The Difference Between Their Fingertips

The next second, Ebisu felt three ominous glares fixed on him. The murderous glint in their eyes made his whole body tremble.

"Bastard!"

"I was so close! Just a little closer and I would've kissed him! Damn you, Ebisu!"

"Prepare yourself. You're already dead."

Sinking to the floor, Ebisu trembled and leaned against the wall, certain his time had come.

"Wait, it has nothing to do with me! It was the Third Hokage! The Third Hokage told me to find Uchiha Hanazuki. I had nothing to do with it!"

"Huh? It was the Third Hokage's order? It must be an important mission. I'll be off, then. Bye!"

With a flicker, Hanazuki, who had been pushed onto the sofa, vanished. When he turned around again, Ebisu had disappeared too.

Meanwhile, at Training Ground 3, Hanazuki let out a long breath and sighed.

"I'm saved. I almost ended up being drained until I was nothing but a husk. You came just in time, Senior Ebisu. What happened?"

As Hanazuki marveled at his good fortune in escaping with his life, Ebisu fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face.

"Damn it! What am I lacking compared to that brat? My looks? My personality? My ninjutsu? Why does he get to have a girl on each arm, while I haven't even had a girlfriend all this time? Damn it!"

Hanazuki's mouth twitched. Only then did he remember that Ebisu was known as a closet pervert. After a moment's hesitation, he offered some consolation.

"Calm down, Senior Ebisu. With your charm, you're sure to find a girl who likes you."

"Really?"

Ebisu snapped out of his despair, visibly excited beneath his sunglasses. He couldn't help asking,

"Then how big is the difference between you and me?"

"It's not that big. If I had to say, it's probably only about this much."

Hanazuki smiled faintly and brought his index finger and thumb closer and closer together until only an almost imperceptible gap remained. That was enough to lift Ebisu's spirits.

"You really are—you really are a good person! Uchiha Hanazuki, thanks for encouraging me. I'll work even harder and become a shinobi who surpasses you!"

"Forget that. What did the Third Hokage want with me?"

"Ah! Right, I almost forgot the important part. That scene just now was such a shock, I nearly blacked out."

"The Third Hokage wants you to go to the Mission Assignment Hall right away. It seems there's some kind of urgent situation. But if it's a high-ranking mission, why would he call for you, a Genin?"

"By the way, what was that ninjutsu just now? How did we get from your house to Training Ground 3 in an instant...?"

When Ebisu finally came back to his senses, he realized Uchiha Hanazuki had already vanished without a trace.

"He disappeared again? Was that the Body Flicker Technique? Why would a Genin know a technique of that caliber?"

Only the shinobi who had taken part in the Battle of Kikyo Pass knew that Uchiha Hanazuki had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique and become Orochimaru's disciple. Most of them were Konoha jonin and clan heads.

It was wartime, and most jonin were rushing between battlefields. They knew the truth, but the chunin and genin had no idea.

Hanazuki himself stayed home and rarely went out, to allay the suspicions of the Third Hokage and Danzo. Naturally, he had no intention of going around advertising his strength.

Inside the Third Hokage's study in the Hokage Office Building.

"Ebisu said you wanted to see me. What is it?"

"You're here already? Uchiha Hanazuki, I didn't summon you for any other reason. I have a very important mission to entrust to you."

"Do you know about the Land of Water?"

After a moment's thought, Uchiha Hanazuki nodded slightly, unsure what Sarutobi Hiruzen was getting at.

"I've heard of it. The Land of Water is supposedly a poor, warlike country, and one of the great nations that attacked the Land of Wind first during the Third Shinobi World War."

"That's right. Most of the Land of Water's territory consists of islands. Its people live in poverty, and the country is shrouded in mist year-round. It rarely interacts with the other great nations."

"But that's precisely why they brazenly cross into other countries to plunder. And the Kirigakure Ninja are formidable, which has given Konoha a great deal of trouble."

The brush paused. A piece of calligraphy titled Will of Fire was complete. Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction. Uchiha Hanazuki remained expressionless, unsure what to make of it.

"So, what's my mission?"

"Konoha can no longer afford another major war. Orochimaru and Namikaze Minato were both highly impressed by your performance at Mount Kikyo against the Sand Village."

"So, the mission I'm assigning you is battlefield support."

Hanazuki raised an eyebrow. Battlefield support? Which battlefield? Was Konoha still fighting any major battles against the other great nations?

"To prevent another incident like the one at Mount Kikyo, where the enemy infiltrated the heart of the Land of Fire without our knowledge, you'll be on your own, guarding against possible attacks from other great nations."

The atmosphere fell into an odd silence. Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't turn around as he waited for Hanazuki's answer,

"I understand, but I'll need..."

After leaving the Third Hokage's office, Hanazuki's expression remained calm, as though the harsh mission had done nothing to displease him.

When he returned home, he found three portions of snacks beside a row of custom-made kunai, their black surfaces gleaming coldly on the tea table—a silent show of force.

"One, two, three... A standard three-man Anbu squad? That's why I hate this rotten recommendation system."

He had wanted to climb to the very top step by step, but his Uchiha identity meant he couldn't even become a candidate for Hokage. This rotten recommendation system couldn't even manage democracy or fairness!

In his inner world, Hanazuki said nothing, but his expression made it clear he was in a bad mood.

"What's wrong, brat? Have you reached your limit? Then join forces with me, and we'll turn the world upside down! Wahahahaha!"

He ignored the Black Nine-Tails' frantic attempts to tempt him into stirring up war once more.

The Rasengan spun rapidly at his fingertips as he carved his own chakra markings into the custom kunai, each one powerful enough to withstand a Tailed Beast Bomb.

"Kurama, why do you think humans crave power? Is it because they fear growing old, or because they're afraid of losing other people's recognition when they lose their power?"

"I'm not human, so what the hell would I know? I just know that if someone tries to mess with me, I'll slap them to death."

The Black Nine-Tails lay in its little den and answered without lifting its head, not noticing the fleeting murderous glint in Hanazuki's eyes.

"The reason humans are human is that they'll never learn from the lessons of history. I guess they really do need to be destroyed completely."

"I'll bring the age of the shinobi to an end with my own hands."