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Megumi didn't know what to say to the man in front of him.
Me? A nobody? He clenched his fists. I am the first person to own Big Raga without even lifting a finger. You dare call me a nobody, when you are still a chunin at your age, and from one of the major clans at that?
He glared. "Don't worry. After those red-eyed thugs, your clan is next on my hit list."
Megumi was already in a foul mood, and for a moment he truly felt like killing the man here and now.
"Hahaha!" Megumi's laugh rang out. The sound startled the crowd, making them stop their chatter. They stared in surprise at the boy who could laugh in a situation that would have made grown men fold under pressure.
He giggled again and turned to Ayame, who looked like she wished the ground would swallow her whole.
"Ayame, can you believe this old fool called me a nobody?" Megumi said as he turned his back to Takumi.
Facing the pale-eyed Hyuga again, Megumi's expression darkened. He didn't care about the future. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to make this man shed tears of blood.
"Listen, kid," he said coldly. "My name is Megumi Nara. I'm from the Nara clan, which holds greater political power than your clan could ever dream of."
He stepped forward. "My father is the branch head, and the younger brother of Shikaku, adviser to the Hokage. That position alone is something your useless parents and your entire clan could never achieve."
He smirked. "My mother was once head of the ANBU division at your age, and a teammate of Sakumo Hatake himself. Now tell me, who is the nobody between us?"
The crowd gasped.
"Wow, he has a Shinobi background."
"That child really shows the pride of the Nara clan."
Whispers spread as opinions shifted. The same people who had doubted Megumi now changed their tone after learning of his lineage.
Takumi froze. He hadn't expected such a revelation. The crowd's support slipped away from him, and he realized he could not raise his hand against this boy without suffering severe punishment. Even his grandfather's influence as a Hyuga elder would not save him if he struck a child of the Nara.
The Hyuga aren't so special after all, he thought bitterly. Without the Byakugan, they're nothing but fodder.
..
Kurenai and Anko were walking down the road when they noticed a crowd gathered at Ichiraku Ramen. As they approached, they saw the same kid who had provoked them at the barbecue shop.Now here he was, arguing with a shinobi about what it means to have a dream.Anko scanned the crowd, not seeing the woman who had saved Megumi from their last encounter. "That spoiled brat's gonna get beaten today," she muttered.Listening to Megumi talk about war and the role of shinobi, Kurenai turned to her friend without taking her eyes off the boy. "Anko, what was your dream as a shinobi?""Wait… don't tell me that brat's influencing you now," Anko replied, caught off guard."My dream as a shinobi…" Anko trailed off, realizing she hadn't had one since Orochimaru abandoned her and fled the village.They watched as the Hyuga chunin reacted, insulting Megumi's background and dragging his parents into the argument."Come on, why'd he have to bring his parents into this?" Anko said, now feeling a pang of sympathy for Megumi. She understood the pain of having one's past thrown in their face.Kurenai, unsurprised by the Hyuga's response, said calmly, "His parents aren't useless.""What did you say?" Anko blinked, taken aback.Kurenai's words caught Anko off guard again. "What?!" She stared at her friend. "How do you know about him?"Kurenai explained, "After the incident at the barbecue shop, I told my father about it. He warned me to be careful. The reason we didn't escalate things was because Asuma is the son of the Third Hokage, and that woman already knew about our backgrounds."Anko was floored. Someone knew about her past? "Uncle really was respected in this village," she muttered."But why doesn't he have any shinobi traits?" Anko asked, puzzled."You remember the giant wolf spotted at the Hokage Monument?" Kurenai said. "My dad was among those who investigated the summon. According to Kakashi and Asuma, that boy Megumi was the one who owned the wolf. His mother was just protecting him from being treated like a weapon."