Chapter 175: A Fifth's Leisurely Afternoon?
The sound of hammers and saws had become the new heartbeat of the Konoha Orphanage.
Ever since the Fifth Hokage approved the special funds, the entire institution had undergone a drastic, near-miraculous transformation.
The dilapidated courtyard wall, which had been crumbling for a decade, was the first to go. It was torn down and replaced by a brand new, sturdy, and tall fence, freshly painted and secure.
The roof that leaked with every rain shower was completely renovated. The cramped, cold dormitories were expanded, repainted, and furnished with new, warm beds.
But the most shocking change was in the mess hall.
For the first time, large pieces of roasted meat and bottles of fresh milk—things the children never even dared to dream of—appeared on the dining tables.
Every child, many of whom had only ever worn donated rags, received their own new, clean clothes.
Yakushi Nonō stood in the courtyard, watching a group of children laugh, their faces brimming with happy, energetic smiles as they played tag.
Her eyes involuntarily welled up. This... this was the future she had bled for, the future Danzō had promised but never intended to deliver.
Now, it was real.
Nonō was busy from morning until night, every single day. But it was a new kind of busy.
She was no longer plotting, spying, or fearing a single misstep. She was building.
She cooperated with people from the Ninja Academy and the Medical Department, who now arrived with smiles, to conduct official talent tests for all the older children.
She prepared school bags, filled with new pencils and blank notebooks, for the children who were about to enter the Academy for the first time.
She comforted the younger children, who felt lost and sad as their older friends and "siblings" left for their new lives as shinobi-in-training.
It was utterly exhausting, but Yakushi Nonō felt an unprecedented, profound sense of fulfillment.
Often, in the quiet of the evening in her small office, she would stand by the window, staring blankly in the direction of the Hokage Building.
Uchiha Akira's figure would always appear in her mind, uncontrollably.
His cold, purple eyes. The absolute authority in his voice. The way he had dismissed her years of trauma as if it were a simple problem to be solved.
Every time she recalled the warm, steady touch of his fingertips when he helped her fasten her buttons—an act of such simple, unexpected decency—Nonō's cheeks would uncontrollably flush.
It was a warmth that terrified her as much as it captivated her.
"Akira-sama…" she would whisper to the empty room.
"What are you doing now?"
"Are you… busy with the village's matters again?"
She tried her best to restrain it, to crush it as the dangerous weakness it was. But Nonō couldn't help but think of him.
This silently, stubbornly growing affection, like a vine, spread wildly in the depths of her heart. It was twisting around the cold, empty ruins that Danzō had left behind, and, for the first time, making them feel like home.
…
At Uchiha Akira's Residence, in the Backyard Training Ground
Thwack!
"Hmph!"
Hinata Hyūga let out a delicate, sharp cry and struck the thick wooden training stake in front of her.
Bang!
The hard wooden stake, centered on the spot where her small palm struck, didn't just splinter. It cracked. Spiderweb-like fractures spread from the point of impact, a testament to the focused chakra that had been injected deep inside.
"Not bad," Uchiha Akira's voice rang out from the side. He sat on the porch, observing her forms.
"The power of your Gentle Fist has improved significantly."
[Inorin's Note: The Gentle Fist (Jūken) is the signature Taijutsu style of the Hyūga Clan. It involves striking the opponent's chakra network (tenketsu) to disrupt or stop their chakra flow, causing internal damage.]
"Your control over your chakra is also becoming more precise. You are no longer just hitting the target; you are penetrating it."
He took a sip of tea. "But the essence of the Gentle Fist lies in 'gentleness,' not rigidity. You are still too stiff."
"You must learn to make your chakra like water. It flows. It penetrates everywhere, and given time, it can break through anything."
His voice was calm, but instructive. "Use the gentlest, most fluid method to inflict the most fatal, precise damage. That is the art."
"Try again. From the first form."
"Yes… Yes! Teacher!" Hinata bowed, her face flushed with determination and sweat. She adjusted her breathing and began to condense her chakra, just as Akira had guided.
On the other side of the yard...
WHAP! OOF!
"Gah!"
Naruto tumbled head over heels, landing in a heap in the dirt.
He was being ruthlessly beaten by an Uchiha Akira clone, which scrambled him, blocked his every move, and countered with precise, non-lethal strikes.
[Inorin's Note: This is likely a Shadow Clone (Kage Bunshin), a signature jutsu of Akira's, which creates a solid, thinking, and fighting copy of the user.]
"Damn it! Teacher! This is too much!" Naruto yelled, scrambling to his feet.
"Why is Hinata's training so calm and easy? 'Make it like water,' 'be gentle'..."
He pointed an accusatory finger. "Mine is just... why do I have to get beaten up all the time?!"
Naruto dodged another clumsy, wild-looking attack from the clone, all while protesting loudly.
"Because she's a girl," Uchiha Akira's answer was simple, self-righteous, and offered without a hint of irony.
Naruto's jaw dropped. "THAT'S... THAT'S-!"
"Moreover," Akira cut him off, "her training is not any easier than yours. It is, in fact, much harder."
"Once you can precisely control every single wisp of chakra in your body like her, then I'll teach you something even more powerful."
"Until then," Akira said, his voice flat, "you will obediently take your beating."
"This is the most effective way to train your reaction ability, your instincts, and your resistance to attacks. Now get up."
Naruto wanted to cry but had no tears.
"This is so biased!" he grumbled, getting back into a sloppy stance.
"I strongly suspect that Teacher is just looking for an excuse to beat me up!"
Although he complained wildly in his heart, Naruto didn't dare to be negligent in the slightest. He threw himself back at the clone.
This period of brutal "beating" training... he hated to admit it, but it had indeed led to a significant, terrifying leap in his combat ability and his toughness.
Just as the clone wound up for another strike, a new voice interrupted the training.
"Akira."
A graceful figure, one that was becoming increasingly familiar, walked into the courtyard.
It was Kurenai Yūhi.
She wasn't in her Jōnin uniform. She was wearing casual, comfortable home clothes—a soft, cream-colored yukata—that made her look gentle and overwhelmingly charming.
She carried a beautifully wrapped, lacquered bento box in her hand, and a gentle, warm smile was on her face.
"I'm off today, so I made some bento myself," she said, her voice soft. "I... I wanted to invite you to try it."
When Hinata saw her, a happy smile immediately appeared on her face. The serious training demeanor vanished.
"Kurenai-sensei! You're here!"
Hinata immediately stopped her training and ran over with small, happy steps, bowing politely.
The Akira-clone beating Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Whoa! Is that a bento? Did you make it, Kurenai-sensei?" Naruto also came closer, his eyes wide. "It smells so good!"
Kurenai Yūhi smiled and patted the two children's heads. "Hello, Hinata, Naruto. Yes, I made plenty, if you'd like some."
But her gaze, and her smile, always remained on Uchiha Akira.
The tenderness in her crimson eyes almost turned into water, about to drip out.
Uchiha Akira looked at her, at the bento box, and at his two suddenly-distracted students. He nodded.
"You're thoughtful, Kurenai."
Just as the four of them were about to sit on the porch and enjoy this rare, peaceful, and loving bento...
"Hey! UCHIHA AKIRA!"
A loud, brash, and decidedly unpeaceful voice arrived before she did.
Thud, thud, thud. Heavy, angry footsteps stomped through the house and slid to a halt on the porch.
Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin, strode into the courtyard, a hint of profound displeasure on her face.
She stopped. Her eyes took in the scene.
Uchiha Akira, sitting on his porch. His two young, adoring disciples. And this woman... this beautiful, red-eyed Jōnin in soft, domestic clothes, holding a homemade bento, looking at Akira like that.
An inexplicable, deeply sour feeling welled up from the bottom of Tsunade's heart.
Hmph. He's living quite comfortably, isn't he?
While she was neck-deep in moldy records, budget sheets, and incompetent staff, he was here, having a picnic with his... harem.
An inexplicable burst of anger, completely disproportional to the situation, flared in Tsunade's heart.
"What are you doing here, Tsunade?" Uchiha Akira looked at her, his voice flat, and spoke first.
"What am I doing here?!" Tsunade's voice rose, her anger ignited by his casual tone.
She slapped a thick, disorganized stack of documents directly onto the stone table in the yard, scattering a few pebbles.
"Of course, I'm here to ask you, this absentee boss, for money! For people! And for resources!"
"Do you think the new Medical Department is so easy to build? Do you think cultivating a qualified medical-ninja is just about talking?"
"I'm telling you, the budget you approved before? The one you were so high-and-mighty about? It's not nearly enough!"
"We're not just patching up scrapes, Akira! I'm building a research division! I need more money! I need new equipment—real-time chakra monitors, specialized centrifuges, sterile clean-rooms!"
She jabbed a finger at him. "And, I need you to allocate a batch of the most talented students from the Ninja Academy to me! Not just the ones who fail out, I want the top tier!"
Tsunade rattled on like a machine gun, her voice echoing through the quiet Uchiha compound.
Uchiha Akira listened quietly, his expression never changing. He let her finish her tirade.
After she finished, huffing, he slowly spoke.
"Are you done?"
"I'm done," Tsunade said, taking a breath. She spotted the teacup Akira had been drinking and, in a fit of pique, grabbed it and drank the rest of it all. It was cold.
"As for the money," Akira said, "I'll have the finance department allocate another sum to you. Double the last one."
"For equipment, just give Anko a list of whatever you want, and I'll have her procure it. I don't care what it costs."
"As for people…" Uchiha Akira paused, looking at her.
"I'll notify the Ninja Academy. They will give you their full cooperation."
"You can personally pick the people. Go to the graduating class, go to the genin-pool. Whoever you like, you can take them. No one will stop you."
He tilted his head. "Are you satisfied with this answer?"
Tsunade was stunned.
She had prepared a belly full of arguments. She had a draft of how to reason, threaten, and guilt-trip this scoundrel. She was ready for a week-long fight.
But… he just… agreed? To everything? Just like that?
So... so easy to talk to?
This made her feel like she had punched a ball of cotton. All her righteous fury had nowhere to exert its strength.
"I... well... good," she stammered, feeling suddenly awkward and out of place.
Kurenai Yūhi quietly watched their interaction from the side, her smile gone, her hands clasped tightly around the bento.
In her heart, the highest level of alarm had already sounded. This woman... she could just stomp in, make demands, and he... he just gave her everything.
This was not just a rival. This was a threat.
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