Watching the village ahead burn fiercely in the dead of night, Kyusei felt nothing.
Not anger.
Not pity.
Not sorrow.
He had never once claimed to be a good person.
Perhaps, within that village, there really had been elderly people who had never killed anyone. Perhaps there were others who seemed innocent.
But the bandits who lived there—those who robbed, murdered, and pillaged—used the stolen grain and wealth to feed the so-called innocent as well.
From the moment they swallowed rice stained with blood, they were no longer innocent.
And so Kyusei killed them without hesitation.
This was a C-rank mission, personally arranged for him by Hatake Sakumo—
his very first official mission as a shinobi.
The objective was simple: eliminate a group of bandits.
Among them were the elderly, women, and children.
For this single mission, Kyusei spent nearly half a month preparing.
By any standard, that was an absurdly long time.
With his strength, he could have finished it in a single day.
Instead, he spent fifteen days investigating every single person in the settlement—confirming, beyond any doubt, that not one of them was innocent.
Only then did he set the village ablaze.
Some tried to put out the fire.
Some tried to kill the red-haired boy who made no effort to hide himself.
All of them fell to the overwhelming difference between a shinobi and ordinary people.
Kyusei stood there, personally watching nearly a hundred people vanish into the sea of flames.
Firelight flickered across his face, bright and dark in turns.
His clear, gray-brown eyes reflected the inferno—calm, unshaken.
If it were Kushina, what would she have done?
He didn't know why that red-haired woman came to mind—the one known in legend as the Red-Hot Habanero.
"What are you thinking about?"
Kurama's voice sounded within him, also watching the fire-lit night.
"You're not feeling sad over trash like this, are you?"
Kyusei chuckled softly.
"What are you saying, Little Nine?"
"I'm just wondering… if they knew that the Land of Fire would eventually send shinobi to wipe out bandits, why did they still choose this path with no return?"
Kurama didn't answer.
Because Kyusei already knew the reason.
The Land of Fire might be rich, but there were still countless regions where people couldn't even get enough to eat.
Years of natural disasters and man-made calamities turned many into refugees.
But becoming a refugee didn't mean food magically appeared.
And so, some of them chose desperation—
If I don't want to starve, then someone else will.
They began stealing grain.
Once they were full, other desires followed.
And from there, there was no turning back.
But the very existence of shinobi meant these bandits could never truly grow strong.
To expand, they would inevitably need shinobi support.
Yet what shinobi would lower themselves to become bandits?
Even rogue ninja earned far more than mountain thieves ever could.
Shinobi needed an orderly nation to sustain them.
Which meant—
These people were a mistake by nature.
"Let's go."
After confirming that not a single living soul remained, Kyusei turned and left alone.
—
He returned to Konoha without much delay.
This mission had been carried out entirely solo.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's level of freedom toward him had become almost absurd—even Kyusei found it surprising.
But thinking about it, if Kyusei ever ran away, it would benefit no one.
Konoha needed him.
And now, he was no longer someone who could simply leave Konoha either.
The mission office was located inside the Hokage Building, so naturally, he ran into familiar faces.
"Yo, Naoriki."
Kyusei's eyes lit up as he greeted the Uchiha boy he'd been bickering with since childhood.
Uchiha Naoriki wore a dark blue clan outfit, the Uchiha fan crest emblazoned proudly on his back.
And honestly—Uchiha looks really were unfair.
Sharp features, fair skin, naturally handsome—
he looked like a born pretty boy.
"Tch."
"Bad luck today."
Naoriki clicked his tongue the moment he saw the damned redhead.
Kyusei didn't mind in the slightest. This guy had always been great entertainment.
"If you're here, Naoriki, then Kaoru must be around too, right?"
Kyusei slung an arm over Naoriki's shoulder, grinning shamelessly as he leaned in.
"Idiot, you're too close!"
Naoriki shoved him away irritably and pointed toward the staircase—
Where Kaoru, following Jiraiya, was coming down.
"Kaoru!"
Kyusei immediately ditched Naoriki and ran straight to her, completely ignoring Jiraiya's sour expression.
"Kyusei. Long time no see."
Kaoru smiled warmly at the energetic boy before her.
It really had been a long time.
The last mission Jiraiya took them on lasted over a week, and right after they returned, Sakumo had sent Kyusei out again.
Between the two missions, they had missed each other for nearly a month.
"Kaoru, did Naoriki bully you?"
"I'll beat him up for you!"
Kyusei grabbed her hand and leaned in close—so close she could feel his breath.
"N-no…"
Kaoru's face flushed as she spoke under so many eyes.
Meanwhile, Naoriki's expression completely collapsed.
Bully her?
Who would dare?!
Was this girl really a genin like him?
Her strength was downright outrageous!
And what did he mean, I'll beat him up for you?!
Was he really that easy to bully?!
Before Naoriki could continue his internal screaming, a large hand suddenly blocked Kyusei and shoved him back.
"Brat, this is the Hokage Building."
"Getting that close—where's your sense of decorum?"
Jiraiya was practically fuming, watching his gentle, kind, pure, beautiful, innocent disciple get blatantly taken advantage of by a red-haired menace.
"Hah?"
"White-haired pervert, if we're talking about lacking decorum, you're the worst offender here."
Kyusei looked at him with pure disdain.
"You little—!"
"What did you just say?!"
As usual, the two immediately started arguing the moment they met.
"Uh—!"
"Ah—!"
"Sensei, please go back. Stop arguing!"
Seeing things about to escalate into a fistfight, Kaoru quickly pulled Kyusei away while urging Jiraiya to leave.
Under Jiraiya's heartbroken gaze, she dragged Kyusei off.
Kyusei turned his head and flashed Jiraiya a smug grin.
Old man—your disciple is amazing~~
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