17. 'Massacre'

(6/100, vote for bonus chapter or double release)

---

"You!..." Hiruzen sighed. 

Hiruzen really didn't know how to respond to this. 

He had been left speechless in front of Yukio multiple times due to the latter's 'eccentricities.' 

But this was another level of speechlessness. 

"I see. So, what's special about this kid? It better be 'cool' if you brought her from the Land of Frost," Hiruzen made a grandfatherly joke. 

But nobody laughed, and they stared at him with judging gazes. 

Even the unhidden ANBU were gaping at him. 

Just because Yukio made a joke didn't mean he had to go along with it. 

Even Yukio was left shocked by this. 

'Is the old man finally starting to adapt to my weirdness?' Yukio pondered hard. 

'Guess I'll have to increase my weirdness by another factor if I want to keep up with him… No wonder he's called the strongest Hokage—his ability to bullshit and adapt to it doesn't even come close to Black Zetsu's.' 

Yukio mentally made a note to improve his skills. 

"Well, she's from a part of the Yuki Clan that fled from Kiri, probably in fear of getting massacred," Miyuki took the words into her own mouth. 

"Oh, a part of the Yuki Clan fled? Where are they now?" Hiruzen excitedly asked, seeing a chance to invite them to Konoha. 

This way, Konoha would have another bloodline clan. 

"Due to Miyuki's mistake, they were massacred," Yukio said with a faux disappointed tone. 

He sounded like a parent, telling their friends about the shortcomings of their children. 

Especially like how some Asian parents scold their children while comparing them to their cousins. 

Miyuki grabbed the hilt of her sword—katana? Big needle-like thing. 

If Yukio was going to bring this topic up again, she really would chop him into pieces. 

Hiruzen, being a super negotiator, read the room. 

So did the unhidden ANBU, who made themselves hidden again. 

They were now no longer taking up space on the floor. 

Most of them didn't want to become accidental casualties. 

"Oh, is that so? Did one or more of the Seven Swordsmen find them?" Hiruzen sighed internally. 

There goes the golden goose. Guess at least one person was left. 

He just had to brainwa—err, make them dedicated to Konoha by showing them its greatness. 

"Nah, we were the ones who massacred them," Yukio dropped the bomb. 

This shocked everybody. 

"Wait, why did you do that?" Hiruzen asked. 

"They were very unreasonable people, like barbarians, and didn't even try to talk," Yukio shook his head. 

"You could have restrained them and tried to talk to them," Hiruzen responded. 

There was a reason he had sent Miyuki along with Yukio so that Yukio didn't perform the radical actions he was known for. 

He hadn't expected Miyuki to be the reason for their clan getting massacred. He needed to get the written report from Miyuki… actually, asking Yukio would be better. He didn't want to irk her. 

Women are scary… 

The only person who could claim to understand that statement better than the 'Professor' was the legendary Toad Sage. 

He knew this statement thoroughly. One had to… 

Especially when you're an old perverted man. 

And frequently use crystal balls to peep at young ladies. 

"Well, unfortunately, we were busy fighting an elite jounin, who we didn't have information on. We barely defeated him." 

Hiruzen really didn't believe this statement, especially the latter part. 

Well, Mist had been secretive over the last decade, so he couldn't blame them for not having intel on an elite jounin. 

But he didn't believe the white lie about barely defeating him. 

Only an S-rank could take on this duo. 

Killing them would be hard for even an S-rank. Heck, Hiruzen himself didn't have confidence in killing them, given their mastery of the Flying Thunder God technique. 

"Oh, is that so? Tell me more about him." 

"Well, he had an axe. I've never seen anyone use one… I think," Yukio shrugged, not recalling anyone noteworthy who wielded an axe and wasn't cannon fodder. 

Well, he needed a reason to remember someone. 

He couldn't remember every side character. 

"Oh, I've only seen a few people use axes throughout my life," Hiruzen said, subtly boasting about his long experience as a ninja. 

Talk about a subtle flex on kids. 

"You really are ancient, huh." 

Hiruzen's eyes twitched. 

Talk about rude. 

"Anyway, did you know? He used a forbidden jutsu that I'm pretty sure was self-created, due to his mastery of Hyoton. It was a suicidal jutsu." 

This made everyone in the room tense in anticipation. 

Hiruzen was reminded of the Reaper Death Seal and Eight Gates. 

"Is that so? What were the jutsu's effects? Do you think I would survive if I was hit while being fully prepared?" 

"Old man, have you gone senile? Stop overestimating yourself." 

Yukio's words embarrassed Hiruzen slightly, but he didn't let it show on his thick skin. 

"Even a Tailed Beast wouldn't survive being hit by the jutsu. Talk about a frail old man." 

Everyone's eyes widened. 

"What was the jutsu?" Hiruzen's impatience was clear in his voice, but nobody bothered to notice it, not even the ANBU. 

"It's called Hyoton: Zettai Reido (Ice Release: Absolute Zero). After using the jutsu, the temperature dropped to unholy levels—maybe it even reached absolute zero for a moment. Everything froze and turned white, and space itself was being distorted at that point." 

Hiruzen's eyes widened. No wonder Yukio claimed that even a Tailed Beast wouldn't survive it. 

"How did you guys survive?" Hiruzen was baffled. 

"Luckily for us, the jutsu was area-specific, plus we had our shadow clones fighting him when he decided to use it. It was my idea," Yukio shamelessly praised himself. 

"Good, that you're cautious," Hiruzen nodded. This aligned with how he perceived Yukio. 

Yukio looked down at his hand. Yumi seemed to be waking up from her 'sleep.' 

"Good, you woke up. My hands were getting tired of holding you. I was wondering whether to drop you on the floor or not," Yukio said, then dropped her. 

Yumi steadied herself and landed safely. 

She then stood up and looked around. 

"I am—" Hiruzen began, but Yumi lunged at Miyuki with a kunai in hand. 

"I will kill you!" 

She said this before being knocked unconscious again by Yukio. 

"She's a bit antsy after learning that Miyuki was responsible for her family's death. Don't mind her rudeness," Yukio said, clearly enjoying guilt-tripping Miyuki. 

He would really have to be careful unless she erupted on him. 

"Oh, she knows about the murder?" Hiruzen's plans seemed to be falling apart before they even started. His disappointment was evident. 

"It was Yukio who told her," Miyuki, who had been more silent than the ANBU, finally spoke up. 

"Oh, why did you tell her?" Hiruzen tilted his head towards Yukio. 

He was sure Yukio would be the one to lie to the kid, not Miyuki. 

It seemed either Hiruzen had to update his knowledge about Yukio and Miyuki, or they were influencing each other too much. 

Little did Hiruzen know that both Yukio and Miyuki were slightly different from their previous versions, having awakened memories of their past lives. 

The change wasn't noticeable under normal circumstances, but it showed in edge cases or unusual scenarios like this. 

"I would have felt disgusted with myself if I lied to her," Yukio shrugged. 

"I see," Hiruzen nodded, thinking, 'He's got a long way to go before he reaches my level.' 

"So, what are you going to do now?" 

"I'm going to train her to kill me," Yukio said. 

"Oh, good luck with that." 

Hiruzen wasn't surprised anymore, given all he had heard and witnessed in the last few minutes. 

He really wanted to end this conversation and do… some research. 

Not the kind Jiraiya did, but research on Ice Release. 

He should have some scrolls in the Hokage-only storage. It was time to refresh his memory. 

"Thank you, old man. I guess I'll take over her guardianship," Yukio said. 

"I'll have someone handle the paperwork," Hiruzen nodded. 

"Okay," Yukio said, standing in place. 

"Ah, you're dismissed," Hiruzen said, thinking they were waiting for him to dismiss them. 

"Wait, what about the mission report?" Miyuki said. 

"Right, how could I forget?" Hiruzen remembered why he had sent them to the Land of Frost in the first place

'For a second, I thought these kids were respecting me by waiting for me to dismiss them,' Hiruzen thought, feeling briefly proud. 

"So, did you complete your mission objective?" Hiruzen asked, internally crossing his fingers. 

He was seriously hoping that whatever they had done wouldn't trigger the Fourth Great Ninja War. The last thing they needed was Kumo's retaliation because of some reckless actions by these kids. 

"Yeah, we're definitely going to have a war," Miyuki said nonchalantly. 

"Huh?" 

---

Join my Patreon to support me

10 advanced chapters present and check out my other fics.

P@treon.com/Desire96