New Year in Hokage (Part 2)

The three of them walked toward the main gate together, but just as they were about to step out, a voice called them to a halt.

"Where do you three think you're going?" They turned around to see Aunt Kei standing not far away, watching them.

"Mom, I wanted to take them out to play. They've been here for so long and haven't been out once. Dad gave us the day off today, so it's not like I'm sneaking out! If you don't believe me, ask Yuta if Dad didn't declare today a holiday for the New Year." Rei's face fell the moment she realized it was her mother.

"I know your father gave you the day off, but that doesn't mean you can just run around aimlessly," Aunt Kei said, her face stern.

"It's just that they've never been out before! They spend all their time training. Yuta is one thing, but even Ye is like that—doesn't he ever get bored? Look, Mom, it's just for today. We'll be back soon, we won't cause any trouble," Rei pleaded coaxingly.

"You silly girl, do you really think I stopped you because I didn't want you to go out? I'm asking you: you're taking them both out, but did you bring any money? You aren't just going to drag them around for a look and come right back, are you? Come here, let me give you some money. If you see anything you like, buy it," Aunt Kei said, pulling money from her pocket.

"Mom, why is mine the least?" Once Aunt Kei finished distributing the money, Rei looked at the meager amount in her palm and felt it was far too little compared to what Yuta and Ye Wuji were holding.

When Aunt Kei handed out the money, Ye Wuji received the most with five hundred ryo, Yuta received three hundred, and Rei received only one hundred. This disparity left Rei feeling very unbalanced.

"Stop complaining. Is there anything you actually need to buy? Every time I give you money, you spend it recklessly. You buy everything you see, but I never see you use any of it, and you already have plenty of toys. This money is for Ye to buy some toys or things like that. As for Yuta, just do as you please and buy what you like. And one more thing: that money is for them to use themselves. Don't let me find out you spent their money, or you'll have to answer to me. Ye, Yuta, remember: just buy what you like, and don't let your Sister Rei spend your money," Aunt Kei instructed Ye Wuji and Yuta.

Rei looked at the money in her hand, then at the amounts held by Ye Wuji and Yuta. Her eyes darted around, and she said, "Mom, you gave them that money to buy things they like, but we're going out, so we have to eat, right? If we buy other things, that money might not be enough."

Aunt Kei shook her head with a smile. "I knew you had the most devious ideas. Don't worry, I prepared some money for you too, but I can't let you hold it. Come here, Ye, here is one thousand ryo. You hold onto this. Remember, this is for you all to use for food. No matter what your Sister Rei wants to do, this money cannot be touched, understand?"

"Yes, I understand, Aunt Kei. This is public property and cannot be used for personal matters," Ye Wuji said as he took the thousand ryo and nodded.

"Ye is the best," Aunt Kei praised, then looked at Rei with a smile.

Seeing this, Rei was fuming, but she waved her hand and shouted, "Let's go!"

"Haha, you've really doomed Ye. Rei is definitely going to torment him," Ukyo said, emerging from the side.

"Don't blame me. If I put the money in Rei's hands, they probably wouldn't get to eat anything before she spent it all. And putting it in Yuta's hands wouldn't work either; Yuta can't stand up to Rei. With Rei's skills, Yuta would probably end up coming back to apologize to me for failing to keep the money safe. But Ye is different. Don't let his age fool you—even though he's always being bullied by Rei, that's only because he doesn't care about those things. But once it involves matters of principle, Ye never gives in. Even if he gives his own five hundred ryo to Rei, that thousand ryo will still buy them plenty of food," Ukyo said.

"That's true. With Ye's personality, he might not spend a single cent of his own five hundred, just like you said, letting Rei have it. But this child is far too goal-oriented, which is really not a good thing."

"You've seen it for a while now. Even though Ye is young, he is extremely clever and understands a great deal. The moment he realized I wasn't going to teach him, he immediately shifted to practicing other things. He is far too desperate for power. It's fortunate that Mr. Shennong came along, which distracted him quite a bit, but even so, he hasn't given up on his strength training. You can tell by his own schedule—his strength is in the medical arts," Ukyo said, pausing before continuing. "I originally wanted to wait until he was a bit older to teach him, since he was so young at the time. I planned to take him back with us when we finished our business here and left. I didn't expect him to be so obsessed with power, and seeing his training methods, he's clearly following the path of a ninja." Ukyo sighed.

"It must be because of the war. When we first met this child, he was unusual. If he hadn't met us, he might have died. Yet, in that environment, even though he was scared, he didn't cry at all, and he even warned Uncle Ken. Look at Yuta—he's four years older than him, and even he cried in that situation. When you saved him and wanted to take him with us, his first reaction wasn't joy, but caution. He only agreed to come with us after that, and I could already feel some chakra on him even then," Aunt Kei added.

"For the first few days, he didn't show any reaction, but then he started cultivating chakra again. He probably thought ordinary people couldn't sense it, and since you're a samurai, it would be even harder for you to detect."

"Exactly. If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known a child like that could be this way, especially since he isn't being groomed by one of the Great Nations; he only learned from someone by chance. But because of that, we didn't interfere and just pretended not to notice whatever he was doing. I thought he would slowly change in a peaceful environment, but looking at him lately, he hasn't changed at all—if anything, he's working even harder," Ukyo said, looking outside.

"It can only be the fault of the war. Ye hides many things in his heart, and those worries have created an urgent need for power to accomplish something. For such a young child to have these thoughts, I'm afraid that if he goes down the wrong path, it will have a huge impact," Kei said.

"That's what I think, too. That's why I didn't teach him alongside Yuta from the start. Judging by the situation, he won't be coming with us when we leave. What do you think we should do? Should we let him be, or force him to come?" Ukyo asked.

"We'll see what he wants when the time comes. Since he has things he wants to do, forcing him might be counterproductive. But we don't need to worry too much. Judging by his attitude toward Rei, there is still a lot of sunshine in his heart. And when he saw Rei's terrifying power, he didn't have any strange reaction—that's a good thing, isn't it? I believe if Yuta saw Rei's power, he wouldn't be able to treat her normally. This is good for Rei, too. If we weren't afraid that Rei's power would affect her life, we wouldn't have come here, would we?" Kei said. "Overall, having Ye around is good for Rei, and in order to bicker with him, Rei will definitely work hard to learn how to control her power."

"That makes Ye even more terrifying. Even I, having suddenly seen Rei's immense power, would be afraid if she kept knocking me on the head like she does to him. But Ye doesn't seem to feel that way at all. Thinking about it, what will he become in the future? And this child's self-discipline is too strong. Look at Rei and Yuta—even I, back in the day, would get tired of training like that and want to rest, and that was with a teacher watching. But look at Ye; no one is asking him to do this. He's so young, we wouldn't say anything if he played all day, yet he trains day after day without giving up. Looking into his eyes, it doesn't look like the gaze of someone driven by a desire for revenge. If it's not revenge, what else could drive a child to be this persistent?"

"I don't know either. But from what I can feel, there isn't a shred of evil in Ye. Although his manners seem very mature, he sometimes makes jokes just like any other child. It must be what he's been through that makes him act this way." The two of them talked about Ye Wuji for a long time. If Ye Wuji were here, he would realize that these people weren't indifferent to him, but rather very concerned—so much so that Ye Wuji sometimes found it strange that no one paid him any mind, when in reality, it was Ye Wuji himself who was so strange that others didn't know how to approach him.

As for the questions Ukyo and his wife had, if Ye Wuji heard them, he would have a very simple answer: he had no ulterior motives, he was just trying to stay alive. As for why he was so disciplined, that was even simpler—if he weren't, he'd die easily. Add in a bit of genuine interest, and that was why Ye Wuji persisted. This was the advantage of a transmigrator; even if a child of the same age worked just as hard, they couldn't compare, because their mindsets were fundamentally different.

Ukyo and his wife discussed it for a long time without reaching a conclusion, finally deciding to let Ye Wuji follow his own path, especially since they had their own matters to attend to.

"Alright, enough about Ye. We'll know more when he grows up. We should be more concerned about Rei. I didn't expect her Ice Spirit to awaken at a time like this. Could something have gone wrong somewhere?" Aunt Kei asked, very worried.

"It should be fine. After Rei's Ice Spirit awakened, I specifically contacted them, and nothing unusual has happened. Besides, the seal there isn't so easy to break. After all, it was reinforced by Senju Hashirama, Uzumaki Chi, and your clan together. It's impossible for it to have problems just like that," Ukyo said, shaking his head and dismissing Aunt Kei's concerns.

"But if it were sabotaged by someone, that should be possible, right?" Aunt Kei asked, still worried.

"That's impossible. With people like us guarding it, only the full force of the Five Great Nations could shake the seal. But the leaders of the Five Great Nations all know about these things, so no one would pay attention to those seals. And besides the Five Great Nations, no one else has that kind of strength. Even if they gathered all nine Tailed Beasts, it wouldn't be possible. The Tailed Beasts wouldn't go to that place, and even if they did, they would never destroy the seal there. If someone really tried that, they would have to face the wrath of the nine Tailed Beasts themselves first," Ukyo said confidently.

"Then what about Rei? Why would the Ice Spirit awaken suddenly?" Kei asked, still anxious.

"I don't know. After all, no one has ever seen this kind of innate summoning beast, especially of this type. And since the Ice Spirit was often out of control, you were the one who found someone to seal it. Ask that person; perhaps they know something," Ukyo suggested.

"Fine, I'll send a message to Miroku and see if she knows what happened," Kei agreed.

"But it's a good thing it awakened now. It's not like it could stay sealed forever. It's perfect that she's not at home right now. If Rei can learn to control the Ice Spirit before she returns, it will be better for everyone, and people won't have to worry about being beaten into such a sorry state by her suddenly." Ukyo laughed as he remembered something.

"Is it that funny? Don't you know that there are usually no children her age who want to play with Rei because of that Ice Spirit? Otherwise, why do you think such a well-behaved girl like Rei is always bullying Ye? It's because that thing has left her without any friends," Kei said, pinching Ukyo angrily.

"Ouch, don't do that! I was just remembering how Master was once hit by Rei and his beard was completely frozen and shattered. He had to wear a mask for a long time afterward—it's a bit funny, isn't it?" Ukyo said while dodging.

"I don't care. Since Ye can make my daughter happy, if you aren't going to teach him your skills, then fine—but you should pass on what you've learned over the years to him. It's ninja-style training anyway, and it's useless for you to keep it. Or are you planning to change sects and join the ninjas yourself?" Kei said, continuing to pinch him.

"I know, I know. But Ye is still young. Let's wait a while longer. Besides, there are hardly any people left who insist on being pure samurai anymore. Haven't many schools already converted to ninja styles? My school might have to join the ninja ranks in a few generations, so I have to keep something. Right now, only those people in the Land of Iron still insist on the pure samurai path," Ukyo said with a sigh.

"What does that have to do with us? You aren't some old fossil clinging to tradition. Keep it as long as you can, and deal with it when you can't. But don't change the subject," Kei said, continuing to chase Ukyo.

"Hey, are you a shrine maiden or what? Why are you always pinching people? Learn from your sister Miroku; that's a proper shrine maiden!" Ukyo said while dodging. But this remark only fueled Kei's anger, and she pinched him even harder.

"Then why did you dare to marry me?" Seeing Ukyo running further away, Kei chased after him.