Two and half years went by quickly.

 

Today, on December 21st, Kai finally became a nine-year-old.

 

To celebrate his birthday, he went to the Ichiraku ramen to have a feast.

 

A thin layer of winter snow had piled on the streets as Kai walked through it. Occasionally, he noticed people carrying festival decorations and moving along the street.

 

The Rinne festival was right around the corner.

 

Just like Christmas, this world celebrated a festival on December 25. But according to the legend, it was a holiday meant to pray for the deceased.

 

Later, the festival evolved into a day where people exchanged gifts.

 

‘I wish every day was like this.’

 

Lazily bobbing his head, Kai walked along the street.

 

It was winter vacation right now and he had a lot of time to be lazy. Groggily rubbing his eyes, Kai finally found the building of Ichiraku ramen.

 

There was nothing fancy about it.

 

It was a nondescript shop in the busy street. 

 

Even then, he could see a line of people near it waiting to get their chance to eat.

 

Despite its looks, Ichiraku ramen was popular.

 

Slowly, Kai walked up to the counter and waited.

 

It took him a while to find a place to sit. 

 

“Kai, you are here?”

 

Teuchi noticed Kai's small figure immediately and called out.

 

“Birthday special for birthday boy, right?” He gave out a joyful smile before asking.

 

Due to him frequently visiting the shop in the past couple of years, Teuchi knew him.

 

“Yes. Thank you.” He politely nodded.

 

“Ayame, bring Kai’s bowl of ramen.”

 

Teuchi gave the order. 

 

As soon as he said that, a child came from behind the kitchen counter carrying a bowl of ramen.

 

“Hi hi…” She smiled gleefully as she placed the bowl before Kai. “Here you go big brother Kai.” 

 

Immediately after saying that, she extended her open palm forward.

 

Kai smiled seeing this.

 

He quickly pulled out a chocolate candy from his pocket and placed it on her palm.

 

Instantly her face bloomed.

 

“Thank you.” She said while giggling happily.

 

Giving candy to Ayame on his birthday has become a sort of tradition.

 

Kai first met Ayame one day when he was shopping for groceries. The kid was lost and wandering alone around the other side of the village. Kai recognised her and helped her find her way back home.

 

From that day onwards, a friendship formed between the two. The little kid now treats Kai as a dependable big brother.

 

“Thank you ayame for the ramen.” Kai smiled back and replied.

 

“Ah, big brother. I just remembered something. Hana, your friend came looking for you. She said she couldn't find you and asked me to say she was looking for you.”

 

“Hana said that?”

 

“U hum.” Ayame nodded. “I said that today is your birthday and you will come here soon.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Yep.”

 

‘I went out early to train. Maybe she came to my house and couldn't find me.’ Kai reasoned.

 

Although the relationship between Hana and Kai began on a sour note, it later evolved into a friendship.

 

Kai was the weakest student because of his act of hiding his strength while Hana was a tomboy menace of the class. Both did not have any friends until they became each other's friends. 

 

‘Anyway, Why is Hana looking for me? I don't have any time to waste today. I need to find a way to inform Hizashi about the kidnapping incident.’

 

Kai casually gulped down some noodles before asking, "Did she say why she was looking for me?”

 

“Uhmm… I forgot.” 

 

Ayame shyly replied while scratching her cheeks.

 

“Ha ha ha.” Teuchi who saw this began to laugh. His daughter looked too cute when she was shy. And then, he proceeded to say, “Kai, She wanted your help with catching eels.”

 

“Eels?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“How am I supposed to do that?”

 

“They said you were good at making traps even though you were the worst student in the class,” Teuchi said while serving fresh ramen to the waiting customers.

 

“No way Big Brother is the worst. He is an awesome ninja.” Ayame chimed in.

 

She couldn't let her father indirectly call her saviour a loser. Ayame was offended. Her cheeks puffed up ready to argue.

 

“I am indeed good at using traps,” Kai said.

 

He was not offended by others calling him a weakling. After all, that's what he wanted, and Teuchi knew Kai didn't care about any of that when he repeated exactly what Hana had said.

 

“But, who are ‘they’? Was Hana not alone?”

 

“Nope, she came with two other big brothers,” Ayame said before leaning over to the counter. She motioned Kai to come forward before whispering into his ears. “One of the big brothers looked like a thug while the other one had scary white eyes.”

 

‘Sasui Kamano and Tokuma Hyuga.’

 

Two names appeared in Kai's mind hearing the description of their appearance.

 

Both were genin squad members of Hana and his previous classmates.

 

Sasui was your average genin while Tokuma was a genius from the Hyuga clan.

 

‘Hana came with their entire squad to look for me. I should check what's going on.’ Kai decided.

 

—-

Meanwhile, inside the root hideout just outside the village, two ninjas were engaged in a private conversation.

 

One was Haru, the root ninja who recruited orphans to their organization while the other was her leader.

 

This time, the atmosphere between them looked tense.

 

The leader was prancing around the room while thinking about something.

 

Finally, he stopped after coming to a decision.

 

“After Orochimaru stopped communication, the experimentation hit a lull. Danzo Sama is not happy about it.”

 

“I thought we acquired a survivor with wood release.”

 

“It’s not enough, Haru. We need to find more subjects. Do you think you can get the orphan you missed? The initial observation showed his high level of mental energy. He would be a compatible test subject for both sharingan transplantation and first hokage cells.”

 

“That…”

 

“I know, he is still an academy student and he is closely observed. But we need to take the initiative if we want to get suitable test subjects. Prisoner and civilian won't be enough anymore.”

 

“But is the risk worth taking?”

 

“It is. Instead of using heavy-handed methods, try to convince the kid to drop out of the academy.”

 

Finally, Haru could do nothing but agree. She believed more in the root than the flawed system of the leaf village.