-MC POV-

*Knock*

*Knock*

I knocked on Akane Oba-chan house's door.

I wish this was just a cordial visit where I could just eat and relax but it's not that.

The moron (Takao) on my back passed out during training, due to his sheer incompetence and lack of self-awareness.

At our age, Itachi, was already on the battlefield, taking care of enemy forces.

Again, the level of disparity is just too different.

*sigh* I swear, I feel like a failure each time I compare myself with the most powerful guys around.

...each passing generation seems to get softer and worse in some aspects in this world.

Why was I not born in the Boruto era?

At least in that time period, there is enough peace for me to experience a semi-normal childhood... until it all goes up in flames! Or whatever actually happens.

Not that I care... too much.

Besides, I'm not even sure how it all goes downhill.

Just know that edgy boy with try hard haircut is somewhat responsible, and maybe Naruto's stupid kid was involved in all of it somehow.

-?!

Why is Akane Oba-chan taking so long to come open the front door?

Having no other choice, I knocked on the door once again.

*Knock*

*Knock*

- hm.... nothing. (I can't hear footsteps coming from the other side at all.)

Sadly for me, this isn't the time period where everyone in the village seems to have doorbells installed.

Once again, that seems to be a Boruto-era thing.

This world moves fast, which is pretty funny since shinobi are beings that are proud of their agility and overall speed.

In the future, we're going to even have cannons that destroy the moon and human cyborgs with god-level powers

Then again, if you really think about it really, really hard... that's like 30 years in the future.

Though, technology here is advanced enough for us to have TVs and such it is not that widespread... So maybe technology propagation actually moves very slowly here.

Must be all the nonstop wars.

Also, I think Edgier-boy's (Kawaki) house, doesn't seem to have a doorbell either, since his dad was...will be a deadbeat dad in the future, living in a rundown shack.

Which is pretty surprising, since even a cave dweller like Jigen has (probably)  doorbells... but he is at the end of the day an alien, in the body of a monk who refuses to die.

Plus, his people... if you can call them that, have space travel abilities and terraforming technologies, so yeah, he definitely has the means to have a freaking bell installed.

No wonder he sees us as a bunch of uncivilized primates with no redeeming qualities.

*Knock*

I knocked a little bit harder this time.

But after 5 seconds of waiting, I got nothing.

Once again.

I'd knock harder but don't want to be seen by anyone more people than I have already been.

-....

... Akane Oba-chan must truly be busy or hard of hearing.

-  Akane Oba-chan. It's Itsuki! - I said out loud.

I'd rather she comes out soon...I don't like to stay in the open in the Uchiha clan settlement for long periods of time.

Even if she lives on the outskirts, I don't really, really want to be seen.

I've even stopped wearing the shirt that I had with the clan crest since most kids my age don't appear to wear ones with it that much yet, but if I stand out too much; people may start to realize that a certain someone does not belong here.

-....(What should I do? Run? Come back later?)

*sigh*...I don't really know.

No matter what I want to do, in reality, there is not much I can do but wait for a little while longer.

I just hope that she is not out.

She is usually at home around this time of the day.

Otherwise, she might be doing something around the village.

Such as, buying something at the market at this hour but... I doubt it.

Old people... In fact, people, in general, tend to shop very early in the morning in this backwater village.

Especially when it comes to buying food or household necessities.

I know that's for sure because I too have to wake up at 5 A.M. sometimes, in order to buy groceries; at least when it is my turn to go out... I really hate doing that.

Not only I don't get to buy what I want, but I get to see people buying the stuff that I want to eat or drink it is... torture.

Cruel and purely immoral.

I get to see all kinds of spoiled kids get what they want just because they have living parents, while I am forced into a very strict diet... Well, it is not all bad. We get to eat different stuff once in a while.

And I am grateful for just having food on the table at the end of the day.

Otherwise, I'd be the real spoiled brat for not appreciating what I have or am lucky enough to have.

There are kids suffering much more than me, this world is not kind... To be fair, I doubt that a kind world exists anywhere in the whole omniverse with infinite possibilities.

There's always a catch.

Or a certain degree of unfairness needed to create a reality.

Leaving conceptual matters aside, the markets here don't have the real good stuff that I want; so it is no big deal but... If I'm being honest I'd like to eat some of the really good stuff, like steaks once in a while.

Sometimes, when I pass by restaurants I can smell the infatuating smell of meat being cooked and can't help myself from salivating at the thought of one day having enough money to afford going inside.

-*sigh*

Well, at least we have very good homegrown soy sauce that is also very affordable, and it makes anything taste better... I feel like my mentality has been degraded to think like someone on a tight budget... like university students.

...when I get enough money from doing missions, I'm gonna stuff my belly with delicious meals full of meat! Actually, forget the meals! It's going to be a pure meat feast!

I'm going to go to the barbeque place that Choji loves so much... but I'm still worried about the prices. Since they usually went there with Asuma so that he could cover the bill.

If even a jonin sweats about going there, I doubt on a genin salary I will be able to afford any of the good stuff.

...But it should be alright for me... I don't have or plan on getting the Akimichi pitch black hole they call a stomach from their DNA... But the Hyuga princess' appetite seems to be more terrifying than even those guys...

Yup!

I made the right choice of not trying to steal her DNA at that time.

I don't think I will ever have the money to be able to afford to eat that much.

I'm not a princess with an unlimited budget/mountain of food and servants to cook the aforementioned mountain of food for me.

Actually, just when did she start eating that much?

I feel that it was a retcon, all for the sake of a joke(?)... because it doesn't seem to be a Hyuga trait. But maybe she gained that ability by watching Naruto eat so much food all the time.

Like in a twisted form of love, by wanting to be just like him, or understanding him better... or some other nonsense that girls in love do. (Like Sakura wishing to defect the village for that creepy snake freak all because her crush was leaving. And that wasn't even the Shippuden version of that b*stard who was more tamed in contrast to his more evil version seen in the original series.)

I guess girls will be girls.

Just hope that Hinata did not become a living black hole because of that little freak Naruto.

Because Naruto eats quite a lot!

I thought Hiruzen did not give the kid enough money to eat, but having eaten with him a few... a lot of times (too many times for my taste)... especially the stuff he likes to eat, makes me wonder where it all goes.

... I know where it all goes at the end of the day but... how does he manage to keep all that food, inside his tiny body is a great mystery.

...Yes, a mystery.

Just not a mystery worth investigating.

I'll leave it at, the kid has really good genes, and a 70 feet monster inside his body. (I'm scared of what I might find out if try to dig deeper into that rabbit hole).

Talk about being built differently.

Makes you realize how unfair the world truly is.

Because we're clearly built very differently from each other.

Sadly, it is not a problem that I can casually and fully ignore.

Since those 2 little monsters are on my list of targets that I have to steal DNA from... I'm scared for my future self.

Not because I'm afraid of their power (even though, I really should), but because food expenses will be harsh... If I end up getting their monstrous appetite as well.

I reaaaaally need, to become a reaaaaally good ninja.

Otherwise, forget dying on the battlefield.

I'm going to die of hunger.

In some corner of this cruel village, or in the hands of its even crueler villagers...

*Click*

- Ara, Itsuki-kun? Did you knock on the door? Oh! Is that Ta-chan on your back? Did something happen? (Akane)

Before I even had the time to finish my train of thought, Akane-Oba-chan opened the front door of her house and started asking too many questions for me to be able to answer them all satisfactorily.

Which, I couldn't really blame her since her last remaining family member was currently knocked out, and I was carrying him on my back.

...though, to be totally honest she doesn't seem that bothered by it. Her attitude appears to be quite lax, all things considered.

- Huh!? Yes, I mean no. It's nothing really. He is simply unconscious. He didn't pay attention while running after a moving target and knocked himself out against a very thick tree branch.

-*sigh*...that is such a Ta-chan thing to do. (Akane)- she said while resting her face against her right hand.

-Indeed. (It was pretty funny though. He was chasing a flying squirrel around while throwing a bunch of kunais at it, which all managed to miss their target by the way.)

Just pathetic.

This guy can't even land a hit on a squirrel.

Which is weird... actually it is not weird at all.

He should be able to do as much without any real issues... he is simply too nice for his own good.

He definitely tried to hit the squirrel in a manner that he would not hurt it in any way.

However, he is no genius.

He'd have to be one if he would be able to achieve something like that after a few days of training.

...or have a computer inside his brain like me.

- Can I drop him inside his room?

- Ah! Sorry about that, where are my manners, of course, you can. It is very kind of you. (Akane)

- Not at all, oba-chan has always been very nice to me, it is no big deal. *Grin*

I beamed at her, with my usual kind grin. That I've practiced a lot to get candy from old people.

I feel a bit guilty but to be fair I wasn't planning on doing it at all...I guess I must have been distracted and used it without thinking.

- Aww. Will you stay a while longer for snacks?(Akane)

- Sure. (Well, I have nothing better to do at the moment... so, why not... I can always afford to eat a bit more or something different once in a while)

- Good. I will finish putting things in order then you can come to the living room.(Akane)

- Ok.

Chapter End