Brat and Unexpected Encounter

The sun climbed higher, approaching noon.

Deep in the forest, Konoha had little industrial pollution. The river flowed clear and bright under the sunlight, its surface reflecting the light in shimmering ripples, like a playful wink mocking the two little Air Force brats on the bank.

There were clearly fish in the river, some even swimming to the shallow edges to feed, but maybe they'd gotten wise from being caught by ninjas—they just wouldn't bite, retreating to deeper water at the slightest movement.

"Hey, is there something wrong with your bait, Hayate?"

"Can't be, right? My father bought it a long time ago, but it's been sitting at home unopened."

"What?" Higashino Makoto immediately grabbed the packaging from beside him, took a sniff, and said: "Bastard, the smell's off. It expired ages ago."

Hayate Gekko didn't quite get it: "Uh... no way, bait can expire? What do we do, Makoto? Want to go dig up some earthworms?"

"I'm done fishing."

I went home empty-handed in my previous life, and now after reincarnating, training chakra, and becoming a ninja, I'm still empty-handed? That'd make the reincarnation pointless. Can't have that. Time to take action.

Higashino Makoto tossed his fishing rod aside, pulled a few large fishhooks from his backpack, tied them to the line, and with a single leap, landed steadily on the river's surface.

He spread out his perception, quietly monitoring the underwater situation.

His Perception Ability came as a side effect of absorbing White Natural Energy. Unlike a ninja's Chakra Signature sensing or the Uzumaki Clan's Mind's Eye of the Kagura, it was more precise and harder to fool by other means—something he'd verified during his sparring sessions with Higashino Jiro.

Soon, he sensed a school of fish wandering near him.

Higashino Makoto struck like lightning. He tested it once, calculated the light refraction angle in his mind, then used a Shuriken-throwing technique to whip the fishhook underwater, snagging it directly onto the mouths of several big fish.

With a gentle tug, he hauled up their entire lunch.

The fish: "???"

Hayate Gekko watched enviously as Higashino Makoto stood on the water's surface, wishing he could do the same, but he hadn't learned yet.

Uzuki Yugao didn't think that far ahead. She was holding a bouquet of wildflowers she'd picked herself, along with a cloth bag, and ran to the riverbank cheering—lunch was finally secured.

After coming ashore, Higashino Makoto gave orders: "I'll handle the ingredients. Hayate, go gather some dry wood to start a fire. Yugao, wash the pot. We'll stew some fish soup to wet our throats."

"Hey hey, Makoto, can we put mushrooms in the soup? It should be really fresh, right?" Uzuki Yugao said, opening her cloth bag to reveal her recent haul—colorful and pretty.

Higashino Makoto looked at the mushrooms, then at her: "Where did you pick these?"

"From the forest behind us. There are tons of them."

Hayate Gekko's eyes twitched uncontrollably: "Hey hey, these are obviously poisonous, right?"

"Not all of them." Higashino Makoto sorted through them, tossing the poisonous ones into the river to feed the fish, and warned Uzuki Yugao: "Today, as punishment, you're going to read the Ninja Field Emergency Edible Plant Manual several times. For now, go wash the rest."

The Little Girl stuck out her tongue: "I know!"

The fish in the river: "???"

With the three of them working together, they quickly got a fire going, set a pot over it, and stuck five branches into the ground around the fire, each skewered with a large fish marinated in seasonings.

Higashino Makoto planned to give one to the Little Girl, two each to himself and Hayate Gekko. If Hayate couldn't finish his, he'd help out—he had a big appetite anyway.

While waiting for the food, Higashino Makoto asked curiously: "You two been training at home this past month? What's the main focus?"

Hayate Gekko: "Pretty much the same as you—learning Basic Knowledge, physical conditioning, refining chakra, practicing swordsmanship. I can already refine chakra on the fly during combat now."

"Are you training with Yugao?"

"Yeah. Our families have similar Combat Styles and are old friends, so for convenience, the juniors of the Same Age train together."

"Good. I look forward to seeing you grow."

Uzuki Yugao puffed out her cheeks: "Makoto, you sound just like my Father. Don't underestimate me—my Mother says I'm a Genius too."

"Sure, sure, you're a Genius!" Higashino Makoto laughed and ruffled the Little Girl's Dog Head, but she glared at him and slapped his hand away.

Hayate Gekko looked at Higashino Makoto, a bit embarrassed, but finally spoke up: "Um, Makoto, can you teach us the tricks to Chakra Control?"

Hearing that, Uzuki Yugao lifted Higashino Makoto's hand back onto her head, staring at him with big, watery eyes.

She didn't really understand Chakra Control yet, but standing on the Water Surface had to be fun.

Higashino Makoto wasn't stingy: "No problem. I'll teach you after we eat."

The Fish Soup bubbled in the pot, and the grilled fish gradually changed color under the high heat of the flames and Higashino Makoto's occasional flipping. A rich aroma spread out, not only stirring the trio's appetites but also attracting uninvited guests.

"Smells great! I knew coming to the river was a good call. Just got hungry, and there's food."

"What Iwashizhe says is right."

With loud, boisterous voices, four figures emerged from the forest, appearing before Higashino Makoto's group of three.

They were all half-grown kids, three boys and one girl, around seven or eight years old. Higashino Makoto sensed Chakra Signatures on them—likely students from the Ninja Academy.

The academic system at Konoha's Ninja Academy was similar to his Previous Life's Honko: three semesters a year, with the new term starting April 1st. That meant school had already started a few days ago.

And this area was on the village's outskirts, far from the Academy. Even if they had a lunch break, they wouldn't come all the way to the river.

Clearly, these little brats were skipping class.

Just then, the Dark Strong Boy at the front put his hands on his hips and shouted: "Hey, you three little kids, hand over the food as a tribute to your Seniors."

Upon hearing this, Uzuki Yugao's face puffed up into a ball of anger, and Hayate Gekko also glared at the four with unfriendly eyes. Though they were all very young, they showed no fear at all.

Higashino Shinichi was a bit surprised. Was this... encountering a bratty bully situation?

Back in his previous life, watching anime, he'd always felt there were plenty of Konoha commoner brats who dared to bully anyone, even going after the Uchiha Patriarch's eldest son or the Hyuga clan's young lady without hesitation.

He rarely went out, so he hadn't expected to run into this on his occasional outing. Curious, he asked, "And why's that?"

The dark, strong boy glared at Higashino Makoto. "Oho, kid, pretty cocky, huh? I've decided it's you. Let's play a round of Ninja Game.

Right now, I'm the Hokage of Konoha, and you're enemy ninjas. Surrender, you bastards who dare to invade. I'll defeat you in the name of Konoha."

With that, he charged at Higashino Makoto with his fist raised. It seemed that failing to get food by asking, he'd switched to outright robbery.

But in Higashino Makoto's eyes, his movements were full of openings, and his speed was pathetically slow.

Higashino Makoto appeared in front of him even faster, ducking under the attack while instantly slamming a fist into his stomach.

The dark, strong boy immediately clutched his belly, fell to the ground in pain, and couldn't get back up.

"Boss Iwashizhe!" the other two boys shouted, but Higashino Makoto was too fast. Before they could rush over to help, they followed their leader's fate, collapsing to the ground like boiled shrimp, muttering over and over, "Monster, there's a monster."

The remaining girl stared at Higashino Makoto, who stood before her much smaller than herself, and immediately dropped into a defensive crouch, screaming loudly, "Ah! Don't hit me, I surrender!"

Higashino Makoto thought it over, then still added a punch to her head. Gotta have equality between men and women, after all.

The dark, strong boy named Iwashizhe forced himself to his feet despite the pain, his body trembling like a motor, but his mouth kept bluffing: "Damn it, didn't expect the enemy to be this strong. And I'm the mighty Hokage."

Higashino Makoto was moved by his dedication. "You're that into character, bro? But seriously, if the Hokage were as weak as you, Konoha would really be doomed."

"Don't look down on my dream, bastard. I'm a man who's determined to become Hokage."