A simple question brought a radiant smile to Yugito's small face.
She stood up from the corner of the Rock Pillar, bathed in sunlight.
The little girl's heartfelt smile was so pure and beautiful.
It was only then that Yamanaka Kei truly saw that Yugito's hair wasn't the same gold as his, but a color closer to light beige.
It wasn't as dazzling as gold, but it seemed softer and more gentle.
"Yugito's hair is very pretty."
Yamanaka Kei praised her sincerely.
"Th-thank you!"
Yugito's face flushed slightly, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the sudden compliment.
In the years since becoming a Jinchuriki, she had experienced very little kindness.
Even if some people were kind to her when they didn't know her identity, once they found out, they would only show more profound disgust and fear than others.
Two simple fried eggs, a small portion of Land of Lightning's specialty steak, and a small portion of cornmeal noodles and toast.
Along with a glass of sweet and sour juice.
Yamanaka Kei took less than ten minutes to make a delicious breakfast that amazed Yugito.
He watched as the little girl's eyes narrowed in delight as she ate.
He sensed the two Anbu Ninja outside the house, whose auras were slightly different from yesterday, but he wasn't in a hurry to do anything.
Instead, he took a glass of juice, sipping it slowly while asking about Yugito's daily life.
Perhaps it was because the Eight Tails frequently went berserk, while the Two Tails was more well-behaved, or perhaps the Cloud Village's higher-ups believed that the Eight Tails' power far surpassed that of the Two Tails?
In any case, Yugito was clearly not as valued in the village as Killer Bee.
The education they received was also completely different.
Since becoming a Jinchuriki, Killer Bee had been following Third Raikage A's son, the future Fourth Raikage, to train.
Yugito, on the other hand, had entered the Ninja School in an orderly manner.
Occasionally, Anbu would send scrolls containing information on how to train and improve as a Jinchuriki.
Yamanaka Kei could roughly guess the Third Raikage's thoughts.
He probably thought that Yugito, as a girl, needed the company of her peers more.
And the so-called exclusion and isolation by the children was simply because Yugito wasn't strong enough yet; children always admired the strong.
In summary.
The Third Raikage was a little thoughtful, but not much.
The idea of strength above all else applied to most people in Cloud Village.
But the children at the Ninja School, who had not yet been exposed to the cruelty of the ninja world, would not consider so much.
Ineffective companionship will only deepen Yugito's loneliness and anxiety.
"Thank you for the meal!"
Yugito finished her breakfast, her small face filled with a happy smile, and she clasped her hands together in a well-behaved manner.
"Shogi? Cards? Or do you have a better suggestion?"
Yamanaka Kei casually cleared the dishes from the table and tossed them into the sink in the kitchen.
That kid Musai grabbed a piece of bread early in the morning and disappeared without a trace. Washing dishes is perfect for him!
The ninja world is always so cruel.
If you're not strong enough, someone else will sleep in your bed, beat your kids, and spend your money!
"I... I'm not very good at them."
Yugito scratched her fingers a little awkwardly.
Having never played these games before, she had only seen them a few times from a distance when her classmates were playing, and she only had a vague understanding of the rules.
"It doesn't matter, I'll teach you. Hmm... let's try them all and see what you like."
Yamanaka Kei smiled, easing Yugito's embarrassment.
He took out shogi, Othello, sugoroku, hanafuda, and cards from a small box under the low table.
The little girl listened with great interest to how each game was played.
Just like Seven Tails Jinchuriki Fu from Takigakure Village in the future.
After listening to the rules once, the little girl chose sugoroku, which was more interesting and wouldn't feel boring even with just two people playing.
It was a game similar to Monopoly from his previous life, where you roll dice to determine the number of spaces to move on the board.
Various situations would occur on the board, and whoever reached the end first would win.
Although Yugito's luck didn't seem to be very good.
She always encountered some strange and unexpected situations, such as needing the player to bark like a puppy, spin around ten times to the left and right with their eyes closed, cry then laugh for five seconds each, repeating three times, or walk around with a book on their head like a noble lady...
But every time, she laughed extremely happily.
The small room was always filled with her silver bell-like laughter.
Such experiences were too precious for her, always making her feel as if they were an unreal dream.
The two Anbu outside the house were a little stunned by the scene before them.
Cheerful, lively, and a bit innocent and cute.
Was this jinchuriki really the Yugito Nii they knew, the one who liked to raise her small face in Ninja School, cold and aloof?
Lunch was still cooked by Yamanaka Kei.
After a simple meal, the two changed to several other games, and Yugito didn't feel bored at all.
It wasn't until nearly eight o'clock in the evening, after another dinner, that the Anbu in charge of monitoring couldn't help but knock on the door, reminding Yugito to go home early, as she had to go to Ninja School tomorrow.
The little girl bid farewell and left, turning her head every three steps.
Yamanaka Kei leaned against the railing, looked at the Anbu Ninja who hadn't left his side, sighed helplessly, and took the initiative to speak.
"Do you need me to go to the Anbu to cooperate with the inquiry?"
"No one suspects you. Raikage-sama is very happy to see someone accepting a Jinchuriki."
The Anbu's shift is always two shifts. At this time, the Anbu Ninja in front of Yamanaka Kei had been replaced by the squad leader from last night.
"Then?"
"I heard you want your kid to retire?"
"Life, you know, is about accepting the ordinariness of parents, accepting your own ordinariness, and then accepting the ordinariness of your children... Recently... well, I'm just afraid he'll die on the battlefield."
Yamanaka Kei made up stories as he spoke.
The Anbu squad leader followed his gaze, looking at the houses standing in the clouds and the brightly lit Cloud Village in front of him.
Listening to the sigh in his words, he suddenly felt a little empathy.
He nodded lightly and disappeared in a *Shunshin*.
"...It's better to die when leaving, otherwise it's too much of a pitfall."
Yamanaka Kei looked at the other party's leaving back and understood more and more why spies couldn't do it for too long.
The encounter between life and life will inevitably breed new emotions.
Although he couldn't perceive goodwill and malice, he could guess that he hadn't been taken to the Anbu for questioning because someone had vouched for him.
Even though he knew very well that being kind to the enemy was being cruel to himself.
But...
Whether it was for Yugito or for others, dying seemed to be the best choice?
Dong dong dong dong
With hurried footsteps, Musai ran to the door like a gust of wind.
He glanced at the 'old man' who was staring at the sky in a daze, threw off his shoes and rushed into the living room, gulping down water while asking loudly.
"Old man! What's for dinner tonight?"
"Look in the kitchen yourself."
"Old man, am I still your biological son? Just a bowl of leftovers?"
"Son, there's something I've never told you. Actually, I'm your stepfather. That year, it was snowing heavily, and you were dying in the snow..."
"No wonder I get beaten six times every three days! You old... Ow~ I was wrong, I was wrong! Old man, I was wrong!"
Bang bang pa~ Bang bang pa~
After a heavy fatherly concern, Musai obediently ate a bowl of leftovers.
"Old man, I went to ask this morning. I can fill out the retirement application myself. I also told my teammates that I might retire to raise pigs, but they advised me to raise cattle."
"...Alright, mixed farming it is."
Yamanaka Kei looked at Musai with a strange expression upon hearing this.
In this day and age, there really aren't many kids this honest!
"How many cows and pigs can our money buy? It seems like renting a place costs money too, do we have that much money?"
"Are you really willing to give up being a ninja?"
"...Dad, my teammate saw you buying flowers this morning, calla lilies, those are used to commemorate the dead, right?"
"That's good."
"What?"
"I'll submit the application tomorrow, then go rent land and buy cows for you."
"Dad, you still haven't told me how much money we actually have. If it's just enough for one or two cows, we won't be able to survive."
"You won't starve."
-----------
This high quality machine translation is powered by: https:// randomtranslator.com/
To read the full translation, as well as more than 180+ fanfic and original translations or request new translations, check out: https:// randomtranslator.com/
You can also join the RandomTranslator community on Discord to connect with other readers: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------