Dinner was eaten at home. Ka Po-pu had cooked fish soup, and the fish was expensive, bought from the village market.
Recently, due to increasingly tense relations with the Land of Water, fish prices had skyrocketed. Ka Po-pu didn't eat much herself, constantly scooping fish meat into Saitama's pot instead.
Ka Po-pu's cooking skills were indeed good—the soup was fresh, and the fish meat tender. Unfortunately, Saitama couldn't recognize what kind of fish he was eating.
"Granny, I'm done," Saitama said after swallowing the last piece of fish in his bowl, finishing off the broth while smiling at Ka Po-pu as though showing off his appetite.
"Saitama, enough already? There's still some left in the pot. Let me serve you more," Ka Po-pu reached over, ready to take Saitama's bowl.
"No, no need, Granny. I'm full. You eat it yourself," Saitama pulled his bowl closer and replied.
Wanting Saitama to eat more, there hadn't been many pieces left in Ka Po-pu's bowl. Saitama knew she wouldn't start eating until he finished, so he quickly polished off the fish in his bowl.
"Alright then, go rest once you're done. I'll handle things here later," Ka Po-pu glanced around the dinner table, smiling warmly before pointing toward the door with her chopsticks.
"Huh, okay!" Without hesitation, Saitama stood up and left.
"I'll come down later to wash the dishes. Let Granny take her time," he thought as he walked away. Since she was getting older, he might as well do a few chores around the house—he didn't have much else going on anyway.
"But man, it's great being home. The food here beats anything run-of-the-mill you'd find anywhere else!" Saitama mumbled to himself, recalling the meals at the frontline. Though they filled him up back then, the taste lagged light-years behind this.
After changing shoes at the entrance, Saitama headed upstairs.
It was already late December—soon, a new year would begin. Next year, Saitama would officially start eating like an eight-year-old. He had been in this world for years now, and life was feeling more and more natural.
That is, unless someone disrupted this peace!
The house was warm, so Saitama took off his top and sat cross-legged on the tatami mat bare-chested.
His lean body bore countless wounds—some recent from his first missions after graduation, others from past battles. Particularly noticeable scars marked his chest, back, and shoulders.
From beside him, he pulled out a scroll and laid it across his thighs, carefully unfurling it with small hands.
This was a jutsu scroll Saitama had written himself, documenting step-by-step insights into the newly crafted [Lightning Release — Chakra Mode], along with techniques related to Lightning Chakra Nature Transformation.
Rubbing his forehead, Saitama began reviewing the notes for inconsistencies, planning to refine them further.
Not long ago, Shisui had borrowed this same scroll for copying, so now he also held a duplicate. Still, that didn't matter much.
"At this point, Kakashi should've either begun forming ideas or already developed his Chidori technique. I wonder when I can discuss this with him..."
Saitama knew his Chidori was weaker than the original. If Kakashi's Chidori ranked at an A-level in terms of power, his own should only measure around B-level. Discussing with Kakashi might help him improve it further.
Leaning on his hand, many ideas popped up in his mind one after another. Saitama carefully noted them all down, planning to experiment gradually later.
Time passed quickly. Except for going downstairs precisely on time to wash some dishes, Saitama stayed upstairs until past midnight before finally sleeping.
...
This was a vast and dark place, crisscrossed with visible pipes everywhere. A bridge connected two directions amidst this maze of piping.
"Hng!" A sound of impact echoed across the bridge as a shadow appeared at one end. In the darkness, it was impossible to see this person's face clearly.
"The mission failed! The target was far stronger than what the intel assessment indicated!" Another figure knelt on the opposite side of the bridge, wearing a mask over his face.
"Oh? You're saying the Elite Chunin evaluation underestimated him?" Standing there, the first man spoke with a slightly aged voice that still carried great vigor.
"The target moved extremely fast; ordinary Jonin couldn't even track him! I myself suffered defeat at his hands!" Remaining on one knee, the kneeling figure answered in a low, truthful tone.
"Hmm! Dismissed."
"Yes!"
With their conversation ended, one figure vanished from the bridge, and the area returned to its previous silence.
"Saitama Uchiha? Heheh... The old man finds you even more interesting now! What secrets does the Uchiha Clan hold?"
Dim light filtered through gaps in the surrounding pipes, illuminating half of the shadowy figure standing there, revealing a face wrapped in bandages.
...
"Saitama! Saitama!"
Ka Po-pu's voice rang in his ears. Saitama rubbed his eyes, reached out with one hand to grab his sword, then sat up halfway.
"Yeah, coming!" Today, he'd actually allowed himself to sleep in.
After dressing, washing up, and equipping everything required of a ninja, Saitama slowly made his way downstairs.
"You're getting worse and worse lately, Saitama! Ninjas don't usually sleep in!" Just as he arrived at the kitchen doorway, Ka Po-pu started scolding him, though her tone carried teasing undertones.
"Mm, It's been a long time since I've slept so comfortably," ignoring her words, Saitama brushed off the topic with an easygoing chuckle.
It was just past seven in the morning, not fully bright outside yet, but Ka had already risen around six to prepare breakfast.
The meal was once again onigiri rice balls, served with a bowl of seaweed soup.
Saitama blew on the hot soup and took a big sip. Glancing sideways at Ka Po-pu eating her rice ball in such a delicate, ladylike way, a relaxed expression on her face.
Life wasn't so bad after all.
"Grandma, I won't be home for lunch today; the captain invited us to stay for meals at noon."
After drinking a few mouthfuls of soup to warm up his insides, Saitama picked up a large rice ball and spoke casually between bites.
Ka Uchiha already knew that Saitama had joined the Clan Guards, led by the clan head himself, Fugaku Uchiha. To her, being asked to stay for lunch by one's superior seemed completely normal and unremarkable.
Nodding approvingly, Ka squinted affectionately at Saitama: "Alright then, the old woman will just cook for herself at noon."
"Alright." Saitama quickly finished the rice ball in his hand and downed the soup before standing up from the table.
"Granny, I'm heading out to train first. Take your time eating!" With that, he pushed the door open and left.
...
"Youth is all about fire!"
"Hey! Hey!"
"Guy!!"
"Dad!"
Saitama stared blankly at what was unfolding in front of him. After stepping outside, he didn't head straight for the training grounds but instead made his way to Konoha's commercial district, planning to grab something before training.
After all, he was visiting Fugaku Uchiha's house at noon. It wouldn't do to show up empty-handed, right?
"Guy! Let's run around Konoha—run until we reach the very edge of youth!"
"Yeah!"
Two green blurs zipped past Saitama and shot off, the taller one even flashing him a thumbs-up as he passed.
"Are those Guy and Duy father and son?" Watching them disappear, all Saitama saw was a swirling trail of dust behind.
Konoha could probably use a few more sanitation workers—might even help with unemployment issues.
The flying dust earned a rare mutter of disapproval from Saitama.
Shaking it off, he kept walking. Guy and Duy hadn't interrupted his plans, so he continued on his way to pick out a gift for the visit.
In the end, after plenty of back-and-forth, Saitama settled on some pastries for Fugaku and Mikoto, someone he hadn't met yet. Just before leaving, he suddenly remembered that Itachi would be about two or three by now, so he stopped by the Weapon Shop and picked out a tanto—its design and style quite similar to the one he had bought for himself.
They weren't expensive things—on the contrary, they were just tokens of goodwill. That should work fine.
Another morning of training passed, sweat dripping from his face. Since Shisui hadn't shown up all day, Saitama ended up sparring with other members of the Clan Guards.
The skill gap meant he couldn't really go all out, but it gave him a good chance to refine his [Shifting Body Technique].
"Saitama!" Mori called from the edge of the field.
Just as Nagare Uchiha's blade reached him, Saitama vanished in an instant, reappearing abruptly behind him.
"Thud!" One leg slammed down on Nagare's shoulder, pinning him into a half-kneel.
"That's enough. I'll go see what Mori wants," Saitama said, deciding not to continue fighting.
Among current Clan Guard members, Nagare ranked near the top, second only to Saitama and Shisui. As it turned out, he was at the training ground today, so Saitama pulled him in for a spar.
"Yeah yeah, you monster, I don't know how you got this strong this fast—it's insane!" Nagare rubbed his shoulder while shaking his head, a wry smile on his face.
"Alright then, I'm off." Patting Nagare on the back, Saitama turned and walked toward Mori waiting at the edge of the field.
"What's up? What'd you need, Mori?" Approaching, he rested a hand on his sword hilt and looked up as he asked.
"It's nothing big—I just wanted to talk to you about something." Mori seemed unusually hesitant today, his expression oddly stiff.
"Spit it out already. Don't act like a nervous schoolgirl," Saitama replied, watching Mori's awkwardness and suddenly feeling amused. He rarely saw Mori acting so flustered and tongue-tied.
"Ah come on… Look, you're still just a kid. Some things'll make sense later."
Morris' face flushed slightly.
"Come on, say it," Saitama said, puzzled.
"It's... on the first day of the Lunar New Year, I'm getting married. You and Shisui should drop by for a bite,"
Mori hesitated at first but managed to finish under Saitama's intense stare.
"Uh, that's all?" Saitama asked in response.
"Yeah, that's all." Mori studied the seemingly calm Saitama, thinking maybe he was just too young to grasp what marriage really meant.
"Alright then, I'll definitely come. But how come your wedding came outta nowhere?" Saitama stared at Mori. He hadn't even heard that Mori had a girlfriend before this.
"There's no particular reason. My family was pushing hard, and I've been with Misoko for years now; it's time."
Mori rubbed his face awkwardly.
"Isn't the clan sending more people to the battlefield next year? I'll definitely go this time." Mori didn't continue.
"What about Hayashi?" Saitama asked, concerned about Hayashi. He already knew Hayashi was Mori's younger brother; Hayashi must have shown some reaction toward Mori's marriage.
"Hayashi has urgent military affairs and probably won't come back."
"Then I'll bring everyone from the Clan Guards to celebrate for you."
"That's all. I'll head back first. I probably won't come to the Training Ground for the next few days." Mori turned away, head bowed.
"Wow, never thought Mori could look so shy. Normally he always looks like he's in complete control." Shaking his head, Saitama started heading out of the Training Ground.
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