The smile on the Third's face stiffened.
A moment later, the old man forgot all about the pipe beside him. He rose from his chair, rounded the desk, and strode over to Uzumaki Hayashi, crouching down to meet the child's eyes.
"What's wrong?" His voice grew soft and gentle. "Where does it hurt? If you're sick, just tell Grandpa Third."
As he asked, his heart had already begun to ache.
When the boy had pushed the door open and rushed in, he'd been surprised, wondering what had gotten into him today that he'd even forgotten to knock.
So that was it.
He was sick, feeling too unwell to worry about manners.
And the Third had actually reproached him in his heart.
The child's first thought upon getting sick had been to come to him, yet the moment he walked through the door, the Third had silently found fault with him.
The more the Third thought about it, the worse he felt. Guilt washed over him in waves, and he hurried to ask again:
"Where exactly does it hurt? Don't be afraid, child. Grandpa will take you to a doctor right now."
Looking at the old face before him, its wrinkles bunching up with worry, Uzumaki Hayashi finally felt the weight lift from his heart.
It worked.
Judging by that reaction, the old man had completely fallen for his helpless act.
On the outside, he still looked uncertain, but inwardly, he was already grinning from ear to ear, even making faces at the Third in his mind:
See that? That's what you call acting! That expression, that tone, those pauses-back in my last life, this would've earned me at least one Oscar.
Of course, the Third couldn't hear a single word of that.
He stepped back twice, putting a little distance between them, and spoke quietly:
"Grandpa Third, you... you don't need to rush me to a doctor just yet."
As he spoke, he held out one hand, palm up.
Right before the Third's eyes, an ice spike slowly condensed above his palm, its sharp tip catching the evening sunlight slanting through the window.
The concern on the Third's face slowly froze.
He remained motionless in his crouch, his gaze fixed on the ice spike, unable to look away.
There was no mistaking it.
Others might not recognize it, but how could he fail to? This was a genuine product of chakra. Both of the boy's hands had been empty when he entered. He couldn't possibly have brought something like this with him.
In other words, the boy had condensed this ice spike right in front of him.
The old man's heart gave a heavy thump.
Ice Release-a kekkei genkai.
This child carried the bloodline for Ice Release?
But...
The Third's train of thought suddenly stalled.
As far as he knew, Ice Release was a kekkei genkai belonging to a lineage in Kirigakure. How could a red-haired boy from the Uzumaki Clan carry Kirigakure blood?
Kirigakure had sealed itself off over the past several years, keeping outsiders from entering. Even he rarely managed to obtain intelligence from there. The last news he'd heard was that they were ruthlessly purging people with kekkei genkai within the village.
Could it be... that this child's parents had something to do with that?
The old man remained crouched there without speaking for a long time.
Uzumaki Hayashi had no idea what storms were raging in the old man's mind.
All he saw was the Third staring at his ice spike, then slipping into a daze, his brows drawing tighter and tighter without a word.
Oh, no.
What was this old man thinking?
Was he taking this in a bad direction?
If he started finding problems, wouldn't my Ice Release fall through when I was only halfway to getting it out in the open? Worse still, wouldn't I have to pack my things and report to that king of scapegoats at Root?
Absolutely not!
"Um... Lord Third."
Uzumaki Hayashi hurried to speak, keeping his voice low and cautiously tentative.
"What kind of illness is this, exactly? If... if it really is an illness, I can leave Konoha right now so I don't cause the village any trouble."
Those words cut the Third's thoughts short.
The old man snapped back to his senses. Looking at the red-haired child before him, at that little face trying so hard to appear sensible, he felt a sharp blow to the softest part of his heart.
Leave for where?
Where could he go?
Uzushio Village was gone, and so was his home. In the whole world, Konoha was the only place he had left. This child had discovered something inexplicable within his body, and his first thought had actually been to avoid troubling the village-to leave without a fuss.
Still crouching, the old man raised a hand to ruffle that red hair and sighed.
"You're not sick, child."
His voice was even gentler than before.
"You've awakened something remarkable."
"Huh?"
Uzumaki Hayashi looked up, his eyes wide and round, his face blank with confusion.
"What remarkable thing?"
The Third didn't answer immediately.
The old man fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly:
"There must have been certain powers in your bloodline all along."
Well, damn.
Uzumaki Hayashi immediately gave the old man a mental thumbs-up.
See that? See that? I haven't made up a single word yet, and he's already found the answer himself! It matches the script I prepared perfectly!
"Oh, right." The Third stood up, as though something had suddenly occurred to him. "When did this first appear?"
"Last night," Uzumaki Hayashi answered promptly.
"Did you feel anything when you used it?"
"Just... a little cool," Uzumaki Hayashi answered obediently. "Nothing else."
"A little cool... that's good. That's good."
The old man repeated his reassurance, then patted the boy's shoulder, a smile returning to his face.
"You did the right thing. From now on, whether something feels wrong with your body or something's weighing on your mind, come straight to Grandpa just like you did today. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
"You don't need to worry about anything else," the Third told him, emphasizing every word. "Grandpa will figure things out for you from here."
Uzumaki Hayashi nodded obediently.
"All right, it's getting late. Go on home." The Third waved, signaling that he could leave.
Uzumaki Hayashi bowed, turned, and left the office.
The door closed behind him. He retraced his steps downstairs, unable to suppress his smile the entire way.
From today onward, his Ice Release was an "awakening" acknowledged by the Third himself. He could use it however he liked, with every justification. The old man had already taken responsibility for the scrolls, too. Could they be far off now?
This visit had been more than worth it.
Inside the office, the Third stood by the window instead of returning to his seat.
The evening sunlight slanted in through the window, casting his long shadow across the floor.
The old man's gaze passed through the window and settled on the road below-that little red-haired figure was heading home, growing more distant with every step.
He stood there like that, watching for a long time.
Ice Release, Uzumaki, Kirigakure, kekkei genkai... those words kept circling in his mind.
After a long while, the old man withdrew his gaze and looked toward Hokage Rock, silently murmuring to himself.
Could Konoha be gaining another kekkei genkai family...?
Before you continue