4: Childhood Friendship

His mouth was dry, and his body trembled slightly.

He looked at the blood on his hands, bright scarlet with a metallic smell, sweat dripping from his forehead, running down his cheek, and into his eye. The sudden sting snapped him out of his daze.

"What's wrong? Haven't you seen someone die before?" The voice made him look up, meeting the gaze of a pale-skinned figure, marked by long scars and gray hair with a faint bluish tint.

The mocking look directed at him caused something to break inside.

"It's a shame, but she was quite bothersome. Her ritual technique was too inconvenient for me."

His breathing steadied, numbness filling his body. He looked at the blood again, then clenched his fists, cursed energy beginning to flow powerfully through him.

"Oh? I thought you'd be depressed for longer. She was your friend or something, right? After all, she said your name before she died." More mockery, in a shameless tone.

His silence seemed to irritate him, a frown appearing on his unpleasant face.

"Thank you," then came the surprise.

"Huh?"

"I had been hesitating, but now I understand," he said with an apathetic voice.

He could feel it—the binding vow he had long hesitated to make was beginning to take effect within him.

The negative emotions flooding the area began to sharpen in his senses.

"In this world, I can't afford to feel anything." It was as if his heart stopped beating. He was still there physically, but any warmth his blood might have held vanished.

"At least not until I become the strongest of all." The wind stirred as the negative emotions within hundreds of meters around him began to converge towards him, as if drawn by an irresistible pull.

"Hahaha, what is this? Something's changed… What did you do, Itadori?!" his enemy asked in astonishment, feeling the changes in the atmosphere and the cursed energy of the human before him increasing at an astonishing pace.

Itadori Yuji took a deep breath and assumed a stance, his guard up, ready to continue the battle.

"I've signed your death sentence," he replied coldly, and before his enemy could react, his body launched forward at full speed.

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"This should be enough," Sukuna said, looking at the small pile of branches the blonde girl had been gathering, holding four plump, fresh fish in his hands.

"Incredible!" Naruko looked at the fish with wide, bright eyes; she had never seen such fat fish before!

Sukuna searched for some long, thin sticks, which he used to skewer the fish that he had already cleaned properly. He then placed them around the campfire, and with a thought, his finger lit up with a small flame.

"H-how did you do that?" she exclaimed in surprise.

"I used chakra," he explained simply, pointing with his finger and letting the fire travel from it to the campfire, igniting the pile of wood and setting it ablaze.

"Catra?" The confused voice made him turn to see the blonde girl tilting her head, not understanding.

"Chakra, it's what ninjas use." She blinked, and then her eyes widened even more as she pointed at him with disbelief.

"You're a ninja?!"

"No." Her astonishment was cut short by his instant response, leaving her visibly puzzled.

"I'm just training to become one," he clarified patiently, as he picked up two appropriately sized stones and easily placed them near the campfire as improvised seats. He took his seat and patted the other stone in a clear signal, which took the girl a moment to understand, but she eventually did, running over to sit down as well.

"Training? What's that?" she asked, causing Sukuna to look at her in confusion… then he remembered the date. Strangely, in this world, the months were called the same as in his two previous worlds.

Right now, it was early January; just a few days ago, it had still been December, and the whole thing with Kumo had happened. If he calculated correctly, that meant Naruko was just a little over three years old.

It was confusing; the children in this place might behave with more maturity than they should, yet still be childish in strangely peculiar ways.

"Training means preparing to do or be something. At least you know what that is, right?"

That question seemed to irritate her a bit.

"Of course I know! I'm not stupid..." This was what he meant by acting strangely. Three years old, and while she might not recognize certain words or concepts, she could still speak and express herself more clearly than she should—or perhaps it was his lack of knowledge about children that made him think so?

No, it had to be something else, although he didn't really care at the moment. He wasn't a pediatrician, nor did he have any intention of becoming one, so figuring out such things wasn't his concern.

"I didn't say you were stupid; I just asked if you knew," he said calmly, causing her to fall silent for a moment.

Her large blue eyes watched the fire with no small amount of curiosity, quickly leaving behind her earlier irritation. With a bit of "shyness," she spoke again.

"How… how do you train to be a ninja?"

Good question. He himself didn't know exactly how people trained in this world, beyond the two chakra control exercises he remembered. Still, he did know how to train to become strong, which in retrospect, should be the same.

"Do you want to be a ninja?" Instead of answering her question, he asked one of his own, making her frown.

"They say it's cool, and all the other kids play at being ninjas."

'I see,' he thought. Nothing about being Hokage or anything like that yet. It seemed she hadn't learned about the ninja hierarchy and just thought it was something cool, like a game.

At the silence and his lack of response, she squirmed nervously while Sukuna kept a watchful eye on the fish over the fire.

Soon, her attention shifted as an incredibly appetizing smell filled her nostrils, her mouth starting to water, and with stars in her eyes, she gazed at the fish, almost ready to eat.

Sukuna noticed her reaction, somewhat puzzled, since they were just simple fish—no seasoning, no salt—and although the smell wasn't unpleasant, it was nothing extraordinary either.

"You're from the orphanage, aren't you?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer. The girl's attention returned to him, and she nodded affirmatively, though without taking her eyes off the fish.

"Have you ever eaten fish before?" His next question made her frown, and her blue eyes turned to him. He could feel some negative emotions stirring within her.

"No... the other kids at the orphanage never leave me anything," she said softly, with a hint of helplessness. Noticing her bad mood, Sukuna took one of the fish that was already cooked and handed it to her.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Here, it's hot, so don't eat it too quickly, or you'll burn yourself." She blinked, and her eyes lit up again with excitement.

"Great!" Clearly, she didn't hear what he said because she tried to take a big bite the very next moment.

Sukuna was quicker, easily stopping her hand before she could do so.

"I told you it's hot," he reminded her. In response, he almost thought he heard a growl—she seemed quite defensive about her food, as her hair nearly bristled. But when he released her hand, she calmed down.

"You need to blow on it a bit, like this," Sukuna said, demonstrating with his own fish. She mimicked his movements, and when the time was right, he nodded. She then eagerly took her first bite.

And then another, and another, and in a matter of seconds, even the bones were chewed up.

It seemed the small fangs he had noticed in her mouth weren't just for show.

Thankfully, she didn't eat the stick.

Naruko licked her lips with delight—she had never tasted anything so delicious! Of course, for a three-year-old orphan who was constantly discriminated against in various ways, a fish without salt or any other seasoning would seem like the most delicious meal in the world.

"Here." Before she realized it, another fish was in front of her. She looked at Sukuna, puzzled.

"I got them for you, brat. I'm not hungry," he said. He had already eaten before leaving the house.

Naruko looked at the fish in front of her, then at the other two still near the fire, and for some reason, she felt her eyes welling up with tears for no apparent reason.

"I-I..." Sukuna frowned.

"Eat and don't cry, or you'll really ruin my day." Without giving her time to respond, he shoved the fish into her mouth. He didn't want to hear any crying.

The girl chewed her food while looking at him with clear gratitude. As with all her other emotions, it was always easy to see what she felt through her eyes.

Sukuna took a long leaf, shook off any possible dust, and placed the two remaining fish on it, using it as a makeshift plate, which he then set in front of Naruko.

He glanced up at the sky, noticing that it was starting to get dark. It seemed he wouldn't be able to use this day to practice as he had intended. Oh well, he wasn't in a hurry.

As he was lost in thought, he felt something—a shift in the atmosphere. His spiritual perception activated automatically, and he forced himself to stay calm.

Something was watching him.

Discreetly, his eyes scanned the area, searching for the source, but the longer he looked without finding anything, the more he realized something else.

'This isn't an ordinary gaze,' he thought. It felt as if it were coming from nowhere, from a source he couldn't reach.

He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to recall something, and then images began to fill his mind.

'The Third Hokage.' It had to be him. Of course, it could also be a member of the Hyuga clan, but why would they be watching this area?

Naruko? That was a valid reason for both possibilities. Whether it was a Hyuga clan member or the Third Hokage, keeping an eye on the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki was crucial for the village and its security.

As he considered this, he sensed three strong presences approaching—three ninjas who knew how to hide themselves quite well.

He had been wondering where the blonde girl's guards were. It seemed they had finally decided to make their "presence" known.

Of course, Sukuna didn't simply assume they were her guards. They could just as easily be ninjas from another village looking to kidnap the jinchuriki.

But he knew that wasn't the case. He could feel the negative emotions coming from them, and none were directed at Naruko. Although one of them really seemed to be one step away from suicide.

It had been a while since he had sensed such intense negative emotions coming from a single person.

He didn't act nervously or give any indication that of knowing that they were now being watched. He was just a three-year-old boy hanging out with another three-year-old kid.

There shouldn't be anything suspicious about this.

He waited a bit longer, watching the blonde girl eat before standing up and dusting off his ass.

"It's getting late, I have to go or I'll get in trouble," he said, adding a touch of childishness to his voice. Naruko looked at him with furrowed brows, but being just a child, she couldn't quite pinpoint why he was suddenly speaking differently.

"Already? It's still early," she said with reluctance, clearly wanting to spend more time with him, see more of those amazing ninja skills.

Sukuna scratched his head, pretending to be a bit reluctant as well.

"We can meet another day. I'll catch more fish for you then." That seemed to cheer her up, as she stood up and nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes! And we can play ninja, and..." She didn't stop talking until she ran out of breath.

"Of course," he finally said after seeing her calm down. He then began walking back toward the park, waving his hand without looking back at her.

"See you later!" Seeing him leave, she lost some of her enthusiasm and sat back down.

"See you later..." she said softly, watching his retreating figure until he disappeared from view.

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Sukuna emerged from the forest and walked through the park on his way home, behaving just like any other child his age. He bought some sweets along the way and played with a few cats for a moment before hurrying back home.

All the while, that gaze remained on him, like an invisible observer.

"I'm home!" he shouted cheerfully as he took off his shoes. His parents inside raised an eyebrow at hearing him so happy.

"Oh, Sukuna-chan seems to be in a good mood," his mother remarked to his father, who nodded, equally surprised since their son usually didn't express his feelings much.

Soon, Sukuna found them both in the living room and greeted them with a smile.

"It looks like you had a lot of fun, dear. Did you like the new park?" his mother asked. Sukuna nodded enthusiastically in response.

"Yes, it was great. I met a new friend, although is a bit strange." That caught his father's attention, and he turned to look at him curiously.

"A new friend, you say? It seems our son is finally coming out of his shell." Of course, Sukuna had never made friends before; he usually detested dealing with kids.

Upon hearing his father's words he pretended to pout, making his parents laugh a little.

"Come on, tell us a bit about this new friend."

So Sukuna recounted a version of his encounter with Naruko that was similar but at the same time very different. Naturally, he omitted many details and exaggerated others in a childish way.

It was exhausting and humiliating, but he soon felt that watchful gaze disappear.

Even so, he didn't relax and decided to postpone his plans to rob the local library for the day.

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Hokage's Office.

Hiruzen exhaled the smoke from his pipe with a contemplative look.

"I want the ANBU responsible for monitoring Naruko Uzumaki in my office now."

At his command, some of the hidden presences in the darkness quickly departed.

'What a disaster,' Hiruzen couldn't help but think with a frown. This shouldn't have happened. Leaving Naruko, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and, above all, the daughter of the Fourth Hokage, without any supervision for so long was against the very surveillance protocols he himself had established.

Especially now, when tensions with Kumo were still high.

How did this happen? He needed to find out, though he already had some suspicions in mind.

Even if he was the Hokage, Hiruzen knew there were people in the shadows pulling some strings. In earlier times, this would have been impossible, but Hiruzen was no longer the man he once was, and neither were his power and influence.

The tensions continued to grow, not just outside the village but also within, like a glass of water filled to the brim, about to overflow, and he didn't know if he could prevent it from happening.

Or perhaps it was already happening. It was good that he always took a moment during the day to check on Naruko's situation, Yet, it made him quite angry that there was no one nearby to ensure her well-being.

Of course, the villagers wouldn't do anything truly harmful; they were too cowardly, and the risk that the Kyubi inside the girl could be unleashed if they hurt her was well-known by all. This was mainly spread by some of the shinobi who had witnessed other Jinchuriki in action during the war and understood that if they pushed things too far, it would end very badly for everyone.

And that was yet another reason why no one wanted to get close to the girl, treating her as if she were a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at the slightest touch.

Of course, Hiruzen and many others knew that was just nonsense; the Fourth Hokage's seal was far superior to any other seal, and Naruko wouldn't unleash the Kyubi as easily as the villagers believed.

Even so, he let that narrative continue without clarifying it, because even if it was bad for the girl's social life, it also served as another form of protection. Of course, it wasn't something that would last forever. Eventually, the villagers would realize that breaking the seal wasn't so easy, and their treatment of her would change accordingly. Still, Hiruzen hoped that all the accumulated hatred and resentment would have eased by the time that happened, or that Naruko would have already learned to defend herself at the ninja academy.

What happened today showed that he had been right in choosing that path. Naruko was fine and unharmed, yet it was still too risky. While the villagers wouldn't do anything stupid, the same couldn't be said for foreign shinobi.

The recent kidnapping attempt of the Hyuga clan princess made this clear.

Another complicated matter. Feeling the headache about to arrive, he decided to think of something else and looked at the crystal ball that now only showed his own reflection.

"Mebuki and Kizashi Haruno, it's been a while since I last heard of them." Of course, as Hokage, he recognized two of his former shinobi as soon as he saw them, and knowing they had a child was no surprise since they had always been quite close.

At least amidst all the bad, something good had happened. He didn't know if this little friendship Naruko had formed would last, as he wasn't exactly sure of his former shinobi's thoughts or how they had influenced their child.

The boy hadn't been too detailed in describing Naruko to them, which was expected from a boy his age who seemed much more excited to talk about how he had managed to catch a fish with his bare hands.

So, the couple simply thought that their son had met another child his age, nothing more, which seemed to make them quite happy. But that could change if they realized who their son's new friend really was.

"For now, let's wait and see," he wouldn't interfere. Whatever had to happen would happen. Right now, he had more stressful matters to deal with, like the recent rising complaints from the population regarding the Uchiha clan.

"I'm too old for this," he sighed, taking another puff from his pipe, letting the smoke fill his lungs.

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Note:

A somewhat relaxed chapter with a glimpse into the past. Poor Hiruzen, forcibly pulled out of retirement. Oh well, at least he has Icha Icha to keep him company on his lonely nights.

The hardest part to write was Naruko's. I apologize if it's not very good. As an adult, it's difficult to think about how a child would act/think, so I need to practice more. Fortunately, it will get easier as she gets older, and the magic of chakra starts affecting her brain, just as it did with Itachi, though without overdoing it...