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The sun was setting as Hyuga Shinichi arrived at the vegetable market. It was still bustling with people, unlike his previous life where he would crawl out at the crack of dawn to buy everything he needed for the day.

On the way over, Hyuga Shinichi had already decided on his menu. The main dish would be beer-braised duck, with a few side dishes to round it out. Of course, this world didn't have beer yet, but sake would work just as well; since it was brewed from grain, it should be even more fragrant and tenderize the meat better.

He quickly finished his shopping. Hyuga Shinichi carried the duck by its wings in his right hand and the side dishes in his left. As for the alcohol, the shopkeeper offered a delivery service since he had bought quite a lot.

The duck, however, didn't come with a pre-processing service, so Hyuga Shinichi had to take it home to handle himself.

Because the duck was flapping about too much, Hyuga Shinichi gave it a quick pressure point strike, and it quieted down significantly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hyuga Shinichi spotted a very conspicuous patch of silver-white hair in the crowd. He looked over and recognized the person immediately—a rare sight indeed—and ran over at once.

"Excuse me, are you Hatake Sakumo-senpai?"

Silver-white hair, a short blade with special chakra properties strapped to his back; the man before him was indeed Hatake Sakumo, who would go on to earn the title "White Fang of Konoha" during the Second Shinobi World War, his fame once eclipsing that of the "Legendary Sannin" of his era.

It was currently the 32nd year of Konoha, and Hatake Sakumo was only nineteen. He had already become a Jonin, and with his frequent high-level missions abroad, he was steadily trending toward becoming an elite Jonin, consistently staying a step ahead of Tsunade and her peers.

"Hmm? And you are?"

"I am Hyuga Shinichi. I have always admired your swordsmanship, and it's a rare honor to meet you today..."

"So you're that Hyuga Shinichi?"

A voice filled with surprise interrupted Hyuga Shinichi's fanboying. Hyuga Shinichi looked at the speaker and saw a mature, beautiful woman with a mole at the corner of her mouth, her face marked with the same fang-like tattoos as the Inuzuka Clan.

He had been so excited to notice Hatake Sakumo that he hadn't realized there was someone else with him. Realizing he might have interrupted their date, a rare look of embarrassment appeared on Hyuga Shinichi's face.

Seeing that Hyuga Shinichi had noticed her, the woman smiled and said, "I am Inuzuka Oto, Gai's older sister. I often hear my brother mention you, and your name has also come up regarding those herbs that enhance the clan's secret 'sense of smell' technique."

"Hello, sister. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your date."

Hatake Sakumo blushed at the word "date," while Inuzuka Oto looked at him with a sweet smile, tightening her grip on his hand. The atmosphere between them was clearly that of a couple deeply in love, and Hyuga Shinichi felt like he'd just been force-fed a mouthful of dog food.

"It's fine, we're just out for a stroll during our time off."

"Then I won't disturb you any further. I wish you both a pleasant evening. Goodbye."

He ran off as soon as he finished speaking. The two were so immersed in their sweetness that they didn't react until Inuzuka Oto asked Hatake Sakumo, "What do you think of that child?"

"He carries a sword, so he's clearly a swordsman. I could feel the sharpness radiating from him. A member of the Hyuga Clan who uses a sword—quite interesting."

"Forget it, I don't understand that stuff. You have to take me shopping properly tonight. Konoha has had a lot of new things lately; my brother even brought back something called an Electric Fan..."

On the way home, Hyuga Shinichi was surprised that Kakashi's mother was from the Inuzuka Clan, though he could have guessed. In the anime, there were conversations between Kakashi and Inuzuka Kiba about their keen sense of smell.

Plus, Kakashi's summons were a pack of ninja dogs, and the names of his techniques—Summoning: Earth Style: Tracking Fang Technique, Lightning Style: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang, and Earth Style: Earth Splitter Fang—all carried the distinct style of the Inuzuka Clan.

Come to think of it, when was Kakashi born? It seemed to be the 37th year, which was also when the Second Shinobi World War officially broke out.

The original work never mentioned how Kakashi's mother died. Could it have been childbirth complications?

It was possible. By the time the Second Shinobi World War started, Inuzuka Gai would be thirteen and eligible for the battlefield. Perhaps, like his own mother, she had been devastated by the news of her brother's death and passed away shortly after giving birth to Kakashi.

He thought of Nawaki; even as a disciple of Orochimaru, he still ended up blown to bits by a trap. Inuzuka Gai and Aburame Tomohiro wouldn't fare much better on the battlefield. Lost in these thoughts, he arrived at his doorstep.

Sigh, why am I overthinking this? I just need to make sure I protect them when the time comes.

"I'm home!"

As soon as Hyuga Shinichi stepped inside, he saw several pairs of shoes in the entryway. Were there guests?

"Heh heh, Shinichi, you haven't seen me in so long, did you miss me? Let me tell you, I've learned a lot of ninjutsu now..."

He didn't need to guess who the voice belonged to.

"Foolish Nawaki, learning a few more ninjutsu won't be enough to beat me."

"I..."

"Alright, alright. Do we have guests?"

"Yeah, big sister's boyfriend, Dan Katō, and big brother Jiraiya and Orochimaru-sensei are here too. We're having drinks at home tonight."

"Good thing I bought plenty of ingredients; it should be enough."

"Shinichi, let's have a spar! Now that I..."

"Sigh, fine. Tomorrow, let's spar tomorrow, okay? Help me take these groceries to the kitchen first."

The conversation in the entryway was overheard by those in the living room. Seeing Hyuga Shinichi enter, Jiraiya spoke up with interest.

"So you're the Hyuga Shinichi the old man keeps talking about, the seven-year-old who might become a Special Jonin?"

The "old man" Jiraiya referred to was his teacher, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He had noticed the old man deep in thought lately, and at first, he thought the old man was pondering something lewd.

After asking, he realized that there was a seven-year-old in the village with the strength of a Special Jonin, but because Hyuga Shinichi was so young, the Hokage was still debating whether to promote him so early.

Jiraiya hadn't forgotten the prophecy of the Child of Prophecy mentioned by the Great Toad Sage, so he kept a close eye on talented youths.

"Good evening, Jiraiya-senpai, Orochimaru-senpai. Everyone is too kind; I still have a long way to go compared to you."

Hyuga Shinichi replied modestly.

"Being overly humble isn't a good trait, Shinichi. With your strength, a Special Jōnin rank is definitely within reach."

Tsunade interjected from the side.

Hyuga Shinichi looked toward the young man with long, pale purple hair sitting next to Tsunade and flashed a mischievous grin.

"Big Brother Dan, should I call you Big Brother or brother-in-law?"

Indeed, the man Hyuga Shinichi called brother-in-law was none other than Dan Katō; the two had known each other for a long time.

Last year, because Hyuga Shinichi had introduced Dan Katō to Tsunade early on, he hadn't expected the two of them to start dating so soon.

Later, he hadn't seen them for a long time; whenever Hyuga Shinichi was home, they were out on missions, and when they returned, Hyuga Shinichi was out on his own missions.

Now that he finally saw them, it was only natural for someone with Hyuga Shinichi's personality to tease them a little.

"What are you spouting, you brat? We aren't even married yet, so don't call me that!"

Tsunade, usually bold and carefree, couldn't sit still as her face flushed red before Dan Katō could even respond. She marched over and gave Hyuga Shinichi a punch, causing everyone present to burst into laughter.

"Are you alright, Shinichi?"

Dan Katō stepped up to help Hyuga Shinichi, who had been knocked down, to his feet. Tsunade certainly hadn't used any real force, and Hyuga Shinichi had only pretended to be flattened, but Dan Katō was the only one who genuinely thought Hyuga Shinichi had been hurt.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. By the way, I call you Big Brother, but since you want to be my brother-in-law, shouldn't you give me, your little brother, a red envelope?"

"I want one too, brother-in-law!"

Seeing an opportunity to get a red envelope, Nawaki crowded over as well. Hyuga Shinichi noticed Tsunade glancing at Mito Uzumaki and then sneaking a peek at Dan Katō, her face already turning bright red and steaming.

After receiving his red envelope, Hyuga Shinichi laughed and walked away to take care of the ducks.