Shikigami Summoning in Konoha

Chapter 45: I'll Go Buy Some Oranges!

Unfortunately, unless Neji could unleash ten times his power, there would only be a slight chance of defeating Katsuragi. Even as the unbeatable champion of the third grade, Neji was still no match for Katsuragi.

Watching Neji lying on the ground, unable to get up, Katsuragi didn't bother with him and hurried over to Hinata, bragging with a grin, "Hinata, I won!"

If Hinata didn't have the Byakugan, she definitely would have rolled her eyes again. She had guessed the outcome from the start, so she looked somewhat sympathetically at Neji on the ground, asking quietly, "Is Neji brother okay?"

"Don't worry, I was careful!"

Katsuragi also glanced at Neji, who was struggling to get up, and said, "And Neji is used to it, he'll be fine!"

"Used to it…"

Hinata glanced at Neji and then at Katsuragi, suddenly feeling that Neji's and Katsuragi's top positions were hard-earned. She felt she needed to work even harder not to hold them back in the future.

While Hinata was pondering, Katsuragi said with anticipation, "Hinata, we had an agreement, the reward! You know what I mean!"

"Eh!?"

Hinata's face quickly heated up, and she fiddled with her fingers, already knowing what Katsuragi meant by 'reward' from how often he mentioned it, whispering back, "Still… it's just the cheek, you… you can't… do anything more!"

"Okay! Okay!"

Katsuragi nodded, a bit disappointed, but thinking that if he continued to progress "steadily," he would eventually advance further.

"Neji, take your time to rest, we'll be going now!"

Looking at Neji still recovering, Katsuragi called out to him and prepared to leave with Hinata to collect his "reward."

"This jerk!"

Neji watched Katsuragi, who looked completely untroubled, and cursed under his breath. Then he coldly asked, "Didn't you say you'd train with me until the afternoon?"

"Eh!"

Katsuragi was startled, then quickly feigned ignorance, "Did I say that? You must have heard wrong, Neji. Look, you're even having trouble standing. Just rest!"

"Here's what I'll do; I'll go buy some oranges. You stay here, don't move!"

Without waiting for Neji to respond, Katsuragi quickly grabbed Hinata's hand and dashed off, leaving a stunned Neji staring after them, mumbling, "Oranges!?"

"Katsuragi, aren't we going to buy oranges?"

Seeing Katsuragi lead her to a more secluded spot, Hinata couldn't help but ask.

"Uh, I just said that!"

Katsuragi scratched his head, not sure why he'd used that excuse. But now none of it mattered. He looked around, making sure they were alone and unobserved, then said expectantly,

"Hinata, about that reward…"

Hinata shyly closed her eyes, looking so obedient and cute that Katsuragi almost couldn't hold back. Well, not that there was much to hold back with a half-grown kid's body.

…

Time flies, and a year passed in the blink of an eye, bringing in the fifty-fifth year of the Hidden Leaf.

"Ah, it's still so long until I'm in third grade!"

During a class break, Katsuragi lay bored on his desk, unenthusiastic as he watched the noisy classroom. It was early spring, and there were still several months until their final exams and the start of the new school year, so he couldn't muster any excitement.

"Katsuragi, Katsuragi!"

At that moment, Hinata, who had started growing her hair long at his suggestion, ran over to him and whispered, "Naruto and Sasuke are fighting again. Aren't you going to check it out?"

"Why bother with them!" Katsuragi stretched lazily, indifferent, "Fighting is intimacy, arguing is love; that's their way of expressing affection for each other."

"Fighting is intimacy, arguing is love?" Hinata was puzzled.

"Ah, of course, that doesn't apply to boys and girls!" Realizing how Hinata looked, Katsuragi quickly added, "That's just for Naruto and Sasuke!"

"For us, it's called mutual affection!"

Seeing Katsuragi say such straightforward things, although Hinata had heard them many times, she still couldn't get used to it. Her face turned red hot, and it seemed like steam might start coming out of her head, looking somewhat dizzy as if she were drunk.

Speaking of Naruto and Sasuke's relationship, Katsuragi never expected it to develop just like in the original story, influenced by Sakura, the girl who played matchmaker.

When Naruto excitedly sought Katsuragi's advice one day on how to chase a girl, Katsuragi was stunned until he mentioned falling for a pink-haired girl, then he knew who it was.

Unfortunately, even though Katsuragi taught him some techniques, Naruto's low intelligence was a critical flaw, and every attempt ended in failure. Plus, being physically less attractive than Sasuke, he never succeeded.

While Sasuke's personality hadn't changed yet, perhaps because he was always second to Katsuragi in exams, he grew to dislike those clingy girls even more.

However, after being nearly successfully ambushed by Naruto a few times, his impression of Naruto improved significantly.

Sasuke didn't know that Katsuragi had secretly helped Naruto during those ambushes, trying to foster some sort of bond... well, a connection.

After pulling Hinata aside to sit down, and smelling the sweet fragrance of her body, Katsuragi thought silently, "But that thing is probably coming soon!"

The police force in the village was almost entirely made up of members of the Uchiha clan, practically a family business. Though it seemed like the Uchiha were entrusted with an important role by Konoha, they were actually being increasingly isolated from the core of power.

From his memories of the original, Katsuragi felt that Itachi's clan annihilation wasn't far off. He couldn't remember the details, but he was sure it wasn't this year, then definitely the next.

"Sharingan, huh!"

Truthfully, Katsuragi was quite fond of those eyes. Not to mention the unique abilities of a fully evolved Sharingan like Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, just the basic powers were enough to make him envious.

"Speaking of which, if I put a Sharingan on Guy before he opens the Eight Gates, then have him use Izanagi, wouldn't that be awesome?" Unintentionally, Katsuragi's thoughts wandered.

"And then there's Danzo's arm full of eyes!"

Katsuragi sighed silently. It seemed the main reason for the clan's annihilation was Danzo, apart from Obito's behind-the-scenes manipulation. Danzo wanted to use the opportunity to eliminate the Uchiha.

"It's ironic, considering the two clans that founded Konoha!" Katsuragi felt a bit sentimental. Senju, Uchiha, Ashura, and Indra—the tiny village of Konoha seemed to breed nothing but eccentrics.

End of Chapter 45