Shota lay on the hospital bed with the thick Iwa bingo book open on his chest.
Sōshi had left it behind on purpose, laughing all the way out the door after watching Shota's face go from calm to pure horror in three seconds flat.
Shota stared at the entry. His entry. His first bounty.
He had worked so hard to stay invisible. He had put veil over the face. He tried to not use any flashy moves. The only exception would be the mission against Minato and his team where he used the Rasengan.
He did not drop his name to his enemies like saying, "Be grateful. You are in the presence of the great Shota Aizawa."
He had even started wearing boring brown clothes so nobody would remember him. All of that, and one single mission without a veil had ruined everything. The Iwa nin that had field had ruined years of anonymity for him.
He flipped the page again just to be sure it was real.
There he was. A whole page dedicated to a ten-year-old who just wanted to drink tea and sleep.
Shota groaned and rubbed his eyes. He had always known his ability was broken. One look and any shinobi became a normal person.
Just a very angry civilian with combat training. That kind of power was never going to let him live quietly. He had accepted it, sort of. But accepting it and seeing twenty million ryō written next to his name were two different things.
Before he could sink deeper into his sadness, the door flew open with a bang.
"BIG BROTHER! YOU ARE FAMOUS!"
A small tornado of pink clothes and wild brown hair launched itself at the bed. Shizu aimed straight for his ribs.
Shota reacted on instinct. Thin chakra strings shot out from his fingers and wrapped around her like a seatbelt.
"No huggies until I am recovered Shizu, doctor orders." he said quickly.
Shizu stopped mid-jump, hanging in the air like a puppet. She puffed her cheeks. "Fiiiine."
The strings lowered her gently to the floor. She crossed her arms and pouted, but her eyes were still sparkling.
"What do you mean I'm famous?" Shota asked, already afraid of the answer.
Shizu bounced on her toes. "Today in the academy they showed us ninja profiles of various shinobi! Real ones! They had Lady Pakura and Lord Kazekage and then they showed your bounty poster from Iwa! They said you beat a whole Explosion Corps squad almost by yourself! Everyone was screaming! I told the whole class you are my big brother and the strongest and coolest and that you are going to teach me everything!"
Shota closed his eyes and let his head fall back on the pillow. Of course. The elders were using his face to make the village feel strong. Free propaganda.
Ten-year-old beats elite Iwa shinobi. This would surely raise the morale of the people of Suna.
'Great.'
Shizu climbed onto the edge of the bed, careful not to touch the bandages. "You have to teach me tricks! I want to make people fly like you do with strings! And the eye thing! I want to turn off chakra too!"
Shota opened one eye. "When you are in third year, I will teach you one jutsu. Maybe two if you stop trying to crush my bones."
Shizu squealed and stuck out her pinky. "Promise!"
He hooked his pinky with hers. "Promise. Now go away before the Matron sees you and gives us both extra chores."
Shizu saluted, jumped down, and ran out the door shouting, "Shota-nii is the best!" all the way down the hallway.
Shota sighed and opened the bingo book again.
His threat level said A-rank. The note underneath made him want to cry.
"Requires minimum two jōnin working together. In single combat, even elite jōnin survival rate drops below fifty percent."
This ensures that he would always be outnumbered in fights. Whoever would come for his bounty would come in a group.
He read the part about his kekkei genkai three times.
"Unknown ocular ability. Subject can completely block chakra flow with direct eye contact. Duration unknown. No known defence. Treat as highest priority target."
They had guessed it was a dōjutsu. Close enough.
They also knew he had fire and wind release. That information must have come from spies who connected the dots from older missions. At least they did not know about the Rasengan. He had used that away from the Iwa jonin who had escaped.
The photo they used was from the village records. Baby-faced Shota with messy black hair and sleepy eyes stared back at him. He looked like he had just woken up from a nap. Which was fair. He probably had.
Then came the part that hurt his soul.
Wanted Dead: 20,000,000 ryō
Wanted Dead Body (intact): 40,000,000 ryō
Captured Alive: 100,000,000 ryō
Shota stared at the numbers until they blurred.
One hundred million alive. That was enough money to hire an army of missing-nin. That was enough for Kakuzu to hunt him for fun and still have change for new hearts.
He closed the book and dropped it on the side table like it was cursed.
"Goodbye lazy life," he whispered to the ceiling. "I hardly knew you."
He pictured himself in ten years. Still running. Still hiding. Still fighting. No rooftop tea. No cat belly rubs. Just masks and missions and people trying to sell him in pieces.
The door opened again, quieter this time. The Matron peeked in.
"Stop making that face," she said. "You will get wrinkles before you are eleven."
Shota rolled his eyes. "Matron, I have a hundred million ryō on my head. Wrinkles are the least of my problems."
She walked in and placed a new box of sweet rice balls on the table. "Eat. Sugar helps thinking. Besides, I am sure the Kazekage was prepared for this scenario."
He opened the box and took one. The taste made him feel a little better. Only a little.
"Do you think the Kazekage has a plan?" he asked with his mouth full.
The Matron said before leaving,"He should have one. If he does not, I will have to give him a peace of mind for endangering the life of one under my care."
Shota smiled at her words. He knew that she could not do much against the Kazekage but he felt nice hearing it.
Shota opened the bingo book one last time. He read the final line at the bottom of his page. The part that would follow him everywhere.
Shota Aizawa, The Eraserhead of Suna
-------Author Notes---------
For every 250 power stones. I would be posting an additional chapter. So gimme those power stones!!!
Y'all can read the next 15 chapters of the fanfic on my pat*reon. Thankyou for your support!
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