Childhood Arc: Birthday

After choosing the growable Conqueror's Haki, I felt a vast, hidden power surging within my body.

Conqueror's Haki... Thinking back to Luffy's unconscious releases early on, it always erupted whenever his emotions underwent intense upheaval.

Then...

I tried hard to recall all the things from my previous life that had made me uncomfortable—being bullied by classmates and wronged by teachers at school, my parents refusing to hear my explanations after I got home, idiot HR recruiters while job hunting, chattering coworkers, clients with way too much pointless crap, brain-dead supervisors, bosses who were complete assholes...

"Fuck you and your whole damn family!"

Unable to hold it in any longer, I blurted out a curse. Even though my emotions were already running high, there was still no sign of Conqueror's Haki manifesting.

It seemed I couldn't awaken it through such a simple method. I could only wait for the right moment, remember the sensation once it erupted, and turn it into a weapon afterward.

After several more fruitless attempts, I chose to go back to sleep.

After all, today was my birthday. Dad and Mom had both rarely managed to take some time off, and Rin, Obito, Kakashi, and the others would be coming over...

[Lord Qingyue, it is time to get up. Morning training should begin today.]

Early in the morning, Hill's voice woke me once again.

[Teacher Hill, today is my fifth birthday. Can't I take just one day off?]

I still had to undergo inhuman training on my birthday. Why did it feel like I had come to this world only to continue living under a 996 work schedule?

[Please get up, Lord Qingyue. Otherwise, I will have to sexually harass you.]

The moment I heard that, it hit me like thunder. My body sprang out of bed with a whoosh, like a green frog with its spring wound tight.

Who was she kidding? Every time she said something like that, nothing good followed. It was way too R-rated...

After quickly washing up, I took a pair of bright tan shorts from the wardrobe and put them on, then casually grabbed a white undershirt and a light khaki short-sleeved button-up.

It might have been summer, but this was still the Shinobi World before industrialization. The early morning chill could still make people feel cold, so I chose to wear an extra layer.

I arrived at a training ground and walked over to the river to look at my reflection.

Mm, medium-length golden hair parted seven-three, a pair of beautiful emerald-green eyes, and although my features had yet to fully settle, they already looked quite refined.

All right!

After my usual stretches, I started with physical training. By the time I had finished several sets of running and jumping drills meant to improve explosive power, I was drenched in sweat, my undershirt soaked as though I had been dunked in water.

[Teacher Hill, could you make today's schedule a little easier? It's my birthday, after all. Rin and the others will be here this afternoon, and I don't want to greet them with my whole body feeling weak.]

If I trained at my usual intensity, I would have only half a life left by the end. How could I possibly have the strength to celebrate my birthday then?

[Don't worry, Lord Qingyue. Although you will still train to exhaustion as usual, I will provide you with a special recovery potion today. Once you take it, you will immediately regain your energy, so you need not worry about lacking the strength for your birthday party.]

[If you had something this good, why didn't you bring it out earlier?! Give me one after every training session, and I wouldn't have to suffer this much!]

[You cannot, Lord Qingyue. First, this potion is extremely precious. I would like to save it for when you truly need it.]

Actually, I truly needed it every day... Had she ever seen Konoha at four in the morning?

[Second, if you rely on potions to cancel out your fatigue every time, the effects of your training will definitely suffer. Lord Qingyue, you do not want to train for nothing, do you?]

[I...]

Forget it. Hill was doing this for my own good.

Thinking about it carefully, training was indeed grueling, but in return, I could clearly feel myself growing stronger every day.

The progress was slight, but that was still better than making no progress at all.

After physical training came sword swings, followed by punching wooden posts. Then I transformed into Fenrir Werewolf Form to chop rocks, and finally wrapped up by fighting multiple Shadow Clones.

Training like that continued until noon. Exhausted beyond measure, I lay in the shade like a dog by the roadside in summer, panting with my tongue hanging out. I was soaked from head to toe; anyone who didn't know better would have thought I had gone swimming.

[You have worked hard, Lord Qingyue. This is a universal recovery potion. Just drink it directly.]

A tube resembling the kind used for blood tests suddenly appeared in my hand, filled with translucent blue potion.

Without hesitation, I downed it in one gulp and waited eagerly for the effects to kick in.

Very soon, an unprecedented wave of extreme comfort washed over me, making me moan involuntarily. It felt as refreshing as chewing mint and taking a gulp from a glass packed with Sprite and ice, as satisfying as finally taking a dump after being constipated for a week, like rain after a long drought, like finding a fire in the snow, like sixteen-degree air conditioning in summer, like a rural stove in winter...

There was no more comfortable feeling in the world. Not even that moment at night when studying got exciting and I made milk could compare to this.

"Ahh... That feels amazing..."

After recovering completely, I happily skipped all the way home, took a bath, ate a simple lunch, and quietly waited for my friends to arrive in the afternoon.

At around one o'clock, the first to arrive was naturally Rin, whom I thought about day and night despite the fact that we were actually together every day.

Today, she wasn't wearing her usual outfit, but a white little dress that didn't quite fit the image of a ninja.

The sunlight fell over her, and for an instant, I thought an angel had descended. Just kidding—she was even cuter than an angel.

"Rin, you look so beautiful today."

Upon hearing that, Rin turned her head away. Oh? Oh? Was she embarrassed? As expected of King Qingyue. I had effortlessly accomplished what Obito had failed to do despite spending his entire life trying.

"Qingyue, you also... look very handsome."

"Thanks. I know."

Seeing that I had no reaction whatsoever, Rin got a little upset and threw two soft, limp punches at me. They had no strength behind them, but they still made me want to smile. She was simply adorable.

"Alright, no more messing around. Come in first—the sun is blazing outside. Rin, you were the first one here. My parents went out to buy supplies for the birthday party, so I was just getting bored by myself."

"You didn't go with them?"

Rin carefully stepped into my home, her curious eyes looking around at everything.

After all, she had passed by my door several times without coming in. The places where we usually played weren't far from my home, and Rin's house happened to be along the same route, so we passed by every time.

"If I had gone with them, wouldn't you have been standing foolishly at the door waiting for me? It's rare to see you wearing such a pretty outfit. I wanted to see you at your most perfect as soon as possible."

Perhaps she had already finished blushing at the door, so Rin didn't show much of a reaction on the surface. But when she sat down on the sofa, she suddenly lost her balance and nearly landed flat on her butt, exposing everything at once.

"Ha ha ha ha..."

I really couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. Rin properly punished me with her soft fists, and then I spent three minutes coaxing her back into a good mood.

This was the humble... mysterious power of an outsider who had watched countless videos in his previous life and spent years searching for flirting techniques on Douyin!

Though really, I had just applied by analogy the things Hill usually said to tease me. As expected of my teacher—could she have been training this ability every day for the sake of my happiness?

Rin and I sat very close together on the sofa. We had already held hands, after all, so this little bit of distance didn't matter.

"Oh, right. The birthday party hasn't officially started yet, but I should give you your present first."

With that, Rin took out the white gift bag she had brought. At first, I thought it was her little backpack. So it was a present for me.

This was the first time I had received such beautifully wrapped birthday gift from a girl. Thank you for bringing me to this new world.

I opened the gift bag, and inside the box was... a sword guard?

It looked like two dark-blue crescent moons crossing each other. The words "Qingyue" were carved into it, along with patterns symbolizing the moon and water.

It had a satisfying weight to it. It looked as though Rin had bought it using the pocket money she had saved up herself, but the patterns on it didn't seem like the work of a professional craftsman. Perhaps...

"D-Do you like it? Hehe, I practiced carving for a long time. I can't afford to give you a good ninja sword yet, so I gave you a sword guard first."

Looking at Rin's innocent and adorable smile, I suddenly felt like such a bastard for choosing Conqueror's Haki instead of choosing a staff to give Rin!

Still, the sword guard was truly beautiful. It wasn't too flashy, so it wouldn't affect my sword swings. Most importantly, Rin had carved my name onto it herself.

"Thank you, Rin. I'll keep using this sword guard from now on. I'll put it on a ninja sword that protects Konoha! Only the strongest ninja sword deserves this sword guard!"

"Where are you going to find the strongest ninja sword?"

"Heh heh heh... I'm the man who will end the war and protect Konoha. Naturally, the ninja sword in my hand will be the strongest ninja sword!"

"Is that so? Then this sword guard has certainly gotten lucky."

...After chatting for a while, there came another knock on the door. Konoha's white-haired, masked, brooding pretty boy had arrived.

"Yo. Happy birthday."

After coolly delivering that blessing that didn't sound like a blessing at all, Kakashi unceremoniously sat down at the dining table, took out a scroll, and began reading.

This guy was really rude...

At this point in time, Kakashi received far too much praise. His father was the famous White Fang Sakumo, so he could be said to have been surrounded by admiration wherever he went.

Ever since he had suffered a setback at my hands last time, he had been looking at me with hostility. Still, he hadn't challenged me to a duel.

Unlike Obito, that fool who insisted on charging in even when he knew he couldn't win, Kakashi was probably holding back some big move and planning to use it all at once.

But if he waited any longer... I would practically have learned Silent Sword. And if I mastered Haki too, one slash would turn him into a real scarecrow.

Before long, the other friends I usually played with arrived as well. Most of them were children from civilian families, and only one or two of them might attend Ninja Academy.

After all, this was a special period. Once they entered Ninja Academy, they could be sent to the battlefield at any time, and not every family could afford the academy tuition.

Finally, close to dinner, Obito arrived at last, panting heavily and covered in torn, filthy clothes.

Looking at him, it seemed he had been hit by the ultimate genjutsu: Izanamilk.

"Sorry, sorry! Today was seriously miserable. I ran into an old lady right after leaving home after lunch and helped her rescue a cat. Then I had to move goods, clean her yard, fight a wild dog that had stolen an old man's grandson's toy, and there was also, and also..."

At first, I had always thought Obito's stories were exaggerated, until I witnessed it with my own eyes now.

Mm, at the very least, this kid wouldn't lack a girlfriend in the future. Taking Rin from him wouldn't affect his happiness in life.

Besides, I would stop Madara from luring him away. Strictly speaking, he should be thanking me!

After that little episode, dinner began. It was the most luxurious meal we had had in five years. Not only was there a huge cake, but every ingredient was top-notch.