Chapter 4 Return Home
As the teacher dismissed the class, the young children scattered.
On the way home from school, everyone was chattering excitedly; the first day of school had made these young Ninjas exceptionally thrilled.
Kakuki's home was not far from the Ninja School. For his first day, he wanted to try walking home alone, so he declined his parents' offer to pick him up.
"Brother, you're back!"
As soon as Kakuki reached home, he heard his younger brother Iruka's excited shout, and then a "round little ball" jumped into Kakuki's embrace.
Kakuki quickly held Iruka tightly to prevent him from falling.
He gently stroked Iruka's head and asked, "Iruka, why didn't you play with your friends today?"
"No!" Iruka tilted his head back, giggling, "Because I was waiting for Brother outside the whole time!"
"Is school fun? Brother must be a powerful Ninja now!" Stars sparkled in Iruka's eyes.
"Hehe, you'll know when Iruka grows up and goes to school..."
"Why won't you tell me now?" Iruka puffed out his cheeks.
"Because if I tell you now, it won't be as interesting when you go to school..."
"Hahaha..." "Hehehe..." The two brothers laughed happily.
Carrying his younger brother, he pushed open the door, and a long-lost aroma wafted in. Kakuki's nostrils flared rapidly. Ah, it was Mother's scent.
Under the warm lamplight, Mother Sho was preparing dinner, while Father Umino Ikkaku sat on the sofa, calmly reading the newspaper.
It wasn't that Umino Ikkaku didn't want to help his wife with some chores, but as soon as he tried to intervene, he was politely "asked" to leave. Sho then casually handed a newspaper to her husband.
Ever since Umino Ikkaku received the newspaper, he had been sitting on the sofa reading it, though his eyes occasionally glanced outward, as if anticipating his son's return.
It wasn't until Kakuki met Iruka outside that Umino Ikkaku adopted such a composed demeanor.
What Kakuki didn't know was that as he reached his doorstep and embraced Iruka, a Shadow Clone, whose name was not to be revealed, silently dissipated nearby.
Seeing his children enter, Father leaped from the sofa and pounced towards the two brothers. Iruka instantly jumped from Kakuki's arms into Father's, and Kakuki, who tried to dodge, was also pulled into Father's embrace.
"Hahaha!" Father laughed heartily, one large hand playfully ruffling Kakuki's hair. "You're so naughty, trying to escape Father's loving embrace!"
To be honest, although Kakuki, having lived two lives, had long accepted his parents and brother, his mature soul found it difficult to accept Father's "childish" father-son interactions.
This included games too; Kakuki had hardly played any "Ninja games." He genuinely had little interest in such pretend play.
This also meant that Kakuki had practically no friends before attending Ninja School...
Perhaps in Father's eyes, such a Kakuki was definitely introverted, and so, to make his son more lively, these "childish" father-son interactions might have come about...
It was a rare day for both Father and Mother to be home, so Kakuki took the opportunity to observe his parents' attributes.
Name: Umino Ikkaku
Overall Combat Power: A
Chakra Amount: 2.9 units
Attributes: Water, Lightning, Yang
Name: Umino Kohari
Overall Combat Power: A
Chakra Amount: 1.3 units
Attributes: Wind, Fire, Yin
Kakuki wasn't surprised; it was normal for both his parents, being Jonin, to have A-level combat power.
It seemed that A-level combat power was the Jonin rank. The Chunin teacher he saw at school today had C-level combat power, so B should be Special Jonin, and D was the Genin level.
Kakuki roughly guessed that he was currently E, just a regular student. Then the Hokage might be at least S.
Currently, Kakuki hadn't seen many others' attributes, but he would be able to cross-reference them more in the future.
He just hadn't expected his gentle Mother to have Wind and Fire attributes, and his steady, reliable Father to have Water and Lightning attributes. Could it be that Chakra attributes really had no relation to personality?
Also, judging by Father and Mother's Chakra amounts, did every Jonin have more Chakra than Kakashi?
Father's Chakra was as high as 2.9 units. Kakuki made a blind guess that it might be related to his Yang attribute.
Kakuki himself also possessed the Yang attribute, so in the future, his Chakra might not necessarily be less than Umino Ikkaku's.
Furthermore, Kakuki also had a system.
"Dinner's ready, little ones." Sho gently brought out the prepared dishes. Father and the two little ones quickly went to help.
Mother had made several dishes today, and in no time, the entire table was covered.
Kakuki inhaled the long-lost aroma, looked at the table full of dishes, and quickly tilted his head back to prevent tears of excitement from flowing. Iruka, mimicking him, also tilted his head back, his eyes brimming with tears.
The two brothers exchanged glances and nodded heavily: Today, they finally didn't have to eat instant noodles with Father!
Heaven help them, on days when Mother wasn't home, the two brothers, with their father who couldn't cook, ate various instant foods, including but not limited to instant noodles, ramen, and various braised and cooked dishes.
Poor little Iruka finally endured until Father went on a mission, and then he continued to eat various instant foods with his brother, who also couldn't cook, including but not limited to instant noodles, ramen, and various braised and cooked dishes...
It's so good to have Mother!
Sho gently tilted her head, looking at the two playful little ones, with great confusion in her eyes: "What's wrong, Kakuki, Iruka? Is it not to your taste?"
"No, no! Mother's cooking is too delicious!"
"Then..." Sho turned to Umino Ikkaku in confusion.
Knowing his own affairs, Umino Ikkaku awkwardly buried his head in his food: "It's nothing, Sho, maybe the children are just too happy to see you, hehehehe..."
Sho smiled slightly, looking at the father and two sons in front of her.
After dinner, Sho stopped her husband and two children who were rushing to wash the dishes, took a deep breath, and said, "I've decided to go to the Sealing Team tomorrow to resign as a Ninja."
Umino Ikkaku was startled, then said strangely, "Sho, that's not like you." The Sho Umino Ikkaku knew was very career-driven.
"But it's nothing, Sho, it's good for you to rest at home. And," Umino Ikkaku thought for a moment, "our house mortgage actually only has a few years left, and with our family savings, I can manage alone."
"And, the children love Mother the most."
Seeing her husband's understanding, Sho smiled with relief: "And, if Mother isn't home, the children are too pitiful." Sho silently hid the latter half of her unspoken thought. Poor Iruka, with neither Father, Mother, nor Brother at home...
"Hooray!" Iruka, who reacted first, jumped into Sho's arms, shouting happily.
Looking at his gentle Mother, reliable Father, and adorable younger brother, Kakuki smiled warmly, then stepped forward and embraced his parents and brother.
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