Kamiya Family

"This is called the Chakra Meridians, the pathways through which Chakra flows inside the body!"

"Then this pathway—"

"Alright, alright, Kamiya Keiyun. The other children are almost home by now. If you're still at school, your family might worry. School's over for today. You can come ask more questions another time, okay?"

"Ah, wait, Sensei, I still want to ask—ahhh!"

After being shoved out of the office, Kamiya Keiyun was speechless. He had come with a bellyful of questions, yet now he felt like he had learned something while also learning nothing at all.

He had only learned two terms: Chakra Control and Chakra Meridians.

Fine, he would head home first and ask again when he got the chance!

He ran all the way toward the school gate. From a distance, Kamiya Keiyun spotted a girl in a dark purple kimono standing by the entrance, waiting for someone.

"Big Sis?" Kamiya Keiyun called out. "Over here!"

"What were you doing at school? I saw the other children come out ages ago!" Kamiya Sanyō grabbed Kamiya Keiyun by the arm. "This is Konoha. Don't treat it like our hometown!"

"What's so special about Konoha?" Kamiya Keiyun asked.

"Well..." Kamiya Sanyō fell silent. There had to be differences, but she did not know exactly what they were.

"Um, the people in this village have to go out and fight. I heard someone died recently!" Kamiya Sanyō said quietly.

"Huh?" Kamiya Keiyun was speechless. "There's a war going on outside. Konoha has to send troops out. People dying is normal, isn't it?"

"This time is different. I heard it involves an important person!" Kamiya Sanyō tugged him along. "Father said we should spend less time outside lately..."

"Oh." Kamiya Keiyun thought about it. An important person? Who?

Oh, right. I don't know the plot. Never mind, then.

Since his sister was leading him, he did not need to worry about taking a wrong turn. He simply tried refining Chakra again.

Moving was indeed different from sitting still. When seated, he could refine Chakra with a single thought, but while walking, it was far less stable. He tried several times and still failed!

But Heaven Rewards Diligence was helping him, after all. After walking through two streets, he finally succeeded!

It had taken nearly twelve minutes in total, only a little faster than refining Chakra from scratch!

With one successful experience, things became much easier afterward. By the time they reached their front door, he could refine Chakra with a single thought just as easily as when he was sitting down.

"We're back!" Kamiya Sanyō called as the two entered the courtyard.

Their home was a typical detached house. Just beyond the entrance was a small courtyard, only one and a half meters wide and four meters long, with some flowers and plants growing inside.

Further in stood a two-story building. The ground floor had one bedroom, one living room, and one bathroom. Upstairs were four rooms: two were the bedrooms of Kamiya Keiyun and Kamiya Sanyō respectively, one was used for storage, and the last stood empty.

There was also a backyard behind the house. It was slightly more spacious, two meters wide and four meters long, with flowers and plants as well as room for hanging laundry.

Kamiya Hiromi was sitting on the living room sofa reading a book. Hearing the two come in, he turned and asked, "Keiyun, have you heard of Konoha's White Fang at school?"

"Who's that?" Kamiya Keiyun thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Never heard of him!"

"You haven't?" Kamiya Hiromi sighed. "Good. If someone asks you that question at school, that's exactly how you should answer!"

"What happened?" Kamiya Keiyun was curious. "Konoha's White Fang—is that a nickname? What happened to this person?"

"Nothing. Just stupid political infighting!" Kamiya Hiromi shook his head. "But we're just farmers now. There's no need for us to worry about so much!"

"Oh, oh." Kamiya Keiyun nodded, then looked at Kamiya Sanyō. So this was the important person she had mentioned?

Kamiya Sanyō nodded and did not dare say anything.

The Land of Fire had always favored men over women. She had once been able to serve as a Miko and held some status, but after moving to Konoha, marriage was the only path left to her. Naturally, she no longer had any standing at all.

"Come on, dinner's ready!" Kamiya Koromo emerged from the kitchen carrying dishes. "Konoha's grain prices have stabilized recently, so I specially bought more meat. Keiyun needs to grow, so he should eat more."

"Yes!" Kamiya Keiyun noticed that Kamiya Hiromi's expression did not look very good.

That was understandable. The war had ended, so grain prices had naturally fallen. Their family leased a large plot of land; once grain prices dropped, the money they could earn dropped as well.

But he would only keep such things bottled up inside. He would never tell his family about them.

"How are you doing at the ninja academy?" Kamiya Hiromi asked.

"Not bad. Sensei said I have good talent!" Kamiya Keiyun answered.

"That's good!" Kamiya Hiromi nodded. "If you can become a chūnin and marry a ninja to continue the family line, then our Kamiya Family may not be unable to become a ninja clan!"

"Mhm!" Kamiya Keiyun nodded silently. Seeing that the dishes had mostly been served, he joined his sister in pressing their hands together. "Thanks for the meal!"

Then they devoured everything before them.

After dinner, Kamiya Hiromi went out, though no one knew what he was doing. Kamiya Koromo busied herself washing the dishes. Kamiya Sanyō lightly tugged on Kamiya Keiyun, and the two went upstairs to the bedroom.

"What's wrong with you?" The moment Kamiya Keiyun entered, he saw Kamiya Sanyō radiating gloom.

"Father wants to marry me off!" Kamiya Sanyō looked aggrieved. "You're in the ninja academy now. Maybe it won't be long before you become a ninja. Can you help persuade Father? I'm only twelve. I don't want to get married yet!"

"Fuck!" Kamiya Keiyun even blurted out a curse from his old world. "Getting married at twelve? What kind of beast does that?!"

"You're insulting Father again!" Kamiya Sanyō said helplessly.

"It's fine. He can't understand it anyway!" Kamiya Keiyun did not care in the slightest. "Besides, is this the first time I've insulted him?"

Kamiya Hiromi was the traditional Japanese-style parent, occupying an exalted position at home. Kamiya Koromo was only fit to cook for him. Where he went, who he spent time with, and what he did each day were things the family had no right to ask about.

Kamiya Sanyō and Kamiya Keiyun had even less status in the household. They were just children. Who would care what they said or what they thought?

Especially Kamiya Keiyun. In his early years, he had been unable to learn Japanese and was treated like an idiot, leaving a deep impression on Kamiya Hiromi.

Kamiya Sanyō had raised him all along. The result was that he learned Japanese, while she learned Chinese.

Later, Kamiya Keiyun had tried to communicate with Kamiya Hiromi. He had a head full of modern knowledge; if he revealed even a little of it, he could have lifted the family out of poverty. Why did they need to farm at all?

But Kamiya Hiromi would not listen. One sentence—"You're just a brat"—was enough to shut Kamiya Keiyun down.

From that, Kamiya Keiyun understood that this man was an unreasonable old fossil. In every conversation afterward, all he did was nod along.

His greatest goal had once been to grow up quickly, leave this house, and establish himself independently.

As for now, he had added another goal: get his sister out of this pit of fire.

He was not obsessed with his sister. If there were truly a decent young man, he would be more than happy for his sister to marry him and live happily ever after. But Kamiya Sanyō was only twelve. What the hell was she getting married for?

"Do you know who he wants to marry you to?" Kamiya Keiyun asked.

"I heard it's someone named Shimura Ken. He's from the Shimura Clan and a ninja, but he lost a leg in the war..." As Kamiya Sanyō spoke, she suddenly sensed something was off. "Why are you asking that? What are you planning?"

"Have the engagement and wedding date been decided?" Kamiya Keiyun asked.

"Not yet. I heard they're still discussing it!" Kamiya Sanyō said.

"This..." Kamiya Keiyun frowned. How was he supposed to stop something like this?

If I were eighteen, I would naturally have a say in this family and could stop the marriage.

If I were eight, I should already be a famous genius at the ninja academy. By then, plenty of people would probably want to marry my genius sister. A ninja with one leg would not be very competitive!

But I was only five years old. I had just started first grade, had only attended school for one day, and had no reputation at all.

What if they finalized the marriage within a few days?

"Big Sis, do ninjas have a lot of influence?" Kamiya Keiyun suddenly thought of something.

His sister was very beautiful, and she had been raised as a Miko since childhood. Not only was she cultured and sensible, but she was skilled in brewing, singing, dancing, and several instruments. Under Kamiya Keiyun's influence, she had also developed excellent handwriting.

Such an outstanding girl would have been goddess-tier in his previous life in Huaxia. Even in the Land of Fire, marrying a noble should not have been a problem.

So how had she ended up in Konoha, only able to marry a one-legged ninja?

"They really do have a lot of influence. Konoha is a village founded by ninja clans, and those clans enjoy the treatment of nobility in the Land of Fire. I heard there's even a ninja named Tsunade who was granted the title of princess!" Kamiya Sanyō said.

Although she did not have a job in Konoha, her status as a girl had allowed her to easily join one of Konoha's highest-level intelligence organizations—the Konoha Girls' Shopping Group.

Those girls were exceptionally well informed.

"Then how about you become a ninja too?" Kamiya Keiyun asked again.

"Me?" Kamiya Sanyō froze. "No, no, I'm not qualified for that! Besides, becoming a ninja requires talent!"

"You're my sister. The same blood flows through our veins. If I have talent, there's no reason you wouldn't!" Kamiya Keiyun said.

"But... I'm already twelve!" Kamiya Sanyō shook her head. "Look at your ninja academy. Don't they all start training at four or five?"

"No. Lü Dongbin entered the Dao at forty, and Wang Chongyang only began martial training at forty-five. When it comes to cultivation, it's never too late to start!" Kamiya Keiyun pressed Kamiya Sanyō down onto the bed.

"Cross your legs and close your eyes. I'll teach you the Chakra Refining Technique!"