"Who knows?"
He replied flatly. The eerie, intricate Mangekyō, its black and blood-red patterns interwoven, quietly disappeared from his eyes.
[Name: Uchiha Hanazuki] [Bloodline Limit: Mangekyō Sharingan] [Identity: Nine-Tails Jinchuriki] [Tailed Beast: Black Nine-Tails]
As a prospective member of the Konoha Orphanage, Uchiha Hanazuki had lost both his parents in the Second Shinobi World War.
Having been cared for like their own child since he was little, he couldn't help being reminded of them by the sight of the notices. After all, he wasn't Uchiha Sasuke. Receiving two death notices in succession had stimulated him twice, and he'd successfully awakened his Mangekyō.
Still, he preferred to put it this way.
His birth parents had been forced to abandon him at a cemetery. After a special sacrifice, he'd unlocked a permanent-field spell: the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, along with a consumable spell card—the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Hanazuki snatched the two bells from Orochimaru and tossed them dismissively to Uzuki Yugao and Anko. Then he brought his hands together.
"Release!"
"Now those two have passed the exam. Please hurry and let me return to the Ninja Academy, Orochimaru-sensei."
Orochimaru awoke from the genjutsu, cold sweat streaming down his forehead. His snake-like, icy pupils darted wildly as he took in the surrounding scene.
'Nothing has changed at all. No traces of a jutsu? Was it genjutsu from the very beginning? This guy...'
His cold, vertical pupils lingered on the bells in Anko and Yugao's hands, and Orochimaru's expression turned subtle.
"Why? Even though you knew that losing the bells meant losing your chance to graduate from the Ninja Academy, you handed that opportunity to someone else?"
"When you ask a question, don't let your pupils waver, Orochimaru-sensei! Could it be that you're afraid?"
With his thoughts laid bare, Orochimaru's hard features twisted faintly. The clear black-and-white eyes before him seemed to hold some unknown power, leaving him shocked and trembling.
This guy, this guy, this guy... This potential, this talent...
"Hehehe. Congratulations, all of you passed. What terrifying talent—talent so impressive it makes even me jealous. Would you be interested in becoming my disciple, Uchiha Hanazuki...?"
Before he could answer, the cries of eagles rang through the sky. Orochimaru slowly raised his head, and the shock and smile on his face quietly vanished.
"You really are unexpectedly unlucky, you lot. Is the war about to start again?"
He sighed deeply. His plan to slip back into the Ninja Academy had just gone up in smoke.
'What is this? My goal was the Ninja Academy, and if I can't go back, it's straight to the Third Shinobi World War?'
His figure gradually receded, leaving behind a bewildered Anko and Yugao, as well as Uchiha Hanazuki, who gazed up at the sky with an utterly hopeless expression.
"I don't want to be cannon fodder, you damn pervert."
"Does this mean we've graduated?"
Yugao glanced around in confusion, then looked at her two companions, who were about to embark on a new life together, and asked timidly.
"That's right. I've got good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"
Before either of them could answer, Hanazuki continued on his own.
"The good news is that we've graduated. The bad news is that we'll be heading to the battlefield soon. Remember to write your wills ahead of time. I'm off."
Seeing him turn to leave as well, the two exchanged a wordless glance. After agreeing on a meeting place for the next day, they parted ways.
On the streets of the Uchiha Clan, members of the Konoha Military Police Force stood solemnly throughout the neighborhood. They had clearly received word that war was coming and were on full alert.
In a plain little house tucked away at the edge of the street, Hanazuki lay on the soft, comfortable bed and returned to his inner world.
"You're back, brat? Good. I've decided—we're changing the place to a forest villa after all. I want fish-cake-flavored chips. Hurry up and make them for me!"
"You're so annoying. Do you even understand the situation? We'll be heading to the battlefield soon. If I die, you'll die too, you damn Kurama!"
He was furious. Since yesterday, the fox had done nothing but eat and sleep. Even a Nine-Tails with the opposite personality shouldn't have turned from a fox into an Orange Pig.
"Uchiha brat, did you forget something? This is your inner world. I can hear your thoughts. Who are you calling an Orange Pig?!"
The Black Nine-Tails bared his claws and fangs, his mountain-sized tails churning up waves like raging seas. Unfortunately, none of it had any effect on Hanazuki.
"If you're not an Orange Pig, then be useful! Give me some power to keep me alive on the battlefield. Hand over whatever you've got in your belly."
"Tch, what a troublesome brat. With me helping you, why are you worried you won't survive?"
Looking at the Black Nine-Tails' disdainful expression, Hanazuki's mouth twitched. Was the existence of the Black Nine-Tails really something he could casually reveal with his Mangekyō Sharingan?
Judging by the current point in time, Uchiha Madara was still alive!
If he found out Hanazuki had the Nine-Tails, there was no telling whether he'd set his sights on him. Uchiha Madara might be old, weak, and sick, but the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had a natural advantage over Tailed Beasts.
"Besides Tailed Beast Chakra, don't you know any other ninjutsu or Senjutsu?"
"Things like Sage Mode or the Flying Thunder God Technique—powerful jutsu that won't draw attention..."
Before he could finish, the Black Nine-Tails' face showed clear impatience. He waved his paw repeatedly.
"You've got a lot of demands for a brat. Fine. I don't know much about human ninjutsu, but I was at least forced to listen to the jutsu Namikaze Minato taught Menma."
"If you want to ask a fox for help, you have to show some sincerity. Hurry up and bring me an offering. With me helping you, mastering the Flying Thunder God in a day will be a piece of cake!"
His sly fox face made it hard to tell how much of what he said was true, but with time running short, Hanazuki had no choice but to trust him this once.
"Honestly, my Mangekyō ability isn't here to make snacks for you."
The Tomoe spun, and the elaborate, exquisite Mangekyō came into view in his eyes. The pale-blue water churned, turning illusion into reality.
"Your fish-cake-flavored chips, with a complimentary bottle of gamer's soda, plus a forest courtyard. Please sign here."
Beneath the surface, countless wisps of pale-blue chakra gathered and took shape. A gigantic bag of chips nearly a hundred meters tall and a bottle of gamer's soda as tall as a water tower appeared from the void.
"Oh! As expected of the Mangekyō Sharingan's ability! You really are an incredible brat, hahaha..."
"Instead of praising me, I'd rather have ninjutsu and forbidden techniques. Stop stuffing your face, you bastard!"
Chips the size of horse-drawn carriages crunched crisply between his sharp teeth. Every so often, he gulped down some bubbling soda and let out cries of delight unlike any he'd made before.
"I don't actually know the Flying Thunder God Technique, but I do know a jutsu that suits you better. Learn it yourself."
A scroll as tall as a person dropped from the sky and landed in the pale-blue Heart Lake. Hanazuki raised his eyebrows, a flicker of surprise appearing in his eyes.
"Is it this forbidden technique?"