After Uchiha Itachi graduated, Chiya's life once again settled into calm.
In between training sessions, he often went shopping with Uchiha Izumi. They also gave each other gifts from time to time.
Of course, most of the time, it was Izumi giving Chiya gifts. Even his clothes had all come from her.
There was no helping it. Chiya was poor. He spent every day scraping by on the meager allowance Konoha gave him, which was barely enough to keep him fed. If not for Izumi, his little rich girl, helping him out, he would have been so broke he could barely put food on the table.
As time passed, they grew closer and closer.
Chiya could clearly sense that Izumi was gradually developing feelings for him. He didn't dislike her, either. He decided to let things take their natural course, thinking that perhaps living this way in the future wouldn't be so bad, and continued on with his life in peace.
Before he knew it, Fujiwara Chiya was eleven years old.
He was nearing the age when he would graduate from the Ninja Academy.
He had grown much taller, and his cultivation had advanced to the fourth level.
He had made great strides in the Heavenly Steel Art, and could now store an enormous amount of Senjutsu Chakra inside his body.
He had also made considerable progress in other areas.
During his five years at the Ninja Academy, he used the Shadow Clone Technique to master every martial arts move recorded in the Heavenly Steel Art.
He also bought Chakra Paper from a ninja tool shop and discovered that he had Fire and Lightning chakra natures.
After wearing Izumi down with endless pestering, he managed to get her to lend him the various ninjutsu collections from her home.
As he put it, "What's mine is yours, and what's yours is mine. Besides, I won't use any of the Uchiha Clan's secret techniques until I'm old enough to do so legally."
That thoroughly startled Izumi. Her cheeks flushed red, and she ran off.
But the next day, she brought the ninjutsu scrolls to Chiya in a little bag.
The only disappointing thing was that her family's collection held just a few Fire Release Ninjutsu, notes on training in Fire Release Chakra Nature Transformation, and some genjutsu and Summoning Technique that required the Sharingan. There was nothing on Lightning Release.
With no other choice, Chiya first studied Fire Release Chakra Nature Transformation using the notes Izumi had given him.
He also refined the Body Flicker Technique, perfectly combining it with the blink skill innate to the Heavenly Steel Art to create a brand-new Body Flicker.
Fortunately, there was always a way forward.
When he was nine, Chiya met a little girl, and the system issued him a quest that taught him perfect Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation.
It was a winter day, the world blanketed in silver. A bitter blizzard had left the streets deserted.
Chiya had just celebrated the New Year at home with Izumi. After walking her home, he was on his way back when he passed a snow-covered corner of Konoha and encountered a lovely girl with pure white eyes.
She wore black clothes and ran unsteadily through the snow, sobbing. She fell to the ground, her face filled with fear and confusion. At last, she crouched in the snow, shivering and weeping behind her hands.
At the time, Chiya didn't think much of it. He simply carried her on his back and took her home.
Only when he saw the two characters for "Hyuga" on the gate did he learn that the little girl was Hyuga Hinata.
He also learned that this was the day of her uncle Hizashi Hyuga's funeral—the anniversary of Hyuga Neji's father's death.
In a daze, Chiya remembered the peace treaty Konoha had signed with the Cloud Ninja some time earlier.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had personally promoted the treaty, and even arranged a grand welcoming ceremony for the occasion.
The whole village had been lively and bustling. Unfortunately, the Cloud Ninja took his actions as a sign of weakness.
That very night, they went to the Hyuga Clan home and kidnapped three-year-old Hinata, hoping to seize the Hyuga Clan's Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugan.
The outcome was obvious: the Hyuga Clan head, Hyuga Hiashi, killed the man they had sent.
Though their attempt had failed,
the truth was just as the Cloud Ninja had expected: Sarutobi Hiruzen really was a weak-willed man.
Not only did he refuse to acknowledge their attempt to seize the Byakugan, but he also refused to back down. Instead, he accused Konoha of killing a Cloud Ninja and threatened war, demanding that Konoha hand over the culprit, Hyuga Hiashi. He was still trying to get his hands on the Byakugan.
The Third Hokage, always weak toward outsiders and ruthless toward his own people, caved once again.
And so, the tragedy of Hizashi Hyuga sacrificing himself in his brother's place came to pass.
Today was another bitterly cold winter day. Snow drifted down in great white flurries, and in the haze, the flakes seemed to glint with a biting chill.
They wrapped Konoha in a thick white coat.
It was nearly dark.
After finishing a full day of training, Chiya took a bath and changed into clean clothes.
As in years past, he was about to go celebrate the New Year with Uchiha Izumi.
But as he passed a snow-covered corner of Konoha, an unexpected sight made him stop.
A short distance ahead, two boys and a girl—three little bullies—were picking on a girl of about five or six.
"I heard you're from the Hyuga family. Show us your Byakugan!"
"If you won't, then don't look over here."
"Those eyes are creepy. You're a monster, aren't you, Byakugan monster?"
The girl had a neat bob of pale-purple hair and pure white eyes. She was lovely.
The three bullies took turns taunting and mocking her. Her big eyes began to glisten with tears, and she covered her face and cried.
"Hinata?" Chiya murmured, looking at the little girl's familiar face.
Just then, the long-silent system notification sounded in Chiya's mind:
[ Ding! As the strongest lolicon, how can you stand by and watch a little girl get hurt? Go help her. ]
[1. Step in and help the little girl stop being bullied by her peers. Reward: Earth Release Chakra Nature Transformation.]
[2. Do nothing. Reward: Danzo's underwear.]
"Underwear again? And Danzo's, too. Just how much do you like Danzo's underwear?"
Chiya was speechless. Without hesitation, he chose the first option. The more skills, the better. Even though he didn't have any Earth Style techniques to learn yet, he'd get some eventually.
But if he wanted to deal with the bullying, he couldn't just walk over there as himself.
There was no other reason: he was much older than the bullies. If he intervened now, they might run off out of fear this time.
But they would just bully her again next time.
Besides, that would only treat the symptoms, not the cause. The key was to teach Hinata to stand up for herself.
With that in mind, Chiya formed a Hand Seal with his right hand.
Transformation Technique!
With a pop, the smoke dispersed.
Chiya had transformed into the appearance of a six-year-old child.
"Hey, do you three get a kick out of bullying people?"
The three bullies were used to throwing their weight around, and Chiya's words made them furious.
When they saw him walking over, they all burst out laughing at his small stature.
"Where'd this little bean sprout come from? Playing the hero, are you?"
"Haha, a bean-sprout monster wants to save a Byakugan monster."
"Well, they're both monsters. It makes sense that the bean-sprout monster wants to save the Byakugan monster."
With that, the ringleader stepped forward and swung at Chiya. The other two boys watched with wicked grins, amused by the scene. They weren't ordinary kids; their parents were all ninja, and although they hadn't enrolled yet, they had already started ninja training.
They were far better at fighting than children from ordinary families.
But it didn't take long for their smiles to disappear.
Facing the ringleader's attack, Chiya simply raised his right hand and blocked it with ease. Then he punched the boy square in the face.
Before the other two could react, Chiya darted forward and punched with both hands at once.
The three bullies slowly crouched down, clutching their bleeding noses and wailing.
P.S. First update. Please vote for me and cast your monthly tickets!
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