proud of? In a moment, Lord Obito will show you what kunai throwing really is. Konoha's Uchiha Throwing Technique did not earn its reputation for nothing!" Obito declared proudly.

"..." The boy named Asuma fell silent. The Uchiha clan's throwing technique was peerless throughout the Shinobi World. To avoid getting slapped in the face, he decided to wait and see. If Obito's performance was not as impressive as he bragged, Asuma would not mind delivering tons of mockery.

"It's all right. Youth is about working hard. I believe you will definitely succeed next time! Let Youth bear witness: after school, let's run one hundred laps around Konoha!" Might Guy consoled him as well, though he was not very skilled at it.

Duke firmly refused Might Guy's repeated invitations. Only he knew that he had deliberately missed two bullseyes. As for why? The gun that sticks out gets shot; the tree that rises above the forest is felled by the wind; those whose conduct surpasses others are condemned by the crowd. Five thousand years of cultural wisdom could be summed up in one sentence: moderation was the way of kings! Who knew what his identity really was? Mitarashi Shixiao would not tell him, and he could hardly investigate it himself. Before everything came to light, keeping a low profile could not be wrong. What he did not know was that his little trick had long since been seen through by a certain purple-haired middle-aged uncle. The unscrupulous uncle simply enjoyed watching his clumsy acting and did not expose him.

Having transmigrated into a common boy from the Land of Water being raised by a Konoha ninja, Duke silently gave himself a thumbs-up. The Land of Water was still in the Bloody Mist Era, and its living conditions were far too harsh. Compared to it, Konoha was Heaven. With no Golden Finger and no talents like the Uchiha or Senju, Duke—neither Byakugan nor Red-Haired Shanks—was merely an ordinary member of the ninja world. Besides, having knowledge of the plot, he knew very well that at the final moment, the child of destiny would step forward and activate cheats. So the burden of saving the world should be left to Ultraman. He only needed to watch from the sidelines and shout 666!

As for why he became a ninja, first, it was Mitarashi Shixiao's decision, and Duke had no room to object. Second, he was genuinely interested in the profession of ninja. He was an English... ninja driven by interest.

Besides, he had already come to the Hokage World. If he did not become a ninja, was he supposed to become a salted fish?