"Have you thought this through?"Uchiha Omura looked at the shinobi who had come with him, his voice unusually serious."Once you make this choice, there's no turning back. The clan will distance itself. The village might do the same."
There would be consequences. Everyone knew that.
"But what choice do we really have?" Uchiha Kai replied quietly. "It's not that we don't want to serve the clan or village. It's that there's no place left for us."
The others nodded.
Assignments had dried up. Patrol work paid little. Respect even less.
"Omura," one of them said, "come with us. At least we'll have each other."
Jōan said nothing, but his gaze remained fixed on Omura.
Omura exhaled slowly. "Alright." He stopped resisting. "If we're doing this, then we do it properly. What are your terms?"
Jōan's eyes lit up.
"You're agreeing?"He straightened at once. "Jōnin will receive a fixed retainer of twenty thousand ryō per month. Chūnin receive ten thousand. Genin get six thousand. Escort missions come with additional bonuses."
The room went quiet.
Those numbers were not exaggerated.
A jōnin risking their life on village assignments often earned barely half that in a month.
Omura exchanged looks with the others.
"Fine," he said at last. "We're in."
Jōan laughed openly. "Good. From today onward, my trade routes have real protection."
That night, he hosted a banquet.
Food was brought in from across the village. Sake flowed freely. It was celebration and recruitment both.
Midway through the meal, Omura glanced at Kuroha again. The child was still eating.
"This isn't normal," Omura said slowly. "Are you sure the kid is alright?"
Kuroha's consumption dwarfed everyone else's. Even the Akimichi children Omura had met didn't eat like this.
Jōan waved it off. "He's fine. Says he wants to train taijutsu next."
"That kind of training is brutal," Kai said, studying Kuroha. "But… considering his build, it might suit him."
Taijutsu demanded fuel. Muscle broke and rebuilt constantly.
Jōan's expression shifted. "Do you know any reliable instructors?"
Kai thought for a moment. "The Hyūga won't teach outsiders. That leaves Might Guy."
Jōan's eyes brightened. "I'll pay."
Kai shook his head. "Money won't help. He's one of the village's active elites. He won't take students."
The enthusiasm faded.
Before the conversation could drag further, Kuroha swallowed his food and spoke up.
"I'll handle the teacher myself."
No one laughed.
He sounded serious.
The gathering broke late. Contracts would be finalized in the following days.
Before dawn the next morning, Kuroha was already awake.
He tied a red band around his head and pulled on light training clothes.
Senju Akari watched from the doorway. "You don't need to push yourself so hard."
"I do," Kuroha replied simply.
He ate quickly, then left.
He ran along the outer road of the village, the route that circled Konoha's perimeter.
Short legs. Fast rhythm.
Halfway through his run, someone caught up.
Green jumpsuit. Tight wraps. Burning intensity.
Might Guy slowed, surprised.
A kid?
Kuroha noticed and accelerated.
Guy adjusted his pace. Still couldn't pass him without breaking stride.
Interesting.
Neither spoke.
One adult. One child.
They ran side by side, the sun slowly climbing above the village wall.