Being Dim-Witted Had Its Upsides and Downsides

Seeing Might Duy come home, Bieshu Feifan kept dancing awkwardly with Might Guy as he said with a smile:

"You're back, Brother Duy. You haven't come running with me these past few days. Have you forgotten your youth?"

"Dad, look! I think I've found my own youth by following Uncle Feifan."

Might Guy greeted Might Duy while he danced.

Might Guy was only a novice at the social shuffle.

Because Bieshu Feifan, who had taught him, was a novice himself. He had cobbled together many of the moves from fragments of dances in his head.

Watching the two kids flailing about, Might Duy stood rooted to the spot, his expression completely frozen.

He had never imagined that youth could be so uninhibited.

At that moment, Might Duy suddenly understood the looks the villagers gave him. They were just like the look he was now giving Bieshu Feifan.

It really did cause a kind of physical discomfort.

"Brother Duy, come in and sit down. What are you standing in the doorway for? You're being far too formal. Make yourself at home. Don't stand on ceremony with your little brother. Youth isn't about being timid."

Might Duy stood there with a dark expression, holding himself back for a long while before remembering that this was his house.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped inside.

After eating, Might Duy sent Might Guy off to wash the dishes.

Only then did he lean close to Bieshu Feifan's ear and whisper:

"Well, Feifan, Might Guy is still young. If you have any creative ideas about youth, teach me first. He can learn them when he's older."

"You're being too polite, Brother Duy. We're brothers. If you want to learn, I'll teach you. But please give me some pointers on my Taijutsu too.

"You know how it is. When you study alone, you don't even know what flaws you have."

To keep Might Guy from being led astray, Might Duy clenched his fists, as though making a momentous decision.

"Of course, Feifan. From now on, whenever I have time, I'll run laps around Konoha every day.

"As for Taijutsu, we can burn... learn together."

Bieshu Feifan threw an arm around Might Duy, making him shudder.

"That's the spirit, Brother Duy! But what have you been busy with these past two days? How come I haven't seen you out on your morning runs?"

Might Duy's expression stiffened. No wonder this Bieshu Feifan dared to wander around looking like that.

There seemed to be something wrong with his head.

Might Duy felt as though he had vaguely grasped something.

When Bieshu Feifan left Might Duy's house, Might Guy was still reluctant to see him go.

That dance called the social shuffle felt so good to do.

Though it felt a little strange, and his dad didn't seem to like it much.

A few more days passed, and Bieshu Feifan's training went smoothly.

He just kept worrying that Hiruzen Sarutobi would send him to the battlefield again. He always felt less at ease here than he had staying with his son acquired on the cheap in the Land of Wind.

He felt the hair on the left side of his head. Quite a bit had grown back.

The three Hokage portraits had become indistinct. It was time for some maintenance.

So Bieshu Feifan wandered around, checking out several barbershops.

When they saw that he wanted to maintain his hairstyle rather than change it, none of them dared take the job.

Bieshu Feifan spat. Hiruzen Sarutobi was far too thin-skinned.

No wonder none of those jonin went to help him when Orochimaru attacked him in the future.

He even wanted to control people's freedom to get a haircut.

Although Bieshu Feifan didn't like his current hairstyle either, he feared that Hiruzen Sarutobi would drag him onto the battlefield if he acted too normal.

For now, Bieshu Feifan was still too weak.

Even Might Duy wasn't going. It would be best if he didn't have to go either.

Once he was older, when the Third Shinobi World War came around, Bieshu Feifan wouldn't have to do this to himself anymore.

As he wandered, he unwittingly arrived at that special barbershop again.

Bieshu Feifan hadn't held out any hope,

but,

the shop was open.

"Boss!"

As though he had found his savior, Bieshu Feifan rushed inside and grabbed the owner's hand.

"You've lost weight. It's all my fault you were hurt by the inherently evil Uchiha."

Seeing that it was Bieshu Feifan, the young owner looked quite gratified too.

"It's you? You're still alive!"

Bieshu Feifan's face darkened. What kind of thing was that to say?

But the owner ignored Bieshu Feifan's changing expression and grabbed his head, looking deeply pained.

"My masterpiece hasn't been maintained properly. Would you like a touch-up?"

"Of course. You've got the best skills in all of Konoha. Nobody else can do this job."

The barbershop owner grinned.

"Come on. Let me show you that my art never admits defeat."

Before long, Bieshu Feifan's hairstyle was restored, and he immediately felt much more confident.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's portrait once again sat lifelike above his left ear, making him look every bit like someone with a deformity.

After Bieshu Feifan left, two Anbu immediately cornered the smug barbershop owner.

"Abe Shopkeeper, you have once again committed the crime of deceiving an intellectually disabled child. On suspicion of dividing Konoha and deliberately insulting the Hokage, you are now formally under arrest."

With that, the two Anbu instantly took the shopkeeper down.

They shut down his barbershop once again,

then handed him over to the Uchiha's Konoha Military Police Force.

The shopkeeper went pale as he was dragged away.

Did the ninja of Konoha really understand so little about art?

They had actually arrested him twice over such a trivial matter.

The first time, he had thought the Uchiha were deliberately making trouble for him.

After all, the Uchiha's reputation spoke for itself. It was hardly surprising that they would persecute an art student.

But this time, it was the Anbu who had come,

which meant that Lord Hokage disliked art.

The shopkeeper's heart filled with disappointment.

There was no point staying in a Konoha like this.

It was just a shame about that child. He feared the boy would never find another kindred spirit.

Bieshu Feifan didn't know that the barbershop owner had been arrested right after he left.

Sporting his half-and-half hairstyle once again, he sang and danced his way home.

Even after all this time, his look still made him the most eye-catching kid in Konoha. Every passerby stopped to stare.

In the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi smoked in silence after hearing that Bieshu Feifan had restored his hairstyle again.

Word about Bieshu Feifan had already spread throughout Konoha. He could no longer stand an imbecile wandering around with his portrait on his head.

The more people knew, the more humiliated Hiruzen Sarutobi felt.

"Jiahu."

"Here. Your orders, Lord Hokage?"

"Find someone... find an Uchiha. Have him burn off Bieshu Feifan's hair under the pretext of sparring.

"Don't go too far."

After the Anbu left with his orders, Hiruzen Sarutobi deeply regretted not dealing with Bieshu Feifan sooner.

Meanwhile, Bieshu Feifan was in a very good mood with his hairstyle restored.

Besides, his development of Magnet Release had been progressing rapidly lately. It was time to get some quality metal to protect himself.

Tossing his head and strutting as though he owned the place, Bieshu Feifan headed straight for a weapons shop.

Although Konoha had its own arms factory, it didn't sell to the public. Everything was distributed centrally during wartime.

Bieshu Feifan arrived at a private weapons workshop and knocked on the door.

The apprentice who opened the door saw a kid with a half-and-half hairstyle and instantly remembered what the neighbors had been discussing lately. He couldn't help laughing.

"You're that Bieshu Feifan?"

Bieshu Feifan nodded.

"That's me. Lord Hokage's brother, the inheritor of the Will of Fire, and the future Hokage.

"If you want, I can let you have the same hairstyle as me. In the future, you can carve my portrait on the back of your head."

The apprentice laughed even harder. His laughter alerted the owner, and the apprentice got a beating.

"What would you like? We're a small business. Payment on delivery."

The owner was a middle-aged man. He held it in and didn't laugh, forcing his face to remain very serious.

"Give me two tons of chakra metal. Lord Hokage is my big brother."

The owner's expression stiffened.

"We don't have any. Only ordinary refined steel."

"None? Then I'll buy however much you have."

"We don't have a single gram. Sir, chakra metal is a controlled material. Private shops don't sell it, especially during wartime."

Bieshu Feifan's face darkened. So that really was the case?

But he was still disappointed.

"Forget it. Give me two hundred jin of refined steel weapons."

The owner paused.

"Buying by weight? You aren't choosing the types?"

"No. Any weapon works well in the hands of an outstanding ninja.

"Oh, and add a one-meter saber. The best you've got."

"All right. Whatever you say. Two hundred jin of weapons, plus a premium saber. Here's the price list. That'll be one million. At Lord Hokage's request, you get twenty percent off. Eight hundred thousand."

Hearing this, Bieshu Feifan gave an intrigued exclamation.

"A discount is nice, but why would my big brother give me a discount at your shop?"

The pawnshop owner chuckled, took out an elaborately bound document, and handed it to Bieshu Feifan.

Bieshu Feifan's face darkened after he read it.

At some point, Hiruzen Sarutobi had written an article about caring for intellectually disabled children and sent it to all the major shops in Konoha.

The example it cited was none other than Bieshu Feifan.

And Hiruzen Sarutobi had specifically requested that every shop receiving the document give Bieshu Feifan twenty percent off any purchase of one million or more.

Nobody dared refuse to honor Lord Hokage's request.

And although not many people knew Bieshu Feifan personally, quite a few knew of him.

With a dark expression, Bieshu Feifan paid eight hundred thousand ryo and left with a grim face.

Meanwhile, a pair of eyes watched him from the shadows.