My Kin All Taste Delicious

Drops of blood continuously dripped onto Hiugo. The young boy opened his eyes slightly to find himself in a space of blood-red, with glass spheres floating before him.

Each sphere contained an image: a towering tree, golden chains, a Sharingan, a Byakugan, bones protruding from the ground, a Rinnegan, a Tenseigan, and pitch-black Truth-Seeking Orbs...

Am I just dreaming of what I think about during the day?

Hiugo wore a helpless smile, but suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in the center of his palm. A black branch sprouted directly from his skin.

Can you even feel pain in a dream?

Yet, he could sense that he was about to wake up. The blood-red space and the glass spheres collapsed together, and bright sunlight streamed into the room.

A sense of hunger surged from his body, prompting Hiugo to get up immediately to prepare breakfast, though the feeling did not vanish even after he consumed food.

"What is going on?"

Hiugo did not understand. Could he have developed some kind of illness? Fortunately, the hunger was not severe and remained bearable.

"I'll head over to Tobirama's place first."

Hiugo stepped outside and noticed that every clansman around him seemed to be emitting a fragrant scent.

"What's the situation?"

Hiugo didn't have time to overthink it and sprinted toward Tobirama's home.

The white-haired Tobirama, relying on the formidable constitution of the Senju clan, had already recovered. Although he still felt some pain, it was nothing serious. Seeing Hiugo arrive so early in the morning, his impression of the boy shifted slightly.

But why was he drooling?

Hiugo wiped the corner of his mouth. The scent emanating from Tobirama was even richer than that of the other clansmen; he didn't even need to taste it to know it must be incredibly delicious.

He endured it with great difficulty, treating it as a test of his mental willpower.

The instructor responsible for the two was an elite jonin named Senju Zhenyang. The ranking system of the Warring States period differed somewhat from the anime Hiugo had watched, being more detailed in certain areas.

It was primarily divided into: Genin, Chunin, Special Jonin, Jonin, Elite Jonin, and Clan Leader level. (In this text, the chakra cohesion setting does not represent actual combat power; all ninja ranks are based on levels of chakra cohesion.)

The Clan Leader level was equivalent to the Kage level of later generations, but the concept of "Kage" did not exist yet; the strongest in a clan was simply titled as such.

Within a clan, reaching the Jonin level was considered high-end combat power, and an Elite Jonin even more so. Only a great clan with deep foundations would have the resources to have such a ninja instruct two five-year-old boys.

"Young Master Tobirama, Young Master Hiugo; in truth, you have already learned enough for your age group. The only thing you lack is the psychological aspect," Senju Zhenyang said gently.

Senju clan ninjas generally had good temperaments. Even though Senju Zhenyang's strength was far above that of the two children, he treated them with the care of an elder.

"Are you planning to take us to kill someone?"

Tobirama roughly guessed Zhenyang's intent.

Only a blade tempered in blood becomes a good blade. The two boys had decent talent; all they lacked was the baptism of blood. For geniuses, experiencing it early was not a bad thing.

Senju Zhenyang nodded, signaling for the two to follow. For a clan like the Senju, tree climbing and water walking were taught shortly after learning to refine chakra. Plus, Senju Zhenyang intentionally slowed his pace so the two could keep up.

They did not travel far from the clan grounds, arriving at an open space where two Senju ninjas were already waiting with two bound, spiky-haired men.

Senju Zhenyang was not so extreme as to take the children to a battlefield. Warring States battlefields were highly unsafe; even corpses carried the risk of exploding, let alone other dangers.

The two bound ninjas, despite being captives, still held an indescribable arrogance in their eyes.

That arrogance, that look, and those signature spiky hairstyles—it was all too familiar.

Hiugo had already roughly guessed the identities of the two ninjas before him. Aside from the Uchiha clan, who else possessed that "I am the best in the world" arrogance?

Senju Zhenyang did not give them much time, instead announcing the task:

"Each of you will kill one of the ninjas before you."

He then turned his head and said to the two spiky-haired ninjas: "If you can defeat the ninja before you, I will let you go."

Extra A sneered: "If the Senju clan really wanted to commit suicide, they should have just thrown these two brats into the river instead of bringing them to me."

Extra B narrowed his eyes and remained silent.

Senju Zhenyang ignored their attitude and ordered the two clansmen to untie the ropes.

Once the restraints were removed, the two men ran directly forward.

Extra C faced Tobirama, while Extra B targeted Hiugo.

They knew they couldn't escape, nor could they kill the surrounding Senju ninjas, as they were well aware that their current, unrecovered bodies were no match for them.

But these two children were different. Daring to come here to kill at this age meant they must be "geniuses." The Warring States period was not short on geniuses, but if they could send these two to the grave, it would be worth it.

Hiugo and Extra B faced off. After exchanging blows for a moment, Extra B realized he couldn't gain an advantage. Furthermore, due to a drug administered while he was a captive, he began to feel fatigued after only a short bout of fighting.

Thus, he kicked out, forcing Hiugo back to create distance, and performed hand seals:

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Water Style: Water Colliding Wave!"

A classic clash of elements occurred, though the water and fire colliding to form mist was not enough to obscure their vision.

Hiugo quickly threw three kunai, each equipped with an explosive tag.

Because children only practiced with them daily, the materials used in the explosive tags for someone of Hiugo's age were only one-third of the standard amount.

However, this battle was never fair to begin with; the enemy side lacked weapons, so this was more than enough.

Following an explosion, Extra B rolled out covered in blood, having instinctively shielded his front and transcended his limits in the heat of the moment.

The originally pitch-black pupils in his eyes shifted into a scarlet hue, and a single black tomoe emerged within them.

Single-Tomoe Sharingan.

Senju Zhenyang's expression flickered slightly; these two Uchiha clansmen had not yet awakened the Sharingan, otherwise, given how much they valued their eyes, they would have destroyed them and committed suicide long ago.

Yet, he did not stop the fight. The battlefield changed in an instant, and the ability to achieve a breakthrough on the fly applied not only to oneself but also to the enemy.

Hiugo swallowed hard, sensing an alluring aura emanating from Extra B that hadn't been there before.

"Brat, let me show you the power of the Sharingan!"

Extra B shouted sharply, his hands moving to form seals, though they trembled from the impact of the earlier explosion.

"..."

Hiugo did not hesitate. Possessing both Lightning and Water affinities, his combat style was highly flexible.

While Extra B was forming seals, he had already prepared his own ninjutsu, releasing a bolt of lightning from his right palm.

Lightning Style: Induction Wave.

Extra B understood how to dodge thanks to the insight provided by his eyes, but he found his injured body unable to keep up with his intentions, and as the lightning struck him, a numbing sensation spread throughout his entire body.

Immediately afterward, a sharp pain erupted in his chest as a spray of blood bloomed.

"You..."

Extra B looked down. Aside from the kunai from earlier, a black branch had pierced into his body from the hand gripping the weapon. Blood and chakra were flowing through the branch into Hiugo, as if by instinct.

Hiugo had originally intended to end the battle with Water Style: Water Severing Blade, but the branch in his hand had disrupted his plans, and the hunger he had felt since morning was finally being satiated.

As his blood drained away, Extra B lost his life and collapsed to the ground.

On the other side, the battle between Tobirama and Extra A was much simpler.

Although the Senju clan lacked the Sharingan of the Uchiha, their chakra reserves were among the highest in the Warring States period, which was more than enough to support Tobirama in unleashing one ninjutsu after another.

Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave.

Water Style: Water Bullet Barrage.

Water Style: Great Ocean Current.

Extra A felt incredibly stifled. His chakra hadn't recovered much, and after clashing just twice, he was crushed by a barrage of ninjutsu, leading him to grumble in frustration:

"Brat, didn't you come here to train? What kind of fight is this, just spamming ninjutsu? Let's settle this with taijutsu!"

Tobirama ignored the enemy's words. The mission Senju Zhenyang had given him was to kill the person in front of him, so he chose the most reliable method.

Extra A fell powerlessly amidst a string of curses. Tobirama ceased his movements, his gaze shifting to see Hiugo walking toward Extra A and striking him once more in the chest.

"Tobirama, don't forget to finish them off."

Hiugo said with a serious expression. The branch in his palm was absorbing the blood from Extra A's body, and after just this short while, he could control the branch as easily as his own limbs.

Tobirama rolled his eyes at him. After that entire combo of his, the opponent was dead beyond a doubt; how could he possibly have failed to kill the enemy?