Mikoto, You Wouldn't Want...

Night had fallen. Uchiha Clan Grounds, Training Ground No. 8.

"Hey! Ha!"

Smack! Smack! Smack!

A black-haired girl with long straight hair was diligently striking a wooden post, alternating between fists and kicks, every blow packed with force.

The surface of the post glistened with sweat. She panted heavily, loose strands of hair plastered to her forehead, yet her movements did not pause in the slightest.

Her expression was stern, her lips pressed tight, and her eyes brimmed with grim determination—as if the post before her were some sworn enemy who could not coexist under the same sky.

"Zhili, why are you training so late today?"

The girl stopped and glanced back.

At the edge of the training ground stood another tall girl with the same long, straight black hair, dressed in a light kimono. Her eyes curved gently with warmth.

"Big sis, why are you here?"

"Zhili is being naughty," Mikoto Uchiha said as she approached gracefully, her footsteps soft. "You used to call me Big Sis."

Zhili Uchiha pursed her lips and turned her little face slightly away. "...I'm already a second-year, sis."

Mikoto chuckled and walked over, taking out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her sister's forehead.

"Alright, alright. Zhili is cutest when she's being stubborn.

So, may this second-year student Zhili tell her sister why she trained so late today?

Even if this is the clan grounds, the family will worry if you stay out too late."

Zhili fell silent for a moment, lowering her head to look at the backs of her reddened hands. "Sorry, sis."

Mikoto rubbed her hair. "Why is little Zhili apologizing? We're family. There's no need to say things like that. Come home with me."

"Okaaay~!"

On the way home, Zhili Uchiha finally could not hold it in any longer and told her everything that had happened at school.

From how that red-haired Mirai Uzumaki had tied up more than a dozen classmates with Adamantine Sealing Chains on his very first day after transferring in,

to how he had landed three Kunai in a vertical line dead center on the target during throwing class,

and then how he had suspended her in midair with a single chain during combat class today—

By the time she described that "spread-eagle" position, Zhili's voice had grown quieter and quieter, and even the tips of her ears had turned crimson.

Mikoto listened with a smile on her face, though a trace of seriousness quietly flickered in her eyes.

"So Zhili wants to train even harder, then defeat that boy named Mirai Uzumaki, right?"

"Mm!" Zhili clenched her fists. "I'll definitely defeat him! And I'll defeat him fairly!"

Mikoto looked at her sister's blazing eyes and gently stroked her head. "Got it. Your sister supports you, but—"

"What?"

"But tomorrow, I want to take a look at this Mirai Uzumaki," Mikoto said with a smile. "Just from afar. I promise I won't interrupt your classes."

Zhili froze. "Why?"

"Because your sister wants to see what kind of boy has made our Zhili care so much."

"Big sis~!" Zhili's face reddened even more. "I don't care about him! I care about how to defeat him!"

"Yes, yes, defeat him~ You can do it, Zhili!"

"Hmph!"

Early the next morning.

Mirai Uzumaki and Kushina Uzumaki walked side by side toward school, their red hair especially striking in the morning light.

He yawned as he walked, but his eyes sharpened for an instant.

There it is again.

Within the sensing range of Mind's Eye of the Kagura, that presence had appeared again, roughly thirty meters behind and to his left.

Its breathing was steady, and its concealment technique was highly skilled.

But before Mind's Eye of the Kagura, it was no different from holding up a sign that read, "I'm watching you."

"What's wrong?" Kushina noticed something off about him and tilted her head.

"Nothing. Just a little sleepy." Mirai brushed it off and continued forward as if nothing had happened.

He quietly withdrew his senses.

It could not be helped. He was a candidate for the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, so it was normal for the Hokage to send someone to watch him.

The Anbu surveillance irritated him, but he did not have the power to flip the table yet.

Even when picking up girls, he had to be watched by Anbu... what kind of crap was that?

He sighed inwardly. Once he became the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki and gained enough strength, the first thing he would do was drive the Anbu away from his side.

But becoming a Jinchuriki also meant Grandma Mito...

At that thought, his steps paused as an indescribable emotion surged through his heart.

Though they had not spent much time together, that kind old woman who always sat beneath the corridor drinking tea, smiling as she watched them fool around, had unknowingly claimed an important place in his heart.

Perhaps it was because Mirai, in his previous life, had never experienced such gentle affection?

"Don't think about it," he muttered softly. "Just let things take their course."

Kushina leaned closer. "What did you say?"

"I said—the weather's nice today."

"Eh~ Mirai... why have you been acting so mysterious lately?"

"These are the troubles of an adult. You wouldn't understand."

"Huh? I'm older than you! You're only seven!"

The two bickered all the way to the school gate.

Just as they reached the entrance, a figure stepped in front of them.

It was a black-haired girl with long straight hair, a head taller than them. She wore the dark kimono commonly seen among the Uchiha Clan, her delicate face carrying both gentleness and a trace of dignified grace.

She was around eleven or twelve, but already undeniably beautiful.

"Hi~! Are you Mirai Uzumaki?"

The girl leaned forward slightly. Her tone was mild, but her gaze held a hint of scrutiny.

Mirai paused, then looked up and examined her.

Long straight black hair, the Uchiha Clan crest, features somewhat similar to that aloof little black-haired girl—but an entirely different temperament—

One was an iceberg, the other a spring breeze.

Information raced through his mind, and his eyes widened slightly.

"No way! You're—Mikoto Uchiha?"

"Mm." Mikoto nodded gently, somewhat surprised. "You know me?"

"I've heard of you." Mirai kept a straight face, though waves had already risen in his heart.

This was Mikoto Uchiha? The Uchiha Clan's number one beauty? Fugaku's square-faced fiancée?

She was already this pretty at eleven or twelve. What would she be like in a few years?

How could that weak, square-faced guy Fugaku possibly deserve her!

His thoughts spun rapidly, but he maintained a polite smile on the surface. "Did you need something from me, Senior Mikoto?"

Mikoto looked at him, slightly surprised as well.

This little boy was even more... pleasant-looking than Zhili had described.

His red hair carried a soft sheen beneath the sunlight, his features were well-proportioned, and though he was still young, one could already tell he would grow into a handsome boy.

And when a senior student suddenly blocked his path, he remained calm and composed.

"I heard that during combat class yesterday, you fought my younger sister," Mikoto said directly.

"I came to ask you something—if you two meet again in the future, could you... go a little easy on her?

Just don't let her lose too badly."

Her tone was earnest, and there was a trace of heartache in her eyes.

Zhili was stubborn. After returning home last night, she had practiced hand seals alone in her room until midnight. When she got up this morning, her fingers were still trembling.

How could an older sister not feel heartbroken seeing that?

Mirai blinked, then smiled.

"Senior Mikoto, I think—" He slipped his hands into his pockets, his tone serious. "Going easy on her wouldn't be appropriate. With Zhili Uchiha's personality, she wouldn't accept someone holding back against her."

Mikoto froze. She opened her mouth to say something, but then realized he was right.

That girl Zhili truly hated being pitied more than anything.

She sighed, ready to give up and turn away.

"However—"

Mirai's voice caught up to her from behind.

"I can avoid bullying her quite so badly. For example, I won't use that... well, that more embarrassing kind of binding. I'll try to let her lose with some dignity."

Mikoto turned around, surprise and anticipation in her eyes.

"But," Mirai said, raising one finger, "I have one condition."

"What condition?"

"I can't tell Senior Mikoto yet! But I can guarantee it won't be anything too excessive."

Mikoto's brows furrowed slightly as she gave Mirai another careful look.

He wore a gentle smile, looking completely harmless.

Yet for some reason, she felt that something was strange.

"Mikoto, you wouldn't want—Zhili to be hung in midair in a spread-eagle pose every combat class, would you?"

That made Mikoto feel even stranger. She frowned. "Alright, I agree."

"However—if Zhili challenges you on her own initiative, you can't deliberately lose to her. That child has a lot of pride. If you intentionally lose to her, she'll be even sadder."

"Deal." Mirai held out his hand.

Mikoto paused for a moment, then reached out and lightly shook it.

His hand was small, but his grip was firm.

"It's a promise." Mikoto smiled faintly, and that smile beneath the morning sunlight made Mirai's heart itch.

After Mikoto had gone far away, Kushina suddenly jabbed Mirai in the waist. "Hey! What did you say to that pretty Uchiha sister? Why were you even shaking hands?"

"Nothing much. We just reached a small cooperation agreement."

"An agreement? Don't tell me you're selling your looks?"

"Hey, hey—what do you mean, selling my looks? Do I look like that kind of person?"

"Hmph, your eyes were practically squinting into slits from how hard you were smiling!"

"...You saw it wrong."

The two noisily entered the school building. Not far behind them, an Anbu figure silently appeared from the shadows of a tree for an instant before swiftly vanishing again.

In the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi set down the dossier in his hands. After listening to the Anbu report, he lightly tapped his pipe.

"Mikoto Uchiha... how did Mirai's affairs get tangled up with her again?"

He thought for a moment, then merely shook his head.

Children's matters were best left to the children. As long as they did not cause any trouble, it was fine.

Meanwhile, in a corner of the Uchiha Clan Grounds, Fugaku Uchiha, who was wiping down a Kunai, suddenly sneezed.

"Strange... why do I feel a chill down my back?"