Chapter 12 C12

The last few months of Konoha 49 were not pleasant for Kana.

One is that she has a scar right in the center of her forehead.

It was very faint. You couldn't see it from a distance; you could only notice it if you looked closely. Fortunately, its shape was fairly regular, like a tiny, very small mole. Yuko comforted her, saying it was a beauty mark and that she would definitely grow up to be a great beauty.

The scar was originally supposed to be entirely the responsibility of Itachi Uchiha, but Neji Hyuga took 10% of the blame. However, Kakashi Hatake also had to take at least 50% of the responsibility. The next day, she kept her promise and went there to settle the "grudge" completely, but she was stood up.

The wound got wet from the rain, leaving a mark.

When she ran into Kakashi again on the street, she recognized him from his striking broom-shaped haircut. Without thinking, she rushed up to him. Amidst the look of a guy next to her that seemed to say, "Are all kids this fierce these days? They even dare to stop the cold-blooded Kakashi," she questioned him: "I waited until nightfall—and you didn't go."

He received an urgent mission at the last minute. But Kakashi didn't explain.

Even if there's a task, is it difficult to ask someone to pass on the message? It's just a matter of whether you're willing or not, whether you care or not.

And she had no intention of apologizing, Kana realized.

Those who break promises are rotten people. They're the kind of people Kana hates most. A key indicator of a civilized society is its ability to uphold contracts; this is one of the reasons why laws exist.

System: "The other party is the protagonist's teacher and also an important character."

Kana: "Oh, your mission didn't mention him at all, so he's not important."

The system's warnings were useless, and Kana unilaterally blacklisted the other party.

The second thing is that Itachi Uchiha graduated early.

The incident started when his clone at school was accidentally destroyed, exposing his true strength. A few days later, he received a headband.

She happened to be present when Itachi Uchiha received the memories of the clones—after all, both of them were skipping classes and had to avoid people, so the places they could go and the things they could do were very limited, and most of the time they would find a place to train.

After hearing this, Kana patted him on the shoulder to comfort him.

Someone's definitely looking for him now. If they find her here, she'll be exposed too. He's got the "better to sacrifice a friend than himself" mentality. "Partner, I'll be going now."

He didn't speak, his dark, sculpted eyes staring at her, their light reflecting her guilty conscience.

Kana sighed. After all, it would be hard to find another partner who was just as suitable. She sat down cross-legged and said, "Then I'll keep you company."

Itachi Uchiha chuckled, just trying to make a joke—her emotions were usually too stable, so her reaction in these situations was more interesting.

I didn't actually want to drag her into this, so I told her to go first.

"Actually, it's not so bad," Kana scratched her head. "Takada-sensei has no one to complain to." Her biological parents are all dead, and she can't control her adopted children, so it's not a big problem.

She had no one to sue because she had no family left—he had heard her mention that she had been adopted against her will, and when asked about it, she just shared it as a funny story, not caring at all—but that wasn't a good thing.

She's not nearly as nonchalant as she appears.

"I don't want to drag you down with me, to owe you a favor for nothing, and then you'll try to extort money from me."

Kana, who was mentally calculating her next move, gave an awkward laugh. "How could that be... Hehe... We're partners, why would I cheat you..."

Surprisingly, when Itachi Uchiha was caught skipping class using clones, he wasn't punished but instead graduated early.

Geniuses always have some small privileges that ordinary people don't have.

Kana thought the matter was over, until a few days later she was called to the office alone.

Takada somehow got wind of this and realized that she had also mastered the Shadow Clone Technique, a required exam for ninja academy graduation. Now he was giving her a chance to graduate early.

Kana initially wanted to deny it outright, after all, she hadn't been caught, and knowing Itachi Uchiha as she did, he wouldn't betray her; everything required evidence. But then she thought, Takada's certainty could only mean he had complete trust in his source.

Therefore, her arguments cannot change anything.

She stretched out her hand and slowly formed each imprint: Wei-Si-Yin. Her gestures were so precise that they could be used as a textbook example, and she successfully identified a person.

Takada's smile began to falter. "Kana, you need to be quick with the hand seals."

"This is how I've always tied the knot." In other words, it won't happen quickly.

At that speed, there's absolutely no chance of winning in battle. Takada's smile finally faltered. "Then you should go back first..."

As Kana closed the office door, she saw through the gradually narrowing gap that Takada was already eagerly discussing her situation with the other teachers.

It's impossible for her to graduate early now. Although it's generally customary to carve caged birds for the branch family children of the same generation after the eldest son of the main branch turns three, graduating early and starting tasks that "could easily lead to the outflow of the white-eyed bloodline" before then...

The day she received the headband was the day the main family cursed her to begin her sentence.

Only a fool would graduate now.

Meeting the Third Hokage was both unexpected and not entirely unexpected for her.

After Itachi graduated early, he started leaving the village to carry out missions, while Kana mostly practiced in secluded places by herself.

He looked like a very kind old man. He appeared silently during her break and, imitating her, half-slumped against the tree trunk without a care for his image, holding the apple she had just knocked down with pebbles.

He asked her what her dream was.

Every new student had heard him preach about the "Will of Fire." Kana carefully considered what he wanted to hear and said, "I want to be like my father and become an excellent ninja."

Her father, Hyuga Takuma, whom Sarutobi Hiruzen remembers, was an excellent child who gloriously sacrificed his life during the Third Shinobi World War to protect the medical unit during its safe transfer from multiple enemies.

At that time, his daughter was only three years old.

"Don't you get bored at school?" The Third Hokage stroked her mustache. The Ninja Academy curriculum couldn't teach her anything anymore. "That Water Release technique was already incredibly powerful."

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt guilty for making such a young child face the killing, but the Third Shinobi World War and the Nine-Tails' rampage had already caused Konoha to lose far too many core ninjas. Recently, its relationship with Kumogakure and Sunagakure had also become very delicate. All the villages and countries were keeping a close eye on Konoha, which was at the center of the vortex. As soon as it showed the slightest sign of weakness, they would swarm in and tear it apart, leaving not even ashes.

Konoha urgently needed new, powerful forces to replenish its ranks, for which he had to give up some things, which is why Itachi Uchiha graduated early.

It turns out Takada's source was Naruto; now the case is solved.

Kana understood that to achieve her goal in this situation, she had to stand on the moral high ground and leave the other party speechless. "Do you want me to graduate early?"

"But I'm scared." She looked up at the sky, where birds with long, thin tails streaked across the sky, leaving trails of white clouds.

“I am not afraid of death. My father said that it is worth dying to protect what you cherish.”

"But they said that after graduation we have to get a mark, and getting a mark hurts a lot," the girl's innocent voice was like melting candy, sweet and sparkling, shining brightly in the clear sunlight because she still had imagination and longing for the future.

For an elderly person like him whose teeth are already bad, it was far too sweet. "They said it would hurt for the rest of his life, that it would hurt every single day."

"Grandpa, did I do something wrong? Why did you have this mark made?"

You innocent Konoha citizens, the inheritor of the Will of Fire you promised to protect, whose parents died for the village, who hadn't even had a chance to grow up, were about to be deprived of her freedom, had her spine broken, and be chained up, all under your knowing, your incompetence, and your tacit approval. You did nothing for her; you even wanted to destroy what little time she had left that truly belonged to her...

Failing to help someone in distress and personally wielding a knife have completely different legal penalties, and also cause completely different feelings of guilt and remorse.

Kana lowered her eyes, her thick eyelashes like a row of small fans, concealing her overwhelming emotions.

Making me graduate early is like subjecting me to a curse, erasing my last two years of freedom, and replacing them with a newcomer filled with despair and hatred. Third Hokage, let me see if your heart is truly as hard as a knife.