Ichiro Ginkai: "…"
Are kids these days this wild?
Hiring someone to blow up a school?
Back in his day, they only prayed for an earthquake to wreck it.
Ebara was stunned too.
Who'd have thought Mikoto had such a savage side?
Must be Fugaku's bad influence.
Uchiha Mikoto kept talking, oblivious.
"Make sure Teacher Ebara's inside when you blow up the school," she said. "Nobody in our class likes him. He's flippant, narcissistic, shameless, and smug. Worst of all, he's clueless about his own stupidity…"
She rattled off a list of Ebara's flaws, not one repeated.
Ichiro's eyes welled up.
A kindred spirit!
Ebara was that awful.
Ebara glanced at his reflection in a nearby mirror, muttering, "Am I that awesome?"
Shameless pride—exactly one of Mikoto's complaints.
"You don't have to hurt him," Mikoto continued. "Just make him suffer a bit. Humiliate him. If Princess Tsunade's there, even better. Let her see what a jerk he is."
She gritted her teeth.
Fugaku had seen her in that green kappa bodysuit, and she'd died of embarrassment.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She remembered her classmates mentioning Ichiro Ginkai.
She wanted Ebara to feel the mortifying shame of embarrassing himself in front of his crush.
"Can you do it?" Mikoto asked, swallowing hard, eyes full of hope.
"No way!" Ichiro replied.
Imagining Ebara's downfall was tempting, but his common sense kicked in.
If he actually did it, he'd spend his life in Konoha's prison.
"I'll pay you," Mikoto said.
Her family was well-off, so she had plenty of pocket money.
"It's not about money," Ichiro said.
He wasn't suicidal.
"Useless man!" Mikoto scoffed.
Ichiro: "…"
"Not hurtful, but damn insulting," Ebara chuckled from inside the room.
"Just like Ebara!" Mikoto added.
Ebara: "!!!"
The clown was him!
Mikoto stormed off, fuming.
"You keep this business up, the Konoha Guard will be on you," Ebara said, smirking at Ichiro.
"I'm leaving Konoha tomorrow morning!" Ichiro said quickly.
Even if Ebara didn't chase him out, he was done.
He never wanted to see Ebara again.
"Smart choice," Ebara nodded.
Knock knock knock.
Another knock at the door.
Ebara glanced at Ichiro.
Business was booming.
He was almost tempted to join in.
Ichiro opened the door, and Ebara saw Uchiha Fugaku.
"What's up?" Ichiro asked.
"Let's talk inside," Fugaku said coolly, exuding a bit of Sasuke's vibe.
No surprise, coming from an Uchiha.
He seemed pretty chummy with Ichiro.
"Let's talk here. Not convenient," Ichiro said, blocking him.
Fugaku gave him a look but said nothing.
He pushed past, barging in.
Ichiro tried to stop him, but Fugaku's strength was no match.
At nine, Fugaku already had chunin-level skills.
He shoved Ichiro aside and strode in.
"You're…" Fugaku frowned at Ebara.
Ebara, using Transformation Jutsu to look like a Hot Water ninja, said, "His cousin."
Fugaku didn't buy it, eyeing Ebara up and down.
His piercing gaze tried to see through him.
"Uchihas, rude as always," Ebara said calmly.
"You picking a fight?" Fugaku huffed.
"Call it what you want," Ebara said, staring back unblinkingly.
"Hmph," Fugaku snorted, dropping it.
He turned to Ichiro. "More Water Country specialties. And I need your help with something tomorrow."
"Specialties, no problem. Tomorrow? I'm out. Leaving Konoha," Ichiro said apologetically.
Two options popped into Ebara's mind.
[Option 1: Agree to help Fugaku. Reward: Jonin-level taijutsu!]
[Option 2: Refuse Fugaku. Reward: 5 stamina attribute points!]
Ebara's eyes lit up.
Jonin-level taijutsu? A massive boost to his strength.
No way he'd refuse.
"We can stay an extra day," Ebara said.
Ichiro shot him a look, wondering what Ebara was up to.
Ignoring him, Ebara asked Fugaku, "What do you need us to do?"
Fugaku's face, rare for him, flushed with embarrassment.
It vanished quickly.
"I need you to kidnap someone," he said slowly.
"No way," Ichiro refused instantly.
One theft got him caught by Ebara.
Kidnapping? He'd be locked up in Konoha's prison for good.
Fugaku ignored Ichiro, looking at Ebara. "Kidnap someone, but don't hurt her. I'll step in to stop you, and you let me win."
Ebara grinned. "Heroic rescue plan, huh?"
No need to guess—the target was Mikoto.
Caught out, Fugaku blushed again.
Back home, he realized he'd hurt Mikoto's feelings.
Apologizing wasn't his style, so he drew inspiration from novels he'd read.
A classic way to get closer to a girl.
So he came to Ichiro.
"A thousand ryo!" Fugaku said, pulling out cash.
Damn, clan kid money.
A third of Ebara's monthly salary.
"Deal," Ebara said. "Need me to go easy?"
Fugaku smirked. "Use your full strength."
Hot Water wasn't known for strong ninjas.
Ichiro was proof—weak as hell.
In Fugaku's eyes, Ebara couldn't be much stronger.
No need to hold back.
"Great. I'll 'help' you good," Ebara said, grinning.