Ueno Kei shook his head, driving those thoughts from his mind.
Then he set off again, continuing to wander around Konoha. After a while, he stopped aimlessly roaming and began deliberately looking for the locations of places he might need, such as the Ninja Academy he would soon attend, or the hospital and public bathhouse he ought to know about.
What made Ueno Kei feel somewhat at home was that he found a shop in Konoha called Ichiraku Ramen. It piqued his curiosity.
After all, he had always been fond of ramen in his previous life. "I could give this place a try for dinner," Ueno Kei thought, stroking his chin like a grown-up.
A few passersby who were clearly dressed as housewives saw his adult-like gesture and smiled behind their hands.
In the housewives' eyes, Ueno Kei was nothing short of an adorable little boy.
That gesture really was rather endearing.
When Ueno Kei noticed the looks he was getting, a trace of embarrassment crossed his face, and he immediately hurried away.
Konoha really was just like its name—greenery was everywhere.
Towering trees, each more than ten meters tall, rose up all around. Sunlight filtered through the leaves and fell across Konoha's forest paths, lending them a vibrant air. As he basked in the sunshine, Ueno Kei felt as if he had been given a new lease on life.
After passing Kage Rock, the Hokage Office Building, and the other prominent landmarks in Konoha, Ueno Kei decided to head home.
He walked back at an increasingly leisurely pace.
Just then, several noisy voices came from the woods beside the path. Ueno Kei stopped, his brow furrowing slightly. After thinking it over, he decided to stay out of it.
He was new to Konoha, with no connections or abilities to speak of. Getting involved in other people's business could easily land him in trouble.
That wouldn't do him any good. With that in mind, Ueno Kei started walking again, ready to leave. But the noise grew louder. He could even hear a girl crying, along with louder insults and jeers.
Ueno Kei's expression shifted. He thought of the girl who had been a companion and neighbor in his home village. With a sigh, he said to himself, "I'll go take a look. If..."
After a moment's thought, he ran toward the sound.
Before long, as Ueno Kei drew closer, the voices became clearer. The girl's sobs seemed to be right beside him.
Ueno Kei slowed his steps, trying not to make a sound. He parted the leaves in front of him and peered through. Five children about his age stood there: four boys and a girl. The girl was the one crying. Her eyes were snow-white, just like the cataracts he remembered from his previous life.
She was very pretty—or perhaps cute. Meanwhile, three of the boys were beating another boy, a blond child with six whisker-like marks on his cheeks.
As they beat him, the three boys jeered, "You monster! That'll teach you to butt in!"
"Go to hell, freak!"
"Haha, you're nothing but trash!"
The blond boy held his hands over his head. A few times, he tried to get up and fight back, but the three boys kept forcing him down. Watching this, Ueno Kei suddenly wondered if Konoha's education system had problems after all.
Was this really acceptable?
Ueno Kei didn't think of himself as cold-hearted, but he certainly wasn't a do-gooder, either. Even so, he couldn't stomach the sight before him.
If someone provoked you and you fought back, that was one thing. But this was clearly just three boys maliciously beating and insulting another. Ueno Kei sighed. He had decided not to get involved in other people's business, after all—he wasn't some kind of hero.
But Ueno Kei wasn't heartless, either. If he could help someone without putting himself in danger, he was more than willing to do so.
"Hey, mister! Over here! There's a fight! They're bullying someone!"
Suddenly, Ueno Kei shouted and stomped his feet hard against the ground, pretending someone was coming.
The three boys beating the blond boy jumped at Ueno Kei's voice. Suspicion and alarm flashed across their faces as they looked around in fright. After all, what they were doing wasn't exactly something they wanted to get caught at.
At that moment, the sound of approaching footsteps seemed to grow louder and louder.
The boy leading the group didn't hesitate. He called to the other two, and they immediately abandoned the blond boy and the girl and bolted in the opposite direction.
After scaring the three off, Ueno Kei pushed aside the branches and stepped out. When he shouted, the girl had seemed startled too, and her sobbing had stopped.
She stared blankly at Ueno Kei, who had appeared before her.
Ueno Kei didn't pay the girl any attention. It was clear she had only been crying and hadn't been beaten. He hurried over to the blond boy lying on the ground and checked his injuries. They looked like mere bruises and scrapes. The boy seemed to have passed out, probably from taking a blow to the head during the beating. Other than that, he didn't seem badly hurt.
That made sense. Fights between children were common, and usually didn't lead to anything serious unless someone was hit in a vulnerable spot. Still, the three boys had treated the blond boy like an animal, showing no sign of stopping.
That was what had made Ueno Kei feel compelled to step in. After seeing that the blond boy wasn't seriously injured, Ueno Kei breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to look at the girl, intending to ask her something.
Just then, a young man suddenly appeared beside the girl. He looked tense as he asked, "Hinata, are you all right? Lord Hyuga is worried about you. You should come back right away."
Ueno Kei stared at the man, his pupils contracting. He hadn't sensed the man's arrival at all—not even the slightest trace of him.
It was as if he had appeared out of thin air.
"A ninja." The thought immediately flashed through Ueno Kei's mind. There was no doubt about it: the young man had to be a ninja. Otherwise, Ueno Kei would have sensed him.
The young man's eyes were also snow-white. He seemed to belong to the same clan as the girl.
Hyuga? Ueno Kei's expression remained unchanged, but his thoughts raced. It had to be one of Konoha's ninja clans.
"But... over there..." the girl said timidly, pointing toward Ueno Kei.
The man calmly turned his head and glanced at Ueno Kei without a hint of surprise. Then his gaze swept over the blond boy lying on the ground, and he openly revealed his disgust.
He immediately took the girl by the hand and said, "Hinata, stay away from that Gold Ghost from now on. He's a disaster."
Ignoring the girl's words, he pulled her away without another word.
Ueno Kei watched the two of them disappear into the distance, then turned to gaze at the blond boy lying unconscious on the ground. A thoughtful look crossed his eyes. It seemed this kid had a rather unusual background.
Maybe... Ueno Kei thought, not quite sure. Judging by how everyone treated him, this Gold Ghost clearly wasn't well liked in the village. Whatever the reason, would it be unwise to get involved with him?
Ueno Kei hesitated. "Sigh." He let out a breath. Maybe this wasn't the most sensible thing to do, but for some reason, he just liked the look of this Gold Ghost. So be it.
Without hesitation, Ueno Kei reached out toward the blond boy.
At that moment, Ueno Kei had no idea that this boy would one day become an extremely important person in his life.
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