Ever since Senju Kyogawa had healed a severely wounded man in full view of everyone—and treated the injuries of an entire squad while he was at it—his reputation among the Senju Clan had taken a sudden turn for the better.
The Senju who had been there talked about the astonishing feat over meals and tea. Even those who had regarded Senju Kyogawa as a "monster" couldn't help praising him.
The Senju who hadn't been there naturally didn't quite believe the story, but they couldn't help marveling that all of Senju Butsuma's sons were so capable. They praised Senju Butsuma for being so good at fathering sons.
When all was said and done, the Ninja World still valued strength above all. Senju Kyogawa had been regarded as a "monster" only because he had burned several midwives to death at birth and happened to be born on the very day the Senju lost a battle. The fear of Kyogawa was simply the fear of the unknown, a human instinct.
But ever since Senju Kyogawa had been let out, he hadn't hurt anyone or revealed his strange ability to produce flames. In fact, he had even saved someone.
By this point, most of the Senju had let go of their misgivings and begun to accept Senju Butsuma's "monster" of a youngest son.
After all, who would dare offend a shinobi who knew Medical Ninjutsu? In this Ninja World, where "a major battle came every three days and a minor one every two," every shinobi's head was practically tied to their belt. They lived with their lives on the line, and no shinobi would be foolish enough to provoke a medical ninja.
What was more, from that day on, the Senju watched Senju Kyogawa closely for quite a while and found that he often helped his fellow clan members. He was, at heart, a well-behaved child.
From then on, people greeted Senju Kyogawa whenever he walked through the Senju Clan Territory.
The stark contrast with how things had been before left Senju Kyogawa sighing in wonder. For several days, he enjoyed a life of remarkable comfort.
Why only a few days?
Because a few days later, Senju Kyogawa's head had healed completely, without even a scar left behind, and he returned to his usual routine of being "beaten up" by Senju Butsuma.
In fact, now that Senju Butsuma knew Kyogawa could use Medical Ninjutsu, he didn't show him any "tender loving care." Instead, he felt even more at ease "beating him up."
So, after only a few comfortable days, Senju Kyogawa was left on the verge of tears, healing himself day and night.
Then, one night while healing himself, Senju Kyogawa suddenly noticed—
His skill had changed!
Senju Kyogawa opened the Cuddle Points panel.
[Name: (Senju) Kyogawa
Gender: Male
Age: 4
Cuddle Points: 666 (equivalent to about 6 days of life)
Skills: "Flames," Advanced Healing Jutsu ("Thou Shalt Not Die" unlocking)]
[That's a pretty auspicious amount of life, all right.]
Senju Kyogawa tapped "Thou Shalt Not Die," but it only said that the conditions for use had not been met.
Senju Kyogawa scratched his head in confusion:
[Could this be a hidden skill?]
[But why doesn't it have a skill description? What do I need to do to meet the conditions for use?]
Senju Kyogawa asked the system, but it couldn't give him an answer either.
Senju Kyogawa gave up on investigating further. He decided to let things take their course. Perhaps he'd suddenly meet the conditions to unlock it someday.
Time passed quickly. The weather grew colder by the day, and winter drew closer.
Day after day went by, but the war between the Senju and the Uchiha remained at a stalemate.
It was already autumn, and food was getting harder to come by. Winter would arrive in two months, and food would only grow scarcer.
Winter was also the season when every country tacitly agreed to a ceasefire. Few hired shinobi, leaving them with one less way to obtain supplies. To preserve their strength, the shinobi clans all stopped fighting without needing to say a word.
The battle between the Senju and Uchiha was now not just a struggle for pride, but a fight over supplies.
Whoever won would prove their greater strength and receive more contracts from the countries.
It was a chance to secure a large number of contracts before winter—a battle for survival.
But as the weather grew colder, the leaders of both clans, Senju Butsuma and Uchiha Tajima, tacitly declared a ceasefire at the same time to save supplies for the winter.
To gather as many supplies as possible and preserve the Senju Clan's strength, everyone at the clan compound had been busier lately. All shinobi old enough to take missions were scrambling to accept them, including Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama.
Senju Itama and Senju Kawarama would both turn seven after the winter.
For shinobi of this era, seven was the age when they were expected to go to the battlefield.
So Senju Itama and Senju Kawarama had to use every moment of this winter to learn more ways to stay alive and attack, so they could make it off the battlefield alive.
As a result, all four of Senju Butsuma's children except Senju Kyogawa were busy every single day, with barely a moment to spare.
Seeing his four older brothers so busy, each to a different degree, even the laid-back Senju Kyogawa couldn't help reflecting on himself.
Caught up in the busy atmosphere at the clan compound, Senju Kyogawa began helping the people who didn't need to go on missions prepare, sort, and transport winter supplies. He also helped make winter clothes and quilts.
In his spare time, Senju Kyogawa trained in Taijutsu—though he only did so sporadically.
Over the past few days, Senju Kyogawa had seen less and less of his four older brothers, and he could hardly earn many Cuddle Points. To stay alive, he had no choice but to wring Cuddle Points out of a rabbit he'd caught earlier.
When the last leaf fell from the trees, winter finally arrived.
Senju Kyogawa put on his thick padded clothes, and he felt warmer than ever before.
Back when he and Senju Haruko had been confined to that little room, perhaps because they were cut off from other people, even thick quilts couldn't keep him warm in winter. Senju Kyogawa would often wake in the middle of the night, shivering with cold.
Perhaps because Senju Butsuma had been training him for the past year, Senju Kyogawa was in much better shape now. His once-skinny frame had gradually filled out with a thin layer of muscle.
This winter, Senju Kyogawa could drink hot water and warm soup. When he got cold, he could sneak into his brothers' beds. These were comforts he'd never known before.
Senju Kyogawa, an orphan in his previous life, had finally experienced the warmth of a home.
Senju Haruko had given Kyogawa a mother's selfless love, and his brothers had cared for him with all their hearts.
As for Senju Butsuma, perhaps he resented Kyogawa for taking away the last of Senju Haruko's vitality when he was born. He had always treated Kyogawa like a subordinate, never once taking the initiative to get close to his youngest son.
But Kyogawa didn't mind Senju Butsuma's attitude. He thought it was already great that Senju Butsuma taught him Taijutsu. After all, Senju Butsuma was the clan leader, yet he still made time in his busy schedule to teach a little kid like Kyogawa.
All in all, this was the warmest winter Senju Kyogawa had ever experienced.
Even the gloves that had felt too hot to wear in summer now kept Senju Kyogawa plenty warm.
Speaking of gloves, that brought up his "Flames" ability, which the gloves had sealed away.
In his spare time, Senju Kyogawa had gone to the outskirts of the Senju Clan Territory to practice his "Flames" ability. But strangely, "Flames" seemed to be sealed, just like Senju Kyogawa's chakra. No matter what he tried, he couldn't use it, even after taking off his gloves.
After many failed attempts, Senju Kyogawa gradually gave up on using his "Flames" ability.
Senju Kyogawa had solved the problem of "warmth," but he still faced another major problem—
"Fullness"!
Senju Kyogawa hadn't had a full meal in several days.
Perhaps because shinobi didn't produce anything themselves, Senju Kyogawa had never seen a field in the Senju Clan Territory, let alone any clan members raising livestock.
That made winter in the Ninja World extremely harsh. Farmers in other countries also survived the winter on food harvested in the previous seasons. Most of their crops were handed over to nobles and daimyō, leaving no surplus to sell to shinobi.
As a result, shinobi had only two ways to get the food they needed for winter:
One: take contracts from the various countries and earn food.
Two: seize other shinobi clans' food reserves.
But this year, they had another debuff to contend with: the weather had been poor, and harvests in many countries were down. Some had even suffered complete crop failures.
Under such circumstances, daimyō naturally wouldn't hire shinobi in exchange for food. And even if shinobi were paid in money, it was difficult to buy large quantities of grain.
Because of this, all the shinobi clans were scraping by this winter. None had the energy to provoke another clan, and so the Ninja World had entered a brief period of peace.
The Senju Clan had more food reserves than the smaller clans, but most of its members were young, strong men with big appetites.
So even the Senju Clan couldn't guarantee that everyone would get enough to eat this winter. They could only make sure no one starved to death.
At this point, Senju Kyogawa couldn't help asking:
"Why doesn't the Senju Clan grow its own food? We're in an area with fertile land, good rainfall, and plenty of sunshine. Why can't we be self-sufficient?"
Senju Butsuma's explanation was that all the Senju Clan's able-bodied adult shinobi had to go out and take contracts, while those left behind were old, weak, or ill, and couldn't farm.
"Then why do we have to take contracts to get food? Wouldn't it be better to leave the able-bodied adults here to farm?"
But when Senju Kyogawa said this, Senju Butsuma actually replied with righteous conviction:
"Shinobi are born for missions."
Senju Kyogawa was completely baffled and utterly shocked.
Before you continue