Chapter 013 - Are you afraid of my eyes?

Karin was cooking something simple for her little brother, the daily routine, a day off from the academy with a kind smile on her face, making her brother sleep even more soundly.

She moved agilely likewise, what she was cooking was something simple; she cooked some fish, her little brother's favorite. She rubbed her forehead calmly to sigh, now more relaxed, and although her smile showed affection, she went straight to their room. There she looked at Yūji, and a laugh almost burst out at the sight of an image that made her feel happy and somewhat amused.

" Yūji, come on, it's time to wake up. " the girl said calmly, shaking her little brother, who had a small thread of saliva almost falling from his mouth. His eyes narrowed as he blinked, trying to adjust.

" Just a moment, sis… " the little boy said sleepily, turning over and covering himself with that small blanket. Karin shook her head again with that amused smile.

" Yūji, come on, you have to get up and have breakfast. " she said, shaking her little brother once more, watching as Yūji, relying solely on his willpower, got up his body completely limp and with a sleepy expression, seeming more lost than awake.

Karin could no longer hold back; laughter burst from her mouth as she playfully shook him with excitement. This time she got up to go straight to the kitchen, a small kitchen, mind you.

The red-haired boy with his slanted eyes was barely getting his bearings, even though he dramatically sobbed when his sister left.

" Ugh… I was dreaming that I was eating that delicious tres leches dessert, that cake so yummy with strawberries and peaches… I miss that soft sweet so much. " Yūji lamented, since apart from his previous advanced life in Japan what he missed most without a doubt was the food, and especially the sweets that seemed not to exist in Amegakure.

He swallowed hard the saliva filling his mouth in a bitter gulp to steady himself, and with sleepy steps he went to the kitchen where he found his sister. He saw on the table what was the tastiest thing his sister had cooked and he thanked her with all his heart; seeing the fish there made him cry even harder inside.

" Thank you for breakfast, sister Karin, I love you so much. " the boy said in a trembling voice as he sat down to watch his sister hand him the plate.

" It's nothing, Yūji. Come on, you have to eat well so you have energy " said the girl calmly, rubbing her hand on Yūji's head. Then, as she sat down to eat, in the silence that formed, Karin remained studying something as if trying to remember, until she did: " Oh, I meant to tell you that Konan-sensei passed by here to tell you to go to the area where we train, just a little further away, where the great river along its banks is formed by the rain. "

Yūji, his cheeks still full of food, looked at his sister expectantly, and this time she smiled at him cheerfully as she passed by. " That sounds good, but do you know why Konan-sensei wants to see me? "

Karin thought for a moment. " Uhm… I really don't have any knowledge about that, Yūji, I'm sorry, but it possibly has to do with helping you train your fire nature. " she said calmly, watching as her brother, almost finished eating, began to think.

" Maybe you're right… " Yūji went back to eating in silence, although in doing so, when he finished he looked quite happy, it was what he had been waiting for the most, a chance to learn ninjutsu and no longer rely solely on fighting with his fists.

When he finished eating, the boy happily got up, helped his sister gather her dirty dishes, and washed them with the water that flowed endlessly through the pipes. " I'm going to the place right now, I'm very excited that Konan-sensei will teach me today. I'll see you in a moment, Karin! " Yūji said with joy. When he opened the door, he was surprised to realize that it wasn't raining that day.

He was astonished by this, since during his time it was always raining, but seeing that even the sky still looked gray didn't bother him.

Basically, for Amegakure, the weather was good today.

Yūji ran off quickly, listening as his sister told him to be very careful.

With his huge, beaming smile, Yūji ran along, each step and the splash of puddles audible as he observed the urban streets filled with towering skyscrapers. The village of Amegakure was truly very exotic, with narrow streets where barely a few people could fit.

With his sharp movements as he passed through those narrow alleys, Yūji noticed some elderly people who seemed to be struggling to move something heavy. With quick speed, Yūji ran straight to help them; as he did so, the elderly couple was surprised but smiled affectionately upon seeing that it was the little sun of the Rain Village.

" Yūji! It's great that you were around here, even though we already troubled you with our errands " said the grateful old man, watching as the boy helped them with remarkable ease.

" Don't worry, Mr. Shunno, Mrs. Nana, if I manage to get by with you, I'll help you at no cost. " said the boy cheerfully, noticing the grateful look in the elders' eyes.

" I have to leave again! Have a nice day, the day is very lovely today " said the little redhead as he resumed his run. The elderly couple bid him farewell with joy evident on their faces, in contrast to the atypical weather.

Yūji ran quickly through the alleys, taking several leaps to squeeze past the pipes in his way. Agile by nature, he found that in some parts the narrow alleys widened, and there he saw several people.

Most of the village knew him, since at every break Yūji would run outside and train his little body, and with every person he encountered, the boy would help without hesitation.

And all the villagers, upon recognizing Yūji's vibrant reddish hair, were most charmed and infectious with his funny personality and radiant smile.

For that reason, Yūji was already known as " the sun of Amegakure " it was always raining and the true sun could hardly be appreciated.

That is why wherever the boy went, the warmth he radiated was always present, just like a little sun.

Almost on the outskirts of the urban area, Yūji noticed several academy classmates walking peacefully; when they saw him, they smiled and greeted him, and the boy smiled back. " Ajisai! Fuyō! Nobumi! Hello! " he greeted excitedly, continuing on his way without stopping.

Ajisai smiled mockingly, " That kid sure doesn't stop. " The girl was eight years old, and Fuyō as well, the only one younger was Nobumi, who beamed happily at seeing Yūji so active.

" He always has something to do; all the villagers are delighted with him " said Fuyō serenely, his sleepy eyes calm though his smile was a bit loose.

" Well, he's a walking sun; if he ever runs out of energy for anything, it would be the end of the world " teased Nobumi as she strolled through their part of the neighborhood.

Yūji had finally left the village, moving away from the rocky area he always used with Konan-sensei. He had to head to the area that was always filling with water on the outskirts of Amegakure, where he went from stepping on solid ground to moving through the water.

" If Nobara saw what I'm doing in this world, she'd be jealous that I'm like a god; it's only missing that I part a sea " he muttered to himself, still happy to see that he could walk on water. After so much meditating and practicing, he was now very good at manipulating his chakra, it was much easier than manipulating his cursed energy.

" Speaking of cursed energy, in my excitement to experiment with chakra, I haven't been in contact with or found a way to make my CE work well with my chakra " the boy grumbled in frustration.

Running with an abnormal tilt of his body, he kept thinking for a few seconds until, as he said that to himself, an eye opened below his left eye.

' it's still in standby, my—hey! '

Yūji didn't think twice; he hit his cheek hard where that mocking, teasing Sukuna's eye was, causing it never to open again.

" Shut up, trash!, I was so happy without you. I already told you no, so stay in there. " the boy said stubbornly.

He only heard Sukuna's grunt before it disappeared once again.

The path was silent after that, though he curiously saw that his sensei Konan was nearby, but there was a strange person by his side. He looked tall and had striking orange hair.

How strange.

" Konan-sensei, I've arrived! I managed to arrive on time! " the boy said happily, giving Konan a tight hug, something that not even the lilac-haired one had expected. His smile grew even wider from the nervousness of being hugged; even his eyes shone with the sparkle they had once lost.

Surely, the person standing next to Konan was furtively watching him.

" Who is this person, Konan-sensei? " the boy stepped aside to look curiously at the man. He wore the same tunic of red clouds with white embroidery and a red closure, though he had nothing on his chest, only his long orange hair.

But the most striking thing for him were those eyes.

Seeing those eyes swirling with a somewhat purple hue, his head ached sharply, something he had not expected at all. He held his head, but did not want to show his discomfort.

Konan did not answer Yūji's question, simply leaving Pain in front of him, where Yūji looked at him with curiosity.

It was an awkward silence, with the man showing no expression, he was stoic in front of the boy.

At least, that was the case until the question he had been holding back finally emerged: " Are you afraid of my eyes...? "

Pain's expression as he said it was neutral, his gaze inquisitive as he looked at the boy.

But Yūji's response surprised him and left him looking confused, a reaction that truly affected him.

With his delighted face and enormous smile, Yūji looked at the orange-haired man before him, as if sparks were practically coming from him. " You have unique eyes! … You are also a unique person! They are the coolest eyes I have ever seen, big brother. " he said with genuine excitement, without a hint of falsehood.

" Huh… " Pain fell silent, a slight grimace of strangeness and surprise appearing on his face.

Noticing how Konan was now smiling naturally at them, Yūji continued, " What is your name, brother? Are you going to train me in my fire element? " he asked excitedly. Pain came out of his thoughts and cleared his throat.

" Ahem, yes, I will train you with your fire affinity. I have many ninjutsus that could be useful to you. "

He wanted to divert attention from the fact that his icy disdain had been softened by the natural response of that child, and Yūji again became excited, taking small leaps in front of the orange-haired man.

" And I will show you those of the other affinities; we will help teach you some good ninjutsus, so you need not worry. "

Konan spoke as he approached the duo, seeing how determined the boy was to learn, so he stood still waiting for the orange-haired man to speak.

" By the way, big brother, what is your name? " the boy's curiosity was evident, prompting Pain to turn his gaze back to the boy.

" My name is Pain. "

" Pain… " Yūji naturally recognized the word, although to him it was a very strange name to hear, but he didn't judge; he only nodded calmly with an excited smile.

" Well, enough talk. I will teach you several fire-type ninjutsus. To make you strong, you'll have to perform those of higher levels, this will show me your strength and whether you really are a prodigy, as Konan told me. " Pain said calmly in a guttural voice directed at the boy, who looked embarrassed.

Rubbing his neck and with an abashed look, amid timid laughter the boy said, " I really don't consider myself a prodigy; it's just that Konan-sensei explains everything so well, step by step, for someone as slow as me. "

Yūji wasn't lying; Konan was a thousand times better than his albino teacher who only told him to curse and kill and to do it quickly.

Since then, he would send his anger at his sensei wherever he was, although surely they would tease him by sticking out their tongues and raising two fingers in a sign of love and peace.

Pain didn't waste any more time. " Pay attention to the seals I'm going to use; I'll do it only once and slowly so that you can execute it well. " Pain didn't even mention the classification of the jutsu; he only wanted to see if the boy was really good, so good that even though he came from somewhere else, he hoped that this boy could be good for Amegakure.

With that, Pain began making the seals at an accessible speed, without taking his eyes off the boy.

Snake → Dragon → Rabbit → Tiger

" Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu! "

Pain's chest swelled considerably, and one could see a flame so enormous that it seemed to illuminate and dissolve the abundant water in the evaporator room. Yūji watched with very wide eyes, not noticing that even Sukuna slightly opened his eyes with curiosity at the sight of a fire technique, something at which he was truly very skilled with cursed techniques.

' So this is how chakra is used… it is so destructive and abundant ' the boy thought with cold sweat, his expression still one of surprise.

The flames were as enormous as the urban expanse of Amegakure. Pain turned to look at the boy calmly, without showing any emotion.

" Now, I want to see you perform this jutsu. "

The man spoke calmly to the little boy, who was still in shock but quickly pushed it aside, sighing deeply as he tensed his body.

" Remember the seals well. " he thought, " but I have to do it slowly to emulate it correctly. " It was the first time he was using chakra for something other than reinforcing his body, so he began performing the seals, which were clearly visible.

Snake → Dragon → Rabbit → Tiger

As he executed them slowly, he could feel his chakra seeming to change in nature, it felt even more burning.

Something extremely hot overwhelmed his chest; he inhaled deeply and placed his hand in front of his mouth with two fingers extended.

But unlike Pain, the boy did not shout his jutsu; on the contrary, it seemed counterproductive, why would he yell his technique so that everyone knew what he was going to use? He preferred to say it in his mind:

' Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu! '

He declared it forcefully in his mind; his tender gaze sharpened, and he exhaled with all his might.

To Pain's surprise, on his first attempt the boy unleashed a very potent flame so potent that he had to counter it with water using chakra, and Konan did the same. Konan knew the boy had an abundance of chakra, but he never expected it to be that much; it was undoubtedly a huge surprise.

The flame coming from his mouth did not cease until, after it had grown and had overtaken Pain's initial flames, the boy having blood on his lips from the strain displayed a great victorious smile.

" Did that meet your expectations, brother Pain? "

With his eyes wide open, Pain saw how that boy, who was no more than four years old, had defeated him with that jutsu, a jutsu that, although very basic (Class C), was something remarkable for the boy to have learned. He truly did not expect him to win and, on top of that, to have overwhelmed his flames.

He has terrifying reserves more than his own.

Pain looked at the boy calmly, watching as the flames reflected in his gaze, but what Yūji noticed was the slight and solemn smile on Pain's face. " Yes, you did it. I will train you in the fire element, little one. Don't expect to defeat me… you deserve it. "

The boy became so excited that he began jumping rapidly, spinning in little circles.

Konan could only watch that scene with amusement, knowing that Pain would not be disappointed in that boy.

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[Illustration of the Day! ♡

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