Kindness Without a Reason

"I'm not too sure either. Maybe? This house was already here when I was born, so I don't really know its history."

Tsunade led Eiji into the grounds. Kushina rushed ahead, humming as she pushed open the door of the Ancestral Home. She wanted to tell Grandma Mito that Eiji was all right.

Tsunade then brought Eiji to the house, but he politely stopped at the doorway instead of walking straight in.

It was someone else's home, after all, and that someone was Mito Uzumaki. Barging in would have been rude.

Seeing that Eiji wasn't going inside, Nawaki grinned and came over to him.

"Hey, you got pretty lucky! Kushina told me what happened. That Root Ninja attacked you, right? Danzo really is awful. I've disliked him for ages—who's that sour face for, anyway? And sending someone to attack a villager? He's rotten!"

Nawaki clapped Eiji on the shoulder and told him they were all family now, so there was no need to be so formal. Then he pulled him over to Mito Uzumaki.

"It's an honor to meet you, Lady Mito."

Eiji bowed his head. Just because Nawaki had told him not to be formal didn't mean he could dispense with manners. Mito was someone even the Daimyo treated with deference.

Though Mito Uzumaki was elderly, her eyes were remarkably clear. She studied Eiji, using the Nine-Tails' abilities to sense what lay in the boy's heart.

He was still a child, but he might be living with them often from now on. She had to learn what she could in advance. Yet when she sensed Eiji's almost unguarded affection, she was taken aback.

Such feelings couldn't be faked. As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, she could easily sense how others felt about the people around them. This boy, Eiji, had met them for the first time and already felt nearly boundless goodwill toward every one of them.

She could understand him liking Kushina and feeling fond of her. But why did he feel the same goodwill toward Mito herself?

Surprise flickered across her face, but she quickly composed herself and spoke gently.

"Don't be so stiff, child. Think of this place as your own home from now on. As for the Ninja who attacked you, Tsunade and I will see that you're treated fairly."

Did she just use the Nine-Tails' power to check whether I was hostile?

Eiji thought that was perfectly reasonable. He would have done the same in her place. And judging by her surprised expression, he understood what she had found.

With his knowledge of the original story, he knew this family was made up of genuinely good people. He had no reason to be wary of them. Even people who loved pushing conspiracy theories about the Hokage couldn't find fault with Mito Uzumaki or Tsunade.

They were willing to take him in and stand up for him. If he still held back, that would say more about him than about them.

"Eiji, can't you turn your eyes off at will?"

Mito Uzumaki hadn't wanted to ask outright when they had just met. Now that they were a little more familiar, and she had sensed Eiji's goodwill, she raised the question.

"I don't think I can. They're like the Byakugan in that respect. I can't turn them off myself."

Eiji answered honestly. If the eyes the system had given him constantly flooded him with useless information, he would have tied a black cloth over them, just like Satoru Gojo.

Mito Uzumaki lowered her head in thought, then looked at Tsunade. Tsunade nodded and spoke.

"Kid, you may already know this, but your eyes could be an ocular Kekkei Genkai like those of the Uchiha or the Hyuga Clan. They might be a stroke of luck, but they could also bring trouble you don't expect. Because you can't turn them off, anyone who covets your power could make you a target. And we can't yet rule out a hereditary disease."

Tsunade was frank about it. Eiji's eyes certainly looked like a Kekkei Genkai, but a Kekkei Genkai was, in essence, an inherited mutation.

And mutations could just as easily develop in a harmful direction. The chances of one becoming something like the Sharingan or Byakugan were vanishingly small. For all they knew, those eyes might shorten his life.

"Lady Tsunade, you're the best medical Ninja in the village. Could I ask you to examine my eyes?"

After Tsunade had laid it out so plainly, Eiji had no reason to refuse.

Still, he didn't believe he had any hereditary disease. The eyes came from the system. If it had given him defective goods, there was no one he could complain to.

Tsunade wasted no more words. She had Eiji lie down on a bed and immediately began her examination.

Seeing Tsunade's serious expression, Kushina bit her lip. She worried that something might be wrong with her future "good friend."

What if something happens to Eiji because of his eyes? Will these feelings end just as they've begun? No, please don't.

She recalled tragic love stories she had read, where the stronger and more beautiful someone was, the more likely they were to die young. Her stomach tightened with worry.

But Tsunade was the most surprised of all. She took Eiji's pulse and found that the Chakra flowing through him was astonishingly powerful, almost on par with her own. Could a child really have this much Chakra?

Could it be a special power granted by those eyes?

Yet she could detect nothing unusual around Eiji's eyes. She had examined members of the Uchiha and Hyuga Clan before; their Chakra gathered in large amounts near their eyes, a distinctive trait of those with ocular Kekkei Genkai.

What she saw in Ryuuzaki Eiji suggested his eyes had no special power at all. But then how could she explain their deep-sea blue?

Unable to make sense of it, Tsunade moved on to a routine examination. Hmm... he seemed exceptionally healthy in every respect. Considering Kushina's future happiness, she also checked Eiji's more private attributes. Her brows twitched, and even her fingers trembled.

Well, would you look at that. No need to worry about Kushina's future happiness.

"Ahem..." Tsunade felt no shame over what she had just done. He was only a child, after all. The corner of her mouth lifted as she said lightly, "Good. You're healthy all around! There's no sign of a hereditary disease."

"Really? That's wonderful!"

Kushina jumped for joy. She didn't want the good friend she had only just met to have a terminal illness.

"Your eyes still need further examination. But as a Ninja, your personal information is classified, so the choice is yours. I promise I won't tell anyone what I learn about you—not even the Hokage."

Tsunade looked at Eiji solemnly, hoping he wouldn't misunderstand her.